AL WEST

Well folks...Considering Ryan and I are both a high level mixture of busy and lazy, you'll be getting three division previews between now and tomorrow night.
The AL West is...well...a joke. There's the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (they should put that on their uniforms) who just seem to get it done every season. I see no reason why this season should be any different. The Angels have a very nice rotation that should only get better now that Jered Weaver has another year of experience under his belt. On offense the Angels lost Mark Teixeria to the Yankees during Free Agency. There were rumors circulating that the Angels would counter by signing Man Ram this offseason but his asking price was way too high and he resigned with LA rival Dodgers. Ultimately, they ended up with Bobby Abreu. Abreu is aging and not what he once was, but I think a smaller spotlight away from Zoo York will be welcoming to Abreu. The Angels did say farewell to two staple players of their franchise this offseason when K-Rod bolted for the Mets and the player who has been so underrated through his career that he's bordering overrated, Garrett Anderson to the Braves. Anderson is replaceable but K-Rods presence may be missed in late games. However, the Angels can afford to lose some late games and still take this division by double digits.

The Oakland A's brought in Matt Holiday and brought Jason Giambi home. They're the one wildcard team in this division that could challenge the Angels. However, while I expect big numbers from Giambi and Holiday, there's just not much else to be excited about. Giving up Huston Street in the Holiday trade was necessary but will hurt the A's because they're not in a position where they can afford to lose many late games and Street was a reliable closer. Still, I could see this team hovering around .500 and if the Angels rotation suffers a few injuries it could be closer than expected, but I doubt it.

The Texas Rangers got great attention last year for the resurrection of Josh Hamilton. This year, they bring up stud prospect Elvis Andrus at SS. He's potentially so good that the Rangers are moving Michael Young to 3B just to let the kid come up and play. The Rangers gambled and brought in Andruw Jones for a lowball contract which I think was a good move. He's obviously a shell of his former Atlanta Braves self, but he's not half as bad as he showed last year. If he doesn't produce this year his career is over. I think AJ will shed some pounds and give some average production given his playing time. The problem with the Rangers is their pitching. I don't understand how a team who has had the same major weakness for the last decade still can't seem to address it. Rangers fans will be entertained with many high scoring affairs at the Ballpark at Arlington. Unfortunately, I don't think the Rangers will be on the winning side of many of them.

The Seattle Mariners could arguably be the worst team in MLB. Reasons to like them: Felix Hernandez. Reasons to watch them: Sentimental value seeing Griffey in an M's uniform (this will ware off by June). Reasons not to like them: Everything else. This team is just a mess. I like Jose Lopez and Yunelesky Betancourt (great name bro) but aging overpriced players like Adrian Beltre just aren't going to help you win now or in the future. There's no excuse for a team with this kind of payroll not to be competitive. While teams like the Pirates are bad because they have no money, the Mariners have all the resources but just can't get it done. I'd like to make a movement to remove all professional sports from Seattle at this point.