2007 Regular Season Finish: 94-68, First in AL West
Home Park: Angels Stadium of Anaheim

Already have tickets to Disneyland
SP Jon Garland (traded from Chicago White Sox)
CF Torii Hunter (signed from Minnesota Twins)

ot tired of saying that long team name
OF Orlando Cabrera (traded to Chicago White Sox)

The Skinny: Their impressive record last year (First in their division, tied for second overall with the Yankees) won them a spot in the post-season, but they couldn’t manage to get past Boston. Now, after spending all that money on Gary Matthews, Jr., the Halos spend even more money to bring in Torii Hunter bumping Matthews down to second fiddle. However, the Angels have little to complain about in the batting department. Matthews will be moved to DH (playing LF, CF or RF during interleague) to keep his batting numbers in the game. This move, coupled with Torii Hunter, will keep the Angels bats competitive.
The pitching staff continues to gain strength. This winter they made a trade of Orlando Cabrera for Jon Garland (among other prospects) from the Chi Sox, and SP Jered Weaver seems to have settled into a comfortable groove for Anaheim. Overall, the Angels could be poised to bring home another AL West title, and maybe take it even further.

Strengths: The Angels rotation seems to be their strongest point. Right now, the two men battling it out for the number 5 spot (Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana) have better numbers than the number 1 spots of other major league teams. Expect them to have many major league line ups working for their hits against L.A.
A close second to L.A.’s pitching is their hitting. Although they don’t have the biggest bats in the league, their team BA was second among post-season teams of 2007 (the Yankees took the top spot), and their OBP was 5th best of the eight teams entering the post-season. This is an important point because they seem to be going up, instead of down, in the batting department.

Weaknesses: The bullpen seems to be the only place where the Angels could be a little bit stronger. Last year, their bullpen would struggle in pressure situations, and there haven’t been any major changes concerning relief pitching. Francisco Rodriguez also lost arbitration to the Angels, and will receive $10 mil as opposed to his requested $12.5 mil. K-Rod says he bares the Angels no ill will and says “It’s just part of the process.” However, it has to weigh on your mind to have it proven that you are not the pitcher you thought you were. K-Rod will more than likely put up good numbers for the Angels, but he may not be able to put up the numbers they need to get them out of hot water.
The other downside for the Halos is a temporary one. At least let’s hope it’s a temporary one. Their two starting pitchers, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar are both starting off the season on the Disabled List. While Kelvim should be back by the time April rolls around, Lackey will be gone until May. Since pitching is their strong point, Los Angeles doesn’t have to panic too much. However, if these short stays become extended stays the Angels will have to find a way to fill these two big holes.

Line Up
3B Chone Figgins
RF Vladimir Guerrero
CF Torii Hunter
DH Gary Matthews, Jr.
LF Garret Anderson
1B Casey Kotchman
2B Howie Kendrick
SS Maicer Izturis
C Mike Napoli

Rotation
John Lackey
Kelvim Escobar
Jon Garland
Jered Weaver
Joe Saunders

Bullpen
Francisco Rodriguez (CL)
Scot Shields
Justin Speier
Darren Oliver
Christopher Bootcheck
Dustin Moseley
Jason Bulger
Rich Thompson

Keys to Success: The Angels have a stronger rotation than last year so maybe they won’t need as much help in the relief pitching department. However, if Anaheim’s line up fails to get runs, they will be in serious trouble concerning their standings in the AL West. If history has proven one thing in baseball, it’s that great pitching will only take you so far.

Prediction: the Halos can easily take first place in their division, and quite possibly, go farther. However, they might not have what it takes to compete past the ALCS.

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