30 Teams in 30 Days: Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem

We begin our look at the 2005 Major League Baseball season by looking at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A lot has changed since we last saw this team in Action, including their name.

The Angels finished 92-70 last year, beating out the A's by one game and the Rangers by three for the division crown, but were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the eventual World Champion Boston Red Sox.

The Angels added a true centerfielder and veteran to their clubhouse by signing Steve Finley. This move allows Garrett Anderson to move back to his natural position of left field. If Finley can stay healthy, then it's a good singing for the Angels, but Finley is a 40 year-old center fielder who plays with reckless abandon, much like Jim Edmonds. Sooner or later he's bound to break down.

The left side of the infield underwent a makeover this off-season. Out are team sparkplug and starting shortstop David Eckstein, and the power hitting but seldom healthy Troy Glaus. Replacing Eckstein and Glaus are Orlando Cabrera and Dallas McPherson.

Cabrera spent last season with the Expos and Red Sox, and is undoubtedly a better player than Eckstein, but he can't replace the intangibles Eckstein brought to the table. Eckstein was a speedy, scrappy energy guy, and that's not Cabrera's game. Cabrera flashed good leather and can occasionally hit for some power.

The loss of Troy Glaus shouldn't really hurt the Angels that much. Glaus only played in 58 games last year, so the Angels had to make due without him for most of the year. McPherson is a rookie the Angels are very high on. He was rated the teams third best prospect by Baseball America, and got to see some action last year. His stats indicate that he will be the same type of player Glaus was, he'll hit for some pop but only but in the .260 range.

The pitching rotation returns four starters in Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn and John Lackey. Joining that group is journeyman Paul Byrd. Byrd pitched for Atlanta last year compiling an 8-7 mark with a 3.94 era.

The biggest pitching shakeup occurred in the bullpen. Gone is longtime closer Troy Percival and middle reliever Ben Weber. With the departure of Percival, set up man Frankie Rodriguez will assume the closer's role. The teams success hinges on whether or not Rodriguez can be a successful closer. I believe he can, but time will tell.

5 Burning Questions

5. Can Finley Stay Healthy?
Will the 40-year-old Steve Finley begin to break down this year. History would tell you no. In his 16-year career he has never played in fewer than 80 games, and only played in fewer than 100 twice. If he does have injury problems the Angles only have Jeff DaVanon and Juan Rivera as outfield depth.

4. Dallas?
Is Dallas McPherson ready to become their everyday starting third baseman. He can hit, but the knock on him is his fielding.

3. Easy on the Colon
Can Bartolo Colon control his weight issues and put together a full productive season after last years miserable start? Colon has great stuff, but stamina becomes an issue, which you could attribute to his weight and conditioning. If he can curb that, he is easily a top 15 pitcher in this league.

2. Set it Up
Who is going to assume the set up role for this team now? K-Rod is the closer and Ben Weber is in Cincinnati. We may not have to worry if Rodriguez can closer or not if he never gets a chance to.

1. Closing Time
Francisco Rodriguez has dynamite stuff, and he appeared to have the mentality of a closer in the 2002 playoffs, but then it disappeared for the better part of the 2003 season and some of 2004. Needless to say, if Rodriguez can't close this team all of a sudden becomes a 70-80-win team.

Fearless Predictions

Rodriguez will hold his own as the team's closer, but the bullpen as a whole will struggle. Casey Kotchman will eventually replace Darin Erstad as the teams starting first baseman. Tim Salmon will be seldom used and may even get released.
Dallas McPherson will put up stats comprable to what Troy Glaus did and does in Arizona.
Chone Figgins will see time in centerfield when Steve Finley gets injured.
Jarrod Washburn will continue to struggle and Kelvim Escobar will pitch somewhere in between the Kelvim Escobar we saw last year and the Escobar we saw in Toronto.
The Angels will win 89 games this year and finish second in that division.