The Athletics will enter the new season fresh off back-to-back 97-win performances, and considering the chaos atop their division, they’ll be a popular choice to win the American League West. The Astros have taken it three years in a row – all seasons with 100-plus victories – but there’s serious skepticism that they’ll reign again in 2020. They’ve been dealing with the aftermath of a sign-stealing scandal that cost them their previous leadership and has dominated baseball headlines over the past several weeks. Oh, and they lost all-world right-hander Gerrit Cole to the Yankees in free agency.
Even with the mess it has created for itself, Houston remains an immensely talented team. But it may have a real challenger in Oakland, which overcame a slew of notable injuries in each of the previous two seasons on the way to playoff berths. The Athletics, like the Astros, haven’t been all that aggressive in upgrading their roster since last season concluded, so the A’s will go into the campaign with a roster that’s similar to the prior version.
The A’s position player group continues to brig an amazing left side of the infield (third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Marcus Semien), a high-quality first baseman (Matt Olson), a pair of underrated outfielders (Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha) and a couple bounce-back candidates (designated hitter Khris Davis and outfielder Stephen Piscotty) to the table. Likewise, Oakland’s pitching staff is rife with potential. Injuries and suspensions ravaged the unit last year, yet A’s hurlers still found a way to record the majors’ sixth-best ERA and eighth-highest fWAR. They’re now slated to get full seasons from left-hander Sean Manaea (injuries held him to five starts in 2019), breakout righty Frankie Montas (a PED ban limited him to 16 starts) and perhaps Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk. Two of the most talented young pitchers in the game, Luzardo and Puk missed almost all of last year as a result of injuries.
The A’s rotation, which also includes the durable and effective Mike Fiers, will hand off to a bullpen that was tough on the oppostion in 2019. That was thanks largely to Liam Hendriks, who – much like former Athletic Blake Treinen before him – emerged as a dominant closer for the club. Whether he can keep it up remains to be seen, though, as Hendriks is just two seasons removed from being outrighted off the A’s 40-man.
Although there’s plenty of talent up and down Oakland’s roster, the team could face a stiffer test in its division this year. The Astros are arguably in position to decline somewhat, but the Angels and Rangers worked hard over the winter to better their chances of competing for the crown this year. And for what it’s worth, the recently released PECOTA projections call for the A’s to take a considerable step back, predicting 85 wins and a third-place finish in the AL West. That’s a solid amount of victories, but it’s obviously not what A’s have in mind for 2020 after two consecutive stellar seasons. The question is: Do you expect them to remain among the AL’s elite for a third year in a row?
(Poll link for app users)
How many times are they going to bring up Cole going to the Yankees
In case you missed it. Cole defected to the Yankees
36,000,000 times a year for 9 years.
They wrote an artic
Idk but between him and the news of Cole going to the Yankees. The Yankees will be great. Plus they added Cole too.
kinda funny a pitcher can be “all-world” yet be the 2nd best pitcher on the Astros and not win Cy Young. What world are they living in?
He is better than Verlander. Verlander won the Cy Young because of the no hitter. Otherwise Cole was better. Didn’t lose in 5 months. Verlander didn’t touch that. Also you say 2nd on the Astros like that would make him 2nd on many teams or something. The Astros HAD #1 and #2 so even if Cole were #2 he was at least #2 in the league. Sheesh! The intellectual honesty around here…
I’m gonna guess 93 wins
Soso?
No, he retired from the Cubs, rycm
It wouldn’t be funny, even if it were accurate.
Oxford: thank you, I was seriously hoping you would jump on and give me your lone approval. Nice contribution.
if the over/under is 85 wins i’m taking the over on that 8 days a week. unless disaster strikes the A’s and chapman and olson and semien and davis all miss chunks of time and the pitching staff falls apart again, there’s no way they win less than 90 games.
Get that hate symbol off your profile pic. Antifa are a bunch of coward lowlives hiding their faces while terrorizing people and worshipping Communism, a movement that caused more suffering than any other political movement in history. 100 million killed and a bunch of losers praising murderers while pretending to be fighting for justice.
You get to wave your flag, he gets to wave his.
Ontarigro: Would you say the same of a Nazi or ISIS flag, or maybe the confederate flag? Just curious how equitable you really are?
What a stupid comment. Is there anything a clown like you does not feel is ok?
This comment was for ontarigro or whatever his name is.
I’d probably preempt that with pointing out the false equivalency implied by the question, and add that the black flag in his avatar is not an “Antifa” flag but rather a traditional Anarchist symbol that has existed, at least in the US, since the 1880s.
