AL West Preview: Can the Texas Rangers Repeat Their Success?
The American League West is not likely to produce the AL World Series representative this year, but it should be a much closer division than it was last year.
Fourth place: Seattle Mariners
Letโs start off with the obvious choice: the Seattle Mariners finishing another year in the cellar.
I do like the fact that their front office is no longer making half-way investments in both the present and the future, but rather acknowledging that they have no chance to be a factor right now.
They are putting all their chips in the rebuilding pot. Mark my words: starting pitcher Michael Pineda and former Tar Heel second-basemanย Dustin Ackley will be serious ballers at the big levelโjust not in 2011.
Althoughย I expect guys likeย Choneย Figginsย and Franklin Gutierrez to have more consistent seasons this year, letโs face it: That's just not enough, and bringing inย a strikeout-a-saurusย like Jack Cust wonโt change that.
Ichiro will be Ichiro, racking up a record 11th consecutive 200-plus hit season, but he can count on being stranded for the majority of another year.
The Mariners have the most dominantย AL pitcher in Felix Hernandez; itโs too bad theyย canโt make four clones of him.
Third place: Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics have a nice young group of starting pitchers that includes Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden. Add a respectableย bullpen to that in Homer Bailey, Brian Fuentes and still-recovering fireballer Brad Ziegler, and Iย believe the Aโs could surprise some people this year by not completely sucking.
But where are the bats?
Granted, pitching wins games, especially in the playoffs. But forget about going to the playoffs if you have no offense.
The Aโs offense rivals the Mariners as one of the worst in baseball.
Whoโs gonna drive in runs this year in Oakland? Kevin Kouzmanoff? Can Josh Willingham really stay healthy long enough to be a difference-maker this year? A person with active brain cellsย has to doubt that.
Also, please donโt bother telling me that always-injuredย DH Hedeki Matsui will beย theย saving grace for the 2011 Aโs lineup. Thatโs not going to be pretty.
Once again, I do think the Athletics' pitching can keep them withinย 7โ9ย games of first place in the AL West, andย even possibly spend early parts of the season at the top of the division, but Oakland is unlikely to finish 2011ย higher than third.
Second Place: Texas Rangers
I know a lot of people think the Texas Rangers will take this division again this year, but Iโm not one of them.
Yes, they will score the most runs in this division, but without Cliff Lee their starting rotation will be led byย C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Scott Feldman andย Tommy Hunter. Not exactly terrible, but notย terribly reliable either.
Letโs not even mention Brandon Webb, unless youโre the type that likes watching grass grow.
Neftaliย Felizย is a very nice closer, but itโs gonna take contributions from badly aging middle relievers like Arthur Rhodes (41), Darren Oliver (yes, heโs still alive) and Mark Lowe just to get to the ninth so Feliz can give them a chance.
As for the offense, AL MVP Josh Hamilton has missedย a total of 102ย games the past two seasons, and I just donโt think that will drastically change.
Same goes for teammates Nelson Cruz, who has missed 88 games in that time, and Ian Kinsler, who has missed 77 games in that two-year span. Hamstring issues can be chronic with some players, and no other offense seems to suffer from them more.
Add in the fact that Adrian Beltreย just got paid, which means he will return to mediocrity like he always does after a big contract.
In the process of signing Beltre, Texas misled all-time Rangers hit leader Michael Young, who now wants to be traded, and they donโt have a chance at getting nearly as much for him as they could have five years ago.
Recent reports have noted that the Rangers are testing Neftali Feliz as a possible starter in an attempt to mitigate the loss of Cliff Lee, leaving Mark Lowe to take over closing duties. While the concept is somewhat understandable, I believe it's a bad idea.
In 2011, I see the Rangers comingย just a couple games short of an AL West title and getting beaten out for a wild-card bid by a similar margin by the Yankees, White Sox, Twins or Tigers.
First Place: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheimย of California of the United States of North America of Earth, or whatever you wanna call them, will win the American League West in 2011. I certainly canโt say they'll run away with the division, but with the offensive futility of the bottom two teams and a lesser Texas squad this year, I see an opening for them.
The Los Angeles offense probably wonโt score as much as Texas'. Vernon Wells does cost a lotย more than he should. Torii Hunter is nearly 36, and Bobby Abreuย nearly 37.
However, I think these veterans can do just enough this year to get it done while showing better overall durability thanย most hitters in the Lone Star State. Most importantly, Kendryย Morales will back this year with his big bat and an all-too-important promise not to jump straight on home plate after hitting walk-off homers.
In 2010, that was exactly how the Angles lostย momentum andย any chance at catchingย the Rangers.
Along with the return of Kendryย Morales, the biggest reason I am picking the Angels is their starting pitching. Jared Weaver really shined as an elite AL pitcher last year, and he will be plenty focused to repeat that in 2011โit's a contract year for him.
Dan Harenย returned to form as a dominant pitcher after the All-Starย break last year and shows no signs of falling off from that.
Ervin Santana, who once was known as a guy with extreme splits between home and away performances, seems to have finally figured out the same thing on the road he has always known at home: that he doesn't need to strike everyone out to be successful.
As a matter of fact, the Angels would prefer Santana to take that approach more often to keep his pitch count down. I believe he has learned the lesson, but it is nice to know you can throw the ball byย a hitter when itโs needed.
These Angels pitchers can certainly do that.
If Scott Kazmir could avoid missing a plethora of starts, the Angels would have their way with the division easily, but thatโs truly wishful thinking.
I love the much-neededย addition of Scott Downs to the bullpen. Jordan Walden should be a pleasant surprise this year as well, which is why I believe the Halos will take the AL West crown in a tight race.
Check out our other division previews:
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