The Best Uniforms in Baseball

I’ve watched a lot of baseball this summer and there are a few people I need to thank for this opportunity. First, I’d like to thank the random guy I met while playing golf with my friend Evan in early May. Evan and I were discussing hardcore baseball things and our new friend decided that he liked our conversation enough to ask us if we would like to have access to his MLB.tv account. (That’s really how it happened.) So as I finished up my college classes, I would frequently turn on a random Blue Jays-Mariners game, which turned into a Braves-Nationals game, which led to other games and so on and so on. (Moral of the story: college and golf are wonderful things.)

I’d also like to thank Terry Francona for allowing me to watch meaningful Cleveland Indians games in September. With the Indians in the Wild Card hunt, I’ve seen enough Rays/Yankees/Orioles games that you would think that I’m one of those AL East snobs who insists they always have the best division in baseball.

Finally, I’d like to thank my unemployed self. Because if I had a job by now, there’s no way I’d have time to watch all this baseball.

With all the MLB watching I’ve done over the past several months, I’ve seen a lot of jerseys that I like. So I decided to do a post about my favorite uniforms from this season. (I think it’s safe to say that if you know me, fashion isn’t really my thing. I have trouble finding clothes that match. Naturally, this makes me the perfect choice to write a post about good-looking baseball jerseys.) One rule, I only chose one uniform from each team. For example, if I think the Angels home and away jerseys are both worthy of being on the list, I have to chose my favorite between those two. Luckily for us, we don’t have to look at either of those uniforms on this list. Please feel free to share your list in the comments below! Without further ado, here are my Top 10 baseball uniforms from 2013:

No. 10 St. Louis Cardinals (White-White)

Always very clean.

No. 9 Colorado Rockies (Purple-Pinstripes)

The Rockies wear these fancy purple jerseys at home and on the road. But the home pinstripes are way better than gray pants.

No. 8 Miami Marlins (Orange-White)

You had me at orange.

No. 7 Texas Rangers (Red-White)

I wish they wore these more often.

No. 6 New York Yankees (Pinstripes)

Can’t have a list of the top uniforms without the pinstripes.

No. 5 Atlanta Braves (Navy-Gray)

I usually like home uniforms more, but these Braves away uniforms are fantastic.

No. 4 Los Angeles Dodgers (All White Everything)

Classic and very clean. I like how the red number on the front really sticks out.

No. 3 Seattle Mariners (Throwbacks)

Just awesome. Seeing these unis reminds me of The Kid.

No. 2 Oakland Athletics (Yellow-White)

I love all of Oakland’s jerseys, but the yellow ones are the best.

No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays (Light Blue-White)

Everything about these are great. I love the little yellow “ray” thing, I love the blue trim, I love Longoria’s socks, I love it all.

What’s your list?

MLB Power Rankings from No. 20 to No. 1

Thank you again for reading, but before we get to the next post, a few things:

My apologies for being away from the blog for a while. This past month has been extremely hectic (Cough, cough, school), but things are finally settling down.

I’m also happy to announce that another reason for my lack of posts is that I have accepted a Media Relations internship with the Oklahoma City RedHawks. The RedHawks are the AAA Affiliate of the Houston Astros. (So if you need to know about the quality of the Astros’ farm system, don’t hesitate to call.)

Finally, we were on a roll going through the preseason MLB power rankings before Spring Break, but my schedule made it difficult to keep up with the posts so I’m going to fly through teams 20-1. (That way we can move on to other posts, namely the NBA Playoffs.)

Without further ado, the rest of the rankings:

(Sorry, one more note. I did these rankings in mid-March, but I have kept them the same because I feel like switching them around now would be cheating. Other than putting the Dodgers at 25, I’m pretty happy with how I’ve done with the first 10 teams we looked at.)

(I’ll shut up now, here’s the rankings.)

No. 20 Minnesota Twins

I honestly have no idea what the Twins are. At the end of the season, I probably still won’t know what they are. The lineup has potential (Mauer, Morneau, Willingham and Doumit), but the pitching staff will hold them back. Losing Scott Baker for the year won’t help.

