Will it be a Four team Race Come Sunday???

by oaktoon on Aug 3, 2006 10:05 AM PDT

You know if you had put a serious baseball fan on a desert island so he couldn't watch or listen to any game this year; then gave him the AL West standings plus run differential with the names of the teams blacked out...

he'd have to conclude that it was pretty much anyone's ballgame as to who would win. team A has obviously won the most close games and has the best pitching. team C appears to be the most explosive, but has the biggest isues with pitching. Teams B and particularly D should have slightly better records than they currently boast.

So what if.... The Rangers take 3 of 4 from the Halos; and we are winless in Seattle.

Monday morning's standings would be:

Oakland 57-54
Seattle 56-54
Texas 57-55
Anaheim 56-55

4 teams bunched within 1 game-- with no clear favorite.

Not predicting this, mind you, but it isn;t the craziest possibility, particularly if we are without both Payton and Crosby this weekend with Chavez and Swisher still subpar.

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I thought

it was already a 4 team race...not that I think the Rangers and Mariners have a legitimate shot, but they're still very close as of now.

But if your life is such a big joke, then why should I care?

by johnspaz7 on Aug 3, 2006 10:21 AM PDT reply actions

Winless in Seattle?!?!?!

It is possible I guess - as it is hard to completely dominate a team like the A's have done to them... but it is hard to fathom it... And if the A's do go winless in Seattle - the Rangers better whoop up on the Halos...

Zito and Haren are both going in this series right? I think that we would win at least one of those - even if Seattle is due to play better against these scrappy Oaklanders...

by SD Erik on Aug 3, 2006 10:22 AM PDT reply actions

oh yea...

I had temporarily forgotten that we are 9 - 1 vs. the M's so far...they'd have to win the remaining 9 games to win the season series by 1.

But if your life is such a big joke, then why should I care?

by johnspaz7 on Aug 3, 2006 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

That was my thought.

We've only lost one game to them this year; it'd have to be the Apocalyose if we got swept.

by anomaly_kat on Aug 3, 2006 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't expect to start seeing standing separation

until Labor Day.

By that time, I expect 1, if not 2 teams to fall 8-10 games behind the leader. Another week into September, those 2 teams will become spoilers as we enter the intradivision knockout round.

We have Texas from Labor Day to the Wednesday after, and then no division games until the final 10 game LAA-@Sea-@LAA ... Whereas the Angels have @Tex4-@KC2-@Oak3-Tex3-Oak4 in their last 16 games ... I, for one, hope it's roasting in Tex and KC when mid-Sept rolls around.

by Rickeyfan on Aug 3, 2006 10:40 AM PDT reply actions

Where do you get that Chavez is sub-par?

Just two days ago the Angels announcers made mention that he's hitting .340+ over his previous nine games.

Weird.

"I smell like a meadow." - Yuniesky Betancourt

by Ozzz on Aug 3, 2006 10:50 AM PDT reply actions

Lumpy sample sizes

during the 9 game stretch (which was also a 9 game hitting streak) he was 11/34, which would probably explain why Macha thought it was time to move him up to the 3 spot. Whether Chavez can replicate that performance, or even 90% of that performance in the 3 spot is a different story.

by Rickeyfan on Aug 3, 2006 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions

FWIW

He's 0-for-7 since moving to the 3 spot ... also worth noting that his 9-game stretch featured zero home runs.
Like Oz, I too was waiting to watch an upcoming Chavy hot streak, but with this guy, apparently, you can never find enough wood to knock on.

by rubin sierra on Aug 3, 2006 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions