30 Teams in 30 Days: Los Angeles Angels

Of Anaheim of Orange County of California of the United States of America of North America of Western Hemisphere of Earth of the Galaxy. Long name. Well, Jerry DiPoto struck his magic (hopefully) as General Manager. He did make a splash again: signing Josh Hamilton, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Sean Burnett and trading for Jason Vargas and Tommy Hanson. Gone are Dan Haren, Jordan Walden, Kendrys Morales and Torii Hunter. DiPoto's making his mark on this team's roster, now after two tumultuous off-seasons, it's time to see if it all blends together or gets stuck in the rocks in left field. Let's see:

Starting Lineup
LF Mike Trout
SS Erick Aybar
1B Albert Pujols
RF Josh Hamilton
DH Mark Trumbo
2B Howie Kendrick
3B Alberto Callaspo
C   Chris Iannetta
CF Peter Bourjos

Good god, that's a scary defensive outfield. Oh, and offensively. Trout is not human. He's a machine. Aybar gets the nod in the 2 hole because he's a switch hitter, though Kendrick is a better fit there. The addition of Hamilton should only make Pujols even scarier. I love moving Trumbo to DH because, well, he's not a good fielder. The Angels will win 5 more games just having Bourjos and Hamilton playing every game. Callaspo is a better hitter than given credit for and he never strikes out. Iannetta should hopefully settle in and not get hurt this year. No more Hank Conger than needed, please. It stunk seeing Bourjos get benched because he's no slouch with the bat: he hit .271 with 12 HRs in 2011 for basically a speed guy. He needs to be a better, more prolific base stealer, though. This lineup is scary good IF they stay healthy (Iannetta, Hamilton) and productive (Trumbo).

Starting Rotation
SP Jered Weaver
SP CJ Wilson
SP Jason Vargas
SP Tommy Hanson
SP Joe Blanton

Here's where I have an issue. Nobody is doubting Weaver and most people should not be worried about Wilson's poor second half. It's the rest. Vargas has been solid as a starter in Seattle but his home/away differential is substantial (2.74 to 4.78) - is he a product of SAFECO? Surely having Trout/Bourjos/Hamilton running down baseballs helps, but label me skeptical. Hanson can't pitch into games: be barely got into the 6th inning last year. The Tappan Zee Bridge is in better shape than his shoulder. Joe Blanton last had an ERA under 4 when I was in high school: I'm about to graduate college. Why not just try Garrett Richards and Brad Mills? They're young, cheaper and Morales/Walden could have brought a bigger package back. I'm worried. There is talent, but it can go bad quickly.

Bullpen
CL Ryan Madson
SU Ernesto Frieri
SU Sean Burnett
SU Scott Downs
SU Kevin Jepsen
LR Garrett Richards

So Madson is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but he's a proven commodity as any. I'm not sure if he'll be ready by Opening Day, but at least Frieri can close (what a steal he was by DiPoto). Like the Burnett signing to pair him with Downs. The other 2-3 spots can be up for grabs but Jepsen and Richards look likely, and maybe Jerome Williams too. As awful as this pen has been in recent history, DiPoto has made it over well.

I'm worried about the rotation. But, something tells me the pen and the lineup can mask it. I still like Oakland more but I'm pretty sure DiPoto is a ninja and he'll find someone to fix it. Otherwise, Manager Mike Scioscia is out, but I wouldn't be worried. I'm saying 2nd place and possibly a Wild Card birth.