Angels runnin' away.
- Thread starter Sicc_Wit_It
- Start date
Chavez/Durazo/Kendall will all come around. The flu is why Kotsay was benched today, but the rest are just off to slow starts. I expect Chavez, Durazo, Kendall, Crosby and Kielty to make big contributions to the offense this year, even though they haven't done anything yet... If the A's can hang around .500 despite a slow start they're in very good shape.
But Oakland was a lot better last season. They'll finish the season under .500, and probably won't make it better than 1 or 2 games over the rest of the way.
As for Seattle; I thought they'd maybe give Anaheim a battle, but it looks like both Beltre and Sexson are gonna have less-than-spectacular seasons. Therefor making Seattle an under .500 team.
As for Seattle; I thought they'd maybe give Anaheim a battle, but it looks like both Beltre and Sexson are gonna have less-than-spectacular seasons. Therefor making Seattle an under .500 team.
Oakland was not better last season.
Their bullpen is a million times better than last year, their offence is almost the same except for upgrading Miller to Kendall, Kielty got a lot better and is healthy, Scutaro learned to be patient, and Swisher was replaced by Dye (Dye wasn't doing shit anyway.) For the rotation, put Zito aside cuz Zito is Zito... But Harden is way better than he was last year, and Hudson/Mulder/Redman = Blanton/Haren/Saarloos/Meyer. Mulder was shit the entire second half of last season, and Redman couldn't pitch in Oakland.
If you think Oakland is worse than they were last year either you don't get it or you're not paying attention and just writing them off because the "Big Three" are gone.
Their bullpen is a million times better than last year, their offence is almost the same except for upgrading Miller to Kendall, Kielty got a lot better and is healthy, Scutaro learned to be patient, and Swisher was replaced by Dye (Dye wasn't doing shit anyway.) For the rotation, put Zito aside cuz Zito is Zito... But Harden is way better than he was last year, and Hudson/Mulder/Redman = Blanton/Haren/Saarloos/Meyer. Mulder was shit the entire second half of last season, and Redman couldn't pitch in Oakland.
If you think Oakland is worse than they were last year either you don't get it or you're not paying attention and just writing them off because the "Big Three" are gone.
You point out how Oakland's pen is performing better than last season, yet concerning their offense you think they'll turn it around. How do you know their pen won't cool down? Simply put; on paper they're a worse team than they were in 2004, and yes both Hudson and Mulder are a big part of it. And so far they're both showing why with their new clubs.
Starting Pitchers
SP Barry Zito
SP Tim Hudson -> Joe Blanton (Obvious downgrade, but Hudson has been injured and missed time every year except for 2001. But still, Blanton is having a hell of a year so far, his ERA is in the mid 2's.)
SP Mark Mulder -> Danny Haren (Because of Mulder's mid-season meltdown in 2004, the shoes Haren has to fill aren't as big as the media plays them up to be.)
SP Rich Harden (Harden was one of the best pitchers after the All-Star break last year, and has picked up where he left off.)
SP Mark Redman -> Kirk Saarloos (Redman couldn't pitch at home, and Saarloos proved himself by filling in for Hudson while he was injured last year, covering 5 or 6 of his starts and only losing 1 game.)
Bullpen
CP Arthur Rhodes -> Octavio Dotel
RP Justin Duchscherer
RP Chad Bradford
RP Chris Hammond -> Kiko Calero
RP Jim Mecir -> Juan Cruz
RP Ricardo Rincon
RP Justin Lehr -> Huston Street
Infield
3B Eric Chavez
SS Bobby Crosby
2B Mark McLemore -> Mark Ellis
1B Scott Hatteberg
Util Marco Scutaro (Scutaro has learned patience in the off-season and is a much better hitter. 3 more walks and he'll match last year's season total.)
Util Eric Karros -> Nick Swisher
C Damian Miller -> Jason Kendall
C Adam Melhuse
Outfield
CF Mark Kotsay
LF Eric Byrnes
RF Jermaine Dye -> Nick Swisher (Dye was a bust, even though he's a rookie, I wouldn't call Swisher a major downgrade. He's also younger and is a switch hitter.)
OF Bobby Kielty (Kielty is not hurt this year and is hitting like he's capable of again.)
OF Billy McMillon -> Charles Thomas (Billy Mac hit about .180... Anybody is an upgrade.)
Really not seeing how this team got worse.
SP Barry Zito
SP Tim Hudson -> Joe Blanton (Obvious downgrade, but Hudson has been injured and missed time every year except for 2001. But still, Blanton is having a hell of a year so far, his ERA is in the mid 2's.)
SP Mark Mulder -> Danny Haren (Because of Mulder's mid-season meltdown in 2004, the shoes Haren has to fill aren't as big as the media plays them up to be.)
SP Rich Harden (Harden was one of the best pitchers after the All-Star break last year, and has picked up where he left off.)
SP Mark Redman -> Kirk Saarloos (Redman couldn't pitch at home, and Saarloos proved himself by filling in for Hudson while he was injured last year, covering 5 or 6 of his starts and only losing 1 game.)
Bullpen
CP Arthur Rhodes -> Octavio Dotel
RP Justin Duchscherer
RP Chad Bradford
RP Chris Hammond -> Kiko Calero
RP Jim Mecir -> Juan Cruz
RP Ricardo Rincon
RP Justin Lehr -> Huston Street
Infield
3B Eric Chavez
SS Bobby Crosby
2B Mark McLemore -> Mark Ellis
1B Scott Hatteberg
Util Marco Scutaro (Scutaro has learned patience in the off-season and is a much better hitter. 3 more walks and he'll match last year's season total.)
Util Eric Karros -> Nick Swisher
C Damian Miller -> Jason Kendall
C Adam Melhuse
Outfield
CF Mark Kotsay
LF Eric Byrnes
RF Jermaine Dye -> Nick Swisher (Dye was a bust, even though he's a rookie, I wouldn't call Swisher a major downgrade. He's also younger and is a switch hitter.)
OF Bobby Kielty (Kielty is not hurt this year and is hitting like he's capable of again.)
OF Billy McMillon -> Charles Thomas (Billy Mac hit about .180... Anybody is an upgrade.)
Really not seeing how this team got worse.
He went to Detroit this year.
The Standing Ovation was before the game started.
I heard they put him on the big screen, and all he did was tip his hat...then the whole (sold-out) stadium just went nuts. Then he came out and waived his cap...and again..the stadium went nuts. K-Rod closes for us now...at least I got to see him in action.
The Standing Ovation was before the game started.
I heard they put him on the big screen, and all he did was tip his hat...then the whole (sold-out) stadium just went nuts. Then he came out and waived his cap...and again..the stadium went nuts. K-Rod closes for us now...at least I got to see him in action.