Wow. It has been bad times around Mudville this week. First we lose 2 out of 3 to the Royals last weekend, and then we get swept in Pauliewood Monday through Thursday. A record of 1-6 in our last 7 games. Truly pathetic play on offense recently.
After the 2-5 loss yesterday, where we squandered being gifted 5 Chicago errors, we dropped the series finale 0-1 this morning (thanks to AM 830 for providing me the game) despite Ervin Santana pitching a complete game. Pathetic. Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick each had a hit off Sox starter John Danks, and the other 7 starters went 0'fer. What's even better, only 4 of the 9 starters avoided the dreaded punchout, with Howie and Cory Aldridge getting it twice. Ervin Santana threw 104 pitches in his 8 inning, 3 hit, complete game effort. And he lost. He didn't allow a hit after the third inning. And he lost.
Our terrible offensive slump has left us 46-42 with one series left before the All Star Break, and a 6 game deficit on the Rangers. The Rangers play tonight against Baltimore, with a chance to add another half game. We're now just 4 up on Oakland and 10 up on Seattle, and we're headed to Oakland for a three gamer starting tomorrow.
I've been wondering if we even been interested in winning lately. There are two things you can look at pre-game to see if your team is planning on trying to win. 1) What starting pitcher are we rolling out and 2) Are we putting the best possible lineup out there. Since the starting 5 have been set for pretty much the whole year, I have no complaints there. However, I'm starting to wonder our commitment to winning when I see our lineup. Are we putting our best offensive players in their most appropriate spot? With the help of a book I bought in college, "Baseball Strategies: Your guide to the game within the game," we are going to explore what I think the best lineup would be.
We'll start by showing the lineups from Wednesday night and today, since they are slightly different due to it being a getaway day.
Wednesday (2 runs, 5 hits, 7 LOB):
1. Aybar (1 for 3, HBP)
2. Kendrick (2 for 3, HBP)
3. Abreu (0 for 3, BB)
4. Hunter (2 for 4)
5. Matsui (0 for 2, BB)
6. Napoli (0 for 4)
7. Rivera (0 for 4)
8. McAnulty (0 for 4)
9. Wood (0 for 4)
Outside of Wood being in for Franny, that's a pretty normal lineup for right now. Notice how bad the bottom of the lineup was? That can make or break you. Today's was a little different, with even worse results.
Thursday (0 runs, 2 hits, 3 LOB):
1. Aybar (0 for 4)
2. Willits (1 for 4)
3. Kendrick (1 for 4)
4. Hunter (0 for 3)
5. Napoli (0 for 3)
6. Rivera (0 for 3)
7. Frandsen (0 for 3)
8. Mathis (0 for 3)
9. Aldridge (0 for 3)
Noticeable was that the squad had zero walks. Not a single free pass. In fact, the Angels only saw 111 pitches over the 9 innings (93 after the first 8). I don't really have to tell you that hitters 4-9 went 0 for 18 against Danks. Damn, man.
It's been like this for 6 out of the last 7 games, the only positive effort was an 11 run explosion against the Royals on Sunday. That could be just because Royals' pitcher Anthony Lerew sucks balls.
So, using "Baseball Strategies: Your guide to the game within the game," let's explore spot by spot in the order, and pick the perfect Halo batting order based on the players currently on the active roster (opening it up to the MiLB, while it would be fun, would make the post ten times as long).
One Hole: "The ideal leadoff batter hits right and left handed pitching equally well. He will have the highest OBP on the team and a low K percentage. He should be the best baserunner in the lineup..."
Angels options: Bobby Abreu (pretty much #3 in OBP, #1 in stolen bases, hits +.062 v RHP over LHP), Erick Aybar (prett much #4 in OBP, #2 in stolen bases, hits +.021 v LHP over RHP), and Reggie Willits (higher OBP than Abreu or Aybar, but only in 73 ABs, compared to 320 and 312).
My decision: I'm surprised by this as much as you are. I'm going with Erick Aybar. He has the best combination of OBP, speed, and consistency in BA between righties and lefties. I really thought I'd go with Abreu, but the ability to hit righties and leftie equally well pushed me over the top.
Two hole: "Ideally we look for a left handed hitter to a) pull the ball to the right side when the first baseman is holding the runner on and b) to block the catcher's vision with a runner on first. The ability to hit the ball to either side of the infield is crucial. He must be patient and selective so the leadoff hitter can steal bases..."
Angels options: Bobby Abreu (a leftie, #1 in walks, pulled 16 hits, went oppo 17 hits (47 up the middle)), Hideki Matsui (a leftie, #3 in walks, pulled 25 hits, went oppo 9 times (38 up the middle)).
My decision: You have to go with Abreu here. His ability to work counts, and his obvious talent for hitting to either side, added to being a leftie makes him the perfect #2 hitter. Early on, my lineup is looking like the early 2010 Halo batting order.
