Mariners Thoughts

Felix Hernandez: He had a rough first inning at the game today but he got better as the game went on and he looked like the Cy Young winner and should do even better than he did in 2010 if he can have his best control like he did after the first inning
Justin Smoak: He’s needs work but looks good, and his swing and power are very good
Jesus Montero: He is going to be big and good in seattle and he doesn’t just hit for power, he is a good well polished hitter when not hitting monster home runs
Ichiro Suzuki: He still is a very good hitter and the same hitter he’s always been, he will have another good year
The Offense: It can have some good streaks but needs work and the mariners need to get on like they did in tonight’s game vs Detroit, their offense will get better and I like their young hitters like Ackley and the amount of power and some depth that they have
Alex Liddi: The power is unreal too, him and Montero could hit 30 homers if they live up to their potential and playing time
Dustin Ackley: Just a great hitter

2012 All-Division Teams

NOTE: Based on 2011 and track record and what they could in 2012, players with injuries that may take a chunk of their season away are included as long as there not otu for the whole season (Victor Martinez)

All NL East Team

1. SS Jose Reyes
2. CF Shane Victorino
3. 3B Hanley Ramirez
4. 1B Ryan Howard
5. RF Hunter Pence
6. 2B Dan Uggla
7. C Brian McCann
8. LF Logan Morrison

BENCH
C Carlos Ruiz
UT Martin Prado
RF Mike Stanton
3B Ryan Zimmerman
3B David Wright

ROTATION

1. R Roy Halladay
2. L Cliff Lee
3. R Josh Johnson
4. L Cole Hamels
5. R Stephen Strasburg

CL: Craig Kimbrel
SU: Johnny Venters
7: Eric O’Flarthey
S: Jon Paplebon
M: Drew Storen
L: Antino Bastardo
RP: Heath Bell

MGR: Charlie Manuel

All NL Central Team

1. SS Starlin Castro
2. CF Andrew McCutchen
3. 1B Joey Votto
4. LF Ryan Braun
5. RF Jay Bruce
6. 3B Aramis Ramirez
7. 2B Brandon Phillips
8. C Yadier Molina

BENCH
2B Rickie Weeks
OF Carlos Beltran
1B Lance Berkman
OF Matt Holliday
C Jonathan Lucroy

ROTATION

1. R Zack Grienke
2. R Chris Carpenter
3. R Adam Wainwright
4. R Mat Latos
5. R Yovani Gallardo

CL: John Axford
SU: Sean Marshall
7: Francisco Rodriguez
S: Joel Hanrahan
M: Kerry Wood
L: Ryan Madsonn
RP: Jason Motte

MGR: Ron Roenicke

All NL West Team

1. LF Carlos Gonzalez
2. 1B Todd Helton
3. RF Justin Upton
4. CF Matt Kemp
5. SS Troy Tulowitzki
6. C Buster Posey
7. 3B Pablo Sandoval
8. 2B Freddy Sanchez

BENCH
OF Andre Ethier
C Miguel Montero
OF Michael Cuddyer
3B Chase Headley
OF Chris Young

ROTATION

1. R Tim Lincecum
2. L Clayton Kerhsaw
3. R Matt Cain
4. R Ian Kennedy
5. L Madison Bumgarner

CL: Brian Wilson
SU: Sergio Romo
7: Kanley Jansen
S: JJ Putz
M: Rafeal Betacourt
L: David Hernandez
RP: Luke Gregerson

MGR: Kirk Gibson

All AL Central Team

1. LF Alex Gordon
2. SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3. 3B Miguel Cabrera
4. 1B Prince Fielder
5. DH Joe Mauer
6. RF Josh Willigham
7. C Alex Avila
8. CF Austin Jackson
9. 2B Johnny Giavitella

BENCH
SS Johnny Peralta
OF Shin-Soo Choo
C Carlos Santana
SS Jhonny Peralta
OF Delmon Young

