1988_04 The Daily Collegian April 1988

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Tuesday, April 5,1988   Page 7
A's back in championship form
AL WEST
1. Oakland A's
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Texas Rangers
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Seattle Mariners
6. California Angels
7. Chicago White Sox
By Dave Spencer
Contributing Sports Writer
Often considered the worst division in
baseball, the American League West is
starting to improve. In fact, the Oakland
A's are probably strong enough to finish
third in the AL. East. Fortunately for
them, they are in a very good position to
capture the AL. West flag.
The Royals have the filching, but
aren't balanced enough. The Rangers and
Mariners are young and hungry, but tack
experience. The Twins "sneaked" by last
season, and can't repeat. The rest of the
teams have too many outstanding
weaknesses to even be considered.
1. Oakland Athletics
The A's, who finished third last season,
decided that they were not going to win
the marginal A.L. West with the talent
they had. so they went out and changed
their look. Gone arc former all-stars SS
Alfredo Griffin and reliever Jay Howell.
Among the new arrivals are OF Dave
Parker. 2B Glenn Hubbard, pitchers' Bob
Welch and  Matt Young and DH   Don
Baylor. Parker and Baylor will combine
with OF Jose Canseco and 1987 A.L.
Rookie of the Year Mark McGwire to
form a modem day "Murderer's Row."
Along with 3B Carney Lansford and
sophomore C Terry Sieinbach, there
should be plenty of runs for the starting
rotation to work with. Pitchers Dave
Stewart and Welch are outstanding. The
bullpen, the most questionable aspect of
the A's this season, will be manned by
Dennis Eckersley and newcomer Young
from L.A. The A's are hoping that rookie
ss Walt Weiss will fill Griffin's shoes.
Probable lineup:
C Terry Steinbach (284, 16 HR, 56
RBI)
IP. Mark McGwire (.280, 49 HR, 118
RBIi
2B Glenn Hubbard (.264. 5 HR, 38
RBI)
SS Walt Weiss (.462. 0 HR, 1 RBI)
3B Carney Lansford (.289, 19 HR, 76
RBI)
LF Jose Canseco (.257. 31 HR, 113
RBI)
CF Stan Javier (.185. 2 HR, 9 RBI)
RF Dave Parker (.253. 26 HR. 97
RBI)
DH Don Baylor (.245. 16 HR 63 RBI)
2. Kansas City Royals
The Royals can now boast that they
have the best starting rotation in the
A.L., perhaps the majors. Newly acquired
former-White Sox pitcher Floyd Bannister
will join Bret Saberhagen, Charlie
Lcibrandi, and Mark Gubicza to head a
formidable staff. The bullpen is headed by
veterans Dan Quiscnberry and Gene
Garber. The Royals will need decent years
from these former stars. The Royals
offense will be led once again by IB
George Brett. But he is not their only big
suck, not with young, rising stars like
3B Kevin Seitzer, RF Danny Tartabull,
and Mr. Everything LF Bo Jackson.
Throw in a couple of steady veterans like
CF Willie Wilson and 2B Frank White
and the team looks pretty solid. There are
question marks, however. For instance, it
looks like a cast of thousands will be
behind the plate while shortstop is
occupied by unproven Kurt Stillwelt
C Jamie Quirk (.236 5 HR. 33 RBI)
IB George Brett (.290. 22 HR, 78
RBI)
2B Frank White (.245, 17 HR, 78
RBI)
SS Kurt SUllwell (.258. 4 HR, 33
RBI)
3B Kevin Seitzer (.323. 15 HR 83
RBI)
LF Bo Jackson (.235. 22 HR. 53 RB
CF Willie Wilson (.279, 4 HR 30
RBI)
RF Danny Tartabull (.309, 34 HR
101 RBI)
DH Steve Balboni (.207. 24 HR, 60
RBI)
3, Texas Rangers
The experts picked the Rangers to win
the West last year, but they didn't live up
to the expectations. The main reason for
their failure was the starting pitching.
