Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisHead on: Mariners vs. Angels
March 29th 2010 15:15
Head on is a new part of the blog where I put two things in a matchup and decide which one is better. In this case, it is two MLB teams in the AL West that are the front runners for that division's title. Will all the M's new moves put them over the top? Sit back, relax, read on, and enjoy to find out.
First off, I love the Angels' bullpen. Brian Fuentes and Fernando Rodney get it done as closer and set up man respectively. They will give up runs, but Fuentes especially will not give up runs. Scot Shields is one of the best set up men in the business and he will return to top form. Matt Palmer is a very underrated long reliever.
The Seattle Mariners' bullpen is not bad, but it is not as good. David Aardsma is a sure thing at closer with 38 saves last year. He is amazing, but I cannot say the same about the rest. Mark Lowe is a decent set up man and I think Sean White is a great emergency reliever. However, the rest of the bullpen is experience and overrated. Ahem, Brandon League. This battle goes to the Angels.
Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee make a beautiful 1-2 punch. When Erik Bedard gets back he will have a breakout year if healthy. Ian Snell will turn his nasty stuff into wins for a first time with the M's. Hopefully for Seattle fans, he will be healthy this year. Ryan Rowland-Smith will also be good if healthy. Rookie Luke French and Garrett Olson are the two horrible candidates for the fifth spot. Luke French has the edge with his youth.
Jered Weaver had a monster year last year and will probably have a repeat year. Joel Pineiro had a huge year last year and expect his numbers to be the same with a better defense. Joe Saunders knows how to get the job done. Scott Kazmir needs to step up and Ervin Santana needs to be healthy. The Angels have the ever so slight edge do to depth.
The Mariners have a great tandem at first base with Ryan Garko and Casey Kothcman. Those two take a draw against superb hitter Kendry Morales. Chone Figgins is a superstar and is easily better than the underachieving Howie Kendrick.
Jack Wilson and his incompetent backup barely lose out to the defensive and contact-hitting depth of Erick Aybar and Maicer Izutris. Jose Lopez smashes Angels' third baseman Brandon Wood out of the water.
Catchers Rob Johnson and Adam Moore are horrible. Mike Napoli is a good catcher and Jeff Mathis is average enough to make it an angelic blowout. Milton Bradley and Ryan Langerhans do not match the production of Reggie Willits and Juan Rivera. Rivera is just too good, and Bradley is very enigmatic.
Franklin Gutierrez and Eric Byrnes have huge depth in center that just nicks superstar Torii Hunter. I predict that Ichiro Suzuki will decline and so will Bobby Abreu. This makes right field a tough call. I like Ichiro in this category because he is a better defensive player at the moment and I love his untouchable contact.
Designated hitter is a really easy choice. Ken Griffey Jr. is terrible at this stage of his career. Now let me make this clear, Griff is one of my faves of all time. The problem is that he is just too old now. Hideki Matsui won't be great, but he still has power. Don Wakamatsu is a good manager, but my man Mike Scioscia is an amazing manager.
Overall the Angels are better than the M's and will still win the division. However, you should expect a five game separation instead of a ten game one. All the new moves make the Mariners a chick pick, but the Angels are still a better team when you analyze everything.
First off, I love the Angels' bullpen. Brian Fuentes and Fernando Rodney get it done as closer and set up man respectively. They will give up runs, but Fuentes especially will not give up runs. Scot Shields is one of the best set up men in the business and he will return to top form. Matt Palmer is a very underrated long reliever.
The Seattle Mariners' bullpen is not bad, but it is not as good. David Aardsma is a sure thing at closer with 38 saves last year. He is amazing, but I cannot say the same about the rest. Mark Lowe is a decent set up man and I think Sean White is a great emergency reliever. However, the rest of the bullpen is experience and overrated. Ahem, Brandon League. This battle goes to the Angels.
Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee make a beautiful 1-2 punch. When Erik Bedard gets back he will have a breakout year if healthy. Ian Snell will turn his nasty stuff into wins for a first time with the M's. Hopefully for Seattle fans, he will be healthy this year. Ryan Rowland-Smith will also be good if healthy. Rookie Luke French and Garrett Olson are the two horrible candidates for the fifth spot. Luke French has the edge with his youth.
Jered Weaver had a monster year last year and will probably have a repeat year. Joel Pineiro had a huge year last year and expect his numbers to be the same with a better defense. Joe Saunders knows how to get the job done. Scott Kazmir needs to step up and Ervin Santana needs to be healthy. The Angels have the ever so slight edge do to depth.
The Mariners have a great tandem at first base with Ryan Garko and Casey Kothcman. Those two take a draw against superb hitter Kendry Morales. Chone Figgins is a superstar and is easily better than the underachieving Howie Kendrick.
Jack Wilson and his incompetent backup barely lose out to the defensive and contact-hitting depth of Erick Aybar and Maicer Izutris. Jose Lopez smashes Angels' third baseman Brandon Wood out of the water.
Catchers Rob Johnson and Adam Moore are horrible. Mike Napoli is a good catcher and Jeff Mathis is average enough to make it an angelic blowout. Milton Bradley and Ryan Langerhans do not match the production of Reggie Willits and Juan Rivera. Rivera is just too good, and Bradley is very enigmatic.
Franklin Gutierrez and Eric Byrnes have huge depth in center that just nicks superstar Torii Hunter. I predict that Ichiro Suzuki will decline and so will Bobby Abreu. This makes right field a tough call. I like Ichiro in this category because he is a better defensive player at the moment and I love his untouchable contact.
Designated hitter is a really easy choice. Ken Griffey Jr. is terrible at this stage of his career. Now let me make this clear, Griff is one of my faves of all time. The problem is that he is just too old now. Hideki Matsui won't be great, but he still has power. Don Wakamatsu is a good manager, but my man Mike Scioscia is an amazing manager.
Overall the Angels are better than the M's and will still win the division. However, you should expect a five game separation instead of a ten game one. All the new moves make the Mariners a chick pick, but the Angels are still a better team when you analyze everything.
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