Angelswin take on Cleveland vs New York

On July 4th 2007 it would have been reasonable to assume that the New York Yankees were on their way to missing the playoffs for the first time under manager Joe Torre. The Bronx Bombers were 40-42 11.5 behind the division leading Boston Red Sox.

Fast forward to the last weekend of September and the Yankees have come back from the dead to clinch a playoff spot and are only 2 games behind the Red Sox for the AL East title.

How could this have happened. Their starting pitching outside of Chien-Meng Wang and Andy Pettitte has been abysmal. Mike Mussina and Roger Clemens are showing their age and the bullpen has had a revolving door on it all season.

The easiest answer is likely AL MVP Alex Rodriguez and the surrounding offense. ARod is having arguably his finest season as a pro. They aren't called the "Bombers" for nothing folks. Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, are also having big seasons for the Yanks along with the captain, Derek Jeter.

Cleveland on the other hand has been strong all season long tied for the best overall record in MLB. Led by the 1-2 punch of lefty C.C. Sabathia and right hander Fausto Carmona. The Tribe's offense is also a team full of boppers like the Yanks, featuring five starters (Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta) with 20 plus home runs, six if third baseman Casey Blake can pop two over the boards this weekend.

Unlike the Angels and Red Sox, the Indians and Yankees are hot going into the post season so it should be a very interesting series to watch. Neither team has a very strong bullpen so these games could turn into late inning track meets.

Prediction: Yankees in 5
Yankees "maturity" will overcome a young Cleveland ballclub.

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Los Angeles vs Boston - Take Three

Here we go again.

The match up Angel fans were dreading. With memories of Dave Henderson versus Donnie Moore and Jarrod Washburn versus David Ortiz still fresh in the minds of Angel fans, the Angels vs Red Sox will meet for the third time in Halos post season history.

So, does this mean Angel fans should save their playoff ticket money and not bother showing up ? Does this mean that history is going to repeat itself yet again ?

I say no. Why did I come to this conclusion ?

Because frankly, the Angels haven't played that poor against Boston this season especially if you take away the three game sweep Boston handed the Angels in April when the Halos couldn't have beaten the Bad News Bears. The Angels are 4-3 over their last seven games against Boston, which includes winning two of those four games in Fenway Park.

As of this writing, neither the Angels or Red Sox are playing exceptionally good baseball. Boston is 4-6 over their last ten games while the Angels are 5-5. However, things appear better for the Angels at this point than for Boston.

First off, the 2007 Angels are a much more talented team than the one that took the playoff field in 2004. There will be no Adam Riggs or Alfredo Amezega in the starting lineup this season. Under performing starters like former Angels Darin Erstad and Adam Kennedy have been replaced by Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick.

The Angels will need Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson, Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera primarily to keep up their production while the rest of the line up doing their job of getting runners on, over and in. If the top four in the Angels line up produces the offense should be able to score some runs. Even more so if Guerrero is able to play right field and the Angels can add slugger Kendry Morales into the lineup at designated hitter.

On the pitching front, the Angels will be able to use Kelvim Escobar as a starter instead of out of the bullpen. The thing Mike Scioscia is going to want to avoid is John Lackey and Scot Shields bringing their historical bad showings against Boston into the playoffs.

As far as injuries go. There is some question about the availability of center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., but other than GMJ the rest of the roster seems to be as healthy as to be expected this late into the baseball year.

Unlike 2004, it will be the Red Sox who will face the Angels with many of their contributors at less than 100%.

Sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, while always dangerous aren't having seasons up to their normal power standards. Rookie of the Year front-runner Dustin Pedroia is slumping. Kevin Youkilis and Hideki Okajima are nursing injuries. On top of several starters having disappointing seasons like J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek.

As far as the Red Sox pitching goes. Other than likely Cy Young award winner Josh Beckett and closer Jonathon Papelbon, it's hard to call any Red Sox pitchers dominant. So the Angels should get chances to score off Boston, and it will come down to their execution with runners in scoring position.

Prediction : Angels in 4 games. They'll split in Boston and win their two home games.

