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Friday, July 25, 2003
Posted
11:38 AM
by Sean
The Angels managed to slip past the Rangers last night, 10-6. Ordinarily, that would be a joke, but in this particular instance it really did feel like dodging a bullet.
Kevin Appier threw six solid innings...well, no. He threw five solid innings and one shaky one, surrendering back-to-back shots from Hank Blalock and Alex Rodriguez in the sixth, but otherwise keeping the Rangers off-balance enough to limit them to just two other hits. Appier looked like he was getting some help from home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg, who was regularly calling the outside strike for both teams.
The offense continued to smack around Texas pictching, putting up 13 hits and keeping the game comfortably out of reach until the ninth inning. The Rangers chipped away at what had been a 9-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth until they managed to load the bases with nobody out in the ninth with the score 10-5. Blalock absolutely crushed a Troy Percival fastball a few feet foul, but Percival managed to escape the inning allowing only one of the three inherited runners to score.
The situation was somewhat atypical for Percival - even tough it was technically a save situation, since the tying run was on deck, he's used to coming in to start the ninth to protect a small lead, not in the middle of the ninth with men already on base. But Percival has been something of a different animal since coming off the DL earlier this year. His hip problem has forced him to modify his leg-kick, which initially had people worried that he would lose velocity on his fastball. That hasn't happened - he hit 98 at one point last night - but there does seem to have been a change in his command: it's improved. He gave up a walk on Wednesday in Tampa, but that was the first base on balls Percival has issued since June 11, a stretch of more than 12 innings. For a guy who's got a career walk rate of one every 2 1/3 innings, that's pretty impressive. His efficiency has also improved - since coming off the DL, he's averaging 14.67 pitches per inning, which is well below his career average of 17.5 and, in fact, is lower than any single-season number he's ever posted in that statistic. He's throwing about 4.33 pitches per batter faced, which is right in line with his career average of 4.28, so he's still working hitters the same, he's just getting the ball where he needs it to be when he's deep in the count.
I should also mention that obscured by the Goddamn Road Trip has been the fact that David Eckstein has returned to the leadoff spot and put together a string of nice games. He's hit in five straight games - four of them more than once - and is 11 for his last 20, including a stellar 4-for-5 last night (plus a walk). His July OPS is .820, laughably higher than his season OPS of .658. Good work, David.
Finally, speaking of quiet offensive performances, Garret Anderson is not the only Angel having the best offensive season of his career. Check out Bengie Molina's stats: .283/.310/.445 (.755 OPS), 10 HR, 17 2B. Nothing to make you forget Mike Piazza, sure, or even Mike Lavalliere's best year, but career highs (adjusted for games played so far) in all categories except OBP. And certainly a big improvement on last year, when his OPS of .596 and five home runs made him the only hitter in the Anaheim lineup that pitchers could reasonably expect to be an easy out.
Tonight, the Angels start a wrap-around series with the Oakland A's, who currently sit 5.5 games ahead of them in the A.L. West and wildcard races. The Angels have put themselves in a position of needing at least three of these games to even have a pulse, and may be wandering into a buzzsaw: tonight John Lackey goes against Ted Lilly, who is unquestionably the weakest link in the Oakland rotation, but the next three games will be against rookie studmuffin Rich Hardin (whom you can also read about today at Aaron's Baseball Blog), Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito. That Sunday game, in which Hudson will match up with Ramon Ortiz, should be an absolute barnburner.
The Angels managed to slip past the Rangers last night, 10-6. Ordinarily, that would be a joke, but in this particular instance it really did feel like dodging a bullet.
Kevin Appier threw six solid innings...well, no. He threw five solid innings and one shaky one, surrendering back-to-back shots from Hank Blalock and Alex Rodriguez in the sixth, but otherwise keeping the Rangers off-balance enough to limit them to just two other hits. Appier looked like he was getting some help from home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg, who was regularly calling the outside strike for both teams.
The offense continued to smack around Texas pictching, putting up 13 hits and keeping the game comfortably out of reach until the ninth inning. The Rangers chipped away at what had been a 9-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth until they managed to load the bases with nobody out in the ninth with the score 10-5. Blalock absolutely crushed a Troy Percival fastball a few feet foul, but Percival managed to escape the inning allowing only one of the three inherited runners to score.
