Post by Commissioner Erick on Sept 1, 2017 10:04:29 GMT -5
New York Yankees (35-26) @ Los Angeles Angels (34-32)
NYY: James Shields (4-3, 4.67)
LAA: Andrew Heaney (0-0, 0.00)
After a phenomenal start to the season, the Los Angeles Angels have come crashing down to earth. Once 27-16, Los Angeles now site at 34-32, 10 games behind Houston in the AL West, and assuredly only fighting for a wild card spot at this point.
Tracing the strengths and weaknesses of the Angels isn't too hard. On the plus side, they have a special player in Mike Trout. Trout already has 20 home runs and eight steals to go with a .291 average. A .399 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging mark, give him a league-leading 1.010 OPS.
They also have a solid bullpen, led by Cam Bedrosian having an awesome start. Bedrosian has 13 saves in 14 opportunities and a 0.68 ERA. Bedrosian has only allowed one home run and has 37 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. He does have 14 walks, which are troubling.
Outside of those two players, not too much has gone exceptionally well. One of the more profound stats on the Angels is that Trout has 20 home runs but only 38 RBIs, meaning much of his damage done is done on solo home runs. Albert Pujolz has a solid 42 RBI's behind Trout, but the players ahead of him have not been doing their job.
Kole Calhoun has a disappointing .617 OPS, with much of that coming batting second. Brett Gardnere, who is now hurt, and Cameron Maybin have had average on-base-percentage numbers out of the position, but neither has provided much else.
The Angels are also being hit with the injury bug to many of their key players. Andrelton Simmons hasn't hit much this year, but he's one of the best defensive players in baseball. His zone rating of 5.5 is second among shortstops in the AL. Unfortunately, he partially tore his labrum and will likely miss the rest of the season. Garrett Richards strained a muscle in his ribs, so he'll be on the shelf for up two months himself.
It's a little unclear who the replacements would be. Radahames Liz may not be a long term starting option. Nick Tropeano may be the best option in the minors, but he wouldn't be able to go very deep after working recently. Andrew Heaney's schedule lines up, but he's been ineffective thus far in Salt Lake City. At shortstop, Rey Navarro has a good glove and can also fill in at shortstop in a pinch, but he has a very light bat. Yunel Escobar can fake it at shortstop, but doesn't have the glove to be too viable. The team may need to look outside of the organization.
The Angels are taking on a New York Yankees team that is also dealing with some injuries. Last time we checked on them, C.C. Sabbathia and Julio Teheran were hurt. Now, James Shields is dealing with a strained oblique. Shields wants to pitch through it and the Yankees are running out of options if they put him on the DL.
Their starting pitching has struggled the past two weeks, forcing them to win slugfests. They have 9-8, 9-7, 8-7, and 7-6 wins over the past two weeks. If the bats are on a roll, they can be spotted some runs and still blast through. However, they've been quiet for stretches as well, and there are few games they've eeked out with their pitching when the bats have faltered.
The one positive note from the month is that Greg Bird is starting to wake up. He's 15-43 with a home run over the past two weeks. He's still striking out a lot and walking a paltry amount, but he's starting to show that he can be dangerous when the bat hits the ball.
Questions for the GM's:
For Greg Masceri, James Shields is dealing with a bad oblique. Do you have him pitch today, or do you put him on the DL?
Chris Carter has a lot of power, but is hitting only .201. Are you happy with what he's providing?
How do you attack this Angels lineup that has one player way better than everybody else?
For Chris Beckett, Mike Trout has been spectacular, but his RBI's aren't there. Are you concerned?
Who's the starting pitcher today and why?
With Simmons hurt and Luis Valbuena struggling, what are your plans for the left side of your infield?
NYY: James Shields (4-3, 4.67)
LAA: Andrew Heaney (0-0, 0.00)
After a phenomenal start to the season, the Los Angeles Angels have come crashing down to earth. Once 27-16, Los Angeles now site at 34-32, 10 games behind Houston in the AL West, and assuredly only fighting for a wild card spot at this point.
Tracing the strengths and weaknesses of the Angels isn't too hard. On the plus side, they have a special player in Mike Trout. Trout already has 20 home runs and eight steals to go with a .291 average. A .399 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging mark, give him a league-leading 1.010 OPS.
They also have a solid bullpen, led by Cam Bedrosian having an awesome start. Bedrosian has 13 saves in 14 opportunities and a 0.68 ERA. Bedrosian has only allowed one home run and has 37 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. He does have 14 walks, which are troubling.
Outside of those two players, not too much has gone exceptionally well. One of the more profound stats on the Angels is that Trout has 20 home runs but only 38 RBIs, meaning much of his damage done is done on solo home runs. Albert Pujolz has a solid 42 RBI's behind Trout, but the players ahead of him have not been doing their job.
Kole Calhoun has a disappointing .617 OPS, with much of that coming batting second. Brett Gardnere, who is now hurt, and Cameron Maybin have had average on-base-percentage numbers out of the position, but neither has provided much else.
The Angels are also being hit with the injury bug to many of their key players. Andrelton Simmons hasn't hit much this year, but he's one of the best defensive players in baseball. His zone rating of 5.5 is second among shortstops in the AL. Unfortunately, he partially tore his labrum and will likely miss the rest of the season. Garrett Richards strained a muscle in his ribs, so he'll be on the shelf for up two months himself.
It's a little unclear who the replacements would be. Radahames Liz may not be a long term starting option. Nick Tropeano may be the best option in the minors, but he wouldn't be able to go very deep after working recently. Andrew Heaney's schedule lines up, but he's been ineffective thus far in Salt Lake City. At shortstop, Rey Navarro has a good glove and can also fill in at shortstop in a pinch, but he has a very light bat. Yunel Escobar can fake it at shortstop, but doesn't have the glove to be too viable. The team may need to look outside of the organization.
The Angels are taking on a New York Yankees team that is also dealing with some injuries. Last time we checked on them, C.C. Sabbathia and Julio Teheran were hurt. Now, James Shields is dealing with a strained oblique. Shields wants to pitch through it and the Yankees are running out of options if they put him on the DL.
Their starting pitching has struggled the past two weeks, forcing them to win slugfests. They have 9-8, 9-7, 8-7, and 7-6 wins over the past two weeks. If the bats are on a roll, they can be spotted some runs and still blast through. However, they've been quiet for stretches as well, and there are few games they've eeked out with their pitching when the bats have faltered.
The one positive note from the month is that Greg Bird is starting to wake up. He's 15-43 with a home run over the past two weeks. He's still striking out a lot and walking a paltry amount, but he's starting to show that he can be dangerous when the bat hits the ball.
Questions for the GM's:
For Greg Masceri, James Shields is dealing with a bad oblique. Do you have him pitch today, or do you put him on the DL?
Chris Carter has a lot of power, but is hitting only .201. Are you happy with what he's providing?
How do you attack this Angels lineup that has one player way better than everybody else?
For Chris Beckett, Mike Trout has been spectacular, but his RBI's aren't there. Are you concerned?
Who's the starting pitcher today and why?
With Simmons hurt and Luis Valbuena struggling, what are your plans for the left side of your infield?
