Apparently the wind is blowing pretty well. Plus it’s really dry, thin air out there, so the ball tends to fly farther and pitches don’t break as much.
Two, they’re formatted with Soth giving a radio interview and interacting with call in characters like “Bubba.” Yeah, they’re corny, but this time it takes like 45 seconds to get to “wait, you’re talking about a high-definition flatscreen from Howards!”
I wonder if the Salt Lake inflated numbers are hurting the development of the Angels AAA hitters. Perhaps it’s time to go back to the land of those affable snow creatures, the Canadians, and have the AAA team in Vancouver or Edmonton.
I think worse than just inflating numbers is the way the thin SLC air tends to make breaking balls less effective.
Then they come up to the Majors and suddenly everyone has this wicked breaking stuff and great moving fastballs and they have trouble adjusting.
The other problem is that I don’t think we emphasized working counts enough in the minors. For the last few years the emphasis has been “be aggressive.” Well that works in the minors because a lot of the newbie pitchers are still learning to throw strikes. In the majors, pitchers can figure out an over-aggressive team and junk-ball them to death.
Now this year the emphasis changed to “work the count” and low and behold our guys are doing just that, taking walks and putting up the highest average in the Cactus League.
The other problem our recent hitters have had is injuries. Kotch, McPherson, Naps, Kendrick… all hampered by injuries in their first few seasons.
The announcers say he’s got 4 hits, but the box score says only 3. Either way, he’s hitting nearly .500 with a good number of ABs and 14 RBI. This is his first homer though.
Just arrived back home from the game today. The wind was definitely blowing out, and helped on probably 2/3 of the home runs. I have never seen anything like today’s game. The wind was a constant 30MPH…
We had a strong head wind driving back to SoCal. Lots of dust in the air, and occasional sand blowing across the road.
In fairness to the players, they were hitting the ball…but the wind was just incredible…blowing straight out to CF. If you got it up in the air, you had a good shot at an HR. Most amazing game I have ever attended for home runs.
Good Da, all...
Hey, just curious if anyone knows anything about Kotchman… He hasn’t played for the last 3 days… Is that something normal for Spring?
Still no GA sightings either… too lazy…..???
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
Injury is giving GA trouble.
Dunno about Kotch.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
hope he's okay...
last i saw he was batting .333
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
Nothing on Rotowire.
I’m guessing he just hasn’t been in the lineup the last few games.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
2-0...
2 run single for Rivera
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
Never hurts to have an early lead. And no, I don't know anything about our 2 guys
in Atlanta.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
A HR by Q makes it 4-0, and we're off to a good start today.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Are you listening to the broadcast?
Cause that inning is over, and we’re up by 6.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
yep
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
I figured I keep people not watching up to date.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. >_>
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Well to wrap it up.
After Wood walked, Rodriguez hit into a force-out, Pettit and Brown got hits and drove in another 2 runs before Aybar ended the inning.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Wood with another walk
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Angels fans still hate Guillen.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Long memories
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Mathis walks.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Yeah, I'm getting the impression Ho-Ram hasn't improved much since last year.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Didn't the Halos jump on him in his last start also?
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Seems that way doesn't it?
Makes you a little sad to realize that it’s Ho-Ram. Then again, he wasn’t all THAT bad coming in today.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Juan Rivera coming alive!!!!
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
Rivera homers. 8-0.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Rivera homers.
8-0
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Johnny!
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Naps!!! Good Bye!!!
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
HR NAPS!
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Napoli hits an absolute bomb.
9-0.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Naps apparently completely destroyed that one.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
WOW!
anaheim angels - March 22, 2009
Ho-Ram throwing batting practice here.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Aw, Rob doesn't quite manage 3 in a row.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
K for Wood
SoCalWine - March 22, 2009
Wook K's.
>_<
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
er... Wood
with a D
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Wood just a little overeager, K#4 on the spring, but he still worked a 7 pitch atbat.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Yeah.
After the last three guys hit it hard to the outfield, it’s easy to feel like you should do the same thing.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
S-Rod with the ground-ball base hit.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
ROFL @ Hud's version of Ho-Ram's conversation with his manager.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Base-hit for Brown.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
can we pay the mariners or As or Rangers
to sign Ho-Ram so we can face him 6+ times a year?
anaheim angels - March 22, 2009
That already happened.
Mariners 2007.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Funny that the Mariners traded Rafael Soriano to the Braves for Ho-Ram
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
Bill Bavasi is the worst GM ever.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
I wish Bavasi was still the GM for the Mariners
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
I'm just glad he's not still OUR GM.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
I think the M's figured that one out in 2007. >_>
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Homer for the Royals
9-1 Angels.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
BTW-
This is pretty typical for Surprise. A lot of the Royals players have 4-5 homers, and this is why.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Their pitchers also generally have high-ish ERAs for the same reason.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Are they wind blown homers?
