Random '09 Predictions
by mattwelch on Apr 5, 2009 5:20 PM PDT
53 comments
Yeah, sure, everyone and their stepbrother are making their standard preseason predictions this weekend (here's mine!), but I think more fun than who-gets-to-come-in-second-in-the-AL-West is just predicting randomly specific things about various players and teams.
I'll get the ball rolling:
- Howie Kendrick will hit higher than .340, more than 45 doubles, will walk twice as much per AB than he did prior to '09, and will steal 30 bags. He'll also be top 5 in MVP balloting. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.
- Gary Matthews will either have less than 100, or more than 400 ABs for the Angels.
- One of our Opening-Day-roster pitchers will be traded before June 1.
- The A's will spend at least 30 days in first place.
- The Royals will be this year's Miracle Team in the AL.
- Jeff Mathis will hit at least .240, with decent power. Angels catcher will combine for at least 35 home runs.
- The team will score more than 5 runs per game, hit the most homers of any Scioscia squad since 2000, all while flirting with the league lead in GIDP.
- There will be strong pressure -- on Halos Heaven at least! -- to cut Justin Speier during the year.
- Jered Weaver will lead the team in wins, and finish top 15 in Cy Young voting.
- At least until one of our first four hitters gets hurt, we will be top 2 in the league in first-inning runs.
- There will be collective amnesia on this site about how much people were hating on Howie Kendrick after last year's playoffs.
- Mike Scioscia will be the subject of an interesting Sports Illustrated feature.
- At least two L.A. Times sportswriters will talk about how the Angels have somehow failed to "capture the imagination of L.A."
- Jeff Miller will write a lot more horseshit, like his column of today, which is a neat encapsulation of Everything That Went Wrong With Newspaper Sportswriting.
Your list?
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Well I was reminded today why I dont read Jeff Miller.......
“o00o0o0o0o0 I’ll make all the predictions I want and the only thing it will cost me is my glowing reputation”
Who cares…….Jeff……really?
Confrontation simply means meeting the truth head on - Coach K
by norcaliangelsfan on Apr 5, 2009 5:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, come on Matt
* At least two L.A. Times sportswriters will talk about how the Angels have somehow failed to “capture the imagination of L.A.”
This is a flat out given. It’s not even a prediction. You get minus points for this one.
Angels fan since '67
by red floyd on Apr 5, 2009 5:36 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
A Predicition is a lot like a Prediction
… Except one is high when one makes a Predicition.
Where do I start? First, cut Speier “during the year”? Count me in to cut Speier now! If for nothing else, his embarassing Mike Tyson “impersonation.”
Second, if the A’s make it to 2nd place, let alone first, dogs and cats will mate.
Royals will be the miracle team, in that they will need divine help to win 65 games.
Howie Kendrick is a nice young man, but you just posted Roberto Clemente’s stats next to his name for same reason.
My prediction: closer by committee looks possible. Texas will finish 2nd. We will again lead the league in fewest walks.
by LazorkoRules on Apr 5, 2009 5:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I am in on Speier.
As soon as one of the stud starters is back, I say we cut Speier to keep room for the rest of our 12 pitchers on staff.
by matthiasstephan on Apr 6, 2009 2:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
If anybody cares...Garret Anderson and Casey Kotchman are on ESPN2 playing real baseball.
It is opening day for the Braves and the Phillies. Interesting game so far.
Recipient of the 2008 "The Iron Man" award from scottnak of Halos Heaven!
by 44FAN on Apr 5, 2009 5:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Jeff Miller
Basically says to lay off the pipe, don’t believe the hype and let the product on the field do its thing.
It wasn’t hard to understand really – as much as we whine about predictions, how little coverage we get nationally and not getting respect if someone picks the Angels to finish anything other than in first place – it doesn’t matter.
by BBFan1 on Apr 5, 2009 5:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
No, what Jeff Miller says is "I'm important!"
