Heavenly Expectations

Many picked the Angels to win the title in the American League West in 1996, and they finished last, with a 70-91 record.

After signing Mo Vaughn to an $80-million deal, the Angels were picked to win the division again in 1999, and again they finished last, going 70-92.

As the 2005 season approaches -- they open Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim -- the Angels are consensus favorites to win the AL West, but this time, it doesn’t seem such a reach.

A World Series title in 2002, a $145-million spending spree under new owner Arte Moreno before 2004, a late-September surge to win the division last season and several upgrades since have changed the mind-set in Anaheim, a shift that could affect the organization much more than a cosmetic name change.

“In the past, you’d always hear, ‘This is our year,’ but in the back of your mind, you didn’t know how to do it,” said bench coach Joe Maddon, who has been with the organization for 28 years.

“What separates those who want it and those who accomplish it is a mind-set. We’re at a point now where we believe it.... When we walk onto the field, when you talk about the Angels, it’s a different feeling. We expect to win. Some may think that’s cocky, but I don’t. We’re holding ourselves to a higher standard.”

For years -- for decades, really -- the primary goal of the Angels and their small-market-thinking owners and front-office executives was to compete, to remain in the race long enough for the turnstiles to be churning through September.

But now, with the reigning AL most valuable player, Vladimir Guerrero, playing in Anaheim, with one of baseball’s best outfields, a deep roster and one of the game’s highest payrolls, $95 million, expectations have reached a point where “anything less than a division title would be a major disappointment,” Maddon said.

This, despite the loss of Troy Percival, a closer with 316 saves; Troy Glaus, a third baseman and former World Series MVP who is a perennial 30-homer threat; Jose Guillen, an outfielder who hit 27 homers and drove in 104 runs in 2004, and David Eckstein, a shortstop and leadoff batter who was an integral and inspirational part of World Series-winning and division-winning teams?

“The team to beat is Anaheim,” Seattle second baseman Bret Boone said. “They were very good last year, and they definitely have not gone backwards. They won the division and stayed the same, talent-wise.”

The Angels will replace Percival with one of baseball’s best young relievers, Francisco Rodriguez, a 23-year-old right-hander with a 94-mph fastball, a wicked slider and the confident disposition of a closer.

They’ll replace Eckstein with veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera, a key component in Boston’s run to the 2004 World Series and a defensive and offensive upgrade.

They’ll replace Glaus with rookie third baseman Dallas McPherson, who clubbed 40 home runs and drove in 126 runs in the minor leagues last season and will provide a powerful bat from the left side, once he recovers from a herniated disk in his lower back, a condition that probably will delay his season start by 10 days.

And they’ll replace Guillen in the outfield with veteran Steve Finley, a four-time Gold Glove award-winning center fielder who hit a career-high 36 home runs last season -- at 39 -- and allows the Angels to move Garret Anderson from center field back to left, his preferred position.

The Angels have a deep rotation -- Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn and John Lackey return -- and should benefit from the addition of veteran right-hander Paul Byrd. Setup men Brendan Donnelly and Scot Shields return in a bullpen that is again expected to be one of the game’s elite.

“People look for holes, but I don’t see a major weakness -- I see more positives than negatives,” Donnelly said. “I like our bench. We have guys who can start for other teams. It’s a luxury, like our bullpen -- we’re deep. We have the talent. It’s up to us to get it done on a daily basis.”

As strong as the Angels appear, there are concerns, the most prominent two being a lack of rotation depth, which could be a problem if -- with the Angels, it’s usually when -- a starter gets injured, and a potential lack of power and patience that could inhibit the offense.

As great as Guerrero was in 2004 -- .337, 39 homers, 126 RBIs -- the Angels finished 10th in the league in home runs, last in walks and struggled to score for long stretches. The additions of Finley, McPherson and Cabrera and the loss of Glaus and Guillen would seem to be a push, at best.

“In the age of the three-run home run, how do you make up for that?” Maddon said. “For us, we have to be as good a baserunning club as possible. We want to get to third with less than two outs as much as possible. We should lead the league in getting thrown out at third and home, but we should also lead the league going first to third or first to home.”

The Angels went from first to third on singles 99 times in 2004 and were thrown out six times. Only the Colorado Rockies were more successful, going from first to third 100 times. The Oakland A’s, who stress on-base and slugging percentage, went from first to third 66 times and were thrown out four times.

“We have to go first to third, put runners in motion and put balls in play; we have to bunt, move guys over, play the situational game,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Every successful club has that as part of their package, but we have to take it a step further because our lineup is not as deep as some teams’.

“If we just create offense out of the batter’s box, we’re not going to go toe to toe with some of these big lineups. But if we play our game, we can.”

That philosophy was ingrained in Scioscia by Ace Bell, his high school coach in Pennsylvania, and refined during his 17 years as a catcher in the Dodger organization.

Scioscia has been preaching aggressive baserunning and situational hitting since he arrived in Anaheim in 2000 -- both were key elements during the 2002 World Series run -- and the Angels apparently have bought into the philosophy.

“We live by that,” Darin Erstad, first baseman and leadoff batter, said. “That’s how you win close games. We’re not going to hit home run after home run against good pitchers. We may not have a great on-base percentage, but other teams know we’re going to put pressure on them, and that’s worked for us.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

THE BREAKDOWN

INFIELD

The Angels have Gold Glove winners at first base (Darin Erstad) and shortstop (Orlando Cabrera), and Chone Figgins, who will replace the injured Adam Kennedy for at least the first month of 2005, is a rangy, strong-armed infielder who looked sharp at second base all spring. Third base, where Robb Quinlan will open the season in place of Dallas McPherson while the rookie recovers from a herniated disk in his lower back, is more of a question defensively -- neither is as polished as the player they’re replacing, Troy Glaus. However, once McPherson returns in mid-April, he and Quinlan could provide considerable pop out of a platoon.

