Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Series Preview

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are current below .500 and have lost eight of their last ten games. That probably means the Braves will be swept this weekend.

All joking aside, the Angels have underperformed a bit this year and their fan base isn't too happy with some of the moves that have been made in recent years. They foolishly acquired Vernon Wells and his monstrous contract this past offseason in what was truly one of the worst trades of all time, and while they had an adequate replacement in Kendrys Morales, they let Mark Teixeira go to the Yankees in 2009. Combine that with their failure to sign Carl Crawford this past offseason (whether or not that'll work out in their favor remains to be seen), and LAA has had a pretty tough last few seasons.

Offense:

The Angels have been hit by injuries a bit, but they've still managed to be an average bunch at the plate. They've been led by Howie Kendrick who's had a monster season thus far (.322/.388/.520, .399 wOBA) and he's played solid defense at 2nd base. Infielders Macier Izturis (.313/.369/.449, .361 wOBA) and Erick Aybar (.310/.343/.434, .360 wOBA) have both been impressive at the plate. Those three have been the main forces in the Anaheim lineup. Star 1st baseman Kendrys Morales is on the disabled list for the rest of the season after requiring another surgery on his broken leg.

Catcher Hank Conger has only started starting in the last few weeks, but he's been a pleasant surprise (.273/.333/.442, .345 wOBA) and while Bobby Abreu isn't the player he once was, he's having a decent year once again (.259/.378/.327, .332). Torii Hunter has not been good this season (.218/.304/.322, .288 wOBA), though he still remains as their cleanup hitter. New 1st baseman Mark Trumbo has supplied some power this season (.248/.295/.431, .310 wOBA) and has filled in pretty well for the injured Morales.

The Angels aren't likely to light up the scoreboard every night, but they shouldn't be taken lightly.

Perhaps George Knox can get them going...

Pitching Matchups:

Friday, 10:05EST:

Tim Hudson

#15 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 175

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 14, 1975

Ervin Santana

#54 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Angels

Height: 6-2

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 12, 1982

Despite being a highly-ranked pitching prospect back in the day, Ervin Santana hasn't been able to put it all together in the Major Leagues. He's 1-4 with a 4.85 ERA, though his 3.90 FIP and 3.62 xFIP suggest he's been a little better than his numbers indicate. He'll strike a few guys out (7.76 K/9) and won't walk many (2.43 B/9), though he will give up the long ball (10.4% HR/FB rate; wow.) That said, Santana is a decent pitcher who could give the Braves some problems if he gets on a roll in the early innings.

Saturday, 10:05EST:

Tommy Hanson

#48 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-6

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 28, 1986

Joel Pineiro

#35 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Angels

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 25, 1978

Joel Pineiro's career was nearly over a few years ago before joining the St. Louis Cardinals. Since then, he's overhauled his mechanics and has become one of the more consistent pitchers in baseball. He won't blow you away, but Pineiro (2-0, 1.98 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 3.94 xFIP, 4.28 K/9, 2.83 BB/9) has a nasty sinker (56.3% GB ratio) which causes batters to constantly roll over on his pitches. He'll be a tough opponent for the Braves, and as we've all seen, any soft-tossing righty can dominate us on any given night.

Sunday, 3:35EST:

Derek Lowe

#32 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-6

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 01, 1973

I had no clue who Tyler Chatwood was, and it turns out that he's been pretty bad this year. He's currently 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA, but his 5.49 FIP, 5.28 xFIP, 3.89 K/9, and 5.52 BB/9 numbers are all horrible. Chatwood features three pitches and he throws his fastball a majority of the time. On the rare occasion of a strikeout opportunity, he'll use his curveball and changeup on occasion. The Braves should pound this guy, but again, he's a little-known right-handed starting pitcher with bad numbers. We'll probably get shutout. 

Bullpen:

The Angels bullpen has been pretty bad this season. While the Braves bullpen has been worth 3.1 Wins this season, the Angels are at -0.6. That should tell you something. Rookie closer Jordan Walden (3.32 ERA, 2.12 FIP, 3.42 xFIP) has been a pleasant surprise and is their best and most used reliever. 7th and 8th inning men Fernando Rodney and Hisanori Takahashi have all been pretty decent this year, though lefty Scott Downs (0.84 ERA) has been really impressive. Long-man Rich Thompson has been solid this year.

All-in-all, they're a below-average bunch and can be score upon if you make them work.

Conclusion:

The Braves are catching a break by not having to face Dan Haren or Jered Weaver in this series, but with the way they've swung the bats this week, just about any pitcher can be a challenge for them. With Hudson and Hanson pitching you have to like the Braves' chances to win two games in this series, but who knows? This is a team who played great baseball against the Phillies and then looked like a bunch of Little Leaguers against the Diamondbacks. We'll see what happens.