Phillies Nation

17 Responses to “American League West Preview”

1. BurrGundy Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 6:28 pm

   1. Angels
   2. Rangers
   3. Mariners
   4. A’s

2. Brooks Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 6:32 pm

   Pat, you are the only one that has the M’s losing more than half their game. The club has improved from last year, Branyan is a stiff and will not be missed. With Figgins and Ichiro leading off the top of the lineup, there will be plenty of runners with lots of speed. An aging Griffey, Mike Sweeney and a host of others including Milton Bradley leaves the hitting to a big question but, Bedard (I know he probably wont be ready for the start of the year) is another talented but oft injured pitcher.
   We’ll see if pitching truly does overcome good hitting.
   I pick the M’s to win the weakest division in baseball with less than 90 wins.
   1) Mariners (88-74)
   2) Rangers (85-77)
   3) Angles (73-89)
   4) A’s (70-92)

3. WFC010 Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 7:34 pm

   If I had to take a guess at the rankings…

   1) Mariners
   2) Angels
   3) Rangers
   4) A’s

   The Angel’s are still quite good, but I don’t think they are #1 in the division again this year. Mariners have made the most improvements with the fewest losses, so I think they have a very good chance of winning the division. They may not make it to the World Series, but making the ALCS is a strong possibility.

   Would really love to see the A’s pull off a miracle and win the division, but it doesn’t look to be in the cards for them this year. The Rangers will certainly be a team to watch, but I think Second Place is the best case scenerio for them, and they are more likely to come in Third behind the Angels.

4. fan at birth say Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 7:58 pm

   1. Mariners
   2. Angels
   3. Rangers
   4. A;s

5. John Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 8:09 pm

   Overall the most competitive division in baseball top to bottom. This is how I see it.

   1)Halos 89-73 — While the FA losses hurt, I think Anaheim is still the most balanced team in the west with the best manager in the game. This isn’t the first time they’ve lost key players, and they just keep on chugging. I expect that to continue this year, the competition will be stiffer sure, but, I still like the Angels.

   2)Rangers 86-76 — Should be the same old story in Texas, will they get the pitching? If Harden stays healthy and has a nice year they may just be able to take the division.

   3)M’s 83-79 — While the M’s did make some nice moves, I don’t see an increase in wins this year. I think a couple games over .500 is reasonable. With their anemic offense, they’re gonna have a tough time getting over the 85 win mark.

   4)A’s 80-82 — Kind of a tough one here, early reports on Sheets look good, that’s going to have to continue for the A’s to remain in the mix. Oakland has some nice young players as usual, can they surprise and maybe make for a nice 4 way race down the stretch? I don’t think a .500 finish is out of the question.

6. Don M Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 8:14 pm

   I think I would have to agree the most with Paul Boyle

   the Angels just have a winning attitude, and possibly the best Manager in baseball

   Rangers could definitely be a playoff team..

   Mariners need a health Bedard.. and then their young guys to step up
   ..a lineup with great table setters, Ichiro & Chone Figgins… but then nobody to drive them in.

   I think the Mariners are about an 85 win team tops.. and the other two teams will be better in my opinion.. thats a very good division though. If you get the chance, watch those teams a lot because they’ll be veryy good. I think the NL West will be very good this year too.. Rockies, Giants, Dodgers.. and the Diamondbacks are decent too

7. derekcarstairs Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 10:01 pm

   This is a tough division to call. I will guess that Neftali Feliz has a big impact in 2010 and that the Rangers win. I like Paul Boye’s and Pat Gallen’s selections, but I think the Mariners finish at 81-81.

8. Blaise Says:
   March 6th, 2010 at 11:07 pm

   Mariners
   Rangers
   Angels
   A’s

9. Mazinman Says:
   March 7th, 2010 at 12:17 am

   This is going to be a fun division and not a cakewalk for the Angels but I still think that, in the end, they will win it with the Rangers coming second. Rangers have the offense but not the pitching. Mariners have the pitching but not the offense. The Angels have the balance of the two and I think that allows for a more consistent performance over a long season.

   The Angels, Rangers, and Mariners have the potential of the best three team race in MLB this year unless Tampa gets hot again and makes things interesting in the AL East. The Rockies, Dodgers, and Giants look like they could be interesting too.

10. diz Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 3:48 am

    Yeah I think the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners will be running pretty close all season long. But in the end the Angels will pull off the win.

