Offseason Review: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Does having Josh Hamilton make the Angels the most
intimidating team in baseball right now?

After last years crazy spending spree and late season acquisition of 2009 Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke didn't yield even a playoff berth, the Angels decided that the best course of action was not to switch gears, but to pile it on.  On December 13th the Angels came out of nowhere to sign Josh Hamilton to a 5-year $125MM deal.  This move effectively makes Los Angeles not only easily the most potent offensive team in their division, but arguably in baseball, behind perhaps the Detroit Tigers.  It also takes Josh Hamilton out of the lineup for the division rival Texas Rangers and reunites him with former Ranger C.J. Wilson, who lives a sober lifestyle, which gives Hamilton some of the company and support he needs to succeed. The move to sign Hamilton doesn't insure the Angels for anything, however.  While Hamilton has proven year in and year out that his presence at the plate is nothing to be trifled with, he has also proven to be less than durable. Looking at his last four seasons could give an Angels fan something to be worried about.

Games Played

2012: 148

2011: 121

2010: 133

2009: 89

Add five years on to that logic and you can consider any investment a gamble, let alone a $125MM one.  Still, assuming Hamilton will be mostly healthy and putting him in the same lineup as Albert Pujols and phenom Mike Trout is going to be terrifying for anyone who has the misfortune of pitching to them.

Joe Blanton takes his talents to Angel Stadium in 2013

Hamilton wasn't the only move by the Angels this offseason.  After letting Dan Haren walk (which, in my opinion was a dumb move) and trading Ervin Santana to the Royals, the Angels needed to revamp their rotation. They traded good young closer Jordan Walden to the Braves for righty Tommy Hanson. Not needing anyone else to DH or play first, the Angels traded Kendrys Morales to the Mariners for southpaw Jason Vargas on December 19th. Also added by way of free agency is veteran righty Joe Blanton who figures to be the four or five guy depending on where Vargas slots in.  The bullpen also got a huge boost with the additions of LHP Sean Burnett and righty Ryan Madson, who missed all of 2012 with Tommy John surgery, but was lights out as a closer for the Phillies in 2011.

All these moves combined make the Angels almost look like a "new look" team, and if everything flows together they have the possibility to win it all.  That being said, it's important to be critical and look at their faults.  Other than Jered Weaver they don't have any bonafide, game-changing pitching. Players like Vargas and Blanton have a strong history of being durable workhorses, but they also both host career ERA's above four.  The offense obviously has the ability to carry with it crushing potency; but it's important for the Angels to remember the age, injury and ego have derailed teams in the past.  If everyone can stay healthy, humble and focused the Angels are a sure-shot for the playoffs. That being said, if big heads and old bodies get in the way manager Mike Scioscia will be looking for a job.

Offseason Review: The St. Louis Cardinals

With no Albert Pujols or Dave Duncan, first year
manager Mike Matheny led the Cardinals to their
second consecutive wild card.

After going deep in to the playoffs for the second consecutive year as wild card contender (the first yielding a World Series championship) the Cardinals are being appropriately quiet in this offseason. Going in to 2012, St. Louis needed to fill the deep void left by homegrown hero Albert Pujols and long time manager, the mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad Tony LaRussa. Those roles were covered with surprising grace by Carlos Beltran and Mike Matheny respectively, justifying the relative inactivity on behalf of the St. Louis front office. Lack of flash aside, the Cards did make some moves and roster tweaks that look to make them as pesky as ever in the NL Central.

One notable quality addition is Randy Choate, a journey man left handed relief arm that has been absolutely lights out at points in his career. The signing makes some sense in light of Mark Rzepczynski's relative lack of consistency, but signing any 37 year old to a three year deal, no matter how cheap, carries significant implied risk with it. That being said, the Cardinals seem aware of what their window for success is and are adapting as intelligently as everyone has come to expect them to. Even if Choate sucks or breaks down, the St. Louis pen still has plenty of capable arms to float them through a season.

You can almost hear the fans at Busch Stadium chanting
"CHOATE! CHOATE! CHOATE!"

The Cardinals have one of those problems everyone wants, a glut of young talent. Rafael Furcal is the front runner for starting shortstop with Kozma having proven himself a more than competent backup and Kolten Wong waiting in the wings. The end result is the creation of a certain expendability in players like Skip Schumaker who as a versatile player who would be desirable in many lineups becomes more valuable as a trade chip, which is exactly what he became. Having a roster loaded with youngish talent like that helps you keep your window jammed open that much longer.

One major thing the Cardinals are going to have to cope with is the loss of free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse, who after putting a up Cy Young level performance in 2012 is not likely to re-sign with St. Louis. The aging rotation is probably the biggest risk facing St. Louis, but even if Lohse was re-signed there would be a good chance he wouldn't repeat that kind of year.  I don't expect the Cardinals to win the division with Cincinnati's absolutely staggering lineup looming over the division, but the addition of a second wildcard in each division does make St. Louis a likely contender for the next several seasons to come.

Offseason Review: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Hometown Hero Jered Weaver

In terms of an immediate impact and difference making offseason, the Angels may have taken the cake. The addition of Pujols can't be denied, because adding the best first basemen of our generation is more often than not a good way to help your team win some games. The Angels roster is, top to bottom, pretty damn good. Since the addition of Pujols and CJ Wilson was pretty heavily publicized, I'm going to write about what could go wrong with their two major acquisitions, and some of their less obvious moves.