No. 19 Colorado Rockies

There’s a theme among all these teams on the bottom half of the list: They either have a good offense, a good defense, but they definitely don’t have both. (The Athletics have neither.) Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are studs and bringing in Michael Cuddyer will help the offense, but the pitching staff is terrible. Jamie Moyer, FORTY-NINE YEAR OLD JAMIE MOYER, was the Opening Day starter for the Rockies. Needless to say, I don’t like the Rockies chances as the season wears on.

No. 18 Pittsburgh Pirates

Since we’re on the subject of “Interesting Opening Day Starters”, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Erik Bedard was the Opening Day starter for the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s bullpen is very good, but the starting rotation will be this team’s undoing.

No. 17 Washington Nationals

The Nationals are off to a hot start and they could definitely sneak into the playoffs. Heck, they could win the NL East the way it’s looking right now. Stephen Strasburg has looked dominant and with Jordan Zimmermann and Edwin Jackson pitching well, the Nationals are dangerous. Losing leftfielder Michael Morse until at least the All-Star Break is bad for the lineup, they need to find some power in the trade market because this team has a real chance to contend.

No. 16 Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are a team that always seems to under perform. Once again, the 2012 Reds have a stacked lineup (Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce) plus, they picked up a potential ace in the offseason (Mat Latos) while getting rid of one of the most productive/most stressful closers of all time (Francisco Cordero). Cordero is the king of coming in with a three run lead, giving up three straight hits, throwing a wild pitch, giving up two runs and somehow getting 40 saves a year. It’s actually quite remarkable.

No. 15 Cleveland Indians

It’s hard for me to be rational about my favorite team, but I will say this: The Indians are going to the World Series! (Damn it, I tried.) In all honesty, the Indians have an above-average lineup with a fantastic bullpen. The key to the Tribe this year will be how much they get out of starting pitchers Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez.

No. 14 Milwaukee Brewers

Our first playoff team from 2011 makes the list. The Brewers offseason was terrible (Prince Fielder leaves and the Ryan Braun fiasco), but the main reason I have them this low is because of who they have batting clean up. Last year, Fielder was the clean up hitter. This year, Aramis Ramirez bats clean up. Not exactly like going from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. (Did you see what I did there? If only I could have found a way to fit the Bucks in there, I would have had the Wisconsin pro sports teams trifecta!)

No. 13 San Francisco Giants

Different year, same story for the Giants. Once again, they have an awful lineup, but their pitching staff makes up for it. However, this year is looking a little more dicey than others because closer Brian Wilson is out for the year and ace Tim Lincecum can’t find the strike zone.

No. 12 Atlanta Braves

Serious question: Why do the Braves never suck? In the past 18 years, they’ve finished third or higher in the NL East 17 times including their run of 11 straight division titles from 1995-2005. They have finished second in the NL East the last three years, but they are poised to make another postseason run as long as some key pitchers (Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson) can stay healthy all year.

No. 11 Boston Red Sox

I wasn’t as high on the Red Sox as others, but I still consider this a bad call on my part. The Red Sox are just not that good this year. Losing closer Andrew Bailey for a few months was bad, losing Jacoby Ellsbury for at least a month was worse, but Bobby Valentine managing to piss off the entire Red Sox clubhouse 10 games into the season was the worst of all. I wouldn’t count this team out, though. Bringing back Ellsbury, Bailey and Carl Crawford from injury could be enough for the Sox to steal a Wild Card spot.

No. 10 St. Louis Cardinals

Yes, they lost Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter is hurt, but this is still a very good team. Pitcher Adam Wainwright is back after missing all last year and free agent signing Carlos Beltran is tearing it up through the first weeks of the season. Also, as of April 23, Albert Pujols’ replacement at first base, Matt Carpenter, has more home runs than Albert. (Carpenter 1, Pujols 0) Who needs that Pujols guy anyway?

No. 9 Miami Marlins

The next two teams on this list were my sleepers coming into this year. I love the Jose Reyes/Hanley Ramirez dynamic even though the Marlins are off to a rough start in 2012. The Marlins will bounce back, but for the Marlins to contend for a World Series they need Josh Johnson to pitch at an All-Star level.

No. 8 Toronto Blue Jays

Things I love about Toronto: Their lineup, Jose Bautista, Ricky Romero (Romero has quietly been one of the best pitchers since the 2011 All-Star Break) and, of course, Brett Lawrie. Things I don’t like: having to play in the AL East, Francisco Cordero (See No. 16.)