    Angels
    Rangers
    Mariners
    A’s

    But my intuition is telling me somehow the Mariners might pull off something nice. We’ll see.

11. NJ Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 10:25 am

    Really do seeing both the Mariners and Rangers struggling at points in the year which will allow the Angels to take that division.

    As good as the Rangers young team looks with those 20/20+ guys and live arms there isn’t much in that team to gel it together, behind the plate seems unresolved and there are too many spots up for grabs on the pitching staff not to mention a manager who’s almost been ousted a couple of times there.

    The Mariners are going to be a really interesting team to watch this year. While Choo’s being thought of as the guy to watch in that division its Guity that could be the real upcoming star but that team hasn’t got much there that has a winning mentality, too many guys with too many knocks on them and can Rob Johnson call a good enough game to merit being an everyday catcher?

    Angels haven’t lost that much they haven’t got something to replace it. I think fantasy baseball really kills a team like the Angels but that’s an organisation who knows never gotten caught up in the name on the back of the uniform and think a lot of people are underestimating them after Seattles moves and all that talent on the Rangers.

12. Al in Seattle Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    I think one thing everybody is forgetting about the M’s is that they have arguably the finest defense in the AL West. It’s going to be very tough to score runs against them. In the infield, they have Casey Kotchman/Garko manning 1B, Jack Wilson at SS, and Chone Figgins at 3B. The only tossup is Lopez at 2B, who is okay at defense, but not great. In the OF, you have Ichiro patrolling right field, Franklin Gutierrez (one of the finest defensive center fielders in the game), and have a platoon of Bradley, Byrnes, and Michael “the condor” Saunders in left. On top of that, the M’s play in spacious Safeco Field. The race for the West should be very exciting to watch, and the Mariners should be in a lot of close games. If they can win lots of the close games, the M’s have a great shot of going to the playoffs.

13. Philly Texan Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    The Texas Rangers will win the West.

    I’m telling everyone who will listen — and that’s not many people.

    I live in the Lone Star State, and Rangers fans say the little-known fact of last year is that the pitching actually carried the Rangers in the second half.

    Nolan Ryan has totally turned that team’s pitching around. It’s no longer the same-old Rangers trying to outscore everyone. With all the injuries to the lineup, the offense actually wasn’t all that productive.

    The Rangers were 7th in the AL last year in runs scored — after easily leading the league in 2008.

    Meanwhile, the pitchers surrendered the second fewest runs in the AL. Only the Red Sox gave up fewer runs than the Rangers.

    This is a team on the rise, and Ron Washington is really under-rated as a manager

    If they get their big hitters back healthy this season—especially Hamilton—and the young pitching continues to develop, the Rangers will win the AL West.

    1. Rangers
    2. Angels
    3. Mariners
    4. A’s

14. Manny Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    So nobody has the Angels finishing first? Interesting…

15. NJ Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    I got the Angels winning… Think Seattle will be a tough team to face though

16. pheeling it Says:
    March 7th, 2010 at 10:45 pm

    seattle made alot of HEADLINER moves, but just like the tigers, team performance is more than just paper.

    milton bradley is sooo overrated, and we’ll see how chone figgins works out. my bet, cliff lee loses his swagger. he is a MOTIVATIONAL pitcher, who finally found his home and was pitching to stay there. he will not be happy, and when he starts going under he will have no inspiration to get out of it. then we pick him up again haha!

    angels win the division, but WATCH OUT FOR THE RANGERS! ian kinsler is a chase utley copy

17. eric Says:
    March 28th, 2010 at 3:47 am

    Every year the same thing… Stat geeks have the Angels in last place. Experts and fans (other than Angels fans) pick them last or near the bottom. Every year they’re proven wrong. Last year the Angels survived the death of a Adnehart, long dl stints for Lackey and Santana, long dl stints for Guerrero and Hunter, started about a dozen or more rookie pitchers at various times during the year. And THAT is the team that won 97 games and only lost to the eventual world series champs. Is there really anyone who is sane that doesn’t think a full year (and predictions are made assuming everyone will be healthy) of Weaver, Kazmir, Saunders, Santana, and Pineiro wouldn’t be leaps and bounds better than last years? I think you will find that the only loss that truly hurts is Figgins – and not so much for his offense. His Defense was tied for the MLB lead in runs prevented. I’m not saying that Texas and Seattle won’t be in it all the way – but come on, a 97 win team with what transpired last year picked to be under .500? Somebodys hoping to avoid the random drug test…

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