Grading Mark Saxon's Midseason Grades.

If you haven't noticed, I don't usually agree with Mark Saxon from ESPN. He's the usual fair weather sports writer, and every time I read one of his artciles, it makes me wonder if this guy has ever even watched the Angels play...or if he's ever watched any baseball game, for that matter. Well, he published a little article grading the Angels at each position for the "first half," with some comments attatched to his grades, and I think it's time to dismantle him...again. 

"Catcher: Jeff Mathis (Grade: C)- His hot hitting to start the season seemed unusual given his usual production, and it proved to be a fluke. After returning from a broken wrist, his offense dive bombed. When you bat ninth in the lineup, the manager doesn't have much faith in your bat. At times, the pitching has thrived more with Bobby Wilson catching."

If you read this blog, or know me, you know I'm a Jeff Mathis fan. So, you know I really can't agree with Saxon on this one. First off, if you're grading the team by position, why does it seem like you're grading an individual player? The Angels have had four starters behind the plate this year, you mention two, and really only talk about one. Mathis' hot start proved to be a fluke? I wonder how well your production would be if you had to type your lame ESPN articles just weeks after breaking your wrist? By the way, you should check the stats, because his batting average over the last 14 days (.240) is the highest for any period of time indicated on the split stats. He was hitting .324 in April, which even I know is above his head, but do you call it a fluke, or a hot steak? It was only a 10 game sample, thanks to the injury. Then, he only played 8 games in June, and has 9 so far this month. Are you judging on a fair sample size? I have two problems with your, #9 hitters suck theory. First, if you were an Angel fan, you would know Scioscia often has solid hitters in the nine hole (Aybar, when Figgy was around, and Ma$e come to mind). Second, when you look at his split based on spot in the order, he hits .273 when hitting ninth (compared to his .236 overall BA). .273 is not only good production from the 9, but good production from the average catcher, in my opinion. Finally, the Bobby Wilson factor is a tough sell to me. First off, it's hard to say that the pitchers are the main cause of a good outing. Second, let's uncover the list of teams Wilson has started against where the Angels allowed less than (let's just say, for the sake of argument) five runs: Seattle twice (last in division), Kansas City (please), Oakland (another weakling), Los Angeles (we always smoke them), the Brewers (okay, there's one), the Cubs (lame), and the Rockies. Not a huge, studly list of competition. How about where he started and we allowed 5+ runs: White Sox twice, Seattle, Oakland twice (including the 1-15 masacre), and Texas (for 9). Again, I think that ERA while catching thing is a little suspect, and requires more review than simply reading the number.

"First base: Mike Napoli (Grade: C)- He was thrust into an unfair situation, taking over for a MVP candidate, and a batting slump has coinciding with the shift from catcher to first base. Since taking over he's hitting .247, stranding runners by the bushel. The Angels will need a lot more production from the corners to stand a chance."

Again, you are grading the team's first half by position, and you only talk about Napoli when you discuss first base? He's played just 26 games at that position this year. And, boy, it's tough to blame playing first base on moving positions. As a first baseman, he's hitting .247 like Saxon said. That's horrible compared to his .253 batting average as a catcher, right? And the "now he's stranding runners like crazy" argument? While he got a RBI in 49% of games as a catcher, he's pulled a RBI in 50% of his games as a first baseman. Whoops. Finally, that whole "you have to get production from the corners" thing? Before being traded, Rangers starting first baseman Justin Smoak was hitting .209, and his team is the "lock to win the division." Hm. I guess you just have to get production from somewhere, right?

"Second base: Howie Kendrick (Grade: B)- He has been a lot more solid this season than last year, but the Angels feel he has a lot more offensive potential than he has shown. He can't hit sliders...Overall, he's a good solid players and not the reason the Angels struggled."

I'm glad he kept it cool with my favorite current Halo, or we might have had a problem. A couple of things, though. First, is anyone else tired of hearing how much the Angels are struggling this season? 4.5 games back at the break. Can we put it into perspective? With how bad everyone makes this team sound, it's almost unbelieveable that we're so close to first place! Secondly, is Howie "a lot more solid this year?" Sadly, Saxon again failed to reality test his opinions. Despite being demoted, Howie finished the 2009 season with a .291 average with 61 RBI in his 105 games. So far this year, he's hitting just .273 and is on pace to have 61 RBI at the 105 game mark yet again. Come on, Saxon, this is too easy to prove you dumb.

