Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

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For some reason everyone is picking the Angels for the AL West this year.

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As an Angel fan I have absolutely no clue what to expect this year. We have so many youngsters that a 70-win season wouldn't surprise me, and a 95-win season wuldn't surprise me either.

I pretty much know what to expect out of Cabrera and Vlad, but outside of that, who knows.

I'm about ready to give up on Kotchman, but he's only had 300something AB's, and he's only 24, so we'll see if he figures it out this year.

Kendrick looks like a hitting-beast-in-the-making, but who knows.

I don't know what to make of Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar for 2007. And what are they going to do with Brandon Wood?

Garret Anderson, as much as I love him, needs to be put out to pasture.

...And that's just the offense

Their pitching is just as questionable. Will Lackey continue to become a bonafide ace? Will Escobar be healthy for a full season (probably not)? Will Colon stay away from the buffets? Will Santana continue to improve? Can Weaver keep from getting injured and still be dominant? If the answers to most of these questions are yes, then the Angels will have a rotation few in the majors can match. They're a legit 5-deep.

Their bullpen should continue to stay good, especially after picking up Speier. I have no idea why Darren Oliver is wasting a major league roster spot though.

My prediction for my Angels? 90 wins, plus or minus 15 [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

I am very interested to see how Piazza will do facing new pitchers in a new league. Switching to DH will keep him fresher through the season, and he will benifit from batting in Oakland instead of Petco.

The stregnth of the team this year is clearly the bullpen. I expect big things from Gaudin this year. The A's also picked up Alan Embree and have some good looking prospects. Street can be very good, but Duchscherer really needs to be closing.

I am looking forward to a big year from Starter Dan Haren also. Kennedy looked awful most of the spring but he is penciled in as the fifth starter. I don't know who will replace him if he continues slumping. Who knows if Harden can stay healthy?

Angel's fans, I am looking forward to a great race this season. The teams seem to be pretty evenly matched if everyone stays healthy.

LET'S GO OAKLAND!!!

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

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I am very interested to see how Piazza will do facing new pitchers in a new league. Switching to DH will keep him fresher through the season, and he will benifit from batting in Oakland instead of Petco.


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I'm not an expert, but I assume his HRs will go up due to being out of SD, but that his average will likely take a hit due to the massive amount of foul territory in Oakland.

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

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I'm not an expert, but I assume his HRs will go up due to being out of SD, but that his average will likely take a hit due to the massive amount of foul territory in Oakland.

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BA in the AL was higher in the AL last year, .275, vs. .265. He's going to a league where the DH helps tire out pitchers more, so he's going to get a boost that way. And he'll only hit half the time in Oakland. But the AL is widely considered much stronger than the NL, so he'll probably be facing tougher pitching. So who really knows?

One thing about Piazza was his hitting was pretty weak the two years before last year. So last year could have been a "last gasp" for him. Though two years ago he was trying to learn 1st base, and he had some injuries during the last two years with them. So once again, who really knows?

It's going to be a very interesting year.

I wonder if Durazo has anything left in his tank as well.

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

The A's signed Todd Walker today (3.30.07). I can't stop laughing.

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

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The A's signed Todd Walker today (3.30.07). I can't stop laughing.

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what

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sdhjkl

wheayjdsksd;kljsdsd;kljhs

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

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The A's signed Todd Walker today (3.30.07). I can't stop laughing.

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imo smart signing

GO A's!

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

So far the A's offense licks balls. If this keeps up it's going to be a very long season. Throwing out one outlier, the A's are averaging 1.87 runs per game so far. Ouch!

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

f'ing terrible loss. thank god the rest of the division sucks

Re: 2007 Oakland A\'s Thread!!!
 

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARCOOOOOOO