AngelsWin.com's Podcast (2012) - Episode One

AngelsWin.com is pleased to announce our first podcast show of 2012. Topics that were on the table that were discussed: Mike Trout, the firing of Mickey Hatcher, the studness of Mark Trumbo, poor attendance at the Big A, Albert Pujols's and the Angels poor start and some predictions by our panel of guests. To hear it all, click below to stream our first podcast of 2012. You won't be disappointed! 

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Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - 5-18-2012

By Scott Stedman - AngelsWin.com Minor League Reporter

Salt Lake Bees - The Bees went 3-2 over their last 5 games, an improvement over what the Bees had been doing.  The positives: Garrett Richards had somewhat of a bounce back performance on Monday.  He went 7 IP allowing just 2 ER and 4 hits.  However he did walk 5 batters and only struck out 2.  His ERA for the season stands at 4.33.  Also, Anaheim native Kevin Jepsen has looked sharp lately.  He has tossed 3 scoreless appearances in a row, with his fastball reaching the upper 90's.  Offensively, Luis Jimenez has jumped his average to .283 and his OPS to .800.  However if Jimenez yearns to be a starting third-baseman in the big leagues, he needs to improve his plate discipline.  He has only walked 4 times this season.  Unfortunately,  left-handed starter Brad Mills has cooled off significantly after a blazing start.  On Thursday, Mills gave up 5 ER and 8 hits in just 6 innings of work.  His ERA has ballooned to 3.76 and opposing batters are hitting .268 against him.

Arkansas Travelers - The Travs' went a disappointed 2-4 this week, dropping to last place in the Texas League standings.  Even during this tough stretch, there have been some bright spots.  Catcher Carlos Ramirez has turned it on, after a very rough start to the season.  In May, the 24-year-old Ramirez is hitting .325 with an .814 OPS.  Defensively, Ramirez is as smooth as they come, and has a cannon for an arm.  In his minor league career, Ramirez has thrown out 33% of would-be basestealers.  On Wednesday, Dominican starter Ariel Pena was absolutely dominant.  He struck out 8 Springfield batters in 6 innings, surrendering just 1 run and 3 hits.  Pena, who turns 23-years-old on Sunday, has struck out 46 batters in 46 innings, and walked just 17.  The Angels signed Pena out of the Dominican Republic in 2007.  Out of the bullpen, 2 pitchers have come up big for the Travs.  Steve Geltz has pitched to the tune of a 0.47 ERA, and lefty Drew Taylor has had 5 scoreless appearances in a row, lowering his ERA to 3.94.  The 25-year-old Taylor has only walked 4 batters this year, and has shown devastating stuff as the set up man.

Inland Empire 66ers - The 66ers had a very rough week, winning just 1 of their 5 contests.  Offensively, the beast has awoken.  After a poor April, the Angels 2011 1st round draft pick C.J. Cron has hit .349 with a .914 OPS in the month of May.  With Cron's power potential, it could be extremely fun to watch him rake in the Cal League, which is a notorious hitters league.  On Tuesday, Max Russell tossed a gem against the Lake Elsinore Storm.  He went shutout 9 innings, striking out 5, and allowing just 5 hits.  Unfortunately he got the no decision, as the game went into extra frames.  Russell could be described as a soft tossing lefty, but he can be very successful if he keeps the ball down in the zone, yielding a ton of ground balls.  The 66ers closer Ryan Chaffee has been nothing short of great.  His ERA has plummeted to 1.56 to go along with his 24 strike outs in 17 innings of work.  The 6'2" righty closer out of Marianna, FL celebrated his 24th birthday today.

Cedar Rapids Kernels -  The Kernels have turned it around this week, going 3-2.  Starter Austin Wood has continued to baffle hitters, putting up ridiculous strikeout numbers.  Through 37 innings,  Wood has struck out 45 batters!  While his command has sometimes been off (23 walks), he can dial his fastball up to 98 MPH, and has a devastating slider.  If he can keep this kind of dominance up, look for Wood to soar to the top of nearly every Angels prospect list.  Ty Kelley, an undrafted free agent signing in 2010, has thrived in the Kernels bullpen.  Kelley, a 6'4 220 physical pitcher, hasn't allowed a run in his last 15 innings, and has only walked 4 batters all season.  Overall, he has a 1.31 ERA with 24 Ks in 21 innings.  On the offensive side of the ball, not much to report.

