Angels versus Mariners

With a couple big name signings by the Mariners this offseason, a lot of people have been saying they're the favorite now in the AL West. The Angels found their 5th starter today by signing Joel Pineiro so I thought I'd go through and look at each teams projected rosters.

As it stands now (and this may change before opening day) here's the Angels roster (courtesy of MLBDepthcharts.com):

PROJECTED 25-MAN ROSTER
Starting Lineup
1 3B Maicer Izturis
2 RF Bobby Abreu: UPDATE 11/6 - re-signs with team (2 yr, $19M)
3 1B Kendry Morales
4 CF Torii Hunter
5 DH Hideki Matsui: UPDATE 12/14 - agrees on 1-yr deal
6 LF Juan Rivera
7 2B Howie Kendrick
8 C Mike Napoli
9 SS Erick Aybar

Bench
C Jeff Mathis
IF Brandon Wood
OF Gary Matthews, Jr
OF Reggie Willits

Starting Rotation
1 RHP Jered Weaver
2 LHP Joe Saunders
3 LHP Scott Kazmir
4 RHP Ervin Santana
5 RHP Joel Pineiro: UPDATE 1/20 - agrees to 2-yr deal

Bullpen
CL LHP Brian Fuentes
SU RHP Fernando Rodney: UPDATE 12/23 - agrees to two-year deal
SU RHP Kevin Jepsen
MID RHP Jason Bulger
MID RHP Scot Shields
MID RHP Rich Thompson
LR RHP Matt Palmer

Let's compare that with the Mariners:

PROJECTED 25-MAN ROSTER
Starting Lineup
1 RF Ichiro Suzuki
2 3B Chone Figgins: UPDATE 12/8 - signed to 4-year deal with option for 2014
3 CF Franklin Gutierrez
4 LF Milton Bradley: UPDATE 12/18 - acquired from Cubs for Carlos Silva and $9M
5 2B Jose Lopez
6 DH Ken Griffey, Jr: UPDATE 11/11 - re-signed to 1-year deal
7 1B Casey Kotchman: UPDATE 1/7 - acquired from Red Sox
8 SS Jack Wilson: UPDATE 11/13 - re-signed to 2-year deal
9 C Adam Moore BA#6 BP#8

Bench
C Rob Johnson
1B Mike Carp
IF Jack Hannahan
OF Ryan Langerhans: UPDATE 12/12 - not offered contract for 2010 UPDATE 12/18 - re-signed to 1-yr deal

Starting Rotation
1 RHP Felix Hernandez
2 LHP Cliff Lee: UPDATE 12/16 - acquired from Philadelphia in Halladay deal
3 RHP Ian Snell
4 LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith
5 LHP Garrett Olson

Bullpen
CL RHP David Aardsma
SU RHP Mark Lowe
SU RHP Sean White: UPDATE 11/12 - questionable for start of spring training (biceps injury)
MID RHP Shawn Kelley
MID RHP Brandon League: UPDATE 12/24 - acquired from Toronto in deal for B. Morrow
MID LHP Jason Vargas
LR RHP Kanekoa Texeira: UPDATE 12/10 - taken from Yankees in Rule V Draft

Some rumblings that the Mariners are continuing to look at bringing back Jarrod Washburn and that would help them (assuming he's healthy now), but after comparing rosters, do people really think the Mariners are better? I know this may come as no surprise to many, but I don't think so.

The Mariners have a great 1, 2 combination with Hernandez and Lee, however you need more than 2 pitchers. If they have to rely on Roland-Smith and Olson at the back end of their rotation, things could get ugly for them. Everyone loves Milton Bradley when their team picks him up but then everyone is happy to see him go.... He's a clubhouse cancer and has been known to split clubhouses in half. I like the Figgins addition (notice I didn't say signing as I don't like the contract) and he'll be a plus. Is this the year Ichiro finally slips? He struggled for awhile last year before getting hot and at some point the wheels are going to come off for him. They had a reclamation project in Aardsma last year and he threw great, will he do it again? Who knows.

You can do the same with the Angels (will Morales have the year he had last year? Is this the year Hunter and Matsui decline? Can Fuentes continue to close and not give Scioscia a heart attack? Can Maicer/Wood effectively replace Figgins and on and on). However the difference for me is starting pitching. I feel the Angels have 5 guys you can trust on the mound and fully expect to have a well pitched game and a chance to win every night. I don't think the Mariners can say that and in the end, that's the difference between these two teams. I think the Mariners have some nice pieces in place but they still have work to do. It'll be interesting to see what happens come the trade deadline if they're 10 games out. You might see Cliff Lee traded, then they're playing for next year.

I know I've left Texas out of this discussion but that's a debate for another day. They have ownership issues going on and things are up in the air for them. We'll see where that goes.

Bill