The Halo offense last year was in complete disarray most of the time, as evidenced by the fact that only three players had at least 600 plate appearances. With Jim Edmonds MIA, Tim Salmon out almost half the season and Mo Vaughn missing early, it's no surprise the offense finished better than only Minnesota. Throw in the fact that Vaughn played at less than 100% most of the season and Darin Erstad had an inexplicably awful year, there is room to believe the offense will be better. In any other circumstances, I'd say that missing Gary DiSarcina for half the year was a blessing in disguise, but all the Angels could find to fill in was Andy Sheets, with his .511 OPS. So I guess even the return of DiSarcina is a modest (very modest) cause for celebration.

So the outlook for the Angels is poor. No pitching spells disaster, even with a good offense, and it would take a very optimistic soul to say the Angels have one of those.Oakland Athletics
In: P Justin Miller, P Mike Magnante
Out: 2B Scott Spiezio, P Jimmy Haynes, P Buddy GroomThe Oakland A's were able to hang on to the fringe of the wild card race right up to the last few days of the 1999 season. Their offense was surprisingly good, with contributions from all parts of the lineup. With the fourth-best offense and third-best ERA in the league, it's surprising they weren't better.

Offseason moves aren't the key to the A's of 2000. The big question is whether they can maintain their momentum from last season. Can the rotation of Kevin Appier, Tim Hudson, Omar Olivares and Gil Heredia pick up where they left off? Appier never pitched all that well for the A's, notching a 7-5 record, but with an ERA of 5.77. Can sophomore Hudson keep up his torrid pace? It's possible, but he's unlikely to match his 3.23 ERA.

On the offensive side of the equation, the Athletic attack was led last year by John Jaha and Jason Giambi. If healthy, that could happen again, but Jaha could pull a hamstring walking to his car at any time. Giambi, on the other hand, is the real deal and seems to be rounding nicely into mid-career form. With solid contributions from Grieve, Velarde, Stairs, Tejada, Chavez and Phillips, it's unlikely the offense will slip much.

Overall, the A's are tough to predict, but the worst I see them doing is around .500 -- and they could be significantly better.Texas Rangers
In: C Bill Haselman, IF Frank Catalanotto, OF Chad Curtis, OF Gabe Kapler, P Kenny Rogers, P Justin Thompson, P Darren Oliver, P Francisco Cordero, P Alan Webb
Out: C Gregg Zaun, 2B Mark McLemore, 3B Todd Zeile, OF Juan Gonzalez, OF Tom Goodwin, P John Burkett, P Jeff Fassero, P Danny Patterson, P Eric GundersonThe Rangers have undergone a complete makeover, apparently as a result of their almost-success of the last four years. Like a lesser Cleveland Indians, the Rangers weren't performing in the postseason the way management thought they should, so it's spring cleaning time. The imminent free agency of Juan Gonzalez appears to be the factor that tipped the balance in favor of cleaning house. Having gone through the agony of re-signing Pudge Rodriguez, it appears that the Rangers had made their choice about who "the man" was in Arlington. Then there was the acquisition of Palmeiro last year, making Gonzalez' bat, and perhaps even more so his temper, expendable.

To the casual fan, the blockbuster deal with Detroit may have seemed to favor the Tigers. After all, they got the big name, didn't they? The flip side is that the Rangers got all the young talent in the deal. Acquiring Catalanotto, Thompson and Kapler should pay off in the long runTexas' main problem, though, is pitching -- just like most clubs. They lost Aaron Sele and John Burkett, who combined for 58 starts last season. Neither sported a particularly snappy ERA, but few pitchers have in Arlington recently. Replacing them with Kenny Rogers, Darren Oliver and Justin Thompson may work out, but it's not really an improvement.

There's been a lot of activity in Texas, and it may take a while for the pieces to click in place. I doubt very much whether that will happen in time for them to stave off the Oakland A's and a resurgent Mariner team.Seattle Mariners
In: 1B John Olerud, 2B/OF Mark McLemore, OF Stan Javier, P Aaron Sele, P Kazuhiro Sasaki, P Arthur Rhodes
Out: P Butch HenryThe best and brightest news for Mariner fans in 2000 is that Jeff Fassero won't be trotting out there every fifth day and getting shelled. The second-best piece of news is that Mariner management finally saw fit to cough up some money to liven the team up. New GM Pat Gillick has spent wisely, for the most part, despite several million dollars burning a hole in his pocket. In a weak free agent class, he managed to cherry-pick a few of the better ones in Olerud, Sele and Sasaki. In the process, Gillick managed to fill every need the Mariners had:Get a better first baseman: OlerudGet a better closer: SasakiGet another quality starter: SeleGet a lefty setup guy: RhodesGet a leadoff guy: McLemore/JavierOK, so the last one is weak, but it's still better than Brian L. ".277 OBP" Hunter.

The big question, though, is what will happen with Griffey and Rodriguez? The former has spent most of the winter pouting, while the latter maintains that he wants to play for a winner, that he'd prefer that winner to be the Mariners, but if not, he'll be happy to go play somewhere else in 2001. Rodriguez, however, can't veto a trade the way Griffey can.

The Mariners' plan seems to be to build a solid team and show their two superstars that they can win. If the team ends up being able to sign only one, even that will be a triumph at this point.

With an offense that boasts Griffey, Rodriguez, Olerud, Edgar Martinez and a part-time but healthy Jay Buhner, the team should score runs, even in spacious Safeco Field. That same park effect could possibly turn the rotation of Moyer, Sele, Garcia, Halama and Meche into Cy Young contenders.

With a bunch of spare players to use in future trades, Gillick looks set to shore up any holes that develop during the season.

So, in the AL West, it looks like an interesting three-way race between the A's, Rangers and Mariners. Personally, as always, I have to root for the home team, but it will be a fun race whatever happens.

about the author

Dave Paisley is better known as Rupert Murdoch, but decided to write elsewhere under a pseudonym after Steve Lyons read his early writing and laughed, "What the hell is OPS?" Ask what Steve Sax said at drdjp@strikethree.com.

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