The 2011 All-Division Team, Part 5: AL West

AL West C: Mike Napoli

Part 5 of 6: American League West


These teams have it easy.  Each NL Central winner had to be compared against each of the other five teams' player at that positon.  In the AL West, however, there are only four teams, meaning the odds of winning are increased.  Last season, six Rangers (Micheal Young, Elvis Andrus, Vladimir Guerrero, Josh Hamilton, Neftali Feliz, and Nelson Cruz) all took home awards.  Will the Rangers sweep through the division again?  Time to find out!

C Mike Napoli, TEX (2nd, first with Rangers)
The Angels are probably regretting trading Napoli away within their own division.  Wait a minute...they didn't!  In what has become a footnote now, Napoli was a part of the Vernon Wells trade to Toronto, but the Jays turned around and swung him to Texas for Frank Francisco just a few days later.  Playing for the Texas Rangers and against his former team 18 times a year now, Napoli had one of the best offensive seasons ever for a catcher.  If he had gotten a full season's worth of at-bats, it easily would have rivaled any of Mike Piazza's best campaigns.  Instead, Napoli, playing in just 113 games due to injury, hit 'only' 30 homers and 75 RBIs.  His .320 average and .414 OBP are unheard of for a catcher, and his .631 slugging percentage would have led MLB, however he does not have enough at-bats to qualify.  No wonder the fans chant his name so much in Arlington.
Competition: Jeff Mathis (LAA), Kurt Suzuki (OAK), and Miguel Olivo (SEA).

1B Mark Trumbo, LAA
The big Trumbo came out of nowhere and took on the AL while manning first base in Anaheim, much like teammate Kendrys Morales did two years ago.  The only difference is Morales can and does walk with any regularity whatsoever.  Trumbo and his 25 walks?  Nope.  Luckily, his 29 home runs got the Angels going and kept them in the shadows of contention all season until a late surge fell short.  The fan favorite got AL Rookie of the Year voting and has an impressive power swing, but will need to make adjustments if he was to continue to have success.
Competition: Mitch Moreland (TEX), Justin Smoak (SEA), and Daric Barton (OAK).

AL West 2B: Ian Kinsler
Don't try this at home, kids.

2B Ian Kinsler, TEX
In the healthiest season of his career, Kinsler put together his best season yet.  Returning to 30-30 form that eluded him in an injury-riddled 2010, he walked 27 times more than he ever had in a season.  It's hard for me to quantify how great of an overall player Kinsler really is.  I mean how often do second basemen hit 30 home runs?  Most importantly, though, Kinsler is still one of the longest tenured on these championship contending Rangers teams and is a definite team leader, representing his entire state (the Astros don't count).
Competition: Jemile Weeks (OAK), Howie Kendrick (LAA), and Dustin Ackley (SEA).

3B Adrian Beltre, TEX (2nd, first with Rangers)
As if offense was ever a problem for the Texas Rangers, GM Jon Daniels swept in during the offseason and snatched Beltre, a big surprise to many who thought he'd go to the Angels or back to the Red Sox. The freeswinger landed in Arlington and earned every penny in his first season there, hitting 32 homers and 105 RBIs in about 4/5 of a full season.  Sure the ballpark and lineup protection help, but that shouldn't take away from his .296 batting average.  With an offense this great, you could almost imagine them not needing any pitching.
Competition: Chone Figgins (SEA), Alberto Callaspo (LAA), and Scott Sizemore (OAK).

SS Erick Aybar, LAA
In the past two seasons, the Angels have not been the same team they were for almost all of the 2000s.  During that time the Angels were known for effectively using smallball mechanics and playing the game fundamentally well, as directed by manager Mike Scioscia.  Recently, though, they haven't had the same strong fielding and baserunning skills.  Aybar, though, was a holdout of the issue.  Erick Aybar is fast and agile which allows him to play shortstop well.  I've seen an improvement in his hitting skills for average, and he was 30-for-36 in steal attempts; clearly he's running on the right counts.  Oh, and now he gets to play with Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson.  
Competition: Elvis Andrus (TEX), Cliff Pennington (OAK), and Brendan Ryan (SEA).

AL West LF: Josh Willingham

LF Josh Willingham, OAK
Willingham was GM Billy Beane's biggest move last winter, and he gave the A's pretty much everything they could've asked for.  Although his one season in Oakland proved a 'one-and-out' as Willingham has signed with Twins now, his run production skills were not lost on a team that seems to always be in search of such skills.  His 29 home runs, including 15 at the dreaded O.co Coliseum (their new corporate naming rights deal is a website?  Really?  Who are these guys, the Phoenix Coyotes?), were the only major power source on the team.  In fact, his 15 homers at home were more than any other teammates' total - home or road.  Oh, and Willingham also had 26 RBIs more than anyone else on the team.
Competition: Vernon Wells (LAA), Trayvon Robinson (SEA), and David Murphy (TEX).