Three hole: "Our best hitter will bat third. He has power, the lowest strikeout percentage, and is the best contact hitter on the team. He hits for high average, seldom chases bad pitches, and is the toughest out in the lineup."
Angels options: Torii Hunter (#1 in BA, strikes out just 18% of the time), Howie Kendrick (#3 in BA, strikes out 13% of the time), Mike Napoli (#4 in BA, strikes out a large 32% of the time).
My decision: It was a close call, and I'm surprised with who I'm probably going to pick for the four spot, but I'm taking Torii Hunter in the 3 spot here. He's our best hitter, and is a damn tough out. It was close, though.
Four hole: "Good enough to protect the hitter ahead of him. Has power and is a good, hard contact hitter. He collects more walks than strikeouts, and he's a RBI hitter with the ability to drive runners in from second base."
Angels options: Howie Kendrick (#2 in RBI, behind Torii, 46 Ks and 15 walks), Hideki Matsui (#3 in RBI, 74 Ks and 47 BB), Mike Napoli (#5 in RBI, 80 Ks, and 22 BB).
My decision: This was actually closer than I wanted it to be, but I'm taking Howie Kendrick in the cleanup spot over Hideki Matsui because he's been a RBI machine, and is more of a hard contact kind of guy (with less slumping) than Godzilla. Wow, HK 47 in the four spot.
Five hole: "Extra base power, but is more of a free swinger and more aggressive that the hitters in front of him. He should be the 2nd or 3rd leading RBI guy on the team. He has the mental discipline to hit a fly ball or even strike out, rather than hit into inning ending double plays."
Angels options: Hideki Matsui (#5 in SLG, #3 in RBI, and only hit into 3 double plays in 82 games), Mike Napoli (#2 in SLG, #5 in RBI, and leads the team with 10 double plays), Juan Rivera (#3 in SLG, #6 in RBI, and 6 double plays in 70 games).
My decision: When I read "free swinger" I was sure I'd take Napoli, but when you onsider the RBI numbers and trying to avoid the GDP, I have to pick Hideki Matsui to hit 5th in my "dream batting order."
Six hole: "He has some power and hits for high average. He has the ability to hit to all fields, and he neds to move a runner or produce a run when he makes contact."
Angels options: Mike Napoli (tied for #1 in HR, #5 in RBI, #4 in BA, and #3 in sac flies), Juan Rivera (#3 in HR, #6 in RBI, #7 in BA, and #6 in sac flies), Brandon Wood (#8 in HR, #10 in RBI, a .168 BA, and #7 in sac flies).
My decision: Mike Napoli is the clear choice for the 6 hitter in my lineup. He has amazing power, has the best average of the players left, and can move the runners with a long fly out.
In giving advice, the book lumps the 7-8-9 hitters together, so we'll take a look at the lineup before finishing to see what positions we need as we work toward filling things back out. So far we have:
1. Aybar (SS)
2. Abreu (RF)
3. Hunter (CF)
4. Kendrick (2B)
5. Matsui (DH)
6. Napoli (1B)
We have three hitter remaining, and still need a left fielder, a third baseman, and a catcher. I think that kind of brings us to Juan Rivera, Jeff Mathis, and Wood/Frandsen, but let's see.
Seven, eight, and nine hole: "The bottom part of the order can make or break the lineup. They should have the same skills as our top two hitters, and although they will lack the power and the ability to make consistent, hard contact, they should have decent speed and good bat control. Their goals are to get on base in any way possible."
Angels options: Juan Rivera (.236/10/34), Jeff Mathis (.256/2/7), Kevin Frandsen (.315/0/9), Bobby Wilson (.196/1/4), Brandon Wood (.168/3/12), Paul McAnulty (.091/1/2), Cory Aldridge (.000/0/0), and Reggie Willits (.246/0/5).
My decision: This is probably the most difficult part of the lineup to decide. Since we need a LF, a C, and a 3B, that kind of limits my choices. Here is what I'll go with:
7. Rivera (LF)
8. Frandsen (3B)
9. Mathis (C)
My thinking is that Rivera is the power guy and should be up with the big boys, Franny is the average guy and goes 8th much like in the NL to help get to the 9 hitter and avoid the 9 hitter leading off an inning, and Mathis in the 9 hole because he has the next best average on the list of options and is far better offensively than Wilson.
So, with the help of "Baseball Strategies: Your guide to the game within the game," I have put together the order that will bring the Angels out of their offensive slump, and back to their prominance with swinging the bats. So, if you're reading this Mike "Lorri" Scioscia, remember:
Aybar, Abreu, Hunter, Kendrick, Matsui, Napoli, Rivera, Frandsen, and Mathis.
Just try it once, and see how it works.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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