The situation was somewhat atypical for Percival - even tough it was technically a save situation, since the tying run was on deck, he's used to coming in to start the ninth to protect a small lead, not in the middle of the ninth with men already on base. But Percival has been something of a different animal since coming off the DL earlier this year. His hip problem has forced him to modify his leg-kick, which initially had people worried that he would lose velocity on his fastball. That hasn't happened - he hit 98 at one point last night - but there does seem to have been a change in his command: it's improved. He gave up a walk on Wednesday in Tampa, but that was the first base on balls Percival has issued since June 11, a stretch of more than 12 innings. For a guy who's got a career walk rate of one every 2 1/3 innings, that's pretty impressive. His efficiency has also improved - since coming off the DL, he's averaging 14.67 pitches per inning, which is well below his career average of 17.5 and, in fact, is lower than any single-season number he's ever posted in that statistic. He's throwing about 4.33 pitches per batter faced, which is right in line with his career average of 4.28, so he's still working hitters the same, he's just getting the ball where he needs it to be when he's deep in the count.
I should also mention that obscured by the Goddamn Road Trip has been the fact that David Eckstein has returned to the leadoff spot and put together a string of nice games. He's hit in five straight games - four of them more than once - and is 11 for his last 20, including a stellar 4-for-5 last night (plus a walk). His July OPS is .820, laughably higher than his season OPS of .658. Good work, David.
Finally, speaking of quiet offensive performances, Garret Anderson is not the only Angel having the best offensive season of his career. Check out Bengie Molina's stats: .283/.310/.445 (.755 OPS), 10 HR, 17 2B. Nothing to make you forget Mike Piazza, sure, or even Mike Lavalliere's best year, but career highs (adjusted for games played so far) in all categories except OBP. And certainly a big improvement on last year, when his OPS of .596 and five home runs made him the only hitter in the Anaheim lineup that pitchers could reasonably expect to be an easy out.
Tonight, the Angels start a wrap-around series with the Oakland A's, who currently sit 5.5 games ahead of them in the A.L. West and wildcard races. The Angels have put themselves in a position of needing at least three of these games to even have a pulse, and may be wandering into a buzzsaw: tonight John Lackey goes against Ted Lilly, who is unquestionably the weakest link in the Oakland rotation, but the next three games will be against rookie studmuffin Rich Hardin (whom you can also read about today at Aaron's Baseball Blog), Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito. That Sunday game, in which Hudson will match up with Ramon Ortiz, should be an absolute barnburner.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Posted
11:13 AM
by Sean
Troy Glaus is on the 15-day Disabled List, retroactive to Tuesday. The Angels will likely use Scott Spiezio at third and bring Shawn Wooten off the bench to play first until his return. Mickey Callaway returned from the DL to take Glaus's roster spot.
Troy Glaus is on the 15-day Disabled List, retroactive to Tuesday. The Angels will likely use Scott Spiezio at third and bring Shawn Wooten off the bench to play first until his return. Mickey Callaway returned from the DL to take Glaus's roster spot.
Posted
10:10 AM
by Sean
In lieu of pointless comment on last night's game, I present the following vignette:
Jeeeesus.
In lieu of pointless comment on last night's game, I present the following vignette:
Beep BOOP BOOP BOOP Beep Beep BOOP Beep BOOP BOOP Beep.
Thank you for calling iNDemand! Please enter your five-digit ZIP Code!
Beep Beep Beep BOOP BOOP.
Thank you! To order an iNDemand product, please call your local cable company at 972-445-5555!
Beep Beep BOOP, BOOP BOOP Beep, Beep Beep Beep Beep.
Hello, and thank you for calling Comcast! For service in English, press one! Para instrucciones en Espanol, marque numero dos!
BOOP
For billing inquiries, press one! To report trouble with your service, order new service, or disconnect your service, press two! For...
BOOP
To do a bunch of stuff you don't want to do, press numbers one through three! To speak with a customer service representative, press four!
BOOP
All of our customer service representatives are currently assisting other callers. Please hang on, and we'll be with you as soon as possible.
[Hold music]
ThankyouforcallingComcastmynameisunintelligble, howmayihelpyou?
Hi. I'd like to order the half-season MLB Extra Innings package, please.
Can I have your phone number, area code first please?
Sure. It's xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you.
[Long silence]
Okay, you want the MLB Extra Innings package...that's $109. Do you want that billed in three separate installments, or all at once?
Installments, please.
Or you could pay it all at once.
Does it cost more to pay in installments?
No.
Installments, then.
Okay. You're set.
Great. And it should start instantly?
Yep. Instantly.
Great, thanks for your help.
