Los Angeles Angels
Management: GM – Tony Reagins ; Manager – Mike Scoscia
Notable Additions: Torii Hunter – OF,
Notable Losses: Bartolo Colon – SP
Down the Road: Nick Adenhart – SP, Brandon Wood – 3B/SS, Jordan Walden – SP
Projected Starters:
C – Jeff Mathis
1B – Casey Kotchman
2B – Howie Kendrick
3B – Chone Figgins
SS – Erick Aybar
LF – Gary Matthews, Jr.
CF – Torii Hunter
RF – Vladimir Guerrero
DH – Garret Anderson
SP – John Lackey
SP – Kelvim Escobar
SP – Jered Weaver
SP – Jon Garland
SP – Ervin Santana
CL – Francisco Rodriguez
Vegas’ Over/Under (Wins): 92
2008 Outlook: Christ, how I hate this team. They throw money around, their fans are lousy front-running bandwagoners and their ballpark relies on Thunderstix and “rally monkeys” for crowd noise. I hate them even more that they’re pretty damn good and likely to stay that way for a few more years. Sure, the Torii Hunter signing was stupid, but only in contract length. They’ll get a decent year or two out of him. Vlad Guerrero, 56, is still the most ferocious hitter in the division and the kids are legit. Howie Kendrick hits like a thin Tony Gwynn and could be a dark horse MVP candidate. Casey Kotchman and Brandon Wood are coming into their own, while the starting pitching is deep, talented and has K-Rod to bail them out. Take the over, as they’ve got nearly 60 intra-division games. Christ, how I hate this team.
Oakland Athletics
Management: GM – Billy Beane; Manager – Bob Geren
Notable Additions: Carlos Gonzales – OF , Joey Devine – RP, Dana Eveland – SP
Notable Losses: Nick Swisher – OF, Dan Haren – SP, Mark Kotsay – OF, Marco Scutaro – INF
Down the Road: Daric Barton – 1B, Gio Gonzalez – SP, Fautino de los Santos – SP and a million other minor leaguers from other team’s farm systems
Projected Starters:
C – Kurt Suzuki
1B – Daric Barton
2B – Mark Ellis
3B – Eric Chavez
SS – Bobby Crosby
LF – Emil Brown
CF – Ryan Sweeney
RF – Travis Buck
DH – Jack Cust
SP – Rich Harden
SP – Joe Blanton
SP – Chad Gaudin
SP – Dana Eveland
SP – Justin Duchscherer
CL – Huston Street
Vegas’ Over/Under (Wins): 74
2008 Outlook: The A’s are rebuilding. And, for the first time in the history of sports, a front office isn’t afraid to liberally use the “R” word. For those of you who couldn’t look past who they gave up this winter, know this: the A’s weren’t going to win the AL West in 2008 with Nick Swisher and Dan Haren. Their offense had been in decline for years, finally bottoming out in ’07 and finishing 11th in runs scored. The pitching staff was still a strength, but last year it was too reliant on arms who couldn’t reasonably be expected to maintain their performance (Chad Gaudin, Lenny DiNardo and possibly even Haren). And, most worrisome, trades and bad drafts had wiped out the A’s top tier minor league talent.
So, essentially, the A’s have conceded the division this year, in hopes of building for 2009 and beyond. At least they have a plan, which is better than the false “sign-a-free-agent” hope peddled by the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox or the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. The A’s will be fun to watch, but won’t by playing in October. Still, Kurt Suzuki isn’t Jason Kendall, Daric Barton isn’t Dan Johnson, Dana Eveland looked terrific this spring and this just might be the one year that Rich Harden is healthy. Hope it boosts his trade value. Over/under looks right on, to me.
Seattle Mariners
Management: GM – Bill Bavasi ; Manager – John McLaren
Notable Additions: Erik Bedard – SP,
Notable Losses: Jose Guillen – OF, Adam Jones – OF, George Sherill – RP,
Down the Road: Wladimir Balentien – OF, Jeff Clement – C, Carlos Triunfel – SS
Projected Starters:
C – Kenji Johjima
1B – Richie Sexson
2B – Jose Lopez
3B – Adrian Beltre
SS – Yuniesky Betancort
LF – Raul Ibanez
CF – Ichiro Suzuki
RF – Brad Wilkerson
DH – Jose Vidro
SP – Erik Bedard
SP – Felix Hernandez
SP – Jarrod Washburn
SP – Carlos Silva
SP – Brandon Morrow
CL – J.J. Putz
Vegas’ Over/Under (Wins): 85
2008 Outlook: That is some kind of one-two punch that the M’s feature at the top of their rotation. Erik Bedard has never thrown 200 innings in a season and King Felix Hernandez’s greatness has only appeared sporadically, but if they put it all together – and they’re not that far away – yikes. Speaking of cartoonish exclamations of fear, closer J.J. Putz is worth one, too. If he pitched in Boston or New York…no, no. I promised myself I wouldn’t play the east coast bias card, no matter how true it was. The problems with this squad are both offense and defense. Richie Sexson (.205/.295/.399) is the clean-up hitter? Brad Wilkerson (who “hit” .192/.277/.402 away from hitter-friendly Arlington in 2007) is his protection? And, how much more of Jose Vidro’s anemia can they stand? Furthermore, the glovework is brutal at 1B, 2B, SS, RF and LF. This pitching staff had better strike everyone out. Bet the under. This is a .500 team.
Texas Rangers
Management: GM – Jon Daniels ; Manager – Ron Washington
Notable Additions: Josh Hamilton – OF, Eddie Guardado – RP, Milton Bradley – OF
Notable Losses: Edison Volquez – RP, Brad Wilkerson – OF, Kenny Lofton – OF, Sammy Sosa – DH
Down the Road: Neftali Felis – SP, Eric Hurley – SP, Elvis Andrus – SS
Projected Starters:
C – Gerald Laird
1B – Ben Broussard
2B – Ian Kinsler
3B – Hank Blalock
SS – Michael Young
LF – David Murphy
CF – Josh Hamilton
RF – Marlon Byrd
DH – Milton Bradley
SP – Kevin Millwood
SP – Vicente Padilla
SP – Jason Jennings
SP – Kason Gabbard
SP – Luis Mendoza
CL – C.J. Wilson
Vegas’ Over/Under (Wins): 75
2008 Outlook: If…and I can’t emphasize “if” enough…the injuries to Angels hurlers John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar are season-long issues AND the Mariners are as overrated as I think they are, the Rangers could be a surprise division contender. That offense – in their home park – is potentially ridiculous and if the starters can keep them in enough 8-7 slugfests, it could be the 1995 Wildcard winning Rockies all over again. Ah, but that pitching. They gave up the third most runs in the AL last season and none of their top three starters (in number of starts) had ERA under 5.00. Manager Ron Washington was surprisingly brought back after feuding with former Ranger Mark Teixeira and, reportedly, losing the clubhouse by June. Hey, the ’95 Rockies had a bad Black manager, too, so there. Ah, hell, take the under.
Predicted Order of Finish:
Los Angeles Angels
Seattle Mariners
Oakland A’s
Texas Rangers