The dimensions aren’t too bad:
350 down the lines
379 to the alleys
400 to center
http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/spring_training/ballpark.jsp?c_id=kc
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
Strong wind frequently blowing to the outfield, yeah.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Yes.
Apparently the wind is blowing pretty well. Plus it’s really dry, thin air out there, so the ball tends to fly farther and pitches don’t break as much.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Those are some of the smallest dimensions in the cactus league
Remember, they’re up at around 1000 feet, with dry desert air.
mattwelch - March 22, 2009
I tried to answer your Morales question from yesterday's game topic, just FYI.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Robbery by Brown.
Lets hit while the hitting is good, fellas.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Aybar's baserunning is not awesome.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Mathis Homers.
10-1.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Rivera Ks.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Considering he could get out the next 3 atbats and still have had a great day, I'm willing to cut
him some slack. :/
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
and a DP...
stuck in Romania - March 22, 2009
Napoli flies out.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Still 10-1 heading to the 4th.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Howards is where again?
I thought nothing could be worse than those televised Howards commercials…
These radio ads are challening my assumption.
Zoe Necrosis - March 22, 2009
How bad are the radio ads?
What do they do to make them as corny as the TV ads?
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
For one, they're longer
Two, they’re formatted with Soth giving a radio interview and interacting with call in characters like “Bubba.” Yeah, they’re corny, but this time it takes like 45 seconds to get to “wait, you’re talking about a high-definition flatscreen from Howards!”
Zoe Necrosis - March 22, 2009
Brown with his 3rd hit of the game.
I wish he’d hit like this in the majors.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
Royals Homer.
10-2. That was a wind-blown one, apparently.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Any word on which Angels pitchers are scheduled to pitch today?
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
Besides Lackey?
Not that I know of.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Mathis with hit #3.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
3 hits and a walk.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Just throwing this out there
I wonder if the Salt Lake inflated numbers are hurting the development of the Angels AAA hitters. Perhaps it’s time to go back to the land of those affable snow creatures, the Canadians, and have the AAA team in Vancouver or Edmonton.
Fan Since 1981 - March 22, 2009
I think worse than just inflating numbers is the way the thin SLC air tends to make breaking balls less effective.
Then they come up to the Majors and suddenly everyone has this wicked breaking stuff and great moving fastballs and they have trouble adjusting.
The other problem is that I don’t think we emphasized working counts enough in the minors. For the last few years the emphasis has been “be aggressive.” Well that works in the minors because a lot of the newbie pitchers are still learning to throw strikes. In the majors, pitchers can figure out an over-aggressive team and junk-ball them to death.
Now this year the emphasis changed to “work the count” and low and behold our guys are doing just that, taking walks and putting up the highest average in the Cactus League.
The other problem our recent hitters have had is injuries. Kotch, McPherson, Naps, Kendrick… all hampered by injuries in their first few seasons.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
10-4, John seems to be getting a little tired.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
10-7, John's given up 4 HR's in the game.
TheOptimist - March 22, 2009
This would be a fun game to be at with all the home runs hit.
It is not doing much for Big John’s reputation though.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
The announcers said when the game started that this could happen.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Is this what its like for Rockies fans?
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
Yes.
Or it used to be. The humidifier has helped somewhat the last two seasons.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
huh?
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
In recent seasons, the Rockies have kept their game balls in a humidifier
Balls which are more humid don’t travel as far (they proved this conclusively on Mythbusters once). This has helped adjust for the thin air in Denver.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
And actually, it's probably worse, because Denver air isn't near as hot or dry as the air here.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
what humidifier?
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
the team keeps their balls in a humidifier
44FAN - March 22, 2009
and thats legal?
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
apparently it is, since they do it all the time and it is well known they do it
44FAN - March 22, 2009
I think they asked and recieved special permission to do it.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
interesting........
why dont other teams do it then?
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
Because not everyone needs to in order to drive down the absurd offensive numbers their stadium creates.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Texas may want to consider it.......
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
You are not the first to suggest this.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
How about special windy days for ballparks with no wind?
They could use those big wind machines that the movies use to do it. Pass out bags of leaves and confetti to the fans for effects.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Also, the wind today is apparently really bad.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Brandon Wood Ks.
first 2 K game this spring. That’s disappointing.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
At least he did'nt disappear in to thin air as rumored.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
I'd almost prefer that to him going back to being sir Ks a lot.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
10-8
5th homer by the Royals.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
I wonder if Escobar is going to show up today as reported by BryanHarvey'sMoustache fan member
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
uh? eh?
