6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Angels 11, Kittycats 4

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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Angels 11, Kittycats 4

One of the things Bill James does so well is to start out on some point on a particular player or aspect of the game and use it as a telescope to a broader point. So it is with yesterday's 11-4 blowout of the Tigers, who, despite the additions of Pudge and Viña, are still a weak team. Unlike the Rangers, whose improved outfield defense gives flyball fiends like Chan Ho Park an actual chance, they really have no hope of being anything besides better than Cleveland. And, as James said, one thing you have to be wary of is the pitcher who gets his wins by being run-support lucky -- the fellow who has a bunch in the "W" column but a high ERA. That's Washburn today, folks, the first pitcher in the bigs in 2004 with five wins.

At Athletics Nation, Tyler's finger hovers over the panic button, and Mariners Wheelhouse has already pushed his. Is there good reason to, though, just yet? Ignore the "we've only played X games" arguments, what about the "record vs. teams playing .500 or better ball" arguments?

Team	Record
Anaheim	4-5
Oakland	6-9
Seattle	5-10
Texas	8-2

What comes out of this is that Texas' start looks even better than before, while Seattle's slump looks worse. The two teams in the middle -- Anaheim and Oakland -- appear mediocre. But the schedule hides the Angels' problems: while the Rangers swept Boston and the Yankees beat up on the A's, the Angels faced Minnesota, a team arguably weaker than last year. Let's see where we are after the 24th, when the Angels will have seen the Yankees six times and Baltimore another six.

// posted by Rob @ 2:45 PM link // 0 comments