Bjoern Hartig is an Angels fan who hails from Bonn, Germany. Kenny Louis is an A’s fan from Fremont, California who has a passion for classical music of the German composers. Spanning nine different time zones, here is their chat about their teams and the division rivalry.
Kenny: With the month of April almost over and the Angels at 12-11 do you think they are underperforming? Is it an offensive problem or something to do with Colon's injury?
Bjoern: The pitching has been there, mostly, even without Colon. Only Jeff Weaver has really been a disappointment so far. The offense is only mediocre, but that was to be expected. Vlad Guerrero has only six extra base hits, all home runs, and first baseman Casey Kotchman has been just plain awful so far, hitting .143. But what really hurt the Angels was sloppy play. 17 unearned runs and 16 errors so far are the reason the Angels are only one game above .500. At least, the last few games, they were able to pull themselves together and win three series in a row.
Just like the Angels, the A's haven't started the season looking like a contending team. They are still under .500, are you worried?
K: The A's offense has been underperforming by far. For this month only three A's players have carried the offense, Eric Chavez, Nick Swisher and a combination of half of Milton Bradley and half of Mark Kotsay. It's a shame that Swisher's name isn't included on the All-Star Ballot. How can Dan Johnson, a guy who is hitting well below the Mendoza line and can be sent down to AAA at any moment be included on the ballot but a guy who tied for second of the AL home run leaders is left off?
Anyways, playing games in Kansas City is what often cures the ails of the Oakland offense. Hopefully, the offense will be fine by the time the A's face the Angels in Anaheim. My main concern now is the pitching, with Rich Harden on the DL, the A's have lost a starter who can go nine innings.
B: Before the season started, the media raved about the depth of the A's rotation. Now with Harden on the DL (again) and Loaiza (predictably) struggling, how confident are you that Kirk Saarloos, Brad Halsey and Joe Kennedy can get the job done? Whom would you move from the pen into the rotation?
K: Ever heard of Ryan Glynn?
B: I have to admit, I haven't.
K: Ryan Glynn was a minor league free agent the A's picked up before the 2005 season. In May of 2005 the A's had their share of injuries to both the pitching and offense. Ryan Glynn was called up for a start in Oakland. I was at the game and when I heard the announcement of the day's starting pitchers I said to myself, "Who the hell is Ryan Glynn?"
The fact the the A's can depend on guys from their bullpen to fill in the rotation is a sign of depth. There will be no call-ups of marginal minor leaguers for things like these.
My concern, however, is bullpen usage. Harden is a guy who can go nine innings. Loaiza can't, Zito, Haren and Blanton can go deep but if they fall victim to the "one big inning" they can be pulled in a much earlier inning. Whoever is going to replace Harden in the rotation is probably not going to be able to get deep into games. The next few weeks will be a critical test for the bullpen.
As for who's going to be the starter, I think it's going to be either Saarloos or Gaudin. Kennedy and Duchsherer have settled roles in the bullpen and I don't think that Halsey has proven himself to the A's yet while Gaudin has been lights out in AAA.
B: At least the A's have some long man options that are remotely reliable. The Angels only have Hector Carrasco, who was terrible in his two starts, Kevin Gregg, who despite pitching well so far is a big inning waiting to happen, and Esteban Yan, who is (hopefully) only days removed from being waived and replaced by Jason Bulger.
K: Well the Angels game plan has always been "get the lead early and give it to Shields and K-Rod." And it usually works, despite a lack of depth, the Angels have one of the best setup/closer combos in baseball.
Anyways, who is going to win the A's/Angels series in Anaheim? Game 1: Zito/Carrasco, Game 2: TBA (now Saarloos?)/Lackey
B: That looks like a tie to me with the A's taking the first game and the Angels the second.
K: I think the series will boil down to the offense. If the A's can get an early lead in either game, they will win, because it will force Scioscia to make an earlier move to the bullpen. Lackey is beatable for the same reason Zito is, walks. Their K/BB ratio is similar and they would have very comparable stats if you take away Zito's disastrous opening night performance. The smart money is on a series split, but as an A's partisan I have to say the A's will sweep the Halos and regain first place in the AL West.
B: I really can't see Carrasco doing well against a patient lineup like the A's and Zito has usually pitched fine against the Angels (3.54 ERA in 81.1 IP from 2002 - 2005), so game one is a gimmie. The Angels are usually swinging away and Zito would have to be really wild to beat himself with walks. And while I don't think the A's will do much damage against Lackey because they haven't had much success against him in the past (2.90 ERA in 68.1 IP), the Angels offense might struggle against a pitcher they haven't seen before. They may break the game open early or struggle to score any runs at all because of their aggressiveness and unwillingness to take pitches. So if a team sweeps, it will most likely be the A's. That being said, I'm confident that Lackey will pitch well and Scioscia will save his good bullpen arms for the finale and use Gregg and Yan in game one.
K: Well, I guess we’re done, this season will not be any different from the years past, the A’s and Angels will battle each other for that playoff spot which will be decided in the final series. I just hope the A’s make it to the playoffs in the Angel’s place this year.
B: I’m confident the Angels will come out on top for a third straight year, but I expect the race to be tighter than is was last year. I agree that when the two teams meet in Anaheim for a four games series to end the season, the division won’t be decided yet.
Bjoern and Kenny are both At Home Plate bloggers. Bjoern writes the Angels Dust blog, and Kenny writes The Seventh Inning Stretch.
