Where each contending team stands at the All-Star Break: LA Angels

The first half of the season has been full of surprises: many unexpected teams, and individual players, making names for themselves. Here is the first of 30 team-by-team analysis. How their season has gone, up to this point, and what they should expect during what should be a grueling second half of the season. Starting with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Los Angeles Angels-The Angels are one of the best teams in the American League so far this season, boasting a 55-38 record, good for third in the majors. Their offense has been suspect this season, as the team is batting at a .257 clip, 11th out of 14 AL teams, but other apsects of their game have helped the team to its current record. The lack of hitting, by a Mike Scioscia managed team, nonetheless, is surprising because the Angels are a team full of explosive power hitters, led by Vladimir Guerrero. As a club, they have only hit 82 home runs, including only 15 by Vlad, a small number at this point, by his standards. Others such as Gary Matthews Jr., Torri Hunter, and Garrett Anderson, haven’t mustered the production that the team will need during the second half of the season. Those three hitters have combined for just 27 homers. More will be needed by those three and Vlad in the second half because the team has based itself around power, instead of speed, like past years.

In past seasons the team has been very aggressive on the base-paths by stealing bases and putting on hit-and-run’s, but this year hasn’t been the same in that respect. They still have the speed, with guys like Chone Figgin, Maicer Izturis, and Reggie Wilits, but it hasn’t amounted to much this season, as all three have been on the disabled list at some time, and have only conjured up 26 stolen bases (including just 16 by Figgins, who had stolen 41 last season, and a combined 114 the previous two seasons). The lack of production by Figgins, Izturis, and Wilits has put more pressure on the home run hitters (leading to the struggles by Hunter, Matthews, and Anderson).

With all of the struggles they have had hitting the ball, the Angels have something that most teams would die for: outstanding pitching. A very talented pitching staff has made the team as successful as it has been this year. They have two starters, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana, that have tallied 10 or more wins this season (12 by Saunders, and Santana with 10). Jon Lackey, their ace and last years’ contender for the Cy Young, has been hampered by injuries during this season, but in his 11 starts he has racked up 6 wins with a 2.46 ERA. The back end of the rotation is very solid as well, as Jon Garland and Jered Weaver each have 8 wins, making the Angels one of the few clubs to have dependability throughout the 5-man staff. These five starters have not only notched a combined 44 wins, but also hold a very respectable ERA of 3.45. The rotation will only get better in the second half with the emergence of Lackey, but one question remains: how will it hold up down the stretch? Three starters, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, and Jon Garland have pitched over 120 innings this season, ammounting to 6 2/3 innings per start, but Lackey’s freshness should help hold the staff together.

Though each of these pitchers have immense talent, they would grasp even close to their current win-loss record without an abundant amount of help from their lights out bullpen. Fransisco Rodriguez, otherwise known as “K-Rod”, has been magical as the teams closer, as shown in his major league leading 36 saves. He has been dependable in reaching that mark, as he has only blown three saves all season, a remarkable ratio considering the number of opportunities. The middle relievers have been excelent in getting the ball into K-Rod’s hands, gathering a total of 41 holds. Scott Shields has led the way as the prominant set-up man, as he has collected 18 holds, while boasting a 2.95 ERA in the process. Others like Justin Speier, 10 holds, Darren Oliver, 9 holds, and Jose Arredondo, 8 holds, have held down the fort in many Angels wins’.

Although the offense has struggled immensely, look for them to pick it up in the second half. They sure have the talent, now all they need to do is get hot at the same time. And if this was a possibilty, the pitching might actually get better now that Jon Lackey has found his form. They have the mentality and talent a playoff team would need, now all they need to do is keep putting together solid numbers. If they do that, and the hitting heats up, this could not only be a playoff contender, but a championship contender.