2009 American League West Forecast

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by Digger

Mike Scioscia’s Los Angeles Angels have dominated the AL West winning 4 division titles in 5 years. It won’t come easy this season. Oakland has made big strides re-assembling their team with a few big sticks to compliment their pitching staff. As always, injuries might derail their season. Texas ownership still hasn’t learned good starting pitching helps win championships. Seattle went bust last year and is rebuilding.

Oakland Athletics (Mgr. Bob Geren)
Injuries have really hampered the A’s chances in recent seasons. They’re already a bit dinged up this spring but I’m picking them to win anyway. GM Billy Beane signed a couple of big sticks (Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi & Orlando Cabrera) . Oakland has a very deep bench which will come in handy when players end up on DL. Everything will have to click just right to overtake LA. This could be their year.

Rotation: Duchscherer, Gallagher, Eveland, ??, ?? Setup: Devine. Closer: Ziegler. Front 3 are set, but might not be ready for opening day. Final two slots yet to be named. A few wicked arms in the mix. A’s bullpen is lights out. If the starters can go 6 strong innings odds are the A’s will win more than they lose. Ziegler is a nasty closer. Devine was untouchable in ’08. A’s have mastered tutoring young pitchers. Let’s see if they can handle a pennant race. Geren will have to manage his pitching staff wisely this year. Steady Kurt Suzuki calls the shots and contributes with his bat.

Around the Horn: Barton, Ellis, Cabrera, Chavez. Barton is developing into a solid 1B and should see better pitches with new look lineup. Giambi will get a few starts when he’s not DH. Ellis & Cabrera form a great dp duo. Chavez health is of concern once again this spring. He hasn’t played a full season in years. Nomar Gariciaparra was just signed. He’s always hurting too but has plenty of gas left in his tank when healthy. Depth includes Bubba Crosby (most likely to start at 3rd if Chavez can’t play). Smart hitters and solid defenders backing up young pitchers.

Outfield: Cust, Sweeney, Holliday. Solid group here. Holliday’s first full season outside of Colorado. Cust clocked 33 last year. Slick fielding Sweeney will contribute too. Geren will have a tough time cutting players. A talented group of backup OF’s playing hard to make the big league club.

Forecast: After a busy off-season, deep A’s squad ready to take the West. Health is issue #1. Backups will get it done. Rotation holds key to success… or doom.


Los Angeles Angels (Mgr. Mike Scioscia)LA’s solid top to bottom. Unfortunately, they too have health issues entering ’09. Vlad Guerrero, Matthews, Santana, Weaver & Escobar attempt to get back into playing form. Entire infield missed time last year.

Rotation: Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Weaver, ?? Setup: Shields. Closer: Fuentes. Angels cautiously optimistic their front four starters will be ready to go. Injuries will challenge this team’s ability to win big games. Missing in ’09 is Francisco Rodriguez record breaking 62 saves. New closer Fuentes has already pulled up lame with back spasms. Mathis & Napoli split time catching this group.

Around the Horn: Morales, Kendrick, Aybar, Figgins. Free swinging, slick fielding, speedy contact hitters will drive opposing pitchers crazy. Surviving DL stints is key to success. All have spent extended time healing in past seasons. Depth is very thin.

Outfield: Guerrero, Hunter, Rivera, Abreu. Abreu was a late free agent pickup. He’ll compliment this team very well. He could be the only player with more than 60 walks in Angels free swinging lineup. Guerrero has fought off nagging injuries lately… and might see plenty of DH time with Abreu filling in RF. Rivera has never played a full season. Not sure why everyone seems to be high on this kid. He has never lived up to flaunted potential. Hunter remains one of baseball’s premier CF.

Forecast: It’s going to be a very challenging season for Scioscia’s Angels. Injuries will mount. Lack of patient hitting might cost games. LA might not make the playoffs this year. One major factor in their favor… A’s just as banged up! LA is a Wild Card contender.


Texas Rangers (Mgr. Ron Washington)Not much good news for Rangers fans heading into ’09. Management refuses, or doesn’t know how, to find quality starting pitching. They’ve been terrific at trading away future stars. Andruw Jones will try resurrecting his career after failing miserably for Torre’s Dodgers in ’08. Michael Young moves over the 3rd making way for rising star SS Elvis Andrus. Oft injured starter Kris Benson was signed (why?). Not much else has changed.

Rotation: Millwood, Padilla, McCarthy, Harrison, Feldman, Benson. Setup: undecided. Closer: Francisco. No pitcher on this will strike fear into rivals. None could crack top 3 in any other rotation. Starters figure to get shelled all season long. No real life or fantasy value. Bullpen will suffer from too many appearances and will wind up being a revolving door. Terrible staff. Jarrod Saltalamacchia begins the year as everyday catcher.

Around the Horn: Davis, Kinsler, Andrus, Young, Blalock. Future star Andrus takes over at short. Blalock becomes DH/1B. Young moves to 3rd. Davis at 1B. New positions for everyone except 2B Kinsler. Expecting a lot of errors. Texas will probably lead the league in runs allowed.

Outfield: Hamilton, Jones, Cruz, Murphy. Josh Hamilton had a season to remember. He played large all season and electrified an All Star crowd in Yankee Stadium with a monstrous display of power during the Home Run Contest. He’s moving to RF so Jones can man CF. LF might become a Cruz/Murphy platoon. Too many if’s here. These guys do not impress unless AJ returns to form.

Forecast: Doom and gloom. Rangers continue to ignore their most pressing needs, again. Pitching, pitching, pitching. This team will never contend until they find pitchers to shut down opposing teams. Only one thing can keep them out of last place……… Seattle.


Seattle Mariners (Mgr. Don Wakamatsu… who?)This club has fallen on hard times. Not too long ago Seattle won 116 games (2001). Last year, 101 losses and should be considered lucky not to have lost 115. This will be a restart season. There is some talent on this squad as they play for respectability. It shouldn’t be too hard to pass Texas in the standings. Who else can they beat?

Rotation: Hernandez, Bedard, Morrow, Washburn, Smith, Silva. Setup: undecided. Closer: Mark Lowe. Bedard was to be ’08 prized starting pitcher free agent pickup. Arm troubles killed any chances of contributing. Hernandez is a big time talent. Everyone else needs to rebound. Overall thin starting unit. Bullpen assignments yet to be determined but it’s clear… no one really stands out here. Catcher Johjima was terrible on both sides of the plate last year (.226, 8 errors, 8 passed balls).

Around the Horn: Branyan, Lopez, Betancorte, Beltre. Branyan as an everyday 1B? This move could hurt. Not much depth behind the starters. Mike Sweeney will be given a shot at making this club. He’s a great hitter when healthy… (only one season playing 120 games since ’03). Good news is this group can make a few defensive plays.

Outfield: Ichiro, Gutierrez, Griffey. Ichiro is a lock. I was hoping he’d get traded to Mets but no such luck. Gutierrez will have to earn his keep playing in spacious Safeco. Griffey will play LF but his lack of range might hurt staff. He’s best suited for full time DH. Lack of depth isn’t helpful if Junior gets hurt or if Gutierrez can’t handle everyday play on a major league level.

Forecast: Seattle to battle Texas. Loser owns last place in AL West. Not much on the horizon for this team. Thin prospects. Tight budget. Aging stars.

Stay tuned for National League predictions. NL East on deck.

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