[iifold]

With the A's and Mariners in Japan getting ready to open the season in a couple days, I thought it was a good time to write a little bit about the AL West before things got started. This division kinda reminds me of that bad TV Show "Wife Swap"... When they would reunite at the end and you would have the "accomplished" couple rubbing it in the face of the "loving" couple. The loving couple was usually broke but would always find the time to remind you they were in love, on the other hand, the accomplished couple usually had their shit together but their relationship was ran more like a business. The AL West seems to have a loving couple and an accomplished one as well...

Oakland Athletics

The first half of our "loving" couple is hard not to root for, but much like the parents on Wife Swap that let their kids do whatever they wanted, this team has no clear plan or direction. On one hand they are signing guys like Manny Ramirez and the guy from Cuba (Y.Cespedes) for 36 Million, and on the other hand they are running out guys like E.Sogard and J.Donaldon to play 3rd Base! Who the fukk is E.Sogard and J.Donaldson?? Better yet, who pays actual money to watch E.Sogard and J.Donaldson play third base?? This, after all, is most likely the source of the problem...

Lineup

C.Crisp and J.Weeks will give them solid at-bats all year long and create a little havoc on the bases. Catcher K.Suzuki is in his prime and should be one of the teams better producers and leaders... Sadly, that's where the sure things end. Nobody knows what to expect from Y.Cespedes, and although very talented, many think it will take him a year or two to figure out big league pitching. Manny can't play till the 51st game (Steroid Penalty) and who knows how many games they'll be back by then. The rest of the lineup is filled with has-been's and hope-to-be's.

J.Weeks 2B
C.Pennington SS
C.Crisp LF
S.Smith/J.Gomes DH
Y.Cespedes CF
J.Reddick RF
K.Suzuki C
B.Allen 1B
J.Donaldson 3B

Rotation

They have one solid starter in B.McCarthy, but even he is nowhere near a true ace. B.Colon might have a couple good outings in him but he will end up hurt or traded. Tyson Ross and lefty T.Milone have earned spots in the rotation and hope to hold things down until D.Braden (May) and B.Anderson (July) return from injury. As a group they have the potential to surprise at times, but as you read on, you'll notice the AL West has some impressive lineups that will make life tough on them most of the time.

Bullpen

It's not very good, G.Balfour throws hard and straight and B.Fuentes throws slow and ugly...F.De Los Santos has the best stuff but is raw. The guy I think is their best reliever, J.Devine, will start the season on the DL.

Outlook

Vegas has their team total set at about 71.5 games and I feel this is a little too high. There is just way too many unknowns and too many good American League Teams for these guys to compete. If they don't compete, they will become "Sellers" at the trade deadline and we all know what that means... Good Bye to Manny and maybe even their new Cuban friend... Maybe that was the plan all along???

Last Place: 66-72 Wins

Seattle Mariners

The second member of this "loving" couple is the Seattle Mariners... I can see it now, J.Vargas will give up 5-6 runs in 3 innings of work at Safeco and they will be losing 6-0, but it wont stop the great fans of Seattle. They will stay to the end, cheering every inning as if it was a playoff game...They love their Baseball!! Do these fans understand baseball? Why do they show such support for a team that lost 17 straight last year? Why do they support a team that has scored the least runs in the AL for 3 straight years?? I just can't figure it out... but then again, I can't figure out the parent that tells their child "great game honey" after they strike out 3 times and make 2 errors....

Lineup

The M's plan to move C.Figgins (struggled last year) into the leadoff spot and drop I.Suzuki to 3rd in the order. The thinking is Ichiro will get to unleash some of the power we've heard he displays during BP as his career enters it's golden years. On paper it seems like a good idea, but only time will tell. Second baseman D.Ackley and left fielder M.Carp are pure hitters that will hit for high averages but lack speed and power (Carp has some). Smoak and Olivo have holes in their swings that I think will ultimately lead to reduced playing time. Catcher J.Montero will hopefully learn to handle the staff and catch more games than expected. Look for 3B Kyle Seager to force his way into the lineup at some point in the season and maybe push C.Figgins to the outfield. SS B.Ryan won't do anything special but will give them tough at-bats and play solid defense. Can they NOT finish last in the AL in Runs Scored this year?? We'll see...

