wild wild west, part 2

part 2:


Mike Sweeney didn't do much for Oakland last year. He hit 2 homers in 126 at bats after coming over from Kansas City, where he played 13 seasons and earned 5 all star appearances. And whereas those 2 shots were very rewarding, they weren't enough to propel the A's out of 3rd place. The Seattle Mariners seem to think he's capable of more, and signed him to a minor league deal this week.

Something is going on in Seattle, whose front office has been sniffing around the likes of Bobby Abreu and Ken Griffey Jr. The Mariners have been frenetic in both the free agent and trade markets, and seem desperate to redeem themselves from a humiliating 101 loss season in 2008. The losses themselves were embarrassing, but the shame gets really thick in the context of their 100MM payroll. Seattle was the richest team to ever lose 100 games. Not exactly top honors.

This offseason has been a crash course in franchise re-org. In an unusually bold move, the Mariners made Oakland's long time bench coach Don Wakamatsu their new manager. Loved by A's fans, he has a daunting task ahead of him; a veritable balancing act of inflated contracts, aging position players and very, very high expectations. Wakamatsu's departure is eerily similar to former A's 1st base coach Ron Washington's transition to manager of the Texas Rangers, another AL West division rival. It would seem that our closest opponents think pretty highly of Oakland's management personnel.

This week the Mariners traded Aaron Heilman away to the Cubs for Garret Olson and Cedeno. The acquired David Aardsma from the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher, and managed to avoid arbitration with Felix Hernandez. They also resigned Erik Bedard, who looked like an oft-injured bust after getting big money as a free agent out of Baltimore... but inspired enough confidence in management to justify an contract extension. Most of these moves have focused on the pitching staff,

These changes do little to strike fear into the hearts of A's fans. Seattle's mismanaged assets are about as terrifying as Gumbi. Pitching was their most glaring inadequacy and they have done what they could to remedy that. The new and improved green and gold lineup proves to be a formidable challenge for the Mariner's rotation... Garret Olsen or no. Ichiro is still around, slapping base hits to the oposite feild. Raul Ibanez is now a Philly. Even Wakamatsu's departure is to be expected in such a competitive game. I see Seattle finishing 3rd in the AL West... with some trouble.

moshi moshi!!




next installment, Texas Rangers.

wild wild west, part 1

This is the first installment of my 3 part analysis of the AL West... more specifically, the 2008-2009 offseason moves (good and bad) made by the Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. Needless to say, they will all be highly partisan, glaringly biased... and mainly based on how these team's moves pertain to the A's.

Part 1:

Angels are slippin. Free Agent ace Jon Garland is on his way to the D-Backs and that halo rotation is looking just a hair less dominant. Single-season saves leader K-Rod is paid in Queens, and will no longer prey on the A's in the ninth. Bad Vlad posted modest numbers in 2008, Tori Hunter is looking every bit his 34 years, and Garret Anderson may be unemployed by the start of spring training. The sting still lingers from Mark Texieira's snub of their 160MM, 8 year offer. And, to top it all off... the city of Anaheim brought legal action against the club for rights to their name. They gave it up eventually, but they had a point. The Angels are, after all, located in Orange County. All of a sudden, the big red 100 game win machine is sputtering.

The division rivals to the south have held a tradition of fielding strong teams for most of this decade. Much of their success has been predicated on a strong core of hitters, and supported by a diverse, powerful pitching staff. But as 2009 takes shape, the house Scioscia built is showing some cracks in the foundation. This is not, however, reason to relax.

Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, and Jon Lackey are all returning to the rotation, and they won 45 games for the Angels in 2008. That's a pretty solid core, but they will miss Garland. They also signed closer Brian Fuentes (and his career 3.41 ERA) to a 2 year, $18MM deal in hopes he will be able to ice hitters the same way K-Rod did last season. Good luck with that fellas.

GM Tony Reagins inexplicably moved on free agent Juan Rivera while ignoring Manny Rodriguez (who is still available). This one puzzles me a bit, as they were willing to commit 8 years and countless millions to Mark Texieira, but not 3 or 4 years to Manny, with a career .314 average and a reputation as one of the most feared hitters in the game. He would also offer legit star-power (aka butts in seats, aka enhanced revenues). Oh well. Maybe they see Erick Aybar hitting 37 homers this year at the SS position.

The arbitration class was also quite active, although easily resolved, and focused mainly on position players. Chone Figgins, Robb Quinlan, Jack Taschner, Derren Oliver, Brad Thompson and Mike Napoli all came to terms with the Angels and avoided arbitration hearings; collectively a good omen for Anaheim. Whether or not retention of those players will be enough to win the Division remains to be seen.

Trade-wise, nothing to report.

All in all, The Angels are looking far less ferocious than the 2008 squad who earned the AL's best record (and ultimately choked to Boston). The market is what it is, and they did not emerge as winners this offseason. Which is a bit disappointing to Angel fans, I can imagine, considering their $115MM payroll and gigantic (and painfully, horribly garish) new Orange County stadium.

So. Where does that leave Oakland? Poised. At the very least, in contention. The A's young and relatively unproven starting rotation is seeking leadership from 2 time all star Justin Durscherer. If he can stay healthy, he could prove a viable steady and Ace... but that composure will have to be contagious to the rest of the young arms. Pitching will be our greatest concession to the Angels, despite their losses.

