SEATTLE — Angels manager Ron Washington believes in his hitters. Now he wants to make sure they believe in themselves.
Washington said one of the things that could have contributed to the team’s slumping offense is what he described as an overload of information.
“There’s so much information now in baseball,” Washington said on Tuesday. “Sometimes you let that information dictate how you go up there and have your at-bats. You’ve got to know which type of at-bats you’re capable of having to have those at-bats, and add that information to it, instead of allowing that information to dictate how you go about your business.
“I think with all this information, sometimes these kids totally believe in it 100%, so they don’t ever believe in themselves.”
Washington said the Angels cut back on the scouting information they are providing to hitters a couple of weeks ago, during the series against the San Francisco Giants. The Angels won that series, but they still didn’t score many runs. Four of the nine runs they scored in those three games came in one inning.
After that series, the Angels lost five of six games, hitting .168 and scoring 12 runs.
In order to get the lineup going, Washington tried a new lineup on Tuesday, with Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel hitting in the first two spots.
Washington said during the off day on Monday, he tried about “22 or 23” different lineups.
“I had nothing else to do, so I just grabbed some paper and just started putting down lineups, and that was the one that stuck with me,” Washington said.
DETMERS’ ROLE
Left-hander Reid Detmers seems to have acclimated well to his new role in the bullpen. Detmers has a 2.57 ERA in nine games, with 14 strikeouts and five walks in 14 innings.
“It look like he’s found his niche a little bit,” Washington said. “I think we still look at him as a starter, but it’s nice to see that we can call on him out of that bullpen, and he can come in and give us some quality innings.”
Detmers has been a starter for his whole career until this season, but he had trouble remaining consistently effective.
Detmers said now he’s trying “not to think about,” a return to the rotation, but he’s still willing to go back into the rotation if the Angels ask. For now, he’s probably only able to throw about 50 pitches, so it would take him a few starts to get built back up to the 90 pitches of a normal start.
“I’m having fun,” Detmers said. “I like the role that I’m in. For me, it’s just going out there and competing, trusting all my stuff, and going out there and putting up zeros, which is what my goal has always been. But it’s a little bit different mindset than starting.”
MONCADA UPDATE
Third baseman Yoán Moncada, who is out with a right thumb injury, finally started taking some swings left-handed in the cage. Moncada has been hitting from the right side for more than a week and he’s been doing defensive drills throughout his time on the injured list.
“He said he didn’t feel anything (when swinging left-handed), so that’s a good thing, but with a deep bruise like he has, you never know what’s going to happen,” Washington said. “We’ve just got to keep going and keep ramping it up, checking the boxes, and hope you make it through everything, and then we can get him back on the field.”
NOTES
Right-handed reliever Ben Joyce (shoulder inflammation) is “moving along slowly,” Washington said. “We knew it would be. We just have to wait and how he progresses.” Joyce started playing catch last week. …
The Angels designated infielder J.D. Davis for assignment and called up utilityman Gustavo Campero. Campero was hitting .333 with an .869 OPS at Triple-A Salt Lake. Campero can play the outfield, second base and catcher. Having a third catcher on the roster provides the Angels more flexibility for using catchers Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud. …
The Angels outrighted right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. to Triple-A. Edwards was designated for assignment over the weekend, and then he cleared waivers.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-0, 2.60 ERA) at Mariners (RHP Emerson Hancock, 1-1, 7.71 ERA), Wednesday, 1:10 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM
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