It's either pitch or die in the A.L. West this year. As all teams have bolstered their lineups, the Los Angeles Angels season looks grim after their ace, Jered Weaver landed on the DL with a broken elbow. The Angels will now have to get their offense started because, let's face it, they don't have enough pitching to survive in a very talented A.L. West division.
The only worst team in the West right now are the Houston Astros. Aside from them, the Angels are 2-4 in their first four games and struggling to get their high powered offense started. They are behind the new look Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics.
Compared to the Athletics and Rangers, the Angels have no starting pitching. Weaver was their top notch ace followed by decent and poor pitching. C.J. Wilson now heads the starting rotation and though he is a veteran, he's a decent starter at best. With Weaver now gone, Wilson will now take command of this rotation and will have to show some of the stuff that made him a highly touted free agent.
With Jason Vargas, Joe Blanton and Tommy Hanson following in the starting rotation, the only thing you can count on is that Vargas can pitch you a ton of innings. Blanton gets hit hard and Hanson's mechanics betrayed him while with the Atlanta Braves.
Their ticket to success in 2013 was held by Weaver since he was a guaranteed quality starter. He was rocked in his last start against the Rangers, giving up five runs in five innings pitched. Now, he has a broken elbow and won't return until late May. As the saying goes, you can't win a division or championship in May or April, but you can definitely fall far behind.
Though the A.L. West race appears to be between the Angels, Rangers and A's, the Mariners are expected to give these teams a hard time since they possess quality offensive players. The Mariners' pitching isn't much better than the Angels', but their ace is healthy and their young hitters are expected to improve. The absence could be enough to allow the Mariners to have hope in the A.L. West.
With Weaver gone, expect Garrett Richards to be reinstated into the pitching rotation. He came up last season to fill in for Weaver when he went down with a back injury at the end of May in 2012. The Angels will be a team to pay close attention to as they were considered to be in the fight for the division. Now, with the lack of stud pitching, they might find themselves out of the race.