[30 minutes later]
Beep Beep BOOP, BOOP BOOP Beep, Beep Beep Beep Beep
Hello, and thank you for calling Comcast. For service in English, press...
BOOP
For billing inquiries, press one! To report trouble...
BOOP
To do a bunch of stuff...
BOOP
HithanksforcallingComcastmynameissomebodyelse, how may I help you.
Ah, hi. I ordered the MLB Extra Innings package about half an hour ago, and it hasn't shown up as available yet. Is there something I need to do on my end to make it work?
Hang on, let me see.
[Long silence]
Okay, it should be coming on in the next five or ten minutes.
[Just then, both cable boxes reset themselves]
Great. Thanks for your help.
Thanks for calling Comcast.
[One hour later]
Beep Beep BOOP, BOOP BOOP Beep, Beep Beep Beep Beep
Hello, and thank...
BOOP
For billing inq...
BOOP
To do a...
BOOP
HithanksforcallingComcastmynameisyetathirddrone, how may I help you.
Well, I ordered the MLB Extra Innings package about an hour and a half ago, and it hasn't shown up yet. I called an hour or so ago, and the customer service person I spoke to reset my cable boxes, but now they've completely cycled through and picked up all the programming information, but still no Extra Innings package.
Can I have your phone number, area code first?
Yes, it's xxx-xxx-xxxx.
And what are the last four digits in the Social Security Number for this account?
What?
For security reasons, we need the last four digits of the Social Security Number.
Uh, xxxx.
Hmmm. Okay. I think you actually need to speak with someone in Sales. Hold on just a minute while I transfer you.
What?
[Long pause]
Hi, you've reached Comcast Sales. Our normal office hours are from 8:30 to 5:30, Monday through Friday...
Beep Beep BOOP, BOOP BOOP Beep, Beep Beep Beep Beep
Hel...
BOOP
For...
BOOP
To...
BOOP
HithanksforcallingComcastmynameisstillafourthperson, how may I help you.
Hi. I ordered the MLB Exra Innings package earlier this evening, and it's not showing up yet. This is actually my third call trying to get this taken care of...
Can you hold for a moment?
...okay.
[ten seconds later]
Okay, is it on now?
Yes. Yes it is. Thank you for your help.
No problem. Thanks for calling Comcast.
Jeeeesus.
Posted
9:44 AM
by Sean
"I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing on the mound right now."
Fabulous. Just fabulous. And that's from the team's supposed ace.
"I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing on the mound right now."
Fabulous. Just fabulous. And that's from the team's supposed ace.
Posted
9:39 AM
by Sean
Here's something interesting - thanks to a free WiFi (that's "wireless fidelity," a.k.a. connecting to a network without wires) node set up across the street, folks who bring WiFi-enabled laptops to PGE Park in Portland (home of the Padres' AAA affiliate, the Portland Beavers) can get free wireless access to the Internet. And the park's management isn't happy about it:
It's horrible, but he might actually have a point. Some perv is bound to start surfing for porn between innings, and who's gonna get sued when he gets beaten into unconsciousness with his laptop by a bunch of parents? PGE Park, that's who. Which is a shame, because I'd dearly love to be able to watch a game with instant access to splits, situational statistics, and all the rest of the data that's typically nowhere to be found in the printed program. I hope they have the best filtering software ever, and that other ballparks start thinking about setting up nodes of their own, instead of waiting for some altruistic soul to set up shop across the street.
Here's something interesting - thanks to a free WiFi (that's "wireless fidelity," a.k.a. connecting to a network without wires) node set up across the street, folks who bring WiFi-enabled laptops to PGE Park in Portland (home of the Padres' AAA affiliate, the Portland Beavers) can get free wireless access to the Internet. And the park's management isn't happy about it:
Metz said he worries Personal Telco's news release late last week -- entitled "PGE Park gets free Wi-Fi thanks to Personal Telco and Moonlight Staffing" -- implied the park management helped market the service.
"Their service might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's beyond the point," Metz said. "I just don't like the way it's been portrayed in the press release without our consent."
