Casey Greer's 2008 MLB Season Preview
AL West
All baseball season previews have been compiled by Casey Greer.
Send Casey an e-mail here: caseymgreer@gmail.com
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Anaheim Angels (94-68)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 90-72
Key Additions:
Jon Garland, RHP
Torii Hunter, OF
Key Losses:
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Bartolo Colon, RHP
Summary: The Anahe- er, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, have a name that rolls off the tongue like a brick on ice. They had a productive offseason, despite overpaying for Torii Hunter. Hunter has never hit 30 homeruns in a season, has never batted .300, has never had an on-base percentage over .350, and has only slugged over .500 in two seasons, one being last season. He's an amazing defensive outfielder, and had Vladimir Guererro been more receptive to switching to DH, much of Hunter's offensive deficiencies could have been accounted for. Jon Garland is a good pitcher, pretty young, but probably a middle of the rotation starter on a good team. The Angels' one and two starters, Kelvim Escobar and John Lackey both have bent wings at the moment. If Lackey and Escobar's absence can be overcome, paired with a slow start by the rest of the division, the Angels have a good chance to repeat as division champs.
2008 Projection: 90-72
Oakland Athletics (76-86)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Keith Foulke, RHP
Mike Sweeney, 1b
Carlos Gonzalez, OF
Chris Carter, 1b
Key Losses:
Dan Haren, RHP
Mark Kotsay, OF
Chris Snelling, OF
Marco Scutaro, 2b
Shannon Stewart, OF
Nick Swisher, OF
Summary: The A's followed their leader's credo once again. Trading Nick Swisher and Dan Haren for a stable of prospects falls in line with Billy Beane's philosophy. The A's haven't happened upon the top end starters that have made Beane look like a genius since the late 90's, but they continue to put a solid product on the field. If Rich Harden stays healthy, and Joe Blanton isn't traded, the A's could still post a solid year. The A's are moving to Fremont, California, as soon as 2010, and could be looking to keep their payroll at a minimum, allowing them to adjust to a change in revenue. 2008 will be a down year for the A's, but they are continually re-tooling, and should be competitive soon.
2008 Projection: 81-81
Seattle Mariners (88-74)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Erik Bedard, LHP
Carlos Silva, RHP
Miguel Cairo, INF
Brad Wilkerson, OF/1b
Key Losses:
Jose Guillen, OF
Adam Jones, OF
George Sherrill, LHP
Summary: The Mariners had an uncharacteristic offseason. The Mariners' brass isn't involved in the trading of marquee players very often, and generally their largest acquisitions are low-risk veterans. Carlos Silva's repertoire of pitches certainly lends itself to Safeco Field, as do Erik Bedard's. The two pitchers will add much needed depth and talent to a rotation which included Horacio Ramirez, Jeff Weaver, Cha Seung Baek, and Ryan Feierabend at times during 2007, and still includes Miguel Batista. Brandon Morrow could supplant Batista by mid-season. The losses of Adam Jones and Jose Guillen left a hole in right field, though Brad Wilkerson is an adequate replacement for 2008. The Mariners far overachieved their Pythagorean projection in 2007, but play in a division which is weak, and hasn't improved much since 2007.
2008 Projection: 92-70
Texas Rangers (75-87)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Milton Bradley, OF
Kazuo Fukumori, RHP
Eddie Guardado, LHP
Josh Hamilton, OF
Jason Jennings, RHP
Chris Shelton, 1b
Key Losses:
Brad Wilkerson, OF
Summary: The 2007 Rangers rode their bullpen to a below-average record. Their offense wasn't great, their starting pitching was atrocious, and some of the biggest contributors to their success are gone. Mark Teixera is a Brave, Eric Gagne is a Brewer, after finishing 2007 with the Red Sox. The Rangers have made meaningful additions, and a lot of them, however, while they shored up an outfield that was a weakness in 2007, the Rangers still have holes in their infield. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is certainly an upgrade offensively at catcher over Gerald Laird, but the young catcher will likely go through growing pains defensively. For a team whose best aspect in 2007 was its bullpen, this could be a recipe for disaster.
