Baseball Update: AL West

The AL West is still wide open. Seattle leads the division but only 4.5 games separate them from last place. The Angles have been slowly recovering from the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart. After a slow start, the Angels have gone 7-3 in their last ten games and have won three straight. I still like them to win the division.

The Rangers have the offense to compete in the American League, but their pitching staff is still suspect. The A's lineup has been slumping, but I expect these guys to improve. They have too many veteran hitters to slump much longer.

Must Improve: If the Texas Rangers want to win the AL West and compete in the playoffs, they need more from their pitching staff. They have the offense to compete in the American League, but their starting pitching is suspect. Kevin Milwood has had a very solid year for the Rangers as expected, but the rest of the staff is poor. Not another Rangers starting pitcher has an ERA lower than 4.67 and none of them have more than 19 strikeouts for the year. The bullpen has been solid with Frank Fransisco as the closer, but they need strong starting pitching to get there. Hell, Kris Benson has started a couple of games for the Rangers. I wonder what Kris' wife has been up to lately?


Keep an eye on: Angels catcher Mike Napoli has continued his hot hitting streak. He has reached base 13 out of 14 games and went 4-for-4 last night against the A's. Right now he is hitting .667 against right handed hitters. And on nights when he isn't catching, he is hitting at DH. He is living up to his expectations.

A product of the system?: There has always been speculation that Colorado Rockies hitters are a product of their surroundings. Well can you say the same about former Rockies hitter, Matt Holliday? Holliday is hitting .223 with two home runs, 15 RBI's, and 17 strikeouts. Now Holliday is known as a slow starter, but he really could be a product of that Coors Field system. Well at least he has this cute photo of him and his wife.