The Angels were by far the biggest story of the offseason. Owner Arte Moreno gave Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson more money combined that what he initially paid for the team. While I don't blame either player for taking the cash, the Angels don't look so good thus far in the early part of the season. I feel like a broken record when I say this, but it's still really early. Although I wouldn't be too stoked if the franchise I was a fan of dropped a fortune on two players but didn't address the real issues.
I don't think I really need to go into the kind of player Albert Pujols is. Lets just put it this way, last year in the regular season he hit .299, with 99 RBIs, 37 home runs, and had a .366 OBP. All of these were career lows for him except for his home run total. Read that again, career lows. Just about anyone else in the league would be thrilled with number like that. For him, it was a down year. This would concern me a bit, he is getting older, he does seem to be a bit more prone to injury, but he's still a terror at the plate. Not so much this year yet, but he'll get there. I expect him to hit above .300 and to be near 100 RBIs again. What I do think will suffer is his home run total. He's not on the senior circuit anymore. He's in the AL for the first time in his career and will be facing pitchers he hasn't seen before. I think this could have a negative effect on him, but he'll still put up ridiculous stats. We've seen evidence of this already, he still hasn't hit a home run, which is the longest homerless start to a season for him in his career.
CJ Wilson is the more curious signing to me. The Angels already had a great 1-2 punch with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. I'm in no way suggesting having 3 excellent starting pitchers is a bad idea, but I just don't think they spent wisely on Wilson. His career ERA is 3.56 and he's only won 10 more games than he's lost. That doesn't justify a near $80 million contract. But what about his postseason stats? He was the ace of the Rangers staff that has been to back-to-back World Series right? Wrong. His postseason stats are what make me even more skeptical of the contract he was given. Over his career he is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA, not exactly what you're looking for. He's started 10 games and only won once, which was actually last year, when his playoff ERA was 5.79. Compare these stats to Jered Weaver, whose contract is just a bit higher, and you can see the disparity I'm talking about. Weaver has a 2-1 postseason record in 6 starts with a 2.61 ERA. This is more along the lines of what you're looking for in a young, high-priced starting pitcher.
If I was an Angels fan, I would have preferred if there was significant money spent on the bullpen. Last year they were in the middle of the pack in ERA, but they were tied for 3rd most blown saves in all of baseball. As a team they had 39 saves and blew 25. In today's game, you need a lockdown closer in order to be successful. The Angels don't have one. They have Jordan Walden, who had 32 of the saves from last year, but he blew 10 as well. His ERA was 2.98 but his batting average against was only .229 which is a bit confusing. All in all, I think the Angels could have spent their money a bit wiser when it comes to pitching.
Even though the Angels were picked by many as World Series favorites during Spring Training, I don't think they will win their division. The Rangers are a good team, emphasis on the word team there. They are more complete when it comes to the entire roster. While the Angels may have the bigger names, the Rangers role players are better, and they're also younger. I think the Angels will make the playoffs thanks to the expanded postseason we're going to have this year, but I don't see them going far. Maybe win their ALDS but I highly doubt they'll be successful in the ALCS. Just another Halo disappointment.
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