It's horrible, but he might actually have a point. Some perv is bound to start surfing for porn between innings, and who's gonna get sued when he gets beaten into unconsciousness with his laptop by a bunch of parents? PGE Park, that's who. Which is a shame, because I'd dearly love to be able to watch a game with instant access to splits, situational statistics, and all the rest of the data that's typically nowhere to be found in the printed program. I hope they have the best filtering software ever, and that other ballparks start thinking about setting up nodes of their own, instead of waiting for some altruistic soul to set up shop across the street.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Posted
9:30 AM
by Sean
Finally, a win. But not a convincing, thump-em-till-they-cry win, an "excuse me, would you mind if we scored just one or two more runs than you?" win. The L.A. Times story I just linked to is almost quaintly naive; "The Angels repcatured their World Series form Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays..." Nuh-uh. In World Series form, the Angels won by scoring 11, 10, 6, and 4 runs against the San Francisco Giants. Putting three on the board against Tampa means the offense is still in low gear. Five of the starters in the lineup drew oh-fers, and if it hadn't been for a solid - though sometimes adventuresome - start by Ramon Ortiz, they'd have been in trouble.
The Angels come to Texas for a short series today and tomorrow, and even the Everett-less Rangers pack more than enough offensive punch to beat the Angels if they can't start hitting.
I should also mention that Troy Glaus is day-to-day after suffering a shoulder contusion in Monday's game; he sat out yesterday and may not play today. I wish I could say that this hurts the Angels' offense. Get well soon, Troy, and then get better.
Finally, a win. But not a convincing, thump-em-till-they-cry win, an "excuse me, would you mind if we scored just one or two more runs than you?" win. The L.A. Times story I just linked to is almost quaintly naive; "The Angels repcatured their World Series form Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays..." Nuh-uh. In World Series form, the Angels won by scoring 11, 10, 6, and 4 runs against the San Francisco Giants. Putting three on the board against Tampa means the offense is still in low gear. Five of the starters in the lineup drew oh-fers, and if it hadn't been for a solid - though sometimes adventuresome - start by Ramon Ortiz, they'd have been in trouble.
The Angels come to Texas for a short series today and tomorrow, and even the Everett-less Rangers pack more than enough offensive punch to beat the Angels if they can't start hitting.
I should also mention that Troy Glaus is day-to-day after suffering a shoulder contusion in Monday's game; he sat out yesterday and may not play today. I wish I could say that this hurts the Angels' offense. Get well soon, Troy, and then get better.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Posted
12:42 PM
by Sean
"The Goddamn Baltimore Series" began to turn into "The Goddamn Road Trip" last night, thanks to a pathetic offensive performance in a 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay last night. Yestereve's opposing pitcher, Rob Bell, pitched into the eighth inning and gave up one run, lowering his earned run average to 6.14. You're welcome, Rob. Angels starter Aaron Sele, in his first "unrestricted" start since coming off the DL last month (his last three starts had been limited to five innings), pitched six complete and surrendered two earned on seven hits. He looked fairly good doing so, although it was clear he had tired significantly by the end of the sixth.
Once again, the Angels were doomed by their failure to come through in the clutch. David Eckstein led off the game with a double, but wasn't brought around. Adam Kennedy led off the third with a single and advanced to third on a two-base error, and no one could score him. Garret Anderson singled to start the fourth, and stayed there. The Angels put together some runs in the eighth and ninth, but not enough to make up for their earlier lost opportunities. They're now just a game over .500 for the season, and 8.5 behind Boston for the wild card.
At the moment, the Angels are losing again, 1-0, heading into the top of the fourth. It's tough right now to avoid thinking about what kind of roster moves to make in response to this skid; call it folding our hand on 2003 or firing the first shot for 2004 if you like. Josh at
The Monkey's Paw has pointed out that this team has a tradeable surfeit of quality relievers, and argues fairly convincingly that Ben Weber and/or Scott Schoeneweis should be dangled as trade bait. I'd add Brendan Donnelly to that list - Donnelly is having an unbelievable season, and, while it's true that he doesn't make much money and isn't arbitration eligible anytime soon, he's also 32 years old and not likely to maintain his current level of performance. There's nothing that says the Angels have to trade him, of course, and having him back next year would definitely be a plus, but I'd still be interested to see what kind of offers that 0.37 ERA garners.
Garret Anderson doubles home David Eckstein with two outs to tie the game. God bless you, Garret.
One member of the bullpen that we can be pretty confident will stay in Anaheim is Troy Percival. The Angels' closer, though considered one of the best in baseball, makes almost eight million bucks a year and is under contract through next season. Although Percival is not yet a five-and-ten guy, and thus can't veto trades, there's a very limited number of contenders out there who don't have a closer already. Kansas City, Boston, and Toronto all have terrible bullpens, but the Royals can't possibly take on Percival's salary, the Blue Jays may or may not see themselves as contending, and the Red Sox are in a pissing contest with the rest of baseball over whether one needs a closer at all. Over in the National League, Percival might have been a good fit in St. Louis, but the Cardinals look like they're committed to sticking with Jason Isringhausen as he tries to return from offseason shoulder surgery, a strategy that seems to be paying off for them. So Percival will likely been in Anaheim for at least one more year, with Frankie Rodriguez taking over closer's duties starting in 2005, or possibly late next year if Percival is traded during his walk year.