"Third base: Brandon Wood/Kevin Frandsen (Grade: F)- The Angels gave Wood all the time in the world to grab this position and run with it. He couldn't have fumbled it more badly. For a while, Frandsen, a waiver claim from the Boston Red Sox, was a nice little story, but now he's being exposed as a marginal talent."

Wow, what a tough stand to take, giving Brandon Wood an F. Bold, bold move. I wish I could argue it, but I can't. On the other hand, it's kind of tough to throw in the towel on Franny already, isn't it? Kevin is still hitting .286 over his 38 games this year, with a .331 OBP. You call him a marginal talent, but I'm not sure the Angels would be offended by that. He was picked up on a whim, and thrust into the spotlight after the Wood suckfest and Izzy injury (injuries). His WAR is 0.0, which seems right on, because he's nothing more than a replacement player. But have you been watching him play? To lump him in with a grade of F, despite his solid replacement player play, seems to be shortsighted. Or, at least, a lack ofcreativity on the part of Saxon.

"Shortstop: Erick Aybar (Grade: A)- Somehow, he managed to ride out an eight game absence with a knee injury and not miss a beat. He and Torii Hunter have been the Angels' only consistent hitters lately, and they missed his defense when he was out."

Hey, you finally handed out an A. Well done! Can I just point out, that Aybar was downright pathetic in the opening two months of the season, and is just now coming around? I mean, he has started to make me a believer (see the fact that I put him in the leadoff spot in my dream Angels lineup), but he hit just .244 over April and May, which was not acceptable. Can we get some more steals?

"Left field: Juan Rivera (Grade: D)- He's been a major bust at the plate, but his defense has been worse. He barely tries on most balls hit to him. Just when the Angels were desperate for any offense he could provide, he missed six games with what he described as blurry vision. Asked what caused the problem, he cited stress. Imagine how his manager feels watching me."

Now this is downright mean. You don't know anything about Juan Rivera, his personal life, or whatever stressful things may be going on for him. Then, he is stressed to the point where he has blurry vision for six days, keeping him from playing, and you mock him? That's just low. Now I'm not questioning if you are or are not a basebalk expert, I'm questioning if you are or are not a human being. Yes, JR hasn't been the JR we have come to expect. However, he is hitting .444 over the last week, and for some reason he's been hitting .329 when leading off an inning. He'll come around before the to long. Write it down. Also, as a huge GA fan, I have a long history of having to deal with people who claim outfielders don't go after balls. That's completely subjective, and like GA, maybe Rivera is simply getting in the right position prior to a hit, making it look effortless. Tough to say. But please, Saxon, lay off the guy's reports of blurred vision and stress.

"Center Field: Torii Hunter (Grade: A)- He's leading the team in batting average, homeruns, RBIs, on base percentage, and team leadership..."

Hahahaha. I didn't know there was a statistical category for team leadership. And guess what? Torii's leading it! Wow! I'm not going to spend much time on The Big Game Hunter, because he's clearly our best player, as Saxon correctly points out. Finally.

"Right Field: Bobby Abreu (Grade: C)- Eventually, age catches up with players. The Angels might be regretting that two year deal the gave Abreu, 36, given his steep decline from his career norms..."

He's declined so far this year, for sure. But maybe he's coming around. In the last 7 days, he's hitting .455 with 2 walks and 0 Ks. He may have a .257 BA over the first half, but his OBP is .351, and that's important to note because the guy is a "work the count" kind of player. We've always known that. Guess what his OBP was in the first half of the 2009 season? You guessed it: .351. What a decline from his first half this year. Too easy, Saxy boy. Do a little research before you start saying how he was great last year, and crap this year.

"Starting pitching (Grade: B)- Jered Weaver leads the majors in strikeouts and gave the Angels a quality start 75% of the time...Joel Piñro and Ervin Santana were solid, if unspectacular, middle components of the rotation. Joe Saunders showed flashes, but will have to live up to his self-described "back nine player" label to give the team a fighting chance. Scott Kazmir has been an unmitigated disaster, and might be pulled from the rotation soon."

Okay, hold onto your hats here. Outside of me maybe thinking Saunders has done better than Saxon, I completely agree with him. Nice on Saxy boy.

"Relief pitching (Grade: C)- Closer Brian Fuentes and set up man Kevin Jepsen have been good enough lately to give the team some sense of relief, but this group is nowhere near as good as the Angels thought it would be. At times, faulty relief was at the root of what ailed the team..."

