Baseball Chick

08Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Elimination Watch + Magic Numbers

Only about 20 games left in the season baseball fans and things are going to get exciting! In the American League, 6 teams are still very much in the running with a very close wild card race between the slumping A's, so-so Tigers, and surging Mariners. The National League is even tighter with 7 teams in the mix. A four-way race is shaping up for the wild card spots with the Giants nearing a lock and the Pirates/Braves/Brewers all separated by a mere half game. As of today, teams that have been eliminated or will be in the next few days are: Red Sox (from 1st to last - the mighty have fallen) Astros (with 19 games to play, the Astros are already better than any of their past 3…

05Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Is Santiago a good starter?

Angels, pitching

You will hear that Santiago is pitching better during the second half of the season. While that may be true on some level (his ERA is down, OBA is down, etc), he still struggles as a solid starting pitcher. A good starting pitcher will go out and give you 6-7 solid innings and not give up more than 2 or 3 runs. Santiago has shown over and over this season that he has a hard time pitching more than 5 solid innings. I still contend he makes a great middle reliever - but a starter? In some ways the Angels don't really have a choice as to whether or not he pitches. Santiago has proven to be able to throw 80-100 pitches and the Halos options are limited when it…

04Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Who to Watch this Weekend

Baseball

The race to October is heating up and several sets of teams play each other this weekend that are all hoping to make it. Of course, all the games of playoff contenders are important this weekend but the match-ups that pit two contenders against each other are where we can see potentially see the biggest moves up and down. Here's who to watch this weekend: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Why you should watch: On August 17th, The Brewers held a three game lead on the Cardinals. That lead has turned around by 6 games in less than three weeks. They have a 4 game series in Milwaukee starting up tonight. Three games is not very comfortable for the Cardinals when they are playing the Brewers at home. Another…

04Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Elimination Watch

Baseball

It's a little too early to start talking about magic numbers (the minimum of any team right now is 16 for the Orioles). What we can start talking about is teams that are being mathematically eliminated. You know - the teams that probably everyone stopped caring about months ago except for their die hard fans? Who has gone so far: Texas Rangers - First at something! That is if you want to count first to being eliminated as an accomplishment. Who is Next: Colorado Rockies Elimination Number = 1 Houston Astros Elimination Number = 1 Who will go first? The Astros have been sitting at one for several games and thanks to a two game sweep of the first place Angels, they are hanging on by a thread. The Angels…

03Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

The Sinking Athletics

A's

What is going on in Oakland? What happened to the team that just a few weeks ago was the best in baseball and held that spot much of the season? In the past 3 weeks, the AL West has seen a 9 game shift with the Angels going from 4 games back to 5 games up. During that time, the Angels scored 90 runs while the A's scored 76. Angels pitchers allowed only 57 runs over 20 games while the A's allowed 89 runs. It's wasn't long before August 10th that many said the A's had the best pitching staff in baseball, but it appears the wheels have fallen off in Oakland. The A's are a dismal 7-14 since August 10th and their slide that took them from the best…

03Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Predicting October – MLB Playoffs

Baseball

Most teams are down to about their last 25 games. Only one team has been mathematically eliminated (I'm looking at you Texas), but many more are sure to NOT make the playoffs. I'm going out on a limb here to call the playoff teams. American League: Division Champs: AL West: Los Angeles Angels AL Central: Kansas City Royals AL East: Baltimore Orioles Wild Card Winners: Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers The Orioles are pretty much a lock in the east with a 9.5 game lead over the Yankees. The Angels have been playing some great ball lately - much better than the A's are will hold on to first place. The Tigers play the Twins 7 times in the last few weeks and the Royals play the Red Sox and White…

03Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Power Rankings – Pitchers – September 1st

Angels, pitching, 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. An asterisk* means the player was not on the active roster at the time of this posting. Updates to List: September call-ups included Cam Bedrosian, Matt LeBlanc, Vinnie Pestano Cory Rasmus was shuffled down to AAA then back up Dane De La Rosa was removed from the 40 man Caleb Clay was removed from the 40 man Michael Kohn was removed from the 40 man Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Matt Shoemaker 1 - 1 13 Currently has a 21.2 scoreless inning streak. I'd be okay…

03Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Power Rankings – Position Players – September 1st

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. An asterisk* means the player was not on the active roster at the time of this posting. Updates to List: September call-ups included Brennan Boesch, Efren Navarro, Tony Campana, John Buck, CJ Cron, Luis Jimenez, Shawn O'Malley Grant Green was removed from the DL JB Shuck was removed from the 40 man roster Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Mike Trout 2 +1 1 6 2 more home runs (sound like a broken record from last week). Also had the team's only stolen base last week. Wait…

03Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

Game #137: Pitching Tryouts

Angels, pitching

Last night in Houston, Scioscia decided to have pitching tryouts. I don't think the game started that way, after all, Wilson had been pitching a bit better lately, giving up 7 earned runs in his previous 4 starts. Houston had other plans last night, and so did Wilson's command of the zone. Wilson only made it 3.1 innings and the bullpen dip happened early. With the Angels down early and not hitting (Top of the lineup went 1 for 16 last night), Scioscia decide to throw in a string of pretty crappy pitchers. In order: Yoslan Herrera - Pitched .2 innings. Almost ruined the inning but managed to only give up 1 hit. He had zero strikeouts. His WHIP with the Angels is STILL 2.04. Ouch. Cam Bedrosian - This…

02Sep 2014 by Jessica DeLine

11 More Players will be suiting up for the Angels

Angels

The Angels announced some September call-ups. They have room for more, and I would expect we may yet see Rucinskil. However, probably not before the Travelers are done with the AA playoffs. So who was called up and who wasn't? Here is a screenshot of the list: First - Who is missing? Below are players who were (or are) on the 40 man but did not get called up. JB Shuck - Not only was he not called up, but he was designated for assignment presumably to make room for John Buck. Shuck had a VERY respectable .320/.382/.446 slashline but somebody must be looking at something we are not. His .320 average but him in 4th place for the PCL batting crown. Perhaps…