Six Ways to Cope With A Losing Team

In their 53 seasons of existence, the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels have only started 2-8 twice.  The first was in 1961, the Angels' first season, and now, in their 53rd season, the Angels have once again started 2-8.  After only picking up one road win each in Cincinnati and Arlington, the Halos are an embarrassing 0-4 to start the season in Anaheim, including a 5-0 loss against the Houston Astros on Friday night.  A team many projected to be among the league's worst clubs this season, and finish with less than 60 wins.  Now, the Astros are a decent 4-6, and are two games ahead of the Angels, who sit alone at the cellar of the AL West.

What can we do?  As fans, we can't fix the pitching.  We can't get timely hits.  We can hardly root for this team, right?  Wrong.  But how does one cope with a last place team?  Let this article be your handy guide!

1. Don't Sweat The Small Stuff - Bad teams are bad for a reason.  They either don't have the talent, or chemistry, or drive of their winning counterparts.  It's hard to tell at this point in the season what the Angels are having trouble with, but it's clear that the formula isn't working.  So simply don't sweat the small stuff.  Albert Pujols doesn't run out a ground ball?  Don't worry about it Albert, you have to stay healthy for another 8 years!  Eric Aybar strikes out looking?  At least you didn't ground into a double play, buddy!  Kevin Jepsen allows two home runs in 2/3rds of an inning?  Don't let it get to you, Kevin.  It could have been 4!

The first and second rules are very similar, but also vastly different in a very important way...

2. Get Excited About The Little Things - Normally, a lot of little things in a game can go a long way.  Say Pujols grounds out, but it gets Mike Trout to third with one out.  That's amazing, cheer loudly.  Jason Vargas gives up three runs over six innings of work in a losing effort?  The offense will get you next time, and hey, that's a quality start, keep your chin up!  That pretty much puts you in the upper echelon of Angels pitching this year.  Anything that is a positive for the Angels will stick out like a sore thumb, it won't be hard to notice.

3. Root for Former Angels on New Teams - Vernon Wells is tearing it up in New York.  Hitting over .300 and with a similarly high OBP, the change of scenery did great things for his mojo.  He may not have set the world on fire in Anaheim, but he was the nicest guy imaginable.  Speaking of impossibly nice people, Torii Hunter is hitting over .400!   Sure, Detroit may have weaseled their way into the playoffs last year in an easy division, but it's still better than rooting for the Red Sox.

4. You Get A Chance to See Our Talent Grow - The Minor Leagues are for the birds.  Why wait when you can have the future of your team here today?!  With injuries to Aybar and Alberto Callaspo, Luis Jimenez got the call from Salt Lake to join the club on Friday.  He may be a little raw, but thanks to our rough start, there is very little pressure on this kid to perform at a major league level right away.  If things continue to look rough, look for more prospects to join the team well ahead of schedule!

5. Don't Buy Tickets For Future Games Now - Just imagine the pie on your face in July when the Angels have a 31-59 record and tickets to Friday Nights game are just $2 at the door, and you paid $45 back in April!  You should still go to games, but be smart and wait for bargains!  A $2 ticket will get you in the door, and by the 7th inning you will be sitting behind the Angels Dugout!

6. Update Your Resumes - I get the feeling there will quite a few job openings at Angel Stadium in the coming months if things continue to look this bleak.  Imagine how awesome "Interim Manager" would look on your resume in a couple years!

A Tale of Two Players

It's not the most interesting thing in the world, but lets take a look at some stats, shall we?  (Stats taken from 2011 and first 10 games of 2012)

Player A: .219 Average, 27 Home Runs, 70 RBI, 94 K's, Grounded into 9 Double Plays, Makes $21 Million Dollars Per Year.

Player B: .263 Average, 22 Home Runs, 85 RBI, 136 K's, Grounded into 24 Double Plays, Makes $18 Million Dollars Per Year.

Player A gets booed by the home town fans, gets ripped apart by local and national baseball blogs, and is said to have the worst contract in sports history.

Player B is beloved by the home town fans, fans of other teams, and just about everyone in the sports media.

