There were no A games in West, and the A’s get an F

Each of the five teams in the American League West still has seven or eight games remaining this season, and three of them fancy themselves as playoff contenders entering the final week.

And, as the 2012 Texas Rangers have taught us, anything can happen in a season’s final week. But enough paperwork has been turned in, more than 150 games’ worth, to hand out grades for each of the five West teams.

Granted, a final-week Hail Mary could still be answered, along the lines of Thornton Melon in Back to School or the 2012 Oakland A’s, but for the most part, grades for the Rangers, A’s, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners aren’t going to change significantly over the next eight days.

Texas Rangers: B-plus

The team that has no candidates for MVP or Cy Young gets a grade boost for creativity generated by general manager Jon Daniels, a candidate for Executive of the Year, and Jeff Banister, a front-runner for Manager of the Year.

This team was headed toward F territory in April. It was poorly equipped in the rotation and bullpen, and it wasn’t getting any offense from anyone other than Prince Fielder.

But Delino DeShields shockingly emerged as the offense’s sparkplug and relegated Leonys Martin to the bench and, eventually, the minors, and Shawn Tolleson became one of the league’s best closers while Neftali Feliz was eventually designated for assignment.

The bullpen got a trade-deadline makeover; the rotation got Cole Hamels; Rougned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo became good again; and an offense that struggled against left-handers got Mike Napoli in left field and Mitch Moreland at first base.

The results? The Rangers have made a mockery of the preseason forecasts and should win the division, likely with fewer than 90 wins.

Houston Astros: B-minus

This was a tough one.

The Astros have been atop the division the entire season, riding terrific starting pitching and flourishing at home. They could very well end up with the Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year, but they could also fade to third place as their blemishes emerge at the wrong time.

The Astros built their offense on all-or-nothing types. If they weren’t hitting homers, they weren’t scoring runs.

That has bitten them in September, when their bullpen has also worn down and started giving up too many runs and leads. Their failures on the road, including seven straight losses at Globe Life Park, have also been part of the conspiracy to ruin their feel-good season. The Astros close the season with six road games.

Injuries to George Springer and Carlos Gomez have been blows, but some believe the Astros’ fade from the top was inevitable.

Los Angeles Angels: C

The defending West champions are making some late-September noise and are still alive in the division race and in the wild-card picture.

But this team should be doing more.

It has the best player on the planet, reigning MVP Mike Trout. He could win the award for a second straight season. But with Albert Pujols struggling with a foot injury, Trout pretty much is the offense. Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron have left their mark, but is anyone really fearful of them?

On the mound, Jered Weaver appears to be headed toward an early retirement, C.J. Wilson is injured, and Matt Shoemaker has disappointed as a sophomore. All-Star Hector Santiago has faded in the second half, and the bullpen continues to be equipped with relievers who aren’t consistent enough.

While the pitchers’ performances weren’t of the Angels’ doing, a complete lack of production in left field was. The club gets significant demerits for its handling of Josh Hamilton, who, yes, relapsed with drugs but would have been a productive player for the Angels. Or at least more productive than what they did get.

Seattle Mariners: D

Only a late-season push kept the Mariners from getting a failing grade.

They rate as the most disappointing team in the American League after failing miserably to meet preseason expectations.

No one is free from blame, beginning with a starting rotation that was hit with injuries but also inexperience and underperformance. J.A. Happ looks good now, after finding his footing after a trade to Pittsburgh, but he was ordinary at best in Seattle.

The bullpen was wrecked by the ineffectiveness of Fernando Rodney and setup men who had given reason for optimism based on their 2014 seasons.

The offense was buoyed by Nelson Cruz, who has another 40-homer season, but Robinson Cano struggled badly in the first half and Kyle Seager struggled early to a lesser extent. If Cano and Seager aren’t helping Cruz, the rest of Mariners’ offense isn’t good enough to win games.

The woes got GM Jack Zduriencik fired. The team he put together had too many ifs, and the organization’s depth couldn’t provide any help.

Oakland A’s: F

Here’s what GM Billy Beane did in the off-season: Traded veteran starter Jeff Samardzija; didn’t attempt to resign All-Star starter Jon Lester; traded potential AL MVP Josh Donaldson for, among others, Brett Lawrie; traded All-Star catcher Derek Norris; signed double-play machine Billy Butler; failed to sign quality rotation depth; and put his pitchers at a disadvantage with subpar defensive players.

When injured starters Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin stayed injured, the A’s were doomed. A bevy of other injuries, such as the various ailments of Coco Crisp, didn’t help, either.

The outfit that was just swept by the Rangers is the worst team in the league and needs a serious Beane overhaul, starting with trying to shed Butler and Lawrie. Butler can’t hit for power, can’t run and can’t play the field, but other than that is great. Lawrie is a lousy defensive player who can’t hit breaking balls.

They aren’t two players to build a young team around, and the A’s are young and need to be built up.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "There were no A games in West, and the A’s get an F."