e American League West is a mess. Well, not the Astros, but we knew that coming into the season. Here, I took a screenshot of my predictions before the season, in case you don't believe me.

standings
The other four teams, though, are a mess. All four would be in last place in the AL East, which isn't exactly filled with teams on a roll, and only the White Sox and Indians have been worse in the American League. The AL West was supposed to be one of the more competitive divisions in baseball. What happened?

It's still early. There's still plenty of time for all these teams to turn their seasons around, so it's time to play doctor and see what's wrong with them. No, oh no, wait, put those back on, it's time to play mechanic and figure out how to get each team moving again.
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What's wrong with them?
Almost all of the new acquisitions are flopping or, even worse, doing what you might have expected. Mark Canha has been good, and Marcus Semien still looks like a building block, but those were some of the low-profile additions. The high-profile additions -- Billy Butler, Brett Lawrie and Ben Zobrist -- haven't contributed as much as they would have expected, and there are different worries about all three.

Lawrie looks absolutely confused at the plate, striking out 32 times and walking just thrice in 112 plate appearances. We've covered an awful night previously, but it's worth noting that things aren't getting better. Don't look at what Josh Donaldson is doing, DON'T LOOK AT ... [url=http://www.officialcardinalsmlbshop.com/authentic-45-bob-gibson-jersey.html... Gibson Elite Jersey
I just told you not to look. Lawrie might be fine, but this is increasingly looking like something that will need to be fixed somewhere other than the starting lineup. The plate discipline is alarming.

Zobrist has been hurt, dealing with a banged-up knee that required surgery, and he'll miss at least a month, maybe two. This is the first problem he's had with his knee in his career, and it's messing up the A's something fierce. All of the best-laid plans went through Zobrist and his ability to play different positions and switch-hit. [url=http://www.officialcardinalsmlbshop.com/authentic-45-bob-gibson-jersey.html... they're dealing with a whole lot of Eric Sogard again, when it seemed like the point of the offseason was to avoid that.

Butler has been hitting like Butler, which sort of makes you want to see the notes that convinced Billy Beane that things would be different.

Oh, and the bullpen has been a pail of laundry detergent in the dishwasher. Get a mop, it's a mess. Other than Evan Scribner, every reliever can pitch much better than this.