Don't look now, but here come the A's (pitchers)

[nate]

What is to say coaches cannot decline like players do?

[Quinlanforthewin]

Minnesota sucks

 

Yeah we've played the Astros and Mariners.  

[bloodbrother]

Straily put up great numbers in the minors and looks like a solid #3 starter. Kazmir found his stuff last season and should be a good investment. Sonny Gray is looking like a legit stud with his fb/power curve combo. Milone is your classic backend starter similar to a Jason Vargas. The only real surprise is JEsse Chavez pitching well so far

 

A's are stacked with good pitching. At full health, they have 6 good pitchers(Griffin and Parker). Their bullpen is the envy of the league and they are very good defensively as a team. They've constructed their team as a premiere run prevention team, which is aided by their home ballpark that favors pitchers. It's no surprise they are doing so well, especially with offensive production declining as we continue to get further away from the steroid era.

 

Their offense doesn't stand out as anything special but they have proven over the past few years to be sneaky good. They hit HR's and work the count. They worry me more than Texas does, in the present and the future

[mrwicked]

Nah, not better coaching. Their manager is a weanie too. The FO maybe, Billy Beane knows how to get a good bang for the buck. 

 

I see a lot of these guys as lucky + pitching 81 games in a tremendous pitchers park with all kinds of foul ground. 

 

That and their nobody's in their lineup, this could get back to being lucky, have all contributed at a high level with RISP, unlike the Angels and other teams. 

 

i agree with some of those things, but come on let's give them their due respect.

they aren't just lucky year after year after year after year. 

just like the halos aren't unlucky year after year after year.

its about performance and results.

and the A's continue to get them, while the angels don't.

[Redondo]

I have to give the A's some credit. They seem to make the pitching work with unknown guys.

 

Who would have ever thought that Kazmir would pitch like he is doing? Maybe his mom and his wife and that's a big maybe.

[WallyWorld]

The Angels had the same coaches pretty much in 2008 when they won 100 games. Same for 2009. Mickey Hatcher included, who everyone here wanted out. 

 

just because the same person is in the job, doesn't mean they're as effective as they once were.

[sneaky_flute]

Straily put up great numbers in the minors and looks like a solid #3 starter. Kazmir found his stuff last season and should be a good investment. Sonny Gray is looking like a legit stud with his fb/power curve combo. Milone is your classic backend starter similar to a Jason Vargas. The only real surprise is JEsse Chavez pitching well so far

 

A's are stacked with good pitching. At full health, they have 6 good pitchers(Griffin and Parker). Their bullpen is the envy of the league and they are very good defensively as a team. They've constructed their team as a premiere run prevention team, which is aided by their home ballpark that favors pitchers. It's no surprise they are doing so well, especially with offensive production declining as we continue to get further away from the steroid era.

 

Their offense doesn't stand out as anything special but they have proven over the past few years to be sneaky good. They hit HR's and work the count. They worry me more than Texas does, in the present and the future

What? Texas easily has a better staff once their players return from the DL. Furthermore, the A's are operating in a very short window as most of their current players won't be on that roster in couple of years and they have one of the worst farm system in the majors. 

[seenoevil]

**** the a's

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Luckily they have help down on the farm. I was halfway tempted to go to the ballpark tonight, because Joe Blanton is starting for the Sacramento River Cats against the Las Vegas 51s. Not sure what the over/under is on when he gets knocked out of the game. So far this year Smokin' Joe has a 7.10 ERA - at AAA - and that has dropped some due to two scoreless innings tonight.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Ohtaniland]

Can we steal their pitching coach?

Curt Young was available after his short stint in Boston but..................we didn't have an opening.

[DW711]

Luckily they have help down on the farm. I was halfway tempted to go to the ballpark tonight, because Joe Blanton is starting for the Sacramento River Cats against the Las Vegas 51s. Not sure what the over/under is on when he gets knocked out of the game. So far this year Smokin' Joe has a 7.10 ERA - at AAA - and that has dropped some due to two scoreless innings tonight.

 

You could have seen Abreu, also!

 

Pitch terrible and get a win

Pitch great and get a no decision.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

You could have seen Abreu, also!

Pitch terrible and get a win

Pitch great and get a no decision.

51s manager Wally Backman said on the radio today that he doesn't expect Abreu to be here long, that he would be called up . Since he would be going to an NL club, I'm not sure what they plan to do with him outside of pinch hitting. I can't imagine the Mets putting him in the field anywhere.

[laagamer]

A's just demoted Jim Johnson. 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/a-s-demote-jim-johnson--their-new--10-million-closer--after-just-eight-games-165036826.html

 

 

They don't mess around. Meanwhile, we bring in Jepsen. 

Edited April 11, 2014 by laagamer

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

A's just released Jim Johnson. 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/a-s-demote-jim-johnson--their-new--10-million-closer--after-just-eight-games-165036826.html

 

 

They don't mess around. Meanwhile, we bring in Jepsen.

I assume you meant demote. They didn't release him. He's still part of their bullpen.

[laagamer]

I assume you meant demote. They didn't release him. He's still part of their bullpen.

 

Sorry! Meant demoted. 

[Eric]

The A's organization has my respect. Year in and year out, they are in the thick of things in September. Very rarely are they completely out of contention late in the season.

 

Meanwhile, Seattle continues to spend money to put a team together that just seems snakebit from the outset year in and year out (despite a few exceptions).

 

The Rangers blew their wad on one player that took getting a miracle gift from the Yankees to get out from under, immediately threw that into pitching, got Nolan Ryan in the organization, and turned things around (although that looks to be coming to a close very soon here).

 

The Angels never had a history of success when spending money. Yes, the 2000's were a very good decade for the Angels, but that's going on half a decade ago and the overall approach from this organization has really not changed. The Angels had their greatest and most sustained success when Bud Black was in house and focused on making the bullpen an unstoppable juggernaut. From 2002 to 2006, the Angels played offense for 9 innings while their opponents only got 6.

 

What's the old saying? Chicks dig the longball, but Pitching wins Championships. The team that fields the best pitching staff usually are the ones playing October baseball, almost regardless of what their lineup is capable of. Pitching is flat out the key to winning in baseball.

 

And with the A's, they build everything else around their pitching. And it seems to just work.

 

Look, I'm an Angels fan, but I have to say, Billy Beane is the best GM in baseball as far as getting talent for his roster. No one else even comes close. God forbid what would happen if Billy had an extra $15-$20 Mill to play around with each season. The A's would be unstoppable.

 

It's time for the Angels to stop monkeying around by blowing huge wads of cash at hitters and start spending the money where they should have started a long time ago, pitching.

[sneaky_flute]

LOL wut? Nolan Ryan had jack shit to do with the Rangers' success. Daniels built a successful team for 50 million dollars and I find it odd that you think their success is coming to a close when they're one of the more well-run organizations in MLB. 

 

What the A's have done recently is impressive and unexpected, but some seem to be looking at them through revisionist lenses. They recently went 5 or 6 years without being competitive because Beane's approach really isn't sustainable. I remember a lot of people complaining about his trading habits and unwillingness to spend.

 

The A's probably have the lowest floor of the top 3 teams in the division. They got pretty lucky in terms of injuries last year and played to their absolute ceiling. I guess it's possible that happens again, but as it stands, they're a replacement-level Donaldson away from being an 80-win team.