No. 7 Arizona Diamondbacks

As we’ve seen in baseball and especially basketball this year, franchise stability is key for a team’s success. Arizona didn’t make any crazy moves over the summer, but they didn’t need to. They had a team that made the playoffs last year that will continue to get better. Once Justin Upton’s injured thumb heals, he will continue to put up the big numbers he did last season.

No. 6 Detroit Tigers

So the Tigers lose Victor Martinez for the year and Justin Verlander is sure to regress a little, yet somehow the signing of Prince Fielder will turn this team into a World Series champion? I’m not buying it. The Tigers will still run away with the AL Central, but after Verlander the starting rotation is full of question marks.

No. 5 Texas Rangers

Oops. While there is no way that Josh Hamilton keeps up his hot start, the Rangers are for real. Yu Darvish has some nasty stuff (when he can command it) and Neftali Feliz has had a good start to his first year in the Rangers’ starting rotation. With the pitching staff figured out, and possibly the best lineup in baseball, this might finally be the year that the Rangers get over the hump in the World Series.

No. 4 Los Angeles Angels

Bigger oops. Whenever you sign Albert Pujols for $240 million and you find yourself looking up at the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A’s, you know you’ve had a rough start to the year. But the Angels will be fine. Eventually, Pujols will hit his first home run of the year (with plenty more to come after that) and the offense will get rolling. I still like the Angels chances to make a run in the playoffs because they have the best pitching staff in baseball. (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and C.J. Wilson) I haven’t lost faith in the Angels.

No. 3 Philadelphia Phillies

Biggest oops of all-time. Now the Phillies are a team I’ve lost faith in. There are not enough negative words in the English language to describe how bad their offense is. Adding Ryan Howard and Chase Utley (let’s stop kidding ourselves, Utley will be back on the DL in a matter of weeks) is not enough to stop this train wreck. The 3-4-5 hitters for the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies: Jimmy Rollins, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino. (I’m not kidding) Let’s pretend I didn’t pick the Phillies as my top National League team…

No. 2 New York Yankees

Surprisingly quiet offseason for the Yanks. The only major signings were Raul Ibanez and Hiroki Kuroda. The trade of catcher Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda obviously didn’t work out for this year, but the Yankees will manage to get through it. The lineup is just as good as the Rangers and the pitching staff will be good enough to allow the Yankees to win a lot of games.

No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are no longer the surprising upstarts. They are legitimate contenders and this year is no different. The Rays didn’t miss a beat after losing Carl Crawford last year and their lineup got better this offseason by adding Carlos Pena back into the mix. The starting rotation (James Shields, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore and Jeff Niemann) is the best the Rays have ever had. Oh, and they have the best strategic manager in the game in Joe Maddon.

MLB Season Preview: No. 21 Chicago White Sox

(For a preview of No. 22 the Chicago Cubs, click here.)

The theme of the 2011 White Sox was disappointment. And the poster boy was the man featured above, Adam Dunn. Chicago shelled out big cash to lure the free agent from the Washington Nationals, but Dunn proved to be a dud in his first year with the White Sox. Dunn, a hitter known for his power, hit .159 and had only 11 home runs and 42 RBIs last year. Utility player Brent Lillibridge had more home runs (13) in 280 less at-bats!

The White Sox finished 2011 with a 79-83 and I’d expect another below-average year after the club lost many key performers without bringing in any big-name free agents to fill their holes. Pitchers Mark Buerhle, Jason Frasor and Sergio Santos are all gone, as well as outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Reason(s) for Optimism: There is absolutely no way that Adam Dunn is worse this year than he was last year. The pitching rotation can be solid as long as Jake Peavy can stay healthy and Phil Humber can pitch like he did in his rookie year last year.

Reason(s) for Concern: Outside of Paul Konerko and Alex Rios, the rest of the lineup is full of question marks. I like centerfielder Alejandro de Aza as a fielder, but his hitting is suspect. (And he’s projected to bat leadoff.) We’ve already seen just how bad Dunn can be and although I don’t think he will be that bad again, you never know. And at this point in his career, I have officially given up hope that second baseman Gordon Beckham will ever be good.

