SB Nation User Blog: cupie

Angels Pitching Staff and Stats

cupie — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:51:04 -0000

Earlier in the year the Angels starters had the best ERA while the bullpen had the worst. So I asked a friend of mine at Stats Inc. if he could find out if any team in baseball has made the playoffs in this scenario. This is what he found out for me:

Everything is since 1954 (as far back as I can go for Starter/Relief ERA)

* No team has ever led MLB in starters ERA and been in last in relief ERA

* No team has ever led AL in starters ERA and been in last in relief ERA

* No team has ever led NL in starters ERA and been in last in relief ERA

1 team since 1954 has had the worst bullpen ERA in majors and still made the playoffs (1997 Seattle Mariners – lost in first round)

3 teams since 1954 have had the worst bullpen ERA in AL and still made the playoffs (1990 Boston, 1997 Seattle and 2005 Boston – all lost first series)

No NL team since 1954 has had worst bullpen ERA and still made playoffs

Blue Two...

cupie — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:09:15 -0000

go team!

Angels and Jered Weaver eek out a Win in Tampa Bay

cupie — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:04:30 -0000

More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP

Slow dancin'... Swayin' to the music... slow dancin', just me and my Speier... Slow dancin', swayin' to the music, no one else with an ERA higher...

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Holy Smokes... That was not fun. Angels win.

Final Score in Tampa: Angels 4, Rays 3

Jered Weaver pitched brilliantly and got the win, but it was ugly letting Jason Bulger allow the Rays back into the game. The tension was palpable among the Halo faithful When Brian Fuentes aloowed a baserunner to begin the 9th inning. The squeaky widdo Angel offense had scored just enough runs (hey, even auto-out Vladdy had a Ribby!), tough and beat the big and beaten-up Rays to take the first game of this three game series, but it was an unpleasant reminder of the 13 losses incurred at the hands of the bullpen to Angels fans.

Looks like '09 is shaping up to be the season where Angels fans are only relaxed when there is a 9 run lead in the 9th inning... and even that does not sound like it is the slam dunk certainty that it might seem.

Poll

Panther of the Game?

Jered Weaver

166 votes

Vlad Guerrero

14 votes

Bobby Abreu

17 votes

Jaun Rivera

24 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

Hey! Where is the Angel Game Thread?

cupie — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:16:48 -0000

"Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine"

Memorial Day to Forget: Angels, Ervin Santana Destroyed by White Sox

cupie — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:08:44 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Erick Aybar receiving a manicure mid-game from his hallucination of an Orange County manicure parlor occupying the Angels infield. The only explanation for the Angels terrible play Monday night could be that many Angels players were slipped hallucinogens prior to the game and played like their entire realities were elsewhere.

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(Rev Halofan reporting) - This was supposed to be the game that Vladimir Guerrero made his triumphant return to the club. Before the game I saw Kelvim Escobar in Centerfield jogging with Jose Arredondo and saw Reggie Willits take a few bunt swings in batting practice before hopping on a plane to Salt Lake City to make room for Vladdy in Anaheim.

The Memorial Day festivities were respectful to those who have served our country and a serviceman in his dress uniform threw out the first pitch to Mike Scioscia. After a weekend series against the Dodgers that saw us take 2 of 3, the news was only better ... Texas had lost to the Yankees in Arlington by a score of 11 - 1.

The first pitch of the game was a strike looking by Ervin Santana to Scott Podsednik. The future looked bright ahead. Lackey is back. Ervin is back and now Vlad was in the lineup. While the bullpen is in trouble, we have identified most of what ails it. While the bats would be better with Wood in the lineup, the defense and run production is as good as when the Angels won most of their division titles.

Ah yes we had the season in the bag and the walk-up sales tonight appeared to be near 12,000.

But then Podsednik got a hit. Then Alexei Ramirez got a hit. Then Jermaine Dye got a hit. Then Jim Thome got a hit. Paul Konerko flew out - hey 1/3 of an inning pitched Ervin, good going. Then Carlos Quentin got a double (to Centerfield). All was not lost, though, as Angel-killer Quentin hurt himself and was removed form the game. The damage was stopped as Ervin got a great defensive play by Erick Aybar to stop the bleeding and struck out Josh Fields to end the inning. 3 runs, 23 pitches.

In the bottom of the 1st the Angels came right back and scored three runs. Woo-HOO!

Wow, we ARE good, it IS true, this is OUR year.

In the top if the 2nd the White Sox bats burst that balloon. I left the game in the 7th with Justin Speier roasting his own ERA on a Memorial Day barbecue with no smoke, all fire and nothing left to show for it but question marks about our supposedly healthy #2 starter and a burned out bullpen of four shaken relievers holding their confident-free heads in their ability free-arms as their ERAs hovered near their IQs.

Poll

Blame of the game... and there is plenty to go around.

Ervin Santana

269 votes

Rafael Rodriguez

19 votes

Justin Speier

13 votes

301 votes | Poll has closed

The Panther's Paw Cocktail Thread...

cupie — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:36:59 -0000

Lackey to Start Monday

cupie — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:20:44 -0000

Halos ace, John Lackey, will be starting Monday night in Seattle. All starters in the rotation will get bumped back one start. We can only hope that Lackey will make more than two pitches.

Lackey to start Monday

Halos Lose and Swept by the Rangers

cupie — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:46:38 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

about 1 month ago: Los Angeles Angels' Jered Weaver pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Sunday, May 17, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Halos got swept by the Rangers. What a bummer, total bummer. Clearly, the Rangers were the better team. The Angels came into this series on a bit of roll and one could argue that they finally had turned the corner.

After the sweep by the Rangers the Halos have to answer some very hard questions: Does Mike Scioscia trust his bullpen anymore? He clearly left Jered Weaver in too long. This team without Vlad has very little, if any, power in its lineup. I don't know if there is a remedy for this. One can make the claim it's time to bring up Wood and give him a lot of playing time but what do we do with the glut of middle infielders?

In the past we were able to get by with small ball and keep the game close and trust our bullpen, but Scioscia clearly does not trust the pen anymore and has abandoned his own philosophy, in regards to this. The starters have not been the problem. The problem; the Angels Achilles heal, their offense and now compounded by their bullpen. What can we do to fix this? I don't know. Be patient, be pissed off, bring up someone up from the minors, make a rash trade...? I don't know. We got beat by the Rangers this weekend who both played small ball and hit for power and to pour salt in our wounds, they showed every glaring weakness this Angels roster has.

Poll

Blame of the Game:

Abreu

100 votes

Mathis

47 votes

147 votes | Poll has closed

Lackey to pitch monday..?

cupie — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:40:59 -0000

Lackey to pitch monday..?

Ducks Game Day Thread - Game 7

cupie — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:59:49 -0000

Let's go fellas...