AL West

Here is a test, name ten starting pitchers in the AL west. That's just half of them, but it's not easy. The west is all about the hitting, especially since the pitcher exodus in Oakland this year. Last year the Angels beat out Oakland for the division down the stretch. It is hard for anyone to say that Oakland got any better. So, the real choice is between Texas and Anaheim and I am going to have to pick Anaheim to win it again this year. I am choosing the Angels again.

1. Anaheim
2. Texas
3. Oakland
4. Seattle

With that line-up healthy Anaheim is a tough team to beat on any day, regardless of who is the starting pitcher. I wouldn't be surprised in Bartolo Colon bounces back to have a decent year. The number 2, 3, and 4 guys are respectable and Paul Byrd who spent last year injured with the Braves will give them a number five guy better than Aaron Sele. They lost Troy Percival, but with Rodriguez they can cope. Orlando Cabrera is a slight upgrade over the Cards new guy Eckstein.

Texas came out of nowhere last year to lead the division for the first half of the season. They have a great infield, probably the best in the game now that Edgar left us. Richard Hidalgo is replacing Gary Mathews Jr. which is a small upgrade. If Chan Ho Park can stay healthy all year he could play like he did 5 years ago before he started Griffey Jr syndrome. The weakest spot in Texas is still the bullpen where they have Frank "I taught Artest everything he knows" Fransisco and some other no names. The hitting is good enough to win a division, but the number 3-5 starters and the bullpen should keep the Rangers from beating out the Angels this year.

If baseball bloggers have one thing in common it is that they believe that someone out there for some reason cares what they think. If there is a second thing it is that Billy Beane is a genius that can win a division with 25 dollars and an Excel spreadsheet. While I would agree that Beane is easily the best Gm of the last five years, I would also point out that the A's have had three of the best 15 pitchers in the league for the last five years. Now we will see if the yearly success is due more to Beane's brilliance or his triple aces. They picked up Jason Kendall which should be a huge upgrade over Damien Miller. But as a whole they are too young to be consistent over an entire season. Zito and Harden are the only pitchers who have spent a whole year at the big league level. Everyone reading this knows about Danny Haren and that he is ready for his chance. But he would be better off in the fifth spot where is he struggles he can someone else can take his spot. In Oakland he is the number three guy and there is a lot more pressure on him.

Seattle is a big question. They spent a truckload of money this winter on Sexson and Beltre. Ichiro, Winn, Beltre, Sexson, Ibanez is a good top half of a lineup but, like the rest of the division, the pitching in Seattle is weak. Bret Boone sucked last year as did Scott Spiezio. I may be wrong, Seattle may compete for the division, but I think they will finish a little below 500 which will be the worst in the AL West.