John Lackey will oppose Red Sox ace Josh Beckett in Game 1 Wednesday in Fenway Park, and Kelvim Escobar will start Game 2 Friday against Curt Schilling.

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Week in Review: September 17-25

Overall Record: 92-67 Games Ahead: 8.5 Magic # CLINCHED Week Record: 5-2 Pace: 93-69

Opponents: vs. Tampa Bay (3-0), vs. Seattle (2-2), vs. Texas (0-3)

The Impaler Award: The title of this award would imply that it should go to a hitter, a big-bopper, someone who has taken the team and put it on his shoulders, offensively. But I get to hand out these weekly awards, gosh-darnit, and I am giving this one to “Big Game” John Lackey. In order for this team to win the ALDS “Big Game” John will need to bring it the way he has for the entire month of September in which he pitched 35.2 innings and gave up 11 earned runs. In this week in Review? Lackey threw 15 innings and gave up 3 runs. And when the team was stuck on a magic number of 1, “Big Game” John took the ball and threw 7s. 7 innings, 7 strikeouts. He gets The Impaler Award, and rightfully so.

The I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Award: Chone Figgins has undoubtedly been the other MVP of this team, but this past week has been anything but dynamic for Figs. As Angel fans we have been so happy with his newfound approach and his ability to walk that we have overlooked the fact that had he gotten in a full season of At-Bats he would have EASILY had triple digit strikeouts…again! And in this past week Figgins has struck out 9 times in 27 plate appearances while only walking twice. While we are hinging our success on Figgins being the “real deal” let’s hope it doesn’t turn out that he was nothing more than a good substitute.

The LL Cool J “Don’t Call it a Comeback” Award: Darren Oliver has been the rock in a suddenly shaky bullpen. This week was no exception. Aside from Tuesday’s meltdown where Oliver gave up 3 runs, one via a balk, he had pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless relief. And beyond this week Oliver has been so good that Mike Scioscia may have no choice but to hand the ball to him in the 7^th inning of the upcoming big games. Oliver has been so dominant in the 2^nd half he may want to start shopping around for a nice house in Southern California. Don’t be surprised if the Angels bullpen lives and dies with this guy.

Straighten up and Fly Right Award: Garret Anderson has been the wind beneath the Angel’s wings, pun intended. And this past week has been a microcosm of GA’s season: .370, 5 runs scored, 3 RBI, 3 doubles. All of a sudden teams are pitching around Vlad and paying a very deep price as GA has rebounded in the 2^nd half to become the proverbial big bat. He gets an award because this guy takes guff from the fans on daily basis as they call in to radio shows asking for him to retire or “hustle” more. Meanwhile, he never complains, he just goes out there and gets it done. I sure like his left-handed bat in Fenway Park next week.

Coming up: The Angels have an off Thursday before concluding the regular season in Oakland. While much could not have been expected of the Angels in Texas there will be reason for concern if the Angels go up against a struggling Oakland team and get tossed around the way they did against the Rangers. This weekend the Angels send their top three in the rotation. On the offensive side the Angels should be looking to get some cohesiveness going by sending out the playoff-bound one through nine. The team should play this series like it matters and get some confidence before hopping on a flight to Boston. The Angels can take solace in the fact that in the last 7 games played against the Sox (4 in Fenway) they have won 4 of those meetings.

Opponents coming up: at Oakland (75-82) September 28-30, At Boston (unless Pigs fly) TBD

Probable Starters: Lackey (18-9) vs. Haren (15-8), Escobar (17-7) vs. Meyer (0-2), Weaver (13-7) vs. Gaudin (11-12)

Victor Varadi

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2007 In Review

Hey all, how's it going? Long time no talk huh? I just had some things to get off my chest regarding the 2007 season and the Chuckster was gracious enough to lend me this blog to do so. I hope everything is going well with all of you. I'll break this post down into three sections: Predictions, Performance, and Future. Without further ado...

