Preview IV: AL West

Moving away from the National League we will turn our attention to the much better American League.  We will start out west which a division that should be a great two horse race.  The Rangers are still struggling; the A’s are now re-building which leaves us with the Mariners and the Angels.  Let’s get to it.

The Oakland A’s seem to have traded away every major player from their last handful of years and are now in complete re-building mode.  The A’s have a very weak line-up with a few players most people have never heard of.  The people that we have heard of, Eric Chavez, Jack Cust and Mark Ellis will need to stay healthy if this team has any chance at winning a few games.  Their starting rotation is not very good either, unless Rich Harden stays in it and realizes his potential.  And their bullpen isn’t even good.  They have moved Justin Duchscherer to the rotation which thinned out the ‘pen.  It will be a long year in Oakland but there is something to be excited about, they got some good young talent for their veterans that they traded so they could be building up again and be competitive sooner rather than later.

The Texas Rangers still just seem to hover in the mediocrity bubble.  They still have not gotten the pitching help that they need and their rotation of Kevin Millwood, Vincente Padilla and Jason Jennings just isn’t going to cut it.  The bullpen is also weak this season and they don’t have a true closer.  The line-up will be able to get some hits and score their share of runs but the line-up always does that.  They brought it Josh Hamilton and I believe he will have a very good year with them.  Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Hank Blalock (when he is healthy) will continue to produce.  This team should finish 3^rd this season but I don’t think they will come close to contending with the Mariners or Angels.

The Angels are the powerhouse of this division and seem to win it every year.  They bring back a very solid core group of players and have also brought in some help for them.  John Lackey leads a solid rotation but they don’t seem to be as deep they have been in the past.  Kelvim Escobar needs to stay healthy this year and they will need to find a consistent five starter, either Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana.  The bullpen continues to stay together and stay good.  K-Rod had a somewhat down year last season but he should be fine.  The big question here is whether Scot Shields is on the downslide after all the innings he has thrown or if it was just a bad 2^nd half of a season.  The line-up will be good again this year, as they always seem to be.  They won’t hit too many homers but this is more of a small ball team.  The biggest question here is how this team will play the outfield.  They have 4 good outfielders and only 3 spots.  Neither Garrett Anderson nor Bog Daddy Vladdy wants to DH, they both want to be in the field.  This will be a question that must be answered before they can fulfill their potential; everyone has to be on the same page.

The Mariners are a very interesting team this year.  I could see them winning this division or falling apart and not even contending.  But I think they will be fine.  Eric Bedard was brought in to lessen the load on King Felix’s shoulders and should be great.  The back end of the rotation must find consistency but they are much better than last year.  If King Felix can finally have that true breakout year this team will be dominant.  The line-up is similar to the Angels.  They have a few big bats but for the most part they score with base running and clutch base hits.  Ichiro will again lead this line-up and I am going to go out on a limb, he will have over 200 hits.  The biggest question for this team is the middle relief and set-up.  JJ Putz is possibly the best closer in baseball but they could have trouble getting him the ball.  I think this team will answer most of these questions stay in the race all year long, maybe even win it.

Predictions and Standings-

Best Newcomer- This is easy, Eric Bedard.

Most important Player- Felix Hernandez.  He has to finally breakout for the M’s to win this division.

Best Manager- Mike Scioscia, again this is easy.

Cy Young of the Division- Felix Hernandez.  He will breakout this year.

MVP of the Division- JJ Putz.  He will dominate the end of games and get the M’s to the playoffs.

Standings-

1. Mariners (91-71)
2. Angels (89-73)
3. Rangers (74-88)
4. Athletics (72-90)

The Mariners are built for everything.  They have good line-up that will score some runs; they have a good rotation and a great closer.  The Angels will be solid but I don’t seem them being as deep as in the past, they have more questions surrounding them than usual.  It should be a good race though and one thing is for sure, this division will NOT win the wild card.

Until next time, I’m gone, like meaningless basketball.