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Los Angeles Angels: It was a big weekend for the Angels as they were able to sweep the Boston Red Sox at home. As I have talked about before, the Red Sox are a bad road team and I am considering the Angels to be the favorites in the AL because they are the only team in contention with a winning road record.
The Angels have an excellent pitching staff and bullpen, who sport a 4.04 ERA and 109 ERA+ between them. Statistically their pitching ranksbehind only the White Sox(118 ERA+), A's(112 ERA+), Blue Jays(112 ERA+), and Red Sox (112 ERA+). The bullpen is led by closerFrancisco Rodriguez, who became the fastest pitcher ever to record 40 saves. Rodriguez is on pace for an astounding 66 saves this season, which would obliterate the old save record of 57 that is held by Bobby Thigpen.
They only doubt I have about the Angels is their average lineup which could be a bat or two away from going from an average offense to a good one. Right now they are 10th in the league in runs scored with only 4.38 runs per game. They also sport a dismal 91 OPS+, which is well below the league average of 100, and only ahead of Mariners(88 OPS+) and Royals(87 OPS+).
So it is no surprise that they are interested in acquiring LF Matt Holliday from the Rockies. However, the asking price of top pitching propsect Nick Adenhart, Howie Kendrick, and one of Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders is just ridiculous. I would not make that deal if I was the Angels and I'm sure no team would because it is way too much. I might think about the trade if it was just Adenhart and Kendrick though.
Matt Holliday is a solid player but he has not shown that he is a great hitter outside of Coors Field over his career. At Coors Field, he has a line of .363 /.426 OBP/.659 SLG/1.085 OPS but on the road his line is a lot worse at .277/.341 OBP/.449 SLG/.790 OPS. That is almost a 300 point difference in OPS, so I would be a little wary to give up too much if I was the Angels.
New York Yankees: Just like the Angels, the Yankees had a big weekend sweeping the Oakland A's at home. However, they also have some bad news in regards to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. Matsui has been on the DL for a while due to a bad knee and it is possible he could need season ending knee surgery. I think the Yankees are expecting Matsui to be out for the season but it appears that Jorge Posada might be out for the season as well. Posada was placed on the 15-day DL today but his shoulder has been bothering him all season and I think he will probably have to shut it down.
If the Yankees lose both Matsui and Posada for the rest of the season, it will be tough for their offense to have the big second half that is needed in order for the Yankees to make their playoff push. The Yankees pitching has been solid of late but the offense has not been as good as you would expect. They did pick up Richie Sexson earlier in the week but I would not be surprised to see the Yankees trade for another bat sometime soon.
Ian Kinsler: Beyond The Box Score takes a look at Ian Kinsler's excellent first half of the season offensively. Kinsler mashed away with a line of .337/14 HR/58 RBI/23 SB/.397 OBP/.548 SLG/.943 OPS in the first half of the season. Definitely an impressive first half and it's no surprise the Rangers are the top offense in the league with Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and Milton Bradley all putting up MVP-like numbers. The one area where Kinsler does struggle is his defense. On the year, Kinsler has 16 errors for a .971 fielding percentage. He does have a lot of range at second though, so the face he can get to balls a lot of other second baseman can't get to could help balance out all the errors he has been making this season.
Other MLB news:
- The Brewers were able to acquire second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants for two minor leaguers who don't appear to be big prospects at all. Durham will be a good addition to the Brewers offensively and he has a line of .293/3 HR/32 RBI/.385 OBP/.414 SLG/112 OPS.
- The Phillies acquired Oakland pitcher Joe Blanton who is a decent end of the rotation starter but he is not having a great season. Right now he sports a 5-12 record with a 4.96 ERA, which is not encouring considering he is going to be pitching in a hitters ball park now. Blanton will make his first start with the Phillies on Tuesday against the Mets.
The Angels have an excellent pitching staff and bullpen, who sport a 4.04 ERA and 109 ERA+ between them. Statistically their pitching ranksbehind only the White Sox(118 ERA+), A's(112 ERA+), Blue Jays(112 ERA+), and Red Sox (112 ERA+). The bullpen is led by closerFrancisco Rodriguez, who became the fastest pitcher ever to record 40 saves. Rodriguez is on pace for an astounding 66 saves this season, which would obliterate the old save record of 57 that is held by Bobby Thigpen.
They only doubt I have about the Angels is their average lineup which could be a bat or two away from going from an average offense to a good one. Right now they are 10th in the league in runs scored with only 4.38 runs per game. They also sport a dismal 91 OPS+, which is well below the league average of 100, and only ahead of Mariners(88 OPS+) and Royals(87 OPS+).
So it is no surprise that they are interested in acquiring LF Matt Holliday from the Rockies. However, the asking price of top pitching propsect Nick Adenhart, Howie Kendrick, and one of Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders is just ridiculous. I would not make that deal if I was the Angels and I'm sure no team would because it is way too much. I might think about the trade if it was just Adenhart and Kendrick though.
Matt Holliday is a solid player but he has not shown that he is a great hitter outside of Coors Field over his career. At Coors Field, he has a line of .363 /.426 OBP/.659 SLG/1.085 OPS but on the road his line is a lot worse at .277/.341 OBP/.449 SLG/.790 OPS. That is almost a 300 point difference in OPS, so I would be a little wary to give up too much if I was the Angels.
New York Yankees: Just like the Angels, the Yankees had a big weekend sweeping the Oakland A's at home. However, they also have some bad news in regards to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. Matsui has been on the DL for a while due to a bad knee and it is possible he could need season ending knee surgery. I think the Yankees are expecting Matsui to be out for the season but it appears that Jorge Posada might be out for the season as well. Posada was placed on the 15-day DL today but his shoulder has been bothering him all season and I think he will probably have to shut it down.
If the Yankees lose both Matsui and Posada for the rest of the season, it will be tough for their offense to have the big second half that is needed in order for the Yankees to make their playoff push. The Yankees pitching has been solid of late but the offense has not been as good as you would expect. They did pick up Richie Sexson earlier in the week but I would not be surprised to see the Yankees trade for another bat sometime soon.
Ian Kinsler: Beyond The Box Score takes a look at Ian Kinsler's excellent first half of the season offensively. Kinsler mashed away with a line of .337/14 HR/58 RBI/23 SB/.397 OBP/.548 SLG/.943 OPS in the first half of the season. Definitely an impressive first half and it's no surprise the Rangers are the top offense in the league with Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and Milton Bradley all putting up MVP-like numbers. The one area where Kinsler does struggle is his defense. On the year, Kinsler has 16 errors for a .971 fielding percentage. He does have a lot of range at second though, so the face he can get to balls a lot of other second baseman can't get to could help balance out all the errors he has been making this season.
Other MLB news:
- The Brewers were able to acquire second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants for two minor leaguers who don't appear to be big prospects at all. Durham will be a good addition to the Brewers offensively and he has a line of .293/3 HR/32 RBI/.385 OBP/.414 SLG/112 OPS.
- The Phillies acquired Oakland pitcher Joe Blanton who is a decent end of the rotation starter but he is not having a great season. Right now he sports a 5-12 record with a 4.96 ERA, which is not encouring considering he is going to be pitching in a hitters ball park now. Blanton will make his first start with the Phillies on Tuesday against the Mets.
More: MLB Weekly
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