EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 The only other NL teams that might be in contention for the NL Wild Card are the Phillies and Marlins and they are going to beat the snot out of each other the numerous times they play each other. Ever since the induction of the unbalanced schedule I've seen this argument, but it never seems to be a factor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted February 5, 2004 Holy crap, I missed that. Shame on you, Kingofthe909. The A's are prohibitive favorites, and in the top 3 in the league. While we're at it, the Phillies should have been included as well. Do they still have Tejada on their team? The only good hitter they have is Chavez, I think you are wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 Holy crap, I missed that. Shame on you, Kingofthe909. The A's are prohibitive favorites, and in the top 3 in the league. While we're at it, the Phillies should have been included as well. Do they still have Tejada on their team? The only good hitter they have is Chavez, I think you are wrong. Miguel Tejada = Baltimore Oriole for the next 6 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 They have a pitching staff of Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Mark Redman, and Rich Harden. That pitching staff will win alot of games, and if there are any injuries, they have at least two quality guys in the minors. Can the Angels afford injuries? All they have to back up their rotation is Aaron Sele. Besides Eric Chavez, the A's have a solid lineup of average to above average guys. Bobby Crosby is my early pick for rookie of the year. Most of the same team won 95 games last year. I see no reason why they can't do it again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted February 5, 2004 They have a pitching staff of Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Mark Redman, and Rich Harden. That pitching staff will win alot of games, and if there are any injuries, they have at least two quality guys in the minors. Can the Angels afford injuries? All they have to back up their rotation is Aaron Sele. Besides Eric Chavez, the A's have a solid lineup of average to above average guys. Bobby Crosby is my early pick for rookie of the year. Most of the same team won 95 games last year. I see no reason why they can't do it again. The Angels have 5 capable starters....remember I know this I live 30 minutes away from the stadium and go to games all the time....by the way they have some really good pitchers in triple-a ball. I don't see the A's winning the World Series and thus I didn't include them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 They have a pitching staff of Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Mark Redman, and Rich Harden. That pitching staff will win alot of games, and if there are any injuries, they have at least two quality guys in the minors. Can the Angels afford injuries? All they have to back up their rotation is Aaron Sele. Besides Eric Chavez, the A's have a solid lineup of average to above average guys. Bobby Crosby is my early pick for rookie of the year. Most of the same team won 95 games last year. I see no reason why they can't do it again. The Angels have 5 capable starters....remember I know this I live 30 minutes away from the stadium and go to games all the time....by the way they have some really good pitchers in triple-a ball. I don't see the A's winning the World Series and thus I didn't include them. He lives 30 minutes from the stadium...well can't argue with him now! Having five capable starters doesn't mean they are all good. On top of that I wouldn't describe Ramon Ortiz or John Lackey as capable last year, just bad. Washburn was capable last year but he needs to return to his 2002 form. And I know this because I was born in Anaheim. Oh TAG! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted February 5, 2004 I live where the single a team is and if they dont get some prospects or free agents they will be really bad in the future..back to the way it used to be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted February 5, 2004 I would like to see Mulder pitch again before I give my vote on the AL West as his hip injury was a severe injury, that if it doesn't heal properly will cause him pain everytime he goes into his wind-uo, which will cause him to retire. The Dodgers proved last year that all the pitching in the world won't help you if your team can't hit the ball. Oakland lost alot of offense in the off-season and their closer while Anaheim did get alot stronger. Should be interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted February 5, 2004 The Dodgers proved last year that all the pitching in the world won't help you if your team can't hit the ball. I know, its sad to see considering that they are my favorite team, but at least they got rid of Kevin Brown....talk about a waste of space. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 I would like to see Mulder pitch again before I give my vote on the AL West as his hip injury was a severe injury, that if it doesn't heal properly will cause him pain everytime he goes into his wind-uo, which will cause him to retire. Considering Mulder would have started Game 1 of the ALCS if they had won Game 5, I think he'll be okay. Personally I'm more worried about Barry Zito's decreasing strikeouts than Mulder's hip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 5, 2004 They have a pitching staff of Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Mark Redman, and Rich Harden. That pitching staff will win alot of games, and if there are any injuries, they have at least two quality guys in the minors. Can the Angels afford injuries? All they have to back up their rotation is Aaron Sele. Besides Eric Chavez, the A's have a solid lineup of average to above average guys. Bobby Crosby is my early pick for rookie of the year. Most of the same team won 95 games last year. I see no reason why they can't do it again. The Angels have 5 capable starters....remember I know this I live 30 minutes away from the stadium and go to games all the time....by the way they have some really good pitchers in triple-a ball. I don't see the A's winning the World Series and thus I didn't include them. But Oakland has three pitchers better than their ace. And all five of their starters have excellent peripherals. Ortiz meanwhile, had a 5.20 ERA. Washburn had a 4.43 ERA, and Lackey had a 4.63 ERA. Both Ortiz and Washburn have K/9 rates of less than 5. Oakland's pitching rotation is clearly superior to Anaheim's. As for these minor league pitchers for the Angels, who are they? I see Scot Shields is good, but I looked over the AAA stats, and none of those guys looks impressive. My opinions on the offense I've stated earlier. Oakland is not Los Angeles. They have good hitters all around. Not great ones, but good ones. The Dodgers meanwhile had four guys in their lineup with sub-.300 OBP. There's a difference there. Bottom line is, the Angels winning is hardly a sure thing. The Athletics have made the playoffs four years in a row. If they can survive losing Giambi, Isringhausen, and Damon, they can afford these losses. Especially since Bobby Crosby should quickly make A's fans forget Miguel Tejada. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
