Baseball Chick

15Nov 2016 by Jessica DeLine

Writing here, writing there

Hey readers, if you are looking for my Angels related posts, they are all over at Halos Heaven. If you want to read about my quest to visit all 30 MLB stadiums, you can do that here. Two years in and I've got 17 down and 13 to go!!!

08Apr 2016 by Jessica DeLine

2016 MLB Standings Predictions

Uncategorized

It's finally baseball season, which means it's time for Baseball Chick's 2016 predictions (though they do come a few days too late). Let's start in the West. AL WEST Houston Astros, 88-74 Los Angeles Angels, 85-77 Texas Rangers, 82-80 Seattle Mariners, 80-82 Oakland Athletics, 69-93 The Astros are full of young talent and have signed 25-year-old Ken Giles to close out games for them in 2016. Their talent should continue to mature and likely push them to the top spot with the Angels close behind, despite some questionable off season transactions (or lack thereof) by the Halos. It's hard to ever count a team out that boasts Mike Trout, the best player in baseball, and a future 1st ballot Hall of Famer - Albert Pujols. Texas did win the division…

06Jul 2015 by Jessica DeLine

Midway Team Rankings Review – American League

Baseball, Rankings

It's halfway through the 2015 season and the writing is starting to go up on the wall for some teams. Though this is baseball, and anything can happen. Before the season started, I broke down projected standings for all six divisions. How does that compare to how teams stand now? Would I change anything for the second half? AL West Actual (my projection in parentheses) 1. Astros (4) 2. Angels (1) 3. Rangers (5) 4. Mariners (2) 5. Athletics (3) The Astros and Rangers have been surprising on the good side, while the Athletics and Mariners have been surprising for other reasons. Billy Beane's off season meddling did pretty much what I thought it would - and slightly worse. He went all in for 2014 and now has to rebuild.…

29May 2015 by Jessica DeLine

12-1 Win over Detroit show what is RIGHT with the Angels

Angels

After posting about what is wrong with the Angels this year after their loss to the Padres, I'd be remiss if I don't do a follow up post given last nights slaughter of the Tigers. Last night we saw the magic the Halos are capable of when all cylinders are clicking at the same time. CJ Wilson managed to get himself into a bind by losing his control and walking the bases loaded followed by hitting Miguel Cabrerra in the foot which led to the ONLY Tigers run. Yes, the only scored via a hit by pitch. Wilson has some issues last week but so far this year he's been pitching like he did before the Angels grabbed him from Texas and in 2015 he's pitching below his career…

27May 2015 by basball

Angels loss to Padres is perfect summary of season so far

Angels

The Angels looked bad last night. And a little good. But mostly bad. Losing 4-0 in 10 innings is pretty much a perfect summary of the Halo season so far and this game points out most of what is wrong with out team through 1/4 of the season. Chris Iannetta has quickly returned to looking lost on the field and at the plate. He went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and a rally killing GIDP. We need to trade him to the Blue Jays because apparently he can only hit at Rogers Center. Iannetta is batting .161 this season and considering his career AVG sits in the low 200's, I don't see him getting THAT much better. Matt Joyce was also 0fer. He made a highlight reel play the…

26May 2015 by basball

Angels Week 8 Ranking – Position Players

Angels, Rankings

The Angel's offense continues to struggle aside from one great game in the opener against Boston. Also, somehow, Chris Iannetta remembered how to hit and led the paltry offense in batting average. My rankings include the entire 40 man roster. These rankings were compiled with the help of MLB stats, FanGraphs, misc. data, personal opinion, and some fairy dust I found hidden in Shoemaker's beard. *** Salt Lake Bees Roster ** Arkansas Travelers Roster Changes: None Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Mike Trout 3 +2 1 3 This is one slippery fish. I had to didn't I?? if you missed Trout's steal of 3rd base last week again Boston, you need to check it out. The king fish is back on top. 2 Erick Aybar 1 -1 1…

21May 2015 by Jessica DeLine

Angels Trade Rumors Update

Angels, trades

Once Josh Hamilton was dumped traded to the Texas Rangers, just about everyone in the Angels organization knew that meant some type of trade in 2015. The current left field platoon of Matt Joyce and Collin Cowgill is not working out, nor was it meant to work out. It's merely a bandaid to the current problem until we can get the stitches in. Never mind that we have production issues at DH and catcher as well, the most immediate need is certainly for a GOOD every day left fielder. Who are the options? The Angels are knee deep in pitching prospects and semi thin when it comes to offensive potentials. This leaves the teams willing to make a trade at those with weak pitching staffs whoare starting to lose hope in a…

21May 2015 by Jessica DeLine

Mike Trout 40-40 Club?

Angels

In major league baseball, the 40-40 club is an elite group of only 4 people. Only 4 people in the history of baseball have ever hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in the same season. It's important to note, that three of those four (Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez) are all known steroid users which leaves possibly only Alfonso Soriano as the only "legitimate" member of that group, further proving how difficult entry is. Can Mike Trout join that club? He certainly has the tools to make a run at it, and even has a shot this year, though he needs to get busy on the bases. In fact, it's base stealing that holds Trout back most. He stole 49 bases his rookie year and 33…

19May 2015 by Jessica DeLine

Week 7 Angels Rankings – Position Players

Angels, Rankings

The Angel's offense continues to struggle. Sounding like a broken record. Sounding like a broken record. Only two regulars batted over .240 last week. My rankings include the entire 40 man roster. These rankings were compiled with the help of MLB stats, FanGraphs, misc. data, personal opinion, and some fairy dust I found hidden in Shoemaker's beard. *** Salt Lake Bees Roster ** Arkansas Travelers Roster Changes: Mark Kraus purchased from minors Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Erick Aybar 8 +7 1 8 Last week he made me wish I didn't drop him from my fantasy team. Hit safely in every game and batted .526. 2 Kole Calhoun 7 +5 2 12 The only other strong offensive player last week next to Aybar with a .409 OBP. 3 Mike Trout 1…

19May 2015 by Jessica DeLine

Week 7 Angles Rankings – Pitchers

Angels, pitching, Rankings

Pitching was a strong point for the Halos last week with a team combined 1.60 ERA and 0.73 WHIP. My rankings include the entire 40 man roster, not just the active 25. These rankings were compiled with the help of MLB stats, FanGraphs, misc. data, personal opinion, and some fairy dust I found hidden in Shoemaker's beard. *** Salt Lake Bees Roster ** Arkansas Travelers Roster Changes: Ryan Mattheus DFA Rank Player Last Week Change High Low Comments 1 Garrett Richards 1 - 1 8 Opposing batters only hit .185 against Richards even though he got the loss thanks to the lack of run support. 2 Jered Weaver 2 - 1 14 Two strong outings in a row. I guess those who were saying he might be broken have been proved wrong.…