Thursday, April 13: A's Win Series, Mariners Nightmare Continues, Texas Teams Triumphant


Astros 10, Mariners 5

The nightmarish start for the Mariners continued Wednesday as they blew a five-run lead over the Astros to notch their 8th loss in 10 games. That's a .200 winning percentage - but it's not even the worst in the American League, thanks to the 1-7 Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners led into the 7th, but then the wheels came off, with reliever Dan Altavilla giving up three runs, including a wild pitch that allowed Carlos Correa to score. The Astros, with bats waking up, are closing in on the Angels. The two teams meet in Houston next week.

The box.

Rangers 8, Angels 3

The most amazing thing about this game is that the Angels didn't do something amazing. Perhaps fans should have flapped their arms harder. This was the first loss for the Angels at the Big A this season. The Rangers (finally) got a quality start from A.J. Griffin and home runs from Carlos Gomez, Mike Napoli and Elvis Andrus. No miracle for the Angels, but of course Mike Trout homered. Because he's Mike Trout. The rubber match for this series is this afternoon. 

Athletics 8, Royals 3

While everyone else is paying attention to Angel miracles and Mariner disasters, the Athletics have quietly been winning a series in Kansas City. They go for the sweep today. Then, it's home for the big test against the Astros. The A's bullpen continues to be a strength as expected, but they also are getting strong starting pitching. Andrew Triggs followed Jharel Cotton's brilliant start by pitching 6 scoreless innings, earning his second win.  

Good Reads

Astros

The young, still-haven't-hit-their-peak Astros also have a lot of talent down on the farm.

Sports Illustrated thinks the Astros should trade for the Brave's Julio Teheran to "hold off the Rangers and the Mariners." Hmm. 

Angels

Angels fans are coming down off the high.

CBS sports called the Angels the hottest team in baseball, and provided some cool video if you want to relive Tuesday night.

Athletics

Skipper Bob Melvin officially announced he's going with a platoon for closing out  games.  A proper move from the trailblazers of baseball analytics. 

 And the tarps are coming down!

 Mariners

The silver lining with the Mariners' baffling, bumbling start is reading the fans' lamentations. Not that I'm enjoying their pain, but they just write about it so well.

 At least they have toasted grasshoppers. And that's something. 

Rangers

Looks like Matt Bush may not be the answer any time soon for the Rangers bullpen woes. 

 Nice to see Rangers fans looking past the recent "doom and gloom." 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

American League West Teams Ranked By Payroll 2017

If money changes everything, then how much does it affect your position where it counts - in the standings? The 2017 team payroll numbers are now available. Several sources exist, I went with the numbers from Spotrac. But before getting into what each American League West club is spending, let's look at the money vs. results for the past few years. Return On Investment In the AL West Here's what the American League West clubs spent by team last season. These numbers include the active 25-man roster, plus money wrapped up in players on the DL and money paid to players no longer on the team. The money spent on active players is in parentheses. Los Angeles Angels - $180.7 million ($89.8 million) Texas Rangers - $168.5 million ($134.7 million) Seattle Mariners - $154.7 million ($131.8 million) Houston Astros - $114.7 million ($75.4 million) Oakland Athletics - $99.9 million ($27.8 million) And the final 2016 standings: Texas Rangers: 95-67 Seattle Mariners : 86...
Read more

Weekend Long Reads: Mike Trout Is Exactly As Amazing As You Think He Is. Actually, More.

Political junkies and stat fanatics have long read the 538 site, where the famed statistician Nate Silver serves as editor-in-chief. The site has been a Mike Trout fan, but this month they laid down some startling statistics. Basically, he's the next best thing to Babe Ruth. Literally. Based on Trout's Wins Above Replacement, he's second all-time only to Ruth. They also take a look at how Trout adjusts when pitchers develop new approaches to getting him out. The short version: The new approach doesn't work very long. You can read the whole thing here . Despite rumors of its demise, baseball, as it turns out, is doing just fine, thank you. For the start of the new season, Forbes ran down the estimated value of all 30 Major League Baseball teams,.The average value of all the teams is $1.54 billion. That's almost 20 percent more than 2016. Four of The American League West teams are in the Top 14. You can probably guess the fifth. But, hey, the value of the A's in...
Read more

Thursday April 20: Astros Widen Gap, Who Will Emerge To Challenge Them? Anyone? Anyone? Hello?

The Astros continue to distance themselves from the pack. After beating the Angels on Wednesday night behind another precision performance from Dallas Keuchel, the Astros are three games ahead of the A's and already five games ahead of their bitter rival, the Rangers. They have the most wins in the American League and a fired up fan base. Which team in the sub-.500 group can emerge to challenge them? A look at each club and links below. 1. Astros (10-5) The starting rotation is really the only major concern for the Astros at the moment. Keuchel looks like Diego Velaquez out there, a controlled master painting the corners, changing speeds, keeping everyone off balance,. Lance McCuller and Charlie Morton have looked good so far, but the four and five slots are troubling. That said, they are a 10-5 ball club with this lineup. In the short term, they have earned at least a split in the four-game series with the Angels and go for the series win today with McCullers on the mound. ...
Read more