AndrewKoch.com

That ARod fella

There's a rumor that some guy named "ARod" is getting traded. You might have heard a little something about that this weekend... Well, what does it mean for the A's? Let's take a look at how the two players have fared against AL West's 2004 pitchers in their careers (AVG/OBP/SLG):

Soriano vs. the A's (2004 pitching staff): 203/232/278 (.510 OPS)
Soriano vs. the Angels: 274/314/463 (.777 OPS)
Soriano vs. the Mariners: 214/258/429 (.687 OPS)

Rodriguez vs. the A's: 267/333/470 (.804 OPS)
Rodriguez vs. the Angels: 333/426/729 (1.155 OPS)
Rodriguez vs. the Mariners: 267/351/500 (.851 OPS)

That's a decrease in OPS of .294 against the A's, .378 against the Angels and .164 against the Mariners. Overall, the AL West should be thanking their lucky stars that they won't have to deal with ARod so often, but this deal doesn't really improve the A's chances in the AL West. If anything, this tilts the playing field towards the Angels (however small that tilt may be).