1. Seattle Mariners- Biggest acquisition of the offseason in ace Eric Bedard (above). An already talented team with Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva are that much better bumping everyone down a slot to bring in Bedard. AL's best closer in JJ Putz, AL's best pure hitter in Ichiro, and some good pop in the lineup will help the Mariners squeak by the Angels.
2. Anaheim Angels- The Yankees of the West, throwing money at anybody who has a heartbeat. Did make some solid moves picking up Jon Garland and Torii Hunter. The infield is surpirisingly shallow, with Chone Figgins being the only one worth much. Closer K-Rod and a decent starting rotation will make this a great division race.
3. Texas Rangers- A team on the rise offensively, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young make a great DP tandem. But when Kevin Millwood is your ace, well...
4. Oakland A's- Eric Chavez will be traded by July. Then they will have...Daric Barton? Emil Brown? Joe Blanton and Rich Harden will keep their starts close, but Moneyball's demise will continue.
2 comments:
Arg. I really don't like the Anaheim Angels...
This race has many similarities to the AL Central. The Angels' bats vs. the Mariners' arms. The Mariners lineup lacks pop, I might characterize it as decent pop, not good pop. The Angels have one of the more productive outfields with the addition of Hunter, but need Anderson to stay healthy. The Mariners are very solid at the top of the roation with Bedard (I agree, big pickup but he has health issues and has to prove he can be there in the end) and Hernandez (this guy needs to break out for them to suceed), but would you honestly be surprised if Silva, Washburn, and Batista won 20games collectively? The Rangers can hit and that's about it and the A's cannot do anything.
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