Mid-Season MLB Report Card: AL West

The AL West features one good team and three very, very mediocre ones. As usual, any team with Vladimir Guerrero has a shot to win. But the Angels also have Garret Anderson, Bartolo Colon, Jarrod Washburn, and Francisco Rodriguez. The A's continue to show that they are just getting warmed up. Winning 25 of their last 33, the Athletics' offense has picked up, thanks to Bobby Kielty's bat, among others. Combine the hitting with their already very solid pitching, it comes as no surprise to see the A's winning more games of late. The Rangers seem to be headed down the wrong path towards another fizzling season. They have such a powerful lineup but they don't get on base enough. And, oh, the Mariners, as my good friend Andrew reported from a recent visit to Toronto, the M's look like they are straight out of "Bad News Bears." Yeah, yeah, that's the second reference I've made to the movie, I know. It was a good flick, the first one was anyway. Nonetheless, I will review this division:

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...or is it the California Angels...or the Anaheim Angels...or the Angels in the Outfield...okay, okay, on to the review: Vladimir Guerrero. I mean really, do I need to talk about the Angels any more? The guy is a beast: he's a free-swinging, lovable character that gets dirty when he has to and shows up to play every night. In my opinion, he is the best all-around player in the Bigs. I do believe Manny Ramirez is the best hitter in Major League Baseball, but Vlad is right on his tail. Somehow, he finds a way to hit that changeup that you bounced off the infield grass before reaching home plate.

Anyway, enough about Vlad. The Angels have a good starting rotation and mix in very good relief. K-Rod is amazing, simply put. This team looks to be the clear favorite to take the division, and be a force, again, in the playoffs. Call it another MVP season for Vlad, good innings out of the starters, and strong finishes to each game. The Angels are better than they were last year when the Red Sox rolled them in the ALDS. Look out America, the West Coast is respresentin'!
Final Season Record: 96-66; First place AL West.

Oakland Athletics of the Bay Area of California: As I mentioned earlier, Bobby Kielty and the A's are flaming hot. The Athletics, surely to Billy Beane's enjoyment, have a very low team WHIP, which makes them capable of competing in every game. They have great, young talent in Rich Harden, Danny Haren, Joe Blanton, Huston Street, Justin Duchscherer, Kirk Saarloos, and now even Joe Kennedy. If this staff stays hot, they will be extremely dangerous for the rest of the season and hurt a lot of batters' averages.

The hitting needs to create more. Bobby Kielty and Mark Ellis can't carry an offense, and Eric Chavez continues to disappoint. Jason Kendall has struggled since moving to the American League, and shows no signs of improving. The whole team has to stay hot and hit when it counts, creating the runs that Billy Beane emphasized the importance of in Moneyball. Anyway, I think the A's will stay hot and continue to creep up the ladder of the AL. But next year is a year that will feature them more prominently in October.
Final Season Record: 88-74; 2nd place in the AL West

Texas Rangers of Arlington, Texas; Home of the Rangers: The Rangers lineup features seven, yes, seven, players with 15 homers or more. David Dellucci, however, is the only one with a good OBP. No one on the Rangers roster with more than 10 at bats has walked more than they have struck out. That says to me that the Gauchos swing for the fences...a lot, in fact, try every at bat. Anyway, they still score lots of runs, too bad their pitching is not good.

Everyone talks about Chan Ho Park's turnaround, but I ask, what turnaround? The guy has a WHIP of 1.63. So basically, when Park is on the mound, he gets into lots of jams, gives up some runs, but his team outhits the other team more often than not, giving him an 8-4 record. Kenny Rogers and Chris Young are the only good pitchers in the rotation. I just don't think this staff will ever carry anyone to more than a slightly above average season on a yearly basis. This year is no different.
Final Season Record: 85-77; 3rd place AL West

The Seattle Mariners Located on the Puget Sound Near That Place I Used to Eat Dinner at When I Was in Washington State: Now, now, I know what you are thinking..."Spending so much money on Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson hasn't helped the Mariners out at all this year." Well, you're right. Of course, it doesn't help that Joel Piniero is plain bad this year, along with Gil Meche, Ryan Franklin, and Aaron Sele. Jamie Moyer, and his 14 mph fastball, is the only quality pitcher on the staff, and even he has a mediocre WHIP. Eddie Guardado and Ron Villone are good bullpen pitchers, but Guardado should be headed east, so that leaves us with...Shigetoshi Hasegawa (cue laughter).

Adrian Beltre? More like Adrian "Swing-way...too hard and miss a lot." Granted, Miguel Olivo has more strikeouts than hits, the Mariners don't pay poor Miguel the big bucks to hit. Richie Sexson has struckout 106 times this year. I will type it again to reinforce the facts: 106 strikeouts in 94 games. *Double takes* Ichiro is only hitting .306. Beltre is at .259 with 10 home runs. Boy, the bats are alive in Seattle! The Mariners can't win if their pitching is bad and their hitters don't hit. And right now, that is what is happening in Seattle.
Final Season Record: 70-92; Last Place in the AL West

It will be fun to watch Vlad produce more magic as the season winds down. The A's have an exciting young staff that will be just as fun to see. I think it might actually be a good race for a while, but only if the Athletics get really hot, and the Angels slow down. The Angels have built a great lead and should hold onto it. The California Orange County Angels of Los Angeles, Anaheim, Garden Grove, and surrounding areas, will be contenders come October. The Mariners are not going up anytime soon, and the Rangers need to fix the ol' pitchin' staff before any magic happens in Arlington.