Are the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim Flying on Broken Dreams & Shattered Wings?

Just over one week into this 2008 MLB regular season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim stand at the top of what is expected to be a weak AL West with a record of 5-4.

It is only 9 games so far but already questions are looming over the organization. I will concentrate on a few key notes and let you know if these things are trends, worries, expectations, and key plot points that foreshadow the season to come. A scale of 1 to 10 will be given with 1 meaning you can tuck the kids into bed and leave the doors unlocked, there is nothing to worry about. If you see a ten you might begin to worry that you won't win the World Series for a century. Or, after taking steroids for the past month you find out that no one told you when you take steroids you become infertile and your penis shrinks. Or, you just realized your autographed, Brett Favre rookie card is a fake and you will be getting about 5 dollars for it instead of retiring with the money made from that card. so let us take a journey to Angel Alley and talk some baseball.

Question #1: What do you make of this start?

5-4 is respectable, but losing to the Athletics by 5 and 6 runs cannot happen. Giving up a 2 run homer in the 9th inning is unacceptable. Doing it two days in a row sends people into the hospital with heart attacks and high blood pressure. Then Angels looked great at times, but mostly looked like a team that will have to win too many 1 run ballgames in order to contend. If this 5-4 start is how the season will go then look gor a roller coaster ride season. Translate 5-4 into 162 games and the Angels finish 90-72. That looks good in my book. So what to make of this start? It was shaky, but the glimpses of greatness far overshadowed the glaring failures.

Worry Rating-7: They have played Minnesota and Oakland and should have at least 6 wins possibly 7, they cannot slack off against the weaker teams.

Question #2: The lineup has been scoring plenty of runs as four different players have scored five or more times after 9 games. Can they keep up the scoring binge?

    Lead-off man Chone Figgins along with Gary Matthews and Howie Kendrick have done an excellent job getting on base to score runs while Torii Hunter has impressed his new fans with four home runs and eight RBIs already. This is great for what the Angels want. But do not expect Torii's power binge to continue. He set a career high in 2006 with 31 Home Runs, but The Angels cannot count on the long ball like they have the first nine games. This is not their strength. Figgins, Matthews, and Kendrick will always get on but this line up depends on the bottom half.

    Napoli is emerging into the offensive threat they need. He has raised his power production steadily since coming into the league. The platoon of Izturis and Aybar will need to become a second lead-off hitter at the number 9 spot in the line-up.

    This team has 7 guys (6 starters) with 20 home run potential. Of those guys, only Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, and possibly Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter have the ability of hitting 30. This team has a bunch of line drive hitters which is what makes this team dangerous, but streaky. A great indicator is the game against the Texas Rangers. The Angels were down 11-0 in the bottom of the ninth and proceeded to put up 6 runs and almost 9 as Garrett Anderson's Home Run came up short. This team will have explosive innings, but the Angels need to find a way to be more consistent.

Worry Rating- 6: They will be streaky but with the Rally Monkey behind them they will be ok.

Question #3: Howie Kendrick recently injured his thumb, but is said to be OK. What do you expect from him if he can put a healthy season together? Also, can he stay healthy for that matter?

     Howie Kendrick, affectionately known as "The Duck" or "HK-47" by the fans, is easily one of the best pure hitters of the game. Here is a great article by ESPN.com about Howie Kendrick. Howie has been toted as a great prospect and now he is in the spotlight as the 2B for the Angels. Howie will contend for the batting title soon, whether this year or next year. The bottom line is Howie hits the ball hard on line drives to every part of the field. He can easily hit 10 home runs and steal about 20 bases. Couple that with a .340 average and around a .390 On-base percentage. With the Angels line-up he can score upwards of 120 runs. This is all expectations though.

    Howie has been hurt with random injuries the past few seasons. While none of them have required surgery, it still is a problem to be injury prone. Hand injuries will effect him more because of his potential with the bat. However, if anyone can tell Howie how to come back from a hand injury, it is Chone Figgins. After missing a month with a wrist injury, Figgins came back with a vengeance and put up his best season yet. I do not see Kendrick's recent injury affecting him too much. However, if he keeps seeing all of these minor injuries slow him down he will eventually get the big injury to knock him down. 

Worry Rating- 3: Kendrick is tough and he will not let this injury ruin him nor will he let others. The real issue here is if he can stay healthy.

Question #4: Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver have done a phenomenal job on the mound early. Is this the year Saunders really breaks out?

    Jered Weaver is doing a phenomenal job at filling in for Escobar and Lackey. Saunders is becoming a great number 3. These are great signs. But I am still worried. Escobar may have a more serious injury and be done for the season or career. Lackey may be back in the end of April or at the latest the end of May. Can the staff hold over until then?