Can I just add to his minimal supprt of Tito and Big Country? Did you know that Fernando Rodney leads all Angel pitchers is games and has a 3.57 relief ERA? He's been a horse, only faltering every great once in a while. If the Angels were in first place, the media would be drooling over Rodney's contributions. Despite his injury, Jason Bulger also deserves some respect. 22 games and a 3.74 ERA shows that Bulgie has been heavily pitching in prior to getting hurt. That's all not to mention what Rich Thompson, Sean O'Sullivan, and Francisco Rodriguez have showed is in limited play in terms of their potential. Brian Stokes, on the other hand, surely hasn't worked out whatsoever. Do we wish we still had GMJ? 

"Bench (Grade: F)- The Angels have one reserve player with a modicum of MLB experience, and that player, Reggie Willits, has never hit a MLB homerun..."

Wow. This argument sounds a lot like Bill Plaschke's "if I haven't heard of them they shouldn't be in the All Star game argument." Really, Saxon? Willits is the only player w/ MLB experience and he hasn't ever hit a homerun? Is that what qualifies for a good player? If you haven't hit jacks in the bigs, you're nothing? There are different types of hitters that you need on your bench, and Willits is the "get on base by any means necessary and use your sped on the paths" kind of guy. I agree that we could have a little bit more riding the pine, but it's a tough call between calling up really talented players from the minors to have them sit around or leaving them at Salt Lake to get ABs and experience. Now you're wishing we still had GMJ? 

"Manager (Grade: B)- Because Mike Scioscia is so involved with player personnel decisions, he has to take some of the blame for going into the season with such a thin team. But somehow the Angels are 3 games over .500 despite having allowed 24 more runs than they have scored. Because Scioscia's teams consistently overperform, you have to give him credit."

No I don't. First off, when have Scioscia's teams overperformed? 2002 would be my only guess. In 2002, they definitely played over their heads to win the World Series. After 2003, which was a bummer year, he's always had pretty good teams. Vlad, Colon, Hunter, etc. I don't think this team would be considered an overperformer if they win the division. I agree that the team is weaker than previous incarnations, but they aren't 4 games over .500 because of their coach. If you've read the blog, you know I'm not a huge Mike fan. I hate the way he manages the pitching staff, I hate his in game decisions (including loads of poorly timed bunts), I hate his absurd batting order, I hate that he continues to try and force his system despite the team makeup changing so much, I hate his "we don't look at the standings mentality," and I hate his Howard's commercials. I don't have to give him any credit.

"Overall (Grade: C)- Most people will view the first 3 1/2 months as a major disapointment, but it's entirely possible this team just isn't that good. Feeble at the corners, the Angels hit sporadically and rarely create action on the basepaths...The Angels best days might be in 2011 and beyond."

My thought would have been, "Most people will view the first 3 1/2 months as a major disappointment, but it's entirely possible that this team will quickly erase their 4.5 game deficit, win the West, and make fans forget the first half altogether." Have some confidence, Saxon. A 4.5 game deficit (4 after we beat Seattle tonight) isn't that huge. This team can turn it around and win, and then in September you'll be writing articles about how great they are and how you always expected it.

"Second half outlook: You can never write the Angels off, mostly because you can never write the Texas Rangers in. But even if Texas collapses again, the Angels aren't looking like they'll be their to catch them when they fall. This team has too many holes...The Angels would be better served to save their prospects and dollars, make better decisions next offseason, and enter 2011 with renewed hopes."

Wow, talk about a chicken little. The second sentance is my favorite. Who do you think will be there to take the lead when Texas collapses? Oakland? Seattle? There are only two options to win, us and them. If Texas falters (and maybe even if they don't), the Halos have another division title. And what's with the "the season is over in July, let's pack up and try next year" mentallity? Are you kidding me? It's July! What were you writing about when this team was ripping through their schedule in June? You had a pretty positive outlook then. What I think is that ESPN should cut you from their team, and hope to acquire a better writer for the 2011 season. What do you think, Saxy boy?

Tonight it begins. The Halos second half is ready to kick off with Joel Piñero (9-6, 3.95) and Doug "No Nicknamed Required" Fister (3-4, 3.09). A four game sweep at home over the Mariners should do enough to change Saxon's tone, eh?

Let's go get it done.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē