Five things to know about the Angels
Miller from Angels camp
1. While two newcomers, center fielder Steve Finley and shortstop Orlando Cabrera, both can be dangerous at the plate, their presence will be especially noticed in the field where a pretty good Angels defense will become Grade A. Nobody's outfield is more intimidating than the one GM Bill Stoneman has put together, with Garret Anderson in left, Finley in center and Vladimir Guerrero in right. "Defensively, I think we're better," Anderson said. "Our lineup, I think last year was better -- if everybody stayed in the lineup. But we didn't play together last year (because Anderson, third baseman Troy Glaus and designated hitter Tim Salmon all missed significant time with injuries). We're definitely stronger this year."
2. One of the few unknowns in this Angels lineup is third baseman Dallas McPherson, who will break in after swatting 40 homers and collecting 126 RBI combined last year at Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Salt Lake. McPherson is a dead fastball hitter who will spend part of this season learning how to hit a big-league curve. He also will spend time improving his defense, which the Angels minor-league staff says needs some work. McPherson likely will open the season either on the disabled list or on an injury-rehabilitation assignment after tweaking his lower back in early March, but he should break into this lineup nicely.
3. For the first time since 1995, the Angels will have a new full-time closer. Troy Percival is long gone to Detroit, and his understudy from the past two seasons, Francisco Rodriguez, takes over. Rodriguez, who became known as K-Rod during the '02 postseason, held opponents to a .172 batting average last season while going 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 84 innings.
4. Kelvim Escobar was the Angels' most consistent pitcher last season, going 11-12 with a 3.93 ERA in 208 1/3 innings (opponents hit only .244 against him), but he was slowed earlier in camp with weakness in his pitching shoulder. He says he'll be good to go in April. "It was the first time I threw that many innings in my career, so I rested early in the winter and the time off killed me," he said. "I threw too hard too soon when I came back."
5. Can't get enough of the court battle between the city of Anaheim and the ballclub? The next key date is March 28, when an appellate court is scheduled to hear the next stage of arguments. The court could issue an injunction that would bar the Angels from using "Los Angeles" in their formal name until November, when the next hearing ostensibly would be. If the appellate court sides with the Angels, the name "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" will continue on into the season. While the name change has been controversial in Orange County, it hasn't seemed to douse hopes for the 2005 season: The Angels have sold roughly 26,400 season tickets, already passing last year's club record of 24,900.