OUTFIELD

With 2004 American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero in right, five-time Gold Glove winner Steve Finley in center and perennial 25-homer, 110-RBI threat Garret Anderson in left, this has the potential to be one of baseball’s best outfields. The trio will make up the heart of the batting order, and the Angels will rely heavily on them for the bulk of their run production. Guerrero is one of the game’s most dangerous hitters -- he had a .598 slugging percentage and .391 on-base percentage in 2004 -- but the key to the offense could be Anderson, who missed 50 games because of an arthritic condition in his upper back and suffered a dramatic loss of power (14 homers, 20 doubles, 75 RBIs). If Anderson regains his power, he’ll provide excellent protection for Guerrero, who ranked fourth in the league with 14 intentional walks last season, and he should surpass the 100-RBI mark. If not, the Angels could struggle to score at times.

CATCHING

Starter Bengie Molina (tight calf) and backup Jose Molina (strained rib-cage muscle) missed big chunks of spring training because of injuries, but both were able to play the final week and a half of exhibitions and appear ready to start the season. Veteran Josh Paul will serve as the third catcher. Bengie Molina, a Gold Glove winner in 2002 and 2003, lost almost 25 pounds from last season and has looked more agile behind the plate this spring. He’s also a clutch hitter who has 15-homer potential out of the eighth spot. Jose Molina is good enough defensively to start for several teams but has not hit consistently in the big leagues.

STARTING PITCHING

The Angels lack the front-of-the-rotation hammer that the Yankees (Randy Johnson) and Red Sox (Curt Schilling) have, but they have the kind of one-through-five depth that should play well over the course of a 162-game season, as long as they remain sound. All five starters -- Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Paul Byrd -- have 200-inning potential, and if Colon resembles the pitcher who went 12-4 with a 3.63 ERA after the All-Star break last season, and not the one who went 6-8 with a 6.38 ERA in the first half, he could be dominant. The hard-throwing Escobar was the Angels’ most consistent starter last season, and Byrd appears fully recovered from 2003 elbow surgery and poised to return to his 2002 form, when he was 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA for a Kansas City team that lost 100 games.

BULLPEN

This should be a strength, assuming Francisco Rodriguez can handle the transition from setup man to closer, a role the 23-year-old right-hander clearly has the stuff to fill. But Rodriguez has never been a full-time closer, and until he experiences the mental demands of the position, it’s tough to know how he’ll respond. The Angels are strong in the setup spot with right-handers Brendan Donnelly and Scot Shields, but Esteban Yan, expected to fill middle- and short-relief roles, struggled all spring. Right-handers Kevin Gregg and Bret Prinz provide two more power arms.

BENCH

In Jeff DaVanon and Juan Rivera, who probably will split the designated hitter role, the Angels have two reserve outfielders who probably could start for several teams. With McPherson opening the season on a minor league rehabilitation assignment, the final roster spots will probably go to slick-fielding middle infielder Maicer Izturis and veteran utility man Lou Merloni. The Angels are expected to send Casey Kotchman, their hottest hitter this spring, to the minors, where he can play every day.

MANAGEMENT

Scioscia has a reputation for getting the most out of his talent -- the Angels overachieved in 2000, some are still scratching their heads, wondering how his 2002 team won the World Series, and the Angels won the AL West in 2004 despite a mind-boggling array of injuries to key players. He has an aggressive offensive philosophy, often putting runners in motion and encouraging them to go first to third on singles. General Manager Bill Stoneman has been reluctant to trade away his top prospects for the kind of pitching help -- most notably Johnson last July -- that could catapult the Angels into World Series contention. If the Angels, who lack rotation depth in the organization, suffer a pitching injury this season, Stoneman may have no choice but trade a top minor leaguer or two for a proven major league starter.

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Roster

PITCHERS

*--* No Name B/T Age 36 Paul Byrd R/R 34 40 Bartolo Colon R/R 31 53 Brendan Donnelly R/R 33 45 Kelvim Escobar R/R 28 63 Kevin Gregg S/R 26 41 John Lackey R/R 26 64 Bret Prinz R/R 27 57 Francisco Rodriguez R/R 23 62 Scot Shields R/R 29 56 Jarrod Washburn L/L 30 59 Esteban Yan R/R 29 CATCHERS 1 Bengie Molina R/R 30 28 Jose Molina R/R 29 8 Josh Paul R/R 29 INFIELDERS 18 Orlando Cabrera R/R 30 17 Darin Erstad L/L 30 9 Chone Figgins S/R 27 6 Maicer Izturis S/R 24 2 Adam Kennedy* L/R 29 35 Casey Kotchman L/L 22 23 Dallas McPherson* L/R 24 21 Lou Merloni R/R 33 39 Robb Quinlan R/R 28 OUTFIELDERS 16 Garret Anderson L/L 32 55 Jeff DaVanon S/R 31 12 Steve Finley L/L 40 27 Vladimir Guerrero R/R 29 20 Juan Rivera R/R 26 15 Tim Salmon* R/R 36

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*Will open season on disabled list or minor league rehabilitation assignment.