C.Figgins 3B
D.Ackley 2B
Ichiro RF
J.Smoak 1B
J.Montero DH
M.Carp LF
M.Saunders/F.Gutierrez CF
M.Olivo C
B.Ryan SS

Rotation

F.Hernandez lost weight in the off-season and remains one of the games best. J.Vargas has to be one of the worst #2 guys in the league, but he can throw strikes and that's all you need sometimes in Seattle. K.Millwood has been pretty good in the spring and should benefit from stingy Safeco. Blake Beavan and H.Noesi round out what should be an average rotation with One of the best pitchers in the game.

Bullpen

B.League remains the closer but other than that, things will be much different. Japanese pitcher H.Iwakuma, believed to be a starter coming in, will start the year in the pen. Veterans H.Kuo and S.Camp were recently released with the intentions of getting "younger". Whenever you here "younger" and don't recognize any names, it's never a good thing...

Outlook

M.Carp is probably their best all around hitter and K.Millwood is probably their second best pitcher. Nobody will hit 30 HR's and they have no chance of winning the division... but guess what, the fans will line up around the corner to watch this lovely team play... It makes no sense at all.

3rd Place: 68-74 Wins

Texas Rangers

On to the "accomplished" couple... We start with the Rangers, who have a superstar outfielder that just relapsed and a manager that has had ties to cocaine, but when you go to the World Series in back to back years none of that matters. It's all about results for the accomplished.

Lineup

They return basically the same lineup that scored 855 runs last year. (3rd in the AL) You will see a little bit more of C.Gentry and J.Borbon in CF while Hamilton starts in left. I would be wasting time if I tried to explain why these guys are good. They just are...

I.Kinsler 2B
E.Andrus SS
J.Hamilton LF
A.Beltre 3B
M.Young DH
N.Cruz RF
M.Napoli C
M.Moreland 1B
C.Gentry CF

Rotation

The Rangers were 5th in the AL with a 3.79 Team ERA last year. Considering where they play, this was a huge accomplishment and shouldn't go unnoticed. It is a testament to their depth, so losing CJ.Wilson in the off season doesn't necessarily spell disaster. They replaced him with Y.Darvish who appears to be the real deal. They also have guys who can start in the bullpen (A.Ogando and S.Feldman) just in case things go wrong...

Bullpen

They brought in J.Nathan and I must say I don't like this move. Luckily for them if he struggles they can just reinsert N.Feliz back into the closer role and send Ogando or Feldman back to the rotation. They have solid setup guys in M.Adams and K.Uehara...

Outlook

There are a couple minor concerns with this team... They are getting older, will they stay healthy? Can the rotation repeat that performance? Can N.Feliz succeed as a starter? Will Joe Nathan be a solid closer?
They have depth so they will win no matter what, but I can see a big window as far as games won goes.

2nd Place: 85-93 Wins

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels added one of the best pitchers and THE best hitter in baseball in the off season... Oh yeah, they almost won 90 games last year without these new guys... This team is so stacked that they have to have closed door meetings with B.Abreu because he is on tilt about playing time. Their 4th starter this year threw 230 innings with a 3.38 ERA last year!!

Lineup

Aybar and Kendrick will set the table for Pujols, but my concern is who will protect Pujols?? T.Hunter and V.Wells have both been stars at one time in this league, but recently they have had some tough times at the plate. They should probably think about keeping Abreu happy cause they might need his Left-Handed bat to protect Pujols if Wells and Hunter struggle. Trumbo had a huge rookie year and has moved to third to make room for Albert. C.Iannetta is expected to help out with some power and CF C.Bourjos is one of the fastest players in the league with some sneaky pop.

Rotation

Weaver was second in the Cy Young voting last year, Dan Haren is a Horse and an All-Star, CJ.Wilson led the Rangers to the World Series, E.Santana threw 230 innings and had a 3.38 ERA. Any Questions???

Bullpen

By far their biggest weakness, they even brought in J.Isringhausen for a look, he will probably make the team. J.Walden will start out the closer but I don't think he will end up there. This team is too good top to bottom to have any questions with the back end of the bullpen so I see changes by the break. Luckily they have 4 horses in the rotation so they can take their time finding their guy.

Outlook

The Pen will probably blow some games and the guys behind Pujols will struggle at times so I think 100 wins is out the question. I just can't stop seeing Pujols and the 4 starters though... How can you not crown these guys the AL West Champs???

1st Place: 93-99 Wins

[stevenash]

Aybar and Hendrick need to get on to set the table for Pulos (both have sub-league OBA's of .320)
Angel lineup is vastly overrated.
Like you stated who will protect Albert? Morales? Wells?