AL West: Midseason Report

The reason the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in first place in the West this season is indeed their pitching in both departments.

Let's start with the rotation.  You're not going to find many weak spots in this five-man setup, that is if any weak spots exist.  Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana are the ringleaders, with respective record/ERA lines of 12-5/3.07 and 11-3/3.34. 

Saunders' 12 wins are tied for the lead in the AL, and Santana has 112 punchouts on the year.  Don't forget about Jon Garland and Jered Weaver in the mix too.  Like Santana, Weaver is a strikeout pitcher, as proved by having 88 of those in 2008.

Then of course, what more can one say about closer Francisco Rodriguez.  The guy's leading the bigs with 37 saves.  As long as he's there to close out games, the Angels will be the team to beat in their division.

The Halos don't hit for a lot of power, despite Vladimir Guerrero's 15 home runs on the year.  They are more likely to wreck havoc on the basepaths.  Chone Figgins and Torii Hunter have respective totals of 16 and 10 stolen bases. As long as the hitters give their pitching staff a chance to win, they will stay in first place for the rest of the season.

What is it about the Oakland Athletics?  They were supposed to be in a rebuilding phase this year.  Yet they find themselves alive and well in the AL West.  It appears that GM Billy Beane's "Moneyball" philosophy is working once again. 

What's the best evidence for that claim?  How about the pitching staff's ERA of 3.39, the best in the game?  The leader of the rotation is none other than Justin Duchscherer, who has a 10-5 record and an unbelievable ERA of 1.78. 

Rookie Greg Smith and Dana Eveland both have ERAs that are less than 3.50.  The loss of Rich Harden might hurt the team this year, but one can't help but be impressed by the young guns A's fans have become accustomed to watching.

While the pitchers have been doing their jobs however, the hitters have not.  The team's .250 batting average is second worst in the American League, and is also in a three-way tie for the second fewest home runs in the AL.

As I assess this A's team, they remind me a lot of the 2005 Chicago Bears, who had the NFL's best defense but one of the worst offenses.  That is exactly what is going on in Oakland. 

The only difference between football and baseball is that a baseball team can't score runs when it's in the field.  If I were an Oakland fan, I would be happy on how the rotation gives the team a chance to win, but frustrated that the team could probably be in first place if the bats were warmer.

The area where the Texas Rangers play is hot, and that's also what the team's offense is this year.  The Rangers are in a three-way tie for the league's best batting average, and have the league's best slugging percentage.  They have also driven in the most runs of anybody so far this season.

The answer to the question of who's the catalyst of this offense is easy:  Josh Hamilton.  His .314 average, 21 homers, and league-leading 95 RBIs gave the fans cause to reward him with a starting spot for the AL in the outfield of this year's All-Star Game.

Ian Kinsler, Milton Bradley, and Michael Young boast respective averages of .333, .314, and .304.  Bradley also has 18 homers and 55 RBI, and will start at DH for the AL on Tuesday in place of the injured David Ortiz. 

Outfielder David Murphy has been another surprise, as he has driven in 60 runs of his own.  These bats should give the fans in Arlington reason to cheer all summer long.

What isn't giving the fans reason to cheer is the pitching staff.  Their 5.04 ERA is the worst in the American League.  They are also near the bottom in strikeouts, with 539.  Vicente Padilla has 10 wins to lead the team, but that's the only good thing that can be said.

Even if you have all the offensive weapons in the world, you're not going to win many ballgames with dud pitching.  That's why the Rangers won't be anywhere near playoff contention come the final month of the season.

Last and definitely least are the Seattle Mariners.  They are the first team in baseball this season to be 20 games out of first place in any division.  Is there any good in the Pacific Northwest however?  Let's take a look.

Ichiro Suzuki's .305 batting average and 34 stolen bases obviously gave the fans enough reason to vote him into the starting outfield for the AL in the All-Star Game. 

Or maybe it was just because he's Ichiro.  Whatever the reason, he's in. Second baseman Jose Lopez is having a career year batting .299, and Adrian Beltre has clubbed 16 homers.

However the Mariners have struggled at the plate this year, as they are in last place in the American League in RBIs.  They just got rid of some deadwood by releasing the struggling Richie Sexson.  That's not going to change things in Seattle right away though.

Pitching has only been about average this year and has taken some hits.  The most recent case is Erik Bedard, who was just placed on the DL.  Contending teams won't go after him at the deadline if he doesn't prove he can stay healthy.

If there's anything positive to say about the pitching, it's about Felix Hernandez.  He's having another great year with a 2.95 ERA and 101 strikeouts.  Really though, with the pitching not making much noise and the offense beyond rotten, don't expect this team to contend anywhere anytime soon.

Prediction:  This one's a no-brainer.  While both the Angels and A's have strong pitching, Oakland is not going anywhere with their offense.  The Halos will win the West once again.

Listen to me talk about all my midseason reports this Sunday on WONC, FM 89.1 from 6-8 PM on "From the Upper Deck."  To hear best on a regular radio, you'll need to live within a 30-mile radius of Naperville, IL.  Everyone else can listen online at WONC.org.