AL West is gaining on the Angels

The Anaheim Angels may finally be getting some competition in the AL West division that they have dominated for so long.

Certainly the Oakland A’s made a move in the right direction by signing pitcher Ben Sheets … as long as he’s over the elbow surgery that sidelined him all of last season.

Sheets joins a formidable rotation with two-time All Star Justin Duchscherer, Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden.

In addition, the A’s have added punch and pop with new center fielder Coco Crisp and third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

The Texas Rangers certainly have added power with the free agent signing of former Angel Vladimir Guerrero to an already potent offense.

Plus, with Nolan Ryan included in the team’s new ownership group, look for Rangers’ pitchers to take on some of the toughness Ryan displayed in his Hall of Fame career. No more babying pitchers; let’s see how far they can go in a game rather than how soon they can come out!

As for the Seattle Mariners, the likes of standout pitcher Cliff Lee and former Angel third baseman Chone Figgins will be a definite upgrade in 2010.

The Angels? Not only have they lost top players to division rivals; they also lost ace John Lackey to the Boston Red Sox.

When the Angels look back, they are going to find people are gaining on them this season.

Do Dodgers have enough pitching for playoffs?

The Philadelphia Phillies added Cliff Lee to their pitching staff for the pennant drive.

The Los Angeles Dodgers added … Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland?

Can those two journeymen actually help the Dodgers make a dent in the playoffs?

Maybe so.

After all, on the season-long pitching staff, Randy Wolf could make a good argument as the Dodgers’ top starting pitcher.

And he’s no spring chicken, himself.

The Dodgers certainly were not going to win it all with their former starting staff of Wolf, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw and the injured Hiroki Kuroda.

With the addition of Padilla and Garland, they have two veterans possibly able to at least make a dent in the playoffs.

(Not to mention reliever George Sherrill acquired from the Baltimore Orioles, giving the Dodgers a sorely needed left-hander in the bullpen.)

The Dodgers actually have the best winning percentage in the NL, just ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and Phillies.

Even so, it’s hard to believe they would have gone very far in the playoffs with their pitching staff the way it was.

Could Garland and/or Padilla make the difference?

We’ll see.

Philadelphia Phillies: The rich getting richer?

Are the rich – the Philadelphia Phillies – getting richer, or what?

Don’t forget that these guys are already the defending World Series champions. And don’t forget that they already have World Series MVP Cole Hamels at the top of their pitching rotation.

Now that they didn't get Roy Halladay from Toronto, they have traded for 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians. (And this, without giving up top young pitching prospects A.J. Happ or Kyle Drabek.)

Can you imagine Hamels and Lee, both left-handers, at the top of your rotation? Wow! Add lefties Jamie Moyer and Happ to this rotation and you truly have a top starting four for the playoffs.

And that’s not to mention Pedro Martinez pitching in the minor leagues for the Phils. If he turns out to be half the Pedro he used to be, what an exclamation point that would be.

Then there’s the Phillies lineup that leads off with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jason Werth. Nobody other than the Los Angeles Dodgers comes close to have a better top-six batters in the NL.

Already, the Phillies have a major-league best record of 19-5 in July. And that’s without the pitching help that is on the way.

Now that Lee has wound up in Philadelphia, that could seal the deal on a second straight World Series title.