2008 Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have turned into the power of the AL West winning the division three of the past four years. They have the third most wins in the AL over the past five years. While the team won the World Series back in 2002, fans are expecting the team to reach the World Series each year. The Angels have a great mix as they have a very productive offense, a solid rotation, and a reliable bullpen. The team will look a little different in 2008, as they signed big time free agent Tori Hunter and traded away SS Orlando Cabrera for SP Jon Garland. So really all that happened is the team will have to rely on young prospect Erick Aybar to take control of the job at short. Overall the Angels didn’t do a lot over the off-season, and should be poised to repeat their success of 2007, when they went 94-68.

Pitching:

Team ace John Lackey set career bests in wins (19), innings (224), and ERA (3.01). Lackey actually not only set a career best in ERA but also led the AL in that category. The will have to go the first couple months without their number two starter in Kelvim Escobar. Escobar is facing shoulder problems and is taking time to get the arm back to full strength. While he is gone the team will need newly acquired Garland and Jered Weaver to step up in the 2 and 3 spots. In what was expected to be a spring training battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana will now be played out in the first month before Escobar returns. The bullpen is among one of the best in the game with Francisco Rodriguez coming off yet another 40 save season. The team also has proven setup men in Scot Shields and Justin Speier.

Offense:

This unit had the 4th highest run total in 2007 scoring 822 runs. With the addition of Tori Hunter to the team should stay among the top teams on offense. Leadoff hitter Chone Figgins had a big 2007 hitting .330 and did a great job of getting things going. 1B Casey Kotchman and 2B Howie Kendrick are also very good contact hitters, but also struggle to hit the long ball. The team will hope that most of their power will come from the 4 outfielders. With whoever is not playing on the field starting in the DH spot. Hunter will greatly help this team who really struggled to hit the long ball last year. Vladimir Guerrero should have plenty of protection with Garret Anderson and Hunter behind him. While Guerrero puts up all-star numbers every year, we expect an even bigger year from him in 2008. Aybar at short will likely be a let down at short, but over time could prove to better than Cabrera.

Defense:

While the outfield should among the best in baseball with the addition of Hunter in CF. Both Guerrero and Gary Mathews Jr. play will play above average corner outfield defense. While Aybar will likely be a downgrade defensively too at short, the infield might struggle a little as the unit as a whole is a little shaky. C Mike Napoli is a pretty solid defender. While he only has an average arm, he has good feet work and also does a good job of calling the game.

Prediction:

We think that nothing will change for the Angels in 2008, as we see them winning the West yet again. While this will be a really good team, we think there are some even better ones in the East and Central in the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers. We see the Angels losing in the first round, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they proved us wrong.

2008 Los Angeles Angels Odds to Win World Series 16 -1

For every team’s odds head over to JustBet and check them out. You can also go to JustBet to look at the odds for teams to win their division or league pennant. Feel free to leave any comments in the comment section.

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