AL West is gaining on the Angels

The Anaheim Angels may finally be getting some competition in the AL West division that they have dominated for so long.

Certainly the Oakland A’s made a move in the right direction by signing pitcher Ben Sheets … as long as he’s over the elbow surgery that sidelined him all of last season.

Sheets joins a formidable rotation with two-time All Star Justin Duchscherer, Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden.

In addition, the A’s have added punch and pop with new center fielder Coco Crisp and third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

The Texas Rangers certainly have added power with the free agent signing of former Angel Vladimir Guerrero to an already potent offense.

Plus, with Nolan Ryan included in the team’s new ownership group, look for Rangers’ pitchers to take on some of the toughness Ryan displayed in his Hall of Fame career. No more babying pitchers; let’s see how far they can go in a game rather than how soon they can come out!

As for the Seattle Mariners, the likes of standout pitcher Cliff Lee and former Angel third baseman Chone Figgins will be a definite upgrade in 2010.

The Angels? Not only have they lost top players to division rivals; they also lost ace John Lackey to the Boston Red Sox.

When the Angels look back, they are going to find people are gaining on them this season.

MLB Network: Beats the heck out of ESPN!

Give credit to the new MLB Network for doing such a fantastic job right away.

And give credit to San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell for noticing.

“I truly believe ESPN only cares about promoting the Red Sox and Yankees and Mets – and nobody else,” Bell, a former Met, recently told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “That's why I like the MLB Network, because they promote everybody. I'm really turned off by ESPN and 'Baseball Tonight.' When Jake Peavy threw 8 1/3 innings on Saturday, they showed one pitch in the third inning and that was it. It's all about the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets.”

Bell has noticed what so many of the rest of us have … that ESPN is only about three teams.

No wonder that when neither of the New York teams nor Boston goes far in the playoffs, the TV ratings go down. That’s because people know relatively little about the 27 other teams … thanks to ESPN.

The great thing about the MLB Network is that it treats all 30 teams the same. You’re just as likely to see highlights of the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates as you are to see the Big Three teams ESPN drools over.

Matt Vasgersian, lead studio host for MLB Network, also hit it on the head when he said you won’t have to wait 15-30 minutes to see your team’s highlights as you might on ESPN (especially if you’re not the Yankees, Mets or Red Sox.)

Plus, MLB Network often goes to live shots around the leagues. For instance, it was great to see Ken Griffey Jr. within moments of his 400th home run as a member of the Seattle Mariners.

Here’s one vote in favor of the MLB Network. Keep up the good work!

MLB Season: Way too early for predictions

One week into a six-month MLB season is no time to be drawing definitive conclusions.

But based on what has happened so far:

The Washington Nationals will not go winless (well, at least, let’s hope not.)

However, Manny Acta of the Nationals will be the first manager fired.

The San Diego Padres will not win the NL West.

Manny Ramirez will not average one RBI per game for the Los Angeles Dodgers; unlike last season.

The Houston Astros will have their traditional slow start with a fast finish that is too late.

The Seattle Mariners will not win the AL West.

Neither will the Toronto Blue Jays win the AL East.

The Detroit Tigers will not go undefeated at home; but they may bounce back in the AL Central.

The Boston Red Sox will not finish last in the AL East.

Give it six months … and don’t be surprised if the standings are turned upside-down from where they are in some divisions today.

Interleague play should take a hike

Interleague play needs to go bye-bye.

Started in 1997, it is a concept that simply has no use anymore.

“Maybe it has run it course at this point,” Seattle television color commentator Mike Blowers said while the Mariners were sweeping the Padres last weekend.

Maybe, indeed.

Unless it’s crosstown rivalries such as Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox or Dodgers-Angels; interleague play is just not that interesting.

Everyone wants to play the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees; but when you’re left with someone such as the Kansas City Royals or Tampa Bay DevilRays, it’s hard to build interest in a National League city.

Please, save the All-Star Game and World Series for interleague play.

As for the Padres, they get lucky this weekend. The only non-interleague matchup of the weekend is their three-game series at Chicago against the Cubs.

Padres keep on whiffing

Scott Kazmir of Tampa Bay tied a career high Tuesday night with 11 strikeouts.

Big deal. It came against the Padres.

Or haven’t you noticed that the Padres have struck out 72 times in their last seven games?

Suddenly, lots of deficiencies are showing up in the Padres during their current four-game losing streak.

We’ve documented all season that they can’t hit. Their pitchers also can’t hold runners on base, which cost them the game-winning run in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Seattle.

And then there’s the once magnificent bullpen. With three starters (David Wells, Greg Maddux and Justin Germano) rarely going past five or six innings, the bullpen is burning out.

The Dodgers are back in a three-way tie for first with the Padres and Arizona. This corner’s money is on the Dodgers to win the NL West.

Hensley will soon replace Germano

This just in: Clay Hensley will replace Justin Germano in the Padres starting rotation around the All-Star break.

Impossible, you say?

After all, Germano is 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA. Hensley is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA for the Padres … and now pitching in the minors.

What will change?

Starting tonight with the Seattle Mariners, some teams will see Germano for the second time this season. And they’re going to love jumping on that hanging breaking ball they just missed the first time.

Hensley, meanwhile, has much better movement on his ball than Germano.

So don’t be surprised when the Padres alter their pitching rotation about mid-season.

Interleague schedule favors Padres

When it comes to interleague play, the Padres have it much easier than their two California rivals in the NL West.

The Padres get to play Seattle each year as their “natural rival.” The Los Angeles Dodgers must face the Anaheim Angels; while the San Francisco Giants are matched up against the Oakland Athletics.

Think about it for a minute. The Padres play a Seattle team that traditionally battles Texas for last place. The Dodgers and Giants are playing the year-in and year-out top two teams in the AL West.

Let the interleague numbers tell the story:

The Padres are 26-24 vs. the Mariners; 48-63 vs. the rest of the American League.
The Dodgers are 26-30 vs. the Angels; 54-51 vs. the rest of the AL.
The Giants are 27-29 vs. Oakland; 59-46 vs. the rest of the AL.

Broken down, the Padres have a winning record against Seattle and losing record against the rest of the AL. The Dodgers and Giants have losing records vs. their “natural rivals,” but winning records against the remainder of the AL.

The next time the Padres complain about their schedule, it could be worse. They could be playing the Angels or Athletics every year in interleague action.