I guess
“someone overreacting to a pretty innocuous comment, then following it up with a 2nd comment wherein they flippantly pretend to not quite remember my name as if it is not on the screen in front of them”
is pretty up there as a pet peeve. Crazy-specific I know, but can you believe it’s actually happened!?
Huh, would you look at that…
OntariGro is correct – bkwalker510’s flag is an anarchy symbol. Antifa’s flag looks like red and black high heels placed next to each other.
Very good point @ disadvantage.
I’d never heard of antifa (illustrating the mediocrity/uselessness of my politics degree) – nevertheless good point about red and black high heels. Fascists – for example – are generally a short race – anyone above 5′ 2″ is considered statuesque – this propagates their use of high heels (usually in shiny red & black).
Could we maybe stick to baseball?
@ OntariGro & Strike Four –
No, I never said what type of flag and anarchy is dumb. It has never and will never work because lawlessness never equals freedom. If there were anarchy there would be no baseball.
The only reason you have what you have is American government. And yes, we can talk about baseball, but when one uses a symbol for attention, he will get such attention, particularly as it pertains to the most useless of ideological dogmas. If you want anarchy, just move to a country (and there are many) that have anarchy within its boundaries. Don’t spew your poison in a site of a sport that itself represents American tradition.
You only see things this way because American government has afforded you the luxury and opportunity to have perfidious ideologies. Good luck with anarchist economics too.
Strike Four, you are even more spineless for always pretending to support the little guy when it suits your purpose, for if s imagine disagrees with you, you respond more like a totalitarian dictator than almost anyone in this site.
Hey Mick! Couple’a things:
“No, I never said what type of flag”
Yeah, I know. That info was for TheTruth.
“but when one uses a symbol for attention, he will get such attention”
Never said or implied that the gentleman should be immune from attention. TheTruth’s first sentence was “get that hate symbol off your profile pic” which had the double-whammy of:
-being incorrect about that symbol
-being an order
TheTruth says abrasive things all the time. Everyone is free to engage or ignore. It was the order I had an issue with. Hence “[y]ou get to wave your flag, he gets to wave his.” No argument for or against either. Just the uh, truth, I guess.
For a gentleman born in ’56, your leaping ability is impressive. The jump from “Knows What A Specific Flag Symbolizes” to “Is An Avowed Anarchist That Needs a Lecture” is no mean feat. You certainly have given the me you’ve invented a real what-for.
Please take these with the level of respect intended (no sarcasm intended):
-Mick I’m happy to talk baseball with you ’til the cows come home.
-I can also talk socio-political issues if you like, as long as there is the 100% clear understanding that I don’t think, even with a lot of practice, I could care less about your opinion on said issues.
OntariGro – First, you speak of leaps while trying to divert from what your intent was. And, while mentioning the flag comment, you remove all context. Context is critical to any specific comment, and you’ve adjusted the context to back away from your comment.
Either way, your first sentence says it all. I was not born in 1956, that was the Mick’s triple crown year. That reflects the shallow process with which you make certain comments. Nothing is personal but the Truth typically says pro-American statements, with which I agree.
Nonetheless, I’m not here to argue but I will certainly respond to comments that are said for the sole purpose of offending. You were instigating him or you wouldn’t have made your comment.
Certain commenters are persistent in their attempts at underhanded attacks, much like your long paragraph wherein you posit to be the single objective voice when in fact (as you admitted) your intention was to address the Truth’s order (?). C’mon, just be straight up and admit it.
Then your next paragraph criticizes one who assumes that one who has a symbol of anarchy is not an anarchist? Going back to the easiest example, if I had a Nazi or ISIS flag, wouldn’t most people believe (for good reason) I supported such ideologies?
Here’s the difference: you assume with no evidence I was born in ‘56. We assume someone with an anarchist flag supports anarchy, for which there is the most identifiable evidence. I prefer not to engage in your games so I will stick to my objective baseball statements, but if you guys think it’s funny to piss on our country or those who represent it, you should be ashamed, although I’m confident you don’t have the moral fortitude to be.
Okay, one more of these,
“while mentioning the flag comment, you remove all context….you’ve adjusted the context to back away from your comment.”
The intention was actually to double down on my original comment. Combined, the sentiment would be something like “His flag isn’t a ‘hate symbol.’ You don’t even know what it’s a symbol of, and you don’t get to tell him what to do with it. You can wave your flag, he can wave his.”
“Either way, your first sentence says it all. I was not born in 1956, that was the Mick’s triple crown year. That reflects the shallow process with which you make certain comments.”
It reflects a legitimate rhetorical effort to nettle you a skosh, using the sole piece of information I have about you: your screen name..
