MLB Preview: West

It is day three of baseball preview week here at Juice and The Kicker. Today we are running through the AL and NL West divisions. So let's just go ahead and jump right on in.

Juice's Predictions

AL West:
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Texas Rangers
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Oakland Athletics

Let me make one thing abundantly clear: Just because I put the Rangers in second place, doesn't mean they will be good. It just means they will be the least bad of the three bad teams in this division. Honestly, though, if the Rangers could just find some damn pitching (you haven't had any since Nolan Ryan for Christ sakes. How have you not picked up on this yet?) they would win this division running away. The Angels are not that good. They are good. But not THAT good. The Rangers offense is vastly superior, and could very well be the best offense in baseball, for that matter. But, man is that rotation bad. Just one or two pitchers. That is all you need to be a serious contender. Maybe Ryan can make a comeback...

Why did I move the Mariners ahead of the A's in the standings you may wonder. They just traded for Matt Holliday and signed Jason Giambi, after all. To be honest I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw their pitching staff. I'm sure you'll do the same. Even if Oakland scores 10 runs a game, they'll lose 11-10.

I would like to give Billy Beane kudos, however, for basically trading away a set of inferior prospects in essence for a set of new prospects that should, in theory, be much better. That isn't technically what he did, but after he trades Matt Holliday for the new set, that is how the scenario will play out -- old crappy prospects for new less crappy prospects. Genius.

As for the Mariners, they are bound to be better than last year. That isn't taking much of a leap of faith, of course, since they were the worst team in baseball. However, I still believe in Erik Bedard, and Felix Hernandez dominates about once every fifth game he pitches (the other four games are atrocious mind you). Based on that pitching, I think they can squeak ahead of their A's. And, yes, I did have to spend an inordinate amount of time talking myself into Seattle's offense. It can't be any worse than the A's though. You know, once they trade away Holliday.

(Note: I am a little worried about John Lackey and Ervin Santana, but if all goes according to plan they should be back about a month into the season. If they aren't, this division could turn into a toss up rat race.)

NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

Clayton Kershaw is the key to the NL west which, of course, is strange because Clayton Kershaw is younger than me. Without Kershaw stepping up, the Dodgers have absolutely no pitching depth. Yes, Chad Billingsley has proven himself a very good pitcher, and both Hiroki Kuroda and Randy Wolf are serviceable, but without Kershaw putting up good numbers, this rotation could struggle. The fact is, however, The Dodgers have far and away the best lineup in the division, and probably the deepest team in baseball. They have two guys on the bench that would start on many teams (Juan Pierre and Blake DeWitt) and one of the best backup catchers in baseball (Brad Ausmus) who, might I add, is backing up one of the best starting catchers in baseball. This is quite the turnaround for the Dodgers – a very talented offense and a questionable pitching staff. All they need is for Manny to kidnap Pedro and the team will basically be set.

The way I see it, the Dodgers realistically have two challengers for the top spot in the division: The Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants. The Giants, if they can muster up some offense (Pablo Sandoval anyone?) could very well compete for the top spot in the division. They have three exceptional young pitchers in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathon Sanchez, and two solid veterans in Randy Johnson and Barry Zito. And, yes, I realize I just called Barry Zito a “solid veteran,” but consider this: He will very likely be the fifth starter by the end of the year. Yes, I realize he is making around $18 million a year, but if you throw out that fact, he is a pretty damn good fifth starter. He won ten games last year. If you stop thinking of him as an ace, just because the Giants were dumb enough to give him ace money, and think of him as the fourth or fifth starter he has become, he is still pretty good. Just ponder that for awhile.

As for the Diamondbacks, if their young offense finally breaks out this year, they could be very, very good. They have the pitching (lead by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren) to compete, it is just a matter if Justin Upton and crew finally make “the leap.”

As for the Rockies and Padres, neither one has nearly enough to compete. In fact I am dubbing the Padres as the worst team in baseball this year. Poor Jake Peavey. I really hope he gets traded, both for his sake, and the sake of my fantasy team.

The Kicker's Prediction's

AL West:
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

This is the BEST 4 team division in the Major Leagues. The LAAAAAAA are going to win the division, that's basically a lock. A solid, deep rotation (assuming Ervin Santana comes back eventually) and some good, but old, hitters will put them in the playoffs. However, beating out Texas, Oakland and Seattle isn't exactly a daunting task.

The Rangers have a great lineup with a shitty rotation. Wow, thats new for them. They always have great pitching (sarcasm). They could compete for the division title with some pitching and a prolonged visit to the DL by Ervin Santana (he use to want people to call him Johan, I'm dead serious).

The A's and Mariners will battle for 3rd and last but I see the A's prevailing. Any team who gave Carlos Silva $12 million a year can't take third in a division, even if there is only four teams. Sorry Seattle fans. Maybe your team can move to Oklahoma City...But I think the A's will be fine and adding Matt Holliday can't hurt (though in all likelihood he will be traded because thats what small market teams do)

NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

This is another chance for LA to dominate a sport. Just like the LA football team...the LA Clippers...or the LA Kings (are the Kings still a hockey team? If yes, are they in LA?) LA needs both baseball teams to win their divisions to give the fans something to pretend to care about, show up late for and leave early to get to an after party when its the top of the 6th inning. Anyway, enough about LA, they have Manny and he likes warm weather. He will be great and they will win this awful division.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have potential Justin Upton and Stephen Drew but their rotation looks a little shaky after Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. However, former Twin Augie Ojeda seems to like playing their and his name is Augie. Also, Conor Jackson could be a big player for them and if LA slips they will have a chance to win the division. They also have young Billy Buckner, thats not a bad sign at all for a team...

If Tim Line of cum can pitch 150 games the Giants can compete. But since he is only 14 they might be more conservative with him. One fun fact about the Giants is that when newly acquired Randy Johnson started pitching in the MLB Line of cum was 4. Another fun fact, I am older than Pablo Sandoval by 13 days! But for real, the Giants arent very good.

The Rockies have a few decent bats but to win at Coors field you need a miracle but they already used that or they need pitching, they don't have that. Last and certainly least is the Fathers. After losing one of the ugliest pro athletes in Khalil Green (shield your eyes) the Padres are destined for better things, just not in the way of winning games. With a bad lineup and a shaky rotation the Padres are doomed for failure. (They have a really nice ballpark though, its awesome)

Coming Tomorrow: Playoff and Awards Predictions