Now that we have the predictions for the AAAA League all taken care of, let's get down to the predictions that matter. The American League is the Matt Damon to the National League's Ben Affleck, the Sylvester Stallone to the NL's Frank Stallone.There is no shortage of great players, or solid teams in the AL this year, and the AL West promises to be quite entertaining. While it might not be the deepest league, it is captivating simply because the top two teams seem to be legit World Series contenders this year, with both teams stepping up in the offseason and doing enough to thrust themselves into the dicussion.
Oakland Athletics: The A's are usually one of my favorites come this time of year. Like the Twins, the A's seem to always do more with less. But that was primarily because the A's always just seemed to have more pitching than anyone else. They routinely turned out top pitching prospects like they were making them on an assembly line. But with the trade of Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks, the A's are left with serviceable, yet flawed, Joe Blanton as their ace. That's a far cry from the days of Mulder, Zito and Hudson. That's even a far cry from the (healthy) days of Harden, Haren and Blanton.
Rich Harden will be back in the rotation this year, yet it is difficult to believe that the supremely talented righty will ever be able to handle the rigors of a full season in the rotation. In fact, one might begin to think about Harden more in the bullpen (to save his arm) than in the rotation, but to start the year the fireballer will be the number 2 starter behind Blanton. After that, the rotation will be filled out by youngster Chard Gaudin, and veteran pitchers Lenny DiNardi and Justin Duchscherer (veteran for this club). However, DiNardi and Duchsherer seem to be seat holders in the upcoming year before a new crop of young pitchers, like Brett Anderson (who came over in the Haren trade) and Gio Gonzalez. But, for now, it is Joe Blanton and Harden and that's it.
The lineup? Eric Chavez and his encyclopedia of ailments is really the only *ahmm* reliable starter in the everyday lineup. If he stays healthy (again............ahmmm) he should put up solid numbers and play good defense. After that? Bobby Crosby has shown nothing at short stop since winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2005. Mark Ellis is serviceable but by no means intimidating at second. Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck all have potentially bright futures within the organization but lack of serviceable players is what facilitated their callups last year and it is still unclear whether any of them were truly ready for the big dance. That makes up the bulk of what promises to be an NL lineup in the AL. Not exactly murder's row.
They have Huston Street anchoring a solid bullpen and, if Harden stays healthy and Gaudin takes a leap forward, perhaps the always pesky A's can surprise some people, but my guess is that this year, when Oakland says they are rebuilding, they are rebuilding.
Texas Rangers: This seems to be rebuilding year number 12 for the Texas Rangers, who haven't been consistently good since the mid-1990's, and the usual bug-a-boo for the Rangers, pitching, promises to derail yet another season before it officially starts. However, there are some bright spots for this team, and some hope that the future might have a bright lone star shining down on them in the near future.
The vast majority of the hope resides in the lineup the Rangers will feature. Thumping has been a staple for the Rangers throughout their history (whether the team has been dismal or solid) and they have a chance to return to the heady days of all offense, no defense again this year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has all the talent to be a supreme offensive player in this league. He looks like a chiseled marble statue, a perfect rendering of what the male human body can become when pushed to its limits. His defense behind the plate is only solid, but his potential at bat is off the charts. Hank Blalock has had two injury plagued years, but aside from a recent minor car accident that left his neck a little stiff, the 3B seems to be in good health. Considering Blalock averaged 27 homers and 100 RBI between 2003 and 2005, and considering he is only 27 years old, Blalock should return to form if completely healthy (unless he had some Brian McNamee-help in those first three years, but I digress). Michael Young is a 200 hit guy every single year and people still expect that Iam Kinsler can be a 25 homer guy a year from second base (he had 20 last year). The real pick up of the offseason, however, seems to be Josh Hamilton. The oft-troubled youngster had a resurgent year with the Reds last year, but was traded for some bullpen help this year. Hamilton showed everyone why he was the first pick of the draft in 1996, displaying a five-tool resume, and in the hot nights and humid conditions of Texas, Hamilton should put up big power numbers. With Hamilton and Saltalamacchia and Hamilton solidfying the middle of the order, and with Young and Kinsler getting on base in front of them, the Rangers will be in a lot of 8-7 games.
Unfortunately, when your ace going into the season seems to be Kevin Millwood, chances are you will be looking at the losing end of those high scoring games.
Millwood has been shaky his entire career, and age isn't on his side. Behind him is equally uninspiring Vincent Padilla, a talented youngster in Brandon McCarthy, who so far as not lived up to billing, and Jason Jennings, who left the Rockies to go to the Astros before the 2007 season and promptly rewarded his new team with only 19 starts and a wonderful 6.45 ERA. And that was in the National League. Now, Jennings did have a nice year for the Rockies two years ago, meaning he has some talent, but was that a flash in the pan year or was last year the exception to the rule. Either way, when Millwood and Padilla are your 1-2 in the rotation, a guy with a 6.45 ERA doesn't offer a lot of comfort for a consistent rotation.
The bullpen is equally unimpressive, with the venerable CJ Wislon slated to be the closer, but with the rotation the way it is, Wilson may not see a lot of chances to close games out. If you're a fan of offense, the Rangers might be a must see this year, but those runs probably won't mean much winning come this year.
