Angels in the Offseason

Comedian Steven Wright once joked that he was convinced a burglar sneaked into his home, stole everything, and replaced it with exact replicas. The same could be said about the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

But, before you start having visions of another 100-win season, hear me out.

In 2008, the halos came into Spring Training with a hole in starting pitching and a lack of power from both the infield and outfield. Sound familiar? It should, and that's the problem.

Here in 2009, the Angels are once again looking internally for a No. 5 starter to fill in until staff co-ace Kelvim Escobar returns from shoulder surgery. Clearly, the team hasn't learned its lesson from last year, when Dustin Moseley was tabbed to replace an injured John Lackey early in the season with disastrous results.

Moseley is again in the driver's seat to secure the vacant starting role, but he wouldn't even be riding shotgun had the Angels made a run at available pitchers like Jake Peavy or A.J. Burnett. With the Yankees involved, Burnett might have been a little out of the halos' price range, but Peavy certainly wasn't.

In fact, the Padres publicly expressed their interest in a trade with the Angels for little more than Eric Aybar, Brandon Wood, and a smattering of other prospects. Instead, the Angels chose to let their unproven minor leaguers and long-relief men fight over the starting spot.

Of course, the mound isn't the only place the Angels need to fill holes this spring. Just as in years past, Vladimir Guerrero represents the only power threat in the lineup.

Former reserve outfielder Juan Rivera, who will start in left field in place of the departed Garret Anderson, has shown some pop in the past but has had health issues in the past and never played a full season. Because of this, it is unclear how he will hold up under the stress of a 162-game season.

The Angels also picked up Bobby Abreu to act as designated hitter and make the occasional start in the outfield, giving Rivera and Guerrero a break. But Abreu, while cheap at $5 million for one year, isn't all that different from Anderson, who signed a one year, $2.5 million deal with Atlanta.

Both are aging fielders with waning power from the left side. The team could have kept its franchise leader in numerous offensive categories and had the same offense for half of what it is paying now.

Last season, General Manager Tony Reagins made an attempt to improve the infield.

At the trade deadline last year, the Angels swapped their young and talented first baseman Casey Kotchman for a proven all-star and prolific home run hitter in Mark Teixeira.

The move initially seemed like a good one, giving the team some much needed power for the postseason. But now, with no World Series title and no Teixeira, the trade looks like a complete waste.

Tex scurried back to the East Coast with a monster contract from the Yankees in hand and the Angels were left with a very important decision.

They could either go out and trade for someone like Aubrey Huff, an underrated first baseman with enough power to protect Vlad, or bank on their inconsistent and inexperienced prospect, Kendry Morales.

In the end, the Angels negated the point of trading Kotchman by choosing to stick with Morales.

Now, this isn't to say the team is completely hopeless this season. With a similar crew last year, the Angels won their fourth division title in five years and lead the majors in wins. The problem is the success stopped there.

The Angels were not built for the postseason last year and don't appear to be any different this year. They rely on pitching and defense, a fine strategy for any team looking to rack up regular season wins and division titles.

But a major league club must aspire to more than that. The Angels have a fantastic minor league system that has produced great baseball talents like Howie Kendrick, John Lackey, and Ervin Santana.

However, there is a glut of talent at their double-A and triple-A levels. Its time to use some of that talent to secure some veterans who know how to get it done in the big leagues.

If the Angels hope to see another World Series game from the field instead of the stands, they must be willing to use the offseason to improve their roster, instead of replacing their lost talent with exact replicas.