"The Goddamn Baltimore Series" began to turn into "The Goddamn Road Trip" last night, thanks to a pathetic offensive performance in a 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay last night. Yestereve's opposing pitcher, Rob Bell, pitched into the eighth inning and gave up one run, lowering his earned run average to 6.14. You're welcome, Rob. Angels starter Aaron Sele, in his first "unrestricted" start since coming off the DL last month (his last three starts had been limited to five innings), pitched six complete and surrendered two earned on seven hits. He looked fairly good doing so, although it was clear he had tired significantly by the end of the sixth.
Once again, the Angels were doomed by their failure to come through in the clutch. David Eckstein led off the game with a double, but wasn't brought around. Adam Kennedy led off the third with a single and advanced to third on a two-base error, and no one could score him. Garret Anderson singled to start the fourth, and stayed there. The Angels put together some runs in the eighth and ninth, but not enough to make up for their earlier lost opportunities. They're now just a game over .500 for the season, and 8.5 behind Boston for the wild card.
At the moment, the Angels are losing again, 1-0, heading into the top of the fourth. It's tough right now to avoid thinking about what kind of roster moves to make in response to this skid; call it folding our hand on 2003 or firing the first shot for 2004 if you like. Josh at
The Monkey's Paw has pointed out that this team has a tradeable surfeit of quality relievers, and argues fairly convincingly that Ben Weber and/or Scott Schoeneweis should be dangled as trade bait. I'd add Brendan Donnelly to that list - Donnelly is having an unbelievable season, and, while it's true that he doesn't make much money and isn't arbitration eligible anytime soon, he's also 32 years old and not likely to maintain his current level of performance. There's nothing that says the Angels have to trade him, of course, and having him back next year would definitely be a plus, but I'd still be interested to see what kind of offers that 0.37 ERA garners.
Garret Anderson doubles home David Eckstein with two outs to tie the game. God bless you, Garret.
One member of the bullpen that we can be pretty confident will stay in Anaheim is Troy Percival. The Angels' closer, though considered one of the best in baseball, makes almost eight million bucks a year and is under contract through next season. Although Percival is not yet a five-and-ten guy, and thus can't veto trades, there's a very limited number of contenders out there who don't have a closer already. Kansas City, Boston, and Toronto all have terrible bullpens, but the Royals can't possibly take on Percival's salary, the Blue Jays may or may not see themselves as contending, and the Red Sox are in a pissing contest with the rest of baseball over whether one needs a closer at all. Over in the National League, Percival might have been a good fit in St. Louis, but the Cardinals look like they're committed to sticking with Jason Isringhausen as he tries to return from offseason shoulder surgery, a strategy that seems to be paying off for them. So Percival will likely been in Anaheim for at least one more year, with Frankie Rodriguez taking over closer's duties starting in 2005, or possibly late next year if Percival is traded during his walk year.
Monday, July 21, 2003
Posted
1:57 PM
by Sean
The Angels left Baltimore yesterday bleeding from just about every orifice they've got. For whatever reason, the Orioles have had the Angels' number this year, and actually came within one game of sweeping the season series between the two teams. As it was, the rather humiliating four-game sweep in Charm City this past weekend dropped the Angels to 1-8 on the season against Baltimore, and the only silver lining is that they don't have to play them any more this year.
The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games were huge regressions for a starting staff that had finally begun to build some confidence. On Friday, Jarrod Washburn was victimized by the big inning, a five-run first that the Halos actually came back from, only to fall in the late innings when Frankie Rodriguez gave up a game-winning home run. Saturday, Kevin Appier melted like Velveeta in a blast furnace, coughing up seven earned in a mere 1.3 innings. Sunday, John Lackey was torched for six runs in five innings, four of those runs scoring in the sixth inning, when he put the first four batters on base and Frankie Rodriguez gave up a grand slam.
Meanwhile, as the Angels were suffering through what will probably, at the end of the year, be looked back on as "The Goddamn Baltimore Series," their division rivals were faring little better. Oakland dropped four in Minnesota, and Seattle lost three out of four to Kansas City, so, despite the horror show, Anaheim dropped just one game in the A.L. West race. Of course, they also lost a huge opportunity to make a move upward in the standings. Additionally, Boston and Toronto split a four-game series, meaning the Angels lost two games in the wild-card race - and fell behind Toronto again.
