Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Despite the fact that I think the Anaheim Angels (yes I know they're not called that anymore) will once again take the division crown, it should be a much closer race this season. The Oakland Athletics have a good mix of the young and old and should push Angels this season while they are waiting for the return of John Lackey and Ervin Santana. Until they return, the staff is led by Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver. Nick Adenhart is finally getting a shot in the rotation and is eager to get the season started as he's impressed for most of the spring. Look for Brian Fuentes to fill in nicely for Franky Rodriguez. If, for some reason he fails, they can always turn to Jose Arredondo. He of the 1.62 ERA in 52 games last season. The biggest off season addition is Bobby Abreu, and should end up being the biggest value of all free agent signings. His power and speed numbers are down, but he can still hit, get on base, and drive in runs. $5 million bucks for a player who drove in 100 RBI two years in a row is a steal in my opinion. His addition makes a crowded outfield even worse. Gary Matthews Jr. wants out, and Juan Rivera will have trouble finding at bats even without him. Kendry Morales takes over at first base now that Mark Texiera is in pinstripes. He was a highly sought after product from Cuba a few years ago and will finally get a chance for consistent playing time. Vlad Guerrero is getting older and less nimble each year, but should still put up good power numbers if he can spend more time at DH.
Billy Beane always finds a way to put a competitive team on the field. This years edition of the Oakland Athletics should be no exception. Matt Holiday is a very good addition, but don't expect the same level of output now that half of his games won't be played in Coors Field. He's a career .280 hitter outside of Coors Field, and has only 44 of his 124 career home runs outside of Colorado. I would still expect him to put up around .300, with 25 HR and 100 RBI. Jason Giambi has been brought back, but is seriously struggling (.149 avg) this spring. I can't wait to see how much he cuts loose now that he can grow his hair out and get nice scraggly beard back. I can already imagine the nasty sweat pouring off him. Daric Barton should get most of the time at first while Giambi and Jack Cust split time at designated hitter. The A's should be solid up the middle with Kurt Suziki behind the plate, Mark Ellis (a nice, underrated player) and newly acquired Orlando Cabrera at short. The rotation is littered with young prospects looking to make a name for themselves. Dana Eveland, Shawn Gallagher, Dallas Braden and Bret Anderson (all under the age of 26) are in the rotation. Justin Duscherer leads the staff, but is out at least a month while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his elbow. The bullpen seems to be deep once again. They have two closer candidates in Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine. Devine had won the job, but will miss a few weeks due to an elbow injury. Ziegler, who set the major league record for the most scoreless innings pitched to start a career last season, will step in and start the season as the closer. Keep a close eye on that situation as it should be in flux all season.
The Seattle Mariners are somewhat of an enigma to me. If you put a gun to my head I would say they are a sub .500 team, but I have a suspicion they could surprise you this season. Can Felix Hernandez take the next step and show some consistency this year? At times Felix the Cat can be electric, but he's never been able to keep on track for an entire season. Of course his injury history doesn't help, but he only turns 23 next week and has plenty of time to mature. I may be wrong, but I firmly believe that Erik Bedard is a comeback player of the year candidate. He was only able to start 15 games last season going 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA. I know it's a big if, but if he stays healthy, I would expect at least 14 wins this season. The rest of the rotation is virtually a disaster. Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn went a combined 9-29 last year. Ouch! That's just awful. The Mariners made a terrible mistake last season by not getting a bag of balls from the Yankees when they were interested in Washburn. Brandon Morrow should do a very good job replacing J.J. Putz. Adrian Beltre is entering a contract year so he's assured to hit 25+ homers and 90+ RBI. He won't come close to the .348, 48 HR and 122 RBI he put up with the Dodgers in 2004, but he is great when his money is on the line. I do have a feeling that many of the 2004 numbers were driven through the miracle of performance enhancing drugs. Ichiro will be his usual self and Jose Lopez, coming off a hitting clinic in the WBC, is no fluke. He is one of the better hitting 2nd basemen in the game. If Ken Griffey Jr. can be the primary DH it will give him a chance to stay healthy and put up good numbers. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him hit .270, 30 HR, 110 RBI if that's the case. I like the addition of Franklin Gutierrez. He's a solid defender, has a little pop, but will never be a star. The Mariners might be Russell Branyon's 43rd team, 9 teams actually, and looks like a strong spring (.314, 7 HR, 17 RBI) have won him the 1st baseman's job. He'll strike out at least 150 times, but knows how to hit the long ball.
The Texas Rangers once again have the makings of a terrific offense, but will end up in the cellar again for one reason. Lack of pitching. It seems like the Rangers can never get anything close to a solid pitching staff. Kris Benson is slated as their #3 starter. That's all I really have to say about their staff. Kevin Millwood is once again the staff ace, yikes!, and there's not much of anything behind him. Vincente Padilla did go 14-8 last season, but had a 4.76 ERA. The rotation rounds out with perpetual underachiever Brandon McCarthy and the intriguing Matt Harrison. Frank Francisco enters the season as a sleeper closer. He has the arm, 83 K's in 63.1 IP last season, and the mentality to be successful in the role. On offense, they enter the year with a deep lineup. Michael Young has been moved to 3rd base to make room for Elvis Andrus. Andrus is a slick defender, but should suffer from growing pains at the plate during his rookie year. Ian Kinsler is coming off a breakout year in 2008 and looks to play in more than 135 games for the first time in his career. Chris Davis should be a 30+ HR, 100+ RBI man now that he's a full time starter. Josh Hamilton is a beast and one of the games best young players. It's hard to believe he's still only 27 after all he's been through. This is a make or break year for Hank Blalock. He's only played in 123 games the past two season combined. Moving to DH should help him stay healthy, and he's shown that no matter what he can still hit. All in all, they'll be a fun team to watch because they score so many runs, but until they can get more pitching, they'll never compete for a division title.
Prediction:
1. Angels
2. Athletics
3. Mariners
4. Rangers
(Coming tomorrow: AL East preview by Chad Garner)
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