Just keep winning series’. That should be the motto for this team. The Angels brass can’t seem to get it’s act together, and it cost them Jerry Dipoto, but if the team on the field can’t just continue to take two out of three from each team they face, then it won’t matter what happens behind the scenes; it won’t matter what happens in the luxury box directly behind home plate; it won’t matter what happens in Mike Scioscia‘s office. The players on the field will put themselves in a position to win if they just keep finding ways to win ballgames.
At least, that is my own personal opinion. The Angels could really use a new bat to slot into Matt Joyce‘s place (who surprised us in May with a .799 OPS), but with Bill Stoneman now taking the reigns as interim General Manager, and his track record for hoarding, I foresee very little in the way of adding players before the July 31st trade deadline. The Angels will simply have to win with what they got. And as painful as it can be to watch this team, they have been doing just that.
Andrew Heaney is the truth
OK, maybe he’s not the truth, but he’s damn good version of a half-truth at least. Over 13 innings so far, he has allowed six hits, two runs and he has struck out 12 hitters. He has a 1.38 ERA so far and a 2.93 FIP. So even when adjusting some of his numbers, he has still been very good. I had guessed in the last podcast that Heaney would be good for his first start, but that his second start would be rocky. Color me pleasantly surprised. His three walks point to his advanced control and he is looking every bit like the future mid to front-end starter that his projections had him pinned as. It is almost as if Dipoto knew what he was doing when he traded Howie Kendrick for Heaney in the offseason. Weird, huh?
We don’t talk about Mike Trout enough
Mike Trout, after being merely mediocre in May with an .839 OPS, is back to being his merely great self again. All he did against the Yankees was go 4-10 with two walks, two home runs and a stolen base. He capped off an incredible June which saw him post a slash line of .320/.412/.660, and practically won the first game of the series all be himself when, on top of hitting a home run, he also made three sensational catches in the outfield. Two of which combined to save at least three runs when he robbed Chris Young of surefire doubles. It’s almost as if we probably shouldn’t worry about anything just because of Trout’s presence.
Pitching, pitching and more pitching
The last time the Angels staff gave up more than three runs in a game, it was on June 23rd to the Houston Astros. Since then, the Angels have gone 5-2, the staff has allowed more than two runs twice in those seven games. If the Angels do have a surplus of anything in their system right now, it is starting pitching. But it has gotten to the point of “who would you actually trade?” Sure, the common choice is C.J. Wilson. The guy can just be unbelievably frustrating at times. But he can also be very good. The only pitcher that I think the Angels should entertain the idea of trading is Jered Weaver, and yes, it pains me to say that. As of this moment, even with him on the DL, he is the starter that I trust the least. Of course, Matt Shoemaker hasn’t been the greatest, but he is a fifth-starter. I expect nothing from that spot.
Jered, on the other hand, is pitching most often against the opposing team’s best starter. And that plan worked great three years ago. Now, it’s just asking to blow up in the team’s face. He will be back after the All-Star break, and I’d bet anything that Mike Scioscia will try to slot him at the top of the rotation regardless of how ineffective he has been this season. But, they can’t trade Weave. Not just because he is a mainstay, and not just because he hasn’t been very good so the return on him would be uninspiring, but because he has a price tag of $18M this year and $16M next year. The Angels will almost certainly have to weaken their current staff in order to strengthen their offense. And I don’t see any players available that are enough of an upgrade offensively to offset the talent that they would lose in the rotation. Man, I bet it’s really hard to be a General Manager. It’s almost as if people should have cut Jerry Dipoto some slack during his tenure.
The Angels have an off-day today before starting a three-game set in Texas tomorrow, and they will get to see their old buddy Josh Hamilton. Dear pitchers, if I may make a suggestion. Don’t throw anything straight. Just saying.
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