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LAST YEARS PREVIEW: This is the same dangerous team, but can they finally make it back to the
World Series? Prediction: 103-59
OUT: Willie Boyle, Vance Cora, Quinton Brand, Will Lange, Elvis Raymond, Esteban Iglesias, Sid Cameron
IN: Cesar Toca, Earl LeMathieu, Ivan Megias, Hipolito Matos, Jeurys Valdes,
PREVIEW:
Despite dominating the regular season year after year, the Athletics only have their Division Titles to hold up. Mikebr wants a ring. Period. To make that happen he pulled off several trades, released some dead weight, and promoted from within.
Guys to watch out for this year are defending MVP Luis Baez and his sidekick Anibal Maduro. The pitching staff features four of the best pitchers in the AL: Richard Cameron, Lawrence Rosales, Endy Miller, and new addition Ivan Megias who holds a CY and seven all-star appearances. Losing Elvis Raymond could be a mistake considering his value out of the pen.
Overall, the moves bring in new faces without really changing the production that much.I still think the offense scores 750-800 runs. The defense and pitching should hold their runs allowed below 600 easily barring any major injuries.
PREDICTION: 96-66, 1st Place
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LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The team was overhauled from top to bottom. “We will be relying on
a number of guys this season who are in the minors and/or have no major league
experience.” The Angels seem very optimistic, and as always sweetnss will be
looking to add a piece or two. PREDICTION: 77-85
OUT: Paxton Banks, Benji Limon, Alex Cabrera
IN: Bill Thompson, Sam Long, Ebenezer Lloyd, Miguel Colombe, JP Cabrera
PREVIEW:
The Angels finished pretty much where I thought they would.
The offense was one of the best, scoring an outstanding 830 runs. However, the
pitching staff was underwhelming by allowing 789. It was smart of sweet to keep
his offensive core group together, since they ripped the cover off the ball. I’m
not sure how much of a difference the overpriced JP Cabrera will help the Halos
coming over from Charlotte. Rodney Magee is the guy to keep an eye on, and
should be considered and MVP contender.
The starting pitching staff remains largely intact, minus
Paxton Banks. Albert Maradona and Joe Maloney posted excellent numbers and fit
nicely as a one and two. It’s unclear if Sam Long will move into the rotation.
The bullpen is MUCH stronger, and could help the Angels win those close games
(they were 19-28 in one run games). Ebenezer “Scrooge” Lloyd, Tony Campbell,
and Fernando Carrasco should be able to get them through the 7th-9th.
My overall assessment of this team is that sweet has gotten
his team a step closer to the playoffs this year. He took a good look at his
glaring weaknesses and addressed those without messing up the chemistry. I
think the offense will be just a little better (they had a low babip last
year), and the pitching staff is looking good. Runs scored should be between
830-870, with the runs allowed improving to 740-770 range.
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LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It looks like The Beavers has
plateaued. I don’t see them moving forward, but no one is there to push them
back either. Prediction: 73-89
OUT: Andres Tatis, Greg Hewson, Paulie Winn.
IN: none
PREVIEW:
The Beavers started the offseason on a positive note, dumping unproductive players. But that is where the momentum stopped. At this point I don’t see any young guys coming up, and Dakar hasn’t let me know any of his plans this year.
The offense was subpar, and is now a year older. Patrick Kipling, once a dominating force, is starting to feel the effects of his 12 major league seasons. Portland didn’t have a good pitching staff outside of starter Hunter Young and reliever Louis Thomas.
Overall, this team seems to be ready to stall in the 70 win range for a second year, and is projected to drop into the 60’s. The offense will take a step back and score between 610-630 runs. The pitching staff won’t improve either allowing 770-740 runs. Not a fun year in the city of weird.
PREDICTION: 65-97
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Two
100+ loss seasons puts you in the hot seat. Things are warming up in Seattle,
and not in a good way.
Very little has been done to fix the
problem. One free agent signing doesn’t make this team better. And once again,
the Mariners are looking at 100+ losses. Prediction:
52-110
OUT: Erik Cosby, Ruben Valdes, Ed Curtis, Ricky Page
IN: Erick Linton, Douglas Hodges, Warren Hume, Phil Tracy, Sammy Redondo
PREVIEW:
At some point, Seattle has to start improving. Right????
The offense was anemic (603), and the pitching staff
improved from horrifying to simply awful. Still…it’s an improvement. I’ve been
saying for awhile now that The M’s are a terrifyingly bad defensive team. They
proved it again last year. Cliff Fox, Russ Byrne, Mendy Williams, and Gary
Richardson requested a meeting to talk about the lack of defense. All attempts
were rebuffed. All of those pitchers had average to very good FIP (fielding independent
pitching). But it’s obvious they don’t get any help from their fielders that
averaged over an error a game, and turned only 127 double plays (about one
every three games). Pitchers HATE that stuff.
So, what’s new now that it’s three years of 100 losses in a
row??? The only offense they did have, Erik Cosby, was traded for another
overpriced veteran pitcher in Erik Linton. Warren Hume was overpaid to be the
#4 starter. Sammy Redondo was picked up, but God only knows if Sug will try to
play him at SS. And Phil Tracey was paid huge bucks to close (when the team
probably won’t see many close situations.
In the meantime, the defense still sucks and the offense is
WEAKER than last year. Ugh. To answer the initial question…no…things will not
be improving. They are going from BAD to WORSE. Runs scored should be 510-550,
runs allowed 850-800.
PREDICTION: 47-115
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