21 Games Back in the West

[floplag]

1 hour ago, eaterfan said:

Not sure that's true. Parker Bridwell pitched better than anyone could have hoped. Simmons played better offensively than he usually does. Pujols was clutch and the pen was nails for long stretches. 

The Angels had some bad luck. But they had a lot of good luck too.

Fair enough, but i still think its a 10 game upgrade, maybe more with luck

[tomsred]

Houston is still firmly in control.  Mostly due to what a lot of you have said already about the question marks in our pitching.  I think we have a year ahead that is going to be a big adjustment of Ohtani, but we have made up some really serious ground in a very short period of time.  We are also going to be undertaking a grand experiment with a 6 man rotation, and the corresponding 12 man position player setup.  That's a lot on one team's plate to absorb.

[eaterfan]

12 minutes ago, floplag said:

Fair enough, but i still think its a 10 game upgrade, maybe more with luck

True talent wise, I think this team is 10 games better than last year. I agree.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

2 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

Vegas loves the Yankees 9/3 to win the WS

Dodgers next followed by the Astros

9/3 = 3/1 right?

[Taylor]

1 minute ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

9/3 = 3/1 right?

= 1/.3333333333333333333333333...

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

12 minutes ago, Taylor said:

= 1/.3333333333333333333333333...

But 3-1 is the preferred format. At least at Los Alamitos Race Track.

[eligrba]

Wildcard.....will be battling Boston and Texas.

[Troll Daddy]

31 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

9/3 = 3/1 right?

My bad 

9/2

[Troll Daddy]

2017 Twins went from 59 wins to 85 wins

I only remember them signing J.B. Shuck .., what the

 

[WeatherWonk]

4 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

Vegas loves the Yankees 9/3 to win the WS

Dodgers next followed by the Astros

That's ridiculous. The Yankees still have several holes in their lineup. 2nd, 3rd, starting pitching. Below average defensive club, too.

[Troll Daddy]

5 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

That's ridiculous. The Yankees still have several holes in their lineup. 2nd, 3rd, starting pitching. Below average defensive club, too.

It’s Vegas Baby!

I’m sure those odds will change at some point. Angels went from 50-1 to 16-1 overnight ... I missed that bet

[stormngt]

6 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Wildcard, with a slim possibility of pulling the division off.

On paper there is just no way to catch up to the Astros - they are a really, really good team.

I don't think you can ever expect a team to win 100+ games, so the Astros are a 95+ win team. The Angels went from being an ~75-80 win team to a 85-90 win team, maybe better if the pitching is healthy. 

If the Astros struggle with injury and hangover, maybe they win 90ish games. Let's say everything clicks for the Angels and they win 93 games. Voila, there's your division. 

 

 

He'll the Angels are five games better with just Trout staying healthy and hitting in September 

[Second Base]

Full season of Richards in contract year +3 wins.

Full season of Heaney +2 wins.

Skaggs projected improvement +1 win.

Ohtani as a pitcher and hitter +5 wins.

Kinsler instead of Espinosa +3 wins.

Cozart over Valbuena + 2 wins.

Full year of Upton +2 wins.

Valbuena's improvement at the plate +1 win.

Healthy Matt Shoemaker +1 win.

Healthy Trout +4 wins.

Healthier Pujols. +1 win.

Boom, 105 win team. That's how it works, right?

 

[Tank]

9 hours ago, Throwman91 said:

The Astros had a good deal of luck last year, to say the least.  Factor in new scouting and Altuve/Reddit regressing they are still a 90+ win team guaranteed, but not the 100+ win team of last year, too much would have to go their way again.  Yes I called him Reddit.

altuve is regressing?

[Stradling]

10 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Full season of Richards in contract year +3 wins.

Full season of Heaney +2 wins.

Skaggs projected improvement +1 win.

Ohtani as a pitcher and hitter +5 wins.

Kinsler instead of Espinosa +3 wins.

Cozart over Valbuena + 2 wins.

Full year of Upton +2 wins.

Valbuena's improvement at the plate +1 win.

Healthy Matt Shoemaker +1 win.

Healthy Trout +4 wins.

Healthier Pujols. +1 win.

Boom, 105 win team. That's how it works, right?

 

I certainly hope Ohtani gives us 5 wins. 

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

I certainly hope Ohtani gives us 5 wins. 

I think good pitchers tend to be 3-4 wins above replacement. Great pitchers can be much more. But if I'm playing it conservative, I'd say he's a 3-4 win pitcher and a 1-2 win hitter.

[Tank]

On 12/15/2017 at 11:06 PM, Throwman91 said:

You expect him to put up better numbers? Meaning repeat MVP?

i don't know if he'll put better numbers but there isn't any reason to think he can't/won't repeat his performance of this past season. have you looked at his stats for the last few years? this guy is smack in the middle of a pretty darn impressive run. i don't think regressing is on his horizon for a few more years.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/altuvjo01.shtml