ROTATION

1. R Justin Verlander
2. R Ubaldo Jimenez
3. R Doug Fister
4. R Max Scherzer
5. R Gavin Floyd

CL: Jose Valverde
SU: Joaquin Benoit
7: Octavio Dotel
S: Joakim Soria
M: Matt Thronton
L: Chris Perez

MGR: Jim Leyland

All Al East Team

1. CF Jaocby Ellsbury
2. SS Derek Jeter
3. 1B Adrain Gonzalez
4. RF Jose Bautista
5. 3B Evan Longroia
6. 2B Robinson Cano
7. DH David Ortiz
8. LF Carl Crawford
9. C Matt Wieters

BENCH
CF Curtis Granderson
1B Mark Teixeria
C Russell Martin
3B Kevin Youkilis
3B Alex Rodriguez

ROTATION

1. L CC Sabathia
2. L Jon Lester
3. L David Price
4. R James Shields
5. L Ricky Romero

CL: Mariano Rivera
SU: Rafael Soriano
7: Phil Hughes
S: David Robertson
M:Andrew Bailey
L; Sergio Santos

MGR: Joe Maddon

All AL West Team

1. 2B Ian Kinsler
2. SS Elvis Andrus
3. 1B Albert Pujols
4. CF Josh Hamilton
5. DH Michael Young
6. 3B Adrain Beltre
7. RF Nelson Cruz
8. C Mike Napoli
9. LF Vernon Wells

BENCH
C Chris Iannetta
2B Dustin Ackley
2B Jemile Weeks
OF Torii Hunter
OF Ichiro Suzuki

ROTATION

1. R Felix Hernandez
2. R Jered Weaver
3. R Dan Haren
4. L CJ Wilson
5. R Yu Darvish

CL: Brandon League
SU: Mike Adams
7: Alexi Ogando
S: Scott Downs
M: Grant Balfour
L: Jordan Walden

MGR: Mike Scioscia

Rangers Add Yu Darvish

The Rangers have signed Yu Darvish to a 6 six-year, 60 million dollar deal.  I think the Rangers win this deal because they are getting an ace if he adapt well, which shouldn’t be a problem.  His World Baseball Classic numbers were good and they were in MLB atmosphere.  He should be the best pitcher to come out of Japan even if he doesn;t fully live up to his expectation, which I see him being in the middle.  He replaces CJ Wilson well and should be a good starter.  Expect some struggles this year but a lower-3.00 ERA should be reasonable and it could get lower and should never climb above 4.  He should always have good stats.  His stuff is sick too and could be some of the best in baseball and facts are facts, he dominated in Japan, which si the best he could do but even with the inflation his numbers should take in the MLB, he should still be dominating.  I think he will be okay in the division and in the ballpark.  He’s a great signing and could be a difference maker int he division race, whether he;s good, or the smaller chance he isn’t.  he’s better than Daisuke and even better than Nomo and we should expect some good things from him and though he shouldn’t ever be a top or even top three pitcher, he could be special and feared.  Good fit and signing for both.

Are The Angels Out Of It?

Yes, they are.  They have a very talented team and I like their mix of veterans like Hunter and Abreu and Young Guns Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout.  I also love their pitching staff and are a very good team but their AL West hopes are done, they are 4.5 games behind the Rangers with only ten games left and they might play a bit better than the Rangers the rest of the way, and it’s not likely they do anyway, they will lose the division because the Rangers are too good for that and the Angels won’t win the Wild Card because the Rays and Red Sox are much better teams.  Expect the Angels to come back very strong next season and they will finish strong and could come within about 2 games of a playoff spot but it would take a real big miracle for them to win at this point.  One thing they need to do for next season is figure out a way to get rid of Wells and get a better catcher possibly but Walden should come back a stronger closer and I like their chances of sticking with the Rangers next year. 
TODAY IN THE PLAYOFFS: The Rays moved to two games back of the Red Sox and just have to continue playing the way they have to force and playoff and possibly win if the Red Sox go 4-6 the rest of the way and the Rays go 7-3, which at this point looks very likely.  The D’Backs are magic number is at 5 and they should win pretty soon and the Brewers should clinch soon with a magic number of four.  My updated predictions for who plays in the DS match-ups
Yankees vs. Rangers
Tigers vs Rays

Phillies vs Diamondbacks
Brewers vs Braves

Rangers or Angels in AL West?

