The The 2007 Angels Angels of Anaheim (VLAD'S IMPALERS)

man, they gonna win 95-100?

Heh if they do, we aren't catching them.

Although Kendall's OPS is above .500 SO WATCH OUT MOTHERFUCKERS!

BP had a good article about how the Angels' offense is powered by batting average. That is, if you look at the Scoscia-era Angels, their best offensive years happened when they got more base hits, but didn't necessarily get on base more or hit for more power.

The trouble is, that shit got EXPOSED badly in the 2005 playoffs against Chicago. Some guys went into a slump and were swinging at everything against really good starting pitching. Nobody would work the count or take a walk and the entire team looked hopeless at the plate. So I'm not sold on the Angels at all.

Angels better be ready for the streaking Astros!

"The trouble is, that shit got EXPOSED badly in the 2005 playoffs against Chicago. Some guys went into a slump and were swinging at everything against really good starting pitching. Nobody would work the count or take a walk and the entire team looked hopeless at the plate."

To be fair though patient teams (like the Red Sox, Yankees, A's) have gotten exposed by good starting pitching too in the playoffs lately (Angels 2005-stylee looked no worse to me than the Red Sox did the same year or the Yankees did against the Tigers last year for example.) And this years lineup seems better than the 2005 version.

They're seem to be walking more than in the past - their team OBP (.347) is 5th in the majors, though that ML-leading AVG of .288 is helping that ranking a smidge. Gary Matthews Jr. maintaining his flukiness (282/340/455) and Orlando Cabrera having Expo flashbacks (840 OPS!) is a definite boost, but the real key is getting production from Reggie Willits (33 BBs, & only 28 Ks, in 177 ABs) and Casey Kotchmann (333/411/556), as well as shitcanning Shea-Hey (and, I would hope, Garrett Anderson). And Vlad is Vlad.

If Figgins returns to form, Kendrick lives up to his potential, and they find someone to DH that's not Miguel Cairo, there's no reason they can't keep this up and do the damn thing in a poor-man's-Moneyball fashion.

they're still 9th in AL in drawing walks this year... but Seattle's drawn only 159, that's nuts!

Figgins was hitting .133 when I saw him play against the Tigers in late May. Now he is hitting .284. (Though I still don't think I've ever seen a professional LOOK more out of place at third base [and not just when it comes to stature]).

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/cb/fullj.getty-73395633cp032_houston_astro_4_30_35_am.jpg

They are overperforming their Pythag by 7 wins.

Is there a correlation between excellent / shitty bullpen work & over/underperforming ye olde Pythag?

Yes.

hence the A's are 5 under theirs.

You guys belong in the DUMBASS MEDIA thread:

http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/mlb/statistics/2007/bullpenstatistics_mlb_regular.html&t=0

Angels: #20 in MLB bullpen ERA
A's: #21 in MLB bullpen ERA

putting stock in ERA for relievers? oh you kid!

Jay Jaffe ranks Angel pen higher, this way:

http://futilityinfielder.com/blog/2007/07/hit-run.shtml

Good thing you guys work in publishing...

Using Jaffe's WXRL data for 2007 season to date:
Anaheim's 6.842 rates them #12 out of 30 (just ahead of Kansas City).
Oakland's 3.333 rates them #23 out of 30.

I still am not seeing any correlation between bullpen savvy and pythag over/under performance.

no, I'm not a pro stathead. I thought bullpen management/perf is a key for winning one-run games, and comparison of 2 teams in 2/3 of a season doesn't nec disprove that.

Garrett Anderson's baserunning speed makes Bernie Williams look like Jose Reyes.

He’d never charged a mound before, nor even stepped toward a pitcher until Campillo threw toward him.

“The difference is, if I’m going to get hit, that’s fine, but please stay away from my head,” Guerrero said. “And when you do it twice, that’s enough. Also saw what they did to my catcher (Mathis), that’s what really got me going. Hit me all you want. Not near my head.”

Campillo appeared in the clubhouse while reporters were interviewing other players and left before they could ask him any questions. At least a few of Campillo’s Seattle teammates were upset by his pitch to Guerrero, because of how bad it looked. They also may have feared retaliation against Seattle’s hitters later in this four-game series.

Do not attempt to impale Vlad.

I was hoping that the ruckus would clear only to reveal the Weavers in the middle of it all. "Looks like it's National Noogie Week, bro." "STOP IT, Jeff, OW!"

Dominican Bookman back on the mound. (Why?)

Will Carroll sez Escobar may not be able to pitch in the playoffs at all? and:

The team will also have to decide how to structure the position player side of the roster, especially if they determine that Vladimir Guerrero can't play the field. Guerrero's triceps problem is keeping him from throwing, limiting him to DH duties for the time being. One possible fix would be to "deep drop" Howie Kendrick from his position at second base on plays in right field, so that Guerrero would only be making very short throws to a cutoff man. However, Kendrick's arm is average at best. Another solution that's been discussed is using Chone Figgins at second and Kendrick at third to do the same sort of thing with a better thrower. According to sources, there's almost no chance of Guerrero getting back to throwing or throwing well this season, so the decision the team makes could be a very important factor in determining how far they go in October.