Mike Scioscia has done a great job as the manager of the Angels. He has been manager of the Angels for 7 seasons and he’s compiled a 609-525 (.537) regular season record. He has won 2 Division Titles and won the World Series in 2002. He has a career post season record of 15-14 (.517). Scioscia is a tough guy and that’s the way his teams play as they are very, very aggressive.

The Angels strong bullpen has been a big reason for the success the Angels have had over the years and it will be good again in 2007. 25 year old righty Francisco Rodriguez has been one of the most dominant closers in the American League over the last couple of seasons. He was 2-3 with 47 saves, a 1.73 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 69 games for the Angels in 2006. Batters only hit .197 against him last season and he whiffed 98 batters in 73 innings which really shows how nasty of a pitcher that Rodriguez is. Look for him to dominate the American League again this season.

31 year old righty Scot Shields is probably the second best set-up man in the American League (behind Joel Zumaya). He was 7-7 with 31 holds, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 74 games for the Angels in 2006. Batters only hit .217 against him last season and he whiffed 84 batters in 87.2 innings. The game is essentially over if Shields comes into the game with the Angels winning. Look for Shields to have another fantastic year in 2007 for the Angels.

The Angels have brought in Justin Speier as a free agent in the off season to replace the traded Brendan Donnelly as the new 7th inning man. He was 2-0 with 25 holds, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 58 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006. Batters only hit .235 against him and he whiffed 55 batters in 51.1 innings so he should fit right in with the Angels other late game relievers. He should have another good year in 2007.

37 year old righty Hector Carrasco had a solid season for the Angels in 2006 as he was 7-3 with 1 hold, 1 save, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 56 games (3 starts). Batters only hit .244 against the Angels long man in the bullpen. Carrasco is usually the first man in if a starter is having trouble and he’s a very valuable innings eater in the bullpen as he pitched 100.1 innings for the Angels last year. Batters only hit .244 against Carrasco last season so he still has good stuff. Look for Carrasco to have another good season for the Angels in 2007.

36 year old lefty Darren Oliver was signed as a free agent and he will probably be the only lefty in the Angels bullpen. He was 4-1 with 3 holds, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 45 games for the New York Mets. Batters only hit .231 against him (lefties .208) but he allowed a whopping 13 homers. Maybe Oliver will take to his new relief job which is pretty amazing to me because he was such a poor starting pitcher. Oliver has the potential to either pitch a lot of innings like Carrasco or the Angels might just use him as a lefty specialist this season, only time will tell.

24 year old righty Chris Resop was acquired in the trade of Kevin Gregg to the Florida Marlins. Resop is like a younger, cheaper version of Gregg. I know that doesn’t sound too good, but he does have a good arm. He was 1-2 with 2 holds, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP in 22 games for the Florida Marlins. Batters hit .310 against him and he walked 16 batters in 21.1 innings. Look for Resop to be the new mop up man.

Jered Weaver will likely miss the first start or two of the season with a biceps problem. Hector Carrasco will likely make a start or two in Weaver’s place and he will do a good job as he’s a decent pitcher. The Angels want to be careful with Weaver as he’s a big part of their future success.

Chone Figgins has fractures to his right middle and index fingers and he will miss the first 4-5 weeks of the 2007 season. Maicer Izturis and Robb Quinlan will get most of the playing time at 3B until Figgins is ready to return. This is a huge loss for the Angels as Figgins puts tremendous pressure on the opposing teams defense because of his great speed. Izturis is a much better defender at 3B that Figgins is so that might help even things out a bit for the Angels.

The Angels have what looks to be a very formidable rotation for 2007. 28 year old righty John Lackey looks like he will be the #1 starter for the Angels this season. Lackey was 13-11 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 33 starts in 2006 for the Angels. Lackey has great stuff and he should have won more games last season but the Angels didn’t hit well when he pitched but look for that to improve a little bit for them in 2007. Lackey struck out 190 batters and only allowed 14 homers and a .246 batting average so he pitched very well in 2006. Look for Lackey to win at least 15 games with a ERA around 3.50 in 2007.

The #2 guy looks to be Kelvim Escobar if he can stay healthy. Escobar rebounded from an injury marred 2005 season to post an 11-14 record with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 30 starts in 2006. Escobar also was hurt by the Angels lack of offense as he deserved to get more wins last season. Look for Escobar to have the best season of his career in 2007 and to win 15+ games with a sub-4.00 ERA and around 200 strikeouts if he stays healthy.

Ervin Santana looks like the #3 starter when the season starts but he has potential to be the ace of the Angels pitching staff. Santana was 16-8 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP last season. Santana has a blazing fastball and a nasty slider which he uses well as he comes right after hitters often with good results. Santana only allowed a .241 opposing batting average and whiffed 141 batters in 204 innings. Look for Santana to win 17-20 games and to have a sub-4.00 ERA with around 200 K’s in 2007.

24 year old Jered Weaver pitched so good for the Angels last season that he took his brother’s spot in the rotation away from him. It all worked out well for both of the Weavers’ as Jeff helped the Cardinals win the World Series. Jered started 19 games for the Angels last season and he was 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Weaver showed great stuff and poise for such a young pitcher as he whiffed 105 batters in 123 innings and held them to a .209 batting average against him. Weaver is a little behind in Spring Training as Weaver didn’t keep himself in tip-top shape in the off-season. Still, Weaver should win 13-17 games with a sub 4.00 ERA for the Angels in 2007.

25 year old lefty Joe Saunders will be the #5 starter for the Angels until Bartolo Colon is ready to return in late April/early May. Saunders was a solid 7-3 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 13 starts last season. He is downright nasty against lefty hitters who could only muster a .220 batting average and a .538 OPS in 2006 against him. Look for Saunders to do a good job until Colon is ready.

33 year old righty Bartolo Colon will miss the first month or two as he continues to rehab his pitching shoulder. He only pitched in 10 games in 2006 and was 1-5 with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Batters hit .306 against Colon last season and whacked 11 homers against him in only 56.1 innings. If Colon is sound he should be good for the Angels as he has won 135 games in his last 8 full seasons in the majors.

Darren Oliver and Hector Carrasco will be in the bullpen but either of them could make a couple of starts in the Angels need them to.