Upside down out west in the American League

I'm heading out west again, but this time to the American League. The western divisions in each league don't always get the attention they deserve and so far the other divisions pretty much seem to what we expected (the Blue Jays will fade rapidly). So the AL West actually becomes a very captivating division. All four teams at this point have a legitimate hope they could win this division crown.

Let's check out the standings even though it's way too early to take much meaning from it. The Oakland Athletics are atop the division at 6-3 with a +15 run differential. The pitching has been dominant, with a major league leading 2.69 ERA. The offense is averaging about 4.5 runs a game and will have to produce at a similar rate all season for this team to win. The problem is, there aren't many guys you can count on in the lineup. Seriously, I don't know if there is one player I would be thrilled to have on my team. Check out the roster for yourself.


I don't think Oakland will be a contender unless their pitching starts to remind of us of the days of Hudson, Zito and Mulder. So I'm going to say right now that the Texas Rangers are the team to beat out west the rest of the season. The Rangers are 4-3, but have allowed a league-low 24 runs. Also take into consideration, six of those 24 runs were allowed in the 9th inning of two games courtesy of ex-closer Frankie Francisco. With flame-throwing Neftali Feliz anchoring the bullpen now, this team is going to pick up more wins. Texas, as has been the case the last two decades, is loaded on offense with weapons, led by Nelson Cruz, who has already hit five home runs and as far as I'm concerned, might be the most powerful man in baseball.

I predicted at the beginning of the season that the Mariners would win this division with the Angels in second. I still think Seattle is going to be strong once Cliff Lee returns. Felix Hernandez is going to be a Cy Young contender and the back of the rotation has pitched alright so far. They are 3-6 but have a few one-run losses that could have gone either way. Once the offense starts meshing with Chone Figgins, Ichiro and Milton Bradley, the Mariners should get in contention. I expect them to be in this race all year.

As for the Angels, they have to miss John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero. The pitching has given up an AL high 54 runs and the Angels have the second worst run differential in the American League at -20. They have a potent offensive attack in the past, but rank only 9th in the league in scoring this season. I wouldn't panic too early, but I just don't see enough pitching on that team to come out on top in this division. And all four teams should count out the Wild Card. They will all beat up on each too much. Throw in the fact the Rays look great in the early goings and the Red Sox will be at 90+ wins by the end of this.

Whoever ends up with the best division record may be the team punching their ticket to the playoffs. Stay tuned, the Angels reign could be at an end.