After watching the Rangers have their way with my Twinkies, I'd say that they are the team to beat. Although, they did get it handed to them in the first game, but they are the first team all year to take a series from the Twins at home.
I was at the second game, and I was saying that their 2-5 is probably the best in baseball right now with Young, Lee, Tex, and Blalock. And what do you know, Matthews hits the living [insert word here] out of the ball for a grand slam. He must have heard me not say 1-5. I shouldn't have offended him.
If the Angels show up, their rotation should be deadly. Weaver and Lackey are an amazing 2/1, and Colon and Escobar are great #3/#4 pitchers. Saunders is a decent enough #5. Vlad alone makes that lineup tough, and they have speed guys around him in Izturis, Figgins, etc. The bullpen is tough with Shields and K-Rod, and even Donnelly is pretty good.
Rangers should come in 2nd. Decent bullpen actually, even without Cordero, but lack of experience down there could hurt them. Top of the rotation is Ok, about as good as the As without Harden. Lineup should come around, especially Tex and now the addition of Carlos lee
As in my mind are 3rd. They have a rotation worse than the Angels (even with harden), and their lineup is mediocre at best. The bullpen is ok. They can field though, the As. That's really the only advantage they have.
buffalobillsrul2002 wrote:If the Angels show up, their rotation should be deadly. Weaver and Lackey are an amazing 2/1, and Colon and Escobar are great #3/#4 pitchers. Saunders is a decent enough #5. Vlad alone makes that lineup tough, and they have speed guys around him in Izturis, Figgins, etc. The bullpen is tough with Shields and K-Rod, and even Donnelly is pretty good.
Rangers should come in 2nd. Decent bullpen actually, even without Cordero, but lack of experience down there could hurt them. Top of the rotation is Ok, about as good as the As without Harden. Lineup should come around, especially Tex and now the addition of Carlos lee
As in my mind are 3rd. They have a rotation worse than the Angels (even with harden), and their lineup is mediocre at best. The bullpen is ok. They can field though, the As. That's really the only advantage they have.
Let me addresss some things to you Athletics haters, first of , the angels do have the best rotation wait let me say did have, colon is injured and will need time to get to his old way. Angels bullpen isn't as good case proven with Shields struggles as late and his their best reliever, f. rodriguez is good though.
Texas doesnt have the pitching to win, they do have a good offense . so they are exploitable
I like the mariners a lot, they are a balanced team, speed and power, with good pitching
But the A's own them this season, sweeping them twice
The angels are the team they were in the start of the season, we would of swept you guys if it weren't of blanton's errors.
buffalobillsrul2002 wrote:If the Angels show up, their rotation should be deadly. Weaver and Lackey are an amazing 2/1, and Colon and Escobar are great #3/#4 pitchers. Saunders is a decent enough #5. Vlad alone makes that lineup tough, and they have speed guys around him in Izturis, Figgins, etc. The bullpen is tough with Shields and K-Rod, and even Donnelly is pretty good.
Rangers should come in 2nd. Decent bullpen actually, even without Cordero, but lack of experience down there could hurt them. Top of the rotation is Ok, about as good as the As without Harden. Lineup should come around, especially Tex and now the addition of Carlos lee
As in my mind are 3rd. They have a rotation worse than the Angels (even with harden), and their lineup is mediocre at best. The bullpen is ok. They can field though, the As. That's really the only advantage they have.
Let me addresss some things to you Athletics haters, first of , the angels do have the best rotation wait let me say did have, colon is injured and will need time to get to his old way. Angels bullpen isn't as good case proven with Shields struggles as late and his their best reliever, f. rodriguez is good though.
Texas doesnt have the pitching to win, they do have a good offense . so they are exploitable
I like the mariners a lot, they are a balanced team, speed and power, with good pitching But the A's own them this season, sweeping them twice
The angels are the team they were in the start of the season, we would of swept you guys if it weren't of blanton's errors.
A's will win
And you aren't the least bit biased?
The Angels still have a very good rotation, even without Colon. John Lackey might be the best starting pitcher in the entire division. Jered Weaver is extremely impressive thus far. Escobar and Santana are better options than any other 4/5 combo in the West.
It is true that the Angels have a weak offense, but Oakland has been much worse...scoring approximately 35 runs less than the Angels.
You say that Texas has a good offense but no pitching, so they are exploitable. On the other hand, Oakland has pitching but no offense...but they are not exploitable? Sure they are. Texas has scored 548 runs compared to Oakland's 479. Not to mention the fact that Texas was the only to to bolster their roster at the trade deadline, by acquiring a proven slugger in Carlos Lee, who will further impact their team, and exploit the gigantic gap between the offenses of themselves and the A's/Angels.