Now, as many of you have figured out, Player A is Vernon Wells and Player B is Torii Hunter, and yes, while Hunter hits for a higher average and has more RBI's for 3 Million fewer dollars per year, he also strikes out a ton and grounds into more double plays (almost 3 times as many).  I get that a big part of this is that Torii Hunter is an extremely nice and funny guy, who often interacts with the media and fans, while Vernon Wells is more the quiet type, and is much more reserved around the few media outlets he speaks to.

At the same time, both are getting paid like they are top 10 outfielders, while neither is putting up the numbers.  Both have won Gold Gloves for their defense, and while maybe Wells has lost a step or two, Hunter continues to have great success after making the move from Center Field to Right Field.  I do think that over the last 172 games, Hunter has been the more valuable player, and is a super nice and personable guy who deserves all the praise he gets from the fans.... but, Vernon Wells doesn't strike out as much as we think he does, hardly ever grounds into double plays, and is far less of a liability out in Left Field than, say, Bobby Abreu.

Next time you think about booing Vernon Wells when he steps up to the plate (just a few minutes after you cheered for Hunter, who ended up striking out), maybe consider that if a few more balls found some grass (or the marine layer didn't knock down a few balls headed for the seats), that Vernon Wells would have numbers incredibly similar to Hunter, who we pay almost as much to do just as average of a job at the plate.

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-Also, congrats to Jered Weaver for reaching 1000 career strikeouts last night against the Oakland A's.  That is no easy task, especially in the AL, where you don't get to face the opposing pitcher 2-3 times a game.

-Another congrats goes out to Kendrys Morales, who hit his first home run since the Walk-Off Grand Slam (and resulting celebration, which took him out of the game for nearly 2 years).  Got his first 4 RBI's of the season last night in a huge 6-0 win.

-Dan Haren looks to rebound tonight from a rough couple of outings against the same Oakland team.  He will face-off against Tyson Ross, a 24-year-old right-hander who has a career 4.18 ERA in 35 Games.

Blowpen Issues Aside, Halos Need New-Look Lineup

Yes, yes, its a bit silly to argue for a re-arranged lineup after a 9-run outing against the Minnesota Twins, but there is still so much room for improvement in that area.  I'm going to go down the lineups and examine the problems with where guys are hitting, and try to figure something else out.

Leadoff - Erick Aybar
If you have been reading this blog for longer than a few weeks, you know my sour opinion of our gold-glove shortstop.  Since his outrageous 2009 season, he has cooled off quite a bit at the plate.  A .266 Batting Average, a .313 On-base Percentage, and an average of 75 strikeouts (already has 3 this season in 5 games).  Those aren't good numbers for a lead-off hitter on an elite team (for example, Ian Kinsler has a .366 OBP and averages about 10 few strikeouts, plus more power, per season in that span), and Aybar has never been the most patient hitter, and when he tries to be, he ends up striking out even more.  The Angels don't really have a true option here (Peter Bourjos is also a bit of a free-swinger, but has better speed).

2nd - Howie Kendrick
Yeah, this is about as appropriate a spot as any in the Angels Lineup.  Kendrick has a good mix of speed, power and patience to be a perfect 2-hole hitter on this club.  It's pretty clear now he won't be winning any batting titles in the near future, but he is still a great guy to have on a club, and hitting in this spot.

3rd - Albert Pujols
The best hitter in baseball should probably hit where the best hitter on your team is supposed to hit.  Especially with the early power outage, if Pujols can just get on for Hunter and Morales behind him, this is going to be his best spot.

Clean-up - Torii Hunter (Lefties)/Kendrys Morales (Righties)
Here is my problem with the current Angels lineup, they have 3 #5 hitters, and a guy who gets paid like a Clean-up Hitter, but hits like a #8 hitter.  Hunter shouldn't be the source of power and protection for Pujols. There is nothing that strikes fear into a pitchers eyes about Hunter.  I love having him on the team, and he is a great clubhouse guy, but he should never be the clean-up guy, especially at his age.  Morales seems like the clear choice here, but his struggles against lefties can be a concern.  I say leave him in to clean-up against everyone, and on his day's off, have Trumbo DH and hit clean-up, just to see what he can do in that spot.

