|
We live in an imperfect world, and like the world, Major League Baseball is also imperfect. Part of the imperfection of the MLB is the fact that the majors leagues are currently composed of 30 teams, which cannot be divided into two even leagues. The bearers of the burden of this imperfection reside in the National League Central, whose teams have to compete against five other teams for a chance to go to the playoffs. And the beneficiaries of this imperfection reside in the American League West, where a team must only best three others to win the division.
I wish I had written this preview before my Fantasy draft, because if I had, I would have drafted Mike Napoli as my catcher. This guy was what we call in latin studia majora in the minors. The fact that I forgot about him in my draft is indicative of the fact that he has been very forgettable during his time in the big leagues. Indeed, he has yet to put together the types of seasons that he did in the minors, when he hit 60 homeruns in two seasons. Nevertheless, Napoli has shown an ability to get on base in the majors, and in his third year at the age of 26 could make a run at being an elite offensive catcher.
Last year was supposed to be Kendrick's breakout year, but he got hurt. So, 2008 is his do-over. Kendrick is 24 this year, and coming off a hugely impressive minor league career. To this point, his major league career has been good news/bad news. The good news is that he has hit a remarkable 45 doubles and has a .306 average in 160 major league games. The bad news is that he has an absurd 18/105 BB/K ratio, has hit into 20 double plays, and the early returns indicate that he is not a great defender. Kendrick may ultimately prove to be the type of hitter whose counting stats distract from the things he does that hurt his team, and the type of second baseman whose offense distracts from how much his defense undermines his pitchers. The Angels hope this is not the case.
If I were to question the Angels organization, it would be with respect to the management of their outfield over the last ten years. This is a team that produced Garrett Anderson, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, and Jim Edmonds all around the same time, and chose to keep all but Edmonds. The only area in which the Angels have chosen to make major free agent acquisitions over the last few years has been outfield, which worked brilliantly when they brought in Vlad Guerrero. But the Angels followed that up with what was one of the worst free agent deals of all time by signing Gary Matthews, Jr. to a monster deal. This off-season, the Angels signed Torii Hunter, an aging defensive wizard coming off his best offensive season, to a big five year deal. In a vacuum, this was a good deal - the Angels have a big ballpark, and having a perenniel Gold Glover patrolling centerfield is good news. But the Angels are over-loaded with outfielders, and now Reggie Willits - a speedster who last year produced a .391 on-base percentage - has to fight for a spot on the roster, and Chone Figgins is now locked in at third base. The Angels outfield will certainly be very good in 2008, and the defense will excellent. It just seems like the Angels could have had a very good outfield if they had simply relied on Vlad Guerrero and the home-grown products, and might have been able to benefit the other areas of the team with all the money they would have saved.
The Angels continue to be a deep team. Unfortunately, it appears at the moment as if this team is deepest in the outfield, which is also where the team had the most stability. However, nine different players saw time in right field, the home of Vlad Guerrero, last season, indicating that the Angels star was used at DH and taken out of games late, so the extra outfielders may be of use. Juan Rivera looked to have emerged in 2006 at the age of 27, but injuries limited him in 2007 and the window may have shut on his career as a major league starter. Brandon Wood should get some action this season as the Angels have high hopes for him after a torrid minor league career.
And the problems begin. On paper, the Angels have the best top-to-bottom rotation in the American League, and maybe all of major league baseball. Lackey and Escobar were dominant last season, Jered Weaver is a young high-upside guy, Jon Garland is an inning eater whom any team would be thrilled to have as their fourth starter, and the combination of Joe Saunders, Nick Adenhart, and Dustin Moseley is virtually guaranteed to produce one or two starters ready for the big show. But that is just on paper. In reality, Lackey and Escobar are both injured and won't be ready until mid-May, which is a disaster for this team if for no other reason than it means Ervin Santana, whom the Angels would like to put out to pasture, will have to be counted on yet again this season. It also means that Garland is now the established veteran of the group, which is fine, but not exactly a best-case scenario. And finally, it means that in the early going, the Angels will not have the luxury of waiting to see which pitcher of Saunders, Adenhart, and Moseley is ready to go - two of the three will be pitching in April whether they are ready or not. The Angels will have to hope that mid-May means mid-May, and not late-June as can happen with injuries to pitchers. In all likelihood, Lackey and Escobar will not be contributing to the club until at least June, and may take until July to get back into form.
The bullpen had been one of the most stable and successful elements of the Angels team the last few years, with the 2007 edition being weaker than the 2006 version, but still performing quite well. Francisco Rodriguez continues to be one of the elite closers in all of baseball, and posted 40 saves for the third year in a row in 2007. Shields remains one of the preeminent setup men in the game, but struggled with his control a bit last year as his K/BB ratio finished closer to 2:1 than 3:1. However, like the starting rotation, the bullpen will also be beset with injuries in the early going, as Bootcheck is out until May and Shields may begin the season on the DL. The Angels will have to hope fireballer Jason Bulger is ready for some primetime action in April, because this team really doesn't want to have to rely on Darren Oliver as one of its primary setup guys for very long. Outlook for the Season The Angels as a team and an organization remain one of the classiest acts in all of baseball, but 2008 will provide some challenges, especially in the early going. On paper, this is the best team in the AL West, but if they are going to win the division again in 2008, they will have to survive April and May, and then have all their components in place and ready to perform at peak levels in the second half of the season. This team will not likely be in first place at the All-Star Break, but look for the Angels to be the team of the second half. Team Previews Index Do you have a different take? Send your opinions to submissions@baseballevolution.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
