THE ANGELS won their first seven spring training games. Is that a sign of anything?

How ‘bout them Angels? They won their first seven spring training games, and as I write this, have the best record of any Major League Baseball team. Good sign, eh?

Well, it’s not bad news, but it’s not exactly time to order the World Series tickets. A study done in 2012 comparing spring training records to regular season records suggested that a very good spring resulted – on average – in an improvement of 10.5 percent over the previous year, on average.

In terms of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (how I love that name!), the Halos won 74 games. An improvement of 10.5 percent would give them about eight more wins, putting them at 82 victories.

That’s probably not worth a playoff spot, but it is a winning record and likely enough to keep the Halo fans happy for a bit.

WHILE WE’RE GUESSING ….

Early season baseball games in high school aren’t necessarily more predictive of outcomes than spring training for MLB teams.

But, just for fun, here’s how teams in the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Westminster area started off in the young bat and ball season.

Huntington Beach and Marina are both off to 3-0 starts, with Edison at a very respectable 4-2. Garden Grove and Rancho Alamitos each won both of their first two games.

In softball, Santiago is red-hot with a 6-0 mark. Also looking good out of the gate are Pacifica (2-0), Rancho Alamitos (3-1) and Los Alamitos (3-1).

HUNTINGTON BEACH High School is one of six comprehensive high schools in the HBUHSD and the oldest, having been established in 1906 (OC Tribune photo).

CONGRATS OILERS!
The Huntington Beach girls’ basketball team came with a whisper of winning the CIF-SS Division 1-A title on Friday. Frankie Wade-Sanchez was the star for the Oilers, scoring 29 points in HB’s 41-38 loss to Bishop Montgomery.

It’s been quite a good year for Huntington with the athletic year still not over. The girls’ soccer team made it to the CIF-SS semifinals. The boys’ water polo team made it to the Division 1 finals. The girls’ volleyball team reached the CIF SoCal Regional finals.

That’s pretty good decade for some prep athletic programs and the Oilers did it in less than one year. So our newsboy hats are off to the boys and girls over there. They’re not just surfers, y’know’?
AND IT’S NOT OVER YET …

Spring sports are underway, but the basketball playoffs just go on and on. Two local teams are in action this week in the CIF SoCal Regionals. In Division II play, Huntington Beach will visit Poway on Wednesday and Orangewood Academy will host Carson. Winners will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Monday Morning Coach is written by Pete Zarustica.