Sept. 18, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Torii Hunter (48) singles in a run in the first inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Angels to use closer-by-committee with Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen, Scott Downs

Sounds like this would have been a great idea, say, a month and a half ago when the team started sinking in August. Too little, too late with this decision Scioscia.

Money Quote:

The move was made after Frieri blew saves in his last two appearances, last Saturday against the Kansas City Royals and Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers, “to take a little pressure off a guy whose confidence is not quite where it should be,” Scioscia said.

I’m just going to walk away now.

Torii Hunter upbeat about Angels’ interest in re-signing him

I say Bring him back. I’ve said it all year long, and I’m not wavering from that stance one bit. Peter Bourjos obviously has no place here, and even if Vernon Wells doesn’t get traded, he seems to have gotten quite comfortable in his bench role. Torii wants to stay here, will take a pay cut to stay here, and still has some juice left in those legs. That, and the whole “he is the heart and soul of this team” thing.

Money Quote:

But Dipoto is expected to exhaust all efforts to trade Wells, and Bourjos, Trumbo or Kendrys Morales could be used in a trade for a starting pitcher or reliever, opening more outfield and designated hitter at-bats.

I also say keep Morales. Let’s not get crazy and blow this whole thing up now.

Angels find it difficult to explain their troubles

In-Con-Sis-Ten-Cy. There, that about covers it. Great pitching, no hitting. Just enough runs, not enough bullpen. Offense didn’t show up today? doesn’t matter, C.J. Wilson handed out a five spot in the first inning anyway. This team was on the same page for about two total months this year, and they were awesome. The problem is, the season is six months long. It’s been fun at times, but if you want an explanation, it’s a lot more simple than you think.

Money Quote:

“It’s tough,” Greinke said, shaking his head and searching for an answer. “We’ve been playing good. It’s just, the other teams have been playing good, too.

“We can do better, but we can’t do much better. I guess you have to give Baltimore and Oakland credit. You keep waiting for one of them to stumble, but they’re not. It’s making it tough.”

A spade is a spade kind of thing, right Zack?

Time not on the Angels’ side

You’re not kidding, but there really is nothing that can be done about it now except win. If the Angels win out (Yes I live in Fantasy Land, why do you ask), then they can force the issue. But that is a tall order, and one I’m not sure that this team is capable of.

Money Quote:

Fatigue doesn’t seem to be the issue. Frieri’s average fastball velocity is 95.0 MPH since the All-Star Break, which is up from the 93.5 MPH he averaged prior to the break.

The problem is right-handed hitters have figured out his fastball. After hitting just .089 with no homers against Frieri’s fastball prior to the break, they are hitting .333 with five homers since.

Well, Damn.

The 2012 Los Angeles Angels Season: A Colossal Disappointment

I have been getting more and more into sabermetrics this year, and sites like Beyond the Boxscore are one of the reasons. They explain stats down quite regularly so that the average fan can really sink their teeth into this information. That, and good writing helps as well.

Money Quote:

The finger of blame shouldn’t be pointed at their offense. The Angels rank first in the majors with a team wRC+ of 113. The Angels have received above-average production from Mark Trumbo, Torii Hunter, Pujols, Erick Aybar and Morales. They’ve received otherworldly production from Mike Trout, and decent production from Howie Kendrick and Alberto Callaspo.

Sounds like a really solid year, right?

How about the greatest offensive season in Angels history?

Oh really? Now I feel worse. Damn you sabermetrics.

Video Time:

You would think that the two teams we are chasing would be playing flawless baseball right now. Even Buck Showalter makes a Buck Showalter face at this one.

Dream tandem? It was supposed to be.

There were sky high expectations coming into this season, so we didn’t think too much of his of his first start where he went 5 1/3 innings giving up five runs. Jitters, right? The next three starts he got a little deeper, and then a little deeper into the game. An eight inning start on April 28th was vintage Dirty Dan, 8IP 7K 2BB 4H 1R. Welcome back Danny boy. What I thought was the real turning point was his start against Seattle on May 24th. Dom-i-nant. Complete game shutout, 14K, ZERO WALKS! Here we go right? Right?

Since then Haren has made 12 starts. Of which, only four have been “quality.” He’s gone to the disabled list for the first time in his career. He has been a shell of his former self. Which begs the question, Is Haren slumping? Or the more scary, is Haren declining?

This season to season production roller coaster is not new to Haren. In 2009 he posted an ERA+ of 142, produced a WAR of 6.3 (Baseball-Reference), All-Star game starter. Yeah, he was good that year. At 28 years old Haren was entering his prime years, but in 2010 his production slipped a little. A 106 ERA+ and 2.8 WAR. His production slip was easily blamed on his time in Arizona that year (141 IP, 92 ERA+, 0.4 WAR. also known as, league average-ish). He was decidedly better after the trade to Anaheim (139 ERA+, 2.4 WAR), but the season as a whole was a down year. In 2011 he goes back up, 119 ERA+, 4.0 WAR. He’s not striking out as many hitters as he used too, but he’s also walking less. Make a hitter know that he has to swing and he’s already on the defensive. And now this year, 76 ERA+, -1.0 WAR. If the season ended today he would have the highest BB/9 of his career at 2.3. Couple that with a still falling K/9 and hitters are no longer afraid to face you.

This would be quite the slump, but as the owner of a not so great back, I can fully believe that his back issues this year have his mechanics, and his head, a little messed up. And this kind of decline is unheard of. Or so I thought.

Kevin Millwood in 2005 posted a 147 ERA+ and 3.7 WAR. After that, outside of two above average seasons (and his madness inducing dominance of the Angels), he’s been below average generating a total of 8.1 WAR over the next seven seasons.

John Lackey had his best season in 2007 with a 150 ERA+ and 6.0 WAR at the age of 28. his age 29 and 30 seasons were good, but he was starting to slip. At age 31 he was almost exactly league average, and in 2011 Angels fans rejoiced as he crashed and burned with a 68 ERA+ and -2.1 WAR. How’s that contract working out for you now Boston?

Doug Drabek, although not a monster pitcher, was a very very good pitcher for Pittsburgh. His age 31 season with Houston he posted an ERA+ of 140 and 3.2 WAR. That was his last hurrah though. His ERA+ over his final four seasons were 81, 84, 77 and 62. His WAR? 0.4, -0.3, 0.2 and -1.6. He was out of baseball after that.

So apparently, steep decline is not unheard of.

Is Dan Haren in decline? I hope not. Is he slumping? Ummmmm, duh.

Back’s are tricky things. You don’t do just a couple things different with back injuries, you do everything different. His next start is getting skipped, and he needs to use these bullpens to figure out what he’s doing differently, because since tweaking his mechanics earlier in the year to accommodate his sore back, he’s fallen into some bad habits that have him pitching up in the zone more than ever before. And at 87-89 MPH, a belt high fastball is going to find the outfield bleachers a lot more often than the catcher’s mitt.