The Major League Baseball season gets underway on April 4. But before all the fireworks, the seventh-inning stretches, the awe-strucking homers, the captivating steals, hustle plays, and pitching performances commence, we preview all 30 teams by division. First up, the American League West.
Record: 86-76 (2nd in AL West)
Missed Postseason
Mike Scioscia has a World Series ring (2002) in over a decade of managing the Angels, but hasn't seen the postseason light since 2009. Twice the Angels fought tooth and nail with the Texas Rangers for the AL West title, but fell short each time. This season however the Angels may have a legitimate reason to reclaim the division throne, as they plucked away the Rangers' ace pitcher C.J. Wilson to their camp. However, the Angels weren't done yet.
Signing former St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols proved to be the biggest news coming out of the Angels camp. Pujols, a career .300 batter, has been one of the most powerful hitters today, and his arrival may hint at a power shift from the NL to the AL. The question is, will Pujols' be the Angels' most dependable hitter this season?
The Angels now boast a three-headed monster of starting pitchers in Wilson, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, as well as the bats of Pujols, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells, and last year's rookie surprise Mark Trumbo, which may cause headaches for opposing rotations and starting lineups. If this team starts strong, watch out.
Oakland Athletics
Record: 74-88 (3rd in AL West)
Missed Postseason
In the film Moneyball, A's general manager Billy Beane used sabremetrics to assemble a competitive team despite its lack of revenue. Beane's approach have drawn mixed results, and after initial success, the A's have never been competitive since, missing the playoffs five straight seasons since 2007. This year, the A's look to a highly-touted Cuban to bring back the glory days.
Yoenis Cespedes has been on the wish list of many GMs, but decided to join the A's for four years and $36M. The A's needed some offensive firepower, hence the addition of Cespedes. Other dependable bats will come from last year's rookie sensation Jemile Weeks, Coco Crisp, Brandon Allen, Jonny Gomes, and Kurt Suzuki.
With Gio Gonzalez going to Washington, Brandon McCarthy has established himself as the team's best pitcher in spring training and it's no surprise they'll start him as the ace pitcher. However, the starting rotation is still unsettled, as they await the return of Brett Anderson and 2010 perfect-game pitcher Dallas Braden to return to pre-injury form and several pitchers were unproven commodities. Look for manager Bob Melvin to tinker with the rotation throughout the season.
Seattle Mariners
Record: 67-95 (4th in AL West)
Missed Postseason
Last season was not what Ichiro Suzuki wanted to see. He batted .272 and recorded only 184 hits, uncharacteristic for a man who was used to record over 200 hits and bat .300 a season. As a result, he wasn't selected for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. But Ichiro wasn't the only problem; the offense was.
The M's attempted to rectify the situation by adding Jesus Montero, who came out of nowhere late last season as the substitute DH/catcher for the Yankees. Now Montero was tasked to play even more, whether as a catcher or a DH and proved that last year' surprise was no fluke. Also a surprise last season was Dustin Ackley, who will now become the full-time starting 2B. However, the Mariners' fortunes will still depend on Ichiro's health and bat, which is becoming a concern as he nears 40.
The M's pitching success remains in the hands of Felix Hernandez, but with the loss of surprising starter Michael Pineda to the Yankees, they'll be hard-pressed to replace Pineda with an equally-dependable arm. Brandon League remains their best closer; however, he may be moved to the starting rotation when necessary. The M's are still in rebuilding mode, so expect them to stay patient for the next few years.
Texas Rangers
Record: 96-66 (AL West Champions)
Lost 4-3 to the Cardinals in the World Series
If not for David Freese's heroics, the Rangers' may have won the World Series. This year, they'll be hard-pressed to defend the AL West title for the third consecutive year, as their rivals from Anaheim have reloaded and the A's and Mariners made significant progress.
With C.J. Wilson defecting to the Angels, the Rangers countered by paying $111M to acquire highly-touted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. Darvish is expected to be the team's ace, and will be supported by Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Alexi Ogando and former closer Neftali Feliz in the rotation.
Offensively the emergence of Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli in the postseason should help the runs coming, as are the dependable bats of Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre. However Josh Hamilton was a question mark prior to the season after an alcohol relapse. The Rangers hope Hamilton stays clean, otherwise any distraction may hurt their postseason chances.
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