Feature Presentation

AL: East | Central | West
NL: East (4/16) | Central (4/18) | West (4/20)

AL WEST

Note: placed in predicted order of finish

Los Angeles Angels

   The Good: Lots of areas to like with this Angels club. A very versatile team that has just the right amount of speed, contact hitting, starting pitching and bullpen help to win the AL West Division for a 2nd straight year. Vladimir Guerrero is one of the game's best players and has a supporting cast to keep him as one of the game's elites. The team ERA ranked third in the AL last season and even with the departures of Paul Byrd and Jarrod Washburn, the Angels will remain in the Top 5 of best ERAs.
   The Bad: Would have like to have seen the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-Mighty-Ducks-whatever-the-hell-they-are-called to have picked up a bigger bat to add a tad bit more power to the line-up. The worst thing that could happen to the Angels is Vlad getting hurt (knock on wood, hope he doesn't) which would knock them out of the playoffs immediately.
   The Skinny: I can't see what the Athletics did in the offseason to make them the favorites over the Angels? LA is a good ball club with a solid bullpen (just added Hector Carrasco) and a line-up that doesn't have many holes. Their biggest strength is their starting pitching, even if us East Coasters can't name more than two members of it.

Oakland Athletics

   The Good: Much like the Angels, the A's are very balanced. And rightfully so, that's what good teams are. You have a rotation headlined by Barry Zito, an infield ran by Eric Chavez and an outfield manned by Jay Payton. It's a full-course roster with a side of Huston Street (as your closer) and a hint of Frank Thomas (as your DH). While they could compete for the Wild Card, they still have a few ingredients short of winning best prize.
   The Bad: Those ingredients include no speed, no depth, no right-handed power (well, except for Frank of course), and no health insurance. Thomas is always hurt. Chavez was banged up pretty good for most of last season. Bobby Crosby missed almost half the season. And I think Rich Harden is still on the DL from last year.
   The Skinny: Aforementioned, the A's balanced attack ranked 6th in the AL in runs scored (772), 4th in runs allowed (658) and bullpen ERA (3.39) and 3rd in starter's ERA (3.82). They'll somehow need to find a way to steal bases and play some hit-and-run. They'll also need better bench production and the most obvious to stay off the DL. If so, they could be a tasty pick to make the postseason.

Texas Rangers

   The Good: The infield alone makes the Rangers the best team to finish third-place their Division ever. Mark Teixeira at 1B, Michael Young at SS, Hank Blalock at 3B and even youngster Ian Kinsler at 2B ... that's one of the best infields in the game. While they gave up a lot by trading away Alfonso Soriano, they did gain in "Mr. Versatility" Brad Wilkerson who can bat in different spots in the line-up, play all three outfield positions and be an automatic fan-favorite to the Rangers faithful.
   The Bad: That fan-favorite tends to strike out a lot and brings nowhere close to the amount of home runs Soriano did for the Rangers. The starting rotation is pretty weak and the bullpen is a joke.
   The Skinny: This team will score a lot of runs that's for sure, but they will also give up a lot, too. If they can somehow find a way to bolster their rotation they could give the A's a run for their money for a 2nd place finish. (Cue the Office Space clip) What if - and believe me this is hypothetical - but what if they were to get Roger Clemens to a contract...leading them to the playoffs. Would that do anything for you? (End clip)

Seattle Mariners

   The Good: Ichiro. Starbucks. Flashbacks of Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Tino Martinez on the same team. Real World Seattle. Starbucks. Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks. Eh, rain? Starbucks. No, really, there are a few decent players on the Mariner's 25-man roster, but as a whole, they are not capable of making it to postseason play. Third place at best.
   The Bad: The pitching staff. It's pretty bad. Sure, they added Washburn and it's nice to see Felix Hernandez aka "the 19-year old" in the mix, but this rotation is going to get shelled. As our friend DJ Gallo (of ESPN's Page 2 and SportsPickle.com) points out Jamie Moyer is still an aging bum who takes a whole millenium to get the ball to reach the catcher's mitt.
   The Skinny: The Mariner's aren't awful, they just won't fare well against the rest of the AL West teams whom can all put up runs on the scoreboard. Should be another long, wet, summer in Seattle.

You can reach Doug McKinney @ dmckinney@featurepresentationonline.com.