No matter whether their location is Anaheim or Los Angeles, the Angels haven’t changed their location – first place – in the division. There’s no reason to think that will change this summer, thanks to Jeff Weaver’s addition to the rotation. The Athletics will try once again to be the model of small-market efficiency. The Rangers will try to reverse last year’s second-half slide, and the Mariners will try to make the Pacific Northwest forget the Seahawks’ Super Bowl loss to the Steelers. Mark Ellis 2B, Athletics After missing the entire 2004 season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Ellis had a nice comeback season, batting .316 with 13 homers and 52 RBI in 122 games. Kenji Johjima C, Mariners The first Japanese catcher to play in the United States, Johjima won his seventh Gold Glove last year in his native country and was named to the Pacific League’s “Best of Nine” for the sixth time. Casey Kotchman 1B, Angels The Angels are so high on Kotchman, a three-time No. 1 prospect in their system, that they moved Gold Glove first baseman Darin Erstad back to the outfield. Ervin Santana RHP, Angels Began his career last May with a complete-game shutout and didn’t stop rolling. Santana finished his rookie year with a 12-8 record and 4.65 ERA in 23 starts. Ian Kinsler 2B, Rangers His next major-league at-bat will be his first, yet the Rangers seem comfortable with finding a spot in the lineup for Kinsler. He ranked second among Rangers farmhands with 23 homers, 102 runs and 94 RBI. LOS ANGELES ANGELS 2005 record: 95-67, first place Manager: Mike Scioscia Three additions: 3B Edgardo Alfonzo, RHP Hector Carrasco, RHP Jeff Weaver Three losses: RHP Paul Byrd, C Bengie Molina, LHP Jarrod Washburn. Sneaky stat: OF Vladimir Guerrero has batted over .300 for nine consecutive seasons. That’s the longest streak in the majors. On the hot seat: Bartolo Colon. Sure, he won the Cy Young award, but he also battled injuries down the stretch. The Angels, already minus Washburn and Byrd, can’t afford to be without Colon, too.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Avg.

HR

RBI

3B Chone Figgins

.290

8

57

SS Orlando Cabrera

.257

8

57

RF Vladimir Guerrero

.317

32

108

LF Garret Anderson

.283

17

96

DH Juan Rivera

.271

15

59

CF Darin Erstad

.273

7

66

1B Casey Kotchman

.278

7

22

C Jose Molina

.228

6

25

2B Adam Kennedy

.300

2

37

STARTING PITCHERS

W-L

ERA

Bartolo Colon

21-8

3.48

John Lackey

14-5

3.44

Kelvim Escobar

3-2

3.02

Ervin Santana

12-8

4.65

Jeff Weaver

14-11

4.22

CLOSER

Saves

ERA

Francisco Rodriguez

45

2.67

OAKLAND ATHLETICS 2005 record: 88-74, second place Manager: Ken Macha Three additions: OF Milton Bradley, RHP Esteban Loaiza, DH Frank Thomas. Three losses: RHP Octavio Dotel, DH Erubiel Durazo, LHP Ricardo Rincon Sneaky stat: Loaiza, with a three-year deal, became the first free-agent starting pitcher signed to a multi-year contract in the Billy Beane era as Athletics general manager. On the hot seat: Bradley. He brought his questionable attitude over from Los Angeles and must finally prove he can be a team-player for an organization that historically doesn’t cater to malcontents.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Avg.

HR

RBI

C Jason Kendall

.271

0

53

CF Mark Kotsay

.280

15

82

SS Bobby Crosby

.276

9

38

3B Eric Chavez

.269

27

101

DH Frank Thomas

.219

12

26

RF Milton Bradley

.290

13

38

2B Mark Ellis

.316

13

52

1B Dan Johnson

.275

15

58

LF Nick Swisher

.236

21

74

STARTING PITCHERS

W-L

ERA

Barry Zito

14-13

3.86

Rich Harden

10-5

2.53

Esteban Loaiza

12-10

3.77

Dan Haren

14-12

3.73

Joe Blanton

12-12

3.53

CLOSER

Saves

ERA

Huston Street

23

1.72

TEXAS RANGERS 2005 record: 79-83, third place Manager: Buck Showalter Three additions: RHP Adam Eaton, RHP Kevin Millwood, OF Brad Wilkerson. Three losses: OF Richard Hidalgo, LHP Kenny Rogers, 2B Alfonso Soriano Sneaky stat: Talk about a rebuilt rotation: None of the first six starters to appear for the Rangers last season are on the team for 2006. On the hot seat: Showalter. He can rub people wrong with his know-it-all approach, and he’s trying to compete in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Avg.

HR

RBI

CF Brad Wilkerson

.248

11

57

SS Michael Young

.331

24

91

1B Mark Teixeira

.301

43

144

3B Hank Blalock

.263

25

92

LF David Dellucci

.251

29

65

RF Kevin Mench

.264

25

73

DH Phil Nevin

.237

12

55

C Rod Barajas

.254

21

60

2B Ian Kinsler

ML Debut

STARTING PITCHERS

W-L

ERA

Kevin Millwood

9-11

2.86

Adam Eaton

11-5

4.27

Vicente Padilla

9-12

4.71

Kameron Loe

9-6

3.42

Juan Dominguez

4-6

4.22

CLOSER

Saves

ERA

Francisco Cordero

37

3.39

SEATTLE MARINERS 2005 record: 69-93, fourth place Manager: Mike Hargrove Three additions: DH/OF Carl Everett, C Kenji Johjima, LHP Jarrod Washburn Three losses: RHP Ryan Franklin, RHP Shigetoshi Hasegawa, RHP Jeff Nelson Sneaky stat: Despite adding 3B Adrian Beltre and 1B Richie Sexson to the offense, the Mariners scored exactly one more run in 2005 than they did in 2004. On the hot seat: Beltre. After cashing in on his phenomenal 2004 season, Beltre wasn’t able to carry the Mariners in his first season in Seattle, batting .255 with 19 homers and 87 RBI.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Avg.

HR

RBI

RF Ichiro Suzuki

.303

15

68

C Kenji Johjima

Played in Japan

LF Raul Ibanez

.280

20

89

1B Richie Sexson

.263

39

121

DH Carl Everett

.251

23

87

3B Adrian Beltre

.255

19

87

CF Jeremy Reed

.254

3

45

2B Jose Lopez

.247

2

25

SS Yuniesky Betancourt

.256

1

15

STARTING PITCHERS

W-L

ERA

Jamie Moyer

13-7

4.28

Joel Pineiro

7-11

5.62

Jarrod Washburn

8-8

3.20

Gil Meche

10-8

5.09

Felix Hernan

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