2008 Season Review: AL West

For the second season in a row, the AL West became a one-team division. Though the first half of the season was close between the Angels and the Athletics, it was the Rangers that made a surprising run to inch closer to competitiveness. All the while, the Seattle Mariners had promise with their offseason acquisition of Eric Bedard, but the Mariners finished in last place in the AL West and John McClaren was fired from a once-proud franchise. Here is a look at how the AL West shaped up in 2008:

Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles: The Angels again won the AL West winning the division by 21 games. The Texas Rangers came in second with a 79-83 record. The Angels completed their season 100-62.

What worked: The Angels won 17 games by one run, 22 games by two runs or less, and 13 by three or less. Their bullpen was definitely their strength ranking first in the AL West with bullpen ERA, non blown saves, and saves. An interesting thing of note was the Angels starters were third in the West in starters ERA. The ability to play games this close is a testament to the Angels and their obvious emphasis on pitching. With Francisco Rodriguez as the closer, the Angels dominated in close games since 2005. 2008 was no exception. That ultimately led them to a 100-win season.

What else worked out really well for the Angels was the ability to swipe bases. The Angels had 129 stolen bases good for second in the league, first in the West.

What didn’t work: Though the Angels won 100 games, they still lacked some proponents that doomed them in the post-season. Offense. As a team, the Angels bat .268 ranking seventh in the league and scored 765 runs ranking 10th. With Vladimir Guerrero having an off season, batting only .303, he did struck out quite a bit leaving the Angels in a bind. Though they did sign Mark Teixiera at the trade deadline, the Angels still ranked second in the AL West in average and RBIs.

Shopping list: Hitters. Anyone and everyone that can hit will be the Angels’ targets this offseason. Guererro lead all Angels batters in batting average, runs, OBP, and RBIs. The Angels haven’t re-signed Mark Teixiera and will wait to see if they can snag pure hitters in free agency.

While the Angels don’t need pitching yet, they have to consider a replacement for Francisco Rodriguez who is getting older and wants to leave the Angels. To go with the pitching vein, the Angels will most likely look at their farm club to develop the bullpen and starting rotation unless a good pitcher hits the market with good value left in him.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers went into 2008 with no expectations other than to finish last in the West. In Arlington, the same story is told as in years past. They have more offense than they know what to do with, but still have no pitching. Josh Hamilton came in the season and no one knew the season he would have. While the Rangers did give up Edinson Volquez for Hamilton, the trade virtually worked out for both teams.

What worked: Their offense was tremendous. They finished first in the AL and subsequently the West, with a team .283 batting average. To compliment that, they finished first in the league in runs, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. That part of the cog is fine. The Rangers are the poster child of a team that can’t win many games being so one-sided.

Let us not forget about the Rangers farm system. They currently rank third in farm system development. The Rangers brought up 17 players from the minor league system due to injury or promotions. With the newly brought in players the Rangers found a few hidden gems that may be a factor in their success for next season. Brandon Boggs, Eric Hurley, Chris Davis, and Taylor Teagarden could find themselves with rather large paydays at season’s beginning. Teagarden has been named in a few trade scenarios and the Rangers have a surplus of catchers that could prove to be useful in providing…what else, pitching.

What didn’t work: Pitching. It’s no secret the Rangers need help in this area if they are to contend. With the Rangers finishing last in all pitching categories except saves, the Rangers need help with the starting rotation. The starting rotation didn’t do too badly, holding their own until Kevin Millwood and Vincent Padilla went down with injuries midway through the season. That forced the Rangers to dig into their bullpen or their minor league system for help and they didn’t get much help in that regard. With 12 different starters used on the season, the Rangers found themselves in a bind early and often. Eric Hurley showed the most promise before he was shelved with a bad elbow injury. Matt Harrison is a gem and a rookie that won nine games. He’s left handed and he has a good chance at a roster spot this season.

One of the most overlooked aspect of any sports team is their defense. That stat often isn’t shown in box scores, but if one analyzes errors in relation to their team’s performance, it will tell you they play a large part. That was clearly evident in the Rangers case when they ranked first…in errors made. Not a stat one would like to be number one on. Out of the 83 losses that the Rangers had, 59 of them had one or more errors made.