“much like your long paragraph wherein you posit to be the single objective voice”
Far from it. The paragraph you speak of followed your lengthy invective about my Anarchist leanings. I wasn’t feigning Objectivity, I was pointing out that, then and now, you have little/no idea of what my politics are, on account of I haven’t mentioned them.
“Then your next paragraph criticizes one who assumes that one who has a symbol of anarchy is not an anarchist?”
No my next paragraph criticizes you for haranguing me about my Anarchist ideals, despite not having expressed any.
…then the rest is some self-aggrandizing, keyboard-noble patriotic chest-thumpery that I couldn’t give a rats about.
I’ll tell you one thing: your screen name makes it sound like you’d be a lot more, I don’t know, fun.? Enjoy that moral fortitude, sunshine.
Okay, one final response. You’re making my point with every piece of rhetoric you write and your unsuccessful attempts at an insult.
You’re far less and you’re don’t have the requisite understanding to participate in the discussion. The fact you tried to use my screen name to point out a presupposed fact is wholly incompatible to putting up a flag, which is in and of itself a symbol of support. My screen name containing a year, is not.
So, you using my own example – that it was intellectually vacant for you to use my screen name as something analogous to someone flying a flag – defeats the very point you’re trying to make and you can’t even see it.
That’s a non-starter anyway; but your deep desire to try and prove you’re smarter than anyone who disagrees with you, and then levying insults and statements like, “I thought you’d be more fun” (WTF?) leaves you looking like a pretentious ignoramus. Then, quoting my statements to try to make a point that is based in your own supposition and pre-determination, ensures an unintelligible conclusion.
Basically, you think because you say it it makes it true, so nobody else is correct, and if they disagree with you, they’re stupid. This is why your life is unsuccessful. You are the individual that will say your right in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Either way, concentrate on your faults, your life will get better. Keep going to your flat-earth rallies and get out from behind the computer. Just don’t act like you do or someone far less patients than me will correct your nonsensical statements by readjusting your teeth, if you have them.
Word of advice from someone that is in the position to give it – go back to school, learn a skill or trade, and do the exact opposite of what you normally do. You’re welcome!
Back to baseball !
::predator drone has entered the chat::
This article is about the A’s. You could have a picture of a forest for a profile pic and I can say I hate trees; still doesn’t change the fact that this is a baseball article. Time and a place my guy.
if you hate an ANTI-fascist, you might be a….
Antifa is NOT anti-fascist. They are a thug gang that hides under their name. If you genuinely believe that the name defines the person, well, I understand you a lot more now.
Adult with common sense…
@mick1956 – awww pwoor baby believe fox news lies did he? Snowflake much? Coward much? Antifa have killed ZERO people in America, yet fascists have killed thousands,
VIVA ANTIFA – DEATH TO NAZIS!
Wow…You’re a real piece of $hit.
Lol. You’re comment alone is contradictory. I don’t watch Fox News, dumbo, and the very nature of snowflakes is why Antifa exists – which is a quasi-fascist organization, by the way. Your comment is so stupid it speaks for itself. But then again, judging by your statements you probably haven’t decided if you’re a boy or girl yet.
I would like you to post a YouTube video talking like that in public so I can see the resulting beat down though, please.
Great job, Truth. Love it when you call stuff like this out. It’s so funny how hypocritical the supporters are in this thread. They all respect your opinion, as long as it agrees with theirs, otherwise they will destroy property and injure innocent people expressing their rights.
They are incite violence wherever they go.
Diversity of people = good. Diversity of opinion = “hate speech” reeee
Literally the only support I have expressed is that both commenters continue using their avatars. Real window-kickin’ stuff, I know.
No, throwing bricks in shop windows is hateful, no diversity to it
I have to chuckle that certain people are railing against Antifa even though it’s not an Antifa symbol and NOBODY is lobbying FOR Antifa. It’s an Anarchist symbol. Now if you want to rail against Anarchists that’s fair game but railing against Antifa in this context is idiocy. Not that idiocy doesn’t show up here on a frequent basis, especially when political turds are dropped in the pool…
Agreed Mo4ever. These right wing nuts need to stop starting political debates on a baseball site. And someone needs to research the true roots of communism and find out who really put them into power in Russia. That is all.
Buzzed Capra – because someone doesn’t like a proven hate group you call them “right wing nuts?” Wow, you are exactly the same. Okay hate speech guy, move on to Canada. This one turned political because certain things ask to be called out, and in this case it was. Again, if I put a Nazi flag as my avatar, you’re seriously telling me it wouldn’t shift the debate? You’re very immature to think that in my opinion. It’s easy not to be offended when your family didn’t die fighting for the idiot posting about hating the very thing he died for. Again, baseball and American history are mutually inclusive. Plus why do you care, Skip this article and go to another one. That’s called the freedom to do what you wish. Am I to assume you’re a communist nut because your single comment appeared to possibly support Communism? No, that’s called supposition and conjecture. Welcome to adulthood!
