The Greatest Baseball Preview in America: Los Angeles Angels

Quick Rangers thought: They stink.

THE LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA ANGELS OF ANAHEIM CALIFORNIA

Pitching: Solid pitching is the solid engine for this solid team. John Lackey is one the most underrated pitchers in baseball. He eats up innings. He strikes guys out. He keeps you in ball games. His 13-11 record last year does him no justice. You throw 217 innings with a 3.56 ERA in the American League, you're a very good pitcher. The rest of the rotation rounds out nicely. Bartolo Colon is injured, but is on pace to be back within a couple months. Santana seems poised to improve on a season that saw him going 16-8. Kelvim Escobar finished with a 3.61 ERA and a 3 to 1 K/BB ratio. And, of course, young future superstud Jered Weaver is expected to overcome a bicep injury and be ready to go by May. Each of these pitchers has the ability to be a #2 starter. Again, this is a solid rotation.

Their bullpen is anchored by a top five closer in Francisco Rodriguez and two sub 3 ERA set up men in Scott Shields and Justin Speier. The loss of Brendan Donnelly to Boston is unfortunate, but bullpen was an area where they could afford to lose personnel. Significantly, they are one of the few teams in the sport that could boast such a quality. This is a solid bullpen.

Hitting: This lineup, though top heavy, will be able to put up enough runs to win a lot of games for the aforementioned pitchers. Chone Figgins provides loads of speed at the top. Howie Kendrick is an up-and-coming high average hitter who can help set the table for uber-star Vlad Guerrero. The lineup then heads down hill from great to adequate, when we see the likes of Gary Mathews Hgh., Garret Anderson's father, and model citizen Shea Hillenbrand. They give way to an anemic bottom third of the order consisting of Casey Kotchman, Mike Napoli, and the high-five-human-highlight-real Orlando Cabrera. Luckily for the Angels of Anaheim, they won't have to score nearly as many runs as say, Seattle and Texas, to win ballgames.

Miscellaneous: If I were to have you rank the top 5 managers of the 21st century, would not Mike Scioscia be one of the two locks on the list with Joe Torre?

Angels-related Ridiculous Proposition Bet: Over/Under - Pounds over 200 that Bartolo Colon will end up being before his career is over: 100


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