Halo Hangout » Peter Bourjos

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Michael Hllywa — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:42:32 +0000

A breakdown of Albert Pujols‘ running times last week, Peter Bourjos says his hamstring is improving and, Mike Trout to move back to left field once Bourjos returns. After getting Blanton’d last night, it is once again hard to tell exactly which team it is that we will see on the field. Is it the confident team that cruised through a three-game winning streak? or is it this timid team that gets lumped up because of weak pitching?

Apr 26, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos (25) is greeted in the dugout after scoring a run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Rehabbing Bourjos Reports Improvement in Hamstring

This is fantastic. Of course, he is only playing catch, but he looked pretty hobbled when he originally got hurt. It is also great because Peter was hitting .313/.370/.458 when he went down with his injury. It is also great because, his return will force Mike Scioscia to stop slotting J.B. Shuck in the leadoff spot.

This Week in Albert Pujols Playing Through Pain, May, 6 – May, 12

Even though it looks like he is still playing through some pain, it was encouraging to see him get quicker on the base paths this past week.

Scioscia Looks For More Than Offense From Catchers

This article brought to you by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Dead Horses. We get it, ok. Scioscia doesn’t really care what Hank Conger or Chris Iannetta can do with the bat. It is what they do behind the plate that matters the most. It is why we were forced to watch Jeff Mathis play in as many games as he did when he was in Anaheim.

Money Quote:

Iannetta is currently hitting .195 and only has one hit in his last 10 games. While Hank Conger has started some games — mostly those in which C.J. Wilson started — for the Angels as well, the catcher’s spot has not produced much offensive firepower for the Angels.

Oh. Crap.

Madson Continues to Inch Toward Return to Big Leagues

Cross your fingers, and repeat after me: “Please don’t let there be a setback. Please don’t let there be a setback. Please don’t let there be a setback.”

Too Late for Three Preseason Favorites to Make a Run?

If the AL West leading Texas Rangers were to play .500 baseball from here on out, the Angels would have to go 73-52 to catch them, a winning percentage of .584. Ok, that’s possible. But I don’t see the Rangers playing .500 baseball from here to the end of the season. Time to start jockeying for position for one the Wild Card spots (Although I’m not that confident that this team gets either one of those either).

ANGELS NOTEBOOK: Albert Pujols Hampered by Foot Issue

Is it possible, that this team’s actual goal for the season is to make sure that fans can spell Plantar Fasciitis without having to look it up? Part of me tips my cap to Pujols for playing through this pain. The other part says he’s hurting the team. The other part, wants bacon.

Mike Trout to Play Left Field When Peter Bourjos Returns

Of course he will be. And even though I don’t believe that a players defensive positioning should effect his offensive production, it should be noted that Trout is hitting .324/.375/.608 as a CF compared to his .247/.327/.412 slash line as a LF. Hopefully this is just a sign that Trout is getting back to normal, and not a sign that he is disgruntled when he is in LF.

Mike Scioscia: Is a Shift in Offensive Strategy Actually Hurting the Angels?

Mark Smith — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:56:00 +0000

For years the Los Angeles Angels played one brand of baseball. They played small ball. In fact, ever since Mike Scioscia took over as the Angels manager in 2000, the Angels would hit ‘n run and bunt their way around the baseball diamond better than anyone in the league.

Scioscia always had one objective - and that objective was to go from first-to-third.

With Scioscia at the helm, the Angels would steal, drag bunt, and advance runners into scoring position. It wasn’t always pretty or flashy – it just worked. This offensive strategy proved to be effective for the Halos – in particular in 2002 when the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 to win the World Series.

According to Wikipedia, the term “small ball” can be defined as the following:

In the sport of baseball, small ball is an informal term for an offensive strategy in which the batting team emphasizes placing runners on base and then advancing them into scoring position for a run in a deliberate, methodical way. This strategy places a high value on individual runs and attempts to score them without requiring extra base hits, or sometimes without base hits at all, instead using bases on balls, stolen bases, sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly balls, the hit-and-run play, and aggressive base running with such plays as the contact play. A commonly used term for a run produced playing small ball is a “manufactured run”. This style of play is more often found in National League game situations than in the American League due in large part to the absence of the designated hitter in the National League.

