Baseball Update: AL West

The Baseball Update is a look at the happenings around Major League Baseball

Well, well the Texas Rangers aren't going anywhere. During most years the Rangers would have folded by now and slide right down the AL West standings. Instead the Rangers have won seven in a row and have gone 8-2 in the last ten games. Even bigger they managed to sweep both divisional rivals Seattle and Anaheim.

Everything is going right for the Rangers, even their pitching staff is improving. Their overall ERA is 4.54 and their bullpen has improved dramatically. Their closer Frank Francisco has saved nine games and hasn't given up a run. This could be the year we see the Rangers in the playoffs this year?

They are who we thought they were: Yes the Seattle Mariners are who we thought they were. A mediocre team. In their last ten games they have gone 3-7 losing close games. Their lineup hasn't helped. They are hitting a combined .255 with 226 strikeouts and 96 walks. If the Big Puma receives the individual Dave Kingman Award then the Mariners might receive the team Dave Kingman Award. If you average out the number of games they have played with the strikeouts, they are averaging 5 strikeouts per game. That is horrible.

Things can only get worse: The Oakland A's season hasn't gone the way they thought it would go. Billy Beane completely rebuilt the lineup by adding Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, and Orlando Cabrera to support a very young pitching staff. Well the pitching staff carried this team at the beginning of the season, but the young guys still need to grow. And the A's lineup hasn't exactly helped. Giambi is hitting at the Mendoza line and he has more strikeouts(26) than hits(23). And you can also see Holliday's feature slipping right in front of him. This is his contract year and he hasn't proven yet that he deserves a big money deal. I guess he should have signed that contract in Denver.

Also the pitching staff is getting worse by the game. They have been blown out in four straight games and even blew a five run lead against Detroit on Saturday. Things can only get worse for this team. I can already see Beane now working the phones seeing if any team is interested in Holliday and the other players.

The Eric Chavez Story: The never ending depressing story known as Eric Chavez's life has turned into another bad direction. According to the SF Chronicle, Chavez's career may be coming to an end.

Chavez is rehabbing an injured back. He has a herniated disk and it doesn't look like it's heeling. Chavez is trying to make a comeback but doctors have told him that his back can go out any moment. Even if he sneezes. Just a sad end to a depressing career. I definitely feel for the guy.

Let's try this again: After being thrown out of his first start of the season after only two pitches, John Lackey was able to make his second season debut. And lucky for him, he faced off against the Mariners. Lackey went five inning giving up seven hits, five runs, and three strikeouts. Might as well ease him into the lineup.

A Look Ahead
After the A's finish their series with Tampa Bay they play an interleague crapfest series with Arizona. Whoever wins a game in this series and no one witness' it, does it really happen?

The fight for naming rights takes place this weekend. The Dodger and Angels play a three-game series at Dodger Stadium this weekend. Whoever wins this series wins the right to the Los Angeles name.

San Francisco visits Seattle this weekend to settle the debate to who has the worse lineup in the Majors. I expect a combined 30 strikeouts, 7 double plays, and 5 runs for the series.

Texas and Houston battle it out for Texas over the weekend. This is a matchup of W. versus H.W. The battle commences on Friday.