Prospect of the week:  SP Austin Wood

THE FIRING OF MICKEY HATCHER

By Dave Snyder - AngelsWin.com Contributor

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fired their hitting coach of 13 years this week.  Mickey Hatcher has been a teammate, close friend and confidant of the Angles manager Mike Scioscia.  Over the last ten years the Angels team batting average has been in the top 25% of the American league in almost every year except the last three.  With Mickey Hatcher as hitting coach, the 2009 team  set franchise records in batting average, hits, runs and RBIs.  During that time Hatcher was considered a competent hitting coach who worked extremely long hours with the players – especially when they would struggle at the plate.  Mike Scioscia said upon Hatcher's firing that he was a “great teacher and a great hitting coach”.   There have not been any Angel players, past or present that have complained of Hatcher's competence as a hitting coach that has made it into the press. In fact, the only comment recently has been one of praise from Mark Trumbo who credits Mickey Hatcher with teaching him how to be more selective with pitches and the results have yielded a .370 batting average for Trumbo this season after barely hitting .250 last year. Trumbo was quoted in the Angels website as saying:  "It's really unfortunate, and downright unfair for the most part, that people from their couch are going to call for this guy's job for years and years," Angels slugger Mark Trumbo said. "It's not him that's in the batter's box. Mickey puts in the time. He provided everything I needed as a player, to go up there and have the best chance of success. If I was to fail, it wouldn't be on him. It's not his fault." Yet, the local baseball blogs and fan websites have called for Hatcher to be fired for the last two years claiming that he does not teach his players to be patient but teaches them to be aggressive.

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Los Angeles Angels vs. San Diego Padres Series Preview (5/18-5/20)

 

By Brian Waller, AngelsWin.com Columnist

Angels/White Sox Recap:

I said it a few days ago and I will say it again...this team is like a roller coaster ride filled with ups and downs, sharp turns and sudden drops. After taking the first game of the two game series the Halos dropped the second. C.J. Wilson was very wild and just didn't seem to have his "stuff" working on the mound Thursday afternoon. It wasn't all bad news though; much to the delight of Angels fans everywhere, prized off-season acquisition Albert Pujols finally seems to be heating up. He homered in both games and looks to be getting his "mojo" back, coincidentally the same time the team brought in a new hitting coach. The bullpen continues to improve, the starting rotation still looks solid and the offense is finally coming together. Although the team split the two game series with the Sox and didn't get much momentum going into the weekend series with the Padres, there are enough "things" going right for the Halos right now for fans to feel confident about the rest of the season.

Angels/White Sox MVP(s)

Albert Pujols. He hit two home runs during the series, his 2nd and 3rd of the season. It's clear that Pujols is heating up and it could not have come at a better time. The Angels will be facing the Padres, A's and Marines the next week, a crucial stretch for the team if they want to get back into the race before summer.

Angels/Padres Preview

This is a big series for the Angels. As I stated above they are in the middle of a stretch in their schedule where they are facing teams they should beat. The Halos have a lot of things going for them right now; they will have their top three pitchers throwing this weekend, they will be facing a lackluster San Diego offense, and their big bopper Albert Pujols finally seems to be heating up.

The Padres have made a whopping 39 errors this season, the Angels' speed and aggressiveness on the base paths could be a difference maker in the series. Pitching and aggressive base running are the keys to winning this series in my opinion.

Pitching Match-ups:

5/18 – Jered Weaver (5-1, 2.83 ERA) vs. Jeff Suppan (2-1, 1.69 ERA)

5/19 – Dan Haren (1-4, 4.41 ERA) vs. Tim Stauffer (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

5/20 - Ervin Santana (2-6, 4.36 ERA) vs. Anthony Bass (2-4, 2.87 ERA)

Weather:

5/18 – Partly cloudy with a high of 65 degrees
5/19 – Partly cloudy with a high of 67 degrees
5/20 - Sunny with a high of 69 degrees

Game Times/Channels/Promotions:

5/18 – 7:05 p.m. / FSW
5/19 – 7:05 p.m. / FSW

5/20 - 1:05 p.m. / FSW

Player(s) to Watch:

Last series preview I picked Albert Pujols as the player to watch, and boy oh boy he didn't disappoint. Pujols notched his 2nd and 3rd home runs of the season during the brief two game series with the White Sox. Although I do think "King" Albert is heating up, I don't expect him to go deep this weekend due to having to play in pitcher friendly Petco Park. The fact that two of the games are night games and their will be the San Diego marine layer also make me think that not many balls will be flying out of the yard.

I think Mike Trout will have a big series this weekend. His speed will be important in the outfield due to the large amount of real estate he will have to cover. If Trout can find the big alleys in Petco then he can run for days. I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple...or two, by him this weekend.

Usually I try to select just one player to watch but I can't help but pick Jered Weaver. He will be facing a light hitting Padres' offense in a big expansive pitcher friendly park. Couple that Weaver looking to rebound from one of his worst starts in 2012 and I think he will be very dominant on Friday night.

