Angels Preview

No baseball this weekend, which probably is a good thing considering a huge rain storm has come through Southern California. I had planned on going to the Oceanside beach on Sunday, but because of the weather, I will be shut-in for the weekend. That being said, this is a perfect opportunity to have my first Angels specific blog post just in time for their first Spring Training games.

While the Angels weren't making headlines with huge free agent signings like the Mariners and Yankees did, they were somewhat active on the trade scene by picking up pitchers Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago from the DBacks and White Sox. In that deal, the Angels sent popular first baseman Mark Trumbo to the Dbacks. Just before that three-team transaction, the Angels traded for third baseman, and 2011 World Series MVP, David Freese. However, the biggest news came last week when the team signed Mike Trout to a one-year $1million contract that is a prelude to an even larger deal.

The AL West was quite the wheeler-and-dealer this off-season. The Mariners picked up Robinson Cano from the Yankees and Corey Hart from the Brewers. The Rangers acquired Prince Fielder from the Tigers and Shin Soo-Choo from the Reds. The A's continue to develop their "Moneyball" talent and will expect to compete for the Division crown. While the Astros have been the league doormat for the past few years, they have one of the strongest farm systems in the entire league meaning that their future is very, very bright. All in all, the AL West is, by far, the strongest division in all of baseball.

I like where the Angels are positioned for the season. I think they picked up the right pieces for the team. The lineup is strong top-to-bottom, the starting pitching is solid, and the bullpen is going to be effective. In my opinion, the Angels will be right there at the end of the season competing with the Rangers, A's and Mariners for the top spot, and even the wild-card. I foresee that there will be a logjam at the top of the division at the beginning of September, which will trickle down to a logjam for the wild-card too. It will be an exciting season and every game will matter.

Inevitably, the conversation about how the Angels will do revolves around the "Big Three" at the top of the lineup: Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout. Pujols and Hamilton, since signing the massive contracts, have been underwhelming and many in the media are writing them off as aging and increasingly ineffective. If those two can resurrect their former selves and become the feared hitters that we got used to when they played in St. Louis and Texas, then the team will be successful overall. As for Trout, it's all about the distractions. Will the enormous deal for this year and the prospect of an even larger deal next year affect his play? I personally don't think so and I believe he'll have a breakout year.

The weather has finally broken and the forecast is for temperatures to be in the low to mid-80's for the next ten days. Next Sunday is my random Baseball Road Trip for the year. Try this on for size: I'm planning on seeing West Virginia and Sacramento State play at UC Riverside. It's the first game of a doubleheader, and I'd love to stick around for both games, but I have a softball game at 5pm that day, so I'll just watch the first game.

Talk to you all on Sunday ...

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)