Predictions

In the spirt of fairness, I'd like to address some of my personal predictions that I made before this season started. In the offseason my two huge gripes were the offense and Gary Matthews Jr's contract. With hindsight being 20/20 and all, I feel confident saying that I was wrong about the offense but right about Matthews. So let's scope those two issues out.

Performance

Let's start on the positive note: the offense.

I must say that looking at the runs scored I'm still a bit perplexed. My pre-season prediction was 748 runs. I came to this conclusion because simply we didn't have the ability to score runs in bunches with the combination of our low on base percentage and anemic power. So what's changed?

After reviewing the team statistics for the AL, the answer is on base percentage. The Angels are currently 4th in the AL in runs scored, only the second time since Mike Scioscia has been here that they've been above 7th of 14 teams. What's more, the Angels are also 4th in the AL in on base percentage. A breakdown of Scioscia's tenure is listed below:

2000 - 7th in Runs Scored, 6th in On Base Percentage.
2001 - 12th in Runs Scored, 9th in On Base Percentage.
2002 - 4th in Runs Scored, 4th in On Base Percentage.
2003 - 11th in Runs Scored, 8th in On Base Percentage.
2004 - 7th in Runs Scored, 6th in On Base Percentage.
2005 - 7th in Runs Scored, 9th in On Base Percentage.
2006 - 11th in Runs Scored, 10th in On Base Percentage.
2007 - 4th in Runs Scored, 4th in On Base Percentage.

Who can deny the relation at this point?

So why was I wrong? I didn't think this team had any chance to make as drastic of an improvement with the bats as they have in one season. How did it happen?

Chone Figgins - .341 batting average?
Who knew? His career high to this point is .296, so it's been quite the leap. But his refined approach (and likely a fair share of luck) is to thank. He has been the absolute engine of this team for months now. Like a hurricane churning over warm water, Figgy has driven our offense. Amazing.

Reggie Willits - It seems most want to write him off because he's struggled a bit in recent months. But even struggles included, many teams would like a 26 steal .394 OBP guy at the top of their order. We just have the luxury of playing him down on the bottom because Figgins has been so phenomenal.

These two players have had massive beneficial effects on the offense. Honorable mentions for the OBP category: Kendrick and Kotchman. They are each marked improvements over their predecessors at their respective positions, though their contributions have been dampened by injury.

And I can't forget the man in LF. In the absence of the legitimate power bat I think we still need, Garret has looked like the Garret of old. That Yankees game was fun, huh?

Now that's over, the negative. Matthews' recent stats:

2005: .255/.320/.436/.756
2006: .313/.371/.495/.866
2007: .255/.324/.424/.748

In 2005, no one regarded Matthews as anything more than a capable 4th outfielder. Yet here we are paying for 2006 performance and getting 2005 4th outfielder performance instead.

People laud his glove, I just don't think he's the bee's knees after watching him all season. Statistically, he's having his best season with the glove. It would be an outright lie to say he isn't a sizable improvement over our defensive situation in CF last season. Still, he's prone to his fair share of boneheaded plays. He's unrealistically aggressive on unreachable balls off the wall, and he gets WAY too much credit for robbing 3 homers a year. It's cool, but it doesn't define his defense.

If defense was the goal, we could have had the best CF in baseball, Willy Taveras, for practically nothing. And he's hit well to boot (even if it's in Colorado). And if trades are out of the question, I said at the beginning of the year I would have been fine with giving Willits or Figgins the job until 2008. I still stand by that. (Come on, Willits isn't *THAT* bad with the glove. He made a great catch in the gap just the other day).

Future

I have to say that it looks bright. The direction this offense was taking for several seasons was downward, but they've turned it around this year.

I don't think Figgins is a .340+ hitter. With his new approach (thank you Nate Haynes), I think realistically he can hit somewhere in the .310-.320 range. WIth his speed that makes him quite a produtive player.

Garret's production should be viewed as a pleasant and welcome surprise rather than being relied on for a repeat in 2008.

But I'll leave this long winded post on a final topic: Bill Stoneman. I'm not Stoneman's biggest fan. I still think his refusal to land an impact power bat in the middle of the lineup is ridiculous. Even with our success, this lineup would be that much better if we had a difference maker in the middle. And I think the strategy of signing slowing veterans for huge contracts with the attitude that if they don't produce Arte will just eat the contract is dangerous and cavalier.

But Stoneman has produced. I just can't deny it. He's a genius with the pitching staff, he's conservative with the development of the youngsters, and he doesn't re-sign unproductive veterans. Most of all, he wins wins wins.

Stoneman deserves that extension.

Now let's kick some ass in the playoffs.

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ANGEL MVP's KEY TO POSTSEASON

Figgins and Guerrero Look to Forget Playoffs Past
By Adam Dodge

As Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins celebrate a third division title in four years after yesterday’s 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners, they have to be itching to get a crack at either the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox in the upcoming ALDS. Arguably the Angels’ co-Most Valuable Players during the regular season, neither Figgins nor Guerrero have been particularly good for the Halos in the postseason. In 2004 and 2005 combined, Figgins reached base just 9 times in 54 plate appearances and was a disappointment defensively. Vladimir Guerrero wasn’t much better hitting just .180 with a homerun and 7 RBI in his playoff career.

A repeat of these offensive performances by the club’s key hitters and the Angels will likely be one and done regardless of which AL East team they play.

Luckily for Angel fans, a repeat of 2004 and 2005 is not likely.

After all, the Chone Figgins of today is much different than the Chone Figgins of seasons past. His swing is shorter, his discipline better and his up the middle/other way approach has Figgins hitting .344 – nearly 50 points higher than his career average. A free swinger in the past, and a hitter that tried to do way too much, look for Figgins, a league leader in on base percentage to take many more pitches and gladly accept walks this go around.

Fans need only look at Sunday’s AL West clinching game to see the change. Twice up with a man on third base, a left handed hitting Figgins went the other way, each time flying out deep to left field for sacrifice flies. The former pull happy hitter was unwilling to negotiate pitchers’ pitches like the newer version.

A different regular season Figgins should logically mean a different postseason Figgins as well and a much different Angel offense with one of the games best baserunners on base.

It’s hard to pin point Guerrero’s past playoff struggles. It’d be easy to say that he placed too much pressure on himself and tightened up. But Guerrero did hit a game tying grand slam in game 3 of the 2004 ALDS against Mike Timlin and the Boston Red Sox. It’s hard to get a bigger hit under more pressure than that one.

In 2005 the White Sox did successfully, what other teams could not do during the regular season – bust Guerrero in with fastballs, before living several inches off the plate away with off-speed pitches. The recent and unexpected return of a healthy Garret Anderson as a legitimate middle-of-the-order hitter should allow Guerrero to see better pitches this time around. Also consider that the Red Sox, Yankees and Indians do not present the quality or depth of starting pitching the White Sox had in October, 2005, which shut down not only Guerrero and the Angels, but each team it faced in the 2005 postseason.

In any case, Vlady will have to be “relatively selective” if he is to have a break out post-season for the Angels and lead his team to a World Series. That is to say that with Anderson, Maicer Izturis and Casey Kotchman producing with runners in scoring position, teams should be reluctant to completely pitch around the Angels’ slugger.

Another factor in the Angels’ favor is the overall offensive depth the team has shown this season. Top to bottom, this Angel club can hit, and is more patient than past versions. Orlando Cabrera is having a career year. Kotchman has emerged as a plus hitter with patience and pop, and having a .320+ hitting Howie Kendrick makes the bottom of the line-up formidable. Once THE offense, Figgins and Guerrero are now - simply part of a unit.

Figgins and Guerrero are two of the biggest reasons the Angels are AL West champions for the third time in four years. And though they still have to carry the team if it hopes to hang another World Series flag in left center field, when Manager Mike Scioscia says they don’t, he’s not exactly lying either.

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Your 2007 AL West Champions !

by Eric Denton
AngelsWin.com

Sunday, September 23, 2007, the day the Angels can utter the word they've been fighting for.

