Quick Roster Breakdown of the A’s And Angels

With the Trade Deadline looming and a lot of talk about roster construction, I though it’d be interesting to take a look at the rosters of the top two teams in baseball – the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Using info obtained from baseballreference.com I looked at the current 25-man rosters of each team and put the numbers – in a variety of categories – side by side.

Category A’s Angels
Average Age 28.96 28.88
Players 30+ 9 11
Players Acquired Via…
Trade 12 9
Free Agency 6 6
Draft 2 10
Waivers 3 0
Purchased 1 (Jesse Chavez) 0
Conditional Deal 1 (Stephen Vogt) 0
Making $3 million + 7 10
Highest Paid Yoenis Cespedes ($10 Million) Albert Pujols ($23 Million)
Average Experience 5.96 6.48
Average Attendance 24626 38121

What do all these numbers mean? I guess we will find out at the end of the season when one team has won the American League West and the other is likely playing in a Wild Card game.

While this data may not necessarily mean all that much I thought it was interesting to look at and a few things jumped out at me:

  • I was not surprised that the Angels had more players over 30 than the A’s, but I was surprised to find the Angels average age slightly below Oakland’s.
  • It was also surprising to see how much of the A’s roster is the result of trades. Of course a lot of these trades take place in the lower levels when Billy Beane is wheeling and dealing prospects, but nearly half the roster has been acquired via trade which I found interesting.
  • Everyone knows the A’s don’t have a big payroll and the Angels certainly haven’t been shy about throwing money around to coveted free agents. Albert Pujols is the Angels highest paid player, but CJ Wilson ($16 million), Jered Weaver ($16 million) and Josh Hamilton ($17 million) are all making more than the A’s highest paid player – Yoenis Cespedes.

Is Darvish On To Something?

I am not a doctor and neither is Yu Darvish. I wouldn’t pretend to be one and I doubt Darvish would either meaning we can’t take his recent comments as fact or the absolute answer to the Tommy John epidemic sweeping the Major Leagues.

However, at the All-Star break there were 35 pitchers on the Disabled List because of Tommy John surgery which means that whatever teams are trying right now isn’t working. So maybe we should give Darvish’s thoughts some credence.

The Rangers ace opened up to the Japanese media at the All-Star and shared his thoughts on why so many pitchers have been getting hurt.

Sam Onoda of NHK Television shared the transcript with T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers beat writer for MLB.com, and here are some of the more interesting aspects of the conversation:

Q.What is your take on the increase in TJ surgery?

I think there are a lot reasons that are being said and I don’t know the exact reason either but I think it could be the way that we train. The way that we train nowadays is so that we can increase the velocity of our pitches. This is how I tell my training coach, lower body, back, lower back if we concentrate on that area we are able to throw the ball faster, but we are not able to protect the arm and elbow. Since we are throwing the ball faster there is more tension on the ligament, we need to protect that, so (the training) it’s not good. So I think that is the main reason. But people are saying throwing the splitter is not good but I don’t think that puts stress on the elbow. I think the change up has more to do with it as it catches the ring finger. The forkball is different and I think that definitely puts strain on the elbow, the grip of a split finger is shallow and doesn’t differ much than the two seamer.

Q.So you should work on the whole body?

If you’re not going to do it it’s best you don’t do anything. The Japanese aren’t getting injured, in 10 years I only know three or four people that had TJ. There are very few in Japan, over here there is about 10 guys that do TJ in a year, I think that’s due to the way they train. It difficult to train the lower body, you need to balance the training well, and also it’s the number of days between each start I think that’s number one.

Q. Four days rest?

It’s way too short, that’s why they have pitch count limitations but pitch count doesn’t have much to do with it. You could throw 120 pitches 140 pitches and have six days rest and the inflammation on the ligament will all be healed so I think that’ it.

Q.So do you need to adopt to the environment, Strasburg was young but had TJ?

It’s not about adjusting period, I think pitching on 4 days rest is fine, there are a lot more banned substances compared to 10,20 years ago, I’m not saying they were using substances  but now a days you can’t even take cold medicine I think that may be a reason too. I don’t think that Matsuzaka,Tanaka, Wada, Fujikawa had damage to their ligaments in Japan, when they came over here they had medical checks so I don’t think they had any issues, so it developed after they came here. So why? I think it’s the time between starts and heavier ball those kind of things.

