Believe it or not people, aside from getting drunk, wasted, intoxicated or whatever on St. Patrick’s Day (well that’s if ya do and hopefully are smart to have a designated driver), the baseball season is only a couple of weeks away from officially commencing.

So in between your traditional corned beef, cabbage and Guinness along with another fave Killian’s Irish Red, sit back, relax and enjoy the first part of our baseball preview as we countdown the final chaotic days of Spring Training.

Today, we’re going to start with the AL West. I’m intentionally going to look at the other divisions which don’t involve either New York team so we can familiarize our two spoiled fanbases who think the pennant runs through NYC in the Bronx and in Queens.

Let’s see which other teams could be a threat at least in the AL West.

AL WEST

1.California Angels- first off, I don’t believe in calling them Los Angeles or whatever they’re called these days. Personally, the Rally Monkeys would be better considering the amount of torment it’s caused in these parts. That all said, let’s take a look at whether this team will be back in October once again.

Projected Lineup

1.3B Chone Figgins

2.LF Gary Matthews, Jr.

3.RF Vladimir Guerrero

4.CF Torii Hunter

5.1B Casey Kotchman

6.2B Howie Kendrick

7.SS Maicer Izturis

8.DH Garrett Anderson

9.C Mike Napoli

Bench

OF Juan Rivera

CF Reggie Willits

SS/2B Erick Aybar

3B Brandon Wood

C Jeff Mathis

Rotation

Ace-John Lackey (out till mid-May) 

Jered Weaver

John Garland 

Ervin Santana

Joe Saunders 

Bullpen

Closer-Francisco Rodriguez

Setup-Scot Shields

Justin Speier

Darren Oliver

Dustin Moseley

Analysis: The Angels tossed out some more cash on former All-Star Twins’ center fielder Torii Hunter last offseason, forcing Gary “HGH” Matthews, Jr. to left. Hunter’s coming off a career best season in which he knocked in 107. Can you say cha ching? The 32 year-old veteran plays great D and will always sacrifice his body. He’ll also be asked to provide some batting protection for Vlad Guerrero in a lineup which is stacked. They’ll miss staff ace John Lackey for the first month but should score enough runs to hang in games. The key offseason acquisition of John Garland from the White Sox for former shortstop Orlando Cabrera now looks like genius as he’s another quality arm who can pick up the slack with Lackey out. Plus they still possess one of the best pens in baseball with Scot Shields setting up K-Rod.  

Prediction: 93-94 wins and another AL West crown

2.Seattle Mariners- remember when the Mariners last saw October? It was seven long years ago when they won a major league record 116 games under Lou Piniella Post A-Rod with Ichiro starring only to lose to the Yankees in the ALCS. Well, this could be the year they finally return to the postseason.

Projected Lineup

1.CF Ichiro Suzuki

2.2B Jose Lopez

3.LF Raul Ibanez

4.3B Adrian Beltre

5.1B Richie Sexson

6.RF Brad Wilkerson

7.C Kenji Johjima 

8.DH Jose Vidro

9.Yuniesky Betancourt

Bench

SS Willie Bloomquist

Uti Miguel Cairo

OF/Inf Mike Morse

OF Wladimir Balentien

C Jamie Burke

Rotation

Ace-Erik Bedard

Felix Hernandez

Jarrod Washburn

Miguel Batista

Carlos Silva

Bullpen

Closer-J.J. Putz

Setup-Brandon Morrow

Sean Green

Cha Seung Baek

Mark Lowe

Analysis: During the offseason, the Mariners addressed a need by upgrading the front end of their rotation with the key acquisition of former Baltimore ace Erik Bedard. The 29 year-old southpaw is coming off his best season in which he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA while fanning 221 for third most in the AL in just 28 starts. Now he’ll be asked to team with young hurler Felix Hernandez to form a dynamic duo at the top of the rotation. With AL save leader J.J. Putz shutting the door along with an offense headlined by Ichiro plus sluggers Adrian Beltre, Raul Ibanez and Richie Sexson, the M’s should be formidable. I also like the double play combo of Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez, who also can contribute at the plate. This should be a fun team to keep a close eye on this summer.