Best Possible Scenario: Besides the Tigers, the rest of the AL Central is up for grabs. If the White Sox can beat up on the rest of Central, they might be able to sneak into a Wild Card spot. The White Sox could make noise in the playoffs because their bullpen is stocked with young talent. (Watch out for Addison Reed.)

Worst Possible Scenario: The lineup can’t hit, Dunn has another terrible year and the White Sox finish last in the AL Central for the first time ever.

Chances of seeing the White Sox in the playoffs: 19 percent. Winning the division is pretty much out of the picture, but a Wild Card spot is a definite possibility.

MLB Season Preview: No. 22 Chicago Cubs

(Check out the most unlucky franchise in all of sports, No. 23 Baltimore Orioles, here.)

After looking at the most unlucky baseball franchise, we move on to the most tortured baseball franchise, the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs finished fifth in the NL Central in 2011 with a 71-91 record under first-year manager Mike Quade. (Quade was fired after the season and the Cubs have since brought in Dale Sveum.) The Cubs were in the middle of the pack in both hitting and pitching categories last season and they are destined for another year of mediocrity.

The Cubs offense took a hit in the offseason when third baseman Aramis Ramirez and first baseman Carlos Pena left the team. On the pitching side, the Cubbies finally got rid of Carlos Zambrano. To replace Zambrano, who left for Miami, the Cubs signed Chris Volstad and Paul Maholm, two solid pitchers that will eat innings and should be in the starting rotation to start the year.

Reason(s) for Optimism: The pitching staff. Most of the teams ranked behind the Cubs in my preview have little pitching, but the Cubs are the exact opposite. The starting rotation is solid, especially for a team in the National League. And with Carlos Marmol holding down the back of the bullpen, the Cubs will be in a lot of games based solely on their pitching. Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster will need to pitch 200+ innings and be workhorses for the Cubs to contend in the NL Central.

Reason(s) for Concern: Lack of power hitters. Besides Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs are a team full of guys who hit singles (if they even get hits at all). Losing Pena and Ramirez means the Cubs will have to rely on Bryan LaHair to pick up the slack. After not playing in the major leagues since 2008, LaHair played in 20 games last year batting .288 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Not exactly the track record you want to see from your projected clean-up hitter.

Best Possible Scenario: Shortstop Starlin Castro continues his progression towards being an All-Star and the rest of the lineup hits well enough to win games. The big arms (Garza and Dempster) are able to stay healthy all year, giving the Cubs a chance at a Wild Card.

Worst Possible Scenario: When you haven’t won a World Series since 1908, every year seems like a worst possible scenario. I’m going to refrain from throwing more salt in the wound.

Chances of seeing the Cubs in the playoffs: 15 percent. If the Cubs are able to pitch well, they have a chance to make some noise this season. But in a division with three quality teams (Cardinals, Brewers and Reds) it’s hard to see the Cubs making the playoffs. The long wait for a World Series win will continue into 2013.

MLB Season Preview: No. 23 Baltimore Orioles

(Here’s the link to No. 24 Kansas City Royals)

Is any team, in any sport, in a worse situation than the Baltimore Orioles?

Nothing is fair in the AL East. And that was before the Tampa Bay Rays got good. It’s all about the Yankees, Red Sox and now the Rays. (Even the Toronto Blue Jays will be markedly improved this year.)

Once again, the Orioles are destined for the bottom of the standings. They can’t keep up with the Yanks and Sox in the standings, or in the checkbooks, no matter what they do. Last year, the Orioles finished 69-93, which was the fourth-worst record in MLB. But those win/loss stats are skewed considering the O’s have to play the better teams in the AL more often than most teams.

Just like last year (and the year before, and the year before…), the Orioles have more talent than their record will indicate.

Reason(s) for Optimism: How can you be optimistic about Baltimore after you just said they never have a chance of winning the AL East? (Good point.)

Reason(s) for Concern: The Orioles have a decent lineup, but the pitching is brutal. Essentially, they are the Anti-Padres. In a division that features three, if not four, of the top offenses in the major leagues, quality pitching is paramount. The Orioles finished last in ERA, Quality Starts and WHIP in 2011, and they enter 2012 without their best pitcher from last year (Jeremy Guthrie, now with the Rockies). I consider myself a knowledgeable baseball fan, and I haven’t even heard of the No. 4 or No. 5 starters for the O’s (Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada). I googled “Jim Johnson”, the new Baltimore closer, and the first three things to come up were: the former Defensive Coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, and Jim Johnson Nissan Hyundai of Bowling Green, Kentucky. That, in itself, is concerning.

