American League, West Division

Overview: It as always bugged me that this is only a 4 team division (and that the NL Central has 6 teams). To make it right, move Houston to NL West and Colorado to the AL West. I'm not sure what the problem with this scenario is, but as it is now, the Angels have a distinct advantage as always. Although this year the Athletics should be nipping at their heels. The Rangers and Mariners should fill out a very bland division.

1. Los Angeles Angels (95-100 wins) This very balanced team still without KRod and Teixeira shouldn't have any problems winning this division. A full year of Lackey will help tremendously, and Fuentes should be able to save 40 games without breaking much of a sweat. They have some holes in the lineup for sure, but have the resources to fill them mid season as they see fit. I really thought they'd go after Manny in the offseason, but may look toward Holliday to replace an aging, creaking Vlad.

2. Oakland Athletics (85-90 wins) The A's should be able to hang with the Angels for the better part of the summer, and it may even come down to the last 6 of 9 games when they play each other. Oakland is coming at '09 with a win-now approach, with the additions of Giambi and Holliday. But for them to truly have success this year, they need Chavez to return healthy and consistent (unlikely) and for their young pitching to mature they way they hope (likely). If they struggle though, Holliday will absolutely be moved at the deadline, as there's no way they keep the Boras client for 2010 and beyond.

3. Texas Rangers (75-80 wins) Broken record, all hitting no pitching. Kevin Millwood and Vincente Padilla do not (never have, never will) constitute a 1-2 rotation for a playoff contender. Until Texas signs a Sheets-project, or any other top notch pitcher, they will never sniff the postseason. Maybe some of the young pitchers will step up, but Texas is a tough place for a rookie pitcher with a poor defense to gain confidence. They sure can slug though, wow.

4. Seattle Mariners (60-65 wins) Nothing daring about saying this team should lose a 100 and be in the cellar, huh? While I think Bedard will regain his form, and with Felix should be a solid 1-2 punch, that's about all Seattle's got going for it. Beltre is all the pop they have, and once again Ichiro is an all-star. But that's about it. In this division, they just can't compete.