Youngsters like Bobby Witt, Edwin
Correa, and Jose Guzman did not mature
like manager Bobby Valentine hoped. It
remains to be seen whether this is the
year for the promising trio or not. Thank
goodness for the OF knuckleballer Charlie
Hough. He shows no sign of slowing
down in his advancing age. In the bullpen
will be two hard-throwing closers, Mitch
Williams and Dale Mohorcic. They will
likely see a lot of action with the
uncertainty of the starting staff. One asset
that the team does possess is power, led
by OF Ruben Sierra and DH Larry
Parrish. Their supporting cast also
includes OF Pete Incaviglia and IB Pete
O'Brien. Second-year players C Mike
Stanley and 2B Jerry Browne should
improve on last season, while consistent
Scott Fletcher returns to shortstop.
C Mike Stanley (.273.6 HR, 37 RBI)
IB Pete O" Brien (.286, 23 HR, 88
RBI)
2B Jerry Browne (.271, 1 HR, 38 RBI)
SS Scott Fletcher (.287, 5 HR, 63
RBI)
3B Steve Buechclc (.237. 13 HR, 50
RBI)
LF Pete Incaviglia (.271, 27 HR, 80
RBI)
CF Oddibe McDowell (.241, 14 HR.
52 RBI)
RF Ruben Sierra (.263. 30 HR, 109
RBI)
DH Larry Parrish (.268, 32 HR, 100
RBI)
4. Minnesota Twins
The defending World Champs suffered
this winter from the same disease as the
Tigers: lethargy. They did nothing to
improve ihemselves during the offseason. Still, they possess a very
intimidating lineup that includes IB Kent
Hrbek and 3B Gary Gaeui. Add OF Kirby
Puckett and Tom Brunansky to the
aforementioned duo and you have enough
power to scare Cy Young. The double
play duo of 2B Steve Lambardozzi and SS
Greg Gagne is one of the best in the
league, defensively speaking. Also,
former-Fresno State standout Dan Gladden
is a big contributor, but like the Rangers.
the pitching is too uncertain to expect
them to repeal. Beyond Frank Viola, Ben
Blylevcnand Jeff Reardon, the pitching is
Please see AL West, page 8
Smith, Red Sox to take AL East
AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Cleveland Indians
7. Baltimore Orioles
 X
By Dave Spencer
Contributing Sports Writer
The American League East will prob
ably not break from tradition ;his year.
The division has not had back-to-back
champions in ages and it won't happen
this year, either. As a lifelong Tiger fan.
it pains me to select them so low in the
standings, but they refused to help their
cause, while the other teams in the league
did.
Out of all the teams that made moves
to improve themselves, the Red Sox
came out looking strongest. The Yankees
look good also, but they always find a
way to beat themselves. The only other
teams with any chance are the Blue Jays
and the Brewers. Forget all the rest.
1. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are the most improved
team in the league and all it took was one
transaction: acquiring big Lee Smith from
the Chicago Cubs. Smith gives die Sox
the bullpen relief that they've needed for a
long time. The pitching staff also
includes 1987 Cy Young award winner
Roger Clemens and tough lefty Bruce
Hurst. Throw in a healthy Dennis "Oil
Can" Boyd, and the pitching looks preuy
good. The real strength of the Red Sox is
not the pitching, though, but the
incredible offense that they possess.
Sophomore outfielders Mike Green well
and Ellis Burks, along with DH Sam
Horn, will combine with veterans 3B
Wade Boggs, IB Dwight Evans, and
OF/DH Jim Rice to give the Sox the best
offense in the division, if not the entire
league. The supporting cast, which
includes 2B Marty Barrett and C Rich
Gedman, provides the team with needed
stability.
C     Rich Gedman (205, 1 HR. 13
RBI)
IB Dwight Evans (.305, 34 HR. 123
RBI)
2B Many Barrett (.293, 3 HR, 43 RBI)
SS Spike Owen (.259.2 HR, 48 RBI)
3B Wade Boggs (363, 24 HR, 89 RBI)
LF Mike GreenweU (.328, 19 HR, 89
RBI)
CF Ellis Burks (.272. 20 HR, 59 RBI)
RF Todd Benzinger (.278, 8 HR, 43
RBI)
DH Jim Rice (.277, 13 HR, 62 RBI)
2. New York Yankees
The Yankees also have a very impressive offense and defense, like the Red
Sox. but their pitching seems to stress
quantity instead of quality. They have an
abundance of pitchers, but no one
spectacular excluding the premier relief
pitcher in the league, Dave Righetti.
