We've finally come full circle back to the west coast, this time to the American League. The Angels have been one of the top teams in this division since they won it all back in 2002, but the teams chasing them in the division have changed. Last year was no different as the Mariners surprised everyone and made a run at the playoffs, only to fall short in September. This year should be no different, with the Mariners perhaps closing the gap on the Halos.
1. LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Angels added some muscle to their lineup with the signing of Torii Hunter to a five-year deal, who joins Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson in the middle of the lineup. However, they sent Orlando Cabrera packing to the White Sox for some pitching depth, leaving the left side of the infield in question. Super-utility man Chone Figgins gets the nod at third, and with virtually no power, leaves a gapping hole at the corner offensively. But Figgins can hit, though he isn't your typical leadoff hitter because he doesn't draw many walks, and he can run with the wind. With Cabrera gone, Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar will battle for positioning at short and bat ninth. Gary Matthews, signed last winter to play center, will now rotate throughout the outfield and DH spot with Guerrero, Hunter and Anderson. Casey Kotchman, Howie Kendrick and Mike Napoli round out the middle of the lineup, all with 20 home run potential. The Angels will have to figure how to get Juan Rivera some at-bats with the plethora of outfielders.
The strength of the team is their pitching, but back spasms to ace John Lackey, and lingering injuries to "ace in the hole" Kelvim Escobar will shelve them both for at least the first month. Jered Weaver has the stuff to be an ace, and could get there this year. Jon Garland was the pitcher acquired in the Cabrera deal, and he hopes to return to his 2005/2006 form where he won 18 games each season in Chicago. Ervin Santana must rebound from an awful 2007, or Joe Saunders will take his spot permanently when Lackey or Escobar return. The bullpen has been a huge success for the Angels but the pen struggled as a unit in 2007. Closer Francisco Rodriguez can still get the job done, posting 40 saves in 2007 to go along with his usual strikeouts, but K-Rod battled controls issues and needs to fix that this season. Because manager Mike Scioscia is so in love with his bullpen, Scot Shield suddenly became ineffective due to overuse in the second half. Justin Speier is a solid set-up guy, as well. Chris Bootcheck, Darren Oliver and Dustin Mosely, like to start the season in the rotation, round out a solid pen that must rebound from its 2007 struggles.
The Angels figure to score some runs, and hope they can get some of that power back with the addition of Hunter and the return of Rivera. If the pitching can rebound and stay afloat from early injuries to Lackey and Escobar, and the pen can get back to its form before 2007, the Angels should win a dogfight in the West.
2. SEATTLE MARINERS
The Mariners shocked baseball when they were able to lure Eric Bedard from Baltimore in a blockbuster deal. They had to cough up two of their highly touted prospects, and in doing so, kept the offense on somewhat shaky ground. The key for the Mariners will be Richie Sexson returning to any kind of form he had before 2007. His poor run production as a key component to the middle of the lineup slowed down the offense at times. The Mariners still have the great Ichiro at the top of the lineup, followed by Jose Vidro, Adrian Beltre, who's also struggled at times since coming to the Mariners four seasons ago, and Raul Ibanez. Kenji Johjima has been a pleasant surprise offensively. Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt round out the bottom of the lineup.
The pitching is suddenly one of the best in baseball, or at least well-balanced with depth, with the addition of Bedard. Bedard should contend for the Cy Young Award with his ace stuff and high strikeout totals. Bedard's presence pushes Felix Hernandez, a potential 20-game winner, to the two slot. The Mariners are still waiting for Jarrod Washburn to earn the contract he received two winters ago. But the addition of Carlos Silva, although at a hefty price tag, gives the Mariners depth. Miguel Batista gives them another solid veteran with experience at the back end. Brandon Morrow could make a move from the pen to the rotation, as well. The pen features one of the game's best closers in J.J. Putz. With George Sherrill gone to Baltimore in the Bedard deal, Morrow will likely stay in the pen as a set-up guy now, along with Mark Lowe, giving the M's a solid back end of the pen.
If Richie Sexson can rebound from a horrible 2007 and provide more run production, the Mariners will give the Angels everything they've got, and thensome.
3. TEXAS RANGERS
Last summer, the Rangers dealt Mark Teixeira to Atlanta for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a handful of good, young prospects. This winter, they remained busy, trading for Josh Hamilton, and signing Milton Bradley. Add in a lineup that already features Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, and this team has the potential to score a ton of runs. But then again, scoring runs has never been a problem for Texas. Blalock has got to return to his once promising self, and he has to stay healthy, as does Bradley. Frank Catalonotto, Marlon Byrd and Ben Broussard round out a lineup that will have to be able to manufacture runs, as well.
