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Slugging Catcher Claimed Off Waivers

I was alarmed  last week when I saw Mike Napoli’s name among the list of players placed on waivers by the Angels. So when he was claimed this weekend by the Red Sox I had even more cause for concern.

While most sources are reporting a deal for Napoli (to the Red Sox or anyone else) this season is unlikely, I still find it alarming that the Angels are even considering parting ways with Naps. The two sides have to strike a deal today (August 30th) or Napoli will likely remain an Angel, at least for the remainder of the season.

Its really baffling that on a team long starved for power, Angels brass is not content with Napoli’s production. Mike Napoli is a lock to hit .250 – .270 with 20 -25 HR and decent OBP and SLG numbers virtually every year. He needs to improve with RISP but he still is among the elite catchers in the game from an offensive standpoint. Continue reading this post »

Since the Angels will be seeing former ace John Lackey tonight for the third time this season, I thought it might be interesting to look at players that left the Angels this season for greener, or not-so-greener pastures. The list of names is a bit of a long one, including the former ace and World Series Game Seven Winner, the person most considered the Face of the Franchise in recent years, as well as the Halo’s 2009 MVP and one of the best arms in the pen. Mixed into that group were people that had some potential but never seemed to realize it during their time in Anaheim, making it quite a varied group from many different positions. Given that, we’ll look at the offensive side of things first, and in the next part we’ll jump into the pitchers. After the jump, we’ll take a look at those that carry the lumber for new teams this season.

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Since I was interested to hear what people would think of my Crazy Suggestions, I linked to the post on the Angels message board I post on to get some reaction over there. Needless to say, there was plenty of criticism, and most people thought it was at best overreaching. Fair enough, and I know I thought as much as the ideas were spinning in my head, but why call them crazy suggestions if they’re not, you know, crazy? Anyway, since I know only a few of my readers are from the message boards, I thought I’d give the rest of you guys a sample of the responses I got from those that read this, along with some of my own thoughts on their criticisms and ideas. All of that follows after the jump.

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Ok calm down before you start questioning my sanity and “journalistic credibility”.. I didn’t say that.

No, it was not me who referred to Scott Kazmir as a potential Cy Young candidate it was your boy Mike Scioscia.He was quoted yesterday saying:

“We’re talking about a guy that, if he pitches to his potential, will be a Cy Young candidate,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “This season hasn’t gone as scripted, but he has never given up, and you saw that again (Saturday @Detroit).”

Really Mike?! I mean yes Kazmir showed much improved velocity, and he was finally able to put hitters away with 2 strikes in his last start. He pitched better than he has all year , but lets not get ahead of ourselves. What happened to the one day, one game, one pitch at a time Mike Scioscia we all know and love? Scott Kazmir has struggled to string together any consistent positive momentum this season. So for Halo fans to believe that after one good start he has found the magic is going to be a tough sell. 

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Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 60-48 (6 GB)

C Alberto Rosario H-AB 8-16 Avg .500 HR 1 2B 1 3B 1 RBI 3 R 3 SB 0 CS 1 K 0 BB 2

Rosario struggled earlier this year in Double-A hitting .193 over 51 games. Since being demoted to Single-A he is hitting .416, and already has 5 more hits in 77 fewer AB. Rosario is also showing power that he has never shown before, he has hit 4 HR for the Quakes in just 23 games; he has a total of 1 HR in his previous 302 games.

OF Mike Trout H-AB 7-22 Avg .318 HR 1 2B 2 RBI 1 R 2 SB 2 CS 0 K 6 BB 1

Trout started off the week going 1-13 and striking out 5 times, so on Saturday he got the day off. Since then he has gone 6-9 with 1 HR and 2 2B. Trout will barely turn 19 on August 7^th; he is super young and already showing so much promise.

more after the break

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( Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Lack Of Team Speed  Key Reason For The Angels Demise 

Options options options. There are many factors we can point to in order to understand the Angels sub par 2010. We’ve seen underachieving seasons from guys who were thought to be key contributors; Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Scott Kazmir, Brandon Wood, Scott Shields, to name a few. A horrible bull pen. Spotty defense. A lack of hitting with RISP and the list goes on. 

But from a team make up perspective one thing we haven’t heard mentioned enough is the Angels sudden lack of team speed. I think we all expected to see a dip in stolen bases with Chone Figgins’ departure to Seattle, but aside from that, the Angels aggressive 1^st to 3^rd, always take the extra base mentality appears to be a distant memory. I’ve seen some question Mike Scioscia for this but in reality he just doesn’t have the “horses” to play the same speed game anymore. Both Bobby Abreu and especially Torii Hunter have lost a step since last year. Erick Aybar while plenty fast has yet to master the art of getting good jumps when stealing bases. Maicer Izturis, (who was thought to be a decent source of speed) has been hurt most of the year and Howie Kendrick who owns the Angels best SB% (10 steals in 12 attempts) has just not run enough. Continue reading this post »

I’m calling these crazy suggestions, because they’re things I’ve only been thinking about for a couple hours, and I don’t know how willing the front office will be to do most, if any of them. Still, at least at the moment, I think they’re a few moves we could make that could go some distance towards improving the team. Some of it will be contingent on the front office opening their wallets, which they haven’t always been willing to do, and some of it will demand a little creative thinking on the part of Scioscia and the front office, but with a couple trades and acquisitions, I think this team can take a big step forward, at least offensively. After the jump, we’ll take a look at the crazy early morning ramblings of a disappointed Angels fan.

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For what will be the last time in the foreseeable future, I’d like to welcome our third Featured Contributor to Halo Hangout! Zachary joins us as our Minor League Contributor, and will be giving weekly roundups and updates on each level of the Angels’ minor league system. His first post, looking at the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees and Double-A Arkansas Travellers, can be found here. Stop by and welcome Zachary to the blog, and stayed tuned for updates on all levels of the Angels system, from the Majors to the Minors!

…And believe it or not, his name is Torii Hunter. I’ll be the first to admit I was completely and utterly shocked by everything surrounding this movie. First, the fact that Scioscia would have the clear thinking to actually make a movie like this and turn Bourjos into the Angels’ new CFer, and secondly that Hunter would take it so incredibly well. Quoted in the L.A. Times Blog The Fabulous Forum, Hunter said:

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