Baseball Chick

02Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Demolish the A’s

A's, Angels

Last weekend while I was away playing baseball in Rockford, Illinois, the Angels were playing their own baseball games in Anaheim. And were they ever! Before the series, there was a big question mark with an unknown starter set for game 3 of the matchup. No one would have been surprised if the Angels dropped a game, or even if the two teams split the series. Not only did the Angels sweep the Athletics, they embarrassed them. Consider some stats: 19 = Number of Angels runs 4 = Number of A's Runs 29 = Number of consecutive scoreless innings the Angels pitched 2 = Number of shutout games 1 = Number of A's players with extra base hits (Donaldson) The Angels owned the A's all weekend. The only exception was the…

28Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Odrisamer Despaigne Pitches a gem

Padres

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a pretty exciting baseball game in San Diego and sitting a mere 100' or so from home plate. Odrisamer Despaigne of the Padres tossed a 7 inning, 100 pitch gem with a career high 9 strikeouts. We expected to see some offense since the Brewers are no slugs when it comes to producing runs (2nd in the NL). Despite that, Despaigne manged to hold the Brewers to just 2 runs (only 1 earned). All of the productive offense in this game happened in the last 4 innings with both the Brewers and Padres putting up runs in the 7th frame. The Padres tied up the game in the bottom of the 9th when Francisco Rodriguez gave up a solo shot to Rene Rivera.…

28Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels 5th Pitcher and who starts Game 1?

Angels, pitching

Some lingering questions remain regarding the Angels current rotation like, who the heck is going to pitch on Saturday?? Who is their ace now that Richards is out? You know, that go to man who you throw in and know you are going to win the game unless something crazy happens or the offense doesn't show up? Since the Angels didn't heed my advice and call up a minor league starter for last night, that takes Santiago out of the mix for the A's series unless he pitches on 4 days rest Sunday which is unlikely. However, he did only throw 93 pitches so stranger things have happened. First question - who is going to pitch Sunday? Bartolo Colon? RA Dickey? Scott Feldman? None of these waiver wire pitchers come…

26Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels/A’s Pitching Preview

A's, Angels, pitching

The two best teams in baseball happen to be in the same division and they have a very important 4 game series coming up this weekend at the Big A. In preparation for the series, the A's made a great move by calling up Drew Pomeranz (because they like pitchers with Zs in their name) to be a sixth starter which lines up their 4 best pitchers for this weekend's matchup. The Angels will now face Gray, Lester, Kazmir and Samardzija. How about the Angels? Nothing is certain at this point, especially with the lackluster outing from LeBlanc last night. Does he pitch again this week? Against the A's?? Shoemaker is pitching tonight and Santiago is slated for tomorrow, which means the series lineup for the Angels looks like Wilson,…

26Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Game #130: LeBad

Angels

Watching this game was perhaps worse than getting a root canal. It was painful in almost every way. These games happen. Not very often but they do. It's certainly not the end of the word for the Angels but it sure was ugly. I wasn't even looking at the TV when Stanton hit his 3 run blast and as soon as I heard the crack of the bat I knew it was gone. Damn that was loud! The Good: Eric Aybar continues to light it up. He almost single handedly was the Angels offense last night. Aybar now has 5 multi hit games in a row and is riding a 10 game hitting streak. Kole Calhoun continues to be clutch and drove in the Angels only run with a 2…

25Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Who is Wade LeBlanc?

Uncategorized

Matt Wade LeBlanc has never been on television though it sounds like he has. For some reason I want to call him Matt but I'm pretty sure that guy on Friends can't throw a cutter. LeBlanc was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Padres. He went to the Marlins in 2012, the Astros in 2013, and the Yankees briefly in 2014 due to a waiver loss before the Angels signed him. In short, he's been tossed around like a rag doll and has amassed a mere 424 innings in the majors, mostly with the Padres. LeBlack throws a fastball (86.2 mph), curve (74 mph), cutter (82.9) mph, and change-up (75.2 mph). Those are average speeds according to FanGraphs and his fastball certainly is not overwhelming.…

25Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Power Rankings – Pitchers – August 25th

Uncategorized

My rankings include the entire 40 man roster - not just the active 25 man. These rankings were compiled with the help of MLB stats, FanGraphs, misc. data, personal opinion, and some fairy dust I found hidden in Shoemaker's beard. An asterisk* means the player was not on the active roster at the time of this posting. Updates to List: Garrett Richards was removed - had surgery and won't be back til next year :( Cam Bedrosian was called up, pitched crappy then was sent back down Wade LeBlanc was purchased from the minors and called up Mike Morin was recalled from the minors (technically the week before bus I missed him) Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Matt Shoemaker 9 +8 1 13 No hitter through…

25Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Power Rankings – Position Players – August 25th

Angels, Rankings

My rankings include the entire 40 man roster - not just the active 25 man. These rankings were compiled with the help of MLB stats, FanGraphs, misc. data, personal opinion, and some fairy dust I found hidden in Shoemaker's beard. I moved some people around a lot last week. Mostly to anticipate where they will be with the roster expands. An asterisk* means the player was not on the active roster at the time of this posting. Updates to List: Brennan Boesch was sent back down to Salt Lake Grant Green began his rehab assignment and was removed from the DL Gordon Beckham was acquired from the White Sox because we like mediocre infielders. Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Kole Calhoun 1 - 2 6 Pretty…

22Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Making sense of Beckham Deal

Angels

The move to acquire Gordon Beckhman has baffled many - including myself. Jerry Dipoto was interviewed about Beckham to which he responded that he can play second, third and has a history of playing short stop. Oh - and he can hit left handed pitching. Dipoto mentioned Beckhman would be good down the stretch for the Angels and that Kendrick wasn't going anywhere. I think this is a lot less baffling if you don't have a Grant Green about to rejoin the team in 3 days. Or will he before September call ups? Green, who is set to begin a rehab stint in Salt Lake tonight has better numbers than Beckham in pretty much every category. AB AVG OBP SLG OPS v. Right v. Left OPS Right OPS Left Green…

22Aug 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Playoff Chances

Baseball, Rankings

The Nationals now hold a record that will be tough to beat in 2014 given the limited number of games left. Last night they walked off with their 10th win in a row. It's pretty certain the Nats are heading to the playoffs. Who else is going? What's the current state of the contenders? American League: Sure Things: Orioles - According to ESPN, they have a 97.4% chance of making the playoffs. They have been hot lately, riding a 4 game win streak and winning 7 of their last 10. Royals - 72.6% chance. They have been flying high while Detroit is doing their best to beat themselves. They have a slim 1.5 game lead over the Tigers. Angels & Athletics - Nearly tied at 98%+ chance. The two best…