Best Possible Scenario: It’s unfortunate that the Orioles are in such a difficult division because I actually really like their lineup. Nick Markakis is turning into a stud, Adam Jones continues to hit and Matt Wieters is coming into his own. I also really like the signing of outfielder Endy Chavez, who should bat leadoff for Baltimore from day one. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, the best possible scenario is that the Orioles keep hitting?

Worst Possible Scenario: Already destined for last place in the AL East, Baltimore begins trading all its young talent to dump salary. Devoid of talent, the Orioles continue their decade (and counting) of irrelevancy.

Chances of seeing the Orioles in the playoffs: Zero percent. Baltimore hasn’t made the playoffs since 1997, and it won’t join the party this year either. The AL East is just too good.

MLB Season Preview: No. 24 Kansas City Royals

(If you missed No. 25, the LA Dodgers, click here.)

There will be a time when the Royals are legitimate contenders to win the AL Central. Unfortunately, this isn’t the year. The combination of youth and the emergence of the Detroit Tigers means that the Royals will be left on the outside looking in when the playoffs start in October.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but their is hope for the future in Kansas City. All of the Royals’ prized prospects are starting to make their way to the majors, and the Royals should be in good shape once they gain some more experience at the big league level. Even with the youth throughout the roster, KC has a good chance to improve on last year’s 71-91 record.

Reason(s) for Optimism: Eric Hosmer. The first baseman is going to be a stud. Hosmer showed power and some decent plate discipline in his rookie year, and he should continue to improve as the year goes on. The bullpen will be a strong point for the Royals as well. Closer Joakim Soria had an uncharacteristically bad 2011, but he should come back strong. With Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Jonathan Broxton, the Royals will be in strong in the seventh and eighth innings. (That’s if the starters can make it that far into the game…)

Reason(s) for Concern: Starting rotation. (…what a segue!) For all the stud prospects the Royals have in the field, you think they would have focused a little more on the starting rotation. The rotation is atrocious. Luke Hochevar, Jonathan Sanchez (acquired in a trade for outfielder Melky Cabrera), Bruce Chen, Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy are the projected starters. Right now, none of those pitchers have No. 3 starter stuff. (Duffy is young, 23, and the Royals are banking on him becoming an ace. He can develop into one, but it will take more than a year to get there.)

Best Possible Scenario: The Royals can, and will, score. Big years from Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and others give the Royals a chance to outscore teams. The Royals sneak into a Wild Card spot, but the lack of pitching dooms them in the playoffs.

Worst Possible Scenario: All of KC’s young players don’t improve as much as they should. The Royals become the worst team in MLB history to host an All-Star Game. Instead of being a celebration of the greatest players of the year, All-Star Weekend turns sour when commissioner Bud Selig tells the media that the Royals will be relocated “due to continued poor performance and the inability to give Royals’ fans any semblance of hope.”

Chances of seeing the Royals in the playoffs: 11 percent. Detroit has the AL Central pretty much locked up and their will be tough competition for the two Wild Cards. (Texas/Angels runner-up and the Big Three in the AL East.)

MLB Season Preview: No. 25 Los Angeles Dodgers

(As the countdown rolls on, take a look back at No. 26, the New York Mets, here.)

The Dodgers are an interesting team to watch in 2012. Last year, the Dodgers finished 82-79 and only 7.5 games out of the Wild Card spot. They also play in a weak NL West (other than the Diamondbacks) and they didn’t lose anyone of major importance off last year’s team.

So why do I have them so low? They didn’t improve anywhere. When Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano are your biggest offseason additions, you can’t really call that “improvement.” Also, I think centerfielder Matt Kemp is going to regress a little. Kemp is coming off an MVP-caliber year (.324 BA, 39 HR, 126 RBI and 40 SB), but it was a contract year. As we know, for some reason players perform better during their last year of a contract (I wonder why…). And with a new, eight year-$160 million extension, I expect Kemp to relax a little bit.