Prediction: 90-91 wins and maybe a WC berth

3.Oakland Athletics- remember when Moneyball was good enough to get the A’s into the playoffs? Well, now GM or K-Mart guru Billy Beane is too cheap these days to care enough to field a team which has a realistic chance of doing something. And save us the whole speech, “Well they can’t compete against the Yanks, Red Sox, Angels and Tigers.” Bull. The Yanks haven’t won since 2000. The Mets collapsed last year. The top payroll doesn’t always win. You still got to play the games. Isn’t it about time the A’s tried for now instead of always planning for the future. What future? They’ll leave anyway because of Beane’s philosophy.

Projected Lineup

1.RF Travis Buck

2.2B Mark Ellis

3.3B Eric Chavez

4.DH Jack Cust

5.1B Dan Johnson

6.SS Bobby Crosby

7.LF Emil Brown

8.C Kurt Suzuki

9.CF Ryan Sweeney

Bench

Inf Donnie Murphy

OF Jeff Fiorentino

1B/C Daric Barton

C Rob Bowen

Rotation

Ace-Joe Blanton

Rich Harden

Justin Duchscherer

Chad Gaudin

Dallas Braden

Lenny DiNardo

Bullpen

Closer-Huston Street

Setup-Kiko Calero

Alan Embree

Keith Foulke

Joey Devine

Analysis: These aren’t the same A’s from a few years ago. Gone are slugger Nick Swisher and staff ace Dan Haren for a slew of prospects that Beane hopes will morph into the next stars his farm system produces. Oakland won’t make the playoffs but with a few proven stars such as Eric Chavez, Joe Blanton, Rich “DL” Harden and closer Huston Street still around for now, they’ll be in games. Travis Buck is spunky and Mark Ellis solid at the top of the order. Keep a close eye on prospects Daric Barton and Ryan Sweeney. Also Justin Duchscherer makes the transformation from pen to starter. It will also be interesting to see how Jack Cust performs after being on The Mitchell Report. The A’s need his pop.

Prediction: 82-83 wins but could drop below .500 depending on who else gets dealt

4.Texas Rangers- aren’t the Rangers always in this familiar position by the end of September? Will it finally change this year with the A’s not as good? The franchise hasn’t been the same since juicers Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez left.

Projected Lineup

1.2B Ian Kinsler

2.LF Frank Catalanotto

3.SS Michael Young

4.3B Hank Blalock

5.RF Milton Bradley

6.1B Ben Broussard

7.CF Josh Hamilton

8.DH Jason Botts

9.C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Bench

OF David Murphy

CF Marlon Byrd

C Gerald Laird

Inf Ramon Vasquez

OF Nelson Cruz

Rotation

Ace-Kevin Millwood

Vincente Padilla

Jason Jennings

Brandon McCarthy

Robinson Tejeda

Kason Gabbard

Bullpen

Closer-C.J. Wilson

Setup-Joaquin Benoit

Eddie Guardardo

Kazuo Fukumori

Luis Mendoza

Analysis: The offense should do what they usually do. Double play tandem Ian Kinsler and Michael Young are All-Stars who can hit, hit and hit plus run. Hank Blalock and the injury prone Milton Bradley can rake. Frank Catalanotto is a professional hitter. Expect Jarrod Saltalmacchia to see some time at first as he has big time power. Getting Josh Hamilton from the Reds to patrol center is a nice addition as the former No.1 overall pick showed some of his talent which made scouts drool. The dilemma is as is their trademark, pitching appears to be optional. Kevin Millwood will give them inning but is coming off a miserable year. How can anyone rely on BP hurlers Vincente Padilla and Houston failure Jason “HR” Jennings? Brandon McCarthy’s been a bust so far. The pen looks to be decent with Joaquin Benoit setting up C.J. Wilson but how are they getting the ball exactly? Good chance there won’t be many leads to protect but an awful lot of slugfests in Arlington.

Prediction: 72-74 wins and an awful lot of trips to the mound.

Coming Next: NL West