Weekend Preview

With baseball in full gear and NHL and NBA playoffs starting the two month long playoff season, there is a lot for a sports fan to watch. Here is some of the things I look forward to watching.

• Royce White will be involved in the Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday at 7pm on ESPN2. He will be competing against the best high school players in the nation, many of which are McDondald's All-Americans. It will be a very good measuring stick of what kind of expectations we should have for the kid when he hits campus next fall.
• The Twins welcome Torii Hunter and the Los Angeles Angels into town for 3 games. The Twins have gotten off to an underwhelming start but it still should be fun to see Torii Hunter patrol centerfield in the Metrodome again. I will be attending the game on Sunday and hope to see another great start from Glen Perkins.
  
• The NHL Playoffs started on Wednesday and have plenty of games on Versus or NBC this weekend. Teams I am cheering for: Boston Bruins (have Wheeler and Kessel) and the San Jose Sharks (like J0e Thorton and they can stop the hated Detroit Red Wings).
• The NBA Playoffs start on Saturday and some of the steam has gotten taken out with Garnett missing the playoffs and wrecking the Celtics chances to repeat. Games will be on ABC, ESPN or TNT. Teams I am cheering for: Miami Heat (Wade is my favorite player and a big Beasley fan), Orlando Magic (Dwight Howard is an absolute beast), and the Portland Trail Blazers (He has started slow but I'm still a Greg Oden fan).
  

#5 Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels
Last Year: 100-62 1st in AL West, Lost to Boston in ALDS
This Year: 1st in AL West

For the second straight year the Angels brought a gaudy record and division title into October only to get quickly dispatched to where they came from by Boston. They had a largely unsuccessful winter in attempts to get them over the hump being unable to land CC Sabathia or re-sign Mark Teixiera. They patched up some holes by signing Bobby Abreu but this team should once again cruise to a division title but might not have the pieces to win a World Series.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
3B Chone Figgins .279 3 HR 42 RBI 42 SB
LF Bobby Abreu .292 17 HR 87 RBI 18 SB
RF Vladimir Guerrero .307 26 HR 103 RBI
CF Torii Hunter .272 22 HR 83 RBI
1B Kendry Morales .271 18 HR 76 RBI
DH Juan Rivera .262 15 HR 66 RBI
2B Howie Kendrick .322 7 HR 62 RBI
C Mike Napoli .261 22 HR 52 RBI
SS Erick Aybar .262 3 HR 36 RBI

Rotation
RHP John Lackey 10-7 3.55 ERA 104 K
RHP Ervin Santana 14-8 3.81 ERA 202 K
LHP Joe Saunders 14-8 3.76 ERA 93 K
RHP Jered Weaver 13-9 4.03 ERA 144 K
RHP Dustin Moseley 9-7 4.56 ERA 87 K

CP LHP Brian Fuentes 2.73 ERA 38 SV 78 K

Best Case Scenario: Lackey and Santana both get healthy and become top flight aces. Guerrero bounces back from a disappointing year to put up MVP numbers again. Kendry Morales produces to round out the middle of the lineup and help fans forget about Teixiera. Fuentes fills the hole left by K-Rod very well. The bottom of the lineup combines to produce enough where it doesn't all fall on the shoulders of Hunter, Guerrero, and Abreu. They don't have to face Boston in the playoffs and this team makes a presence in the postseason.

Worst Case Scenario: Lackey's elbow issue becomes serious and is lost for the season. Santana can't repeat the breakout season he had last year. Jered Weaver continues to regress and live up to expectations. The outfield is just too old to carry the brunt of the offense. Youngsters Morales, Hendrick and Brandon Wood aren't ready to contribute on a full time basis. Fuentes blows saves and the Angels struggle to find a closer. This team still wins the mediocre division but are swept by the AL East in the ALDS.

Player Most Important to Success: Kendry Morales. A lot of pressure is being put on the 25 year old First Baseman with only 377 career at-bats. He is the succeeding Mark Teixiera at 1st and is being put at the 5 hole in the lineup. He has to make fans forget about the All-Star 1st Baseman they had last year and provide plenty of offense to round out the middle of the lineup. He has potential to do so as he went .341-15-64 in only 317 at bats in AAA last year but for his MLB career he is so far .249-12-45 in 377 at bats. If he can produce he will protect Hunter and Guerrero and give the Angels a well-rounded offense. If he can not it will be dependent on Hunter, Abreu and Guerrero to provide all the offense and that won't lead to a lot of success.

Outlook: Getting CC Sabathia would have been nice but they are going to miss Mark Teixiera. The middle of the lineup is filled with aging sluggers in Guerrero, Abreu and Hunter who are "34", 35 and 33. The rest of the lineup is full of forgettable pieces. They also have questions with the usually reliable rotation with Lackey and Santana not going to be ready by Opening Day. They are both solid if healthy but that is a question at this point. This team should cruise to a AL West title for the 5th time in 6 years but unless this team gets a slugging corner infielder to bat cleanup and move Hunter to the 5-hole this team will be a quick out in the playoffs.