Reason(s) for Optimism: Dee Gordon. Gordon, a rookie shortstop, will start in the big leagues after coming up halfway through last season. Gordon, who hit .304 during 56 games with the Dodgers in 2011, will bat leadoff and provide a huge boost for the lineup. The lineup overall is solid and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a stud. They also have Kemp, and even though I don’t think he’ll have as great of stats this year, he’s still going to put up big numbers.

Reason(s) for Concern: The starting rotation after Kershaw. Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Harang and Capuano round out the starting rotation for the Dodgers. If I’m a Dodgers fan, I have absolutely no faith in any of them. Billingsley has a chance to prove me wrong, but he’s really struggled since the first half of the 2009 season.

Best Possible Scenario: 2012-Kemp plays like 2011-Kemp and the young guys in the lineup (Gordon and outfielder Jerry Sands) come up big in the spotlight. Other than the Diamondbacks, no one is scary in the NL West, so the Dodgers could make a run at one of the Wild Cards.

Worst Possible Scenario: Even if Kemp regresses a little, the lineup will be fine. For the Dodgers, it all comes down to pitching. If the starting rotation struggles and the bullpen gets worn out by the middle of May, things could get ugly.

Chances of seeing the Dodgers in the playoffs: 10 percent. You can only get so far without quality starting pitching.

MLB Season Preview: No. 26 New York Mets

(The countdown continues, check in on No. 27 Oakland right here.)

The biggest addition to the Mets this summer was actually shortening the outfield walls. That’s all you need to know about the state of the 2012 New York Mets.

To be fair, the Mets aren’t that bad. Their No. 26 position on this countdown has more to do with the strength of the rest of the NL East, and less to do with the Mets. The Phillies and the Braves always contend for the NL East title, but the Marlins and Nationals have made big additions to their teams and the NL East is as competitive as ever.

The biggest loss of the offseason was losing shortstop Jose Reyes in free agency. (It hurts even worse considering he went to a divisional opponent, the Marlins.) To fill his spot, the Mets will look to Ruben Tejada and Ronny Cedeno. I’m not the best at math, but I think the equation goes like this: Tejada+Cedeno ≠ Reyes.

Reason(s) for Optimism: The bullpen. The bullpen looks like it will be in good shape with the additions of Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco. Mets fans should also be optimistic because Johan Santana may finally be healthy. A healthy Santana, along with R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese, gives the Mets a solid rotation that has a chance to surprise people.

Reason(s) for Concern: Relying on Johan Santana. Santana is finally getting healthy, but that doesn’t mean he will be healthy when the season starts. Another obvious concern is how the Mets will replace Jose Reyes.

Best Possible Scenario: David Wright, Jason Bay and Johan Santana all stay healthy. With a healthy team, the Mets stay competitive all year and have a chance at one of the Wild Card spots.

Worst Possible Scenario: No one can replace Jose Reyes and Reyes’ new team, the Marlins, pass the Mets to win the NL East. If the Mets struggle early, some key players (most notably, David Wright) will be put on the trading block.

Chances of seeing the Mets in the playoffs: 14 percent. For the 2012 Mets, there is no in between. Either they will contend for an NL East title, or they will be no where near the playoffs. With all the solid teams in the East, I’ll bank on a poor year from the Mets.

MLB Season Preview: No. 27 Oakland Athletics

(As the countdown to No. 1 continues, check out No. 28, the Seattle Mariners, here.)

The Oakland Athletics have had a busy offseason. They’ve had a lot of turnover on their roster and it will be interesting to see if all the new pieces can gel and the team can improve off their 74-88 season last year.

The most interesting move by the A’s was signing Manny Ramirez. Ramirez hasn’t been relevant in a couple of years and he turns 40 less than two months into the season. The main reason for signing him is to increase ticket sales with the hope that he can give you 15-20 home runs.

Signing Manny wasn’t the only big move of the offseason for Oakland. The A’s signed Jonny Gomes, Bartolo Colon and received Seth Smith in a trade with the Rockies.

All those moves look great, but the A’s did lose some key pitchers that kept the team relevant in the past few years. Closer Andrew Bailey and starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez were traded to the Red Sox and Nationals respectively. Relief man Craig Breslow and starting pitcher Trevor Cahill were both traded to the Diamondbacks.

All those trades took place in 19 days. And by the end of those two and a half weeks, the A’s went from having one of the best, young pitching staffs to having to rely on Bartolo Colon to give them quality innings. (Moral of the story: It sucks to be a small-market team.)

