AL West (04/28/00)As predictable as the East divisions have been for the past 4 years, the West divisions have been chaotic. The Rangers have won in the AL West for the past couple of years, but they haven't had it easy. This year should be even more interesting.
Conclusion
While the Rangers will be better in the long run with what they got in the Gonzales trade, in the short run they became a lot less experienced. Their starting pitching still has some questions and little strength beyond Rogers. The A's offensive machine might eventually set scoring records but the defense and the lack of mature starting pitching will probably prevent them from taking the division this year. Seattle suddenly became a pretty balanced team, and although they would have been better with Griffey, they still have enough offense to be competitive and their edge in defense and pitching makes them the division favorite. Anaheim is headed in the right direction but is still a few pieces and a few years away from challenging for the division.
1) Mariners
2) A's
3) Rangers
4) Angels