2011- Baseball Season who will Win West- Part 3

This is third part of 2011 Baseball Season.In the west team includes Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners.

1.Texas Rangers (Projected Victories:87-75):

The Rangers lose Cliff Lee from a team that took the division with 90 wins last year. If Neftali Feliz remains steady as a fire-throwing closer and starting pitcher C.J. Wilson figures out his hamstring problem, Texas will be able to hold teams down in the Arlington heat.  The power of outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz will carry an offense that led the MLB in 2010 with a .276 batting average.

Key Player: C.J. Wilson— Not coincidentally, the Rangers’ opening day starter is their most important. Wilson had the best year of his career last season as he moved from the bullpen to the rotation, now it’s time to see if he can do it again. He eclipsed his previous career high in innings by 130.1, putting his arm through more exertion than it’s ever experienced.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Projected Victories: 84-78):

After looking up at the Rangers all of 2010 and suffering a losing season for the first time since 2003, the Angels added a couple pieces.  They may have overpaid for outfielder Vernon Wells, but 12th-year manager Mike Scioscia knows how to win. 

Key Player: Scott Kazmir—the once highly-touted left-handed pitcher has hit a wall and went 9-15 with a 5.94 ERA last year.  The rest of this year’s rotation was over .500 with sub-4 ERAs.

3. Oakland Athletics (Projected Victories 82-80):

This Billy Beane-built squad, which finished 81-81 in 2010, will be led by its pitching. Its rotation is widely considered one of the best in the majors, as 20-somethings Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden figured out a way to craft a 3.47 starters’ ERA a year ago.

Key Player: Kevin Kouzmanoff—the lineup is much more of an unknown and its third baseman will have to do better than a near-.250 average in 500-plus at-bats to help the A’s.

4. Seattle Mariners (Projected Victories 65-97):

 Eric Wedge was a good manager hires in Seattle, but he inherits a team coming off a 101-loss season.  Ichiro Suzuki is bound to get yet another 200-hit year if he’s healthy and Jack Cust was added for power purposes.  It doesn’t hurt to have last year’s Cy Young in Felix Hernandez leading the rotation, but where will the run support come from?

Key Player: Erik Bedard—He was a semi-dominant lefty pitcher before multiple shoulder operations kept him out of commission. A strong return would help the Mariners.

2011- Baseball Season who will Win Central? Part 2

 

This is second part of 2011 Baseball Season.In the central ,the team includes Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.

1. Minnesota Twins (Projected Victories-70)

The Twins have a better overall pitching staff than the White Sox do, especially with the return of closer Joe Nathan. Ron Gardenhire’s club will play better defense with the addition of new second basemen, Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka since Orlando Hudson left for the Dodgers. Joe Mauer is back behind the dish and Justin Morneau should be healthy after not playing since July 7 from a concussion. The key player to watch is pitcher Francisco Liriano. If he can return to Cy Young form the Twins will compete for the AL Cenrtal crown.

2. Chicago White Sox (Projected Victories 90-72)

 The team from the South Side is a close second to the Twins. Ozizie Guillen’s team now has a better offense after resigning Paul Konerko and free agent Adam Dunn over the offseason. Pitching will be the question mark with Jake Peavy missing out on all of April with a shoulder injury. The player who could have a big year on this team is shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

3. Detroit Tigers (Projected Victories 83-79)

 Miguel Cabrera’s arrest for DUI on his way to camp has slightly overshadowed what could be a very competitive Tigers team. Manager Jim Leyland predicted Cabrera’s best year ever, but Cabrera should have some help this season with Magglio Ordonez back from a broken ankle. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander will need to avoid his habitual early season woes, which include a 7-11 record and 5.06 ERA in 26 career starts in April. DH Victor Martinez was the big pickup in the offseason, but the player who needs to have the best season is the young pitcher Rick Porcello, who struggled last year after his 14-win rookie season of 2009.

4. Cleveland Indians (Projected Victories 68-94)

The Indians strongpoint this season is youth as well as a respected offense, but their pitching staff is unproven and will most likely keep them in the back of the pack. The bullpen is anything but strong, but young closer Chris Perez is the main bright spot. Grady Sizemore, Matt LaPorta, and Shin-SooChoo are all recognizable names, but everyone will need to keep any eye on the young catcher Carlos Santana coming back from a horrific knee injury.

5. Kansas City Royals (Projected Victories 60-102)

The Royals may be the one team in this division that hasn’t improved over the offseason. KC lost their best hitter in David DeJesus, and then they traded away Zack Grienke, their franchise player and ace of their staff. Two players to look out for on the roster that could make some noise are Billy Butler and Joakim Soria. Young shortstop Alcides Escobar could still prove to be a good ballplayer but only time will tell.