Fastball Fans

- photo from starpulse.com

For the past several years, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been one of the powerhouses of the American League and perennial division contenders. Stocked with plenty of pitching, young talent and offense, the Angels should once again compete toe to toe with the Athletics in the American League West. As the Angels share a portion of Southern California that compromises L.A. and Anaheim, Arte Moreno has taken steps to re-invest in the team and battle the Dodgers for area supremacy.

The Angels had incredible pitching, especially from Jared Weaver and flashes of brilliance from the other members of the starting rotation. However, the offense struggled and that in turn hurt the team.

Although the team came up short in the AL West in’06, Moreno has once again taken steps to improve the team. Gone from the team are Darin Erstad who signed with the White Sox, Adam Kennedy who joined the St. Louis Cardinals, J.C. Romero and Brendan Donnelly and Kevin Gregg who were traded. The team in the winter added Shea Hillenbrand, Gary Matthews Jr., pitchers Darren Oliver, Justin Speier, Phi Seibel and Chris Resop.

The starting corps has some of the best veteran and young arms in the sport of baseball, as they were formidable in ’06 and should remain the same in ’07. The top of the rotation should compromise of John Lackey who was 13-11 with an ERA of 3.56 in 2006. Although he had a down year from ’05 where he was 14-5, Lackey should bounce back this upcoming season.

The rotation will also have amazing youngsters Jared Weaver who earned an 11-2 record with a 2.56 ERA & could be considered the ace of the staff; Kelvim Escobar who was 11-13, but with a solid 3.61 ERA & Ervin Santana who was 16-8 with an ERA over 4. All three pitchers were good in 2006, but Weaver was nothing short of exceptional. Santana should maintain the same level, Escobar may chalk up a few more wins and Weaver may have his ERA rise; however, he if can pitch at the level he did in ’06, he could be a Cy Young candidate.

It looks like both Escobar and Lackey were victims of the offense, and could have easily tacked on a few more wins.

The wild card in the rotation is Bartolo Colon. He’s had a stellar career with the Angels, White Sox, Expos and Indians, but he struggled last year to a record of 1-5 with an ERA over 5 until he went down for the rest of the season with injury. If he’s fully recovered, in good condition, and in shape, he should bounce back and return to his form before his problems last season.

If all 5 starters are healthy, the team will have one of the most impressive & talented pitching rotations in the game. Another pitcher who could step in play a role is Joe Saunders, rookie in ’06 who went 7-3 with a 4.71 ERA. For now, he may be a long reliever in the bullpen, but he may spot start or find himself in the rotation if someone struggles or goes down with injury.

The bullpen for the Angels is just as impressive as their starting rotation. Returning to the closer role in ’07 is longtime mainstay, “K-Rod�? Francisco Rodriguez. He was his usual dominant self with a miniscule 1.73 ERA and based on his record should be lights out in ’07 as well. Only 25, he’s got the chance to be one of the best closers ever in the history of the game.

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