Q.Do you think a six man rotation will help?

I think that’s the way to go. But if you do that the salary of each player will go down, but if you wanted to protect the player they should add one more spot to the roster. 5 days, 6 days between each start, if you have a minimum of five days I think it would be a lot more easier.

Q.But four days rest is a norm here so don’t you think it’s hard to change?

There are this many TJs, the top brass should talk about why it is so.

Q.Especially young ones?

It’s such a waste (of talent) The top brass of organizations should protect them, I think by doing so it would profitable so they should talk about it.

Teams have certainly tried plenty of things to prevent injuries to pitchers such as limiting innings and installing pitch counts, but extra rest has not really been considered.

Yes, teams have skipped a guy once through the rotation or pushed him back a day, but no team – as least not that I can recall – has ever continuously given a guy extra rest throughout the bulk of a Major League season.

Although the six-man rotation may work to keep pitchers healthy and may have some merit, there is no way teams will implement it anytime soon.

The name of the game is winning and adding a sixth starter means less starts for a teams ace.

It is hard enough for teams to put together five quality starters to trot out to the mound each day and adding a sixth would likely have a big impact of a lot of teams.

Since adding a sixth man to the rotation seems to be out of the question, maybe it is worth looking at Darvish’s thoughts on the way pitchers train.

Training is one thing that can be tweaked fairly easily – pitchers and teams can simply institute a new offseason program – and it may have a positive impact.

Is there one concrete solution that will prevent any pitcher from needing Tommy John Surgery ever again? No. Of course not.

However, if the surgeries can be limited it is undoubtedly good for the sport and at this point all options are worth considering.

Is This California’s Year?

“Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild West. A state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness”

Odds are Dr. Dre and Tupac weren’t thinking of baseball when they came out with “California Love,” but the song – which came out in 1996 – could also serve baseball fans as an introduction to the 2014 playoff races.

There will be great drama and meaningful games across the country throughout the remainder of the season, but it’s time for people to start staying up late and watching the great baseball taking place on the West Coast.

The 2014 season is shaping up to be the first ever in which four teams from California are simultaneously in the playoffs – sorry San Diego.

Twice (A’s, Angels, Giants in 2002 and A’s, Dodgers, Padres in 2006) California has had three teams in the playoffs, but that’s it.

Not only would four teams be historic, but it could also heighten the tension in the playoffs as intrastate series always produce a unique form of drama.

There is plenty of baseball left to be played and injuries or any number of unforeseen variables could alter the postseason picture, but as of now four California teams have tremendous odds of making the postseason.

According to Baseball Prospectus, Oakland has a 99.5 percent chance of making the postseason, Anaheim’s at 99.1 percent, Los Angeles at 84.0 and San Francisco at 78.2.

The A’s are a game and a half up on the Angels in the AL West while the Giants lead the Dodgers by a game in the NL West.

Undoubtedly expanded playoffs have provided this opportunity, but don’t let that discredit what is happening out West as there is some tremendous baseball being played out there. Three of the top four win percentages in baseball come from the state of California and four of the top 10.

The NL West race will be fun to watch for a multitude of reasons, but the simplest is because it’s the Giants and Dodgers.

Whenever those teams square off, tensions are high. Throw in a potential division crown and the nine remaining games between the team that has won two of the last four World Series and the team that has a league-high $242,128,402 payroll are sure to provide compelling story lines.

The A’s and Angels don’t have quite the same rivalry, but the AL West race – a race between teams with the two best records in baseball – isn’t hurting for reasons to watch.

Not only are the Angels and A’s going to go head-to-head six more times on the field this season, but they have also been duking it out in the front offices.

The A’s made the biggest splash of the trading season when they acquired Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, but the Angels weren’t going to be outdone. The Angels have bolstered their bullpen through trades and have added Joe Thatcher, Jason Grilli and Huston Street.

The AL West race is also intriguing because the teams – despite a lot of similarities – are opposite when it comes to perception. The A’s, despite having won the division each of the past two season, are a team devoid of superstars and often lacked recognition. The Angels finished third in the division in 2012 and 2013, but because their roster features Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton they still had no troubles finding their way into the headlines.

West Coast teams are likely to play a big role in the second half of the season and as the calendar turns to Fall, California is not a bad place to be.

California knows how to party.

And this year, one of four baseball teams may prove it.

