FiveThirtyEight Article

[ettin]

Out of all the Divisions the AL West has the tightest band which is in part why I believe (and said so in the last part of the Primer) that the Angels have a fighting chance when you consider our probable Top 10 offense and our marginally improved bullpen: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-rated-every-rotation-in-mlb-how-does-your-teams-stack-up/

[ABC]

Angels are ranked 4th in pitching. Not 4th in MLB. Not 4th in the AL. 

4th in a 5 team division. 

[ettin]

6 minutes ago, #CF8 said:

Angels are ranked 4th in pitching. Not 4th in MLB. Not 4th in the AL. 

4th in a 5 team division. 

Yes but the band is fairly tight between top and bottom teams and the Angels offense should be above average with an average bullpen which gives them a fighting chance at the Division which was the point.

[krAbs]

It will be interesting. The band in the AL West is narrow, and so it doesn't take much of an upset for us to do well. Also, I feel like part of being a fan of a team is on some level believing they will over-preform. As such, I really do believe that the angels rotation is under-rated. Shoemaker has the potential to become '14 Shoemaker, Richards looked great last year until the injury and I am perfectly willing to believe we will see '14 Richards and that his injury problems will go away, and I think Skaggs is critically under rated and he will have a healthy and successful year (this is really where I think our rotation is under-rated; Skaggs by the numbers is very forgettable, but he seems to have some huge upside if he stays healthy). Odds are I'm wrong here, but hey, to me, this is part of what it means to be a fan.

[ABC]

On 4/4/2017 at 3:46 PM, ettin said:

Yes but the band is fairly tight between top and bottom teams and the Angels offense should be above average with an average bullpen which gives them a fighting chance at the Division which was the point.

 

I'm optimistic by nature but you and I have different ideas what a fighting chance is. Even if they make the playoffs, it'll be a painful season to watch. Thanks Arte.

[ettin]

Just now, #CF8 said:

I'm optimistic by nature but you and I have different ideas what a fighting chance is. Even if they make the playoffs, it'll be a painful season to watch. Thanks Arte.

No I think we kinda agree tbh. Especially your last sentence there. I too think that even if they do make the playoffs they will be forced to play essentially the same team they have now with very minimal upgrades at best by the deadline. It will be a brutal fight to get to the playoffs and even if they make it the odds of them moving through the Division, Championship, and WS are low.

[Tank]

On 4/4/2017 at 0:35 PM, #CF8 said:

Angels are ranked 4th in pitching. Not 4th in MLB. Not 4th in the AL. 

4th in a 5 team division. 

WE'RE NOT THE WORST - WOO-HOO! WE'RE NOT THE WORST - WOO-HOO! 

[fan_since79]

On 4/4/2017 at 3:59 PM, krAbs said:

It will be interesting. The band in the AL West is narrow, and so it doesn't take much of an upset for us to do well. Also, I feel like part of being a fan of a team is on some level believing they will over-preform. As such, I really do believe that the angels rotation is under-rated. Shoemaker has the potential to become '14 Shoemaker, Richards looked great last year until the injury and I am perfectly willing to believe we will see '14 Richards and that his injury problems will go away, and I think Skaggs is critically under rated and he will have a healthy and successful year (this is really where I think our rotation is under-rated; Skaggs by the numbers is very forgettable, but he seems to have some huge upside if he stays healthy). Odds are I'm wrong here, but hey, to me, this is part of what it means to be a fan.

I like Skaggs' upside. It's his injury history that gives me pause.

But I agree with your sentiments. I hope September brings with it some pennant race excitement for this team.