Spring Reports: LA Angels & LA Dodgers
Los Angeles had a rough year in baseball last season, as both the Angels and Dodgers sputtered after reaching their respective League Championship Series in 2009. The Notebook checks in on both teams as spring previews roll on...
LA ANGELS
If Mike Scioscia's team is to rebound and move past Texas & Oakland in the AL West it's going to have to begin with starting pitching. The Angels have three solid starters to build their rotation on, with Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, and the first two names on that list are ace-caliber. The mystery spot is #5, where Steve Kazmir's career suddenly went off the tracks the last two seasons after he seemed to be coming into his own as a star in Tampa Bay. Kazmir posted a 5.94 ERA last year. He's only 27 years old, so it's reasonable to hope he gets back on track. If he does, he could become a third ace.
The Angels need some help offensively. A good start is the healthy return of first baseman Kendry Morales, who missed the bulk of last year after breaking his foot in a home run celebration. He joins with Tori Hunter as the heart of the offense. The team took a flyer on Vernon Wells and brought him over from Toronto to play left field. Wells, once the best centerfielder in the game, still has pop in his bat, although he doesn't get on base with as much proficiency. Bobby Abreu is the reverse--the patient DH still draws his walks and gets his hits, but the power's been gone for a few years now. If you're looking for sources of internal improvement start with third baseman Alberto Callaspo. Last year didn't go very well as he spent half the season here and half in Kansas City. But his previous two years with the Royals were good ones.
LAA needs to score and get starting pitching, because the bullpen, once the hallmark of this team in the first decade of the new century, is really lacking in depth. Fernando Rodney is functionable as a closer, but scares no one. Scott Downs is as good at setup as anyone in the American League. After that, Scioscia will be challenged. There's no manager in the game I respect more than him, but he's got a tough haul to get this club back into the mid-90 range for wins and into the playoffs again.
LA DODGERS
Joe Torre certainly got out of the town at the right time. After playing mediocre baseball in 2010, climaxed by a late fade, the Dodgers are mostly old and uninspiring. From Casey Blake to Juan Uribe to Jamey Carroll to Rod Barajas to Rafael Furcal to Ted Lilly to Hiroki Kuroda, the Dodgers aren't getting any younger. And most unbelievably, Jay Gibbons is slated to play left field. It will be Gibbons' first serious playing time since 2007 when he left the Orioles and baseball altogether after revelations of steroid use. Don Mattingly has his work cut out for him in his first season as a manager.
One face who isn't old is 22-year old Clayton Kershaw, the top man in the rotation and looking like one who has a long career in front of him. He, along with Chad Billingsley, Lilly and Kuroda make this a decent rotation. But there's the age factor with the latter two--how many innings can they pile up. And that's a big deal when our bullpen has depth issues. Jonathan Broxton, an emerging star as closer, suddenly went belly-up last year. In a role where things can change just that quickly, Mattingly has to be nervous about what he'll get from Broxton this year. Hong-Chih Kuo is the reliable arm back there right now, and they signed Matt Guerrier away from Minnesota.
Rightfielder Andre Ethier is the engine that drives the offense, his power production being all the more impressive in that Dodger Stadium--as well as other venues in the NL West--are pitcher-oriented. Ethier needs Matt Kemp to return to his 2008-09 self and it wouldn't hurt if they got new outfielder Marcus Thames in the lineup every day. He's hit for good power in both Detroit and New York in part-time duty. Give him a crack at hitting every day.
The West is an improving division with both Colorado and San Francisco looking tough to beat and Los Angeles has a lot of work ahead if they're going to get back on top.
Image from ocregister.com
Dan Flaherty is the editor of the Sports Notebook Family, published through the Real Clear Sports Blog Network, offering daily commentary on March Madness and baseball's spring training.
