There seem to be 2 conflicting numbers representing Aybars bunting success last year. I don't know who's right, Dochalo says 16-40, which is a .400 success rate. I can't seem to find the splits on ESPN, so I don't know for sure.
Anyway, I was not arguing the success rate of Aybars' bunt attempts, I was simply stating this his successful bunts tended to happen at a time where they had little to no impact on the outcome of the game. Kinda like Vernon Wells hitting a home run in the 9th inning of a game when we're down by 4 runs.
Wellsy-esque (adj.) : Hitting a home run in the 8th or 9th inning when the team is winning, or losing, by 4+ runs.
Yeah, you get the mark on your stats, and 25 for Wells in 2011 looks nice, but how much did it really help the team?
So maybe I'm wrong, I'm just recalling what I've seen the past couple years from Aybar, and I do pay attention to a lot of Angel games during the season. And you know what? I'm definitely pulling for Aybar to reek some havoc in the box and on those basepaths this year. He pushes the envelope when it comes to aggressiveness, and it's nice to see the passion. But like I said, I would like him to take those risks with a smarter approach.
Successful teams DO NOT waste outs. And with the bats we have, there's no reason to.