Our offense will now feature 2 former batting champs and a former MVP (yeah, he's old, but he still hit 34 homers last year). Chavez is healthy. Ellis is healthy. Travis Buck is healthy and ready to join the ranks of Oakland's proven hitters. This is good news for the A's, who boasted a League worst offense last season. This is bad news for the Angels, who are used to abusing our near-anemic lineup. Long story short, we are going to hit the ball much better against Anaheim this year. I do not see 100 wins as being a realistic accomplishment for them. Watch out California Angels... I mean LA Angels... I mean Anaheim Angels... I mean LA Angels of Anaheim. Pretty sure that's it.

Anaheim's own disneyland...



next installment: Seattle Mariners.

unspecific

brave new world and the rain pushes sheets on diagonal sidewinder avenue slopes like california or sacramento or bush and pine and all cable car street sign street sweepers go diagonal in sweater weather systems that refuse to call me back and offer me money cuz frosty glass ceiling skies stop short of subdued weekend with blissful promise sleepy eyes meet and smile when they are left alone in safety dim but not dark square shapes with soft corners confirm a careful touch beside elusive oval puddle jumps falling arches falling swift and unkempt smokey afghan carpet nag champa wafts where foggy afternoons replenish themselves on water and wine and television and ordering in and eating off paper plates while sports highlights can justify my love in cell phone text because quick fingers trace loyal patterns on keys sounding songlike and distant but sweet like sugar water on rock candy volcanic obsidian that shimmers black liquorish waves crashing consistent and unsettled loud like sleeping on the diagonal inner city sidewalk no parking here inhospitable unbroken and unsustainable right angles green grass and flashes take me back to the soft corners and sleepy eyes and careful touches and homeward bus lines stop and go and seal me in vaccumed and unharmed

giant shadow

Somewhere between the 30 minute line for garlic fries and my $45 bleacher seat, i realized i was in a very different kind of ballpark. as weird as it sounds... these people were wearing their goofy orange and black Halloween colors with pride. they remained seated when their team made a play--more interested in their conversations than the game, nursing chilled Chardonnay in premium plastic cups. every one of these people could have been a season ticket holder. for me, games at AT&T are more a lesson in social class than compelling baseball.

I don't know why the relationship is so adversarial, but it just is. they have more money, a FAR nicer stadium (that they don't share with Al Davis) and a fanbase that doesn't get tired of seeing them lose. they also boast a fraudulent all-time-home-run legacy left behind by Barry Bonds, and questioned by just about everyone who is not a giants fan. in most respects, I'm almost a Giants hater.... call me envious.

But rather than rant about the haves and have nots of bay area baseball, I'd like to explore the budding rivalry between A's and Giants. Catalyzed by a World Series sweep in 1989, and immortalized by the earthquake, it's a cross town beef like no other. The blue collar A's represent a plucky, fighting, rebellious spirit to the rest of the nation, whereas the Giants have often struggled to define their identity. Despite winning the NL pennant in 2002, the Barry Bonds Bunch has embodied large market mediocrity throughout the last decade, with glimmers of excellence in standouts like Tim Lincecum and of course, Mister Asterisk himself.

so as 2009 settles in, and the new rosters (and identities) take shape, i once again see the bay area teams in competition--i can't help it. i compare their signings to ours, and our failures to theirs. pointless? probably.

Ray Ratto (SF Chronicle) feels like Billy Beane has been out GM'ed by Brian Sabean this offseason. I think that's absurd. Whereas both teams brought in big name free agents (for short term deals) and attempted to address their personnel issues, the A's have done it without cashing out. Both teams still have positions they'd like to upgrade, but Oakland's only glaring insufficiency is at shortstop... and they've identified a viable (read: affordable) target in Orlando Cabrera. The Giants do not have game day starters at either infield corner... and that means holes in the lineup as well. the free agent market has been pretty kind to the Giants so far, but their work is far from done.

The comparison is also unfair because of an inequity in available resources. working class A's fans will commonly use the limited payroll as a fallback in defending their team (i already have in this post) although we've seen successes beyond our budgets. The Giants aren't exactly spending money like the Red Sox, but their new stadium and deeper pockets do make contract negotiations a bit less challenging... just ask Barry Zito.

Plus their division is soft. The NL West title is a very achievable one, with the last 10 being split fairly evenly among its 5 teams (with the exception of Colorado, which has never won). The division is ripe for takeover every season, and every season there seems to be a snail's race to the finish. As far as image goes, the Dodgers have a rich and eventful history, dating back to their days in Brooklyn, and it helps that they usually contend. The Padres and Diamondbacks have each seen above average results, including Arizona's 2001 World Series win over the Yankees (thanks fellas!)... but are also not very unique squads. The lackluster Rockies wear the worst uniforms in professional sports... so there's that. The Giants are somewhere in the middle; not terrible, not good... and very much without a clear "character" to reference.

With regards to Oakland, the NL West denied us World Series wins in 1988 and 1990, and gave us one in 1989.... against the Giants. If that 3 year stretch wasn't enough to spark a rivalry, interleague made it official in 1997. Now we play the Gmen every year. Since then, the A's hold the advantage over SF 38-30... punctuated by a 12 strikeout domination by Tim Lincecum last season (the most recent meeting between the 2 teams). It was pretty much his coming-out party, and it eclipsed an outstanding 1 run performance by our own all-star Justin Duscherer.

this year proves to be more equitable in terms of how the Giants stack up against the A's. they have tried to address their issues, and so have we. they've lost some players, just like us. i have ongoing bet with a buddy that the A's finish with a better record. this year i feel it's less of a lock, but i still took the bet.