The Advanced Scout – Texas Rangers
The Advanced Scout tries to avoid drinking that tasty-looking hemlock and analyzes the Texas Rangers
Category: Mike Napoli
The Advanced Scout – Texas Rangers
The Advanced Scout steals a sip from Bobby V's huge cup of STFU and analyzes the Texas Rangers.
Buchholz and the Long Ball
Coming in to 2011, we heard from every pundit with a sabermetric calculator that Clay Buchholz would experience some significant…
Sox, Halos Should Revisit Napoli Deal This Offseason
The Red Sox were awarded the waiver claim on Angels catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli, but a deal could not be…
Red Sox should turn focus to catching Yankees
With Sunday night’s loss, the Sox find themselves in the unenviable position of trailing the Rays by 6.5 games. Having…
Runnin’ Wild
Certain to be among the major themes in the ALDS are the Angels’ aggressiveness and superiority on the basepaths. Perennially among the league leaders in steals, the team placed third in 2009, behind Tampa Bay and Texas with 148 thefts. Anaheim will be sure to remind the Sox who’s boss every time their runners take first base. One of the fastest teams in the league, their lineup features multiple skilled runners. Chone Figgins leads the pack with 42 steals on the year, followed by Bobby Abreu at 30. Torii Hunter (18), Erick Aybar (14), Maicer Izturis (13), and Howie Kendrick (11) all cracked double digits in the steals column. Their bench also features quality pinch runners, including outfielder Reggie Willits, who nabbed 27 bases in 2007, along with 16 in 372 plate appearances between AAA and the MLB this season.
Sizing Up the Angels: The Hitters
Make no mistake, this is not the Angels teams of past years, who had been thoroughly cooked by the Sox and served on a platter. They have a lot of advantages over the Boston club: they are healthier, have a deeper rotation (though not as top heavy), and they have momentum from four straight wins and a recent division clincher over the Rangers.
Still, with a new sworn enemy for the next two weeks, let's remove the veil from the Angels and find out who this team really is.
Where to start? Hmm... how about the sluggers?
The Sluggers
1B Kendry Morales: This guy has had one of the biggest turnaround seasons in recent memory. It looked like he was headed straight for the former-prospect label after three lackluster stints with the big club. He's been a completely different hitter in 2009, however, as he's added power and learned how to hit major league off-speed and breaking pitches (particularly the change-up and curve). He has had problems making contact this season though, which is probably the only part of his game that has regressed...
BOS 4, LAA 3: Triple
The Red Sox didn't want to be the only Boston team to lose tonight.
LAA 5, BOS 4: Nothing but Napoli
The Angels were expected to win at least one game in this series, but after falling behind 0-2 in the…