5th - Vernon Wells/Mark Trumbo/Torii Hunter/Kendrys Morales
Vernon Wells should never see the top half of the lineup ever again, even with his solid game offensively today.  If you've been watching him all season, you know that is going to be the exception, not the rule.  Mark Trumbo seems like a natural fit to hit 5th in any lineup with that mammoth power (and tendency to strike-out).  My problem with Hunter hitting here is that, again, he doesn't quite have the power to put any fear into the pitcher.  You can just put Morales on and wait for Hunter to strike out or ground into a double play.

6th - Mark Trumbo/Vernon Wells/Kendrys Morales
This spot can go a number of ways, the Angels haven't been getting a ton of production out of the 6 spot (with the exception of the few times Morales has been there), and that could change if you slip Torii Hunter down here.  He isn't going to win any batting titles or silver sluggers, but Hunters still a solid hitter who could give you .275/20 HR/75 RBI hitting in the right situation, I think that situation is 6th.

7th - Alberto Callaspo/Mark Trumbo/Vernon Wells
If you are going to have Callaspo in the lineup, this is the perfect place to have him.  The Angels likely want to continue to use him on a pretty regularly basis, and with good reason (Trumbo has had his fair share of struggles defensively at third base).  His bat can be a bit streaky, but knows how to hit with guys on base.  Vernon Wells should probably hit here if Callaspo is getting the night off.

8th - Chris Iannetta
Yeah, this seems pretty perfect.  Iannetta isn't going to rock anyone's world, but he has probably been our best hitter with RISP this season, and hitting 8th, there is a good chance you will have plenty of guys on base throughout the course of the season.

9th - Peter Bourjos
Again, I can't complain too much here.  He had 124 strikeouts this year, but he also can also round the bases in 14 seconds (in a home run trot from home to first, mind you).  He has the speed of a lead-off hitter, but until he learns the patience of one, he is perfectly suited in the 9th spot.

Now, in a perfect world, here is what he Angels lineup will look like when take on the Minnesota Twins again in the beginning of May:

SS - Erick Aybar
2B - Howie Kendrick
1B - Albert Pujols
DH - Kendrys Morales
3B - Mark Trumbo
RF - Torii Hunter
CF - Peter Bourjos
C - Chris Iannetta
LF - Mike Trout

Yeah, that would be pretty outstanding.  The Angels will have cut or traded Bobby Abreu, moved up Mike Trout from AAA (where he is hitting over .400 with a Home Run, a Triple, 4 RBI and gets on base in nearly half his plate appearances.), and have him in the starting lineup over Wells, who becomes the new 4th outfielder.  Bourjos moves up thanks to his ability to hit into the gaps (and occasionally out of the park) and Trout will hit 9th until he shows he can put up those all-star numbers in the bigs.

Now, if we can get a decent bullpen, we might actually be able to hold the leads that amazing lineup would put up.

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Things might be getting worse for the Bullpen.  Scott Downs, who left today because of an injury to his left ankle, and is one of our more consistent relievers, might be missing some time.  Nothing wrong internally (so it seems so far), but he was walking around with crutches.  Likely will be seeing some time on the 15-Day DL.

Looking Ahead to 2015

In October of 2015, when the Angels have finished off another World Series run (their 4th in a row), whose names will be engraved on the bottom of the trophy?  What up and coming prospects will have made an impact, and what key players are still around?  Lets take a look.

Mike Trout - By 2015, he will probably be a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate.  By then, the outfield tandem of Trout and Bourjos will have taken the league by storm.  Covering enough room to let Right Fielder Torii Hunter (see below) take most plays off, not that Hunter ever would.  He will hit for average and power, drive in runs, steal bags and take away plenty of hits with his glove.  A five-tool guy in every sense of the word, Mike Trout has become everything Angels fans wanted and more.

Jean Segura - After winning his first World Series title in 2012, Eric Aybar took his talents elsewhere through free agency after the Angels let him know that they weren't going to pay him like he wanted.  It was a clean split, and Aybar currently enjoys playing beside David Wright and Skip Schumaker in St. Louis.  This opened up a big hole that couldn't be filled by Macier Izturis every day, so the Halos called up Segura, a great defensive shortstop with a solid bat.  He doesn't blow anyone away, but establishes himself as a solid  Top 10 Shortstop for the next decade.

