Today, I’d like to focus on the AL West. This is a really interesting division with the Angels trying to rebound from losing three of their key players, the revamped Mariners, the young Oakland A’s, and a Texas Rangers team that could soar or crash.
Los Angeles Angels — In 2009, the Angels won 97 games and won the AL West by 10.0 games. After the season, they lost three of their key players, pitcher John Lackey, third baseman and spark plug, Chone Figgins, and DH Vlad Guerrero.
Even so, the Angels still have a potent rotation. Losing Lackey may hurt some, but with a starting five of Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, and Joel Piniero, they should still be in good shape.
The bullpen should be good again in 2010. Brian Fuentes led the majors in saves last year and will be back to anchor the Angels bullpen.
At third, the Angels will give rookie Brandon Wood a chance to prove himself. If he falters, Macier Izturis will be waiting in the wings to take over third.
At DH, the Angels swapped Vlad Guerrero for former Yankee Hideki Matsui. Despite his terrific showing in the 2009 post season, the Yankees gave up on Matsui. The Angels are banking on Matsui still having something left in the tank, and Matsui has something to prove to himself and his previous employers.
In the oufield, the Angels have Juan Rivera, Torii Hunter, and Bobby Abreu (another former Yankee who proved he still had something offer). The infield includes Wood at third, Erick Aybar at short, Howie Kendrick at second and Kendry Morales at first. Mike Napoli will handle the catching duties.
Will the Angels be as good in 2010 as they were in 2010? Maybe not, but they probably won’t have to be. I think they’ll have the horses to get the job done again in 2010.
Oakland Athletics — The A’s finished the season last year in last place in the AL West, 22.0 games behind the Angels. Despite a couple of bright young players, don’t expect the A’s to do much better in 2010.
As I’ve stated on these pages in the past, I’m very critical of the A’s. With a total payroll of around $60-$70 million, A’s GM Billy Beane decided to give a one-year, $10 million contract to Ben Sheets. Sheets was recovering from surgery and missed the entire 2009 season. Even before surgery, Sheets had injury problems. In my opinion, signing Sheets for $10 million was ill-advised. Considering that it was a low payroll team like Oakland that did it, it was just down right crazy.
Okay, they paid too much for Sheets, but now they have an awesome pitching staff, right? Not exactly. Even assuming that Sheets can pitch like he did pre-surgery (a big IF), the A’s rotation is not overly impressive. Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez have shown potential, but are both unproven. They’ll need to make a leap in 2010 for the A’s to keep pace with the rest of the division. Justin Duchscherer is another guy like Sheets who has great stuff, but has trouble staying healthy. Like Sheets, Duchscherer missed the 2009 season after undergoing surgery in February of last year. If things fall into place for the A’s, their rotation could be good, but so much has to go right, it would be foolish to count on it.
The bullpen also has a couple of question marks. Andrew Bailey emerged last year as a very talented closer. Can he do it again in 2010? Joey Devine is effective when he’s healthy, but can he stay healthy? He’s coming off of Tommy John surgery, so he’s not a sure thing. Michael Wuertz and Brad Ziegler should do a good job.
On offense, the A’s are a small ball team. DH Jack Cust is the only serious homerun threat. Left fielder Rajai Davis will hit for average and is a speedster on the bases. Kurt Suzuki is solid behind the plate. Nobody else really jumps out as an impact player.
The A’s are likely looking at another season at the bottom of the AL West. The only question to be answered is, who will the A’s trade Sheets to and how many prospects will they get in return.
Seattle Mariners — The Mariners were one of the most active teams this past off season and are expected to make a serious run for the AL West division title. However, I’m not buying into the hype.
The top of the Mariners rotation is stout. Felix Hernandez should have another terrific year and the addition of Cliff Lee really bolsters the rotation. However, Lee and Erik Bedard will be starting the season on the DL. That fact, coupled with a less that stellar back of the rotation, and the Mariners could be in some trouble.
But the offense should carry the team, right? To listen to some people talk, you would think so, but I’m not so sure. Adding Figgins to the top of the line-up along with lead off hitter Ichiro Suzuki should be helpful, but the M’s didn’t do much to add any punch to the middle of their order. Milton Bradley will be hitting either third or fourth. If you think he was mis-cast as the Cubs fifth hitter last year, being counted on to drive in runs as the third or fourth hitter for the Mariners couple really be a problem. Ken Griffey, Jr. returns, but how much help is he going to be when it comes to driving in runs?
As you can tell, I haven’t been guzzling the M’s kool-aid. They may be better than last year, but they shouldn’t push the Angels too hard.
Texas Rangers — Texas finished the 2009 season with a record of 87-75, good for second in the AL West. But don’t get too excited about the Rangers just yet. They cut their payroll early in the off season and the team is currently going through the sales process.
The Rangers traded Kevin Millwood to Baltimore and are now counting on Scott Feldman and Rich Harden to anchor their starting rotation. Feldman had a career year in 2009. Can he repeat that year again in 2010? Harden has some of the best stuff in baseball when he’s healthy, but can he stay healthy? That has been a challenge for him throughout his career.
Frank Francisco saved 25 games in 29 chances last year, the first year he served as a full-time closer. Malcontent C.J. Wilson and veteran Darren Oliver add depth in the bullpen.
The Rangers should be able to score runs with hitters like Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, and former Angel Vlad Guerrero. Newcomers Julio Borbon and Nelson Cruz should also add some pop.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, they continue to perpetuate the reputation of being an all hit, no pitch team. That started to change last year, but it looks like they are back to a “hit first” team.
The AL West should end up like this:
- Los Angeles Angeles
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
- Oakland Athletics
Next time, We’ll be moving over to the NL and looking at the East Division.
