Thanks. Thanks a lot.
I heard Billy Beane's comments on the trade of Lester for Céspedes and he brought up some valid points. First is that they were going to lose Cespedes anyway to free agency in a yaer, and he felt pitchers were catching up to Cespedes somewhat late in the season. The team's run production had already dropped some by then. This turned out to be only partly true. He felt Lester were their best chance to get into the playoffs with a marquee pitcher. He also felt that both Kasmir and Gray were not likely to sustain pitching at their level, due to the amount of innings they were throwing due to weak middle relief. Doolittle's late season injury sure didn't help.
But in the end, the A's just ran out of gas. They don't have the budget, and sabermetrics will only take you so far. But it's nice to see a club with so little money do so well. Same with Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, let's talk about the games we have left.
I too still like the Angels chances against KC. It seems to me the Royals had to win game 1 to even have a chance. Now, it may be even, but I'd still pick the Angels. Though not having
Garrett Richards may make it harder for them to take it all. Also count me in as one who thinks Mike Scioscia is maybe the best manager in all of baseball.
The other AL series should be really interesting. The last time a team faced three former Cy Young winners back to back to back was when the Mets faced off against Maddux, Glavin and Smotlz some 15 years ago. The Braves won all three of those games. Game 2 on now, and Tigers up 5-3. If they can survive this with the hot/cold Verlander on the mound, next up they have Price. But their bullpen is very shaky. And the Orioles are good across the board.
In the NL I would love to see Washington win it all, and today's game with Strasburg is going to really be a bellweather, as I'm sure many fans remember his past. But the Giants are dangerous. Lots of playoff experienced players.
I'm also hoping that the Dodgers can upend the Cardinals, who I am sort of tired of seeing. Plus, Kershaw can't possibly pitch as bad as he did in last year's playoffs.
I'm still sticking with my prediction of Washington over Baltimore. Though it won't surprise me if the Angels can beat anyone, same with the Dodgers, really.