MLB Breakdown #4

Well I'm getting under the gun here with Opening Night tomorrow for Atlanta and Philly, and Opening Day for everyone else come Monday but I have to get these done.

The AL West is kind of wide open, I say "kind of" sort of casually. The Angels lost some key guys and are kind of old. The A's are talented but young and inexperienced. Seattle has a good mix, just not so talented. And well Texas is still Texas with their lack of pitching to go with their offensive fire power.

1. Oakland Athletics (86-76) - I am gonna give the edge to Oakland here even though they'll be without their ace, Justin Duchscherer for the start of the season. Dallas Braden and Dana Eveland are good young pitchers that Billy Beane seems to always find. Brad Ziegler is the new closer and had a scoreless streak run into like 42 innings last year as a rookie. Can he handle the pressure of being a closer? Eric Chavez returns from injuries and Jason Giambi returns from New York to help out Matt Holiday in this lineup that could put up plenty of runs of the rest of the guys do their job. Or if this team bombs look for free agent to be Matt Holiday to be dealt for more prospects.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem (83-79) - Bobby Abreu was a great addition for this team even though he's aging. The real questions lie in other positions such as closer and first base where Franky Rodriguez and Mark Teixiera left open for more money. Offensively can Kendry Morales, Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis hit consistantly to provide Abreu, Hunter and Guerrero enough chances to drive in runs? John Lackey and Ervin Santana are expected to miss the first month or so of the season, can the Angels get by without them? They say you can't win the division in the first month of the season but you can certainly lose it. Look for Jose Arredondo to replace Brian Fuentes if he struggles.

3. Seattle Mariners (79-83) - Seattle is going to depend on Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard to carry this team and set the tempo for series when they pitch. Ken Griffey Jr. returns to where it all began 20 years ago, can he recapture the magic he once had? With no Ichiro for the start of the season Jose Lopez is going to be counted on to do a lot more offensively. Look for Adrian Beltre to finally earn his big contract that Seattle gave him due to him being in his last year of it. New closer Brandon Morrow should do fine replacing J.J. Putz as the closer. This team won't score a lot but they should pitch well enough to be in most games.

4. Texas Rangers (74-88) - The Texas Rangers will be the opposite of the Seattle Mariners, they'll hit but they won't pitch. And that's bad news when half of your games are played in a hitter friendly park. They'll have one of the most productive infields with Chris Davis(first), Ian Kinsler(second), Elvis Andrus(shortstop) and Michael Young(third). Jarrod Saltalamacchia should blossom into the catcher everyone thought he'd be. But the Rangers just don't have the pitching to contend this year. Bet they wish they kept Armando Galarraga now.