I LOVE AMERICA AND THE FREEDOM I HAVE BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE WHO FIGHT AND DIE FOR US. For those of you too aloof to care about these issues, you’re welcome, from those of us who do.
Actually Mo, look at Strike Four’s response. It looks very much like he is articulating and Antifa comment.
Actually mick1956, eat a pile of turds.
Strike Four – Nobody likes you because of, well, this. And you sure talk tough behind a computer. I said nothing if that kind to you, sir or ma’am, or symbol. If you all stay civil (but you thugs cannot), others will to. You resort to insults and try to push everyone else down. Won’t work though, because you still have to wake up and look at you in the mirror, and know that you have to live with yourself. But, I’d be angry too if I were a D-bag like you. Keep up the super mediocre – poor analysis.
Actually, Strike Four, I have another vacation coming up and I can fly where I like, so meet?
I’d love to discuss our differences in person. Computer text can be misinterpreted and I think you would come to understand me much better. I’ll just look for the little scrawny girl/guy and I can carry you by the scruff of your pencil neck so you don’t have to walk. But let’s not get ahead, let’s meet up! Coffee? Tea? Hummus? And I’ll give you a red flag to throw if the conversation gets too stressful, like when you went to school, briefly.
Then you can go back to searching for work for anyone who needs a eunuch to watch his concubines.
lol
Dang people are very bullish on the A’s!
They are coming off back to back 97 win seasons, and they finally have a complete rotation
I like them but the Angels did make improvements. Not sure you can say they have a complete rotation. They lack a true ace and some parts are very unproven. It’s pretty far from complete at this point.
they have at least 3 guys with ace-like stuff and potential with montas luzardo and puk. it’s all about health with those guys
They won 97 games twice with the likes of Brett Anderson, Ejax, Cahill, and whatever other scrap heap starters were hanging around the last two seasons. I like where this starts better, with Holmes, Blackburn, Megden, Bassit, Jeffries, Kapprellian, Gosset, Dunshee, and Howard all in MLB or AAA for depth purposes. Both the opening day starting 5 and the size and quality of the depth pool are greatly improved over both 18-19′.
Montas, Manaea, Puk and Luzardo are all #1 front line aces.
The Angels have the injured Ohtani and nothing but scrubs. They have ZERO pitching. Why they got Rendon is beyond me, they should have given Cole $400M.
@bkwalker510 – strongly agreed my dude. Manaea has ace potential too.
You mentioned a PED user, two pitchers who didn’t start a game and a pitcher who doesn’t miss bats.
Ohtani is not injured, they’d rather have him pitch in Sept than May.
I know you don’t know anything about the Angels, but like the A’s, they have quality arms who just can’t stay healthy. But of course the A’s are great and the Angels stink.
“I know you don’t know anything about the Angels, but like the A’s, they have quality arms who just can’t stay healthy.”
Right, but the A’s turned that into back-to-back 97 win seasons while the Angels limped in with 80, followed by 72, suggesting…
” the A’s are great and the Angels stink.”
I’ll also dispute “quality arms”.
Teheran is notably past his peak, or the Braves wouldn’t have traded him away while chasing the playoffs themselves. (1 year left on contract)
Cannings’ ERA, FIP, and XFIP all were remarkably close to each other and indicate the classic angels starter profile: mid-rotation guy with a history of injury … like Heaney and Bundy.
Past them, it’s underwhelming AAA depth.
The problem with saving Ohtani’s pitches for the late season is that the rest of the season is with a mediocre rotation, so Ohtani’s late-season starts are less likely to matter.
1. Teheran was signed as an FA
2. Mid-May is currently the target for Ohtani. I have no idea where he got the Angels preferring he not pitch ’til September.
Ontario, it wasn’t directed at you but It doesn’t matter what the A’s pitchers did last year, their wins don’t carry over. The A’s entire pitching staff is different, however, If I was was an A’s fan I’d be optimistic.
Like the A’s, the Angels entire pitching staff is different, What Harvey or Cahill did last year is meaningless. How many games they won last year is meaningless.
Percota is a far cry from everything, but they are projecting the Angels to finish above the A’s. If the Angels pitchers don’t pitch, they won’t be very good. If the A’s pitchers don’t pitch, they wont be very good. Everyone is seems so sure the A’s will pitch and the Angels wont.
The only reason I commented is Strike Four brought in the Angels. He doesn’t know a thing about the Angels.
Pectoca was wrong the past two seasons about us, so they’ll be right about both the Angels AND the A’s this season then right? That’s how it works?
