Angels - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wow, so what happened this year with the Angels? I believe at the beginning of the year, I predicted they'd win 95 games and the AL West title. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I honestly thought they'd do better then they have. I thought they'd continue to score runs (they were second in runs scored last year) and I liked their defense. Pitching was a concern but I thought they had enough to overcome it.

I suppose I could go down a laundry list of excuses like injuries or players not playing up to their potential, but you can do that with every team, so I'm not going to. As Bill Parcells said, "you are what your record says you are" and I'm in agreement on it. Bottom line is they just weren't good enough to make the playoffs.

There were some story lines this year that contributed to their record (they're currently 75-78) and I decided to use one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies to highlight them.

The Good - Jered Weaver - In the movie, Clint Eastwood plays the unnamed, cocksure bounty hunter. The movie revolves around "Blondie" as he and Tuco make their way through the civil war trying to find buried confederate gold. Weaver played "Blondie" for the Angels this year, navigating thru the battlefield we call the Angels. He finally lived up to his potential as he posted an era of 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.03 along with 220 strikeouts (second in all of baseball). Without him anchoring the rotation, the Angels would have been dead by the all star break. Weaver went up against other teams number 1's and held his own, "Blondie" was definitely the Good in the Angels this year.

The Bad - Brandon Wood - In the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes was a sociopath Union soldier who captures, interrogates and kills Confederate soldiers unmercifully. Now am I saying Brandon Wood is a sociopath who kills? ABSOLUTELY! He killed the Angels this year....... Here's a guy who's a former high 1st round pick who has torn it up in the minors for years being ranked as high as a top 5 prospect in all of baseball. I don't know why that ability hasn't translated to the major leagues but if this year is any indication, Wood is not long for the major leagues. I'm not sure if it's just confidence or what, but he couldn't have played much worse this year if he tried. Admittedly I thought a stat line of .280, 20 hrs and 80 rbi's was a reasonable expectation based on the playing time he was going to get and the fact he's been billed as a stud prospect. What did he end up with? A .154 batting average, 4 hr's and 14 rbi's. That's BAD and consequently he killed the Angels as they needed his production. Forever from now on whether he's on the Angels or not (and I think they cut him loose) his nickname is "Angel Eyes".

The Ugly - Kendry Morales - Eli Wallach was great as Tuco, the comical, fast talking thief who knows the name on the tombstone where the gold is buried, forcing him and "Blondie" (who knows the location of the cemetery where the tombstone is) to become partners. Now I'm not saying Kendry Morales is ugly, but when he broke his ankle jumping on home plate after his walk off home run against Seattle on May 29th, it effectively ended the Angels season and that was ugly! The Angels never recovered from losing their number 4 batter and best hitter. If the Angels get Morales back healthy and he can continue to produce as expected (he was off to another big year as when he got hurt he was hitting .290 with 11 hr's and 39 rbi's after 51 games), that'll help solidify the lineup and give the Angels some pieces to build around.

Kendry and Blondie are the cornerstones of this Angels team and with some nice complimentary pieces (Howie Kendricks, Erick Aybar, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Torii Hunter) they're right there contending for the division title next year.

Maybe this year didn't turn out as expected, but it wasn't the Angels year. Do you blame Scioscia, Reagins maybe Mickey Hatcher for their problems? I certainly wouldn't blow up the team and I don't blame the coaches for this season. I just think it wasn't their year... It happens. I would get rid of Matsui and move either Napoli or Mathis. You need to go with one catcher. Make a decision and move forward. Stop the platooning. Make Abreau the DH and go spend the money on Carl Crawford this winter and stick him in left field. He'd cure a lot of their run scoring problems. Overall, I like the pitching staff. Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pinerio and hopefully a rejuvenated Kazmir is solid. It's not Tampa Bay Rays good, but in the upper half in all of baseball. Their defense and pitching will be solid and if they can get back to scoring runs, they'll be fine.

Anyway, that's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly as it pertained to the Angels 2010 season, here's looking forward to an active hot stove league!

Bill