AL West Talk

[SeattleCoug]

Coug, WTH is going on here? Your Mariners are on a 4 game win streak and only 2 games back. Thought they were supposed to fade now that Cano is out.

View attachment 179686

They are taking advantage of pretty soft May schedule which is nice especially since the line up has gotten pretty banged up the last few days with Gordon, Cruz and now Haniger and Segura. If they can survive June I will be a believer. It looks rough
3 vs. TB
2 @ Houston
4 @TB
3 vs. Angels
4 vs. Boston
3 @ Yankees
3@ Boston
4 @ Baltimore

However that still leaves a bunch of games left against your Astros which they rarely beat

 

[Droopdog51]

They are taking advantage of pretty soft May schedule which is nice especially since the line up has gotten pretty banged up the last few days with Gordon, Cruz and now Haniger and Segura. If they can survive June I will be a believer. It looks rough
3 vs. TB
2 @ Houston
4 @TB
3 vs. Angels
4 vs. Boston
3 @ Yankees
3@ Boston
4 @ Baltimore

However that still leaves a bunch of games left against your Astros which they rarely beat

That's a brutal stretch right there. You'll know if you are a contender or pretender after that. Good luck,

 

[Droopdog51]

Jose Altuve with 10 hits in his last 10 Plate Appearances.

 

[SeattleCoug]

Looks like I may have been off on Cano's impact. If Gordon is healthy and playing 2nd you likely don't lose much production in terms of wins. (upgrade defensively and downgrade offensively)

 

[WizardHawk]

Odor dirty? No shocker.
Odor spikes Simmons on slide; tempers flare

Of course that was a dirty slide.

 

[navamind]

Odor dirty? No shocker.
Odor spikes Simmons on slide; tempers flare

Of course that was a dirty slide.

can't wait for him to get DFA'd. he sucks. Dude hit 30 home runs and managed a 65 OPS+ last year. it's 53 this year.

 

[navamind]

 

[bksballer89]

 

[Droopdog51]

Not all that impressive when you consider the teams they played
Tampa Bay
CHiSox
Cleveland
Oakland
LAA
Toronto
Detroit
Minnesota

Only 3 of those teams currently have a winning record.

Whereas the Astros just finished 4 against Boston, 3 vs. NYY, and 4 against the Tribe.

 

[navamind]

Not all that impressive when you consider the teams they played
Tampa Bay
CHiSox
Cleveland
Oakland
LAA
Toronto
Detroit
Minnesota

Only 3 of those teams currently have a winning record.

Whereas the Astros just finished 4 against Boston, 3 vs. NYY, and 4 against the Tribe.

View attachment 180410

I don't disagree about that and the Astros have a run differential about 105 runs higher (lol), but I'm not sure how reflectvie a team's record on June 5 is of the quality of the team. There have been plenty of teams hovering around/below .500 in June that have gone on to win 90+ games.

I think the Astros have a much better team, but the Mariners are in a pretty good spot for a playoff race. Even if they go 52-51 over the remainder of the season, that gets them to 89-73. That could get them a WC spot. That rotation might be in much better shape than I thought it would be, even with Felix looking toasty.

 

[Droopdog51]

I don't disagree about that and the Astros have a run differential about 105 runs higher (lol), but I'm not sure how reflectvie a team's record on June 5 is of the quality of the team. There have been plenty of teams hovering around/below .500 in June that have gone on to win 90+ games.

I think the Astros have a much better team, but the Mariners are in a pretty good spot for a playoff race. Even if they go 52-51 over the remainder of the season, that gets them to 89-73. That could get them a WC spot. That rotation might be in much better shape than I thought it would be, even with Felix looking toasty.

They sure looked for real kicking the Astros ass last night.

I wasn't sating they weren't a good team or not contenders, just that this hot streak has been against less than stellar competition. It get significantly more difficult this month. We will have a better idea of how good they are by this time next month.

 

[tabascojet]

what are the vegas odds mariners finish first right now??

 

[tabascojet]

what are the vegas odds mariners finish first right now??

9/2

 

[Droopdog51]

Rangers dominate Astros once again and beat Verlander into dust. Verlander can’t handle Rangers heart and determination

Got a 4 game Astros/Rangers series coming up. Care to make an avi wager?

 

[navamind]

for the record, I'd be shocked if the Mariners finished within 10 games of the Astros by the end of the season.

 

[tabascojet]

kuechel 3-8....something or nothing??

 

[Droopdog51]

kuechel 3-8....something or nothing??

I haven't checked the numbers but I recall a stretch of his starts when the Astros simply didn't score runs.

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel's 2018 starts plagued by misfortune

That being said, he is definately not close to his Cy Young form. So yes it is something, but most teams would feel blessed to have #4 or 5 starter with a 4.13 ERA.

 

[Droopdog51]

Rangers dominate Astros once again and beat Verlander into dust. Verlander can’t handle Rangers heart and determination

Got a 4 game Astros/Rangers series coming up. Care to make an avi wager?

 

[navamind]

kuechel 3-8....something or nothing??

he's been pretty meh, but pitcher wins and losses are garbage stats.

 

[navamind]

I haven't checked the numbers but I recall a stretch of his starts when the Astros simply didn't score runs.

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel's 2018 starts plagued by misfortune

That being said, he is definately not close to his Cy Young form. So yes it is something, but most teams would feel blessed to have #4 or 5 starter with a 4.13 ERA.

He's still on pace for 2+ WAR (Fangraphs) and averaging around 6+ IP per start. There's still a lot of value in that. He is giving up more home runs this year (0.93 HR/9 last year, 1.34 HR/9 this year) despite having a HR/FB rate lower than last year's. His ground ball rate is at it's lowest since his rookie year though 55.2% is still pretty good, but it pales in comparison to his career rate of 59.6%.