"PLAYOFFS"

The time for celebration is here, the first goal has been achieved. The Angels shrugged off multiple trips to the disabled list by their regulars and at times a sputtering offense and bullpen inconsistencies to capture their sixth AL West Championship.

A 7-4 victory eliminated the second place Seattle Mariners and put the Angels into the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons under manager Mike Scioscia.

While the Angels do not know who they will be facing in the post-season at this point, but they do know who it might be. The Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox have clinched playoff berths, with the New York Yankees in the drivers seat to capture the AL Wild Card. The Halos still have some work to do in the 2007 season. It would be nice for the Angels to end up with the best overall record assuring them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. While home field would be beneficial to the Angels, (they finished their home schedule 54-27, matching the 2002 World Series championship team for the best mark in franchise history.) resting some banged up regulars is going to be the main focus for Mike Scioscia.

The Angels have a 6-3 record against the Yankees, 5-5 record against the Indians and 4-6 against the Boston Red Sox. However, in their last seven meetings against Boston, the Angels are 4-3 winning two of four games at Fenway Park in August.

For some Angels this is their first champagne party. Center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. summed up why he came to the team this off-season.

"I knew champagne stings your eyes, but I had no idea it stings your skin. But you know what? This is the reason I came here, because I thought this was the best opportunity to win."

This Angels team has a much better chance in this writers opinion than they did in either 2004 or 2005. Those teams, while good clubs, did not have that certain spark this club has. Mike Scioscia has used over 100 different lineup combinations this year. When given a chance, the Angels youngsters and bench players came up big. Casey Kotchman and Chone Figgins regained their form in 2007. Reggie Willits showed he could be a premiere lead off hitter in MLB. Macier Izturis is currently leading the club batting .404 with RISP. Kendry Morales, Jeff Mathis were also big contributors to the club after mediocre showings in 2006.

This years playoff team will not feature AAAA players such as Alfredo Amezega and Adam Riggs or a still wet behind the ears Dallas McPherson as was the case in 04, or Kelvim Escobar pitching out of the bullpen in 2005. This years team seems to finally be healthy at the right time. Mike Napoli, Juan Rivera, Justin Speier, Howie Kendrick and Gary Matthews are back in the lineup in time for the post-season.

Vladimir Guerrero will have a productive Garret Anderson batting behind him this year. Hopefully this will give Guerrero more pitches to see and the team MVP will have a big post-season after a disastrous one in 2005. The Angels will also need Chone Figgins and his .344 batting average to maintain the same consistency during the playoffs.

"The goal in this clubhouse has not been reached," said John Lackey during the celebration. "We're going to have a good time tonight . . . but we have three more [celebrations] to go. I've been through all of them, and it gets better as you go."

Lackey is right.

The ultimate goal has not been reached and each celebration is sweeter than the next. It's been five years since the 2002 World Series Championship.
Only Anderson, Lackey, Figgins, Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez remain. With the exception of Anderson, these players were all rookies in 2002 and have learned you don't win a championship every season and reaching that goal is one you have to earn. Along with Guerrero, this is their team and their time to shine and show the world that the "other" LA team is the premiere franchise in Major League Baseball.

Three more champagne parties to go. If everything goes right the next time we'll see a picture of a soaked Arte Moreno, he'll be holding the Halos second World Series trophy.

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The Angels AL West Champs T's are here!

The 2007 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are American League West Champs! Display your pride and excitement with the "official" unofficial division champions t-shirt brought to you by the fans at AngelsWin.com.

Snag a t-shirt, sweatshirt or cap at a fraction of the cost of the stadium gear. T-shirts start at $9.99!

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AngelsWin.com ... unraveling Angels baseball one thread a time.

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The Eddie Bane Connection - September Edition

September Edition
September 20th, 2007
Interview conducted by Senior Editor, Chuck Richter

Eddie, it's that time of the month again to connect and proceed with what is to be the final Eddie Bane Connection segment on the Angels Minor Leaguers in 2007. (More on that later)

I want to thank you for all of your time you've put into this as I've received numerous thank you emails over the last year and a half from Angels fans across the country that can't wait for this segment every month as they share the same passion I do in following what could be not only future Halos, but perhaps future All Stars in the major leagues down the road.

