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| Have they hit bottom?
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Off the field and on the field, the Angels' season has started in nightmare fashion. We're all familiar with the former, but for those of you who don't follow the Angels too closely, Steve Bisheff of the L.A. Times details the latter:
A quick update on the current state of the Angels:
Their pitching rotation, as of today, features Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, Darren Oliver, Shane Loux and whoever is the new minor league call-up of the week.
Some up-to-date bullpen ERAs: Scot Shields, 7.20; Kevin Jepsen, 19.29; Jose Arredondo, 7.20; Brian Fuentes, 9.00; Jason Bulger, 18.00.
Bobby Abreu has the team's top batting average at .362. He also has exactly two extra-base hits in 47 at-bats.
The offense, as a whole, has delivered 23 extra-base hits in 12 games. Torii Hunter has eight of them.
And it just goes on and on like that.
The saving grace for Anaheim: that it's still too early to believe that the Mariners are for real and that the A's and Rangers aren't doing appreciably better than they are. One is always hesitant to say that a team has hit rock bottom, but it's hard to imagine the Angels going any lower. They'll get John Lackey back one day. The bats will warm up. As I mentioned yesterday, it's worth remembering that the 2002 Angels started 6-14 and went on to win the World Series. I wouldn't bet my children that such a thing is in the cards for this year's edition, but I am quite confident that it's far too early to write them off.
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I definately wouldn't write off the Angels, but I do think that the Mariners are for real. Maybe not not a playoff lock, but a team that will be better than .500 at least. The 07 team that made a run at the playoffs wasn't terribly different from the horrible team of 08 and 09's version is improved everywhere except the bullpen. Their new GM wisely leaveraged their best pen players into some everyday contributors and their defense could be very good (especially if they stop playing Betencourt at SS). King Felix and Prince Erik given them a dominant 1-2 in a pitcher's park and to everyone's surprise signing Ken Griffey Jr might be the big picture deal of the year. With the Angels limping, the A's unable to score again and Texas unable to stop runs from scoring, Seattle might just parley their early lead into a pennet race with the Angels when (or if) they get healthy.