Angels’ Team Statistics / League Rank (as of 5/17/12)

Offense

Avg.: .252 / 6th (+.002)*

OBP: .302 / 12th (+.001)*

SLG: .382 / 11th (+.003)*

OPS: .686 / 11th (+.006)*

Hits: 327 / 8th

HR: 35 / 9th

RBI’s: 135 / 12th

R: 142 / 12th

BB: 93 / 14th

SO: 263 / 9th

SB: 20 / 10th

Pitching

W: 17 / 11th

ERA: 3.86 / 6th

SV: 5 / 14th

SVO: 11 / 12th

IP: 340.2 / 10th

HR: 37 / 11th

BB: 113 / 11th

SO: 271 / 8th

Avg.: 249 / 9th

WHIP: 1.28 / 6th

* Although it is a VERY small sample size, the team has improved their team Avg., OBP, SLG, and OPS since switching hitting coaches.

Opponent Interesting Facts:

The Padres were the first team to ever play a series outside the U.S. or Canada. They played the New  York Mets August 16-18, 1996 in Monterrey Mexico in a series called "La Primera Serie"

The "Swinging Friar" is the Padres mascot and has been since the 1970's when he replaced the chicken.

Preston Gomez was the Padres' first manager.

Randy Jones was the first Padre to win the Cy Young Award in 1976 after posting a 22-14 record. Jones set franchise records for wins, innings pitched and complete games.

The Padres changed their team colors in 1992 going from brown and orange to navy blue and white.

The Padres joined Major League Baseball in 1969, their first season in MLB resulted in a 52-110 record.

Tony Gwynn (Mr. Padre) retired in 2001 with a .338 career batting average. Gwynn was selected to the National League All-Star team 15-times and won 8 batting titles during his 20 season career.

Rickey Henderson collected his 3,000 hit while he was with the Padres. Henderson got the hit off of Colorado's John Thompson on the final game of the 2001 season.

An Angels Fan Retropactum...Retrospective?

Picture of Fowler Jr. taken on the night of Jered Weaver's No-No on May 2nd, 2012

By Scott Fowler - AngelsWin.com Columnist

Greetings all. I wanted to take a moment just to introduce myself to the community a little bit before completely getting carried away in a rant, or some ill-advised, heat of the moment impassioned plea to Angels Leadership for change.

My name is Scott Fowler, and I've been an Angels fan for going on about 25 years now. Those of you who might read obscure and totally ill-designed blogs might know me as The OC Sports Geek. Hello all two of you out there who read that blog, and yes mom, I mean you.

I've been lucky enough to get a chance to contribute to AngelsWin.com, and for that I want to say thanks, hello, and OMG WT#)($*% were you thinking?

Instead of talking about why our favorite Halos are mired in the muck, or my take on Hatcher's sacrificial lambasting, I just wanted to let you all in on why I'm an Angels fan. I think in times like these, it's important to remember why we all love this game, this team, the whole nine.

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Angels Illustrated - Angels Interleague History a Success (Volume III)

By Lou Spirito - AngelsWin.com Columnist.

The Angels begin 2012 interleague play this Friday on the road in San Diego. Since the format began in 1997, the Halos have had tremendous success, sporting an overall record of 152-114. They rank third behind only the Yankees and White Sox with the highest interleague winning percentage, including an MLB best 62-28 since the start of 2007.

To view the content of this week's feature, click on the image above or hit this link for the .PDF.

Interview With Angels' Weekly Host Alex Curry

By Brian Waller, AngelsWin.com Columnist

Angels’ Weekly on Fox Sports Network has always been a show fans have tuned into to get the latest scoop on their beloved Angels. The show has always had a pretty consistent format, usually including an interview or two, a series recap and perhaps a preview of the Halos’ upcoming opponent. This year is a bit different though, this year Angels Weekly is taking a different approach and that new approach starts with new host Alex Curry.

AngelsWin.com recently had the opportunity to talk with the new face of Angels’ baseball to find out a little more about her, her thoughts on this year’s team and her experiences thus far as host of Angels’ Weekly.

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M-I- C-(See you real soon)-K-E-Y (Why? Because we love you)

 

By Bruce Nye - AngelsWin.com Columnist 

The Angels relieved Mickey Hatcher of his duties as hitting coach yesterday surprising the sports world while at the same time, pleasing thousands of fans.  The Angels have been shut out 8 times this year more than any team at this date in MLB history since 1907.  Their hitting and scoring statistics are among the lowest in the American League.

Jerry Dipoto made the announcement last evening without Angels' manager, Mike Scioscia present.  He said it was a sad day.  Mickey Hatcher had been the Angels hitting coach for 13 years - the longest by any MLB team.  Prior to that, Hatcher was the hitting coach for Mike Scioscia, when he managed the Dodgers' AAA team in Albuquerque .  He also played with Scioscia as a member of the Dodgers.

Mickey was a lovable, fun loving guy whom, when with the Dodgers would dance and cheer while the Mickey Mouse song was played for him.  Hatcher carried around an over-sized glove with which he used to prank other players.

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