Shopping List: The Rangers need pitching. That’s a gimme, but the Rangers are in a place to do it if they don’t want to spend a lot of money in free agency. The Rangers have catchers at their disposal and will probably trade off one or two of them for pitching. A quality starter or two wouldn’t hurt the Rangers.

The Rangers have already taken steps to fix their defensive problems hiring Dave Anderson as their third base and defensive skills coach, formerly occupied by Art Howe. A defensive first baseman or secondary outfield help would help the Rangers, but they will focus primarily on pitching.

Oakland Athletics: The Oakland A’s had higher expectations this season but fell short once again. With the Athletics finishing third in the AL West, they have plenty to build off of. The Athletics finished last in all offensive categories in the AL. Kaz Suzuki lead the A’s in batting average with a .279 mark. That was evident of their woeful season. Of the 86 losses from the A’s, they scored three runs or less in 61 of those contests. That is also not going to win you many games.

What worked: Not much, but if anything stood out more than the other, their bullpen blew only 30 games on the season. The A’s have a deep bullpen interchanging starters with relievers, keeping them fresh. The A’s did rank fifth in the AL in ERA, with a 4.01, but good for first in the West. A’s starters averaged five walks per game, which isn’t great, but it was tops for the division they’re in.

One thing we can’t ignore from the A’s is their defense. They rank first in the league in defensive percentage. They also made errors in 82 games this season. The A’s constantly rank in the top 5 in defensive percentage, partly due to the legacy left behind by Ron Washington.

What didn’t work: Their offense. When you finish in last place in all offensive categories in a division where the pitching was weak, there are problems. Injuries doomed the A’s from the beginning, with Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, and Mark Ellis going down with injuries. With the A’s farm system in the bottom 5 there wasn’t much hope for the A’s to have a successful season.

The closing role didn’t work out very well for the A’s either. Huston Street struggled with injuries and blown saves, all the while obtaining a 1.67 WHIP in September. Huston Street was dealt to the Rockies, and now the A’s will actively look for a closer.

Shopping List: Offense. With the A’s finishing last in offense, any addition will be an upgrade. With Matt Holliday now joining the A’s they have a cornerstone to build off of, but they need to find proactive hitters in free agency. A DH should be priority. They don’t have much as a bargaining chip for trading for bats.

A closer. It is unlikely the A’s will look from within to obtain a closer. Some names of interest are Francisco Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera, but they have to look for youth. Rivera’s and Rodriguez’s ages concern many teams with the price they’re asking for.

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners lost 101 games coming off arguably their worst season in team history. The Mariners ranked near the bottom in pitching and batting, which ultimately lead to their 61-101 record. Richie Sexson didn’t become the savior they were looking for and he was released. The Mariners certainly didn’t get production from Felix Hernandez.

What worked: It is possible to see a positive in all this. They’re future looks bright. Matt Tuiasosopo, Brian LaHair, and Tug Hulett came on in the season and impressed, but was too late to generate many wins for the M’s. Another good quality of the M’s this season did is their starting staff was able to mix and match different styles of pitching from their starters. That will go a long way in rebuilding. They Mariners have a knuckleballer (Dickey), a fast ball pitcher (Silva), and a sinkerball pitcher (Washburn).

What didn’t work: The Eric Bedard project. Eric Bedard didn’t last long in the AL West, and an injury ended his season. He had 15 starts before he went out with left shoulder surgery.

Timely hitting, pitching, and pitchers that don’t get hurt early on in the season.

Shopping List: The Mariners need hitting, pitching, and more hitting and pitching. There will be plenty of shopping on the market, and with Ichiro Suzuki not getting any younger, the Mariners have to find some help around him. Free agency may not be of any help to the Mariners, but the Mariners might try to build the organization from within. Like the Rangers, the Mariners are in the top 5 in prospect development. Either way, the Mariners have had high expectations the last two seasons, but have fallen short on both occasions. There will be plenty of chess pieces to play; it will be interesting to see what direction they go.