I know it is early, but I have the baseball fever already. These teams may not even stay the same, so I reserve the right to change these before the season....but here goes...
First of all here are my projected standings at the end of the year for this division.....
Seattle 95-67
Anaheim 90-72
Oakland 85-77
Texas 65-97
SEATTLE: What this team lost in talent, it seemed to pick right back up, and its willingness to try and get Pudge shows that they are still hungry for a winner. The starting pitching will remain the same from last year, and that starting pitching was very decent, and effective enough to get the job done. The bullpen gets rid of Sasaki (who didnt do anything last year anyways) and adds Eddie Guardado, who will probably inherit the closer role. Hasegawa is a great relief pitcher and can close games if given the job as well. Add in Soriano and Mateo and this is a very solid bullpen. On the offensive side.....a few additions and a few subtractions that dont seem to hurt the team talent-wise. Mike Cameron took off to New York, and Raul Ibanez takes over. You get a little more power out of Ibanez, but lose a little speed. Still a very fast outfield with Winn and Suzuki as well. Rich Aurilla takes over for Carlos Guillen, and if Rich Aurilla can adjust to AL pitching and the big outfield (which I think he will do great with the latter) then this can be a great move. And Seattle adds a solid offensive 3rd basemen, something that was lacking last year in the 3rd basemen by committee of a year ago in Scott Spiezio. He has manned the position before, so he should be able to make the adjustment.
This may not be a better defensive team than last year, but I feel it is better offensively and the bullpen should be even stronger. This is a slightly improved team from last years playoff team, so I would expect nothing less than another playoff appearance this year, and with the Yankees down, can have a great shot at the World Series.
ANAHEIM: A MUCH improved team from last year. A VERY solid bullpen remains in tact from last year with Percival, Donnelly, Weber and company. And the starting pitching has a few question marks, but if they come together, should be a fine unit. They acquire Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar (for way too much money) and add them to Jared Washburn and Ramon Ortiz to make a servicable Top 4 starters. Washburn MUST get back to his form 2 years ago, and Ramon Ortiz must do the same. If not, this starting unit is only the 3rd best in their division.
Offensively is where the improvements were made. Adding Vlad Guerrero and Jose Guillen and replacing Brad Fullmer and Scott Spiezio should add a little more run support to an improved starting staff. Overall this should be a much improved ballclub not having to worry about the hangover of a World Championship anymore, and improvements defensively and offensively. Look for about 90 wins and POSSIBLY a trip to the postseason.
OAKLAND: Well, I think this team has finally hit a wall. Last year they exceeded expectations after losing Giambi, but this year they lose quite a bit more and dont replace it with much. Losing Tejada, Hernandez and Long should put way too much pressure on a great pitching staff. The top of the lineup will stay the same, but the only pop they have anymore is Eric Chavez and Durazo. Mark Kotsay may be able to hit for average, but the bottom of the lineup is dreadful and not many basehits come from this group. On the bright side....the pitching staff is even stronger! The BIg 3 (Zito, Hudson, Mulder) are still in town and Mark Redman replaces an inconsistant Ted Lilly. And young Rich harden should be a tad better this year after hitting the wall late. The bullpen took a hit losing Keith Foulke and making Rhodes a closer (which wont work) but the middle relief is still very solid. This team will struggle to find itself at times, and will struggle to stay above .500.
TEXAS: This team may very well field the worst pitching staff this side of Cincinnati. If you can imagine...it is even worse than last year, and there is one big difference, this year they dont have any hitters either, except for A-Rod of course. They lose Palmeiro, J Gonzalez, Carl Everett and Ruben Sierra to add Brad Fullmer, Brian Jordan, and a couple of part timers from last year Nix and Mench. It aint gonna be pretty in Texas. I think I was being generous not chalking them up for at least 100 losses, as it very well might happen. They add kenny Rogers to save the starting rotation and give away John THomson. They take away Valdes and add the worst pitcher in the majors last year in Glendon Rusch. They team may set records for ERA (and I dont mean in a good way)
So there you have it.....I will hopefully get a chance to do the rest of the divisions very soon.
First of all here are my projected standings at the end of the year for this division.....
Seattle 95-67
Anaheim 90-72
Oakland 85-77
Texas 65-97
SEATTLE: What this team lost in talent, it seemed to pick right back up, and its willingness to try and get Pudge shows that they are still hungry for a winner. The starting pitching will remain the same from last year, and that starting pitching was very decent, and effective enough to get the job done. The bullpen gets rid of Sasaki (who didnt do anything last year anyways) and adds Eddie Guardado, who will probably inherit the closer role. Hasegawa is a great relief pitcher and can close games if given the job as well. Add in Soriano and Mateo and this is a very solid bullpen. On the offensive side.....a few additions and a few subtractions that dont seem to hurt the team talent-wise. Mike Cameron took off to New York, and Raul Ibanez takes over. You get a little more power out of Ibanez, but lose a little speed. Still a very fast outfield with Winn and Suzuki as well. Rich Aurilla takes over for Carlos Guillen, and if Rich Aurilla can adjust to AL pitching and the big outfield (which I think he will do great with the latter) then this can be a great move. And Seattle adds a solid offensive 3rd basemen, something that was lacking last year in the 3rd basemen by committee of a year ago in Scott Spiezio. He has manned the position before, so he should be able to make the adjustment.
This may not be a better defensive team than last year, but I feel it is better offensively and the bullpen should be even stronger. This is a slightly improved team from last years playoff team, so I would expect nothing less than another playoff appearance this year, and with the Yankees down, can have a great shot at the World Series.
ANAHEIM: A MUCH improved team from last year. A VERY solid bullpen remains in tact from last year with Percival, Donnelly, Weber and company. And the starting pitching has a few question marks, but if they come together, should be a fine unit. They acquire Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar (for way too much money) and add them to Jared Washburn and Ramon Ortiz to make a servicable Top 4 starters. Washburn MUST get back to his form 2 years ago, and Ramon Ortiz must do the same. If not, this starting unit is only the 3rd best in their division.
Offensively is where the improvements were made. Adding Vlad Guerrero and Jose Guillen and replacing Brad Fullmer and Scott Spiezio should add a little more run support to an improved starting staff. Overall this should be a much improved ballclub not having to worry about the hangover of a World Championship anymore, and improvements defensively and offensively. Look for about 90 wins and POSSIBLY a trip to the postseason.
OAKLAND: Well, I think this team has finally hit a wall. Last year they exceeded expectations after losing Giambi, but this year they lose quite a bit more and dont replace it with much. Losing Tejada, Hernandez and Long should put way too much pressure on a great pitching staff. The top of the lineup will stay the same, but the only pop they have anymore is Eric Chavez and Durazo. Mark Kotsay may be able to hit for average, but the bottom of the lineup is dreadful and not many basehits come from this group. On the bright side....the pitching staff is even stronger! The BIg 3 (Zito, Hudson, Mulder) are still in town and Mark Redman replaces an inconsistant Ted Lilly. And young Rich harden should be a tad better this year after hitting the wall late. The bullpen took a hit losing Keith Foulke and making Rhodes a closer (which wont work) but the middle relief is still very solid. This team will struggle to find itself at times, and will struggle to stay above .500.
TEXAS: This team may very well field the worst pitching staff this side of Cincinnati. If you can imagine...it is even worse than last year, and there is one big difference, this year they dont have any hitters either, except for A-Rod of course. They lose Palmeiro, J Gonzalez, Carl Everett and Ruben Sierra to add Brad Fullmer, Brian Jordan, and a couple of part timers from last year Nix and Mench. It aint gonna be pretty in Texas. I think I was being generous not chalking them up for at least 100 losses, as it very well might happen. They add kenny Rogers to save the starting rotation and give away John THomson. They take away Valdes and add the worst pitcher in the majors last year in Glendon Rusch. They team may set records for ERA (and I dont mean in a good way)
So there you have it.....I will hopefully get a chance to do the rest of the divisions very soon.
nice writeup, thanks