You can’t assume that everything will go right for the Angels while everything will go wrong for us. We have more depth and potential in our rotation, while you guys are banking on Ohtani coming back 100% healthy and being able to not only pitch the rest of the year, but hit as well. Bundy has not lived up remotely to his potential, and has spent years between being mediocre and downright terrible. Teheran is an innings eater at his best. The bullpen looks good, but bullpen volatility means you can’t count on anyone unless they’ve got a long track record. We had the best in 2018, then the worst in 2019 with mostly similar players.
Pectoca was wrong the past two seasons about us, so they’ll be right about both the Angels AND the A’s this season then right? That’s how it works?
You can’t assume that everything will go right for the Angels while everything will go wrong for us. We have more depth and potential in our rotation, while you guys are banking on Ohtani coming back 100% healthy and being able to not only pitch the rest of the year, but hit as well. Bundy has not lived up remotely to his potential, and has spent years between being mediocre and downright terrible. Teheran is an innings eater at his best. The bullpen looks good, but bullpen volatility means you can’t count on anyone unless they’ve got a long track record. We had the best in 2018, then the worst in 2019 with mostly similar players.
LOL PED users still can play after being suspended, you know
The Angels have a great offense, for sure. They could have EASILY gotten Stras and Cole but instead got Rendon when they had 5 MLB-quality 3B options. They went from potentially scary to a complete joke that wont be .500. Lets not even get into that bullpen….
Angels still have a weak rotation, though.
Too bullish
85.
max!
What changes make them 12 games worse (minimally) than last season?
Smoke and mirrors only work for so long….
I’ll take the over on 85 all day long easy money.
Better than Trash
From 96 to a 100
Also you can’t say call them two if the best young talents In the game when they haven’t pitched much at all. They are prospects with potential, that’s it
With pitching prospects that are on the bubble of MLB you can more so because the pitches will look the same no matter where they are thrown. Them having gotten there feet wet in a successful way is meaningful. Also both with the arsenals they have would rate even higher then they currently do where most of the bust potential on both is durability related. They are two lefties with some of the best raw stuff anywhere who have been brittle ish. If they stay healthy they should be effective.
Arsenal? I hate friggin’ Arsenal.
Stacee jaxxx colo career fan?
Spurs fan, eh?
There are plenty of pitchers with amazing stuff who have never amounted to anything. They need to be able to put the ball where they want it. That was one of the reasons he wasn’t the first overall pick in the draft. He seems to have improved, but he is not anywhere close to an ACE yet. None of them are.
Puk had greatly improved the simplicity of his delivery and his command since he was drafted, also he lost quite a bit of weight and is in much better shape. He also was throwing 4 seam, 2 seam, change, slider, curve right before TJ. I dont know if he has thrown both FB again since, but his walk numbers were fine. Can he pitch deep in games on a regular basis? That is the biggest question between him being a #1-2 SP and a closer/setup RP.
“in the game” refers to players and prospects. Puk and Luzardo are top 50 prospects and TOR potential. The phrase was used correctly.
from watching the mariners all the time we get to see the a’s alot they are a really good team their gonna give houston what for this year
97-102, too much talent on that A’s team…
Come on, Matt Olson had the highest war among first baseman in only like 125 games and you can’t even spell his name right
The projection seems very bias to me, not sure how a 97 win team regresses that much without roster churn or tons of players underperforming which if you watch the A’s play is just non sense. Semien could come back to earth a bit as could others but KD can explode comparative to last season and the team has a good amount of depth, I just can’t see how they calculate 85 wins.
Injuries. The pen also could regress.
Pitching is volatile. You mentioned position players not pitching. Pen could regress rotation could be decimated by injuries or regress.
The Rockies regressed 22 games last season. A 12 game regression happens to at least one team every single year. Sometimes more than one. It’s not that unbelievable.
FanGraphs just released the preseason projections which had OAK as an 89 win team based on WAR good for 4th in the AL and 5th in MLB. They probably have more upside then the Stros and Twins though since Cahna/Puk/Luzardo/Davis/Piscotty all have rather middling projections compared to potential or history. KD was looking like his usual .260ish ISO self until his ribs hit the wall in PIT. Its easy to forget that Davis was in the top 2 in HRs with like 15 in may when he got hurt, and he just never was the same where trying to work around his reduced power screwed up his swing even when he was eventually healthy. I wouldnt be at all surprised to see KD back to his usual .247 with massive pop he always was before.
