Post Game Discussion: 8/26 Angels @ Rangers

One of the most important series of the year for the Angels, to prove that they're not just a good team that can't beat the Ranger. Unfortunately they fall to the Rangers, 11-7 though the Angels showed signs of life, scoring 7 while trailing 11-0.

Haren: 4.1 innings, 11 H, 6 ER (7 R), 1 BB, 3 K's, 2 HRA

Holland: 6.2 innings, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's

• Wells (13) and Abreu (24) both hit doubles
• Branyan (4) and Kendrick (12) hit homers in the 8th and 9th innings
• 4-9 RISP
• 6 LOB

Holland (12-5) with the win, Haren (13-7) with the loss.

Post Game Discussion: 8/24 Angels vs.White Sox

A big offensive outbreak and the Angels "sweep" the ChiSox by winning 2 games out of the 2 they played.

Weaver: 7 innings, 4 H, 2 BB's, 8 K's

Stewart: 6 innings, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB's, 4 K's, 1 HRA

• Mathis (11), Wells (12), Aybar (25), Callaspo (20), and Abreu (23) all hit doubles
• Hunter added a homerun to the offensive explosion, his 18th of the year
  
• 5-10 RISP
• 3 LOB

Weaver (15-6) with the win, Stewart (1-3) with the loss

Post Game Discussion: 8/23 Angels vs.White Sox

Angels win the first game of a short two game series with a walk off by a hot-hitting Peter Bourjos.

Santana: 8 innings, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's

Buehrle: 6 innings, 7 H, 3 ER (4 R), 1 BB, 2 K's, 1 HRA

• Izturis (28) and Wells (11) both hit doubles
• Kendrick (3, 11) hit a triple and a homerun
• RISP 2-7
• LOB 8
  
  

Walden (4-3) with the win, Frasor (3-3) with the loss.

New Blogger for Wings and Halos

Hi, I'm Dan Hahn, here to post about the Angels, and mostly their farm system. I'm a huge fan, and study the farm very deeply.

A little background, I just turned 16 on July 27, and just started my Junior year of high school. Baseball is my passion, my obsession, and my life. I've played baseball for a long time, and have been an Angels fan ever since I learned the game. I've taken to prospects recently, and have gathered a lot of knowlege, and still have a lot to learn.

I hope you enjoy my work, because I know I will enjoy writing it!!

Down on the Farm: AAA Salt Lake Bees

Today the Bees beat the Sky Sox from Colorado Springs, 23-11.

• McAnulty got his 38th double and Baisley got his 30th double as well
• Jeremy Moore got his 16th triple
• Moore and McAnulty both hit their 15th homeruns on the year
• Baisley raised his RBI count to 97 on the year
• Junge got his 8th win on the year
• Romine went 4-5 with 4 runs scored
  

Breaking Down the Weaver Extension

Jered Weaver was just recently extended to a 5/85MM contract, that comes with a full no-trade clause.This buys out his last year of arbitration, where he was set to earn 10-15MM. What this means for the Angels is that their top 3 starters: Weaver, Haren, and Santana are all locked up until 2013 (assuming Haren and Santana's options are picked up). This also means that Weaver won't be in a Yankee uniform after 2012, which was widely speculated if he got to free agency. Another thing is that he was extended in the middle of the year, and he's a Boras agent which happens very rarely. This shows that Weaver wanted to stay in Anaheim no matter what, he could be a career Angel. With Reagins and Moreno showing that they can negotiate with Boras, maybe they could negotiate a signing for a big bat this offseason. Especially since the contracts of Rodney, Kazmir, GMJ, and Piniero coming off the books, and not to mention Mathis will probably not be offered arbitration, and Morales' arbitration should be fairly cheap. Anyways, enough of that, lets talk about Weaver.

Weaver left a LOT of money on the table when he signed off for the extension.

Burnett: 5/82.5MM
Lackey: 5/82.5MM
Cliff Lee: 5/120MM
C.C Sabathia: 7/152MM
Weaver: 5/85MM

The advantage with him staying in Anaheim, is that he is an extreme flyball pitcher, and having one of the best defenses in the AL AND pitching in a stadium where it is very difficult for a left-handed hitter to hit a home run. Pitching in Angels stadium is perfect for Weaver. For his career, 49.7% of the balls Weaver has allowed to be put in play at home have been fly balls, and only 6.0% of those have been home runs. The defense in the OF will only get better, this years OF:
Wells, Bourjos, Hunter
Next years OF:
Trout, Bourjos, Hunter
2013 OF:
Trout, Bourjos, Grichuk

Weaver made a smart choice to stay in Anaheim, because he pitches perfectly for the stadium and defense around him. After his 5 years are up, he will be 34 going into the offseason, potentially setting him up for another contract, probably around 3 years and 30MM, maybe more. So a 14 year career with the Angels seems reasonable, with him getting his 100th win in a few years, and his 1,000 strikeout next year. He might not be the Angels HOF pitcher, or the best pitcher with the Angels, but he might be one a career Angel. He might pass Chuck Finley in career wins, and Nolan Ryan in career strikeouts (with the Angels, obviously).

The Emergence of Peter Bourjos

What would we do without Peter Bourjos? The top defender on the team, 4th in the AL in dWAR with 1.3, 8th in the AL in WAR with 4.6, and leads the team in triples with 9 (2nd in the AL). He could have a LOT more stolen bases than 17 but he still is a great player, and can only get better. Looking into the future, we could have one of the best outfields (defensively) in the whole league-Trout, Bourjos, and Grichuk. Making only $414,000, Bourjos is a bargain... a major bargain. When I think of Bourjos and what his ceiling can be, I think of Hunter Pence's rookie year:

.322/.360/.539 30 2B, 9 3B, 17 HR, 11 SB's, 26 BB's

Bourjos 2011 year stats:

.286/.339/.454 22 2B, 9 3B, 8 HR, 17 SB's, 24 BB's

Bourjos can easily get his BA up, and his OBP up by next year, where I believe he will hit leadoff. He also can get up to at least 30 SB's a year, and his power numbers will inflate while getting used to the pitching. As I said before, he can only get better.

Look at the picture on the left, this demonstrates how effective Bourjos has been defensively at CF.

And if you're still not impressed, here are some clips of Bourjos at work. **In the comments.**