Reason(s) for Optimism: The lineup is way better than last year. The additions of Gomes and Smith, along with the signing of Yoenis Cespedes, makes this lineup a lot stronger than it was last year when the A’s finished 20th in runs and 24th in batting average. Second baseman Jemile Weeks has the chance to turn into a star after a breakout second half of 2011.

Reason(s) for Concern: The pitching rotation. It’s Brandon McCarthy, and then a bunch of question marks. Bartolo Colon is the projected No. 2, but it’s hard to believe the 39-year-old can keep up his play from last year. After Colon and McCarthy, it gets downright ugly. (Tom Milone? Jarrod Peacock? Brad Peacock?) If Oakland can figure out the back end of the rotation, they could be in good shape.

Best Possible Scenario: Manny does more than sell tickets. He has 20 home runs by All-Star Break and the rest of the lineup hits well. The powerful lineup takes pressure off the starting rotation and the A’s sneak into the Wild Card spot. (Or maybe, one of the two Wild Card spots?)

Worst Possible Scenario: The lineup hits well, but not well enough to make up for the terrible starting rotation. Even with the presence of Manny, the A’s still can’t sell tickets and the A’s finish last in MLB in wins and attendance.

Chance of seeing the Athletics in the playoffs: Four percent. Only slightly above the Mariners, but still way behind the Angels and Rangers.

MLB Season Preview: No. 28 Seattle Mariners

(Check out No. 29, the San Diego Padres, here.)

Last year was a year to forget for the Seattle Mariners. They finished dead last in the Major Leagues in hits, runs scored, batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. The Mariners were able to win games last year with their solid pitching staff. Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda led the staff that finished with a 3.90 ERA. Before last season, the Mariners seemed poised to have a strong rotation for years to come(Felix, Pineda, Jason Vargas and Doug Fister). But the M’s struggled last year, and they traded 28-year-old Fister and rookie sensation Pineda within the past seven months. The Mariners recently let closer David Aardsma go into free agency where he eventually signed with the New York Yankees on Feb. 22.

The M’s did get some great hitting prospects in return for their pitchers (Most noticeably Jesus Montero and Casper Wells), but you can’t expect these guys to completely change the hitting culture in Seattle in one year. Moving Ichiro to third in the lineup should get some more runs for the Mariners, because he’ll finally be batting with runners on base. The lineup may be a little better, but it’s nowhere near where it needs to be for the M’s to contend for an AL West title. Especially with how powerful the Angels’ and Rangers’ lineups will be in 2012.

Reason(s) for Optimism: Jesus Montero. The Mariners have been looking for a big bat for a while, and they may have finally found one in Montero. They paid a steep price for a guy that struggles defensively and will most likely be a DH, but he instantly improves this lineup.

Reason(s) for Concern: The two major concerns for the Mariners are their starting pitchers and having Chone Figgins bat leadoff. The starting rotation after King Felix and Jason Vargas is scary. The fact that the M’s are relying on Kevin Millwood to be a solid, No. 3 or No. 4 starter is not good. The starting pitching depth may be suspect, but it’s not nearly as bad as relying on Chone Figgins to bat leadoff. Figgins’ batting has rapidly gone downhill the past three years. (In 2009, he batted .298. In ’10, he batted .259. In ’11, he “batted” .188) Moving Ichiro down in the lineup only works if the players in front of him get on base.

Best Possible Scenario: Safeco Field lives up to its reputation as a pitcher’s park, giving the Mariners a chance to win low-scoring games. Ichiro gets 100+ RBIs in the three-hole and Montero and Franklin Gutierrez provide some much needed pop to the lineup. Unfortunately for Seattle, the LA Angels and Texas Rangers are so far ahead of the M’s offensively and defensively that the best I can see Seattle finishing is third in the West. Going .500 would be a good accomplishment.

Worst Possible Scenario: Jesus Montero turns out to be a bust, Chone Figgins somehow finds a way to bat under .100 (it’s possible) and the Mariners are out of playoff contention by the middle of May. The rough start makes the M’s sellers at the trade deadline and (look away M’s fans) they trade Felix Hernandez.

Chances of seeing the Mariners in the playoffs: Two percent. The Angels and Rangers are just too good.