Stop me if you heard this before: Justin Upton led off the game with a home run and gave the Angels an early lead. Hot Pocket likes getting first dibs.
The Angels kept on pounding away and the Rangers Dane Dunning. An 8 at bat, 5 run innings was highlighted by Taylor Ward’s three run bomb to make the score 5-0.
But with your 2021 Angels you have to wonder if 5 runs in the first would be enough. The mercurial Griffen Canning was on the hill and looked sharp in the top half of the first. Would we get good Griff?
Griff gave up a solo shot to Adolis Garcia, his 16th of the year, but otherwise kept the Rangers off the board early in part due to some great defense behind him.
How often does a guy make a great play with the glove and follow it up with a big hit? Seems like it happens often and today Anthony Rendon cracked a double to left to score Shohei Ohtani from first and extend the lead to 6-1. Rendon then came in to score on Juan Lagares second hit of the day. 7-1 Halos bottom of the fifth.
Taylor Ward continued his hot streak knocking in two more runs on a liner to right, pushing the lead to 9-1 om the home half of the fifth inning.
But did we get a good Griff? The answer through five innings would be yes, but the wheels started to come off in the sixth. He gave up a leadoff triple followed by a two run bomb and the lead shrank to 9-3. But he hunkered down and retired the next three in a row.
Griff hit the benchmark for a quality start. 6 innings, 3 runs, 7 Ks. I’d say we got a pretty good Griff.
Enter the Angels bullpen and buckle up. Steve Cishek came in for the seventh inning. He’s been pitching well lately and worked around a couple two out baserunners. 9-3 Angels.
Tony Watson followed that up with a mini meltdown and the lead dropped to 9-5. Beyond the two runs, Watson left two runners on with only one out in the 8th.
Angels fans are all too familiar with this ride. Extra arms used, extra stress. Michael Mayers didn’t wait for Halloween to get scary. He let those two runners score and one of his own. 9-8 Angels.
In a game that was once in hand at 9 to 1, Joe Maddon had to go to his closer in the 8th inning. Iglesias escaped on a grounder to hold the lead.
But why stop the drama there? After a scoreless bottom of the 8th by the Angels, the Rangers started off the 9th with a single. Tying run on first. Iglesias gets a K swinging. Iglesias K’s Gallo looking. K swinging to close the save.
Take a breath. Angels win. 9-8.
Look at the Angels, winning games, trying to suck me back into caring again! I won’t!
Can we play Texas every day? Please.
It seems like the wins are coming a lot harder now for Soggy Joe.
https://twitter.com/Maddonrespect90/status/1397701548449406986
When we enter the 8th inning with a lead…
Pujols Ks to lose to lose the game. Even when he’s gone he’s still affecting our standings.
Pujols is the only person who doesn’t realize yet that he is finished.
Have you heard Dodger fans? He’s going to win MVP
Funny!!
Wait until his Albert’s numbers are even worse, then Bellinger and Seager come back. Albert will only hit as a PH, and maybe only against lefties, and then: will he retire? Will he ride out the season? He’s sooooo expendable when those two guys come back. It will be interesting to see how he responds to reality.
His average slipped below .200
.198
his average for the Dodgers now is exactly .200 and since his average for us was .198 and he had 4 times a many ABs for us then it works out to the same thing, .198. I’m enjoying the OPS+. For us it was 69, for the Dodgers it *was* 66 entering tonight’s game when he went 0 for 2 with 2 Ks so the LAD number is now probably 64 or something.
Yes, he did K as the final out. But it is a bit unfair to say he “lost the game.”
The Doyers were trailing 5-2 and had been outplayed most of the game. If it had been a 1 run game, with the Dodgers trailing 3-2 and the bases were loaded with only one out and he rolled into a DP, then I think you could say he “lost the game.” But not in that 5-2 situation.
Lemme have my joke, Jack. 9 years of pain buys me that at least.
He could have tied it 😅
Fair enough.
I can understand. He certainly was responsible for a lot of Angel fan disappointment over the years…
Sorry Jack. I’m going to have to support Mia on this one.
I gave in to her wish. Venom towards Albert is understandable in these parts….
To be accurate, we can say he lost 5.2% of the game!
I like your take…Albert blew it! Suck it Doyers!
So we wanted to go .500 for the month of May when the month started and before Trout popped his calf. Adding the April 30 game (game one of a three game series) and the last game of the SF series on June 1st, that’s 32 games. We’ve played 26 of them so far and have a record of 10-16. I think 4-2 over the next 6 would be the best to hope for to make this the month that didn’t kill us (14-18).
Win these last 5 in May and the team is back to .500. That would be an amazing accomplishment.
Especially since those 5 games are vs the As and Giants
Being 4 games under .500 on June 1 isn’t a death blow, but with 6 games against Oakland and SF, that could easily be 7-8 games under and I’d say it’s really over, especially with 4 games head – to- head. Personally I feel very confident it’s already over and they need to blow up the team but I guess they can pretend for another month, barring a bad 6 days coming up.
