October 02, 2004
Angels Win!
Percival gets Byrnes to fly out to DaVanon (who gets all three put outs in the inning) to earn their first AL West crown in 18 years. Congratulations to the Angels on a great season and a terrific comeback.
I'm very happy for Arte Moreno. Earlier this year I compared him favorably to George Steinbrenner. His team played like the Yankees down the stretch, and his big free agent signing was a big reason behind the push to first. A great signing, and a terrific finish to the season.
The Athletics loss will bring out the Moneyball critics. Let me note that the difference in win shares between Tejada and Crosby is 12, or four wins. Four wins gives the A's the division.
There is also the matter of:
Tim Hudson's injury
Mark Ellis being out the entire season
Jermaine Dye's injury
Mark Mulder's second-half collapse
Eric Chavez's injury
The collapse of the *entire* bullpen.
etc. etc. etc.
As recent as the last Seattle series, the A's had three rookies (Joe Blanton, Nick Swisher, Bobby Crosby) and two quasi-rookies (Marco Scutaro, Adam Melhuse) on the field at the same time.
And we still took it to the final games of the season. I'm proud of my team for the way they have continually stayed in the hunt this season, after everything that has happened. Especially with the payroll.
For the record, they never resorted to calling their rivals "talentless hacks" like other players on certain other teams.
"The Athletics loss will bring out the Moneyball critics. Let me note that the difference in win shares between Tejada and Crosby is 12, or four wins. Four wins gives the A's the division."
Considering that the A's had down seasons from 3/5s of the rotation, a combustible bullpen, plus the injuries noted above, and still were in the hunt for the division title until today, I'd say that the 12 win shares difference between Tejada and Crosby is mere nitpicking and a minor contributing factor to losing the division.
Who would you rather have: Kielty or Lilly?