I personally think 89 very close to 90 is a fair projection because I can see them winning in the 90’s again. Reflection has brought me to the fact that these projections are giving strength to the rangers and angels that are apparently coming by way of inter division play. I completely agree that the Angels are better offensively and time will tell with their pitchers. The rangers are an interesting team I just don’t think they have the depth or talent that Oakland currently does, and I think they are approaching it as evidenced by more minor moves this off-season.That way even though their window and Oakland’s for contention clearly are similar I think Texas maybe a year or two behind. More understandable now with some thought and seeing everyone’s point, but I still love watching this team and think they’ll be there at the end of the season.
LAA and Tex are trying to close a 25 game deference between them and OAK from last season, and I just dont see them having closed it by nearly that much. LAA has no SP and no pitching depth. Tex just isnt that good. I also think if any SP rotation in the ALW has a ton of room for regression its Tex with Lynn being a prime target. Also we will have to see how the new Texas park plays. If its more neutral maybe the pitching doesnt regress much but the hitting does big time.
Again, explain exactly how Oakland is 7 games WORSE off than last year. You can’t. Anyone with eyes can see they add at least 10 wins with 25+ starts from Puk and Luzardo.
So you’re thinking 107?
Anything is possible if they don’t get injured.
I think the A’s will repeat. Their young talent is getting better and they have some excellent players.
A’s are still a very good team with a lot of good arms coming.
Chapman needs to be locked up to an extension ASAP.
Still waiting for Billy to win the last game of the season.
Pecota was dead wrong the last 2 years so they obviously dont know how to project this squad
That’s because it is all just a guessing game. That’s all any projections are.
Projection systems really really hate high D WAR low K% teams. Look at Andersons results last year with a 5K/9. Pitching to contact on purpose will beat FIP based WAR constantly.
Pitching to contact with the best INF defense in decades = wins
I don’t know. I think the A’s have played over their heads for too long and this will be the year that catches up with them. The Astros are villains right now, but they are still the best team in the division. They lost Cole, but are replacing him with Greinke full time now. That’s not that big a step down, if you even want to consider it a step down at all. Plus, they still have that Verlander guy. In addition, the Angels and Rangers both seem to be better on paper. Not only do I not think the A’s will make the playoffs this year, I think they are going to be the playoff team that plummets in the standings the following year. It almost always happens to one team.
I’m with you in this. What you stated is exactly my predictions. We’ll see.
They are so young that they should be on the upswing towoards peak seasons instead of on the down swing. G/V are great older pitchers that could fall off a cliff or break at any point. Roy Halladay was great till he was done at 36.
Hou has almost no depth with SP and has burned so many prospects in trade that they dont have another ace package left in the bottom half farm they currently have. It wont be easy to beat them, but OAK has better depth coverage on both sides. One TJ another Lat strain, and Forrest continuing to struggle puts them at say: Grienke/McCullers 4.5IP/Start/Urqiedy and…….? With several subtractions from there pen over what they had last season in the 7-8th inning guys to help them. Also they will get far fewer innings from SP this season since Cole is gone and the people who are replacing him dont work as deep.
Well, if your if, if, if, if, and if all happen, then yes I agree with you. But that is a lot of ifs.
Hou has no SP depth. Its not about if a specific set of circumstances causes a specific problem. Its that they have a top heavy rotation where the heavy parts of it are a couple old guys with a lot of milage. Behind those two its a couple league avg starters and a bunch of whatever garbage. So you have lots of scenarios where this goes badly.
Teams need between 6-10 SP to make more then 3 starts in a season. If any of the missed starts are V or G then it takes a huge toll on the overall SP depth and strength. Its not a matter of IF the Astros pitching depth will be tested it is about when and how severely. Add to that Bakers propensity to break SP and you have a recipe for all the if, if, if, ifs in the world to come true.
HOU has a slightly stronger starting 26 man, but is much worse off beyond them. I wouldnt really want to be in a position where Correa’s annual injury plus Springers usual bumps, and the slightest misfortune with SP can leave me looking up at OAK if I’m HOU, and they are way, way, way, way more vulnerable then they were the last two years. With more players already mid peak with lower upside to boot. Altuve is great, but he isnt improving at 32 the same way Chapman can in his 3rd season.
Houston not only has no depth, they only have 2 good SP.
They “played over their heads” because all their pitchers got hurt. This is the year everyone is healthy. Why on earth would you think the opposite? Scared Astros fan?
Let me understand you the a’s will plummet but the Astros will not because the A’s over achieved. Astros are more likely to plummet because they must live with the cheating scandal. No longer will they get help with trash cans. Verlander is a year older age will catch up with him. Grienke is not as good as Cole. Teams will no longer need to change signs as often playing them. Now its on a level playing field which means Astros will go down 10 games this year.
“Not as good as Cole” can be said of basically every pitcher in the MLB so that’s not exactly a fair shake lol and I don’t think changing signs is what cost those teams a collective 107 games
I didn’t say 107 games i said 10 games. Now factor in the other intangibles it will be a tough task for Astros to repeat. Astros were cheating for the last 3 plus years so now the pressure is on them to keep winning with no edge. That is pressure that makes many players choke.
I didn’t say they would get better, you haven’t proved it’s for the last 3+ years, and yeah every team has pressure. One could just as easily say they’ll circle the wagons and do just fine. This is just psychological profiling that doesn’t really do anything.
Didn’t have the help of the trash cans last season and won 107. Try again chief
Buzz buzzz buuzzzzz buzzzers…. Almost for sure they were still using the replay room to decode signs in 2019 and if nothing else were still doing shenanigans while runners were on base last season. If we have learned anything from the investigation its that this was wide spread and they were using it in the last season according to MLB.
ERA ERA+ FIP WHIP
Cole 2.50 185 2.64 .895
Greinke 2.93 154 3.28 1.069
“That’s not that big a step down, if you even want to consider it a step down at all.” – hiflew
Even if you want to consider it a step down at all? Greinke pitched 23 of his 33 G in the NL and Cole still demonstrates a significant edge. Of course Greinke is a step down. Of course he is. 185 vs. 154 ERA+… 2.64 vs. 3.28 FIP…
Now I stay away from predictions since mostly it seems like a fool’s where most people should wind up eating crow if they were honest, I have no idea whether the Astros can repeat without Cole, but to imply they have the same quality rotation without Cole is nuts.
I see them winning 94 games and squeaking into a WC spot against the Rays.
i picked 81-85. trading away top talents is the only way a’s can survive. until they move to vallejo!
New Stadium has now cleared almost all hurdles and ground breaking on construction should be starting soon.
The Bay Area is a top 3 media market in the country.
John Fisher is one of the deepest pocketed owners in MLB, and is one of the only ones in the last couple decades that will be team funding the new stadium without public funding. They are buying and developing the current colosseum property which will make a ton of money.
A’s have an opt out on the TV deal they did just before TV deals spiked in value around 2010 in 2023 after the first year in a new stadium with a team that will have been a playoff contender for the better part of the last half decade. They should have far more to spend.
The Bay Area has stupid money per capita for teams in nice stadiums, just ask the Warriors about there reciepts this year despite being a dead last team struggling through injuries to everyone. The biggest downside of the new park is how much more expensive to see an A’s game.
They have a wave of talent all between 0-2 seasons of service that wont make big money on any deals until seasons after 2023 in the new park with new TV revenue. The players on the team with less remaining service time then 3 seasons are all less valuable lower incentive to trade players other then Hendricks. Your not weakening the team to get what future value you can out of Petit/Cahna/Pinder.
THIS IS NOT THE A’S TEAM YOUR USED TO. THEY HAVE THERE FIRST 100M PAYROLL THIS SEASON. DONT EXPECT THE BROKEASS BEHAVIOR MOVING FORWARD.
Youre stupid and don’t follow baseball.
You never know with the Athletics. They’re always surprising.
A’s Rays ALCS.
Love those two teams for that reason alone. They consistently develop young talent and are so competing with such a low budget.
A’s take the division by at least 5 games with good pitching and all around solid club. Astros talented yes, but will be exposed for not being nearly as good without the benefit of rampant cheating. Depending on 2 older starters also good chance of catching up this year.
Those of you that think the Astros were cheating last year, and are therefore going to crumble this year, are going to be extremely disappointed.
Smart money is they were at the very least still decoding the current signs in the video room for PA with runners at 2B. It also wouldnt be at all shocking if they were still doing some sort of signaling while there werent runners on.
Sports psychology is a real thing. Being despised and harassed on every road trip, while simultaneously dealing with media overblowing every slump as a sign of the regression from cheating. Can have a impact on performance. How good will they be tuning out everything and everyone around them?
Will Dusty Baker overwork there SP till he breaks them, and play only veterans like always, or has at age 70 he now learned some new tricks and completely reshaped his whole ingrained managerial tendencies?
I already am disappointed. The MVC, Altuve, and his co-conspirators should be banned for life. Yessir, lifetime ban. And I was never an Astros hater, even after they beat the Yankees, until they were exposed for this cheating. Don’t compare this to PEDs please because it’s old and is not analogous.
They are analogous, actually, and I’m assuming you’re saying they’re not because someone on your favorite team did them.
They are not analogous and to think they are is disingenuous. One player cheating does not have the impact that the entire lineup cheating does. And, having performance enhancement is not the same as knowing what pitch is coming. Let’s be real, I can’t stand either form of cheating and don’t believe cheaters deserve to be in the HOF, but it is not the same, or even close thereto.
why the hell would they STOP cheating with their system working so well?
