Less than a decade ago, Billy Beane's "Money Ball" philosophy was something that swept through baseball as the next great thing. The book on his approach became the bible that many referred to when trying to solve baseball's growing economic problems.

 

"Money Ball" was something that had holes because it did not produce championships. Beane got into the post-season in a division that did not feature two monsters like Boston and New York. His division was, and still is, pretty competitive.

 

In the meantime, Beane's Oakland A's have gone from being one of the better teams in the American League West, to a potential cellar dweller. Oakland has seen the Texas Rangers pass them with an impressive offensive line-up and a growing pitching staff. You can expect Oakland to finish last in the West again in 2010.

 

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers young arms like Scott Feldman and the continued development of Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter will add to the bats of Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, and perennial All-Star Michael Young. Look for the Rangers to contend for most of the season, but until it's proven that pitching can hold out in Arlington, Texas, don't believe it can happen.

 

The Seattle Mariners may have done more to improve their team than anyone else in the American League. By adding Cliff Lee and re-signing Erik Bedard to go along with ace Felix Hernandez, the Mariners may have a rotation that rivals the Boston Red Sox.

 

The Mariners have one of the best players in the game with Ichiro at the top of the order. Seattle lost Adrian Beltre, but replaced him with Chone Figgins. Jose Lopez looks to add to his offensive totals of '09 while Milton Bradley and Franklin Gutierrez look to provide stability. The Mariners are my pick to win the West.

 

Last year's division champions, the Los Angeles Angels lost highly publicized free-agent John Lackey, but still have 16-game winners Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. And yes, they have an infield that stayed put, for the most part, but the unknown is what Figgins' replacement will do.

 

Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui are all 34 and older and that could be a problem. They are all capable of carrying a team at one time or another, or all carry them together. 162-games is a lot of baseball, and Seattle might be more capable of a strong finish. The Angels will contend for the post-season, but it will have to be a wild card if they are to play in October.

 

Rob Long