Remember that former Angel who shared a nickname with the county he played in? You know the guy who won the Gold Glove last year and who was the catalyst for a majority of late-inning Halos’ offensives? Yeah, OC, Orlando Cabrera. Well, he’s gone and isn’t coming back and instead of adding another stick to the infield, the Halos brought another outfielder into the mix instead. Having done nothing to shore up the shortstop in the offseason, the replacement for OC at shortstop will come from within. Battling for the starting role is veteran-utility man, Macier Izturis and the slick-fielding, but raw, Erick Aybar.
My vote is with “Mighty” Macier. Both players are switch-hitters, which is nice on a heavily right-handed Angel’s squad, but Izturis has more pop in his bat and is more likely to put the ball in play than his counterpart.
Aybar had some real inefficiencies at the plate in 07’ and he was often fooled by off-speed pitches, resulting in a high K:BB ratio. (2007 – Aybar – 194 AB’s, 10BB’s, 32K’s, .237 Avg).
Macier on the other hand has a better eye, drawing closer to a 1:1 K:BB ratio (2007 – Izturis – 336 AB’s, 33BB’s, 39K’s, .289 Avg) and providing a solid average from both sides of the plate (vs. Lefties – .280 – vs. Righties – .291).
The difference between these two defensively, although important, isn’t enough to justify Aybar playing every day. I see Aybar assuming a super-utility role with the squad; much like Izturis has done for the better part of three seasons.
[-Monday March 10, Angels 5 – Athletics 4] – John Lackey made his first (and last) appearance on Spring Training. Lackey went 1 2/3 IP giving up 2 hits and 2 BB’s. Clearly he wasn’t a 100% out there today. Have I mentioned Torii Hunter is on fire? (T. Hunter – 2 for 3)
[-Tuesday, March 11, Angels 8 – Padres, 4] – The Halos jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead off of Padres Ace, Jake Peavy. Peavy was interviewed after the game and said that he was using the start to work on his fastball. Obviously that pitch still needs a little more work before the start of the regular season. Brand Wood still needs some more time in the minors to cut down the length of his swing. (B. Wood – 0-5 3K’s)
[-Wednesday March 12, Royals 6 – Angels, 3] – New Angels Starting Pitcher, Jon Garland was slapped around today giving up 7 hits and 3 earned in 4 innings pitched. Is it just me or does KC seem to have a little bit of mojo this year? Yeah, it’s just me. Thanks for clearing that up. Vladdy is an All-Star in his sleep (V. Guerrero – 2 for 3, 2B, RBI)
[-Thursday March 13, Royals 6 – Angels, 5] – Joe Saunders looked really sharp this afternoon going 4 innings and allowing only 2 hits and 2 BB’s. With news out now that John Lackey will miss the first three weeks of the season this Halos fan is glad that Saunders didn’t wind up being shipped to Florida for Miguel Cabrera. Another RBI day for Hunter. (T. Hunter – 1 for 3, RBI)
[-Friday March 14, Angels 6 – Cubs, 5] – Brandon Wood impressed today with a 2 for 4 effort, including a massive HR in the 2nd Inning off of Cubs former-Closer turned-Starter, Ryan Dempster. This was Wood’s first multi-hit game of the Spring and was a vast improvement over Tuesday’s strikeout hat-trick. Kendrick continues his hot hitting streak. (H. Kendrick – 1 for 3, 3B, 2RBI)
NEXT WEEK
The Angels have Monday off before taking on MIL on Tuesday, OAK on Wednesday, SF on Thursday, TEX on Friday, LAD (boo!) on Saturday and SEA on Sunday. The LBPOSTSports.com will be live at the games Friday and Saturday to put together reports, so stay tuned.
RANDOM NOTES
Jered Weaver has really matured into a leader on and off the field. The lanky righty from Long Beach State won the NCAA Golden Spikes award for Best Player in College Baseball and then brought that performance to the Majors in his debut in 2006. After a 2007 in which Weaver won 13 games, he returns for the 2008 season looking as sharp as ever. Expect for the former Dirtbag to be the staff ace for the first month of the season as John lackey rehabs from injury.
It was announced over the weekend that John Lackey will miss the first 4 to 6 weeks of the season after suffering an apparent strained right triceps. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, but one has to wonder how long “Big John” could keep up his 200 IP seasons. With the exception of 2004, where Lackey pitched 198.1 innings, Lackey has straight 200 IP seasons dating back to 2003. In each of those seasons he’s made at least 32 starts and has won double-digit games. Lacking Lackey could make for a slow start to the season and that would be a serious blow to the team.
How about Howie “Wowie” Kendrick? (Yeah I know, worst nickname ever) He is hitting everything this spring and that might earn him some consideration to move up in the lineup. This writer thinks the 2-hole would be an ideal spot for Kendrick, where all of his tools could be maximized. Kendrick has above average speed (4 SB’s this Spring) to go along with a quick bat and good hands (ideal for the Angels hit & run). If that happens, watch for Kendrick to drive in 80+ runs this season with the speedy Figgins hitting in front of him. Through 41 ab’s this Spring, Kendrick is hitting .317 with 2 2B’s a 3B and 11 RBI.
Who else thinks Bartolo Colon is going to somehow punish the Angels this season?