The AL West has produced the American League’s representative in the World Series for the last two years, but a 0-2 record where it matters most isn’t something that anyone is looking to brag about. The good news for folks who root for the AL West as a whole, though, is that the division has got substantially upgraded over the last few months. The Texas Rangers won’t just hop, skip and jump to the Fall Classic this time around. No, in 2012 they’ll get a legitimate battle for the honor from both the Anaheim Angels and to a lesser degree the Oakland Athletics.
Coming off a 96-66 regular season and a pretty remarkable run all the way to an eventual 4-3 World Series loss, the Rangers aren’t going anywhere. But it also won’t be as easy of a path this year. Between the arrival of Yu Darvish and the departure of C.J. Wilson, you have to figure that just adjusting two those two pieces alone (not to mention all the other changes) will force Texas to take some time in order to readjust. Wilson was a pretty substantial part of this unit, and his 16-7 mark, 206 strikeouts and 2.94 ERA went a long ways cushioning the blow when Cliff Lee bolted town.
Now, Darvish might be able to step in make everyone forget about all that – but that quick of an acclimation to new surroundings isn’t standard operating procedure. Offensively this team is solid and largely intact, so really any change in finish this year as compared to last year will by a direct byproduct of pitching. All things considered, even if things don’t go as great this year as they did last, you have to figure the end result won’t be too bad. The odds of them winning the division reflect that mindset. Currently the Rangers have EVEN odds according to the latest 2012 AL West betting odds.
The Angels will aim to unseat the Rangers from their perch this season, and they’ll do it looking radically different they did heading into the offseason. In 2011, this team finished with 86 wins and didn’t qualify for the postseason. By bringing in Albert Pujols from St. Louis and Wilson from Texas (among other key pieces), though, this team made a statement – they’re not looking to play second fiddle to anyone this year.
Pujols was signed to a massive 10-year, $240 million deal a few months back, and now the Angels are going to look to get some immediate return on that investment. Coming off a year where he played his least amount of total games since 2006 (147) and failed to hit 30 homeruns and drive in 100 runs for the first time in his entire career (29 HRs and 99 RBIs), you have to figure the slugger will be on a mission to prove something. If we get old Albert back, he really legitimizes this Angels offense that’s not as good as the one he played with before in St. Louis. If not, then you can expect a lot of folks to get testy real quick.
From the pitching standpoint, obviously the addition of Wilson is huge. How will he perform with Dan Haren and Jered Weaver by his side, though? Time will tell. But the Angels being -125 to win the division this year indicates that confidence is high.
The Athletics finished with 77 wins last year and didn’t qualify for the postseason. While it’s unlikely that they’ll move up from last year’s third place finish this year, this team very well could improve substantially record-wise when it’s all said and done. A lot of people are down on the A’s because they seemingly rid themselves of all their key pieces heading into this season (top two starters, homerun leader and closer), but they were able to offset some of that by adding a key piece in Yoenis Cespedes.
The 26-year-old is an absolute stud, and anyone who’s seen him play knows he’ll make an immediate impact. Another thing that should give A’s fans solace is that they do have pieces to compensate for the team’s losses, even if they don’t come with the same brand name value. Jarrod Parker and Brad Peacock will do fine filling in for Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill. Bartolo Colon and Manny Ramirez will possibly do fine in their battle for the DH spot. Anytime you compile a bunch of young, largely no-name talents with no pressure and just let play – you’re bound to be pleasantly surprised. The A’s will likely overachive this year, but they’re still being listed at +3000 to win the division because of how stiff the two top dogs of the AL West are.
The Mariners finished last year with 67 wins and didn’t qualify for the playoffs. They’ll be just as awful this year. At this point in time, Seattle’s brightest move was improving the New Yankees by giving them stud pitcher Michael Pineda in a swap for Jesus Montero. Offensive production is still going to be a problem for this team, and with basically everyone else in the division looking improved heading into next season, you can count on this bunch to be the division’s punching bags. Again. As you would expect, Seattle has +4500 odds to win the AL West this year.
2012 AL West Betting Odds – click screenshot to see most current odds