Alexi Amarista - He is that everyman kind of guy that every Championship team needs.  He can play wherever and whenever, and does so with a good glove and a steady bat.  The diehards love this guy because he plays for the team and not himself.  Ammy comes up with the occasional big play that cements him as the ultimate utility player for years to come.  He will eventually sign a contract to play everyday in a smaller market, but he never achieves the level of success he found in Anaheim.

Kendrys Morales - Well, did he recover?  Never reaching his true potential, Morales would stick it out for 5 more years, having some success as a DH.  While he almost never plays in the field, nor plays more than 140 games a season, Morales does have key hits in every one of the Angels Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back run of championships.  After 2015, Morales will play one more season as a Yankee, but retire and ultimately become a successful hitting coach.

Torii Hunter - After re-signing with the team in 2013 for a bargain, the 40-year-old Hunter still plays serviceable outfield, and splits some time at DH with Morales.  While not the superstar he was before, he is still beloved by the fans and contributes enough to keep himself in the lineup.  Now with 4 rings to his credit, Hunter has all but cemented his Hall-of-Fame resume, and retires peacefully back to his home near Dallas.

Jered Weaver - Without Weaver, the Angels don't accomplish half of what has been laid out before you.  Weaver keeps up the Cy Young pace, taking home the award twice in the four years, and wins nearly 100 games in that span.  Though backed up by Haren (until 2014) and CJ Wilson, Weaver is clearly the ace of the staff, winning just about every big game down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Jeff Mathis - Lol, jk.  That bum is never coming back.  Just wanted to see you get all worried there for a second.

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So clearly, this is all a big pipe dream.  I'd love to win the next four WS titles, but even the most optimistic fan knows that just isn't in the cards.  I still think we take 2 of the next 4, especially while Pujols, Haren, Weaver and Wilson are at their most effective.  I do think, that besides the four titles and multitudes of awards, these are pretty reasonable expectations of the next 4 years.  Maybe Weaver only gets to 75/80 wins, but that is still really damn impressive.  I do think Segura takes over for Aybar in a year or two, and that Hunter resigns next winter for pennies on the dollar.

As for Trout, well, half the fun of having the best prospect in baseball is watching him develop into a superstar or fall flat on his face (aka The Dallas McPherson Effect).

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Name of my first baseball book: The Dallas McPherson Effect.  It will a super futuristic Sci-Fi where all the good baseball prospects can't make the transition from AAA to the bigs.  Its up to Tom Cruise to find out why (yes, I've already cast the movie).

Carl Crawford: Double Agent

I bet Theo Epstein thinks things are all sunshine and lollipops in Boston now, but he doesn't realize what I've found out. Through something we in the business call "investigative journalism", I've discovered that Carl Crawford really did want to join the Angels, but he, Torri Hunter and Arte Moreno had a better idea than just throwing all this money at Crawford. They hatched up a plan to sabotage the Red Sox, and what better way to do that than have an Agent on the inside?!

It will start out minor. Crawford will pull little "pranks" on fellow "teammates", like hiding jock straps, putting Josh Beckett's Glove in Jell-o, crank-calling Curt Schilling's radio show, and putting itching powder in Varitek's socks. From April to May, it will just be minor inconveniences... but when the season really starts rolling, thats when the double crossing really begins.

A big four-game set against the Yankees in Fenway? Oh, bummer, John Lackey, I wonder how the Feds finally found out about all the lewd images of children on your hard-drive! An important series against the Twins? I have no idea how Adrian Gonzalez caught such an awful case of herpes...

If through all of his evil plots, the Red Sox still manage to make the postseason, Crawford will unveil the final stage in his plan. Miserable play. He will strike out looking every at bat. He will miss every catch in the outfield, and even sabotage his "teammates" from the on-deck circle. "I have no idea how the bat just slipped out of my hands... I hope Pedroia is ok..." The Red Sox will finally become wise after having been swept by the Tigers in the first round. They will ask forgiveness from Crawford, as he has all the power in his multi-million dollar deal. He will simply say "Trade me, straight up, for Erick Aybar, and you only have to pay me half"

In 2011, Carl Crawford will become an Angel legend, in another uniform. God bless that man.

