I have said many times over that for the Athletics to win the AL West and unseat one of the soundest teams in the American League, they must get help.

For the road to the championship on the left coast goes directly through the beautiful Emerald City of Seattle.

Tonight the Angels get their first chance to put up or shut up, to show their three month run is not a fluke but the real deal.

The Angels first game hopes rest squarely on the shoulders of Ramon Ortiz, a pitcher they told to grow up when he pouted on the mound last Sunday in Kansas City.

With all that in mind, here’s what I think.Ortiz leads the world in home runs given up. Last weekend in Kansas City after being touched for a couple of bombs, manager Mike Scoscia came to the mound and read Ortiz the “start pitching or get outta here” speech.

Let’s see how Ortiz responds tonight. He has pitched very well against Seattle in 2002, going deep into the game in April.

The Angels are banged up beyond belief. Darrin Erstad has a large bandage on his ankle, the catcher is out, their best set up man is hurt, and their all star closer is on the DL.

Freddy Garcia seems to come up with a big game when needed. After their usual sweep job on Texas, Seattle confidence is riding high.

This is the first meaningful game the Halos have played under Scoscia, he’ll have them ready to play, too bad they are playing the Mariners.

The matchup screams for a close contest with the first game edge to Seattle because of the injuries to Anaheim. Wait for Sunday and Jarrod Washburn, if you are an Angel fan.

The A’s give Cory Lidle another shot tonight against Texas. Lidle’s first A’s start in 2001 was against the Rangers. They pounded him and have found a way to beat the righty ever since. In an earlier start in April 2002, he was sailing along until he hit A Rod with a misplaced pitch. In what has become a sickening pattern for Lidle, he then let them game get out of hand when he needed to get a big out. If Art Howe gets Lidle out of the game when the big out is needed in the 5th or 6th inning, he may be able to coax enough out of Lidle, to put the game in the hands of rookie Aaron Harang (who hasn’t pitched since the White Sox were still taken seriously in baseball) and the rest of the bull pen.

The A’s are still looking for the big hit. Tonight they have a better chance of getting it, since Aaron Myette being called up from the minors is their opponent on the mound. Not only is he a righty, but a young pitcher the A’s normally eat up.

This game promises to have some runs scored even with the cold night air in Oakland. The weather may be better than normal tonight as it is early in the morning and the fog has burned off. A good sign for night time weather. Count on some homers early in the game. A’s will prevail because the Rangers will need their bull pen and we all know what that means.

Pedro versus the Yankees. Always a thrill when he goes against the Bombers. Something weird ususally happens in the game. Tonight Mike Mussina will match pitches with Pedro and this one looks like a classic 4-3 or lower scoring game. I shudder to think about the Sox pen trying to save this game for Pedro. Too bad Wakefield pitched three innings yesterday, he would have been a perfect compliment to Pedro tonight after the sixth inning or so. Yanks win, Yanks win, in a stirring late inning comeback against Wayne Gomes et al.

Rodrigo Lopez is heading into his midseason wall, he has been hit hard recently and even the sinking, out of sight White Sox need to win one occasionally. Jon Garland has been a pleasant surprise and gets the job done tonight.

The Giants face Ishii in LA. The Dodgers are reeling. They will make moves to inject life into their offense. Those moves won’t take place for another week or so. In the meantime, LA continues to flounder. Not even the mysterious lefty from Japan can save the Dodgers tonight.

Chuck Finley wants out of Dodge. He pitches against KC, a team that has fallen prey to lefties all year. If he doesn’t get it done tonight, he won’t get his ticket punched to Boston or San Francisco.

Here’s a sleeper for a contender. Esteban Loaiza in Toronto. Come on he’s better than Albie Lopez was last year and look at the interest Lopez created on the open market. I expect another win from Loaiza tonight and then watch his name pop up in trade talk.

Javier Vasquez needs to think he is pitching against the Braves tonight instead of the Marlins. The strong armed righty handles Atlanta with ease and then struggles against the weaker opponents. The clubhouse in Miami is about as settled as a summer hurricane in the Caribbean. Most of the Marlins are on the block and they know it. Why did Jeffrey Loria buy this team anyway, he could have been contracted in Montreal and been put out of his misery? Now he is hyping interest in the Dolphins season every time he makes a move. The only move he should make is out of town.

All right Angel fans get ready for the Mariners, the rest of baseball is watching.

Especially the ones in Oakland.