Angels mailbag: Reasons for hope as the season ends

What is up, fans of the Angels? Let’s get right into this week’s mailbag. With the season two weeks from conclusion, the club is 65-84 and on pace to win 71 games. They would pick seventh in the 2017 MLB draft if the season ended at this moment. This is the place to ask anything you want about the Angels, with questions submitted through my email (pedro.moura@latimes.com) and Twitter accounts (@pedromoura).

Humans have been playing baseball for about a century and a half. All men have been allowed to play for about half that time. One of the best to ever play the sport — potentially the best to ever play — is an Angel. That seems like a pretty good, rational reason.

Baseball teams can turn their fortunes around quicker than we think. Look at Houston, which went from one of the worst teams in baseball history in 2013 to a 2015 championship contender. No, the Angels’ organization is not positioned the way the Astros’ once was. But it could happen with drastic, immediate improvement and some luck.

Hello Pedro! 

Do you have any idea when they stopped referring to a batter coming up after the batter on deck as the batter 'in the hole'? I've found a lot of web sites that describe where it comes from, but none indicating why it's no longer used.

Haven't heard it used in a long time. Could be because it has a slightly negative tone to it?

Best regards,

Charles Johnson

Long Beach

I do recall that phrase being used regularly when I was watching baseball on television as a child. I definitely do not hear it as often now, but I thought that was mostly a product of my changing habits: Ninety percent of the baseball I watch is in person. Your question made me curious, though, and some people I polled who still watch on TV said they hear it occasionally. I don’t think there’s been an outright recall, or anything.

I do know that Vin Scully has said during broadcasts the phrase was supposed to be “in the hold.” That makes sense, because it’s a shipping term, as is “on deck,” which has obviously stuck. The story goes that it was misheard over time. 

Stadium development generally takes a long time, except in the case of the Atlanta Braves, who are somehow going to have a new ballpark next opening day, not four years after the idea was first floated.

So I will say a playoff victory comes first.

I entirely understand the desire to learn about the draft in advance, because the choice the team makes with the first pick will be significant for the future of the franchise, but it is simply too early to add any value to this discussion. The man the Angels hired to lead their effort to canvas the country for that pick, Matt Swanson, comes well-regarded. He has nine months to find a future impact player, and that chase will be covered by The Times.

Pedro,

Did I read correctly that if the Angels decide to sign a free agent, their Top 10 pick in the MLB draft is protected? 

Thanks

Jon

That is correct, although there exists one potential impediment, in that MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement is due to expire in December, and executives expect something to be worked out before that could adjust the entire framework of the compensation system, as did the last CBA negotiation. But, as of now, yes.

I have been lucky to attend some wonderful baseball games, most of them while working. My favorite moment I’ve witnessed at a ballpark was Yoenis Cespedes’ throw from the left-field foul pole at Angel Stadium to nail Howie Kendrick at home plate a couple years ago. I can still see the arc of the ball in my mind. Second would be Juan Uribe’s game-winning home run in the 2013 National League division series at Dodger Stadium, where he did jazz hands as he watched the baseball depart the ballpark and the whole place trembled.

The best game was probably Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter at Dodger Stadium on June 18, 2014. That was a week after Cespedes’ throw. It was a good week for ball.

The first ballgame I attended was on April 23, 1999 at Dodger Stadium, the Cardinals against the Dodgers. Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in a single inning against Chan-Ho Park. That set the tone for my life following this sport, I suppose.

I don’t know of any large group of people that all individually get along. Do you?

I have not seen Angels owner Arte Moreno at many games this season, no. But it is possible he is still coming sometimes. I know he was shown in his suite during one of the team’s nationally televised games in July or August. Moreno has declined repeated requests for an interview with The Times.

I don’t think I would be a good general manager. Anyway, the industry deemed Billy Eppler qualified for the job he holds, and he has done nothing in his near-year with the team to indicate otherwise. That is not to say he has not made mistakes. He has. But so has every other GM in the sport, including Billy Beane, who you cited. The Josh Donaldson trade he made two off-seasons ago was probably the second-worst in recent years, after, of course, the Diamondbacks’ inexplicable decision to acquire Shelby Miller.

In theory, trading Trout would be an answer worth exploring, but in practice it can never happen because of the financial implications. As far as drafting better players, of course that’s the goal and the plan, but is not nearly that simple. I guess the one thing I can say worth mentioning is that I would take big risks on prospects. The Angels are not going to find their way out of this mess with safe selections. Too many competitors are too far ahead of them already. They must catch up.

This is a question from a couple weeks back, but I thought I’d address it here. Lincecum is not coming back up this season, but I do expect him to get another opportunity next spring with some team. It might have to be in the bullpen, though. Only a few organizations were interested in him as a starter this year, and his performance in nine starts did not help.

That concludes this week’s Angels mailbag. Send in your questions to the below addresses at any time, and check back each Monday for answers.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura