FanNation - The Republic of Sport

'Ey Capernicus said 06/19, 04:03 PM
I believe two teams will be above .500 in the AL West at the end of this season; the Angels and the A's.

Angels - The Angel's pitching staff has been phenomenal. They are sixth in the AL in ERA, 9th in opponent's BA, 1st in saves and 5th in WHIP. The hitting has been decent, but the base running is something to brag about. They are 3rd in the AL with 56 steals. Now Chone Figgins is back from his injury and the Angels are ready to roll. Also, they're fielding has been great.

Oakland - The A's have been a surprising team so far, but I think they will keep it up. Their pitching has been incredible. They are the best in both opponent's batting average and OPS and second in ERA and WHIP. Their hitting, like the Angels, was decent, but the pitching will certainly keep them doing well.

Rangers - Right now the Rangers are only one game under .500, but I don't think they can keep it up. Their hitting has been great, but the pitching will bring them down. They are 14th in the AL in ERA, opponent's OPS, WHIP and QS while being 13th in opposing BA. This season they have scored 403 runs, but have given up 21 more than that!

Mariners - Worst record in MLB. Bad hitting and pitching.

'Ey Capernicus said 06/19, 08:21 PM
You bring up the fact that the A's are not great on offense, but the Angels aren't very good either. The Angels are 10th in average, 11th in runs, 12th in OBP, 10th in SLG% and 12th in OPS. The A's are BETTER than the Angels in runs! Also, the A's have just as good, if not better, pitching. If you say the A's won't win because of hitting, why would the Angels? The Angels only have two players with ten or more home runs, not much better than th A's.

The Angels give up more homers than they hit! It's the other way around in Oakland!

Your argument is misleading; if the A's don't reach .500 because of hitting, neither should the Angels.

Of the remaining 11 series within the division, four are against Seattle. Already this season, they have only faced the Mariners, who are last in their division, in five games! It looks like some more wins inside the division for the A's later this season.

There are 14 series against above .500 opponents, that leaves 9 against opponents below .500 and 3 against the Rangers, who are .500. Not too bad considering two of those 14 series are against a team just one game above .500, the Twins and 1 against the Orioles, just 2 games over .500.

'Ey Capernicus said 06/19, 10:25 PM
I never said anything about the Angels not playing well in the West.

You are turning this into an argument about who is better. We all know that the Angels are better and we all know the Angels hit better. Nothing about your argument shows that the A's will not be a .500 team, only that the Angels are better.

You brought up the point that the Angel's starters have a better combined record. Wins are an overrated stat for a pitcher because their can be no decisions and run support is a factor. ERA is much more important than wins. And the A's rotation is clearly better in that category.

Pitching wins games. You, as a Red Sox fan, should know that after watching Beckett pitch in the playoffs last season. The A's are just a better team pitching-wise and that is why they will stay above .500. Sure their hitting is lacking, but many teams have finished above.500 by riding their pitching staff. Look at the Tigers; they had a potent offense, but no pitching. Now their pitching picks up, hitting follows, and they are winning.

4 of Oakland's 5 starters have an ERA below4, that's impressive. Hitting comes and goes and once the A's start hitting they will go on a tear.