You're the best Eddie, thank you for sharing your insights with us all. We at Angelswin.com truly appreciate it & thoroughly enjoy it.

Ok, roll up your sleeves, let's dig in....

Q: (Angelswin) - Eddie, the minor league season has ended and there have been a few surprises this season. Who sticks out in your mind as most surprising minor league player in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - The most pleasant surprises this year were players such as Trevor Bell showing the plus stuff he showed as an amateur. Also, Jordan Walden and Robert Fish both have superior stuff and they were able to get it over the plate in good spots much quicker than I thought they would. That is in large part due to Zeke Zimmerman and Kernan Ronan, our pitching coaches. At the end of the summer Walden threw 100 mph in a game and only walked one batter in that game. Outstanding at an early part of his career. Ryan Mount is beginning to open all the eyes that I thought he would. He has surprising power.

Q: (Angelswin) - On the heels of the most surprising player in 2007, what Angels' minor leaguer do you think took a step backward in his development in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - That is impossible to answer as I always see the glass as half full. I would say that injuries are the only thing that deter me. Nate Boman and Jon Bachanov both missed time and I hate seeing that.

Q: (Angelswin) - Before we get into our categorized awards, what Angels' minor leaguer would you consider, naming just one, would be your selection for the Angels' Minor League Player of the Year?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Chris Petit is the name that comes quickly to mind.

Q: (Angelswin) - What Angels' Minor Leaguer displayed the best approach at the plate and discipline in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - I try and stress to our scouts to seek aggressiveness and the other stuff will come. Sweeney, Pettit and Conger come to mind immediately when talking about hitting. Statia is also going to be good at all the things that come with discipline.

Q: (Angelswin) - What Angels' Minor Leaguer would you consider the best 'hitter' for his contact rate & ability to hit for a high batting average in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - I still think our best hitter in the minor leagues this year was Kendry Morales when he was in Salt Lake. He went on a streak in SLC and LA where every time he swung was a rocket off the wall. I have said for a long time that when he does get comfortable in the USA he is going to be a real tough out.

Q: (Angelswin) - What Angels' Minor Leaguer showed the most raw power in 2007'?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Mark Trumbo has as much raw power as any player in baseball.

Q: (Angelswin) - What Angels' Minor Leaguer displayed a mirror of the Angels prototypical player with the aggressive philosophy on the bases, success rate of stealing bases, ability to put the bat on the ball making a productive out and for laying down a bunt successfully in 2007? Additionally, who was clocked the fastest from home plate to first base among the Angels minor leaguers in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Chris Petit and PJ Phillips fit in this category. PJ stole a lot of bases this season. Look at what his brother did this year. 30-30 and Brandon Phillips is a late bloomer. Sean Rodriguez is a good baseball player also. Peter Bourjos is the fastest player in the organization and has to get better at stealing bases and taking over a game that way. In this organization he will learn that over time.

Q: (Angelswin) - Most raw talent offensively, despite the lack of statistical numbers in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) -PJ Phillips has a ton of potential. The entire Cedar Rapids team will just get better and better as they learn the rigors of 162 games.

Q: (Angelswin) - Lastly, before we switch gears to the pitching awards, who in your mind wins the best defensive player in 2007, both in the outfield and infield (1 a piece)?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Peter Bourjos is our best defender in the outfield and Statia and Andrew Romine are the best infield defenders.

Q: (Angelswin) - The Angels Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2007 is?

A: (Eddie Bane) - That is a tough one. I will give out the names to consider in my mind, Nick Adenhart, Nick Green, Miguel Gonzalez, Darren O'Day, Sean O'Sullivan, David Herndon, Robert Fish and Jordan Walden. I would say that O'Sullivan leading the league in ERA is the most impressive.