I think the Rangers are quite a bit better.  If they make the playoffs they will do pretty well too, but the Angels will stick around the rest of the year and they do have a decent shot at winning.  The Rangers have better pitching though and that would be what could pull them away.  The Angels also need to stop starting Vernon Wells so much to keep in it too, because Trout will do better, the Angels young players will also be a key.  Trumbo’s power is almost as good as Morelas’ was so they will stay in it partly because of him.  The Rangers may have a better bullpen but the Angels have Scott Downs and Jordan Walden who have been good, though not as good as Texas and Weaver, Santana and Haren are better than the Rangers top half but the bottom sets them even.  I would still take Texas in a close one though, because they are just better and have more momentum at this point.  If I were to give the Angels a percentage to make the playoffs I would say 20.  The Rangers could beat any teams in the postseason but it’s closely matched.  The Angels are only better than the Yankees for the postseason because of starting pitching.  The Rangers are better and should win and play good the rest of the year.  All of the Rangers offense should come alive too and when they do their one of the best and that will set them apart.

2009 Division Toughness Ranking

There are a lot of tough divisions in baseball this year and many play-off races will come down to the wire.
RANKINGS

1. AL East- Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, and maybe Blue Jays, if they can get their rotation in order.  The Rays and Red Sox are good now and they will be in the future with their decent minor league systems and you know the Yankees will always have superstars.  The top three teams in this division will have ninety wins and finish within five or six games of each other.
2. AL Central-  Their is no clear cut last place team in this division which is real rare and EVERY team has a chance to win the division, yes even the Royals do, all the teams have nice pitching staffs and offense it should be a good finish.  I would also like to say the defense for some teams has improved and lots of web gems will come from this division.
3. NL East- Defending World Champs, young and great talent, and an improved team seeking revenge will battle it out.  The Phillies have a good team that is almost the same except they lost Burrell and gained Ibanez, which wasn’t a bad decision but could take a while to get used to, but the rotation is back and their ready to fight.  The Marlins have talent in Ramirez, Johnson, Uggla, Nolasco, so on and so fourth and their rotation is young but dangerous like the Rays rotation was last year so watch out.  The Mets have no more bullpen concerns, as long as they pitch good seven innings, their’s a high chance they’ll win it, they’re a good team and they have a big chance
4. NL Central-The Cubs are good, The Cardinals are improved, The Brewers have a young, good look and the Reds have a nice roster of home grown talent, it will be a tough division to win.  The Cubs still have a good team and they don’t need to worry about DeRosa who was having a career year, they’re bullpen is improved bullpen will make a difference, too.
5. NL West- It will probably be the Dodgers but the Diamondbacks have a young and talented team.  Also the Giants, who have nice pitching will be a long shot because of an unproven offense.  The Dodgers have Manny back, who ignited their offense and they got a nice second baseman and all- around player in Orlando Hudson, their pitching and line-up will help them a lot too, and they’ll get especially good if they mix small ball and big ball.  The Diamondbacks have everything except experience which causes them to go into slumps, which will cause them a division title, but they’ve got everything from speed to power.
6. AL West- The Angles will win the division even though they lost two of they’re best player, they have a okay system but they have a big chance they can fill Teixeria and Rodriguez’s shoes, they actually filled the closer’s role through free agency but the next closer in line is Arredado who is home grown also Kendry Morals, a player with lot’s of pop will fill first until Mark Trumbo, a true slugger can come up.  The Athletics don’t have a big chance to win because they assembled a older team, but they do have a strong minor league system and they will be good in a few years.  The Rangers need their pitching to come up before they have a serious shot at winning the division.