I'm in a Mall Smarket town too. The M's have improved this year at the plate but that's been offset by the worst bullpen Seattle has seen since Bobby Ayala. The meltdown of Tom Wilhelmson was simply astounding, he was nearly unhittable through about June then he just fecking collapsed, he either missed the strike zone completely or would just groove one on a platter right over the heart of the dish. Then he was sent to Tacoma and couldn't get anyone out there either. And he's got a great arm and great stuff, it just appeared to have been mental. He just completely lost his confidence.

The Angels are definitely loaded with back-loaded inflated contracts. Pujols was decent enough his first year 30/100 will always fly on my team. Hes been injured the entire year with the plantar fasciitis and needs surgery. I'm hoping he will come back strong, but that certainly is a worrisome contract in the pending years.

I'd throw Kendrick into the good mix as well as Trumbo. Their huge problem this year has been timely scoring and horrible relief pitching. Things are not looking up. Their farm system is barren at best, but I like their third base prospect Kaleb Cowart hes gonna be a good one. CJ Cron looks like a stud also, but the Angels are crowded at first base he'll probably be trade bait.

Oakland and Texas are both very good teams albeit two different studies in how to put together a winning team. Texas always loads up free agent wise but they do groom talent. Oakland is primarily a farm system makeover and it works as they are usually in the mix.

As for the NL West i'd say the D-BACKS are a decent team as well as the Dodgers. I hit Dodger stadium on occassion and the buzz is certainly growing. Its a great park.

If I were the Angels I would legitimately consider trading Trout.

Think of everything they could get for him. Somewhere in the ballpark of 4 or 5 pretty high-tiered prospects.

What the Angels need badly is pitching and a couple consistent bats rather than the streaky ridiculousness that is Josh Hamilton or Trumbo. Mike Trout is gonna be a legend but he clearly can't carry this team on his own.

I would keep Trout an Angel for life. You don't come across many five tool players in his caliber. I think the Angels starters are at least average in the big picture. The freak injury to Weaver was bad timing. CJ Wilson can net you 15-17 wins a season. I like the makeup of Garret Richards hes gonna be a fine pitcher in this league. After that you've got a garbage heap so you would really only be trading for a 4th and fifth starter so why deal a guy like Trout.

Trumbo is a power hitter hes never gonna be a 300 hitter so i'm fine with his bat. Hamilton has been a disgrace this year but you gotta just suck it up and come back for another year, nobodys gonna involve him in a deal because of his awful contract. with decent years from Pujols and him the Angels immediately are a decent hitting squad with Trout,Kendrick, and Trumbo hitting with them. I think its a wait and see approach, get everybody healthy and don't do anything drastic like trading away a possible future mvp in this league.

trout shoulda been the mvp last year

they need to lock him up long term. theres no amount of potential a team could offer for a guy like him, they truly come around once every 20 years. if they arent in the race next year at the deadline, trumbo is gone imo. angles need more balance in that lineup and some sort of identity

I wouldn't deal Trumbo either hes a power hitter they need. I think the real problem has been lack of production from Hamilton and Pujols its a no brainer for me. You have two potential 35/115 guys that had off years. Hamilton as bad as hes been is gonna comeback strong next year and Pujols has been dealing with that injury. Beyond that you don't really have anybody to carry the team. You really need four 30/100 guys in any lineup to compete. Trumbo is on pace, Pujols and Hamilton can do it and Trouts a lock. If you had those numbers you can toss in your contact hitters and compete. Injuries have been a real plague this year, hoping for better health and some timely at bats next year we'll see. Hell even as bad as it is, they could still get hot and try for a wildcard. Yeah right. LOL

I don't know if Pujols is coming back. He's always been a 1.000 OPS hitter, but he's been trending down very quickly. His knees seem like they're about shot, too.

pirates have 1 guy that is gonna hit 30 homers and maybe 1 100 rbi guy so you can build in different ways.

they are stuck with hammy and pujols but if they can be healthy and get back to their old stat lines then that is a monster 3-4 punch in the order. but thats a big 'if' to me. pujols is still great but just isnt what he was in st louis for whatever reason. and hammy is always gonna be a wildcard because of his terrible plate discipline and a lot of teams wondered in the off season if and when his body would break down because of his drug past. i dunno, i think trumbo is at his peak and probably wont progress any more, so if they ar eout of it next year, ship hi for some young arms. you cna never have too many young arms

Fan o' the Red Legs here. Legitimate contention for a wild card spot is a good thing...esp hoping Ludwick gets back in form, Votto is on, and guys like Mesoraco put in quality at bats.

It'd also help if Batman pitches to the level he's capable, and Arroyo is on. Also, please no more injuries.

very pathetic claim to fame for me: i robbed mesoraco of a base hit about 6 years ago. we regularly played them and actually beat them in the regular season before they beat us in the playoffs. he smoked a ball between short and 3rd and i laid out and threw a nice one-hop to first for the out. im a big deal, i know


reds are a real nice team. especially if they get in the playoffs and can bring in chapman for 2 innngs if needed. i do follow mesoraco because he grew up near me but lookin at his swing, i dont think he is ever gonna put it together as a stud player. doesnt get his wrists turned very well on inside pitches

the nl central is such a battle between the reds, cards and now the BUCCOS!!