During his playing career, Mike Scioscia was a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scioscia was exposed to small ball within the Dodgers organization, a team that would manufacture runs and allow their pitching staff to do the heavy lifting. Even to this day, this type of offensive strategy is more commonly found in the National League. Scioscia once told ESPN Los Angeles:

Even when I could run, I could never really run. … But I think [the Angels'] philosophy really is a product of what we learned coming up in the Dodger organization when we were younger. We were taught by guys like Maury Wills and Lou Johnson who played during a time I know influenced them — they had [Sandy] Koufax and [Don] Drysdale, [Claude] Osteen, all those great pitchers — so they knew if they could score two or three runs, they could win. That was their objective really: ‘Let’s just do what we can do offensively and let our pitching and defense take over.

Not surprisingly, Scioscia emphasized small ball as an American League manager. And why not? Scioscia was determined to utilize a style of baseball that he was comfortable with. Fortunately for Scioscia, his small ball style of play turned out to be perfectly suited to his personnel – players like David Eckstein, Chone Figgins, and Orlando Palmeiro. Smaller, faster, and scrappier players that excelled at this style of play (Figgins led the league in stolen bases with 62 in 2005). These were guys that used a well-placed bunt down the third base line followed by a stolen bag to go from first-to-third in the blink of an eye. They weren’t just good at it, they were exceptional at it. And truthfully, Scioscia really didn’t have a choice. When you don’t have “big bats” in the lineup you’re forced to rely on small ball.

It’s now May 4, 2013, and the Angels have a total of 10 stolen bases. This statistic ranks the Angels 14th in the American League and 26th in all of baseball. By contrast, Coco Crisp of the Oakland A’s has 8 SB’s – 2 less than the entire Angels’ roster. The A’s have a total of 25 – they are now ranked 2nd in the bigs for stolen bases. Now this stat wouldn’t be surprising if all you had were big bats like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. But Scioscia has far more than that. In addition to the proverbial power hitters like Hamilton and Trumbo, he has two of the fastest guys in The Show – outfielders Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos. The majority of Halo fans agree that Scioscia is not running as often as he used to. It’s clear that the hitters are receiving fewer bunt signs from third base coach Dino Ebel. In fact, I’ve noted that in the past three seasons Angel batters don’t hit and run as often – Scioscia may be reluctant to run hoping that a big bat will come up and knock in a few runs. And I get that, I really do. We can all agree that no manager wants to make the final out at third. I think fans would accept this new philosophy if it was working. However, the Angels are now 11-18 and 7 games back in the AL West. Clearly something is not working.

The past three seasons have provided little consolation to the Halo faithful. The Angels made the playoffs in 2004 and 2005. They returned to the playoffs again in 2007, 2008, and 2009 (ALCS). Here we are in 2013, a time when marquee names have been brought in and the Angels payroll has ballooned. Yet there is still one question on everyone’s mind: Has Scioscia changed his style of play in order to accommodate Arte’s newest offensive weapons? Some argue that he has. Either way, fans are left only to reminisce about 2002 – when guys like Figgins and Eckstein were going from first-to-third and winning a championship while doing it.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Peter Bourjos

Steven McEwen — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:30:07 +0000

Feb 23, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos (right) is congratulated by left fielder Mark Trumbo (left) after scoring during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

When Peter Bourjos first came on the scene in 2011, everyone raved about his defense, and by the end of the season, it was his surprising year swinging the stick that caught attention. As a result, there were expectations placed on Bourjos to hit entering last year. But he didn’t. Through April 28th, he had posted a slash line of .167/.231/.250/ On that same day, the Angels had called up some kid named Mike Trout and we all know what happened after that.

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