Author: Trey Johnson - Monday, May 01, 2006

Part three of our six part baseball division breakdown covers the American League West. With the month of April in the books the AL West, which is proving to be mediocre at best, should at least provide some thrills for the race to the division crown.

There are only 2.5 games separating the top and the bottom teams. The Angels and the Rangers lead the division with whopping 12-12 records while Oakland follows .5 games back at 11-12. Seattle finds themselves in the basement 2.5 games back with a 10-15 record. Unless one of these teams decides to pick it up a notch this will be a long season for you west coast fans.

We stated in part one of this series that you do not want to take the summer off. Baseball has the potential to be your biggest money making season and we are proving it with a solid 18-7 record to this point. Don't miss any of our money making baseball selections on Mycapper.com.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels took a big hit this off-season with the departures of starting pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Paul Byrd along with one of their best hitters Bengie Molina.

The Angels success this season rides with Cy Young award winner Bartolo Colon and the rest of the pitching staff. If Colon doesn't have any more shoulder issues and John Lackey continues to improve along with Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana the Angels will once again prove to be one of the elite teams in the American League.

With arguably one of the best starting rotations and bullpens in the division they should once again be considered one of the favorites. However with the rest of the division upgrading during the winter and question marks with their offense they still have a lot to prove if they want to be considered World Series contenders.

Oakland Athletics

After dumping Hudson and Mulder prior to last season the A's dropped to 15 games below .500 in May. Once the dust settled they proved what type of team they really are by turning the season around and battling the Angels for the division crown until the last week of the season.

With the signing of Esteban Loaiza to a three year deal and the additions of Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley they seem set to make a serious run at the division top spot this season. The key will be to keep the pitching staff improving. Keep Frank Thomas healthy and prevent major meltdowns from the volatile Milton Bradley.

The A's are basically the same team that gave the Angels a run for it last season. If their winter additions pay off Oakland fans just might see their team at the top of the AL West.

Seattle Mariners

Off back-to-back seasons with 90 plus losses the Mariners needed to shake things up. They have been in desperate need of a blockbuster trade for several years now. They didn't get it again this off season! Prior to last season they added Adrian Beltre at third and Richie Sexson at first. This winter they added Jarrod Washburn to the pitching rotation and Japanese star Kenji Johjima behind the plate. To improve their struggling offense the Mariners added Carl Everett and Matt Lawton.

The big question is will it be enough? Seattle should be better. They improved in every facet of the game but their talent is still just average. If the first month of the season is any indication the Mariners should get used to the basement. A .500 season would be considered a success in Seattle.

Texas Rangers

After struggling for over five years on the mound the Rangers completely revamped their pitching staff. Not one of their 2005 starters remain on the team. Ryan Drese was lost on waivers. Kenny Rogers went to Detroit. Chris Young and Chan Ho Park were traded to San Diego and Pedro Astacio was released.

In 2006 the Rangers are going with a mix of veteran free agents and their own young arms. They picked up Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla and Adam Eaton to anchor a rotation that will be completed with home grown righties Kameron Loe and Juan Dominquez.

Although the Rangers look improved on paper the AL West will be tough division to win. If the rest of the pack continues to win at a 50-percent pace throughout the season the new look Rangers could capture the division crown. As I said if nothing else this division race should be fun to watch.

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