American League 2007

Here are my predicted standings for the AL in 2007

AL West

Angels 93-69
A's 86-76
Rangers 84-78
Mariners 72-90

Central

Indians 90-72
Twins 89-73
White Sox 88-74
Tigers 87-75
Royals 60-102

East

Yankees 93-69
Red Sox 88-74
Blue Jays 84-78
Orioles 80-82
Devil Rays 74-88

AL Winner: Angels (OF COURSE)

I'm optimistic that Napoli, Kendrick and Kotchman will help the Angels improve upon last years offensive perfomance. And the defense can't be as bad as last year, can it?

Cheaper by the (Half) Dozen

So I packed up the kids (six of them but not all mine) and wife and headed out to Anaheim for the 2007 Angel Fan Fest. The rain stayed away for the 90 minute drive and we arrived shortly after noon.

I wanted to get some autographs but with only three hours left until closing the kids wanted to go on the rides. I may have been the adult but there was six of them and they wanted to move around after being cooped up in the van. So the rides it was. Over and over and over and over again. I think I personally was dragged onto the ferris wheel by my 4 year-old daughter no less than 6,471 times.

We did get a few minutes to go into the big tent and sign up my three daughters to the Angels Junior Club. A nice deal where you get vouchers for tickets to three games, a t-shirt and best of all, the kids get to go to the front of the line for "Kids Run the Bases" days at the park. This year will mark the sixth year my kids will be members.

While in the tent I saw the line to get pictures with Mike Napoli (my new favorite) and Jeff Mathis. A very looong line. A line I would love to have stood in but it was after two and Napoli was due on the big stage with Chone Figgins at 2:30.So back we went to ride.... what else? The ferris wheel.

All in all, I think I'm doing my part to create six lifelong Angel fans.

Erstad goes to ChiSox

Erstad has signed with the Chicago White Sox. It won't look right having Darin in another team's jersey. Many players have worn an Angels uniform but Darin Erstad is the player who looks right in an Angels uni. Erstad stands apart because he simply played. All. Out.

Nothing can say it better than this quote from Halo's Heaven by Angel Lifer Brent Carter:

With Erstad you either get it or you don't, and if you don't it's just too bad for you.

Amen.

Angel Fan Fest 2007

The fan fest is one Arte's better ideas at marketing the team and generating fan interest. My kids and I were disappointed (okay, I was disappointed) that there was no fan fest last year. But it is back this year and I'm looking forward to going.

McGwire Gets Slighted?

Mark McGwire didn't get voted into the Hall of Fame. He finished with just 128 votes or 23.5%. No doubt the number one reason he didn't get in was his steroid use. In fact I'm sure it was the reason he didn't get in. A quick look at his stats shows (and comparing him to the two new inductees) he was one of the best.

AVG/OBP/SLG OPS OPS+ RC/27
McGwire .263/.394/.588 .982 163 8.16
Ripken .276/.340/.447 .787 112 5.38
Gwynn .338/.388/.459 .847 132 6.77

McGwire was far and away the best hitter of the three. Yeah, I know that Ripken was a shortstop and should be given some slack. But giving Ripken some slack brings him up to Gwynn but gets him nowhere close to McGwire. Gwynn was a rightfielder, a position where he won 5 gold glove awards but it is still a position that is mostly rated by the players' offense (unlike centerfielder). He still finishes short of McGwire.

So clearly it was his steroid use that caused his low vote count. Which I think needs to be pointed out was not illegal when he was playing. So the question now comes up are the baseball writers punishing McGwire for just one year and will let him in next year or is this something that is permanent.

Something toThink About

From the Sports Economist comes this rebuttal to Matthew Zemek.

First Matthew Zemek,

This trend of rapid upward escalation in coaching salaries — while evidently necessary to land or keep big-name coaches, as this Alabama deal proves — is simply not a healthy development in American society. While loads of problems exist in the world of primary education, this country's secondary institutions are throwing around ungodly sums of cash so that King Football will succeed on Saturdays.

Then the reply,

Saban's high salary is *not* a sign of an unhealthy society. .....the diamond-water paradox applies. According to the paradox, water is necessary for life but diamonds are not, yet the price of diamonds is much higher than water. Understanding the solution to the paradox comes from understanding two things: 1. the value of any good is determined by the satisfaction consumers obtain from it at the margin; 2. the price of anything is determined by its relative scarcity. It's quite possible for there to be quite a gulf between the two (the so-called consumer surplus).

Diamonds are more pricey than water because they are relatively scarce while water is relatively abundant. The price that people pay for diamonds is much closer to the marginal satisfaction they obtain from them while the difference between the marginal satisfaction obtained from water and the price of water is much greater. The fact that water is necessary for life and we can get it for a cheap price is a cause for celebration, not general alarm.

BCS Prediction: Ohio St. over Florida

Ohio State will win but I'm rooting for Florida. The Buckeyes are strong on the lines and have just as much speed as Florida.

Final Score: Ohio St. 26, Florida 17