In an effort to move on, thoughts on other teams/divisions.
AL West
Angels - A deep pitching staff, lots of depth of position players, and solid defensively. Likely the favorites, but it's surprising how little power they had in 2007. A .417 SLG for an AL team is a weakness and the addition of Torii Hunter only partly addresses it. They're definitely outgunned against the other elite teams of the AL.
Mariners - Probably overachieved a bit last year, they were outscored, but adding Bedard to go along with King Felix gives them one of the most impressive 1 - 2 punches in baseball. And Putz is a shutdown closer. The middle infield, Sexson, and Wilkerson are probably areas that they could look to upgrade during the season.
Oakland - Quite a haul of prospects that they collected this offseason. Barton, Cust, Buck, Gonzalez probably gives them a better offensive core than they get credit for, but it's certainly not overwhelming. I have a feeling that a surgically repaired Chavez will bounce back some, until he's traded at the deadline, but I've given up on Bobby Crosby ever amounting to anything. Street and Blanton probably get traded too. Even without Haren, the pitching staff is deep enough that they won't be a weakness, but they won't carry the team either. I expect that they'll finish somewhere around 75 wins. That's not bad for a team that's actively rebuilding.
Texas - Well Josh Hamilton should help. And their bullpen looks solid. Kinsler and Young are solid and Saltalamacchia has a high upside, but are they ever going to put together a starting rotation? On paper, they might have the worst rotation in the AL. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't catch Oakland this year.
AL West
Angels - A deep pitching staff, lots of depth of position players, and solid defensively. Likely the favorites, but it's surprising how little power they had in 2007. A .417 SLG for an AL team is a weakness and the addition of Torii Hunter only partly addresses it. They're definitely outgunned against the other elite teams of the AL.
Mariners - Probably overachieved a bit last year, they were outscored, but adding Bedard to go along with King Felix gives them one of the most impressive 1 - 2 punches in baseball. And Putz is a shutdown closer. The middle infield, Sexson, and Wilkerson are probably areas that they could look to upgrade during the season.
Oakland - Quite a haul of prospects that they collected this offseason. Barton, Cust, Buck, Gonzalez probably gives them a better offensive core than they get credit for, but it's certainly not overwhelming. I have a feeling that a surgically repaired Chavez will bounce back some, until he's traded at the deadline, but I've given up on Bobby Crosby ever amounting to anything. Street and Blanton probably get traded too. Even without Haren, the pitching staff is deep enough that they won't be a weakness, but they won't carry the team either. I expect that they'll finish somewhere around 75 wins. That's not bad for a team that's actively rebuilding.
Texas - Well Josh Hamilton should help. And their bullpen looks solid. Kinsler and Young are solid and Saltalamacchia has a high upside, but are they ever going to put together a starting rotation? On paper, they might have the worst rotation in the AL. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't catch Oakland this year.
