In this post, we'll be taking a look at the AL West division, or "How The West Wasn't Won."
AL WEST:
Los Angeles Angels - After dominating the West for nearly a decade, including a championship in 2002, the AL LA team fell from grace in 2010. From the very beginning of the season, the Rangers wrested control from the Angels and didn't let go. Matters weren't helped when star first baseman Kendry Morales broke his leg jumping onto home plate after a walk-off grand slam (the first of his career) that kept him out of commission for the rest of the season. The rest of the team didn't perform well enough to keep their momentum going, with Torii Hunter only hitting .281 (18 points down from last year) and the rest of the lineup following suit. The rotation, mainly held up by Jered Weaver (who, despite going 13-12, led the league with 233 strikeouts and managed a 3.01 ERA), was helped slightly by a midseason trade for Dan Haren, but it wasn't enough to kick these Angels into gear. The offseason was mainly filled with more disappointment: they missed out on Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre, two players many suspected would both sign with the Halos. They recently acquired outfielder Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays (who immediately sent utility man Mike Napoli to Texas), but it probably won't be enough to stop these fallen Angels from further descent in 2011. Since this division is sometimes the most difficult in baseball to pick a clear winner, I think they could feasibly move up to second place in '11. The only good news is that, even if the Athletics manage to stay in 2nd, after 3rd place, the only worse the Angels can do is last place, which is reserved for the Mariners.
Oakland Athletics - Remember 1989? Yeah, me neither. And from the looks of the Athletics, they're trying their best to recall those days as well. They just barely managed to pull into 2nd place in the West past the unholy Angels (by 1 game, mind you), but their stuff wasn't good enough to beat out the Rangers. Dallas Braden's perfect game on Mother's Day highlighted an otherwise dreary season in the rotation, with supposed ace Ben Sheets getting a season-ending injury for the second time in his career (he missed the entire 2009 season, and finished out 2010 with a 4-9 record and a 4.53 ERA in 20 outings); luckily, rookie Trevor Cahill managed to gain an 18-8 record in his first season, with a 2.97 ERA and 118 strikeouts, a good sign of things to come. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and shortsop Cliff Pennington helped boost the lineup offensively, but it wasn't enough: the A's were 23rd in runs scored and 26th in slugging percentage. Their offseason activity wasn't up to par either: they, like the Angels, missed out on Adrian Beltre (they supposedly made him an offer that he turned down well before signing with Texas), and were pretty quiet, aside from providing veteran slugger Hideki Matsui with a new home (his 3rd in 3 years). It's hard to say whether they'll be able to keep their loose hold on 2nd place this year, but considering the state Los Angeles is in, 2nd and 3rd place in the West is a real tossup.
Seattle Mariners - Every division's got that team that you know is destined for last place. Pretend all you want that it's not true, but it is. And in the AL West, that honor is reserved for the Mariners. Now only 1 of 2 teams (the other being the Nationals) that have not only never won a World Series but haven't played in one either, the Mariners' slide into obscurity is almost painful to watch. What can really be said about their 2010 season? The legendary Ken Griffey Jr. finally called it a career (after an embarassing story about him falling asleep in the middle of a game surfaced), Ichiro became the first player in history with 10 consecutive seasons of 200+ hits (making Mariners fans and outsiders alike wonder why he's still with the team when he could clearly be on a contender), Cliff Lee was traded from the Phillies to them for a few months until they shipped him off to Texas (probably one of the worst moves they made this year), and Felix Hernandez managed to win the AL Cy Young, proving that wins aren't everything (clearly, since he pitches for the Mariners). Sure, they've had just as many winning seasons as they've had losing seasons (5 each) in the last 10, but they have next to nothing to show for it, save the 2 future Hall of Famers and the reigning Cy Young winner. 2011 seems to be as unkind to the M's as it was in 2010: their major signing this year was new manager Eric Wedge, who's hoping to breath new life into the organization and make it seem like 2001 again. Good luck, Eric.
Texas Rangers - Team owner, HOF pitcher and notorious hardass Nolan Ryan made it clear to the rest of Major League Baseball in 2010: don't mess with Texas. After a rocky start to the season with manager Ron Washington admitting he was a cocaine addict, the Rangers were kicking butt and taking names from day 1. They were in 1st place the entire season, no doubt thanks to a career year for heavy hitting outfielder (and this year's AL MVP winner) Josh Hamilton, who batted .359 with 32 homers. DH Vlad Guerrero (now with Baltimore), Mitch Moreland, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler all provided a fair share of power in the lineup, while the main staples of the rotation (C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, and a certain Mr. Lee) all had winning records with ERAs under 4.00, which certainly made Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz's job as a closer that much easier (he broke the saves record for a rookie as a result). It came as no surprise that the Rangers handily won the division; what was shocking, though, was that they beat the Rays in 5 games in the LDS, and even more amazing, that they beat the Yankees in 6 in the LCS to advance to their first ever World Series, where they lost 4 games to 1 to the San Francisco Giants. After a heavy push for Cliff Lee this offseason, they lost him to Philadelphia. However, they signed power hitter Adrian Beltre after his single season with the Red Sox, pitcher Brandon Webb to help fill the hole left by Lee, and acquired Mike Napoli from the Blue Jays just days after they got him from the Angels. With all this added depth, 2011 is already bringing drama for a multitude of reasons: they have to show their impressive run last year wasn't a fluke, they have to make up for Cliff Lee's performance, and longtime Ranger Michael Young now wants a trade instead of being a part-time utility man (go figure). The 2011 season will certainly be interesting when all this is taken into consideration.
Projected 2011 AL West Standings:
Texas Rangers - stay the same
Los Angeles Angels - move 1 spot up
Oakland Athletics - move 1 spot down
Seattle Mariners - stay the same
And we're finally finished with the American League. Next time, we'll start into the National League.
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