The pitching has never been anything to write home about, and this year should be no different. The "ace" of the staff, Kevin Millwood, can still pound the strike zone" and doesn't walk many hitters. But he, along with just about everyone else in this rotation, is a ground-ball pitcher with an infield behind him that isn't spectacular on defense. The rest of the group behind Millwood is fairly young, but there is depth should someone go down, that features Vicente Padilla (the veteran of the remaining bunch), Brandon McCarthy, Jason Jennings, Kason Gabbard and Kameron Loe. The bullpen doesn't have much depth in it since Eric Gagne was traded last summer. C.J. Wilson will get a shot at the closer's role with Joaquin Benoit, Frank Francisco and newly signed Japanese import Kazuo Fukumori providing some depth. All four guys could closer for manager Ron Washington.
The Rangers offense can score a lot of runs with power, but will have to manufacture runs, as well. But the lack of pitching here leaves the Rangers at the bottom of the division.
4. OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The A's are back in a rebuilding mode, and the youth across their roster proves that. The lineup doesn't have much power anymore, and with Nick Swisher gone to the Southside of Chicago in an off-season deal, the A's will hard pressed for runs. The A's will likely start four guys under the age of 25, and only two other regulars played in over 100 Major League games last season: Mark Ellis and Jack Cust. There is hope for the future here, though, with Travis Buck, Daric Barton, Carlos Gonzalez and Kurt Suzuki. The veteran of the offense is Eric Chavez, and he struggled last year with injuries, something the entire team dealt with.
The rotation, once a strong spot, must find a way to win without Dan Haren, traded to Arizona in the off-season. Joe Blanton is an innings eater, but the emergence of Chad Gaudin last year hit a snag when he struggled after the break. Justin Duchscherer will make a jump from the pen to the rotation, but he hasn't started in five years, and his arm strength is in questions. The key will be the healthy return of Rich Harden. If he stays off the disabled list, the A's have a chance to be more competitive. Dana Eveland will go into the season as the fifth starter, but Gio Gonzalez could get another look if Harden goes down again. The bullpen also battled injury problems last year, and if they can stay relatively healthy this year, the pen is as good as any. Huston Street returns as the closer after battling injuries for much of last season. Alan Embree is a solid veteran while Santiago Casilla should fill in for Duchscherer nicely. Kiko Calero adds a little more depth.
The A's must improve with runners in scoring position offensively, and pitching has got to stay healthy. The A's are a couple more years away from getting back to contention status.
1. LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Angels added some muscle to their lineup with the signing of Torii Hunter to a five-year deal, who joins Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson in the middle of the lineup. However, they sent Orlando Cabrera packing to the White Sox for some pitching depth, leaving the left side of the infield in question. Super-utility man Chone Figgins gets the nod at third, and with virtually no power, leaves a gapping hole at the corner offensively. But Figgins can hit, though he isn't your typical leadoff hitter because he doesn't draw many walks, and he can run with the wind. With Cabrera gone, Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar will battle for positioning at short and bat ninth. Gary Matthews, signed last winter to play center, will now rotate throughout the outfield and DH spot with Guerrero, Hunter and Anderson. Casey Kotchman, Howie Kendrick and Mike Napoli round out the middle of the lineup, all with 20 home run potential. The Angels will have to figure how to get Juan Rivera some at-bats with the plethora of outfielders.
The strength of the team is their pitching, but back spasms to ace John Lackey, and lingering injuries to "ace in the hole" Kelvim Escobar will shelve them both for at least the first month. Jered Weaver has the stuff to be an ace, and could get there this year. Jon Garland was the pitcher acquired in the Cabrera deal, and he hopes to return to his 2005/2006 form where he won 18 games each season in Chicago. Ervin Santana must rebound from an awful 2007, or Joe Saunders will take his spot permanently when Lackey or Escobar return. The bullpen has been a huge success for the Angels but the pen struggled as a unit in 2007. Closer Francisco Rodriguez can still get the job done, posting 40 saves in 2007 to go along with his usual strikeouts, but K-Rod battled controls issues and needs to fix that this season. Because manager Mike Scioscia is so in love with his bullpen, Scot Shield suddenly became ineffective due to overuse in the second half. Justin Speier is a solid set-up guy, as well. Chris Bootcheck, Darren Oliver and Dustin Mosely, like to start the season in the rotation, round out a solid pen that must rebound from its 2007 struggles.
The Angels figure to score some runs, and hope they can get some of that power back with the addition of Hunter and the return of Rivera. If the pitching can rebound and stay afloat from early injuries to Lackey and Escobar, and the pen can get back to its form before 2007, the Angels should win a dogfight in the West.