Guys like Ron Guidry and Tommy John
do not have the ability to carry a team
any longer and the rest of the staff are
career .500 pitchers. Of course they do
have IB Don Mattingly, outfielders Dave
Winfield and Rickey Henderson and oft-
injured DH Jack Clark to lead a very
potent offense. This team is stacked with
stars, but they have been for a long time
and for one reason or another, they never
seem to put it together. This years excuse
will probably be their revolving manager,
Billy Martin.
C   Don Slaught (.224, 8 HR, 16 RBI)
IB Don Mattingly (.327. 30 HR, 115
RBI)
2B Willie Randolph (.305. 7 HR, 67
RBD
SS Rafael Santana (.255, 5 HR. 44
RBI)
3B Mike Pagliaruk) (.234, 32 HR, 87
RBI)
LF Gary Ward (.248, 16 HR. 78 RBD
CF Rickey Henderson (.291. 17 HR,
37 RBD
RF Dave Winfield (.275, 27 HR, 97
RBD
DH Jack Clark (.286, 35 HR, 106
RBD
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have an outstanding
team, but this year, as with last, they
will probably fall short They don't have
as much depth as the Red Sox or the
Yankees, which was evident at the end of
last season when they lost C Ernie Whin
and SS Tony Fernandez to injuries and
self-destructed after leading the division
for most of the season. Still, they have
the 1987 Most Valuable Player DH
George Bell. The talent doesn't stop there,
either. Outfielders Lloyd Moseby and
Jesse Barfield are all-star calibre. The
pitching is also better than average led by
Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy. The Blue
Jays best attribute, though, is probably
their bullpen. Mark Eichhom is the
perfect set-up man for short reliever Tom
Henke. There isn't a stronger bullpen in
the league. If they can stay healthy, they
can make a run for the title, but an injury
to a couple of key players will ruin their
season.
C   Emte Whin (.269, 19 HR. 75 RBD
IB Fred McGriff (.247, 20 HR, 43
RBD
2B Nelson Liriano (.241, 2 HR, 10
RBD
SS Tony Fernandez (.322, 5 HR, 67
RBD
3B Kelly Gruber (.235. 12 HR, 36
RBD
LF Lloyd Moseby (.282, 26 HR, %
RBD |
CF Rob Ducey (.188. 1 HR, 6 RBD
RF Jesse Barfield (.263, 28 HR, 84
RBD
DH George Bell (.308. 47 HR, 134
RBD
4. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are beginning to reap the
benefits of the rebuilding program that
they undertook a couple of years ago.
Ironically, their best two players are a
couple of veterans, OF Robin Yount and
2B Paul Molitor.
Mob tor, who had the nation following
his 39-game hitting streak last season,
was the league's second leading hitler.
Yount had his best season in years.
Younger players like OF Glenn Bnggs
and catcher B J. Surhoff are on the brink
of stardom. The pitchers are starting to
come into their own also. Teddy Higuera
is widely considered the best left-banded
pitcher in the league and fellow starting
pitchers Bill Wegman and Juan Nieves art
also top-notch. The bullpen includes
young Dan Plesac and inconsistent Mark
Clear. The Brewers have talent, but lack
experience, a necessity in the tough AX.
East
C   BJ. Surhoff (.299,7 HR, 68 RBD
IB Greg Brock (.299, 13 HR, 85 RBD
2B Paul Molitor (.353, 16 HR. 75
RBD
SS Dale Sveum (J252, 25 HR. 95
RBD
3B Jim Ganmer (272,4 HR, 30 RBD
LF Mike Felder (266,2 HR, 31 RBD
CF Robin Yount (.312, 21 HR, 103
RBD
RF Glenn Braggs (269, 13 HR, 77
RBD
see AL EAST, page 8