With the Los Angeles Angels season about to get underway, it’s time for the AngelsWin.com Board of Directors to give you our take on the Angels. Some of these answers were given before the announcement of the Mike Trout contract extension, which may have affected the answers.
Feel free to play along and share your answers to these questions. Just copy the questions into the thread and post your responses. If you disagree with some of ours, tell us why.
No matter what, let’s all enjoy the start of what promises to be a fun-filled and exciting season of Angels baseball!
What grade would you give the Angels this offseason?
Adam – A- (pre-Trout extension)
Brian – A- (in light of the Trout extension)
Bruce – B+ (pre-Trout extension)
Chuck – A (in light of the Trout extension)
Dave – A+ (in light of the Trout extension)
Geoff – B+ (pre-Trout extension)
Nick – B (pre-Trout extension)
Biggest question going into the season?
Adam – Starting pitching depth
Brian – Do we have enough starting pitching?
Bruce – Pitching – Starting and relief.
Chuck – While I believe that we’re better 3-5 in the rotation and our bullpen is better with Joe Smith, until the results on the field can match my own expectations there are question marks coming off of last year’s performances.
Dave – Will the bullpen be able to hold leads and pull through when the starting pitching struggles or fails to go deep into games?
Geoff – Starting Pitching. It will always be my biggest concern until they show me it’s not.
Nick – Will Pujols or Hamilton bounce back?
Which Angels player or prospect will create a buzz out of the gate?
Adam – Kole Calhoun
Brian – Kole Calhoun
Bruce – Kole Calhoun
Chuck – Kole Calhoun
Dave – Mike Trout—with the extension in place, he already has created a buzz, otherwise it’s Kole Calhoun.
Geoff – Josh Hamilton. He’ll have a nice bounce back year.
Nick – MIKE TROUT
Who is your Angels’ 2014 sleeper?
Adam – Erick Aybar will be an All-Star.
Brian – Hector Santiago
Bruce – Chris Ianetta
Chuck – Ian Stewart
Dave – Erick Aybar
Geoff – Raul Ibanez. Methuselah is going to surprise a lot of folks.
Nick – Joe Smith
Which Angel player is most likely to disappoint in 2014?
Adam – C.J. Wilson
Brian – David Freese
Bruce – David Freese
Chuck – Raul Ibanez
Dave – Jered Weaver (the bar is higher for Weaver than for Freese and Ibanez, so there’s a greater chance for him to disappoint)
Geoff – Hank Conger. I pray I’m wrong, because I love me some Hank Conger. I just have a bad feeling.
Nick – David Freese
Which Angel player is your 2014 comeback player of the year pick?
Adam – Albert Pujols
Brian – Albert Pujols
Bruce – Josh Hamilton
Chuck – Mark Mulder. Wait . . . nevermind. Josh Hamilton
Dave – Josh Hamilton
Geoff – Josh Hamilton
Nick – Josh Hamilton
Which Angel starting pitcher will lead the team in strikeouts?
Adam – Garrett Richards
Brian – Hector Santiago
Bruce – Jered Weaver
Chuck – Hector Santiago
Dave – C.J. Wilson
Geoff – C.J. Wilson
Nick – C.J. Wilson
Which Angel reliever pitches in the most games in 2014?
Adam – Dane De La Rosa
Brian – Joe Smith
Bruce – Joe Smith
Chuck – Joe Smith
Dave – Joe Smith
Geoff – Ernasty
Nick – Joe Smith
Which Angel player finishes with the highest batting average?
Adam – Mike Trout
Brian – MIKE TROUT!!
Bruce – Mike Trout
Chuck – Mike Trout
Dave – Mike Trout
Geoff – Mike Trout. Oops . . . sorry. I mean, MIKE TROUT!!!
Nick – MIKE TROUT
Which Angel player finishes with the most home runs?
Adam – Josh Hamilton
Brian – Albert Pujols
Bruce – Mike Trout
Chuck – Mike Trout
Dave – Josh Hamilton
Geoff – Josh Hamilton
Nick – Josh Hamilton
Which Angel player gets the most RBIs?
Adam – Albert Pujols
Brian – Albert Pujols or whoever hits behind Trout
Bruce – Josh Hamilton
Chuck – Albert Pujols
Dave – Albert Pujols
Geoff – Josh Hamilton
Nick – Josh Hamilton
Which Angel player steals the most bases?
Adam – Mike Trout
Brian – Mike Trout
Bruce – Mike Trout
Chuck – Mike Trout
Dave – Mike Trout
Geoff – MIKE TROUT!!!
Nick – MIKE TROUT
Will Mike Trout win the MVP Award?
Adam – Yes
Brian – Yes
Bruce – Yes
Chuck – Yes
Dave – Yes
Geoff – Without question.
Nick – YES
Which Angels prospect will be named the Angels minor league player of the year?
Adam – C. J. Cron
Brian – Taylor Lindsey
Bruce – Matt Long
Chuck – C. J. Cron
Dave – Taylor Lindsey
Geoff – Matt Long
Nick – Taylor Lindsey
How many runs will the Angels score in 2014?
Adam – 804
Brian – 725
Bruce – 950
Chuck – 893
Dave – 820
Geoff – 901
Nick – 795
How many games will the Angels win in 2014?
Adam – 90
Brian – 91
Bruce – 90
Chuck – 93
Dave – 92
Geoff – 91
Nick – 93
What AL West team will be the toughest competition for the Angels in 2014 (Houston, Oakland, Seattle or Texas)?
Adam – Oakland
Brian – Oakland
Bruce – Oakland
Chuck – Oakland
Dave – Oakland
Geoff – Texas
Nick – Texas
Which team in any league will give the Angels the most trouble?
Adam – Tampa Bay
Brian – Tampa Bay
Bruce – Houston
Chuck – Oakland
Dave – Tampa Bay
Geoff – St. Louis. Because that’s who we’ll face in the World Series.
Nick – Texas
Will the 2014 Angels make the playoffs?
Adam – Yes
Brian – Yes
Bruce – Yes
Chuck – Yes
Dave – Yes
Geoff – Yes
Nick – Of Course!
Your fearless prediction?
Adam – Hamilton and Pujols combine for 75 Homers and 225 RBIs
Brian – Hamilton will have a great comeback season, but not as good as Pujols.
Bruce – The Angels make the playoffs.
Chuck – Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton have rebound type seasons.
Dave – The Angels make the playoffs and get past the first round.
Geoff – Erick Aybar ends the year batting .295 or better.
Nick – World Series Champs!