Smart money is on the over 85 wins. Every team will have injuries. Last year, they won 97 without a full season of Matt Olson, Khris Davis, Frankie Montas… Adding a full year of Puk and Luzardo , to Fiers, Montas, Manaea , wow! Imo on paper that’s one of the best young rotations in Mlb and the best the A’s have had since the Big 3. I think the Astros regression will balance the wins/losses of the Rangers and Angels.
Why are you assuming the A’s will have no injuries (or significantly fewer) injuries this year? The Yankees had record level injuries last year and I have no illusions that they will suddenly not have injuries this year. They will have injuries. Heck they could have above average injuries AGAIN this year. We’ll have to wait and see. A’s fan should be equally cautious with their optimism.
*Olson (hence the BBRef auto linking failed)
Considering that arguably the best pitcher in the A’s rotation in 2019 is now arguably the worst (but easily the most famous) pitcher in the A’s projected 2020 rotation, the A’s *should* be considered a far stronger team in 2020 than they were in both 2018 and 2019. Projection models have huge error bars for rookies (like Luzardo and Puk), which explains some of the more conservative forecasts. But the huge upgrade of a vital component (the rotation) seems to be getting waaay overlooked. Going from predominantly Fiers/Anderson/Bassitt/Montas/Bailey to Luzardo/Puk/Montas/Manaea/Bassitt/Fiers shouldn’t be netting out fewer wins…innings limits and 6 man rotations be damned.
Wow Connor, way to correct your spelling and make my first line nonsensical.
The A’s have much higher error bars in the projections then some teams. The youth and some injuries means they are really anything from an 85 win team to a 108 win team with either of those being on the ends with a couple % chance of occurring. They have a base 90 win team with a little downside and a lot of upside.
If this team had fans, they’d be really pissed about the lack of spending. The A’s would be a juggernaut with even a league average payroll. Imagine if they supplemented the talent they already have.
I’m a fan. I’m not “really pissed” considering it’s not exactly a new strategy of the org – there’s even a book that became a movie about it. Dollars spent and games won aren’t linearly related. Spending $90M and winning 97 games doesn’t mean you’re going undefeated if you increase spending 67% or even double it. Had the A’s chosen to spend just enough on free agents to earn a league average payroll in 2020, they’d have spent $35M on the upcoming season alone, and would be lucky if it earned them an extra 4 wins – no matter who the additions were.
Explain where they could have spent this year without bumping an elite prospect or established veteran? 2B was the only place they could have upgraded, I guess.
“I AM SO MAD MY TEAM IS NOT IN THE RED SOX SHOES RIGHT NOW!!” said no A’s fan currently
A’s went 13-6 against the Angels and the Rangers. Also went 5-1 against the White Sox. Maybe the A’s have also improved, maybe they haven’t. I see them winning less than 97 but still have a strong record.
Why do you think they will win less games with a massively-improved rotation?
Do you honestly think Luzardo will be worse than Brett Anderson? No, just, no.
105 wins if they stay healthy, book it.
Chapman, Olson, Semien and Laureano are all elite players. Canha and Murphy might be too. A’s are the best team in the AL by a long way (if healthy). They haven’t had a team this talented and DEEP since 2001.
Adorable.
I was wondering who selected more than 100 wins, lol. Smh, should’ve known. Oh BTW, A’s should get Puig for their clubhouse personality. I’m sure he would work out just fine for them. Hell, try him at 2b too, or pitcher.
Puig at 2B would be AWESOME!!
Really loving your harrassment of me all up and down this thread, b00mer loser, you lost every single time and yet you still keep taking your shots and self-owning by looking idiotic every single time!
Aww, you live in a total fantasy, how cute.
You seriously need mental health help for your illness. Then, get a job so you can be a productive member of society. And only then will you leave your labyrinth and realize the actual content of your insanely ignorant comments.
I like it !
Puk can be moved to the pen and be the next version of Hader as a dominate lefty w a cannon who strikes out everyone.
Whatever rangers and angels gained- Houston lost while As improved.
Be cool to see As rays and reds in champ series. Year of the small market !
Hrm, who should we pencil in in the NL along with the Reds? Maybe the Brewers? Those LCS matchups would give Manfred nightmares, which he deserves.
The A’s get over 85 wins annually with their crappy pitching in past years. This year when they actually have a ton of potentially good arms their predicted to win 85? How can anyone not take the over.
This is a 100+ win team to anyone with eyeballs.
Health permitting, of course.
A whole lot better now that they got mookie betts
As an A’s fan, I won’t get my hopes up. I said 86-90.
101-61