Q: (Angelswin) - Which Angels Minor League pitcher commanded the strike zone the best in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - O'Sullivan has Major League command right now. But, if you look at that entire staff at Cedar Rapids and most of them threw wall to wall strikes which is again a compliment to Dan Ricabal and Kernan Ronan. I will say that conversion pitcher, Marco Albano switched from being an infielder and threw nothing but quality strikes.

Q: (Angelswin) - What Angels Minor League pitcher showed the best fastball for both his movement and velocity in 2007? Which Angels' Minor League Pitcher clocked the highest on the radar gun in '07 as well?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Adenhart still has the best fastball for location, life and velocity when he is right. Walden touched 100 and threw several 99's in the playoffs. The neat thing about Jordan is that he threw his best fastball later in the game when the game was on the line. Most impressive.

Q: (Angelswin) - Best curveball demonstrated by an Angels Minor League pitcher in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - I am not sure it is the best in our system, but new draftee Trevor Reckling has had his curveball compared to Barry Zito. Pretty good company.

Q: (Angelswin) - Best slider demonstrated by an Angels Minor League pitcher in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - I need more time to think on that one, I've seen some good sliders thrown in our system.

Q: (Angelswin) - Best changeup demonstrated by an Angels Minor League pitcher in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Nick Green has an outstanding change.

Q: (Angelswin) - Lastly, which Angels Minor League relief pitcher would you say showed the best punch-out pitches and knack for closing games out in 2007?

A: (Eddie Bane) - Warner Madrigal has big league stuff. Darren O'Day will pitch in the big leagues with his nasty underhand delivery. Hard to say who will be a closer as usually that happens at the Major League Level or in 3-A.

As always Eddie, we thank you for your time and efforts as there was a lot of questions here in this segment, We'll conclude our Eddie Bane Connection next month with some non Angels' Prospect questions, calling the segment "The Lighter Side of Eddie Bane". Should be a blast!

(Eddie Bane) Thanks Chuck and thanks readers. It is really great to have this kind of interest in Angel baseball and all our scouts really appreciate the interest and the questions keep us on our toes. With Kotchman, Morales, Kendrick, Aybar, Mathis, Napoli, Weaver, Wood and others you are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. Bill and Arte have allowed us to sign players which is not always the case in other organizations. Look at our roster some time and you will see that we have more homegrown players that play important roles than any team in baseball. 4/5's of the rotation along with the closer and setup guy are all homegrown. This allows Arte and Bill the opportunity to do the right things when the free agent market opens. That is why the Angels simply have the best all around organization in the game of baseball.

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’07 Angelswin Prospect Hotlist, 21st Edition

1. Seth Loman, 1B, Rookie League, AZL Angels
Seth was red hot to close out the year going 10-16 (.625avg) with two homeruns, five doubles, and 10 RBI in his last four games. The 21 year old switch hitting first baseman finished the year with 25 extra base hits, and 1.069 OPS, and 34 RBI in just 155 at bats. He finished in the top five for all three triple crown categories and walks. It was feast or famine for Seth as he also led the AZL in strikeouts with 69.

2. Nick Gorneault, OF, Class AAA, Salt Lake Bees
Nick was a forgotten man for most of the year as he really only got things going toward the end of the season. He hit in 8 of his last nine going 16-38 (.421avg) with four doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI. He saw his season average dip about twenty points from last year to .261 yet he continued to show some decent power slugging 19 home runs and smacking 24 doubles. Hopefully he can work his way back to the show so he can get that first major league hit.

3. Blake Holler, RP, Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Blake was a late season addition to the Quakes and he proved that his call up was justified. In two starts for the Angels high A affiliate he logged 13 innings and gave up only two earned runs while striking out eight and walking two. Blake had some control problems last year with twenty walks in 30.2 innings for Orem, but seems to have found his command as the 6’4” lefty had only 17 walks and fanned 71 in 79 innings between Cedar and Rancho.

4. Brandon Wood, 3b/SS, Class AAA, Salt Lake Bees
Brandon finished the season with a nine game hit streak going 14-37 (.378avg) in that stretch with three home runs, six doubles, and six RBI. He raised his overall season average to a very respectable .272 and had 51 extra base hits in 437 minor league at bats. Not exactly the ‘monster’ season one would expect from a top prospect in an organization with a slew of other top notch players, but reasonable considering that he was shuttled back and forth from the big club quite a bit and endured a position change fairly well.

