I know we all can't stand ESPN for their bias.  We also can't stand their complete and utter disdain for everything Angels.  It's my personal opinion however that Stark did a good job with who he chose for the awards.

Spoiler alert.  Stark gives A.L. Manager of the year award to The Soth. A little exerpt:

And Mike Scioscia can run a team and lead human beings as well as anyone who's ever held that job. Ever.

Good choices and some good humor.  Enjoy.

So it's the middle of August and the Angels are right where they belong, atop the AL West.  However, there is a big difference this time around.  Last year at this time we were 15.5 games up and running away with this division.  There wasn't much to compare to as far as competition within the division was concerned (REV had even put up the magic number ticker).  This time around we are 4.5 games up, and the team on our tails has greatly improved, putting us in what could possibly be an epic dogfight to the end.  Some of us here blamed our early postseason exit last year on our team becoming complacent since they didn't have to worry about being caught for a month before the playoffs (so did the L.A. Times).

Let's compare and contrast for a little.  We'll put the '08 Angels against the '09 Angels.  The '08 Rangers against the '09 Rangers.  And the Angels and Rangers against each other from this year.  I'm gonna use some simple hitting and pitching metrics for this post.  If any of my fellow HHer's want to throw in some more complex stuff (and touch on the fielding stats) feel free to do so. Jump with me, and let's do this.

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