The Angels aren’t going to take their division, aren’t going to win the wild card, aren’t going to make the playoffs even.
There, I said it. Somebody had to. Somebody had to put the words in print forever and on the Internet for good … or at least until being replaced by a video of a kid who can burp the Emancipation Proclamation. […]
I’m not belittling the Angels; I’m pre-littling them.
This season, I have taken it upon myself to do what his players have failed to do during the ownership of Arte Moreno — push themselves to a World Series title.
It’s on you now, boys. Prove me wrong.
by mattwelch on Apr 5, 2009 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jeff Miller peea sitting down
Sean Rodriguez...the Rodriguez for a new Millennium
by HaloDutch on Apr 6, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That column is pure horseshit
But I think maybe it was meant to be. No professional would type that many words under that headline without giving one reason WHY the headline is true . He was looking for a reaction and he’s gotten it for 4 pages and counting.
This sums up every reason why you should never take anything Jeff Miller says about the Angels seriously (from the comments section):
jeff miller wrote: Hey, ipolitico, don’t blow my cover for me. Come on, I hate the Angels for trading my beloved K-Rod and they really, really are going to stink this year.
What a dolt.
by ReggieBullits on Apr 5, 2009 5:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Who did we get in return in the K-Rod trade?
A pet peeve: Writers and commentators who ignore facts, make up their own, or just deal in made-up revisionistic history [like Joe Morgan talking about Vlad being a member of the 02 Angels World Series team, for example, or Tim McPompous claiming that the Yankees beat the Angels in the 05 League Division Series.] If you are PAID to talk, write, pontificate, please do us the honor of knowing what you’re talking about. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to hang out here in the blogosphere, where I know with a little digging, I can find the truth.
by LazorkoRules on Apr 5, 2009 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Prediction:
Ashley Thompson will be the subject of a 60Minutes, Katie Couric interview.
Recipient of the 2008 "The Iron Man" award from scottnak of Halos Heaven!
by 44FAN on Apr 5, 2009 5:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
and she'll look darn increasingly cute too "ppatooo-ppatttooooo'
It's a beautiful day for baseball.
by ladybug on Apr 5, 2009 7:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
One thing makes me doubt this column is serious.
Ah, excuse me, Lowell Sun, but we in the “La-La land media” are fully capable of running our own sports figures out of town, thank you very much. If I want to call for Scioscia’s job, I’ll stop spooning him long enough to do so.
Besides, I’m now on the record predicting doom for this team. I have boldly stepped up my game at the possible expense of my name.
And I ask for only one thing in return: a shiny, new 2009 World Series ring.
I believe he is trying a reverse psychology column, something not necessarily unknown around the halosphere. But I don’t read the guy the guy that often.
Plugging the upside since 2006.
Never give up, never surrender!
by TheOptimist on Apr 5, 2009 6:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Er, everything from 'Ah, excuse me' to World series ring should have been in quotes.
Plugging the upside since 2006.
Never give up, never surrender!
by TheOptimist on Apr 5, 2009 6:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is waaaaay pedantic, but ...
since Cy Young voters only get to vote for three pitchers on a ballot, there are usually only about seven or eight guys who get any votes. But what a stupid nit for me to pick. Great predictions!
Saving countless runs with my defense.
by Sam Miller OCR on Apr 5, 2009 7:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Good use of pedantic...
GRE word of the day.
by BruinHalo on Apr 5, 2009 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Perhaps...
but I find this meal to be shallow and pedantic.
I was uncool before uncool was cool.
by WiHaloFan on Apr 6, 2009 6:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
you don’t wanna hurt yourself dancing,make sure ya stretch out those creamy hamstrings !!!
by raven191 on Apr 6, 2009 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
What a waste of pixels Miller's column was...
Jeff Miller will write a lot more horseshit, like his column of today, which is a neat encapsulation of Everything That Went Wrong With Newspaper Sportswriting.
