The March 10, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes Jered Weaver’s change-up finally catching up to his fastball, C.J. Wilson throwing off a mound for the first time in weeks, and more…
The Story: Jered Weaver tops out at 80 mph in second spring start
MWAH Says: After more than a decade of waiting, the moment has nearly arrived. With just another mile per hour off Weaver’s fastball, we can finally appropriate for him the best baseball nickname ever: “Disco”. (Because he lives in the 70s, get it?) For reals, though, the prospect of Weaver attempting to get MLB batters out every fifth day with an 80-mph fastball (or worse) is mortifying. There comes a point when no amount of guile and deception can save you. Sadly, I think Weaver’s finally there.
The Story: C.J. Wilson to throw bullpen sessions on Thursday and Saturday
MWAH Says: If Wilson can get into games by next Wednesday, that’d give him time for four starts before the regular season begins. Anything later/less than that will probably lead to him starting the year on the disabled list, which pretty much rules out trading him before Opening Day.
The Story: Nick Tropeano has learned that ‘change’ is good
MWAH Says: As in, his change-up. Pedro Moura spins the tale of how Tropeano came to discover the cambio back in 2010 while pitching in the Cape Cod league.
The Story: Mike Morin turns to meditation, yoga to improve on and off the field
MWAH Says: Hot yoga sounds absolutely miserable to me, but to each their own. Whatever works.
The Story: Carlos Perez looking to break out of his shell
MWAH Says: This is a really interesting one. Coaches are actually working to make Perez less soft-spoken on the field so that he can communicate more effectively during games. Not sure I’ve ever heard of elocution lessons on a baseball field before.
The Story: See ball, field ball: Gallego helps Cron at first
MWAH Says: Seems the whole right side of the infield got some extra defensive work this winter from former Oakland A’s coaches. Johnny Giavotella got Ron Washington, C.J. Cron got Mike Gallego. Cron’s answer to how to field a grounder at the start of the offseason was “get in front of it and knock it down”. I really don’t want to know how a player get to the pros with such a blunt idea. Let’s hope things are at least a little more nuanced now.
The Story: Greg Mahle enjoying extended stay at Angels spring training
MWAH Says: Good! I hope he continues to enjoy it when he inevitably becomes the team’s go-to LOOGY later this season. Giving him extended time in the clubhouse with “the guys” will help make him more comfortable when he gets his call-up, so I say keep him around as long as possible.
The Story: Projected 2016 strengths of schedule
MWAH Says: The Angels are projected to have the second toughest schedule in the American League, according to Jeff Sullivan’s methodology. Given their mediocre projections and the state of the rest of the AL West, I’d say that sounds about right. Contention in 2016 is going to be extra tough.
The Story: Last year’s WAR with true-talent defense
MWAH Says: Tomes have been written about how using single-season defensive metrics in WAR leave it open to small-sample madness, so August Fagerstrom crunched numbers to see how integrating a “true-talent” defensive metric changes things. The result? Mike Trout gets a measly +.1 WAR bump, while others add or lose up to 2 wins from their standard total.
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