The Oakland Athletics' hopes of winning the American League West appear to be disappearing. The Athletics had the best record in all of Major League Baseball for the majority of the season, but they find themselves four games behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Athletics made one of the biggest trades before the trade deadline by acquiring pitcher Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, the Athletics hitting has taken a dive lately, and the team finished a miserable 12-17 in the month of August.

The Angels on the other hand, are flying in the opposite direction.

The Angels finished August with an impressive 18-10 record, and are now 83-53 on the season. Their 83 wins rank first in the AL West, and four more than the Athletics. The Angels six-game winning streak is currently the longest in all of baseball.

Mike Trout has been the most impressive player on the Angels this season. He leads the team in batting average, hits, home runs, runs batted in and runs scored. There's no doubt that Trout is the favorite to win the American League MVP this season.

Albert Pujols is having a great season with 83 runs batted in, 24 home runs and 148 hits, which all rank second on the team. The Angels have been one of the biggest spenders in the league over the last two seasons, so it's appropriate to see them in first place.

The Angels now have the best record in the majors, four games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who lead the American League East. The Angels need to secure their spot as the No. 1 seed for home field advantage come playoff time. As for the Athletics, they currently hold the top spot for the first wild card spot ahead of the Detroit Tigers.

It looks as if trading away Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes took its toll on the Athletics. The Athletics' bats have been struggling lately, as they only scored four total runs against Angels in the four-game divisional series against the Angels. Cespedes has 90 runs batted in and 21 home runs hit this season.

The Athletics and Angels aren't the only two teams fighting for the playoffs in the AL West. The Seattle Mariners, at 73-63, are battling for a wild card spot with multiple teams. Those teams include the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners haven't made a single playoff appearance since their incredible 2001 season, when they won 116 games.

The Yankees had been on a little winning streak, winning five in a row, but back-to-back losses to the Blue Jays couldn't come at a worse time.

The AL West title is falling away from the Athletics. General manager Billy Beane--famous for "Moneyball"--may have made a mistake by sacrificing his hitting for more pitching. Of course, it's not all of his fault. The Angels have been the hottest team in baseball, and do own the league's best overall record.

Most likely, with one month left to play, the Angels will win the division and the Athletics will still hold on to make the playoffs as a wild card team. The Angels and Athletics play each other three more times this season, all in Oakland.

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