2. SEATTLE MARINERS
The Mariners shocked baseball when they were able to lure Eric Bedard from Baltimore in a blockbuster deal. They had to cough up two of their highly touted prospects, and in doing so, kept the offense on somewhat shaky ground. The key for the Mariners will be Richie Sexson returning to any kind of form he had before 2007. His poor run production as a key component to the middle of the lineup slowed down the offense at times. The Mariners still have the great Ichiro at the top of the lineup, followed by Jose Vidro, Adrian Beltre, who's also struggled at times since coming to the Mariners four seasons ago, and Raul Ibanez. Kenji Johjima has been a pleasant surprise offensively. Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt round out the bottom of the lineup.
The pitching is suddenly one of the best in baseball, or at least well-balanced with depth, with the addition of Bedard. Bedard should contend for the Cy Young Award with his ace stuff and high strikeout totals. Bedard's presence pushes Felix Hernandez, a potential 20-game winner, to the two slot. The Mariners are still waiting for Jarrod Washburn to earn the contract he received two winters ago. But the addition of Carlos Silva, although at a hefty price tag, gives the Mariners depth. Miguel Batista gives them another solid veteran with experience at the back end. Brandon Morrow could make a move from the pen to the rotation, as well. The pen features one of the game's best closers in J.J. Putz. With George Sherrill gone to Baltimore in the Bedard deal, Morrow will likely stay in the pen as a set-up guy now, along with Mark Lowe, giving the M's a solid back end of the pen.
If Richie Sexson can rebound from a horrible 2007 and provide more run production, the Mariners will give the Angels everything they've got, and thensome.
3. TEXAS RANGERS
Last summer, the Rangers dealt Mark Teixeira to Atlanta for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a handful of good, young prospects. This winter, they remained busy, trading for Josh Hamilton, and signing Milton Bradley. Add in a lineup that already features Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Hank Blalock, and this team has the potential to score a ton of runs. But then again, scoring runs has never been a problem for Texas. Blalock has got to return to his once promising self, and he has to stay healthy, as does Bradley. Frank Catalonotto, Marlon Byrd and Ben Broussard round out a lineup that will have to be able to manufacture runs, as well.
The pitching has never been anything to write home about, and this year should be no different. The "ace" of the staff, Kevin Millwood, can still pound the strike zone" and doesn't walk many hitters. But he, along with just about everyone else in this rotation, is a ground-ball pitcher with an infield behind him that isn't spectacular on defense. The rest of the group behind Millwood is fairly young, but there is depth should someone go down, that features Vicente Padilla (the veteran of the remaining bunch), Brandon McCarthy, Jason Jennings, Kason Gabbard and Kameron Loe. The bullpen doesn't have much depth in it since Eric Gagne was traded last summer. C.J. Wilson will get a shot at the closer's role with Joaquin Benoit, Frank Francisco and newly signed Japanese import Kazuo Fukumori providing some depth. All four guys could closer for manager Ron Washington.
The Rangers offense can score a lot of runs with power, but will have to manufacture runs, as well. But the lack of pitching here leaves the Rangers at the bottom of the division.
4. OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The A's are back in a rebuilding mode, and the youth across their roster proves that. The lineup doesn't have much power anymore, and with Nick Swisher gone to the Southside of Chicago in an off-season deal, the A's will hard pressed for runs. The A's will likely start four guys under the age of 25, and only two other regulars played in over 100 Major League games last season: Mark Ellis and Jack Cust. There is hope for the future here, though, with Travis Buck, Daric Barton, Carlos Gonzalez and Kurt Suzuki. The veteran of the offense is Eric Chavez, and he struggled last year with injuries, something the entire team dealt with.
The rotation, once a strong spot, must find a way to win without Dan Haren, traded to Arizona in the off-season. Joe Blanton is an innings eater, but the emergence of Chad Gaudin last year hit a snag when he struggled after the break. Justin Duchscherer will make a jump from the pen to the rotation, but he hasn't started in five years, and his arm strength is in questions. The key will be the healthy return of Rich Harden. If he stays off the disabled list, the A's have a chance to be more competitive. Dana Eveland will go into the season as the fifth starter, but Gio Gonzalez could get another look if Harden goes down again. The bullpen also battled injury problems last year, and if they can stay relatively healthy this year, the pen is as good as any. Huston Street returns as the closer after battling injuries for much of last season. Alan Embree is a solid veteran while Santiago Casilla should fill in for Duchscherer nicely. Kiko Calero adds a little more depth.
The A's must improve with runners in scoring position offensively, and pitching has got to stay healthy. The A's are a couple more years away from getting back to contention status.
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