Brad Evans of Yahoo! Sports just pumped out an article titled, "Pressing Questions: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim," and I thought it'd be fun to see what we think are the answers to his stumpers.
Of course, he expertly starts his article by saying that the "perennial division contendors had a disappointing season." I love how not a single person in the "real media" seems to remember all the way back when the Angels weren't any good. We've been given a gift lately, let's not act like we're the Yankees. He goes on to point out how fans of the squad expected big things this offseason. Carl Crawford? No. Adrian Beltre? No. But, we did get what he calls "a smelly pile" named Vernon Wells, as he sarcastically states, "Happy 50th Anniversary!" Give me a break. He finished the pre-question section of his article talking about how great our starting rotation is, outisde of Scott Kazmir. In fact, he calls Santana, Haren, Weaver, and Peralta, the "fearsome foursome." I don't know about that nickname, but they are definitely going to have to put up big numbers for us in 2011 (and I'm not talking about ERA).
Now, on to the pressing questions!
"Will a change of scenery spark Vernon Wells?"
When I read through Evans' "answer," I quickly realize he doesn't plan on trying to answer any of the pressing questions he is asking. I guess I should have realized that before diving in. Instead, he uses a grip of unknown statistics (at least unknown to me) like "Round 6 rank for 12-team mixers" and "ADP." He does, however, point out Vernon's 81.6 contact rate, which I think is a bigger deal than people will make it out to be. If you want a real answer, I will try my best. I'm not sure that a change in scenery makes any difference. Sure, his power may drop off a little bit coming over to the AL West, instead of playing in homer-inflating parks like New York and Boston, but we kind of know what we're getting in Wells. As I said in an earlier post, his career stats make him look like an "every other season" kind of player. If that holds true, he should have a .270-20-80-ish kind of year. I'd look for his stolen bases to bounce back if Scioscia plays him right (he dropped from 17 in 2009 to just 6 in 2010). In 2012, though, I think he'll go .300-30-95, and all the fans will be lining up to buy his t-shirt jersey. Of course, he probably would have done the same thing had he stayed in Toronto, so to actually answer the question: no.
"In a similar vein Mike Stanton, Jason Heyward, and Starlin Castro, can elite prospect Mike Trout emerge at age 20?"
For life long Halo fans, this isn't a hard question to answer. I guess, however, it depends on what Evans means by "emerge." Does he mean come up to the show and make Sports Center anchors drool over him? Well, Heyward was kind of that guy, and he finished .277/18/72, which is pretty great for a rookie. However, in the playoffs, he hit .125 and struck out in 50% of his at bats. But, as far Mike Trout, I can tell you exactly what to expect this year. The future King Fish Jr. will demolish AA pitching, much like A-ball last year when he combined for .334/10/58 between Cedar Rapids and Rancho. He also had 56 stolen bases. He's a beast, which is why Baseball America ranked him as the #1 prospect in all the land recently. However, he's going to play half the season in Arkansas, half the season in Salt Lake, and he might smell a cup of coffee in Anaheim in September (no more than 100 ABs). If you think he'll move up any faster than that, you obviously don't know the Angels. Evans asserts that if Peter Bourjos struggles, Trout could get the call. He makes it loud and clear that he doesn't really know what he's talking about. Bourjos isn't going to struggle!
"It's not a matter of if but when Fernando Rodney carpet bombs fantasy ERAs with a string of late game implosions. What Angel waiting in the wings could become an unsung source of saves?"
Way to go out on a limb and hate on Fraud-nando, that's a real bold move. He goes on to name almost every bullpen arm when picking the unsung source of saves. Takahashi, Downs, Jepsen, and Walden all come up in his argument. I could be a jerk and just say that I think Fernando Rodney will turn things around and be a save machine next year (which COULD happen), but since he blew 7 of 21 save opportunities last season, I'll pass on that one. I'm going to say Mike Kohn is the guy who could come out and surprise us as the next Troy Percival. The 24 year old finished 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 24 games last season. He had an 8.4 K/9 mark, which could come up if he can work on the control in the offseason. When he was on last season, he looked unhitable. And, I love using "The Wrath of Kohn" reference.
"How underappreciated is Morales?"
Evans goes on to talk about how fantasy geeks don't rate him that highly. Well, I don't really care about fantasy geeks. For actual Angel fans, Kendry Morales isn't underappteciated at all. We all gasped in horror when he slipped on home plate last season, knowing that our best offensive weapon was down for the count. In 2009, his first full season, Morales hit .306/34/108, and if you project his pre-injury stats from 2010, you get .290/35/124. Amazing. I don't think there is any reason to think that he won't do the same thing again here in 2011. All you have to do is look to most Angels offseason critiques, and you'll see how everyone is counting Kendry Morales as something like a free agent acquisition thanks to the impact he'll have. Underappreciated? Nope.
"Who is the better sleeper: Erick Aybar or Peter Bourjos?"
Really? Is this even a question? Evans goes on to explain that he thinks the "cheetah-wheeled" Bourjos is the better sleeper, giving him .260 with 12 homers and 25-30 steals as a projection. However, he finishes his whole article off by saying, "but he has Mike Trout looking over his shoulder." Stupid. I'm not a huge Aybar fan, ever since his attempted (and failed) that squeeze play in a playoff game against the Sox a couple of years ago. Personally, I think Maicer Izturis would be a much better choice to start the season at SS, but that's just me. Despite having a poor average, Peter Bourjos' play thrilled me last season, and I expect nothing but the best from him in 2011. To me he's not a sleeper, but I guess to the ESPN/Yahoo! types, he would be.
So, those are the pressing quesions for the Angels entering 2011 according to Yahoo! Sports. I, of course, would have had some different (and way more important) questions for the Angels as we head into Spring Training.
How will Howie Kendrick perform this year?
What are the Angels going to do at catcher?
Who is ready to step in if Scott Kazmir sucks again?
What will Bobby Abreu give us?
And, how about third base? Callaspo? Or, another chance for Wood?
Who will answer those questions? Time, I guess, as Spring Training is just around the corner.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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