Another Angels/Rangers showdown, another chance for Vlad to show us that we were wrong about the aging slugger. After last night's 4-6 Angels loss, Vlad has now amassed 8 of the 11 RBI for the Rangers over the first two games of this series. His grand slam last night didn't only have Kazmir hanging his head in disgrace. It was a collective sigh of every 10th Angel around Halo Nation. Not only did the Angels blow a three run lead that was created by an unlikely Erick Aybar jack and an even more unlikely Reggie Willits two run single, but the bullpen got wicked taxed (as usual when Kaz starts) thanks to Scott Kazmir's 4.67 innings of 5 run ball. Sean O'Sullivan came back to the squad to knock out 2.3 innings of shutout relief work, which was nice to see, but it was Vlad's work with the bat that headlines this game. He went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI against us last night, which hurts when contrasted with the Angels offense leaving 9 on base. I guess getting the runners moving (4 stolen bases) isn't the whole answer for the wins, eh Scioscia?
But today, I've got two issues I want to address. One, I've addressed before, and the other gets addressed nearly every June.
The first issue is the question of Joel Piñero vs Scott Kazmir. Andrew made a comment while we were watching the game last night, saying, "At least he's better than Piñero." I disagreed, although I recognize that most of Angels Nation agrees with Andrew. So, I think I proved that wrong last time I addressed the issue, but let's try again.
Joel "Yo-El" Piñero: First on the team in wins with 8, J-Balls has just 2 no decisions out of his first 16 starts. He's tossed 104.3 innings, which works out to 6.5 IP/Start. That's important because it's over the minimum IP for a quality starts. Piñero is second on the team in quality starts (behind Weaver's 13) with 11. That's 69% of his starts being quality starts. Not great, but not bad. How about adding 3 complete games to his numbers? His sinker has wrapped up a K/9 of 6, and he has earned 2.72 strikeouts for every walk he's allowed. It's not all good, of course. Piñero has 6 losses, a lofty 4.23 ERA, and even worse a .308 OBP against.
Scott "You Kaz Always Get What You Want" Kazmir: Kaz has 7 wins in one less start than Joel, and has only earned a no decision in 1 of his starts. He's tossed 81 innings, which works out to 5.4 IP/Start. I have to be honest, I thought it would be less. Really. Scott is last on the team, with just 4 quality starts. That's 27% of his starts ending as quality starts, and that's rounding up to help him out. 3 out of every 4 starts aren't quality. Not good. No complete games yet for our boy, but a K/9 equal to Joel's at 6. He has earned just 1.16 strikeouts for every walk he allows, nearly dead even. His ERA is 5.67 and his OBP allowed is a staggering .359. It's not all bad, though, as he did start June off with 4 straight road wins, allowing just 6 runs over 23 IP.
Maybe people are being nostalgic when they say Kaz is better than J-Balls, remembering the Kazmanian Devil for some of his better days in Tampa Bay. When you look at the numbers, I'm not sure how anyone can think he's currently better than Piñero.
So, my favorite Angel blog, Halos Heaven, has put out a couple of potential trade ideas. Is there anything more fun to explore? As always, I put out my trade talk disclaimer: I do not like trades in general, and I have an overabundant love for minor league players who I build up like crazy before seeing them actually play at the Major League level. That being said, let's explore!
+Mariners get: Hank Conger, Scott Kazmir, and cash.
+Angels get: Cliff Lee.
Okay, I know I just spent the top half of this post bashing Kaz, but is starting pitching really the problem here? Don't we have a true #1 in Weaver already? With Napoli at 1B and Mathis catching for the rest of the year, don't we need that possibly special catcher to be waiting in the wings, just in case (no disrespect to Wilson or Budde)? Then I see Cliff is 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA, and it starts to make me see this a little more clearly. He has 5 complete games, and an almost unbelievable K/BB rate of 15.6. He's only given 5 free passes in 95.67 IP. That'll make you look twice. So, we'd definitelty give up Kaz and cash for Lee, but what about the upside of Conger? In single-A he hit .303/13/75, in double-A he hit .295/11/68, and this year in triple-A he's hitting .280/5/25 over 61 games. Clearly he's decreased with every jump, but you'd have to believe he'll right the ship after one more year with the Bees, bring those numbers back up, and be with the Halos in at least a backup role in 2012...if he's still around.
Verdict: This really isn't like me, but I say pull the trigger. Whoa baby, that felt good!
+Astros get: Peter Bourjos and Mike Napoli.
+Angels get: Lance Berkman.
Nope. No way. I would personally write a letter to Tony Reagins telling him to turn in his badge if he pulled the trigger on this one. Berkman, or "Fat Elvis" as he's known to fans, is 34 years old. He's hitting just .249/7/35 this year. Is this one a joke? What kind of answer would this be to our problems? Meanwhile, while I'm not his biggest fan, Napoli is coming into his own and leading the team in jacks. Bourjos had been knocking on the Halo OF door for some time (which is one of the harder doors to crack open; he should have been a reliever, he'd have been up years ago). This year he's hitting .255/6/27 over 73 Bee games, but has shown his much talked about speed with 20 stolen bases, an 87% steal success rate, and 3 triples. I like him, I've always liked him, and losing him would be like losing Sean "HR-Rod" Rodrigue as we did last year.
Verdict: No.
+Marlins get: Brandon Wood and "prospects."
+Angels get: Jorge Cantu.
I don't think you'll find very many Angel fans who wouldn't pull the trigger on most trades to get out latest 3B phenom flop off the squad (your grand slam was nice...). Cantu was born just 4 days before me, so he's a young attractive man. He's hitting .268/10/50 this year with the Fish and goes for extra bases on 40% of his total hits. Brandon Wood has been the second coming of Dallas McPherson in every sense. This season has been his firs legit "shot" and he's proving he's the truth with a .176 batting average, 3 jacks, and 12 RBI in 49 games? He also strikes out in 30% of his ABs. Even more telling, his WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is -1.4. He has costed us one and a half losses over thr average bozo so far this year. Cantu's WAR is 0.7, which isn't amazing, and his salary is $6 million compared to Wood's $410,000. This may be more interesting than the average fan would want to admit.
Verdict: It heavily depends on the prospects going with Wood. If I haven't heard of them, I say go for it. Does anyone really think Wood is going to become the next Troy Glaus? I don't think so at this point. Cantu could fit in nice with his infield versatility.
At 44-36, the Halos have bounced back to a 4.5 deficit in the West, making the finale of this series hugely important. We need to get out of this three gamer with a game gained. We have to! Tonight will be a fun one. All of Jered Weaver's starts seem to be "fun ones." Big Baby (7-3, 3.01) is going against CJ "Colonial Juarez" Wilson (6-3, 3.35). CJ is 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA and a BAA of .205 in his last 5 starts, all Ranger wins. Of course, we all remember is last outing against the Halos, where he got tagged for 7 runs over 4.3 innings last month (a game the Rangers won 8-7). Meanwhile, Underwater Basket Weaver leads the AL with 118 Ks and has a 1.96 ERA over his last 10 home starts. If only the bullpen wouldn't blow his opportunities for victory. He should be 13-3, and he'd be the first one to tell you that.
Also interesting, is the rumor that the Rangers and Giants have pulled a deal to send Bengie Molina to Texas. Bengie, Vlad, and Darren Oliver? No wonder they're so good.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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