The list of injuries so far for the Angels in the first month of the season is atroscious. Starters Weaver, Aybar, Pujols, Callaspo, and now Borjous have all missed time for one thing or another. Pujols continues to show up in the lineup but we all know that heel has yet to heal. Even with all these players missing time, Trout, Hamilton, and Trumbo are all still healthy and in the lineup. You would have to think it's still one of the most powerful lineups in the bigs. Additionally, Pujols is still hitting 3rd.
If the big hitters in the lineup were down and on the DL, it would be up to the scrappy end of the lineup to step up and provide the offense to support the pitching staff. But what do you say if it is the scrappy guys in the lineup who are out? Yes, they provide something the backups can't, but all four of your 30+ home run hitters are still going back to back to back to back in the lineup every day. In the three losses to Seattle, the Angels combined for a total of three runs. I can go into the percentages of RISP, strikeouts-to-walks, etc, but the one stat that made me shake my head was on Sunday, when every single man in the Angels lineup had strucken out. Not one player who came to the plate that did can not say they did not strike out. The Angels have always had an aggressive approach, but it's starting to get rediculous. Only three players have more than 10 walks in roughly 100 at-bats while five of them have more than 20 strikeouts. If you like math, go to the stat page and do the numbers for each starter. What are they on pace for if they get 550 at-bats? Here's a fun one: Hamilton strikes out six times for every time he reaches base for free. Pujols the only positive starter with more walks than strikeouts. Ianetta is okay at 11BB and 9K's. With all the career numbers, this is why Pujols is such a great hitter, even with the heel.
Wilson, Blanton, Vargas, and the bullpen pitched fabulous against the Mariners. For a team who is doing what they can to get an offense, the pitching staff for the Angels continue to show positive signs. The staff will pitch great for four days, then have two bad days and repeat. However with that supposedly being the weakness of this team, I personally will take four out of six. That's winning two three game series. No starter is completely dominating, but that is Weaver's job. They are pitching well enough to give their offense a chance to win games, which is what they are paid to do.
I am throwing Monday's game out the window because Hamilton and Trout combined for 1-16. Additionally Roth needs to go. Everyone who makes it to the bigs has talent and deserves to be commended for their efforts to get this far. However not everyone deserves to stay. 19 innings is an ugly game from both sides. The way this early season has gone, of course the Angels weren't going to come out on top. The last day of April was just as hard as the Angels had another tough loss to Oakland.
Trout continues to sink down in offense. I love Trout just as much as the next baseball fan and have nothing but respect for the next Mickey Mantle, but something is wrong at the plate. I can't quite put my finger on it because every at-bat has a different feel to it, but it's never a comfortable feel like it was in the middle of last season. Last year he was neck and neck with a triple crown winner. This weekend, Miguel Cabrera came up in the pouring rain with two runners on and had a 3-0 count when the Tigers were up 5-3. There was a feeling of "he's gunna swing, he's got this." A feeling of comfort. The next pitch he hit a home run 10 rows deep into right field. Cabrera just made it look so easy, so relaxed and confident at the plate. Easy approach, easy swing. That's an at-bat anyone can learn from. That's why he is the triple-crown and MVP champ.
Saturday Angels traded away Chris Snyder to Baltimore for LHP Rob Delaney. I completely disagree with this trade although I understand for bullpen needs. Snyder was beaten out by Conger this spring in good competitive competition. Conger more than deserving, had Snyder sent to AAA Salt Lake. Currently Snyder is hitting .342. Rob Delaney has hardly any major league experience and has struggled so far this year. I don't like the trade because I feel like Snyder is more valuable than what they received out of the deal. I hope Delaney proves me wrong when he gets his chances.
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