The season is barely more than a month old, but the Angels are off to their worst start in 20 years thanks to a 16-21 record that places them 4.5 games back in the AL West. Even worse, their -47 run differential is last in the AL, and suggests they should have even fewer wins than they actually do. Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times caught up with GM Tony Reagins, who indicated that he's not quite ready to overhaul the roster.
"It's concerning when you're not playing well, but we believe the players we have assembled have the capability to play at a much higher level," Reagins said. "We have to get guys into their games, and that hasn't happened yet."
"Right now I'm not looking to make wholesale changes to this club," he said. "We're looking to get the guys that we have here to play the way they're capable of. If we do that, we'll be fine."
Reagins did acknowledge having "a couple of" conversations with other general managers about other players, but he maintained that it was still too early to assess the possibility of a trade.
The Halos are currently without Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson, and Maicer Izturis, all of whom are on the 15-day DL, and Brandon Wood is providing almost nothing (.165/.181/.233) at the hot corner. They have the dreaded combination of a high team ERA (4.83) and a low team OPS (.697), but if players like Hideki Matsui, Juan Rivera, Joe Saunders, Joel Pineiro start performing like they have in the past, things could turn around quickly.
Saunders and Pineiro *are* performing like they have in the past. Too much of their rotation was based on expecting guys to live up to their best years.
Pineiro is doing just fine. His ERA is ugly but his xFIP is right where it should be (3.58). His BABIP is 40 points higher than his career norm. Once that regresses to normal levels you are looking at an ERA in the mid to high 3’s. Pineiro is the least of my worries.Saunders needs to improve slightly. His xFIP is at a career high right now. When he settles down (last nights CG shutout helps) his ERA will end up in the mid 4’s. I’ll take that as a number 5 starter.Weaver is dealing. Santana is still a question mark. Kazmir has been awful. Out of everyone, Kazmir is the guy I’m most disappointed in. He’s pitching well below career norms and the projection system. One can only hope he turns it around. He’s been tweaking with his mechanics – hopefully he improves.Then you get to the hitters. Look, we don’t need career years. We need guys to hit to their potential. The entire team is hitting under any reasonably expectations (exceptions for maybe Hunter and Morales). Finally, no team in baseball has played a harder schedule. The Angels have experienced the perfect storm of a tough schedule, awful playing, and some key injuries. There’s no two ways about – the Angels have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. As a fan I can only hope that they right the ship. No reason why this team can’t win 90 games. They played through similar poor stretches and in the recent past and have ended up in the post-season.
If you think the Angels have played a tough schedule why don’t you check out the Yankees schedule….they’ve played 14 games at home and 22 on the road. The Angels have played the opposite, 22 at home 14 on the road.
If you think that’s the definition or best measure of a difficult schedule, why don’t you … I don’t know, think again. I’ll take a game on the road against a bad team over a game at home against a good one any day.
If you think that’s the definition or best measure of a difficult schedule, why don’t you … I don’t know, think again. I’ll take a game on the road against a bad team over a game at home against a good one any day.
The Angels will still win their division. There hitting is playing WAY below career norms. The only thing that REALLY REALLY needs fixing is their bullpen. It is possibly the worst bullpen the team has seen in its history.
The Angels offseason moves, or lack thereof, clearly made the team more vulnerable in 2010. However, I agreed with the team’s decision to not overpay to retain Lackey and Figgins, and I consider Matsui and Guerrero to be awash at this point. The 2010 Angels get to see what they have in their 5 deep rotation, with Wood at 3B, and Rivera in LF for a full year, while also getting rid of GMJ. This should put the Angels in a great position in free agency after the year. They’ll be able to add a good 3B if Wood can’t cut it and they’ll be primed to go after one of the top tier outfielders in Werth or Crawford. All in all, I feel the Angels are using 2010 as a transition year, making themselves more vulnerable but setting themselves up to be much better in 2011 and beyond.
There is no reason for them to unload. They have a team capable of coming back and getting on a hot streak
There is not a reason to panic
There is no reason for them to unload. They have a team capable of coming back and getting on a hot streak
There is not a reason to panic
Just wanted to mention that their -47 run differential doesn’t mean anything. You can’t really say they should have fewer wins than they do because year after year the Angels defy all projections and “supposed to win” reasoning.
One or two years can be a fluke and the argument can be made, but when it is done consistently it is just the norm for the team.