People really need to stop saying that the Seattle Mariners are going to win the AL West this year. The Angels are still the better team, hands down.
Don’t believe me?
First, the lineups.
The Mariners have only one player returning who hit more than 20 home runs last year and five who at least 10 home runs last year.
The Angels have four players returning who hit more than 20 home runs last year and six players who hit at least 10.
Of returning players, the Angels have no one that batted below .272 or had an on-base percentage below .334.
The Mariners have four players who batted below .272 last year and three players who had an on-base percentage below .334.
The Mariners have Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, and then … Erik Bedard’s corpse, Doug Fister, and Luke French. That’s two aces and three mediocre to below-average pitchers. Bedard healthy is good, but he’s not healthy.
The Angels have Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Joel Pineiro.
So the Angels have three All-Stars, and the guy who hasn’t made an All-Star team may be the best pitcher (Weaver).
So the Angels have better overall pitching and better hitting by far. That makes them the better team.