So, is that it? Is this, as it were, the end of Rico?
Not yet. As I mentioned, the Orioles just plain had the Angels' number this year. These things happen. For years now, the Angels have had the advantage over the Yankees, even during years in which the Angels were destined for sub-.500 seasons. The question becomes whether these four games will send the Angels into a tailspin, or whether Aaron Sele, Ramon Ortiz, and the offense can take out some of those frustrations on a bad, bad Tampa Bay team tonight and tomorrow night. Because if you can't get well against Tampa Bay...well, there's just no cure for what ails you.
The Angels left Baltimore yesterday bleeding from just about every orifice they've got. For whatever reason, the Orioles have had the Angels' number this year, and actually came within one game of sweeping the season series between the two teams. As it was, the rather humiliating four-game sweep in Charm City this past weekend dropped the Angels to 1-8 on the season against Baltimore, and the only silver lining is that they don't have to play them any more this year.
The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games were huge regressions for a starting staff that had finally begun to build some confidence. On Friday, Jarrod Washburn was victimized by the big inning, a five-run first that the Halos actually came back from, only to fall in the late innings when Frankie Rodriguez gave up a game-winning home run. Saturday, Kevin Appier melted like Velveeta in a blast furnace, coughing up seven earned in a mere 1.3 innings. Sunday, John Lackey was torched for six runs in five innings, four of those runs scoring in the sixth inning, when he put the first four batters on base and Frankie Rodriguez gave up a grand slam.
Meanwhile, as the Angels were suffering through what will probably, at the end of the year, be looked back on as "The Goddamn Baltimore Series," their division rivals were faring little better. Oakland dropped four in Minnesota, and Seattle lost three out of four to Kansas City, so, despite the horror show, Anaheim dropped just one game in the A.L. West race. Of course, they also lost a huge opportunity to make a move upward in the standings. Additionally, Boston and Toronto split a four-game series, meaning the Angels lost two games in the wild-card race - and fell behind Toronto again.
So, is that it? Is this, as it were, the end of Rico?
Not yet. As I mentioned, the Orioles just plain had the Angels' number this year. These things happen. For years now, the Angels have had the advantage over the Yankees, even during years in which the Angels were destined for sub-.500 seasons. The question becomes whether these four games will send the Angels into a tailspin, or whether Aaron Sele, Ramon Ortiz, and the offense can take out some of those frustrations on a bad, bad Tampa Bay team tonight and tomorrow night. Because if you can't get well against Tampa Bay...well, there's just no cure for what ails you.
Posted
10:55 AM
by Sean
Baseball Prospectus's analysis of the Angels' situation pretty much agrees with mine: the rotation has been shaky, but the offense - and the middle infielders in particular - has been to blame as well. And I think we can officially add Troy Glaus to the list of underperforming Angels now. Actually, let's not. "Underperforming" is too nice a word. Glaus has been sucking like the proverbial Electrolux. He's got eight hits in his last fifty at-bats, and has driven in five runs in his last fourteen games while hitting immediately behind Garret Anderson, fifth in the lineup. And he looks terrible at the plate. I didn't get a chance to see the games on Saturday and Sunday - there weren't carried on the MLB Extra Innings package - but on Thursday and Friday he appeared listless at the plate, waving the bat informally at balls low and away that he didn't have a prayer of reaching. Friday in particular, it was obvious that he just couldn't stop himself from swinging at the low-and-out slider.
Baseball Prospectus's analysis of the Angels' situation pretty much agrees with mine: the rotation has been shaky, but the offense - and the middle infielders in particular - has been to blame as well. And I think we can officially add Troy Glaus to the list of underperforming Angels now. Actually, let's not. "Underperforming" is too nice a word. Glaus has been sucking like the proverbial Electrolux. He's got eight hits in his last fifty at-bats, and has driven in five runs in his last fourteen games while hitting immediately behind Garret Anderson, fifth in the lineup. And he looks terrible at the plate. I didn't get a chance to see the games on Saturday and Sunday - there weren't carried on the MLB Extra Innings package - but on Thursday and Friday he appeared listless at the plate, waving the bat informally at balls low and away that he didn't have a prayer of reaching. Friday in particular, it was obvious that he just couldn't stop himself from swinging at the low-and-out slider.