Angels In The Offseason: Reality Check

Look at that picture of Mike Scioscia. He looks...Aware.

Aware that his team has the best record in baseball, the best closer in the game, a monster of a hitter in right, arguably the best pitching staff in the game...

...and not a shot in h-e-double-hockey-sticks to come out of the AL in October.

I've put off writing this article for a long time. We're talking years here, folks. The Halos have been my favorite baseball team since I moved to Southern California in the fall of 1988 and I went to my first game at the Big A.

The Angels are perfectly run. From the owner down, this is an organization that prides itself on playing smart baseball. They move runners, force other teams to make plays, and are consistently among the best teams in baseball under manager Mike Scioscia.

The problem: Never has so much been done by so few.

What I mean by that is that they're missing the key ingredient, that je-ne-sais-quoi that guided them to their first World Series victory in 2002. That year, they got in on a wing and a prayer in the wild-card and surprised the Yankees to take the AL crown.

They didn't win that series because former utility player Scott Spezio hit a single. They won that series because he, and other Angels like him, hit the long ball. The Angels had offense, in spades, and it won them that title.

Sure, their timely pitching, hitting, and baserunning helped, but the point is that they produced enough offense so the stellar parts of their game were that much better.

The quote about Spezio is actually from teammate Tim Salmon. He was asked sometime last year (around the end of July) about his thoughts on the Angels, who at that point, much like now, were atop the AL West.

Tim Salmon said the same thing. The Angels won because they had enough offense.

I don't feel like they do this year. Much like they didn't last year, the year before, the year before THAT, or pretty much any year since 2002.

Here's the thing, Halo and non-Halo fans: The Red Sox are a beast in October.

I'll admit it. When they won in 2004, I was happy for them. They deserved it and the way they did it was heroic. Something to savor for all time.

Ever since then? Can't stand 'em. Their fans, too.

And I'm Irish Catholic. Boston's second only to Dublin in terms of my heritage and what I'm all about. But this is a tangent I need to recover from.

Is there a solution to the Angels offensive woes? I'm not sure. Personally, I love Casey Kotchman, but do I love him more than say, Mark Teixeira? What about Matt Holiday? Sure, the Angels already have four million starting outfielders, what's one more? Are his numbers padded because he plays in a vacuum in Colorado? Dare I even ask...what about Barry Bonds?

I know the solution is not having Maicer Izturis batting third as the protection for Vlad Guerrero.

And for the record? I don't want to be right on any of this.

Sadly, I just think I am.