thoughts: opening week

Apologies for being MIA for the week - I was rudely reminded that, as a student, studying and hw come before baseball =(.

Anyways, I did manage to catch most of the games, with the exception of Friday's atrocity. Some thoughts/observations:

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Wow, so one week into the season and I've already been irrevocably proven wrong. Remember when I postulated that BWood would go about his business quietly? I still stand by my view that there was little pre-season talk about him. But then when the season started, BWood didn't do himself any favors by opening the season vying for a golden sombrero. I'm not too worried yet - it IS only a week into the season. I had thought he'd need some time to settle into being a major league player, but there seems to be an upswell of fans who are wigging out already. The funny thing is, I suspect that the spotlight on BWood is brighter because the lineup in general has been beyond anemic and he's an easy scapegoat. It's a tough way to open up a major league career, and I hope that BWood can hang in there.

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See, the losses and bad play have not been BWood alone. Sosh said it best:

"We played four crappy games in every aspect..We could have played a triple-A team these last couple of nights and lost."

I missed Friday's game, but what stuck out to me in the recaps wasn't the lack of offense or Palmer getting shelled, but the defensive lapses. I'm sure that's what annoyed Sosh the most, cause I sure hate it when players compound sucking with sucking-at-the-fundamental-stuff.

The Halos recent play has been inconsistant at best. Of course the big problem has been situational hitting (a supposed staple of the Angels offense!). Saturday's game had some improvements but there were still too many stranded runners. The most exasperating inning was the bottom of the 6th, when Mathis and Aybar both gifted outs to the A's. And that beat out the bottom of the 5th, when Matsui and Kendry were on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and were unable to score. It's not all doom and gloom (thankfully) - Howie's been fantastic, Torii's been good, and Matsui's getting some key hits (including Saturday's game winner). The offense may be waking up soon as Rivera and Abreu are also hitting the ball hard. Perhaps the lineup needed some games to get that offensive chemistry Sosh talks about. Or maybe Sosh's cranky rant shook them outta their stupor.

On the pitching side, there hasn't really been anything too exciting. Contrary to what I thought pre-season, the starting pitching has been good to mediocre, rather than a real strength. Weave has delivered good outings, as did Pineiro, but only 6 innings worth. (Palmer's 7IP, despite allowing all those runs, was valuable since it gave the 'pen less innings to fill. Also helped that Cassavah went 2+ innings.) All starters have been pretty good with some bad mistakes (HRs) sprinkled in. I'd at least say that the rotation has kept the games winnable, but it's hard for a struggling lineup to always be playing catch-up. We'll see if the rotation can jump start that we'll-each-try-to-do-better-than-the-starter-before-me trend and finally stack up some quality starts.

The bullpen was shaping up to be the lone highlight until someone (:::coughsoshcough::) jinxed them. I agree with Sosh that the Halo bullpen can be very very good (that's a running theme in this year's team - things have the potential to be very good but also mediocre). So the implosions on Thursday-Friday-Saturday was unnerving. Perhaps its the extended innings the 'pen has been shouldering, or maybe, like the lineup, they're still searching for the right chemistry and the right roles. But it was amusing for me to see the fantastic outing by Rodney on Saturday and contrast it with his outings on Monday and Thursday. :::sigh:::

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A commentor at Halosheaven pointed out something interesting:

"..the pitching staff’s HR/FB ratio..is currently at a MLB worst 25.6%..a QUARTER of the flyballs the Angels pitching staff has surrendered has left the park. How absurd is this number?..The normal ratio of flyballs leaving the park for a HR is 10%..It doesn’t matter how good or bad the pitching staff is, the HR/FB ratio is remarkably consistent for pitching staffs right across the board."

So there is hope! It's just waiting for natural regression (:::gulp::)

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Matsuiland is beginning to grow on me. At first I thought it was kinda odd - Matsui isn't gonna be playing right field and why would you highlight a new player on a one-year contract? I guess Abreu-land isn't as catchy. But you know, I kinda like the juxtaposition with "Mannywood." It's the left-field vs. right-field positions, the flashy/shallow vs. playful/whimsical, LA vs. Anaheim. Despite the fact that it's quite possible Matsui was chosen for the publicity (it's already trademarked! and there's a site set up), its a good way for the fans to welcome him and hopefully help him feel comfortable. And whoever did that lettering is pretty damn good - the signs look amazing.

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Besides BWood getting assaulted, the other main topic of whining has been the playing time at catcher. I know that the Mathis vs. Napoli debate is a hot topic among Halo fans, but the current playing time arrangement doesn't bother me (..don't kill me!). There is absolutely no question that Napoli is the superior bat and Mathis the superior glove, though most question whether the tradeoff in skills are equal. Yes, Naps can be passable behind the plate and a beast at the plate. But it might shock you to know that I'd rather have an adequate-hitting Mathis playing (...don't kill me!). From all accounts (meaning from reading the archives at futureangels.com), Mathis has great intangibles. He's a natural leader, a fiery competitor (seems obvious now why Lackey was one of his closest friends), and a great student of the game. Now of course, I know that none of those qualities are going to outweigh his absolutely dismal showing at the plate, but I can understand why the FO was so high on him and why Sosh keeps finding ways to give him a chance. So I have no problem with Sosh giving him the early playing time. And thankfully, Jeff has responded beyond what I think anyone expected (Oh God, KNOCK ON WOOD!). Can Mathis develop into enough of a hitter to justify his playing time? History provides a sobering look, but I (and probably Sosh) still cling on to the irrational hope that Jeff can make something of himself. So I'm not going crazy over him starting 5 of the 7 games.

What made me raise my eyebrows was when Sosh let Mathis bat on Saturday. In a tie game. In the late innings. Wait, what's Bobby Wilson doing here?

Oh and just for the record, when I predicted Mathis would start more games, I figured that the firepower in the lineup would be sufficient to hide his weak bat and allow Sosh to inject some needed defense. So that's another thing I've been wrong about...

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I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Kaz make his season debut on Thursday. Signs from Sosh and Kaz's outing in Rancho are positive (though you'd figure them to be since he was facing A-ball hitters) so all systems are go.

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Abreu made some nice running catches in the Minnesota series. Nice in the fact that I thought he'd have no chance. Abreu may still run the bases nicely, but I cringe when balls are hit his way.

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I was forced to watch the A's broadcast (mlb.tv blackout) on Saturday and the broadcasters were excited about the A's rotation. One asked the other how many games each starter would win. The answer given - at least 14 each. They've got some great young arms in Oakland, but that's one very optimistic number. And uh, just fyi, Ben Sheets has never won more than 13.

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Izzy started a sweet DP on Thursday, along with a great turn by Howie. The ball just absolutely flew around the horn, beating out the runner at first by at least two steps.

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Q was sent down to Triple A on Friday when the bullpen was stretched thin. I already explained why I was relieved, but there was an interesting tidbit by Sosh:

"..we'll either slot Matty [Palmer] into our bullpen or look to do something else..But Matty pitched really well for us last year and I think right now we feel like there's going to be a spot for him on the staff."

So if Palmer stays on the 25-man roster, and with Reggie coming back, does that mean (do I dare hope?) that Q is going to stay in Salt Lake?

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Watching the walk-off win on Saturday, my first thought as the Halos streamed out of the dugout was "I hope they don't kill him." It made me cringe to see them jump on Matsui. Next time, give him a hug and a pat on the head instead.