I like Mark Whicker just fine, but Jeff Miller lost my interest a long time ago. I read this column just to see what Matt was going on about, and was amazed any editor decided to inflict that nonsense upon a public one would expect the Register was seeking to court. There is no POV to the article, just a lot of nay-saying and some prose posing which is apparently supposed to be cute.
What is the over and the under for Freedom shutting the whole operation down? I ask only because writing like Miller’s tells me the staff is losing the will to live.
by George Kaplan on Apr 5, 2009 7:36 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I have enjoyed it
And I think I get what the paper is attempting to do to monetize eyeballs which aren’t scanning the paper itself. The effort works for me in number of ways, especially since guys like Doug Padilla aren’t on the beat anymore. I like getting a variety of views of the team from the reporters who are sitting with the players and coaches on a daily basis.
But piss-poor, phone-it-in efforts like Miller’s have led to the ruination of much better newspapers and sites than the Register‘s. I really don’t see a need to read another of his columns (even the one where he announces his resignation), and it isn’t a good idea for any site to give me sources to be avoided.
by George Kaplan on Apr 6, 2009 4:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
how much of miller's schtick is because either he or his...
editors made the decision that the register needs a “tj simers type” reporter to stir the pot and get people to do exactly what we are doing right now, talking about a senseless column?
by thejd on Apr 5, 2009 8:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
i don't know what i'll refer to jeff miller as any longer...
i’m thinking of: – tj simers junior
- tj simers south
- the curious case of the untalented version of tj simers
- the bad the worse and that sack of shit jeff miller
-jeff miller. the winner of, who wants to be a baseball writer?
- the baseball writer who put the final nail in the coffin of the fishwrap biz
- the guy who is the reason steve bisheff ran away from the newspaper
industry faster than scott boras from a small market team
by thejd on Apr 5, 2009 8:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Jeff Miller became ignorable to me....
when he wrote an article referring to the Bruins 100 national championships as meaningless since they have not won a football championship. I say, from now on, no more Jeff Miller discussions on HH. We’re only boosting site hits and increasing his popularity.
Rev, make some sort of rule. I’m anti-censorship, but this is more like a boycott.
by BruinHalo on Apr 5, 2009 9:39 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Jeff Miller
is a Jackass who thinks he is God, what a prick.
Give the young guns a chance...if they suck wellll...
by angelskid2210 on Apr 5, 2009 10:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
i could see the point of the Miller article
and maybe reverse psychology babble was the point, but…it was so poorly written I had to read parts of it two and three times because I figured there had to be something I missed because it was pointless. Just really really bad writing.
GA GA he's the man, if he can't do it, no one can
by Moondoggy on Apr 5, 2009 10:38 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Agree
If there was a POV in the article, it was hidden, not skillfully, but with a certain sense of blase disdain for being interesting as a writer. I gave it two passes, figured it didn’t deserve the third. If Miller didn’t care enough to be clear and take a stand (rather than provocative in the way little children like to blurt out “penis!” to rattle the grownups in the room), then it certainly didn’t call for me to care, either.
by George Kaplan on Apr 6, 2009 4:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I should be an OCR columnist
I don’t provide much statistical analysis in my predictions, either, but even I can offer some kind of rationale for my opinions besides “look at all the other predictions that are the opposite of mine.”
by yeswecan on Apr 5, 2009 10:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Jeff miller is
a. a douche who’s only action is his left hand
s. a dodgers fan hiding his true identity
$. someone who thinks he is the best, but instead hacked ocregister and puts up crapp articles
b. an as$ who gets $8.5 hour working at burger king
Vlad cheated me. I thought he was 12.
by vlad IS my man on Apr 5, 2009 11:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
My prediction:
Naps gets the AB to do it, and hits 34 HR this year.
Napoli IS the power bat in 2009. Watch.
by 101halo on Apr 6, 2009 1:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Top 5 - some good, some bad...
