2006 Anaheim Angels Predictions
The 2006 Anaheim Angels predictions show that this team seems to be the only strong contender in a division of weaklings. If there was ever a lock to win a division, it has to be the Los Angeles Angels to take the AL West in 2006. They won the division by 7 games over Oakland last season and the A’s don’t figure to put up any kind of a fight this year. Texas has of course been bad as long as I can remember and Seattle has been atrocious the last 2 seasons. With that being said, when it comes to the rest of the American League teams, the Angels still play second fiddle to the Yankees and Red Sox and perhaps the White Sox as they may just have the starting pitching to hang around the top for a while.
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The Angels have been consistently good playing in a poor division. But they have enjoyed some postseason success as well winning the World Series in 2002 and making the ALCS last season. Last year’s team overachieved and it was proven in the ALCS when they were nearly swept by the White Sox losing 4 games to 1 in the Series. The Yankees and the Red Sox will be revitalized this season and will more than likely bump the Angels out.
It helps when you have the American League Cy Young winner on your staff and Bartolo Colon was just that in 2005, going 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA. John Lackey is also emerging as a solid starter, he went 14-5 last season with a 3.44 ERA. Kelvin Escobar battled with injuries last season and if he can stay healthy, the Angels will have a solid three man combo to compete for the American League Championship. The bullpen is loaded with stars like Donnelly, Shields, and a man named K-Rod. Francisco Rodriguez had 91 strikeouts in just 67 innings last season and picked up 45 saves.
Not only do they have the American League Cy Young on their staff, they have a perennial contender for the MVP award with Vlad Guerrero. He can do it all with power, average, and speed so look for him to make another run at the MVP award this season. He will be helped out if Chone Figgins can keep up his production at the top of the lineup. His 62 stolen bases make opposing pitchers pay him a lot of attention when he gets on the base pads. Guys like Adam Kennedy and Garret Anderson have come up big in the past for this team, and if they are going to regain their World Series glory then you are going to have to see a big year out of those two names and others as well.
In 2005, the Angels terrorized right-handed pitching. They ended last season 69-42 for a positive 18 unit gain against righties which proved to one of the more impressive stats of any team last year. You’ll need to watch and see if this trend will stick or if it was just a fluke as the Angels were a negative 28 units in 2003 and 2004 combined. If they are jumping on righties again this season, Angels backers will be riding the money train all season long.
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