1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels are a solid team. They have a good rotation, headed by John Lackey and very good bullpen. Bad Vlad Guerrero is a perennial MVP candidate every year and Torri Hunter is a nice addition to that outfield. Mark my words, one significant injury on this team could really open the door for the Mariners.
2. Seattle Mariners. The addition of Erik Bedard will pay huge dividends this season, and hopefully for future seasons. The M's had to give up a lot for Bedard, but he's a Cy Young candidate, who has the stuff that aces are made of. Felix Hernandez will have a career year because of the presence of Bedard in the rotation. Seattle has a nice 1 through 5 rotation, with some capable spot starters in the mix as well. Ichiro will guide the offense, and hopefully guys like Richie Sexson can rebound. The loss of Jose Guillen will hurt more than we think, but the potential of Wladmir Balentien should make up for that, long term. If the Angels slip at all, the M's might have the ability to take advantage of it.
3. Texas Rangers. The rotation is still a little shaky. Kevin Millwood isn't an ace and neither is Vincente Padilla. Their bullpen does impress me, particularly CJ Wilson and Joaquin Benoit. Both looked good in the closer role, last season. The addition of Josh Hamilton is a good one, as he should drive in some runs, but they need a rebound from guys like Hank Blalock to make any real noise. I think Jarrod Saltamacchia? or Salty and Ian Kinsler are going to turn into a really good baseball players, so their future looks bright. I think they have enough experience in the rotation to be better than the rebuilding A's.
4. Oakland A's. It would be difficult to be a fan of the A's, because it seems like they're always in a rebuilding mode. They've let some great players walk away over the years, Tejada, Zito, Damon, but in Giambi's case, he basically just sold out. Rich Harden needs a healthy season under his belt, to prove he's an ace. The verdict is still out on that one. Joe Blanton is an innings eater, but after those two, the rotation is full of question marks. I'm guessing the next players to be dealt will be Eric Chavez, Huston Street, and Joe Blanton. When looking at the roster there are a few familiar faces, but who the heck are the rest of these guys? I should get my facts straight, because they're probably a bunch of really good prospects that will become stars, in Oakland and then sign with another team when they become free agents. Can we really consider Billy Beane to be a genius anymore?
PF, I just hope SOMEONE can take down the Death Star that is the Anaheim Angels. I deliberately avoid calling them by their current name for two reasons: 1) They DON'T play in Los Angeles; 2) To tweak all those sycophantic Angels fans. 3) They play in Anaheim; hence I call them the Anaheim Angels.
BTW, I'm pulling for the Mariners to take them down.
this is a pretty good look at the AL West. the angels downfall could be there infield. its kinda weak in my opinion. but they have probably the best outfield in baseball(well detroit aint to shabby either) there pitching is once again one of the AL best. with the M's getting Bedard i dont think its going to be easy for them though. i am a big M's fan but honestly we may still be a year out from the playoffs. our major hole is right field. but i am excited for this season. SODO MOJO!!
PF NICE READ! I agree with everything you wrote especially the part about one key injury to the angels, the mariners should be close all year long so hopefully we can take the top spot from the angels
The Al is loaded at least 2 quality playoff teams in each division. However, I don't think the Mariners if they do make the playoffs have enough to beat an East or Central team this year.
First I am an Angels fan, and I could care less what city you put in front of them, (The New York Giants play in New Jersey).
The Angels are VERY deep in the outfield with Vlad, Torii, Gary Mathews Jr, Garrett Anderson, Reggie Willits, and Juan Rivera. The have great pitching, both starting and in the Bullpen, with Lackey and K-Rod as Cy Young candidates. Their infield is in trouble though. "Baby Cesar" at SS is a temp fix. It would have been nice to keep Orlando Cabrera for one more year.
The M's will be even tougher this year than last, and not having Jose Guillen is a plus, that guy is worthless. Their pitching will be one of the best in the bigs, but their offense will struggle.