1. Kelvim Escobar will pitch >170 innings this year, but Santana will pitch less than 50
2. Texas will finish ahead of the A’s, neither will win 80 games
3. Morales and Kendrick will hit 85 doubles between them
4. Fuentes will contend for the league lead in blown saves before the All Star break, we will pine for K-Rod
5. Erick Aybar will win a gold glove at SS, Bobby Abreu will be ‘retired’ from the outfield by the end of May
I see red people
by The Limey on Apr 6, 2009 2:50 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Bobby Abreu is actually going to play the outfield?
vivaelbeñsheets
by vivaelpujols on Apr 6, 2009 3:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Apparently...
…but I think it’s going to be rather like children playing – lots of mindless running around and falling over, followed by tears and then punishment
I see red people
by The Limey on Apr 6, 2009 3:51 AM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
Awesome
Comment of the day.
I feel the need, the need...for speed!
by Gorbachav5 on Apr 6, 2009 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here's mine...
1. Roy Halladay will be pitching in Anaheim…in a white uniform this time.
2. Howie Kendrick gets over 500 AB, challenges for batting title.
3. Jered Weaver posts a sub 4.00 ERA and wins 17+
4. Ervin Santana will have at least 2 stints on the DL, make less than 12 starts.
5. Angels will finish with a 93-69 record, 9 games ahead of Oakland.
I was uncool before uncool was cool.
by WiHaloFan on Apr 6, 2009 5:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
i disagreeon j-weav
i think he gets 15-16 tops
Vlad cheated me. I thought he was 12.
by vlad IS my man on Apr 6, 2009 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
A few predictions
1. It will be the Rangers – not the A’s – that will challenge the Angels for the division.
2. The division winnner (the Angels) will win 85 games.
3. Brandon Wood will be starting full-time by July and will post a .250/.325/.500 line.
4. Weaver will be our best starting pitcher even if Santana and Lackey come back healthy.
5. The Yankees miss the playoffs.
I love your dog, Rev.
by Dogman on Apr 6, 2009 8:54 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Speaking of predicitons
the MLB Network guys picked the Halo’s to win the West across the board. All nine of them. this is just another reason I waych it instead of ESPN now.
Sean Rodriguez...the Rodriguez for a new Millennium
by HaloDutch on Apr 6, 2009 10:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
nice predictions Matt
mine:
1. Angels win 97-101. even if Lackey, Escobar, and Santana are on-off the DL throughout the season. Adenhart will have a breakout year and win the ROY. A’s, Rangers, and Mariners are below .500.
2. HK stays healthy and finally gets to show us why most of us love him.
3. Mathis will finally show us why he was considered the 2nd best C prospect entering the draft right behind Mauer.
4. Vlad has a huge year to prove to everyone he’s not done yet.
5. Morales proves Acuda right.
by HALO_86 on Apr 6, 2009 10:49 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Predictions
Angels go as far as the injury patrol stays away
HARD EIGHT
by Side Salad on Apr 6, 2009 2:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, HK looked like he wants to prove everyone wrong
and silence all those who bashed him last Oct.
Show 'em your a panther... Show 'em what you can do....
by stuck in Romania on Apr 7, 2009 4:22 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
No, it didn't
if he is worth a crap in october of last year we beat the Sox. I am still bitter and will remain so until Kendrick single handedly wins the Angels a WS by hitting 4 GS a game every game for the entire playoffs.
I brought sexy back, but they only gave me store credit....
by PhiSlamma on Apr 7, 2009 4:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm sure you will be bitter even if he does that...
Surely you’ll find someone else to rag on…
Show 'em your a panther... Show 'em what you can do....
by stuck in Romania on Apr 7, 2009 5:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Jeff Miller's prediction
If it was just his goal to fire up the team, then that is his job as a columnist for the local paper. He probably doesn’t want to look like a “homer.” If he is bitter about them adding Los Angeles to their name (which goes back to their original history) then ripping the team for that is just wrong. We’ll have to see if he is any more positive during the season.
by Angels_fan_in_Oregon on Apr 8, 2009 4:57 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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