Celebrate the win!
MANLY MEN
TIGHT tights!!!
That was on the other day, and I watched it with Miss UCSB.
So you’re telling there’s a chance.
Season ain’t over yet!
Ok hear me out. If we were to sweep the A’s. Big IF, I get it I get it. BUT IF WE DID… we’re only 2 back in the division. 🙂
(Assuming the other teams like the Asterisks don’t get hot. But we’re being optimistic here lol)
When does a win feel like a loss? When LAA almost blows another huge lead. Again. Thanks for the great BP Minisian.
Jup Leadoff Hitter!
Do we give Maddon credit?
CERTAINLY
I’m here for the Dancing Robot !!
The first 5 innings of this game were so fun to watch.
The last 4, especially the 8th, were torture.
The first 5 innings:
The last 4 innings:
Holy Diaper-Checks, Batman!
Since Callaway has officially been let go, can we now go get a real pitching coach?
It doesn’t look too promising.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t a team need pitching before it can have someone coach it?
I’ll disagree. Let’s call it what it is, the worst staff in baseball. With that, shouldn’t they find a more experienced coach in an attempt for improvement? I’m also on record, no idea who is available or who we should hire. He was hired as a first time bullpen coach. If PC are as random as the staffs they coach, then go raid the Rays, Doyers, Cleveland, few others and find the best available. It least they’ve worked in a successful system.
We know many of these guys are gone after this year if not sooner. Might as well have the new PC on board now, let him at least get familiar with the few guys that will be back next year.
Dom Chiti should be the pitching coach. The dude has been around the block and then some.
Sounds good to me. Or maybe they are deploying him in the front lines “The Bullpen”. Going to need a strong general to keep an eye on the Hanson Brothers.
He has experience, no doubt. He’s hired.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Chiti
Jered Fuckin’ Weaver.
But damn, it takes a six run cushion to survive the Minasian Monstrosity they call a bullpen. I can think of better two syllable terms that begin with “bull” to describe that stinking mass of excreta.
The DiPoto Four, Eppler’s Dumpster and now “the Minasian Monstrosity!”
trAdition
Without Iglesias down there we lose this game.
I think we NEED to sign Iglesias to an extension!!!!
DFA Mayers, Watson, Claudio and Cishek. Replace them with ANY AAA pitcher recommended by Turks Teeth.. The replacements CANNOT do any worse than this parade of clowns.
I have the same grievance, but suspect there are plenty of AAA pitchers would could, and would, do even worsier.
Several half-assed pitchers have cleared waivers in the last week or so. Either Perry intends to win with what we have, or he’s looking at trade candidates. Is it possible we could find a magical trade like dumping Frieri for Grilli who then improves? (Not holding my breath)
If any of those guys who cleared waivers were slightly more than half-assed…I’m thinking 60% of a full ass…then they might have warranted a try, I’ll give ya that.
It’s unforgivable if a reliever who’s got 70% of an ass wasn’t picked up off waivers. I mean, you need guys in the pen who are near full-assed if you want to sniff at the playoffs. I believe I’m paraphrasing Bill James here.
True, but that’s why I said “recommended by Turks Teeth”; not just any AAA pitcher. I trust his judgment more than most of the personnel in the Angels organization.
I hear ya, angelslogic. And ya know what? I trust Turk’s Teeth more, too.
I actually like Chishek but I’m Not sure why. He has been much better lately.
But the Angels have a pitcher at SL right now who has dominated all of the competition this year including a cup of coffee with the big club this year. Jose Quijada has pitched in 6 combined games 9.2 innings has 17 strikeouts only given up 2 hits and hasn’t given up a run at any level.
Not sure why we sent him back down. We need find a spot for him in the pen when he’s eligible to return on Saturday (or sooner if someone on the big club becomes “injured”)
D-Cell coming up BIG!
https://youtu.be/qmleTfkpHcA
He looks more reliable in those tight save situations contrary to how vulnerable he looks occasionally in those non-save situations.
He’s used to closing games — that means save situations, not protecting deficits in the 8th.
completely ridiculous, in my opinion. but somehow he has significant splits in save/non-save situations in his career, so I guess we can infer that something is different about his mindset
the smart thing to do, imo, is to make someone else the closer. once he has the mindset that he doesn’t have a defined role, you can employ him in different situations more effectively. hemming a guy in where he can’t even come in in tie games because it’s not a “save situation” … i don’t like that at all
Ridiculous is strong, actually. It is what it is. Like if we can’t change him, we can accept it. And put him in situations to succeed so we can put the team in situations to succeed. It’s not his fault.
The mental component to bullpen pitching. Sounds like that could be a good book, then made into a movie. A psychological thriller starring Charlie Sheen.
And the secret is tiger blood?
Winning!
Good on you for coming back and softening your take/position. A lot of people would not be willing to do that. It shows flexibility.
Similarly, I had praised Joe a while back for doing the same thing. I think he strayed from it one time, but since Raisel made those comments in early April about not being comfortable pitching when behind Joe has not done it. And I give him credit for being flexible and putting the player “in the best position to succeed.”