    Weaver is at best a number two pitcher. He is not going to be an ace, however. I wonder how long he can maintain that rotation spot before imploding. I also am worried about Weaver's family line. Jered's brother, Jeff, was a stud for the Angels and pitched well. But his career crashed fast and now he is still an unsigned free agent. I wonder if it could run in the family. Weaver may have a great few seasons ahead of him but when will his downfall occur? It may be irrational to think it could happen to Jered but it still is something to worry about.

    Saunders is doing a good job holding onto the rotation spot. Last year he was a spot starter but now he is an anchor in the bottom half of the rotation. He has pitched 16 solid innings so far. This is not going to last. Saunders is at best a number 5 starter. he works best in the spot starts and this is where the Angels could use him at. He will do fine as the number 5 guy this season but ask much more of him and I am not sure if he can perform at this level for much longer.

    Other rotation questions revolve around Ervin Santana, Damien Moseley, and prospect Nick Adenhart. Santana needs to find that groove again because he is an excellent number 4 starter. However, if he becomes Jekyll and Hyde again he is of no use to anyone. Also, if he can put together a strong first half he becomes solid trade bait. The question about Moseley is if he can be a starter or is his best role a long relief pitcher. If either of these guys cannot get the job done, will Mike Scioscia pull up Adenhart? Scioscia seems reluctant at bringing his prospects up until it is absolutely necessary or they are ready. Adenhart needs to prove he can perform at the triple A level to get the call up. If any other starter goes down with an injury look for the Angels to scramble in the minor leagues for a player or sign a free agent to put in a few starts. I do not see Scioscia calling Adenhart up yet as much as I want him to.

Worry Rating- 7: The rotation is holding up but the question will remain, how long? Lackey needs to come back soon or the Angels could be in trouble.

Question #5: Who will step up from the bullpen in Francisco Rodriguez's absence? How much time do you expect him to miss and how can the team win without his dominating presence?

    This is huge. The Angels have won with the bullpen. They have dominated the late innings. Until their loss to the Indians when Speier gave up the eventual game winning home run, the Angels had won 163 games in a row when leading in the 8th inning. Shields is hurt, K-Rod is hurt, Bootcheck is hurt, and the bullpen is giving up too many runs. This bullpen is the most important part of the Angels. The Angels cannot win the division if their bullpen is losing games. 

    Rodriguez will miss about 3 days the Angels said, but I think he should sit a week and come back then. The Angels need him to be dominant. The scary thing is, the bullpen is no longer dominant. Looking back into the end of last season, the bullpen started unravel. In a pitching era where starters only go 6 or 7 innings, the bullpen is crucial. Rodriguez is no longer as dominant, nor is Shields. Speier is great but he is not the answer either. This could be a rough year for the Angles if the bullpen does not shape up. If Escobar does return, The Angels should send Ervin Santana to the bullpen to help out. He is shaky as a starter but I am confident he could excel in the bullpen. Pitching will be what decides the Angels play off hopes and the bullpen is looking weak right now.

Worry Rating-10: I do not see the Angels making the playoffs with the way the bullpen has played the first 9 games. Even worse, the Angels still do not have Francisco Rodriguez to a long term deal, he becomes a free agent after this season. 

Question 6: Where will this team be in the AL West one month from now?

    The Angels will determine their season in what happens this next month. If they can jump out to a solid lead they will not need to make too many moves at the trade deadline if any moves at all. This month sets the tone. The past few years the Angels have always battled for first place and the race for the title is usually decided in the last series. While this makes for entertaining baseball, it causes stress and loss of sleep for Angels fans. We all want the Angels to win the division quickly and decisively. So a month from now where will the Angels be? 2nd place.

     Angels in one month hit a cold streak and go to 2nd. When Lackey comes back they jump into the race again. however, this is going to be a crazy, roller coaster season. It won't be an easy walk to the division title, but the Angels can do it.
A mid-season trade may come in to put them over the top but right now they are going to struggle with all three teams in the division. This will be exciting baseball and good for MLB story lines, but it will be heart breaking and stressful times for fans of the AL West. I see all 4 teams hovering around .500 at the All Star break, with Texas dropping out soon after leaving a 3 way battle royal.

Worry Rating- 7: The Angels need to prove they can pull away early. By doing this it makes other teams decide to start rebuilding and worrying about next year sooner. If the Angels can't then look for a long season that may end in heartbreak.

If you have any questions you want me to answer let me know. I will field questions for the Angels but am open to answering questions about any other teams as well.