CF Josh Hamilton, TEX (2nd)
It wasn't quite MVP quality like 2010 was, but J-Ham's 2011 season was notable again for significant success but also the continued abundance of injury.  This time injury struck almost right away, as Hamilton was injured in Detroit during the second week of the season.  He still batted .298 and slugged .536 with 94 RBIs in only 121 games, but I still get the feeling that Hamilton has not achieved his full potential in any of his four 'full' seasons with the Rangers.  Even so, he hit what should have been one of the biggest homers in World Series history with his extra-inning blast in Game 6 to take the lead.  However, the Rangers - much like Hamilton - came up short again.
Competition: Peter Bourjos (LAA), Franklin Gutierrez (SEA), and Coco Crisp (OAK).

RF Nelson Cruz, TEX (2nd)
Nelly!  Cruz hit 29 homers in about 4/5 of a full season, playing in 124 games (it seems like every Ranger only played 4/5).  More notably, however, was that he collected 14 hits in 17 playoff games.  Eight of those 14 hits were home runs.  The October power came at Reggie Jackson levels this season. In the regular season, Cruz gave the Rangers an alternative, low-key power threat.  He's an undoubtedly freeswinging slugger; Cruz is going to hit the ball hard somewhere.
Competition: Ichiro Suzuki (SEA), Torii Hunter (LAA), and David DeJesus (OAK).

AL West DH: Michael Young
The best player in franchise history,
Michael Young is Mr. Ranger.

DH Michael Young, TEX (2nd)
Finally, a fully healthy Ranger!  If there is anyone on the Rangers invincible to injury, it has to be Young; he has missed significant time in only one year in the last decade.  He also silenced critics who suggested his batting skills were declining in 2010 with another career year, collecting over 200 hits for a .338 batting average.  You also know a guy is clutch and a key run producer when he gets over 100 RBIs with only 11 homers, as did Young in 2011.  And instead of being traded to a mediocre Rockies team, Young got to lead his franchise to another World Series.  Not too bad, I'd say.
Competition: Bobby Abreu (LAA), Casper Wells (SEA), and Hideki Matsui (OAK).

SP C.J. Wilson, TEX
Wilson must be the Angels' revenge for watching Napoli burn them in 2011.  After only his second full season as a starter in the Majors, Wilson jumped ship for the Angels in a mega deal.  Before you jump on the overrated bandwagon like I did at the time of the signing, consider that Wilson had an ERA on the road nearly a run better than at home.  Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is one of the worst ballparks for pitchers to pitch in in the entire league, and the move to Angel Stadium should feel nice and spacious.  Ignoring his awful postseason, Wilson struck out over 200 in over 200 innings and kept his overall hits allowed total low.  I think these factors add up to a good, although not great, first season in Anaheim.  If he can't shake off that postseason in which is WHIP was over 1.7, he's going to have some major problems.
Competition: Jered Weaver (LAA), Felix Hernandez (SEA), and Trevor Cahill (OAK).

CP Brandon League, SEA
This 28-year-old doesn't come off as your typical shutdown closer, but he gave the Mariners some real value out of the bullpen, for whatever it's worth on that team.  League saved 37 of Seattle's 67 wins last season and walked only 10 in over 60 innings pitched.  He struck out a decent amount and kept his WHIP low, putting together a decent season in a place where no one will appreciate it.  But he's definitely the best in the division, especially when you consider that he played a full season (unlike Andrew Bailey), kept his blown saves in the single digits (unlike Jordan Walden), and didn't blow a World Series (sorry, Neftali Feliz).  Nothing personal guys....
Competition: Walden (LAA), Feliz (TEX), and Bailey (OAK).


Why, yes, the Rangers get seven awards this year.  Perhaps more notably, though, was that I was able to find a winner out of those 95-loss Mariners.  Way to go, Brandon League!
    

Opening Day TV Schedule?

There are sort of two Opening Days in 2011, with 10 teams opening on Thursday, March 31 and 20 teams opening on Friday, April 1.  In the past ESPN has carried the Sunday night season opening game, last year it being the Yankees-Red Sox as the only game that day.  On Monday ESPN and ESPN2 combined to show five Opening Day games, as is tradition.  For the new schedule layout that begins on a Thursday, however, the new TV alignment has yet to be arranged.  So I guess I have nothing to go off of besides last year's format, but I'm changing the alignment tentatively with two games on the first day, three on the second.  This post is to show the best games of the two Opening Days, and say which should be on ESPN.  The 2011 schedule is here and I choose two games from the Thursday games and three from the Friday games.