I had not heard this report.
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
Fanshot
Check the main page it’s the top one.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
there is a fanshot about it
44FAN - March 22, 2009
thanks both of yous.......
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
To answer Hud's question, the record for combined homers by both teams in a single game is
12 in the AL and 11 in the NL.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Brown homers.
11-8.
The announcers say he’s got 4 hits, but the box score says only 3. Either way, he’s hitting nearly .500 with a good number of ABs and 14 RBI. This is his first homer though.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Wind or no wind, it still takes the pitcher to throw it over the plate where you can get the wood on it.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Figeroa walks, Aybar gets the hit.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
First and third, one out.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Aybar steals second.
2nd and 3rd, 1 out.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Budde Christ with the 3-run shot.
14-8 Angels.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Ryan Budde does it too.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
6th homer for the Angels, 11th today.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Does anybody think they are going to bat Napoli in the DH spot for any regular season games?
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Dunno.
Maybe if he can’t catch because of the shoulder.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Pavkovitch with the base-knock.
Still one out.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
holy offense batman
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
30-40 mph winds by the way.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Escobar update.
Announcers say he’ll pitch in a minor-league spring training game tomorrow. 30-pitch hard count.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Napoli walks.
Quinlan robbed by Crisp.
Wood, you need a hit buddy.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Robb robbed of a ribby.
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Wood with K number 3 on the day.
Crap.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
not helping his cause today........
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
Nope.
I think he’s seeing everybody else crushing them over the fence and trying too hard.
Kinda figures that the guy with the best power on the field can’t get the bat on it.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
I love how Angels fans roll in ST.
This is almost a home game based on crowd noise.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
well people arent there to see the royals.........
lol
norcaliangelsfan - March 22, 2009
Homer by the Royals.
14-9 Angels. 12 homers in the game total.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Tommy Murphy sighting.
Pinch Running for the Royals.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
S-Rod with crazy-good play to start the DP.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Woody having a rough day :(
but good to see everyone and their mothers hitting homers?
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
It's really windy today, plus surprise is a pretty heavy hitters park.
Though apparently Naps and Budde both hit no-doubters.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
right
but as long as Naps is crushing the ball, i’m happy
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
OT
1) anyone else excited to see the US semi-final tonight?
2) world out of MLBTR is that the ChiSox may have traded for a new lead-off hitter… anyone think it was from us?
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Answers
1) Yes. I’m really hoping we have a good game.
2) They haven’t said anything on the radio broadcast, so I fear not.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
re: 2)
nothing’s been announced outside of Chicago either, so i’m holding out hope
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Im really looking forward to the game
AlohaHalofan - March 22, 2009
Brownie en fuego!
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Matt Brown with his 5th hit.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Figeroa with a single.
1st and 3rd. One out.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
I gotta get something to eat.
Hopefully they get around to Wood again and he gets the bat on it.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Thompson gives up a double to start
not a good sign
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
single
now it’s 1st and 3rd, no out
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
another freaking homer
14-12 Halos.
way to go, Rich
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Rivera lined out
Nappy up
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Nappy walks
Darwin Perez PH-ing for Q-Money
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Callaspo boots the grounder!
runners at 2nd and 3rd!
Woody up
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
WOODY BOMB!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
17-12 Halos!
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Holy Mackrel! Wood hits a homer!
44FAN - March 22, 2009
Brown hits ANOTHER homer!
Matt Brown with a 6 hit game!!
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Big game Browny
AlohaHalofan - March 22, 2009
Woody flashing the leather, too
DP
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
light up that cactus!!!
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Hey, Wood did it!
Alright! Now I don’t feel as bad for him.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
from the way Terry was talking
he NAILED it.
worked himself into a good count, then unloaded
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
Hopefully one of the coaches hit him upside the head in the dugout
and told him to relax.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
it certainly appears that way
howiestheman - March 22, 2009
There were a total of 15 homers by both sides in this game.
Holy cow.
Zu Long - March 22, 2009
Holy Bad Hair Day.
Just arrived back home from the game today. The wind was definitely blowing out, and helped on probably 2/3 of the home runs. I have never seen anything like today’s game. The wind was a constant 30MPH…
We had a strong head wind driving back to SoCal. Lots of dust in the air, and occasional sand blowing across the road.
In fairness to the players, they were hitting the ball…but the wind was just incredible…blowing straight out to CF. If you got it up in the air, you had a good shot at an HR. Most amazing game I have ever attended for home runs.
sothball - March 22, 2009
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