Just how good will Bedard and Hernandez be? It'll be a treat for fans in other AL cities when the Mariners come to town with the two both slated to pitch. Can Ichiro keep it up? I love watching him hit and hope his career carries on into his 40s to see just how many base knocks he piles up. Can Putz put up Eckersley numbers? His 1.38 ERA and 0.70 WHIP are on the block, and 82 strikeouts with just 13 walks are in the neighborhood. Does he get even better this year? And does Sexson become this generation's Rob Deer?
TEXAS RANGERS
In general
They didn't really lose anything in bidding adieu to Sammy Sosa, Wilkerson and Akinori Otsuka, but the additions of Josh Hamilton, Kazuo Fukumori, Milton Bradley, Ben Broussard, Jason Jennings and Eddie Guardado don't do much for me beyond Hamilton and Fukumori. Bradley could pay off, but the question remains if he'll be ready by Opening Day after his knee injury last year. And Jennings is coming off that horrendous year in Houston, while Guardado is starting a season for the first time after Tommy John surgery. A former closer, he'll probably start out as a setup man along with Fukumori and one of last year's co-closers at the end of the season, C.J. Wilson and Joaquin Benoit. The other will finish off games.
But how many? A rotation that starts with Kevin Millwood -- an ace by default only -- and pencils in Jennings as its No. 2 ahead of Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard isn't going to inspire many pitching duels.
What I'm looking forward to seeing
Just how good will Kinsler be? Can he keep improving? He got off to a hot start last year -- .298, nine homers, 22 RBIs in April -- but had just six homers and 26 RBIs after the All-Star break, despite hitting .288 in the second half (as opposed to .241 overall in the first half). Fatigue may have been a factor in his second-half power decline, but his .045 rise in OBP in the second half helped Kinsler post a .807 post-break OPS after just .786 in the first half. Can Salty be as big as his name? Will the Hamilton feel-good story continue? And when will Bradley snap? Watching him in each new city is like watching the Grammys last Sunday to see whether Amy Winehouse could keep it together for her performance, which took place live from a London studio -- meaning she had to sit around until about 4 a.m. with any manner of elixirs to pass the time.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
In general
I put them last because just who are these guys? Gone are Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, Mike Piazza, Shannon Stewart and Mark Kotsay. In are Emil Brown, Joey Devine and Mike Sweeney? They even lost catching prospect Jeremy Brown, one of the stars of Moneyball (along with Swisher). GM Billy Beane set himself up well for the future, but he's left with nearly nothing -- especially if he deals now-No. 1 Joe Blanton before April.
I'll start with the offense this time, where Jersey boy Jack Cust gets the cleanup spot and DH role all to himself, but he could hit 35 home runs but drive in just 75 runs if Travis Buck, Daric Barton and the oft-injured, shell-of-his-former-self Eric Chavez can't get on base. But getting on base is what Beane builds his teams for, so the BBC top of the order should be expected to do just that. But after Cust? Mark Ellis is your five-hole protection, with Emil Brown behind him followed by DL resident Bobby Crosby, Chris Denorfia and Kurt Suzuki. Though I don't agree with the assessment, ESPN.com's A's fantasy preview projects only Ellis, of all people, to be drafted from that lineup, and in the 20th round at that. But there's just one opinion of what the Oakland lineup will produce this year.
The rotation doesn't fare much better in the fantasy projection. Only Blanton stands to be drafted, in the 19th round they say. In between Blanton's starts will be Rich Harden -- once again coming off injury -- Year-After Effect risk Chad Gaudin, converted setup man Justin Duchscherer and soft-tosser Lenny DiNardo. If Blanton goes, Dana Eveland and his 7.55 career ERA is next in line to step into the rotation. Yikes.
What I'm looking forward to seeing
Does Harden stay healthy? I've given up caring whether or not Crosby does. I'd also like to see Chavez bounce back a bit, if only because he's the one Beane chose to keep, letting Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada leave via free agency rather than spend the money. Interesting how he let the hitters leave, but traded the pitchers -- Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Haren (with the exception of Barry Zito) -- in order to get something in return. And Cust is a good story -- always a big hitting prospect, he never stuck with his previous clubs (Baltimore, Colorado, Arizona, San Diego) because he was a disaster in the outfield. It was always clear that he'd have to be a DH somewhere, and when he got that chance last year, he provided some exciting moments.
Labels: A's, AL West, Angels, Mariners, predictions, preview, Rangers