That is after all a large part of the manager’s job.
Haha, not really softening imo, just understanding.
I’ll try to do a better job articulating.
First of all, I am making the assumption that he has this mindset because he has been given the role of closer. I don’t really like the fact that he’s better in save situations than non-save situations, but I accept it. Therefore, if he is not named the “closer,” he will not have this mindset.
If he is not named the closer and still has this mentality…I don’t know what to do about that. You gotta pitch well regardless of when you come into the game. I would be more annoyed about this.
If he is not named the closer and is now pitching equally well in all situations, I would be extremely happy. Now you deploy him in high leverage situations, making sure to avoid putting him in save situations so his “closer” mentality doesn’t get triggered. Now you can use him in the 7th, 8th innings, etc. or the 9th inning when it is tied.
In my opinion, this last situation is more beneficial for the team than naming him the closer and only having him come in during a save situation.
——————————
But as I said in the Gamethread, our bullpen is all the same and usage doesn’t matter because we don’t have any outstanding relievers, and the only decision that truly matters is when to pull the starter, so what I just said above can be ignored.
Keeping him as the closer or not likely will have much less than a 1 win impact on our season, if at all. It’s not like he’s some “can’t miss” relief stud. It won’t affect us. So the Angels can do whatever they like here. =)
At the very least, you should be sharing this Raisel and probably Sloppy Joe. Well said.
I see your point about important high-leverage situations, but I think you go waaay too far when you suggest intentionally keeping him OUT of save situations so “his closer mentality doesn’t get triggered.” Now THAT is ridiculous.
You had it right before. You are paying him to be a closer. It is not unfair for him to expect to be deployed in a way in keeping with his job description:
Would I like him to pitch equally well in all situations? Sure. But that is not what we’re dealing with. We are not paying him to hold a 5-3 deficit in the 7th and 8th. A lot of other guys can do that.And frankly, I don’t want to burn up his innings and weekly availability by putting him in those spots.
Yes, of course there will be times in the long season where it would behoove us to be able to use him differently. But I feel we should keep those to a minimum. The numbers back it up.
What are you talking about? I’m pointing out that if we had two options, and these were the defined rules for the options, I would take the option where he is not a closer.
Of COURSE I would love for him to not be the closer and still be able to save games. But I don’t want his performance to suffer in the 7th or 8th innings when we’re up 1 or 2 runs or in the 9th inning when we’re tied just so we can use him for one “save situation” in the 9th. That is what I mean.
I don’t know if this “so his closer mentality doesn’t get triggered” will happen or not
I am pointing out that if these are the set defined options that I just arbitrarily made up, I would prefer for him not to be the closer.
Respectfully disagree. I am happy with him being the closer. I can’t expect one guy to be Mr. Everything in the bullpen.
As for tie games, I have not checked the stats but memory seems to tell me that he does okay, but I am not positive. Just going off memory… It seems the REAL problem is bringing him in when we are behind. That is the big drop-off.
But comparing that to other closers it is not unrealistic to limit usage in this way. I mean, I can’t remember ever seeing Chapman brought in when the Yankees were trailing… Or Hader since his ascension. Or most of the other top closers. It is just not done that often….
So, I am not sure why you expect our guy to be different from so many others…
I respect your opinion.
He’s not as good as those guys (also, you can argue that those guys are being misused, but that’s a completely different discussion). If those guys can only pitch in save situations, whatever. They’re elite, let them do what they want; if something goes wrong for them situationally, and they’ll implode, whatever. Stick to save situations. Iglesias isn’t there.
in a small sample size, hitters are 3 for 6 with 1 walk and 1 HR in tie game situations vs. him this year.
Frankly, I don’t care too much what he decides his mentality is or how the team uses him, because I’ll never change anything in real life.
I am just pointing out, within the very specific constraints I defined, given certain conditions, how I would use him. And this specific example is not really that applicable to others. And you clearly disagree! And that’s fine!
My thought process started from me being annoyed with him to me being annoyed with the team to me, given these constraints, thinking how I would optimize him. You clearly would optimize him a different way, which I accept.
This isn’t anything major, and I think we’ve made all our arguments, so I’ll drop it for tonight.
I have it as a Draw.
Used the 10-Point Must scoreing System
HTE – 114
JF – 114
Raisel pitched in the 8th last Friday (non save) down 6-4. That became 8-4 after 1 inning, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 HRs.
You’re making my point for me.
😉
I am! But I’m so confused watching this bullpen. He’s right, your right! I think half the people here could do a better job of drafting, assembling, coaching our pitching staff……somebody make it stop!
I’d give anything just to slightly below average!
SWEEP!
A scary one but a SWEEP
Three in a row!!
hopefully tomorrow too. Do we play tomorrow?
Yeah, Ohtani. Hopefully tomorrow, too.
I’d like shufflebot to hang around for a bit now
Yes !!!!!
We see the robot. Finally !!!
Yah for the Shufflebot!