Seattle Mariners: If anyone had the misfortune to actually read my predictions for the 2007 season last year they would have seen some gems, like my Rich Harden, Cy Young prediction, or my Houston Astros win the NL Central prediction. But lost in the nonsensical ramblings of my uneducated guesses was my prediction that the Mariners would be one of the more surprising teams in the sport. In fact, I am pretty sure I am the only person alive who actually predicted the Mariners would put a scare into people before the 07 season was said and done.
TAKE THAT ESPN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This year? They aint sneakin up on anyone.
What I like about the Mariners this year is that they added an essential piece to the puzzle that could, in fact, put them over the top. Their offense is substantial, with the great Ichiro still in Seattle, still slapping the ball all over the ballpark, and still putting together the toughest at bats in the entire game. He remains the best table setter in the sport, and his ability to disrupt a defense, and a pitcher, remains unmatched. After that, the Mariners have a solid group of guys, from power hitting Richie Sexson to the talented Adrian Beltre. Raul Ibanez puts up consistently solid numbers, as does new addition Brad Wilkerson, who will take over for Jose Guillen, and Yuniesky Betancourt showed incredible prowess with the glove last year, and some talent with the bat as well. The Mariners have a nice, if unspectacular, offense that has a little bit of everything: power, speed, average.
But where the Mariners really made the splash this year was in the rotation. Felix Hernandez, King Felix, is about as dynamic a young pitcher as there is in a the game. Last year, he went from having the talent to showing the talent, and living up to the expectations. Now, King Felix will be joined by Erik Bedard, the former lefty ace from the Orioles. Bedard is the real deal, a top of the rotation, top of the line starter, who will give the Mariners innings, wins, and another presence to take the pressure off of Hernandez. The truth is, right now, the Mariners may in fact feature the best 1-2 combo in the sport. Both Bedard and Hernandez are ace starters. Their presence makes the Carlos Silva signing palatable and Jarrod Washburn, never a top of the rotation guy, fills out the 4th place spot nicely. Last year, the lineup was solid, the bullpen very good, with JJ Putz establishing himself as one of the best closers in the game, but the rotation was just too weak to compete on a nightly basis. Now, with Bedard and Hernandez, the Mariners will go into almost every week believeing that, in two of the next five games, they have the advantage. If they just win a few of the other ones, it could be a pretty special year for the Mariners.
L.A. Angels: When the offseason came for the Angels, the common consensus was that they were the odds on favorites to win the A-Rod sweepstakes. When Rodriguez opted out of his contract before the end of the World Series, it seemed all that remained was for Art Moreno to open that big ol'check book of his, and bring in the bat that put the team over the top. But we know the end of that story. A-Rod stayed, the Angels failed to secure their power bat for the middle of the lineup, and many of the same questions remain in 08 that sprung up in 07.
But the Angels didn't just sit pat this offseason. No, they didn't grab A-Rod or Miguel Cabrera to hit behind Valdy the impaler, but they did grab Tori Hunter. Now, this will mark the second year in a row that the Angels overpaid an outfielder coming off a career year, one they probably will not be able to duplicate any time soon. Last year, the Angels overpaid for Gary Matthews Jr. This year, Hunter.
But while Matthews may not have been worth all the money he got from the Halos, his numbers were still decent. Hunter is a better player, and will man centerfield for the Angels, moving Matthews over to left. Vlady will stay in right, meaning the Angels outfield D will potentially be the best in the majors. In the infield, all world talent Howie Kendrick will have his first full season in the majors and may make the leap to superstar this year. Casey Kotchman is another one of the young Angels who has the potential to be that power bat behind Vlady the team has been looking for, while Chone Figgins looks to return to his 2006 form as Mr. Everything for the team. Garret Anderson will remain the DH. Right now, it appears the lineup will be Figgins, Matthews, Vlady, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Kendrick, Erik Aybar. It might not feature a bat like A-Rod to back up Vlady, but there is no question it is more talented, and more versatile than it previously had been.
As with every other year, however, the season for the Angels will come down to pitching, and the rotation and the bullpen remains deep. The Angels starters may not feature a Santana or a Beckett, a bonafide ace, but John Lackey is just below that level. He is as consistent a starter as there is in the game, and he is a proven winner. Jared Weaver may be the most talented of the bunch, but after looking like a number one in the making two years ago, Weaver took a step back last year, going through a mini sophomore slump. Does he rebound this year? After that, there aren't a lot of holes in this rotation. Jon Garland is talented and proven, coming over from the White Sox this year, Ervin Santana is a Cy Young winner at home, almost unwatchable on the road. If he can at least pitch decently on the road, and translate some of that home cooking, he could be a HUGE pitcher for the Angels. Rounding out the rotation should be Joe Saunders.
The bullpen looks to be just as formidable, with K-Rod holding down the closer role (for this year at least), and Scott Shields setting him up.
This may be the best Angels team in years. The offense will be better than it has been in years past, and the rotation could be even more formidable as both Weaver and Santana could improve. The Mariners will offer the Angels everything they can handle, but this Angels team might just be too much to handle. Before all is said and done, they may be the most difficult to beat in a short series.
Prediction: Angels
Mariners
Rangers
A's
Best player in the division: Ichiro Suzuki
Best pitcher in the division: Felix Hernandez
Comeback player of the year: Hank Blalock
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