Big Game Hunter Sends Fans Home Happy

After two innings of leaving the bases loaded, and some questionable managerial decisions, the Angels finally win the game on a walk-off single by Torii Hunter. It was the home finale, and what a way to send off the 2010 home season. Sure, it wasn't a celebration of another western division title, but it was still one hell of a way to go out.

The Angels now find themselves 78-80, and in a one game lead for second place over the A's, whom they swept. The Angels start a four game set in Texas to finish the season tonight. If they can manage to win 3 of 4, they will be a .500 baseball club. If they can somehow sweep the Rangers, they will be a winning baseball team. Thats right, the 2010 Angels would have a winning record.

Its a little silly to get that far ahead of ourselves, but just finishing ahead of the A's would be nice, although they are playing an equally meaningless series against the last place Mariners. Regardless, it would be nice to see the Angels end the season strong, especially for the crop of young talent that have shined over the last month.

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In Angels Nation news, we will be taking an announced hiatus (for a change), as I am getting married over the weekend. We will be back Monday, however, to recap the Rangers series, and take an in depth look at the 2010 Postseason.

Remember, you can follow us on Twitter @angelsnationnet, or on Facebook, where we are simply Angels Nation.

Angels Get Nice Win; NFL Season Kicks Off

Although the Angels are still 9.5 games out of first place, and the Rangers magic number is down to 14, the Angels got a really big win last night, outlasting the Cleveland Indians in 16 innings. After a Torii Hunter double led off the inning, Callaspo moved him the third which set up the sac fly by Jeff Mathis to win the game.

The Angels still only had 6 hits in 16 innings, and their offense looks as abysmal as ever, but wins like this could propel them back into second place, and help finish the season with a winning record. Also, Peter Borjous hit his third major league Home Run last night. I cant wait to see what this kid can do in a 162-game season with major league time under his belt.

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The NFL Season Kicks off tonight with the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints vs. the Minnesota Vikings (the team the Saints beat in the NFC Championship game to get to the Super Bowl).

I'd like to take this time to just throw out a few predictions for the upcoming NFL Season, and get some of you used to seeing football on here a bit more.

Playoff Teams:
NFC: Cowboys, Vikings, Saints, 49ers, Eagles and Packers.
AFC: Jets, Bengals, Colts, Raiders, Patriots and Steelers

NFC Championship: New Orleans Saints defeat Dallas Cowboys
AFC Championship: New York Jets defeat Indianapolis Colts
Super Bowl: New York Jets defeat New Orleans Saints

Yeah, its a homer pick, but part of the charm of the upcoming NFL Season is that no team is really a clear favorite. Every team has a number of weaknesses, and I think the Jets have the fewest weaknesses (even fewer is Mark Sanchez finally comes into his own as a great NFL QB).

Oh, and to be super cool, lets go ahead and add an NFL prediction section to this blog.

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Texas Rangers Magic Number (to Eliminate the Angels): 14
Carl Crawford Countdown: 94

NFL Opening Day Prediciton (Record: 0-0):
Saints defeat Vikings

Start of an Era?

Tonight, the starting Center Fielder for the Angels won't be Torii Hunter. It wont be Reggie Willits. Its going to be Peter Bourjos.

Perhaps the best all-around prospect in the Angels Organization, Bourjos will be playing in his first major league game against Jeremy Guthrie and the Baltimore Orioles. He will be hitting ninth in the lineup and playing in Center Field, territory usually reserved for Torii Hunter. Hunter will be moving to Right Field, and Abreu will bring his defensive ineptitude to Left Field.

Now, you may recall that about a week ago, I made a post wanting to see this young man, along with Mark Trumbo, in the lineup for the series in Baltimore. Well, we're halfway there (woah, livin' on a prayer).

Bourjos brings a contact bat, speed and, perhaps most importantly, a new look to the Angels lineup. Now, I've been wrong about prospects before, and there is currently one taking up a lot of room on the 25-man Roster who hasn't even played for a few weeks (Brandon Wood), but as an Angel fan with still a small amount of hope, Bourjos brings a new life to this team, that I hope will trickle all throughout the lineup. Its almost to the point now where if you don't perform to expectations, the team is going to have no problem replacing you with a young face from Salt Lake.

We Will NOT Go Gently Into That Good Night!

So what Texas? So what that you picked up the biggest name this trade season in Cliff Lee? He can only play every five days, and we aren't going anywhere.