5. Hank Conger, C, Low Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels
Hank “The Tank” shook off his mid season injuries to finish strong in his Kernels campaign. In his last ten games he went 12-33 (.364avg.) with three doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. Overall, he hit .290 with an .809 OPS. and had 31 extra base hits in 290 at bats. Not bad for a 19 year old catcher. If his defense progresses he could move through the ranks pretty quickly as he has shown he can handle the bat pretty well. He may however, be blocked by the ever improving Jeff ‘Mike’ Mathis (I had to work that in somewhere).

6. Alex McRobbie, SP, Class AA Arkansas Travelers
This kid flew under the radar for most of the season as he joined the Quakes mid year. He only made ten starts and gave up two earned runs or less in 7 of them. Two of his first three starts were fairly forgettable and largely responsible for his ERA being 3.43 on the season. He even logged a complete game shutout on 8/10/07. Alex was a Toronto farmhand last year in which he was mediocre for their rookie ball club after a solid career as a reliever for UCSB.

7. Tommy Murphy, OF, Class AAA, Salt Lake Bees
Tommy was on fire the Last week to end what is will likely be a fairly forgettable season for him. Over his last ten games he was 14-33 (.424avg) with a triple, three doubles, and two home runs. He was able to get the season average to .270 although his overall power numbers were down from last year. Hopefully, he can build on his strong finish and find his way back to the majors although perhaps with a different club considering all of the young talent in the Halo’s system.

8. Barret Browning, RP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels
Barret threw up a string of zeroes for the Kernels to end the season. He went his last nine outings without giving up a run – a span of 14 innings in which he struck out 13 and walked only four. On the year the 22 year old lefty made 48 relief appearances and struck out 74 in 74 innings while giving up only 54 hits and holding opponents to a .201avg. His season ERA was a very solid 2.80 and he was ridiculously tough against lefties holding them to a .132avg.

9. Warner Madrigal, RP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels
As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield once said, “The answer is…..four.” So what’s the question? That’s how many earned runs Warner gave up over June, July, August, and September. He pitched 37.1 innings over that stretch in which his ERA was 0.97. He also whiffed 54 batters and recorded 18 saves in that time. I think we can stop attaching the ‘once outfield prospect’ to his name and just consider him a top relief prospect.

10. Sean O’Sullivan, SP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels
Although he was less than dominant in his last start of the season giving up 4 earned runs over six, Sean was lights out in the prior outing allowing only three hits over eight innings. At that point he had gone 36.2 innings giving up only two earned runs and striking out 26 while walking only seven. On the season, Sean led the Midwest league in ERA at 2.22 and finished second in innings at 158.1.

Player to keep an eye on:
Bobby Cassevah, RP, Low Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels
Bobby had a strong second half after seeing his workload increase. He had a 1.42 ERA over his last ten outings which included 19 innings and 17 strikeouts. On the season the 21 year old righty threw only 39.1 innings but made his call up to the Kernels seem like a smart move as he had a 2.32 ERA and 25 strike outs in 32 innings for Cedar.

On the outside looking: Jose Arredondo, Ben Johnson, Trevor Bell, Michael Anton, Brad Coon, Jordan Renz, Anthony Ortega, Young-Il Jung, Chris Garcia, Matt Sweeney, Freddy Sandoval, Jeremy Haynes, Brok Butcher, Jordan Walden, Mark Trumbo, Robert Mosebach, PJ Phillips, David Herndon, Steven Marek, Chris Pettit, Andrew Romine, Chris Armstrong, Matt Brown, Jay Brossman, Gordon Gronkowski, Nick Adenhardt, Doug Brandt, Miguel Gonzalez, Terry Evans, Tommy Mendoza, Cliff Remole, and Ryan Mount.

Please stay tuned for the @ngelswin.com Minor League Top Performers and Biggest Disappointments for the 2007 season.

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