As the count down continues towards the start of the 2010 MLB season, this week we preview the American League West.
Do the Los Angeles Angels have enough pitching to maintain their stranglehold on the division?
Or will the Seattle Mariners take the pennant with the addition of Cliff Lee?
Will the Texas Rangers build upon their 2009 success or will they return to their bad habits and be a mediocre team?
Can the Oakland Athletics avoid their fourth consecutive season with a below .500 record?
Los Angeles Angels
While the Angels won their sixth division title in seven years, it didn’t stop star players like John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver and Vladimir Guerrero leaving during the off-season. The Angels did their best to fill the holes left and are ready to move on to the 2010 season.
The Los Angeles offense became patient at the plate in 2009, finishing with a .285 batting average and a .350 on-base percentage. They have a solid mix of young players like Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar to play alongside veterans like Torri Hunter.
The Angels will look to Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders to provide stability and innings this season. Scott Kazmir will be critical to the performance of a starting rotation that has the potential to be one of the best in the American league.
This pitching staff will give Los Angeles the edge they need to win the AL West by a slim margin.
Seattle Mariners
In 2009, Seattle improved their win total by 24 games and created an excitement around them as the season progressed. Proving they weren’t satisfied with their improvement of a year ago, the Mariners traded for pitcher Cliff Lee and picked up several players to revamp their offense.
The Mariners have two number one starters; Lee and Felix Hernandez. The real strength of this pitching rotation lies with Erick Bedard, who is slated to be the third starter. Bedard has missed significant time due to injuries over the past two years, but if he can return to his 2007 form where he had a 13-5 record with 221 strikeouts, the pitching staff will be the best in MLB.
The Achilles heel for the 2009 Mariners was their offense and it may be the same in the coming year. Their new offensive approach has been tailored to Safeco Field and if Seattle is going to have success with playing small ball, it will be because of the first two hitters in their lineup, Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins.
The Mariners are going to make the Angels earn every victory but will not have enough to win a division title this year.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers will look to move past manager Ron Washington’s issues and focus on improving their team to catch the Angels and the Mariners at the top of the AL West.
The biggest area of concern for Texas is their pitching staff, especially since their workhorse Kevin Millwood left during the off-season. The Rangers will hope Rich Harden can stay healthy and young starters Neftali Feliz and Scott Feldman will continue developing into above average pitchers.
The Rangers’ offense took a dip last year when Josh Hamilton missed 73 games due to injuries. When healthy, he adds pop to the lineup and helps set the table for the rest of the team. If second baseman Ian Kinsler stays healthy, he should post MVP type numbers in 2010.
Despite the offense, Texas doesn’t have the pitching to keep up with the best in the AL West and will finish third this year.
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics decided to make some moves during the off-season and picked up several veterans to help their young core of developing players. The biggest risk they took was signing injury prone pitcher Ben Sheets, who has only pitched in 42 games in a 4-year span.
If Sheets can play the majority of the season, Oakland will be in business if Justin Duchscherer is able to perform like he did in 2008. The A’s bullpen will be in good shape protecting late inning leads with setup man Brad Ziegler and closer Andrew Bailey.
Oakland’s lack of offensive production was a major concern heading into the offseason, so the A’s acquired former Padre Kevin Kouzmanoff to add some pop to their lineup. Jack Cust, who was Oakland’s only power option in 2009, has some protection in the lineup now and both have the potential to hit 25 home runs and drive in 95 runs this year.
The Athletics will have too many problems to overcome in 2010 and will wind up in fourth place at the end of the season.
It’s all about the Mariners! Lets go Seattle!
I am pulling for the Mariners this year. I am not sure if Figgins is going to live up to the contract he signed.