All-Star Game Reflections

Once again, Major League Baseball proved it has the best All-Star Game in all of sports.

Last night provided baseball fans with plenty of memorable moments. In short, the 2014 All-Star Game was fantastic.

The baseball community was treated to a celebration of Derek Jeter’s career. The Captain went 2-2, made a diving stop on defense and left the game to a heartwarming standing ovation.

Mike Trout went 2-3 with two RBIs and won the games MVP Award and seemingly took over as the face of MLB in the process.

The Minnesota Twins battery of Kurt Suzuki and Glen Perkins closed the game in front of their home town fans.

The list of great moments goes on and on and it truly was a great exhibition of baseball.

But that’s just it. It’s an exhibition.

If baseball wants to drive interest into the Midsummer Classic and award home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the game, that’s fine, but go all in.

If the game really counts fans should not vote for the starters. The managers should each pick a set number of deserving players and go from there. Clayton Kershaw should have pitched six or so innings and the position players should have played all nine.

Sixty two players appeared in last night’s game. Does that sound like teams are really trying to win? To me, it sounds like the managers are doing their best to make sure everyone gets in – and that’s fine by me.

Baseball has this really awkward situation on their hands as it claims the All-Star Game matters, but acts as if it doesn’t.

Last night’s All-Star Game felt like an exhibition throughout. It was a showcase of the top talent of the league and that’s exactly how it needs to be.

Home-field advantage for the World Series can be decided any number of other ways, just don’t mess with the All-Star Game.

Trout Is The New Face Of Baseball

It’s not news to anyone the 2014 All-Star Game, just like the entirety of the season, will be a celebration of Derek Jeter.

The Yankees shortstop has certainly earned everything coming his way tonight, but as one chapter closes, another opens.

For the bulk of the past two decades, Jeter has been the face of baseball – and those who disagree acknowledge he’s at least always been in the conversation – but that era is coming to close and it’s time for Jeter to pass the torch.

Tonight, he won’t have to look very far as the guy ready to take over is right behind him in the American League batting order.

Although he is just 22 years old and only in his third full season as a Major Leaguer, Mike Trout is well on his way to a tremendous, possibly Hall of Fame, career.

Like Jeter, Trout has proven to be everything that is right about the game of baseball.

Trout is a 22-year old with a ton of money and the baseball world seemingly at his fingertips. It would be easy for him to be brash and arrogant. He could use his social media presence to show off parties and bling and other things that some athletes often do.

But those who have met Trout for even two minutes know that is simply not who he is.

Instead, Trout posts pictures with his parents, telling the world how much he loves and appreciates them. He spent the past few weeks on Twitter trying to get his friend, roommate and teammate Garrett Richards named to the All-Star game. 

He is the type of teammate, player – and more importantly, person – you hope your kids choose to idolize.

Trout roams the outfield at Angel Stadium with an infectious smile and childlike sense of joy. He truly enjoys playing the game and has a way of reminding us all how beautiful the game of baseball is.

In addition to his five tools on the field, Trout has a sixth tool that is very important when discussing the face of baseball.

Marketability.

Trout is associated with Nike, Subway, BodyArmor and others. Earlier this season Nike gave Trout his own shoe (cleats), making him the first player to receive such an honor since Ken Griffey Jr.

If there is anything holding Trout back from taking his place atop the baseball world, it’s the fact he has yet to play in the postseason.

However, the Angels currently have the second best record in baseball and this could be the season baseball fans get to watch Trout play when the stakes are highest.

Trout has already been asked several times about taking over as the face of the game and every time he downplays the subject and says it’s not something he thinks about. He simply says he’s focused on playing the game he loves to the best of his ability.

And in the end, that’s exactly what makes him the perfect candidate.

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to read my first blog post here.

The 2014 season is just my second with MLB.com, but there have already been so many things I’ve heard, witnessed or experienced that I was unable to share with anyone other than close friends and family.

Since those moments will only continue to add up and there is no reason they should be locked up in my memory, I have decided to create this blog in order to improve my interactions with you – fellow baseball fans.

This blog won’t be a place where I recap every little roster move or write game recaps, but instead will serve as a place where we can debate, interact and simply talk about baseball.

My first “real post” will come tomorrow night, either during or after the All-Star game, but in the meantime feel free to reach out in the comments section below, on Twitter (@wboor) or shoot me an email at william.boor@mlb.com.

Once again, thanks for stopping by.