AL West

Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp has established himself as a top outfielder in the game of baseball. His tremendous speed and awareness makes him a perfect player to patrol the outfield.

On top of his defense, Crisp has established himself as a top leadoff man in the big leagues. His quick hands help him get on base and quick feet make him a threat to steal every time he reaches base.

When asked to name his top five favorite center fielders to watch, Crisp had a tough time coming up with a list.

With Vernon Wells being traded over from the Blue Jays for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera, the instant reaction follows something like this:

"Why?"

To the average observer, Vernon Wells is just another overpaid outfielder who puts up above-average stats, but nothing worth the mighty contract he received.

The Angels made somewhat of a desperation move after losing out on both Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre.

Despite the enormous amount they'll have to pay Wells, he should pan out to be an impact player in the middle of their lineup and in the outfield...right?

Dice-K, Jay Bruce, Matt Wieters, Jayson Heyward, and now you can add Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout to the elite list of top prospects in all of Major League Baseball as MLB.com made the announcement Monday in their annual listing of the Top 50 Prospects in Baseball.

Ah, yes. Chone Figgins. The man that was supposed to tag team with Ichiro to form a 1-2 punch in the lineup that would drive managers and pitchers batty.

Things didn't go so hot for Figgins. Which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't make him a guy you'd give up on. However, consider almost ever other Mariners player had a poor season and the team now looks to rebuild, Figgins and his big contract are no longer a good fit.

In the midst of arguably the most disappointing offseason in franchise history, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim finally made a big move. The kind of move that could alter the course of the AL West in 2011.

So why isn't anyone happy about it?

On Friday, the Angels sent Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera to Toronto in exchange for three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winning, slugging center fielder Vernon Wells.

It hurts me to write this, but it must be done. Don’t buy into the hype surrounding Trevor Cahill, his 18-8 record or his 2.97 ERA last season. I really like Cahill. He doesn’t walk a lot of batters (2.88 BB/9) and he pitches in a spacious ballpark, but it’s almost impossible for him to approach his numbers from last season.

The day most Angel fans surely knew would be coming is here. Mike Napoli, along with Juan Rivera, has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Vernon Wells. 

When Jack Zduriencik was hired as the General Manager for the Seattle Mariners, it was considered a savvy baseball move. 

Seattle was in the middle of an ongoing rebuilding process, and Zduriencik was known for his prospect scouting and talent evaluation. He was the perfect guy to try to repair the damage done by Bill Bavasi. 

In an interview with ESPNDallas.com, Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan predicted the Rangers to win 90-95 games in the upcoming season. Considering we are still months away from Opening Day, that comment is a little outrageous.

The Rangers were terrific last year, going 90-72 in the regular season before losing to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Even that team was barely able to hit the 90-win mark and their division may have been the weakest in all of baseball.

While I was making dinner (grilled chicken with some garlic mashed potatoes), I had the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live on in the background. Just as I was about to mash my potatoes (homemade, baby!