Baseball AL West Preview

Moving on to more pleasant topics, such as the boys of summer in the AL West. We'll cross up and start in the North this time.

In Seattle, team Starbucks has a very nice park with all the amenities. They have some hitters, too, starting with CF Ichiro Suzuki, fellow Japanese import C Kenji Johjima, 1B Richie Sexton, 3B Adrian Beltre, LF Raul Ibanez, and new DH Jose Vidro. The staff look servicable, with Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez making up the rotation. These guys can get the job done but nothing to get too excited about except perhaps Felix, who had 12 k's in the opener. JJ Putz continues to close for the club.

Moving down the coast to the Moneyballers (appropriately enough, attired in green unis), they just hope letting go the Big Three (Zito, Hudson, & Mulder) doesn't come back to haunt them someday, but it seems to be working out for now. The also hope SP Rich Harden stays healthy. He should lead a solid rotation with Dan Haren, Joe Blanton, Joe Kennedy, and the injured (but returning soon) Estoban Loiza (Chad Gaudin fill in). Former UT star Huston Street is solid at the end of games. The offense needs big stick Eric Chavez to return to form, along with good seasons from 1B Nick Swisher, new DH/C Mike Piazza, LF Shannon Stewart and CF Milton Bradley. Whether or not they get all that is anyone's guess, but they seem to perform second half miracles every year, so keep a keen eye on this team.

Further south is the Team with a Really Long Name and it has been force to go with a lot of youth to complement uber RF Vlad Guerrero and longtime vet LF Garret Anderson - namely 1B Casey Kotchman, 2B Howie Kendrick, and 3B Maicer Izturis, and how the kids go might be how the team goes. Closer Fransisco Rodriguez is lights out, and Scott Shields is also solid in the eighth. John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santanna eagerly await the return of ace Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver from the DL, and the club would love to see CF Chone Figgins, 3B Dallas McPherson, and LF Juan Rivera back from injury as well. This team looks like a MASH unit today, but the pitchers appear almost back and Figgins is likely back before Memorial Day. Whether or not they are still in the hunt by then is hard to say.

Far from the coast, the Lone Star Republic's best team boasts a lot of sticks, most notably in the IF with 1B Mark Teixera, SS Michale Young, 3B Hank Blalock and young 2B Ian Kinsler. The team signed Sammy Sosa as DH this winter, which could look like a great move if he can stay both healthy and effective. Kevin Millwood and Vincent Padilla provide at least a serviceable fron end to the rotation, although it drops off after that considerably. Akinori Otsuka gets the saves unless injury plagued Eric Gagne returns to greatness.

This is a strange division to forecast due to alot of impact injuries. On paper, Team Starbucks looks the best mostly due to their current health status, and unless either of the teams from Cali gets healthy, they could wind up running away with it. But if either Cali team get to full strength, it could make it an entertaining summer out West. The team in green seems to close the season with a bang most years, so if they are hanging around at the break, it should be real interesting. The men with badges should be at least competitive as long as the staff holds together, and if their longshot pickups work out, they could make it fun as well. So the whole enchilda may wind up being decided late in the fall - the way it should be.