AL West

Ichiro Suzuki is an aberration.

At 5'9" and 170 pounds, Ichiro’s slender frame belies his incredible talent. He has one of the most feared arms in all of baseball. His bat is lightning quick through the zone. His speed on the base paths is that of a track star. But you wouldn’t know all that just by looking at him.

Naturally quiet, Ichiro keeps a low profile. Besides being one of baseball’s best, the 10-time All-Star seems to shy away from the attention usually sought by superstar athletes.

In a baseball season frequently dubbed "the year of the pitcher" because of the sudden proliferation of dominant mound performances seemingly helping to shut the door on Major League Baseball's notorious "steroid era," we are being treated to an encore presentation in the 2010 postseason.

The Texas Rangers are looking for their first playoff series win in franchise history, and last week, it looked like they would get it. The Rangers took games one and two in commanding fashion, giving up only one run. Starting pitchers Cliff Lee, and C.J. Wilson dominated both games, leading Rangers fans to think a sweep was in order. The sweep, however would not be so, leading 2-1 in the late innings of game 3, Ron Washington made some questionable decisions with the bullpen, and they could not finish the job, losing 6-2.

The earliest of Sunday's three MLB Division Series matchups will be between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, after Tampa notched a comeback win in Game 3 of the ALDS. Trailing 2-1 entering the eighth inning, the Rays got big hits from (among others) Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena en route to a season-saving win.

They are riding amid an improbable pursuit, defining a miraculous tale no longer bombarded by a grim crisis. The Texas Rangers began a seemingly hopeless season in bankruptcy court, and became closer as a team when the news surfaced in spring training that Ron Washington had tested positive for cocaine. They built a social connection as a potent club and emerged into contention, which is heavily embraced as an ethical rebirth in baseball for a team that struggled in recent memory.

Now we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, not quite yet. With a two games to none advantage in the American League Division Series battle against the Tampa Bay Rays, the mood surrounding this Rangers ballclub is rather positive. After comprehensively beating the Rays in the first two games, on the road no less, this Texas ballclub is brimming with confidence.

The Seattle Mariners enter the 2010-2011 Major League Baseball offseason in dire need of some runs. The team did not merely take up the rear in American League run scoring: They finished with 100 fewer runs than the Baltimore Orioles, who finished second-to-last. The Mariners pitching staff had a 3.95 ERA, good for the fifth-best in the AL, but because of the dreadful, anemic, monumentally inept offense they put on the field, Seattle won just 61 games.

For the first time in three years, the Los Angeles Angels will not represent the AL West in the postseason. 

Despite returning six starters on offense, the Angels stumbled to an 80-82 record in 2010 as they ended up in third place in the West behind both the Rangers and A's, marking the team's worst finish since 2003.

Trevor Cahill enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, his second full season in the Major Leagues.  At the surface the numbers are certainly impressive, but there certainly are reasons to be concerned.

Before we get to the reservations, let’s take a look at his statistics:

18 Wins
196.2 Innings
2.97 ERA
1.11 WHIP
118 Strikeouts (5.4 K/9)
63 Walks (2.9 BB/9)
.238 BABIP

The Texas Rangers clubbed the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 Thursday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their ALDS matchup. 

The Rangers have never won a postseason series in the franchise's history, but that looks like it will change in 2010. Are they just a fluke, destined to burn out in the ALCS, or something bigger and more promising? 

Here are 10 reasons why the Rangers a trustworthy this October. 

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