2008 Projection: 68-94
*Note (per BaseballReference.com) - The Pythagorean Theorem of Baseball is a creation of Bill James which relates the number of runs a team has scored and surrendered to its actual winning percentage, based on the idea that runs scored/runs allowed is a better indicator of a team's (future) performance than a team's actual winning percentage.
Back to the 2008 MLB Season Preview Home Page.
Send Casey an e-mail here: caseymgreer@gmail.com
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: wpc112@gmail.com
Anaheim Angels (94-68)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 90-72
Key Additions:
Key Losses:
Summary: The Anahe- er, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, have a name that rolls off the tongue like a brick on ice. They had a productive offseason, despite overpaying for Torii Hunter. Hunter has never hit 30 homeruns in a season, has never batted .300, has never had an on-base percentage over .350, and has only slugged over .500 in two seasons, one being last season. He's an amazing defensive outfielder, and had Vladimir Guererro been more receptive to switching to DH, much of Hunter's offensive deficiencies could have been accounted for. Jon Garland is a good pitcher, pretty young, but probably a middle of the rotation starter on a good team. The Angels' one and two starters, Kelvim Escobar and John Lackey both have bent wings at the moment. If Lackey and Escobar's absence can be overcome, paired with a slow start by the rest of the division, the Angels have a good chance to repeat as division champs.
2008 Projection: 90-72
Oakland Athletics (76-86)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Key Losses:
Summary: The A's followed their leader's credo once again. Trading Nick Swisher and Dan Haren for a stable of prospects falls in line with Billy Beane's philosophy. The A's haven't happened upon the top end starters that have made Beane look like a genius since the late 90's, but they continue to put a solid product on the field. If Rich Harden stays healthy, and Joe Blanton isn't traded, the A's could still post a solid year. The A's are moving to Fremont, California, as soon as 2010, and could be looking to keep their payroll at a minimum, allowing them to adjust to a change in revenue. 2008 will be a down year for the A's, but they are continually re-tooling, and should be competitive soon.
2008 Projection: 81-81
Seattle Mariners (88-74)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Key Losses:
Summary: The Mariners had an uncharacteristic offseason. The Mariners' brass isn't involved in the trading of marquee players very often, and generally their largest acquisitions are low-risk veterans. Carlos Silva's repertoire of pitches certainly lends itself to Safeco Field, as do Erik Bedard's. The two pitchers will add much needed depth and talent to a rotation which included Horacio Ramirez, Jeff Weaver, Cha Seung Baek, and Ryan Feierabend at times during 2007, and still includes Miguel Batista. Brandon Morrow could supplant Batista by mid-season. The losses of Adam Jones and Jose Guillen left a hole in right field, though Brad Wilkerson is an adequate replacement for 2008. The Mariners far overachieved their Pythagorean projection in 2007, but play in a division which is weak, and hasn't improved much since 2007.
2008 Projection: 92-70
Texas Rangers (75-87)
2007 Pythagorean* Record: 79-83
Key Additions:
Key Losses:
Summary: The 2007 Rangers rode their bullpen to a below-average record. Their offense wasn't great, their starting pitching was atrocious, and some of the biggest contributors to their success are gone. Mark Teixera is a Brave, Eric Gagne is a Brewer, after finishing 2007 with the Red Sox. The Rangers have made meaningful additions, and a lot of them, however, while they shored up an outfield that was a weakness in 2007, the Rangers still have holes in their infield. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is certainly an upgrade offensively at catcher over Gerald Laird, but the young catcher will likely go through growing pains defensively. For a team whose best aspect in 2007 was its bullpen, this could be a recipe for disaster.
2008 Projection: 68-94
*Note (per BaseballReference.com) - The Pythagorean Theorem of Baseball is a creation of Bill James which relates the number of runs a team has scored and surrendered to its actual winning percentage, based on the idea that runs scored/runs allowed is a better indicator of a team's (future) performance than a team's actual winning percentage.
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