Plus 65: that’s the run differential of the supposed best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the club with more letters in its acronym (5) than starters with On Base Percentages over .340 (4).

Just so everyone is aware of how not impressive that is, five teams in the American League have played stronger baseball so far this season than LAAOA: Boston (+155), Toronto (+97– strongest team in MLB no one is talking about), Chicago (+86), Tampa Bay (+85), and Minnesota (+84). Even in the weakish NL, three teams (Cubs, Mets, and Phils) have played better, and Milwaukee and St. Louis are not far behind LA.

Now I know what everyone is thinking: Run differentials do not equal wins and losses. Wins and losses do. And there, LA has a 1 game lead on Tampa as the best team in baseball (Actually, they’re tied in the loss column). This is faulty logic. Good teams don’t just win. They win big. Those 8-3, 4-0 wins: those are the true indicators of excellence, of beating up on weaker teams and of having talent on both sides of the ball. A team’s record in close games is really more an indication of how fortunate it has been than how skillfully it has played.

Don’t believe an Amherst college senior who hasn’t played baseball in ten years? Well, listen to the experts then. 

This is the real significance of K-Rod’s record tying 57th save. Yes, K-Rod is great. But he is not the greatest closer in history because of this meaningless accomplishment. Nor is LAAOA a “great” team because they have accumulated 57 saves. On the contrary, the Angels are weaker than they seem precisely because their asses have needed so much saving!

Oy. The Angels always get me riled up.

Oh, and ESPN/NY sports media: can we please stop talking about anyone but Albert Pujols as MVP of the NL?