A few weeks ago I typed out a glowing Weekend Links about an 8 win 4 loss Angels team that had won its first 4 series of the year. Had they kept that going, the team would have won 108 games and there would be much joy in the land.
Since that column the Angels have reeled of a 4 and 13 record, which would net a year end win total of 38.
We all knew the Angels weren’t a 108 win team. But I highly doubt the Angels belong on the list of MLB’s most prolific losers. No, the true level of this Angels squad is in that vast chasm between the projections of two small sample sizes and is becoming a little more evident.
67 wins, 95 losses. That is the pace the 12 and 17 Angels are on pace to accomplish this season. When the staff here looked into the CtPG crystal ball we predicted win totals ranging from 69 to 79 so the team is only slightly under performing our expectations.
Numbers in baseball tend to even themselves out. Notoriously streaky Taylor Ward’s year end numbers are a prime example of this. Over his last 16 games he’s been atrocious at the plate to the tune of a .150/.203/.350 slash line with 20 K’s in 60 at bats. I’d expect him to have another good streak again fairly soon.
Kyren Paris got off to a crazy hot start and has cratered. Since the team left Tampa Bay he’s gone .111/.167/.156 with 24 K’s in 45 at bats. The jury is still out on him offensively. However, in ways that deserve merit he’s doing quite well.
I’ve seen him sign for kids at Spring Training as well. Hopefully his bat lights up as much as that little girl’s smile and he becomes lots of kids’ favorite player.
As for the big bat the Angels used to have in their lineup, Mike Trout still isn’t hitting and now is hobbled by injury. After being listed as available last night, he was transferred to the IL.
The Angels say it’s nothing serious so you know it’s definitely serious.
One guy who hit all week last week was Zach Neto. I’m going with his game winning home run last Thursday as our Highlight of the Week although his entire game on Saturday was one big highlight. This was the last game our Angels won and I was there to see it. So, winner winner chicken dinner.
The team site took a look why Zach Neto hasn’t missed a beat at all.
Stealing from links from yesterday’s comment sections, the Sports Business Journal took a look at why all the redevelopment is happening at the Honda Center and not at the Big A.
Notorious ass hat Tommy Pham is a complete ass hat and it really shows when you compare it to how Mike Trout handled a far worse situation.
And in continuing the tradition of looking to the future, Walbert Urena had himself a ballgame this week. 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB and his stuff is both nasty and starting to consistently find the strike zone.
It is a little early to add Walbert to the Caden Dana/George Klassen list of getting MLB ready prospects, but he’s starting to make me dream.
From around baseball:
They’ve identified the man who fell at the Pirates game. Just prior to falling he had taken off his shirt and poured beer on himself. I really hope he’s OK and let’s add this incident to the near infinite amount of others in which alcohol preceded a really bad situation.
If you think our April sucked, the Rockies would kill for it. Look at some of the dubious stats that define their horrible start.
This piece covers three key stories across the league. I never thought Clase would lose his closer’s role and there are segments on both bahstun and the Angels.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. This is a boxing fan’s wildest dream weekend with a stacked card from Times Square tonight, a meh Canelo fight with a nice under card tomorrow, and Monster Inoue on ESPN Sunday night after the Dodgers vs. Braves games. If you haven’t seen Inoue, I highly recommend it.
My Angels team plays the Phillies and I’m so proud of these kids. They are playing so much better than they were at the beginning of the year. We set a new team high for runs on Wednesday and the kids are genuinely cheering for each other. We’ll be at the real Angels game next Wednesday as the team gave our league a ton of free tickets.