The Rangers and A's are obviously rebuilding, so this is a 2 team race this year. While the M's will be improved, I think the Halos improved more, and should win the division and break 100 wins due to an weak division.
The Angels definitely have the advantage in bullpen and outfield depth, but I think the rotation, behind Lackey, is going to struggle. Jered Weaver can be inconsistent, Escobar is hurt, Garland is one of the most overrated players in baseball, and Santana struggled last year. I don't know much about Joe Saunders, so I can't knock him. I think Willits should start, but I don't see that happening.
patsrock07: I like the Mariners chances against the AL East, who they had a .500 record against last season, but the AL Central teams, especially owned the Mariners last season. There are 3 teams that the Mariners struggle mightly against: Angels, Tigers, Blue Jays. With an improved rotation, the Mariners have a better chance of competing with these teams this season.
I have one more detail to add to the Mariners attribute. Not only did they add to their starting pitching (what many say was their weakness last year, not the offense) they also hired perhaps the best pitching coach in all of baseball to bring our pitchers along. The addition of Mel Stottlemeyer was huge.
And about the offense, they finished second the AL last year, and the only person they lost was Jose Guillen. So I'm not sure our offense is necessarily our weakness. Yes I am skeptical about right field, but we'll have to see what happens there.
Yes Mel Stottlemyre is a huge addition, and is the best pitching coach not named Leo Mazzone. I think he'll do wonderful things with the pitching staff. I'm thinking every starter that struggled last season has a rebound this year.
I think Wilkerson is better than people give him credit for. He had great numbers, when healthy, playing for the Nats a couple of years ago. Maybe it was the Expos. He's really just keeping the seat warm for Wladmir Balentien.
i enjoyed e-1s comments about my mariners whom ive followed since the paper bag days in the dome. i think we gave up qite a bit for bedard and if he lives up to the hype he will be a great addition. we are still lacking a left handed power hitter{or 2 }, i think for us to winit this year anaheim is going to have to stumble and guys like richie and beltre are going to have to be consistant hitting threats and ichiro is going to have to steal at least 50 bases. sure going to miss sherill and guillen though . GO MARINERS!!!!P.S. WOULDNT IT BE NICE TO SEE GRIFFEY COME BACK HOME.
Last edited by chunkyloaf on February 26th at 3:46 AM.
yep will can still consider beane a genius. he's smart enough to realize (altough these next few years may be painful for me to watch) that his team was going downhill. But it true, imagine if the A's had the bankroll of the yankees the starters would look like this:
Hudson
Haren
Zito
Mulder
Blanton/Harden
i dont even what to think about what the rest of the lineup would be, id get too depressed seeing all the amazing talent the A's can't afford.
Here's a dose of reality; the combined starting rotation era is over 4.00 No playoffs unless the p corps can deliver. Spouting Cy Young about Bedard is a little early, don'tcha think?
However, I do believe it will be an interesting season.
I wouldn't agree with everybody thinking its only a two team race, this year for the AL West with the Angels & Mariners.Never count out the Oakland A's, & Billy Beane. He did this before when Beane re-builded with Hudson,Mulder,Zito,Chavez,ect... & no one thought that team would do anything & they won the AL West. So, just cause it don't look like a powerful team like the Angels or a Good team like the Mariners, lets not count the A's out of the AL West picture just yet. Lets see where there at All-Star Break & at the end of the season!!! Let's Go Oakland!!!
I definitely see Oakland being more of a threat than Texas. Oakland always does well at developing young talent into future stars. If they deal Blanton or Harden doesn't bounce back, they might be in big trouble.
I think that both Hernandez and Bedard have a realistic shot at Cy Young, which isn't premature at all. People make predictions like that all the time.
I really don't see Griffey coming back. It would certainly be really special if he did, but I think he really burned the bridge with management by the way he left initially.
PF is from the Northwest. I'm a huge fan of the Seahawks, Mariners, and Trail Blazers! If you don't root for your teams, even when they're losing or re-building, you are not a true fan.
Go Beavs! Back to Back NCAA Baseball Champions! Obama in '08!