I'll admit, when I heard the news that Cliff Lee had been traded to Texas, I felt incredibly defeated. I thought "Well, there is always next year...". I had lost my ways.

I chose to watch the Angel game last night anyway, and the way they responded was incredible.

Home Runs by Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter kept muscling the Angels away from the A's, but the A's kept on coming back and tying the game. It seems like last week, this offense would have just folded, let Oakland take the lead, and lose the game. But the Angels have a new fire under them.

I found myself cheering for Eric Aybar for the first time in months when he absolutely CRUSHED a ball to center field off of Andrew Bailey last night. That was the first time I have ever seen Aybar ever muscle a ball like that. You could see the fire in his eyes. You could see it in the eyes of starter Joel Pinero, all-star Torii Hunter, and the rest of the team.

Thanks to a rain delay, the Texas game actually went later into the night. Texas was up by four into the ninth inning, then the Orioles tied it, and Corey Patterson (my new favorite Oriole) came up and hit a game-tying grand slam, and the O's won it in extras.

The lead is now back down to 4.5 games, and even though Cliff Lee is likely to make his first start in Texas tonight, I have a good feeling about this.

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I was thinking about going into whom I think the Angels should/could trade for to make this a race, but the Angels are traditionally very quiet this time of year. Even if the last two seasons have brought us former all-stars (Teixeira and Kazmir) at the deadline, I don't think the Angels have the movable pieces to bring in a division changer. I hope I'm wrong, and I hope we can bring in more talent for a run at the division, but I just don't see it being very likely.

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Don't forget locals, you can still sign up for the All-Star 5k and Fun-Run tomorrow morning at the Stadium. Also, the All-Star Game Fan-Fest is still going to be open Today, Tomorrow and Monday. Possibly also Tuesday, but I'm not sure.

Oh, No, There Goes Tokyo, Go Go Godzilla!

Not really Tokyo, but Seattle is close enough, right?

It was actually an incredibly well played game on both sides. Joe Saunders wasnt as bad as I thought he would be (even Jeff Weaver won some games, lets not get too excited). Kevin Frandsen had a perfectly fine day, which was his first as an Angel.

Everyone out of the bullpen, although not fantastic, was good. Fuentes wasnt spectacular, but he was the best he has been all season. Morales hit a shot out to right field, Hunter broke out of his little slump and looked better all game.

Ichiro and Mike Sweeney tied it up for the M's, but the Bullpen held them at bay for the rest of the game. Then Godzilla got just his second RBI since this blog started (and the first in the month of May) in the top of the 10th. Its good to see him (hopefully) break out of his slump, and a visit to Seattle seems to be just what this team needed to get back in the swing of things.

A few thoughts:
- Tomorrow is Mother's Day, you know what that means? PINK BATS! Hell yeah.
- I don't think I'd be too sad if Frandsen replaced Wood at third for the foreseeable future.
- I don't think I'd be too sad if we just didn't field a Shortstop till Izturis returns from his injury.
- With Rivera getting his stroke back yesterday, and Hunter, Morales and Godzilla doing it today, could we finally be turning this season around?

Oh, and the title is a reference to a Blue Oyster Cult song called "Godzilla". Listen to it, its good.

Angels Record: 14-18
Outlook: Good, but I'm still wondering if this is just a bad team playing the worst team.

We suck again....

Now, before I chicken-little all over this blog. Many things were good today. Matt Palmer, Morales started hitting again, Hunter hits ANOTHER three-run bomb.

However, the million run 4th inning for the Tigers (I might be exaggerating that number a bit) TOTALLY killed us today. It seems like Pineiro isn't going to be this amazing savior of a pitcher, but someone who will be incredibly streaky.

He should fit in pretty well with the rest of the rotation.

Matt Palmer is my early candidate for the Nick Adenhart Award. He has come in and kept the team in the game during some pretty dire situations.

All that being said, this is going to be a LONG season. However, if the Rangers can beat the M's tonight (its currently tied, but Cliff Lee is dealing), all four teams in the American League West will be tied for first place.

Thats right, we will have played a months worth of baseball, and we will back to where we all started. Fantastic.

Record: 12-12
Outlook: The Sky is Falling, sort of.