AL West: Where Else to Start?

Of course I start with the AL West. For one, the Angels are my favorite team. For two, this is the West Coast, and we are SEVERELY underrated in baseball, thanks to the over-hyping of the East by most sports commentary. And third, the AL is the prime place these days. So it is here that I will begin to analyze what will come for 2008.

The AL West last season was basically dominated by the Angels, who led the division all but about 10 days of the season. Seattle actually put on a fairly good show for the better part of the middle of the season, but their inability to be consistent brought them down (they had some good 8 game winning streaks, but were generally accompanied by some long losing streaks as well… bunch of streakers…ha!).

I don’t see a whole lot of change to that dynamic this year either. And here is why:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The move of Tony Reagins to GM definitely made a splashing impact in the off-season. For the better part of the last few years, Bill Stoneman has been perceived as a contemplator, one who thinks more than acts, which showed in trading times throughout the seasons. So the transactions this off-season definitely headlined. I’m still speculative as to whether or not I think Reagins is doing the right thing here. It’s not so much the free agent signing of Torii Hunter that I question. Though I do find it a bit, shall we say, “excessive,” to have made this deal. I understand the need for a power bat in the line-up; the Angels goal is to bolster for the off-season, since they have fairly good chances of dominating their division for the second year in a row. However, with last year’s signing of Matthews Jr. for an extensive contract in center field (and he is quite amazing at that position, just as Gold Glove worthy as Hunter, in my eyes, had he been healthy more often), I see Hunter as an excess that somewhat throws off the dynamic of the Angels’ typical outfield. The idea, so I’ve read, is to keep Hunter in center, and to rotate Anderson, Guerrero, and Matthews from left and right and the DH position in the lineup. But look who else is on the roster – still no trading of any of the other outfielders, having avoided arbitration with Juan Rivera, and still no trades involving Reggie Willits, who I personally adore beyond all measure (how many rookies do you know get their name chanted every time they come up to bat? The guy plays ball like it should be played – with heart and soul and drive. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now). And there are a number of others that can handle the outfield. So there is quite a bit of depth there, and if injuries occur, that is a good thing. But in all, excessive is the word I’ll maintain. The trade that really still bothers me is the Garland-Cabrera swap. On any of the major sports commentary websites, the trade was generally seen as most favorable for Chicago. The argument is that Cabrera is over 30 and his contract would be up in another year, and this would allow younger players the experience at short stop, while bringing in another pitcher to the starting rotation. The way I see it, everyone is always saying how great the Angels farm system is for pitching, if not the best in the American League (the Diamondbacks being the best in the National). So I don’t understand the need to bring a sixth man into the rotation (since they still maintain that Santana, despite a VERY frustrating season, will bounce back and be amazing as ever) whose numbers aren’t exactly stellar, when there are people like Adenhart in the farm system, and those like Saunders who have had to prove themselves time and time again. As far as using this as a springboard for the Miguel Cabrera deal, it fell short. And now, the Angels are out the most stable short stop of last season, and probably what I would consider their team leader. Now, the middle infield will be left to Izturis and Aybar, which does not concern me too much outside of the fact that I hope they find a way to keep Iz’s bat in the line up regardless of where he’s playing. He. Is. CLUTCH. Aside from these minor things, I think the Angels basically have it in the bag as far as the division title in 2008, unless some major injuries make some major holes in the chemistry. But they are really so far loaded with talent in all aspects – starting rotation, infield, obviously outfield, bench, and hopefully an injury-free bull pen – that I find that difficult to imagine.

Seattle Mariners: As far as previous deals, the best thing they ever did was taking Adrian Beltre from the Dodgers three years ago. I’ve read a few places that he’s been considered a bit of a disappointment, though I can’t really see how. Yeah, so the Mariners haven’t figured out how to outdo the Angels; I don’t see how that can all be landed on Beltre. I guess they figured having him would do it all, but you can’t put team responsibility on one player. He’s done his job, and hits when it counts, but he can only do so much as one player. He brings power to the hot corner that everyone else in the division is basically searching for – in fact, the Mariners probably have the most power in the corners with Sexson and Beltre than any team in the AL West. They also have Johjima and Suzuki, who are also strong players, and as of the off-season, still have much of their lineup intact. They did lose Jose Guillen, but as far as that being an issue I don’t see why everyone thinks it will effect the team so drastically. If anything, solid pitching has been the plague of the Mariners’ existence, especially since Jeff Weaver moved from Anaheim to Seattle. They have tried to solve this issue in the off-season, adding Dickey and Silva to the lineup with Washburn and Hernandez, but were unable to land Kuroda like they desperately hoped. But my diagnosis? Problems with inconsistency, just as in 2007, but I can’t tell you why or where it comes from for them, it’s just something they’ve had to deal with and I don’t see how they’ll fix it just yet.

Oakland Athletics: 2007 was a season plagued by injuries for the As. For example, Travis Buck, a rookie last season, had his season cut short by injuries. But by this spring training, he will be the most experienced outfielder. That should send warning signals. This will definitely be their rebuilding years. I can’t believe the names that poured out of that team. Obviously the big move was Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks for a package of top prospects. This may have been a good move, considering Arizona has one of the best farming systems in baseball. However, it’s what else accompanied this in the off-season. Kotsay was traded for prospects Devine and Richmond to make up for the loss of pitching; Swisher to the White Sox for three more prospects (trying to solve the domination of lefties in the lineup); midseason losses of Bradley and Kendall; the letting go of Kielty and Loaiza on waivers; trading Scutaro, Stewart, and Piazza. I can’t even think of any names that still exist with that team. That pretty much wipes the slate as clean as it can possibly get. And look at the pattern of trades – all for prospects. Which means, there won’t be much experience on this team this season. Even the returning guys aren’t all that experienced. Blame it mostly on the fact that the A’s farming system has been getting thinner and thinner. Hopefully, for them that is, all these prospects will pay off – if not, assume more movement and rebuilding to ensue. The A’s, in this state, will probably be lucky if they can pull over the Rangers this season. But I may be surprised, and these guys may pull out some ridiculous magic – but I don’t put too much stock in that.

And finally, Texas Rangers: Yet another rebuilding year for these guys. It really started for them at the end of 2007, when they started playing nothing but bench players and minor leaguers brought up for the experience. And who could blame them? They were back by double-digits from the lead, and were eliminated pretty early. Why waste your time playing losing combinations, if you can get a head start on finding winning ones? I think that was probably a smart move for them, and may work out and favor them in standings over the Athletics. The off-season for the Rangers has been dominantly centered on pitching, with the addition of Jennings, Guardado, Wright, and Fukumori. They also acquired Broussard from Seattle in December, along with Milton Bradley. The experience may help them, especially with the younger prospects elsewhere. They also have some options with Saltalamacchia and Laird, two pretty stable players. They also have some repeat names in the lineup in Kinsler, Young, Catalanotto, and Blalock. In all, I actually think they have a more solid chance than the A’s, and though that may not be saying much at this point, it’s a start. Uncertainty really lies in the exact makeup of the starting rotation, as well as in the production of the outfield. The infield will provide some depth, thanks to the more experienced players, but the bench may have some uncertainties in a lot of inexperienced prospects.