The 2010 Los Angeles Angels Look A Lot Like The 2003 Version

Where 2002 was amazing for the Angels, 2003 was anemic.

Where 2002 was about redemption, 2003 was repugnant.

The franchise took the unusual step after winning the 2002 World Series of keeping their team together for a run at a repeat. The only change was replacing Orlando Palmeiro with Eric Owens as an extra outfielder. The core team remained exactly the same and was ready to return to the Fall Classic in 2003.

Um, they didn't make it.

Never really came close. They finished that year 77-85 and 3rd in the AL West.

How does the exact same team that won it all the year before finish so poorly a year later? The baseball season, as Mark McGwire pointed out recently, is a long one. Teams need to be good and lucky to finish strong.  In 2002 the Angels were; in 2003...well, not so much.

Which brings us to the 2010 version of the Halos. Unlike the 2003 team that was essentially a mirror image of the previous season's squad, the 2010 team is a re-do.  Gone are mainstays Chone Figgins, John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero. They are "replaced" by Brandon Wood, Joel Pineiro and Hideki Matsui.

The 2003 and 2010 teams are uniquely different is how they were put together when compared to the team they were the year before.  They share some interesting characteristics however in regards to team makeup.

The 2003 Angels had five good hitters with some power: Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, Garrett Anderson, Scott Spiezio and Brad Fulmer (who barely makes this list). The 2010 Angels come to bat with five good hitters with some power: Kendry Morales, Juan Rivera, Torii Hunter, Hideki and Mike Napoli.

Both teams are missing a masher.

The 2003 Angels brought a pretty solid squad to the hill in Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Ramon Ortiz, Aaron Sele and Kevin Appier.

The 2010 Angels have what some have argued is now the best group of starting pitchers in the AL West.  Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Scott Kazmir, Ervin Santana and Joel Pineiro are a formidable bunch.

Both teams are missing a solid No. 1 starter, however.

The bullpen was a strength for the 2003 Angels.  Brendan Donnelly set up for Scot Shields, who handed the ball to closer Troy Percival.

The 2010 Angel bullpen should be a strength for the club.  Lets hope that Scot Shields can set up for Fernando Rodney, who will hand the ball to closer Brian Fuentes.

Both teams have a solid proven bullpen with a closer coming off a big year.

The 2003 club was coming off a World Series win. The 2010 club is coming off an amazing run of consistency that captivated South Orange County.

The 2003 team fell flat on its face.

In 2010 the Angels will face more of a challenge in the AL West than they have in years. The Mariners positioned themselves this year in order to spend money and retool. When you have two aces in Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, it doesn't much matter who you send to the hill the other three days. 

Didn't a two headed pitching monster win a World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks?

The Texas Rangers finished the 2009 season strong and added some pop in former Angel Vladimir Guerrero. Even the Athletics got better.

The Angels enjoyed a great run in the decade that ended in 2009. They made the playoffs six of the 10 years.  They won five division titles, one AL pennant and a World Series.

The team will begin the new decade with less swagger and much more competition. The 2003 club hit a wall offensively, with only Garrett Anderson coming close to matching his numbers from a year earlier.

The 2010 version will have to avoid a similar offensive decline from 2009 numbers.

The 2010 version will have to hope Brandon Wood (who coincidentally was drafted in 2003) is the player the club has been saying he is.

The 2010 version comes with plenty of ifs , question marks, and that unsettling  similarity to the 2003 club. Both teams were without a proven big hitter. Both clubs lacked a proven No. 1 starter. Both had a solid bullpen. Both were coming off past success.

Let's hope the similarities end there.