OFFSEASON OVERVIEW: It seems as though every season the Angels are always competing with the Athletics for the AL West crown. With the Athletics losing Barry Zito this offseason, the Angels looked to upgrade enough to regain their division title. The move that made headlines was giving Gary Matthews a five year 50 million dollar contract. A lot of people, including myself, consider this a bit of a risk considering Matthews Jr.'s 2006 season could very well have been a fluke that was overrated by one catch he made in center field. In addition to Matthews Jr., the Angels added controversial Shea Hillenbrand to the offense. Although he may make a stupid comment here and there, there is no question that Hillenbrand has a pretty solid bat. He will fill in at DH until Juan Rivera heals from his injury. The Angels spent the rest of their money on middle reliever Justin Speier and long reliever Darren Oliver. Both players did a very good job last season and should only improve an already strong Angels' bullpen. Anaheim did lose two mainstays on their team for years when Darin Erstad and Adam Kennedy opted to sign with other teams. The Angels should only miss them in the clubhouse because Erstad was injury prone and Kennedy's replacement is the young and talented Howie Kendrick. They had no problem in letting them leave this offseason. While the jury is still out on the Matthews signing, the Angels on a whole did a very good job addressing their needs and filling them this offseason.OFFENSE: The Angels have one of the more balanced offenses in the American League but their problem could lie in the power department. The only big bat in their lineup is Vladimir Guerrero. Granted, Vlad has been known to carry a team by himself, however the Angels would like to have some serious protection behind him. The player that used to carry this tag was Garret Anderson, but he has been on the decline due to injury and age. The Angels will have plenty of men on base this season, starting with Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera. Both players did a terrific job setting the table and stealing bases so that Guererro would hit with runners in scoring position. Other veterans that should help this team score are the previously mentioned Gary Matthews Jr. and budding star Howie Kendrick. The young second baseman has shown the tools to be one the best everyday second basemen in the majors this season. At designated hitter, the Angels planned to go with Juan Rivera but the injury to his left tibia forced the them to sign Shea Hillenbrand. The biggest question marks in the lineup are at first base and catcher. Casey Kotchman is the front runner to play first base, but he is clearly a better fielder than hitter and may give way to Hillenbrand once Rivera returns to play DH. At catcher last season the Angels were disappointed with the way Jose Molina played. It would not be a surprise to see Mike Napoli get significant time there this year.
PITCHING: Like their lineup, the Angels pitching staff is very solid from top to bottom. Their staff ace may not be on every one's radar, but John Lackey has evolved into one of the best pitchers in the AL. Towards the middle of the rotation will be Ervin Santana and Kelvin Escobar. Both pitchers have their problems, but on a whole they are productive middle of the rotation guys. Santana stuggles mightily on the road, and if he was ever able to put those problems behind him he would be a very good number two starter. Escobar's struggles come from injuries but in 2006 he was able to have a pretty much injury free season, so those troubles may be behind him. The young Jered Weaver will also be on the staff, and if he can pitch anywhere as well as he did last season he should be a big boost to the Angels rotation. The fifth spot in the rotation will be held by Joe Saunders until Bartolo Colon comes back from his injury. The bullpen gives the Angels a lot of depth and flexibility with their pitching. Theri closer, Francisco Rodriguez, has established himself as one of the best in baseball, and the Angels are always confident that he will get the job done. Joining K-Rod are the durable and talented Scott Shields and Justin Speier who will do the set-up work. Hector Carrasco and Darren Oliver also should prove to be solid contributors to the bullpen before the season is over.
X-FACTOR: As mentioned earlier the Angels rely mainly on Vladimir Guerrero for most of their homers and RBIs. The player that did a good job helping out last season with these categories was Juan Rivera. The key for the Angels is to get back a healthy Rivera before they dig themselves a major whole. If he returns and shows some improvement on his 2006 numbers, he will be the reliable presence that should offer some protection to Vlad in the lineup.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Kendrick evolves into one of the best second baseman in the league, Weaver continues to improve, Rivera returns and picks up where he left off last season, and Matthews Jr. proves that 2006 season was no fluke. If all this happens, we could be seeing the Angels return to the World Series
WORST CASE SCENARIO: Escobar gets hurt again, Anderson's production significantly drops off again, Hillenbrand is once again a clubhouse cancer, and no one steps up as a reliable cleanup hitter. If this is what the Angels will be facing this season, then it will be their first losing season since 2003.
-David Cassilo
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