The American League West may be the craziest division in all of baseball, as there are so many questions for all of these teams.
Let's get started:
Oakland Athletics: The Athletics were swept out of the divisional round by the Detriot Tigers, and the first thing the Athletics did was fire manager Ken Macha and replace him with Bob Geren. The Athletics lost their best starter to the other side of the Bay (Barry Zito) and replaced him with Rich Harden. The Athletics also lost their Designated hitter because the green was more north of the border (Frank Thomas) and the Athletics replaced him with a veteran catcher who may never have the chance to play catcher (Mike Piazza.) The Athletics have had a knack for losing great players and replacing them with other players. The question is: will they still have enough talent to hold off the rest of the division?
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Angels biggest offseason acquisition was acquiring former Texas Ranger Gary Matthews Jr. The Angels have Vladamir Guererro in left field, Gary Matthews Jr in Center field, and Garret Anderson in right field.
Texas Rangers: Don't look now, but Sammy Sosa, the 40 year old outfielder (former member of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Texas Rangers) will play Designated Hitter for the Rangers in Arlington while the Rangers will put young Nelson Cruz in right field.
Seattle Mariners: This Seattle club is mediocre in a medicore division. Ichiro is a great player, but the Mariners need to build a team around him (which their still not doing.) 19 year old Seattle Ace Felix Hernandez could win some games for this team, as will Jeff Weaver, but Seattle Manager Mike Hargrove will have to look for a new job this offseason.
No comments:
Post a Comment