So, do the Angels suck now?

If you read this blog, you know that I secretly enjoy the Angels sucking despite always wanting them to win it all, for the simple reason that it gets bandwagon fans to jump off and root root root in their "Affliction" gear somewhere else. Well, my boss came by to talk baseball today, and I made the comment, "Well, at least I can pay attention solely to my playoff winning Canucks since the Angels suck." He disagreed about their suckiness, until I explained the weekend happenings. So, despite being way to early to make these kind of calls, do the Angels suck?

Suck: The Halos are 12-14 after getting swept by the Tigers this weekend. We were outscored 18-9 in the series, and got exposed for poor starting pitching in two games and poor relief work in one game.

Don't suck: Despite being two games under water, we're only 1.5 games back of newly division leading Texas (13-12).

Suck: 5 players who have recently started (JR, Ma$e, Woody, Naps, and Reggie) are all hitting sub-.250, with three of those players hitting .189 or below. 

Don't suck: 3 players who regularly start are hitting .300+, despite one being on the DL (Mathis, Hunter, and K Mo), and we also have 6 players with 10+ RBI in the first 26 games.

Suck: Joe Saunders, Joel Piñero, and Ervin Santana have combined for 9 losses thus far, with Joe Joe getting 4. Our starting pitching was probably more of a question mark than we realized, though it should come around, right? We also have no starter with a sub-3.19 ERA.

Don't suck: Jered Weaver has become the stud ace we hoped for, holding down a 3-1, 3.19 line, getting himself 40 punchouts in 36.67 innings pitched. He's a horse, my friends.

Suck: The Halo bullpen has a 4.32 ERA, 10th out of 14 American League teams. With only 63 strikeouts in 77 innings, add in 53 walks and a .253 batting average against, and you're not so good.

Don't suck: Kevin Jepsen has a 1.64 ERA out of the pen. Fernando Rodney has surprised with his 2.84 relief ERA. Even newbie Brian Stokes is doing fairly okay at 3.65. Bright spots abound.

Suck: We rank 11th in the AL in overal ERA, 10th in runs scored, 8th in slugging, 9th in team RBI, and dead last in runs scored on the road.

Don't suck: We are ranked 4th in the AL for BA w/ RISP. That's pretty fun.

Suck: According to ESPN, we suck.

Don't suck: I love them.

So, in conclusion:

1. No, I don't think the Angels suck.

2. Yes, I still think they're on the path to win the AL West this year.

3. But, if they do end up sucking this year, I'll take some joy in the fact that at least some of the 909 bandwagoners will jump ship.

See, either way, I'm happy! It's a win, win. Tonight, my boys will try and turn things around at Fenway Park, a tough spot to turn things around in, indeed. We'll see Joe Saunders (1-4, 5.74) looking to do something positive against Clay Buchholz (2-2, 2.19). However, the Sox are 11-14 this year, and just had their first losing April since 1996. Despite Buchholz being a standout, this could be the right time to get these guys.

Hopefully we get Lackey is this series!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē