milton bradley is sooo overrated, and we’ll see how chone figgins works out. my bet, cliff lee loses his swagger. he is a MOTIVATIONAL pitcher, who finally found his home and was pitching to stay there. he will not be happy, and when he starts going under he will have no inspiration to get out of it. then we pick him up again haha!

angels win the division, but WATCH OUT FOR THE RANGERS! ian kinsler is a chase utley copy

I’m telling everyone who will listen — and that’s not many people.

I live in the Lone Star State, and Rangers fans say the little-known fact of last year is that the pitching actually carried the Rangers in the second half.

Nolan Ryan has totally turned that team’s pitching around. It’s no longer the same-old Rangers trying to outscore everyone. With all the injuries to the lineup, the offense actually wasn’t all that productive.

The Rangers were 7th in the AL last year in runs scored — after easily leading the league in 2008.

Meanwhile, the pitchers surrendered the second fewest runs in the AL. Only the Red Sox gave up fewer runs than the Rangers.

This is a team on the rise, and Ron Washington is really under-rated as a manager

If they get their big hitters back healthy this season—especially Hamilton—and the young pitching continues to develop, the Rangers will win the AL West.

1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. A’s

As good as the Rangers young team looks with those 20/20+ guys and live arms there isn’t much in that team to gel it together, behind the plate seems unresolved and there are too many spots up for grabs on the pitching staff not to mention a manager who’s almost been ousted a couple of times there.

The Mariners are going to be a really interesting team to watch this year. While Choo’s being thought of as the guy to watch in that division its Guity that could be the real upcoming star but that team hasn’t got much there that has a winning mentality, too many guys with too many knocks on them and can Rob Johnson call a good enough game to merit being an everyday catcher?

Angels haven’t lost that much they haven’t got something to replace it. I think fantasy baseball really kills a team like the Angels but that’s an organisation who knows never gotten caught up in the name on the back of the uniform and think a lot of people are underestimating them after Seattles moves and all that talent on the Rangers.

Angels
Rangers
Mariners
A’s

But my intuition is telling me somehow the Mariners might pull off something nice. We’ll see.

The Angels, Rangers, and Mariners have the potential of the best three team race in MLB this year unless Tampa gets hot again and makes things interesting in the AL East. The Rockies, Dodgers, and Giants look like they could be interesting too.

the Angels just have a winning attitude, and possibly the best Manager in baseball

Rangers could definitely be a playoff team..

Mariners need a health Bedard.. and then their young guys to step up
..a lineup with great table setters, Ichiro & Chone Figgins… but then nobody to drive them in.

I think the Mariners are about an 85 win team tops.. and the other two teams will be better in my opinion.. thats a very good division though. If you get the chance, watch those teams a lot because they’ll be veryy good. I think the NL West will be very good this year too.. Rockies, Giants, Dodgers.. and the Diamondbacks are decent too

1)Halos 89-73 — While the FA losses hurt, I think Anaheim is still the most balanced team in the west with the best manager in the game. This isn’t the first time they’ve lost key players, and they just keep on chugging. I expect that to continue this year, the competition will be stiffer sure, but, I still like the Angels.

2)Rangers 86-76 — Should be the same old story in Texas, will they get the pitching? If Harden stays healthy and has a nice year they may just be able to take the division.

3)M’s 83-79 — While the M’s did make some nice moves, I don’t see an increase in wins this year. I think a couple games over .500 is reasonable. With their anemic offense, they’re gonna have a tough time getting over the 85 win mark.

4)A’s 80-82 — Kind of a tough one here, early reports on Sheets look good, that’s going to have to continue for the A’s to remain in the mix. Oakland has some nice young players as usual, can they surprise and maybe make for a nice 4 way race down the stretch? I don’t think a .500 finish is out of the question.

1) Mariners
2) Angels
3) Rangers
4) A’s

The Angel’s are still quite good, but I don’t think they are #1 in the division again this year. Mariners have made the most improvements with the fewest losses, so I think they have a very good chance of winning the division. They may not make it to the World Series, but making the ALCS is a strong possibility.

Would really love to see the A’s pull off a miracle and win the division, but it doesn’t look to be in the cards for them this year. The Rangers will certainly be a team to watch, but I think Second Place is the best case scenerio for them, and they are more likely to come in Third behind the Angels.