Not The October That The Dodgers And Angels Expected

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Heading into the month of October there was extreme optimism in Southern California as far as the chances of the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers in the Major League Baseball Playoffs. The Angels went 98-64 in the regular season as they won the American League West for the first time since 2009 while the Dodgers went 94-68 and won the National League West for a second consecutive year. But in the League Divisional Series’, the Angels and Dodgers were both steamrolled by teams from the Show Me State of Missouri. The Angels were swept by the Kansas City Royals while the Dodgers lost in four games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The stars that the Angels and Dodgers relied on so heavily during the regular season were unable to match that production in October which is a big reason why both clubs are now looking towards spring training in 2015.

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Mike Trout

Angels outfielder Mike Trout will more than likely be the AL MVP this season as he batted .287 during the year with 36 homers and 111 runs batted in. But versus the Royals, Trout only hit .083 with one hit. Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig batted .296 in the regular season with a .328 on-base percentage. But Puig only batted .250 in the series loss to the Cardinals while Dodgers manager Don Mattingly benched his young outfielder for Game 4. Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is expected to take home the NL MVP and CY Young Award after going 21-3 with a 1.77 earned run average in the regular season. But versus the Cards, Kershaw was less than spectacular as he was 0-2 with a 7.82 earned run average. In both of his starts Kershaw’s undoing was the seventh inning as he was charged with a combined 11 runs in that frame. Now the head scratching begins for both clubs.

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Josh Hamilton

The Angels brain trust of general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scoiscia can go into the off-season with the solace that the Halos improved their regular season win total by 20 games from 2013. Trout is only 23-years old and the future is so bright for the young phenom that it isn’t funny. Angels first baseman Albert Pujols will be 35-years old when next season rolls around. This season Pujols was fifth in the American League in runs batted in with 105, but Scioscia will have to look at using his slugger more in the designated hitter role in 2015 as injuries are beginning to take their toll on him. Then there is the case of Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton. During his five seasons with the Texas Rangers, Hamilton was named as the American League MVP in 2010 and he was a five-time MLB All-Star. But in his two years with the Angels after signing a five-year, $125 million deal with the club, Hamilton has been less than stellar. In Hamilton’s last season with the Rangers he hit 43 home runs. In two seasons with the Angels, Hamilton has only hit 31 homers. This lack of production carried over to the playoffs as Hamilton was 0-for-13 versus the Royals.

I don’t see the Angels going crazy as far as adding a bat in the off-season, but they could add another starting pitcher. Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver won 18 games this year. Angels starting pitcher C.J. Wilson endured his worst season as a starter in the big leagues with an earned run average of 4.51. It also didn’t help Wilson’s case that he didn’t make it out of the first inning in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series. Angels starting pitcher Garrett Richards was cruising along this season with a record of 13-4 until a freak leg injury happened as he was covering first base this past summer. Richards was placed on the 60-day disabled list and the Angels are hopeful that he’ll be ready for spring training. With starting pitchers Jon Lester and Max Scherzer expected to hit the open market this winter, I could see the Angels in play for either one as they should be looking for another front line starter.

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Don Mattingly

The Dodgers have all of the tools to be a championship team, but they just ran into a battle tested club in the Cardinals that has won two World Series Championships since 2006 and they have also represented the National League four times in the Fall Classic since 2004. Mattingly and Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti will look back and see that they were two bad Kershaw innings away from advancing to the National League Championship Series this year. Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez is a pending free agent. Ramirez is 30-years old and his defensive skills appear to be declining, but after hitting .429 in the playoffs he is making it tough for the Dodgers to allow him to walk.

The Dodgers have a very crowded outfield consisting of Puig, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, and Joc Pederson. Puig, Pederson, Kemp, and Van Slyke should be locks to be on the Dodgers roster next season, but it would not surprise me if Ethier and Crawford were dealt this winter. Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon led the NL in stolen bases with 64. But in the playoffs Gordon only hit .176 with and on-base percentage of .263 which hurt the Dodgers chances as he is their table setter. Gordon is only 26-years of age and he should continue to improve. Of course the Dodgers still have Adrian Gonzalez at first base who is their anchor as he led the National League in runs batted in with 116 and he will once again be in the middle of their lineup.

The Dodgers have dominant starters in Kerhsaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. But the Dodgers had the highest payroll in baseball this season at $235 million and they won’t be afraid to add a big salary; especially if the are able to trade Ethier and Crawford which would free up some money. I don’t see the Dodgers going after Lester due to the fact that they already have two lefties in their starting rotation in Ryu and Kershaw. But the Dodgers could make a play at Scherzer who won the American League Cy Young last as a member of the Detroit Tigers and he is the running to win it for a second consecutive year. Scherzer would become the first AL pitcher to win the Cy Young in consecutive seasons since Pedro Martinez did it as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 1999 and 2000 which would drive up price even more as a free agent.

The Angels and Dodgers don’t need complete overhauls to their respective rosters; just some tinkering here and there. The Angels ran into a hot Royals club that was playing with house money and they were unable to get the big hits while Kansas City did. By the time that the series with the Royals shifted to Kansas City for Game 3, the grease on the grill was hot and Angels were prime to be cooked. As I stated earlier, the Dodgers just ran into a mentally tough Cardinals club whom Los Angeles they can learn from; especially being that they were eliminated by them in the 2013 NLCS as well. Coming into the 2014 Major League Baseball Playoffs, I pegged a Dodgers-Angels World Series that obviously didn’t happen. But with a little bit of tweaking to their respective rosters and a little bit of luck, things should be looking up for both the Angels and Dodgers in 2015.

Source: Baseball-reference.com, Sportrac.com

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