Rangers still see themselves as AL's best

DALLAS The moves the Los Angeles Angels made last week during the Baseball Winter Meetings have moved the Angels to the role of favorites in the American League West according to Las Vegas bookmakers and other prognosticators. The two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers don't necessarily see it that way. "We believe we have the best team," Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "You can talk about the signings. You can talk about the shift in power. You can talk about all the things that have been talked about and will probably continue to be talked about, but it's just like the past for us. We're not worried about what's going on outside the locker room. We're worried about what we need to do to win the division and get another chance to win the World Series." The road to the World Series is certainly going to be tougher now since the Angels signed both first baseman Albert Pujols and former Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson last week. That certainly doesn't mean it won't happen. It also doesn't mean that the team the Rangers have today is going to be the team they have during the season. Even if it is, there doesn't seem to be any panic in the Rangers. "Everything goes through Texas," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "You have to give Anaheim credit. The game still has to be played on the field. We feel very comfortable about the way we can play baseball." The Rangers could actually look at the moves made by the Angels as the ultimate compliment. The Angels may have known that they couldn't be the beat the Rangers with the roster they had, so they committed more than 300 million to signing Pujols and Wilson. The moves certainly will add more intrigue to an already budding rivalry between the two teams. "It's a lot of fun," Kinsler said. "You're playing that many close and impactful games that get you ready for the playoffs. The more of those type of games you play, the more comfortable you're going to be in a playoff situation. It's nice to play that caliber of team so many teams. They were a good team last year too. It's good to have the American League noticed a little more." Kinsler said he believes the moves the Angels made now give the West the two best teams in the AL. AL East powers New York, Tampa Bay and Boston Red Sox may disagree, but Washington doesn't. "I think the West always had solid pitching," Washington said. "I think the thing that kept the West from being a power division was the two teams (Seattle and Oakland) that lack in offense. But what Anaheim is trying to do is solidify their offense and be consistent. We know they've got the pitching. They've got a good run producer and added a solid pitcher. They're going to be a tough team to deal with." It's a team the Rangers will get to deal with 19 times in 2012, beginning May 9 at Rangers Ballpark. It should be an interesting year between the two teams. "It's going to be a lot of fun," outfielder David Murphy said. "They're talented by I don't see why they'd be the team to beat when we're the two-time defending champions. I know that means nothing going into 2012, but regardless of the moves they've made, we still feel like we're going to go out there and win the division in 2012."