Foul Balls MLB Preview: AL West

As the end of spring training draws near, I figure it's about time I got off my ass and started with the Foul Balls 2008 season previews. Each day I'll preview a separate division followed by individual previews for the White Sox and Cubs. Expect expert analysis bad jokes.

Today we look at the American League West, which is baseball's smallest division. It's also the easiest one to pick.

2007 Finish

1. Los Angeles Angels 94-68
2. Seattle Mariners 88-74
3. Oakland Athletics 76-86
4. Texas Rangers 75-87

2008 Predictions

1. Los Angeles Angels - The Angels were the class of the AL West last season, and this year they've gotten even better. While keeping the core of the team intact, they added Torii Hunter's bat and golden gloves to the outfield, and Jon Garland to what was already one of baseball's better starting rotations. Barring an earthquake swallowing the team whole, I don't see too much changing for the Angels this season. It also doesn't hurt that they have one of the smartest game managers in baseball in Mike Scioscia. Barring a bunch of major injuries, and this spring isn't a good sign with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar already on the shelf, the Angels should have an easy time of it out west this season. INTERESTING FACT: Beloved Angels mascot, and World Series hero, the Rally Monkey, has AIDS. And not the Magic Johnson kind where you survive, either.
   
2. Seattle Mariners - The Mariners were a bit of a surprise last season, actually being in the playoff hunt for the majority of the season. Like the Angels did this offseason, the Mariners also improved their starting rotation, bringing in Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva to join Felix Hernandez and giving the team a formidable top 3. Well, as formidable as any rotation with Carlos Silva can be anyway. What worries me about this team this season is that their bullpen was a major strength last year, and they gave up a couple key parts to it in the trade that brought Bedard over from Baltimore. I get the feeling that may end up biting them in the ass in 2008. Other than that, though, they still have Ichiro and enough offense to take 2nd place in the division and fight for the AL wild card spot. INTERESTING FACT: Ichiro Suzuki's smile, personality, and fantastic quotes have lowered Seattle's suicide rate 10%.
   
3. Texas Rangers - The Rangers have spent the majority of the decade finishing dead last in the AL West, but this year, this year is about progress! They're going to move up all the way to 3rd place, and at their current rate of improvement, they should be winning the division by 2018. What bothers me about this team is that they never seem to learn from their mistakes. Every year the have a good offense, and a pretty sub-standard pitching staff. How do they try to fix it? They add bats to the lineup while never improving their pitching staff. An example this year is bringing in Josh Hamilton from Cincinnati, who is having a fantastic spring, but they gave up one of their top pitching prospects in Edinson Volquez to get him. It doesn't make any sense, but maybe now that Nolan Ryan is back as team president, he'll remind the organization that pitching is somewhat important in this sport. INTERESTING FACT: Vicente Padilla is a fat drunken slob, and I hope that somebody on the White Sox hits a line drive off of his skull at some point this season. Hell, it doesn't even have to be a member of the Sox, it could be anybody. Just happen.
   
4. Oakland Athletics - Last season was a new feeling for the Athletics and Oakland baseball fans. After battling through injury after injury to key players like Rich Harden, Eric Chavez, and Huston Street, the A's finished with a losing record for the first time since 1998. That's an impressive streak when you consider that the team has a budget of $500 to spend every season. General manager Billy Beane's response to the losing season? BLOW IT UP. Just about anybody on the team that made a million dollars last season was shipped out. Dan Haren went to Arizona, Nick Swisher to Chicago, Mark Kotsay to Atlanta...Oakland is in full blown rebuilding mode. What Beane did manage to do with all these trades, though, is restock Oakland's farm system. So while this season will probably be a tough pill to swallow, I won't be shocked if Oakland's winning 100 games again within a few years. INTERESTING FACT: The average age of Oakland's starting lineup is 16 years, and 7 months.

Foul Balls All-Division Team

• Kenji Johjima-SEA-C
• Casey Kotchman-LAA-1B
• Ian Kinsler-TEX-2B
• Adrian Beltre-SEA-3B
• Michael Young-TEX-SS
• Raul Ibanez-SEA-LF
• Ichiro Suzuki-SEA-CF
• Vladimir Guerrero-LAA-RF
• Juan Rivera-LAA-DH
• Felix Hernandez-SEA-SP
• Francisco Rodriguez-LAA-CP

Youngsters to Watch

• Joe Saunders-LAA-SP
• Daric Barton-OAK-1B
• Jack Hannahan-OAK-3B
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia-TEX-C
• Jason Botts-TEX-1B

Guys Who Will Disappoint

• Bobby Crosby-OAK-SS
• Rich Harden-OAK-SP
• Richie Sexson-SEA-1B
• Carlos Silva-SEA-SP
• Kevin Millwood-TEX-SP
• Milton Bradley-TEX-OF

Tomorrow will be the NL West's turn. Also, this will be the only post of the day today. I don't know if you've heard anything about it, but there's this big dance on today, and I wanna watch it.