I'm not discounting Oakland. I think they have a very good shot at the division. But it is nowhere near as certain as you make it seem. Right now, I'd pick the Angels. On the other hand, I'm liking Texas more and more based on how their offense looks, and how they've been playing lately. The truth is, the division is a crapshoot. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them win it. Just because people say the Athletics have weaknesses, doesn't mean they are 'hating' on the A's. It means that the A's have weaknesses, just as everyone else in the divison does.
Saying that the A's will win, as if it's a certainty makes you look foolish. It is far from such.
buffalobillsrul2002 wrote:If the Angels show up, their rotation should be deadly. Weaver and Lackey are an amazing 2/1, and Colon and Escobar are great #3/#4 pitchers. Saunders is a decent enough #5. Vlad alone makes that lineup tough, and they have speed guys around him in Izturis, Figgins, etc. The bullpen is tough with Shields and K-Rod, and even Donnelly is pretty good.
Rangers should come in 2nd. Decent bullpen actually, even without Cordero, but lack of experience down there could hurt them. Top of the rotation is Ok, about as good as the As without Harden. Lineup should come around, especially Tex and now the addition of Carlos lee
As in my mind are 3rd. They have a rotation worse than the Angels (even with harden), and their lineup is mediocre at best. The bullpen is ok. They can field though, the As. That's really the only advantage they have.
Let me addresss some things to you Athletics haters, first of , the angels do have the best rotation wait let me say did have, colon is injured and will need time to get to his old way. Angels bullpen isn't as good case proven with Shields struggles as late and his their best reliever, f. rodriguez is good though.
Texas doesnt have the pitching to win, they do have a good offense . so they are exploitable
I like the mariners a lot, they are a balanced team, speed and power, with good pitching But the A's own them this season, sweeping them twice
The angels are the team they were in the start of the season, we would of swept you guys if it weren't of blanton's errors.
A's will win
And you aren't the least bit biased?
The Angels still have a very good rotation, even without Colon. John Lackey might be the best starting pitcher in the entire division. Jered Weaver is extremely impressive thus far. Escobar and Santana are better options than any other 4/5 combo in the West.
It is true that the Angels have a weak offense, but Oakland has been much worse...scoring approximately 35 runs less than the Angels.
You say that Texas has a good offense but no pitching, so they are exploitable. On the other hand, Oakland has pitching but no offense...but they are not exploitable? Sure they are. Texas has scored 548 runs compared to Oakland's 479. Not to mention the fact that Texas was the only to to bolster their roster at the trade deadline, by acquiring a proven slugger in Carlos Lee, who will further impact their team, and exploit the gigantic gap between the offenses of themselves and the A's/Angels.
I'm not discounting Oakland. I think they have a very good shot at the division. But it is nowhere near as certain as you make it seem. Right now, I'd pick the Angels. On the other hand, I'm liking Texas more and more based on how their offense looks, and how they've been playing lately. The truth is, the division is a crapshoot. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them win it. Just because people say the Athletics have weaknesses, doesn't mean they are 'hating' on the A's. It means that the A's have weaknesses, just as everyone else in the divison does.
Saying that the A's will win, as if it's a certainty makes you look foolish. It is far from such.
I am an A's fan, so yes I might be biased but if you look over Oakland offense, first of all we have not had Bradley in our lineup consistently. We have 2 hitters Thomas and Swisher who have more Humeruns together than any other two players combined in the division. Swisher will only get better, just sophomore jinx that he will get over. Oakland has a great offense, but injuries have plagued their good hitters, chavez forearm tendinitis and bradley's back. We have Kotsay who just got player of the week last week. Are only weaknesses are mark ellis who played good last year but seems like it was a fluke, and crosby hasn't improved since he won the AL rookie of the year. Jay Payton is good when given enough at bats. Kendall's bat has shrunk but his main purpose is too guide the pitching staff.
The angels dont have a good rotation because they have an injured ace. And a rookie, dont get me wrong rookies can be very good case proven papelbon but they will make mistakes. That's what blanton, haren went thru last year. Angels have two saunders and weaver who still need more seasoning.
And texas always fades under pressure. Just because they added wells that still gives them a weak rotation, i know because the A's traded Koronka to the rangers. Rangers will need to prove they are good if they are consistent with their offense. Consistent means going weeks with steady run production not one night 14 runs and the other 2.
It'll will be a fun division to watch same as all the other American League division's.
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by 1337_Dude » Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:26 am 