Thursday games:


Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds
ESPN likes to show the home opener in Cincinnati, an event that has occurred in Cincinnati every year since 1901 except 1966.  The tradition behind it is huge for Reds fans, and Great American Ball Park hosted its first playoff game last season.  The Brewers, on the other hand, are a team that probably won't contend in 2011 for the same reason as 2010, the fact that they really don't have any pitching.  The small dimensions at Great American with the power hitters from both teams should make for an interesting game.

Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees
This game just barely beat out San Diego at St. Louis, but that game would have resulted in lower ratings.  The Tigers are going to spend this offseason and could end up with someone like Victor Martinez or Carl Crawford.  As the Tigers should be a better team in 2011, the Yankees will be good like always and looking to redeem themselves after the failure that was 2010 where they lost in the ALCS (of course, only to they Yankees was that failure).


Friday games:


Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays may be the most exciting offensive team in the country, leading baseball in homers in 2010 and fielding a lineup stacked with stars.  The pitching is mediocre and without an ace, but the Jays always hang around and win 85 or so games.  This will be an interesting game against Minnesota, the team that plays the game so well with a tremendous organization but has failed awfully in the playoffs this decade (no wonder they haven't received the criticism they deserve).  Interesting matchup.

San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
The opener for the World Champion Giants would be interesting enough, but adding it to Dodger Stadium against the hated rival Los Angeles, now this is a great game.  The Dodgers can still contend in 2011 after NLCS appearances in 2008 and 2009.  The Giants will likely lose a few players to free agency, so this will be a good first test.

Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers
This matchup makes fans mouths water.  After an amazing series last season in Texas, including a walk-off homer from Nelson Cruz in the 13th in a 9-9 game, these two teams showed that the power on power down south is something to behold.  Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will reshape his team to get back to the playoffs, so they will be improved.  The franchise popularity of the Rangers was at an all time high when they got to the World Series, and even though they lost, the Rangers will be a great team next year and for a while.

Pitching and Defense Reign

First, congratulations to the 2010 San Francisco Giants on winning their first World Series since moving from New York in the 1950s.  Second, how?  I'm not a believer in the phrase 'pitching and defense win championships.'  I guess it worked for the Giants, though, who shut down the Rangers offense in this Series probably making that more important than anything either team did offensively.  Once in Texas, the Giants allowed only five runs in the three games, and the Giants won two of three of those.  The Giants also won the last two games, allowing only one run and scoring seven.  After being shut out only once in the regular season at home (to Dallas Braden of the Oakland A's) in 81 games, Madison Bumgarner shut out the Giants for eight innings before giving way to the bullpen.  The very next night was between Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee and a pitching duel that ensued was supposed to happen in Game 1, but didn't.  Lincecum beat Lee for the second time thanks the Series MVP Edgar Renteria's three-run homer in the 7th inning which put the Rangers away.  The Rangers got one run back, but the bullpen contained the Texas offense that was so key against the Yankees.  Brian Wilson, the closer, came on and struck out Nelson Cruz on a high fastball to end it, doing his trademark cross hand finger pointing before celebrating on the mound with his mobbing teammates.

Main thought about this series and the Giants run: it came out of nowhere.  I didn't feel like the Giants were a serious contender to win it all in the beginning of the postseason, but they did win it with pitching.  This feeling can be compared to the 2006 Cardinals, a team that was awful late in the season and still squeezed into the playoffs.  Somehow, they beat San Diego, New York, and Detroit that fast and won the World Series, although they probably deserved it less than anyone else in the playoffs.  I didn't expect them to win but once they did they were off and running and the sports media swirled and swirled around them, much like the Giants.  They just kept winning and testing everyone's judgment to see how long this thing would keep going.  The Giants beat the Braves in what wasn't an upset, but a series with a lot of historical significance due to Bobby Cox retiring and such.  The Giants certainly upset the Phillies in six games and that was just incredible.  Sports analysts didn't give anyone else in the National League a chance because of the 'Big Three' of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt.  However, this Giants team proved that a team doesn't need big names to pitch well; what they did using Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner was just incredible.  And to that I salute them.  Something else the Giants did really well is come through late in the game in clutch at-bats.  San Francisco scored 12 in the 8th inning combined through the Series, tying the Rangers total output through all innings.  The Giants put up runs in the 7th and/or 8th in every game.  And while the Giants certainly have no stars on offense like the Rangers do in Josh Hamilton and more, it's just a great bunch of guys put together who have talent and give the team great at-bats and do their best to put something together.  It is an all-team production, also known as teamwork.  Plenty of teams in baseball should be taking notes on this, as the wisdom is clearly abundant.