The Angels Need Arms In Order to Fly

The Angels Need Arms In Order to Fly

 

 Something just doesn’t add up. It doesn’t seem possible. How can a team that has the best player in baseball and the best player of a generation continuously miss the playoffs? The answer: offense alone doesn’t win games. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in need of pitching. They were in a dire need for starting pitching which they may be on their way to correcting but their bullpen is atrocious.

Jered Weaver may not be a flame thrower but he is a proven winner who knows how to pitch. C.J. Wilson is a guy I’m not really a fan of personally but he is a capable starter and should be given credit for turning into such a starter after years of relieving. Hector Santiago, Tyler Skaggs, and Garrett Richards have pitched fairly well thus far and could very well be what the rotation was missing. The bullpen is a completely different story.

Ernesto Frieri has already lost his job as closer due to ineffectiveness. His replacement, Joe Smith, is a journeyman reliever who has bounced around his whole career. The rest of the bullpen has trouble throwing strikes and holding leads. If there was ever a year for the Angels to do whatever was necessary to win it’s this season. They could easily be the second best team in the division and the rest of the American League is not exactly lighting the world on fire. They could almost assuredly grab a playoff spot, but they need to overhaul the pen. When you have talents like Mike Trout, who has never tasted the playoffs, and Albert Pujols, the number one objective should be to surround them with the talent it takes to win. The Angels have done a very poor job of that prior to this offseason.

Mike Scioscia has gotten some criticism, some deserved some not so much, but what it comes down to is this. Scioscia excels when he can hit and run, steal bases, play National League style baseball. The team he has right now cannot play to those strengths. That part of the blame goes to management for not getting enough of those types of players. However, Scioscia cannot escape blame either. Great managers adapt to their team, not the other way around. If Mike Scioscia was truly the great manager a lot of people think he is he would do a better job at crafting his decisions to play to the teams strengths. 

If the Angels miss the playoffs again this season there needs to be a complete organizational overhaul.  Anyone not named Pujols, Trout, or Hamilton (and only because of the contract) must go. Being forced to keep Hamilton and his albatross of a deal would mean getting someone who can get through to him to go back to his old approach at the plate. When healthy he’s become too pull happy, too aggressive, and gotten home run-itis. He looks like a completely different player. The new hitting coach has to be able to get through to him but also hold him accountable for his bad mistakes. Failure to institute these changes in the organization will lead Mickey Mouse and the gang to go shopping for Dodger blue.

Thank you for joining us for Day 3 of 30 Days Around the Majors. Come back tomorrow for Day 4 as we will discuss the Kansas City Royals and their ability to contend without hitting home runs. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @changingspeeds for our continuing coverage of the national pastime.