hey fellow A's fans. now that the Angels have Josh Hamilton, I was wondering if they would be more of a challenge for us? not that I don't have faith in our guys but will they be tougher to beat or will history will repeat itself and it'll take Hamilton a month until he get going like Pujols did? lol

I expect Hamilton to do very well in Anaheim. However, hitting in general and the outfield in particular were not problems for the Angels last season. They'd have done better signing a big name starter, I think.

yes, the A's will have a tougher time with the Angels. they were tough to pitch around once Pujols got going, but now their lineup with Hamilton batting clean-up with Pujols is a lot tougher. unfortunately, Hamilton won't have nearly as tough of a time "adjusting" as Pujols did.

Hamilton's career at Angels stadium is .260/.325/.440. i'm certain those numbers will go up batting next to Pujols and if Trumbo can continue doing what he did the last two seasons.

Those numbers in Anaheim look pretty good until you compare them to his career numbers in Arlington: .315/.373/.592. That's a difference of .055/.048/.152. Pujols may alleviate that slightly, but Beltre has been hitting behind Hamilton the last two years. Beltre's OPS last year was only nine points below Hamilton's, and it was ten points above the year before. It's not like he hasn't had protection before. A .152 difference in slugging percentage over 81 games will be noticeable.

hitters will always have good numbers in Arlington. like they say, it's a hitters' ballpark. i wouldn't expect Hamilton to replicate what he did in Arlington in Anaheim, but that's still a very tough lineup to pitch around. as young of a rotation as the A's are probably going to have, they're going to get rattled, there's no doubt about that. Blevins can only pitch to him for 1 AB every few games.

well I think they're going to do fine next year. I mean it's a long season, I'll just to see what happens. Go A's!

Like BeaneBall said, offense was not their problem in 2012. They've essentially just made their good offense better, while letting their rotation fall apart. Wilson will also be up in the air re: his availability at the start of Spring Training. Blanton is no replacement for his former 'New Big Three' teammate Haren.

Their bullpen also stunk, but they have improved that dramatically.

Besides, when have the Angels NOT been a challenge for the A's or for any team in the AL? It's been over 10 years.

Hamilton won't have an adjustment period like Pujols did since he has been in the AL all along. He just replaces Hunter in their line up so that is not that great of an upgrade. Hanson and Blanton are not as good as Santana and Haren were.Their pen got a little better. To me that makes them about the same team as they were last year.

Hamilton is definitely an upgrade over Hunter offensively, despite Hunter having a career year last year. But like we've been saying, it's their rotation that needed the upgrade and that hasn't happened yet.

How come no one is talking about Trout? He is part of that Angel's mix of power hitters along with Hamilton, Trumbo, and Puljols. He sets the table similarly to Crisp for us.

Frankly, I don't know how the A's did it last year. It didn't make sense that a lineup with than many holes in it could win 94 games. So, their chances of winning it all this year are about the same as they were last year. Using the standard metrics, I can't see how the A's finish higher than third in the AL West in 2013. That said, I couldn't believe it last year when it was happening right before our eyes. I kept waiting for them to fade, satisfied with a season of improvement and promise. It was a hard to jump on the bandwagon because you just knew a wheel would fall off at some time. What it taught me is that sometimes the sum of the team is greater than the sum of its parts. The 2010 Giants (forgive me) were an example: a team of spare parts that gelled when it mattered. I think Texas bears watching in the coming months, after the Rangers' collapse in the final week and the dismantling of their roster in the offseason. The Angels just got a little tougher by trading Kendrys Morales to Seattle for Vargas who, in some respects last year was tougher than King Felix.

Dicey: Many here who doubted the Angels pitching staff... Just got a shock... Great trade for the Angels... And they have the money to make things better too.. Think Angels will add another bat for bench... They may sluff a pitcher now... Richards??? .... Might get a real good position player for him

Dicey brave post on this MB regarding the A's... Regression a big possibility... They have a decent chance at 2nd though IMO... I think, the A's have a good team... We must address the catcher, pray we hang close early and are injury free...

I don't think anyone can really say they expected us to win 94 games, let alone grab the division.
Like somewhere I read that " there is no I in team" we played that tune the whole year. Melvin had a lot to do with the sum of it all. He showed belief, trust, respect and pride for his players, both individually and as a whole. I think now that we surprised everyone with our will to win and our abilities at play, we can go about the business of picking, choosing, and putting together with the newcomers, and invitees, the best cohesive team in the American League. C'mon FANS, we already have the BEST pitching; we are halfway there, now; let's get our defense up to par, hone in the new pieces and become a force to deal with! And let's get our attendance up right from the beginning. It can really be disheartening to play your b-u-t-t-s off for 3500 fans at best 7 to 12 thousand the first half. Only the die-hard fans were showing up, and the kids. We need attendance or we will never be able to hang on to our top prospects.

What made the Giants win the world series? A: pitching

Which player (singluar) on the Tigers took Oakland out of post season? A:Verlander, a pitcher.

I think people continue to highly overestimate offense in baseball. In particular individual players offense. It's so incredibly difficult to score runs against good pitching. Especially good pitching depth late in the season when there are injuries.

Pitching, Scutaro, Pagan, Buster , Sandoval and Bochy.

Pitching, Cabrera and Fielder.

Good post flamingpen! I'm trying to believe that the fans will show up like they did the last mo of the season, but idk if that'll happen or not. I'm pessimistic they will but the team deserves real support.

A'S FOREVER

Of those 4 SF players you mention, only Panda actually had above average numbers in the WS.

Cabrera batted .250 in the ALDS, Fielder was .190.

So I assume you were agreeing with me?

Can't disagree with you there. Pitching, guys who can catch the ball and an occasional timely hit, the old Earl Weaver formula, is as true today as it was in his time.

The "Scutaro is a great clutch player" myth is a hard one to overcome. Dude had a great LCS, but was well below mediocre in the LDS and WS.

Panda dismantled Verlander in game 1 and that was that.

point taken and I agree but the World Series was won by a hitter vs. the best pitcher in the game.