 The Los Angeles Angels took first place on the AL West for the fifth time in six seasons with a record of 97-65. The team struggled at first to set itself apart from the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners as they played with heavy hearts following the death of rookie pitcher Nick Ardenhart in a car accident in the first week of the 2009 MLB schedule. Eventually the talent and locker room came together and finished 49-32 at home at Angels Stadium of Anaheim and 48-33 on the road. The team outscored opponents by 122 runs and continued that dominance in the first round of the playoffs in which they swept the Boston Red Sox in three games and outscored them 16-7. The Angels season ended in the ALCS against the Yankees after six games, including two baseball games that went into extra innings. Two seasons ago the hitting was a problem, but in 2009 the pitching was the problem. The staff ranked ninth in ERA, posting a high 4.45 number. This is still a shocking development considering that one time this team had enough starters for two rotations. For most the season Jered Weaver and John Lackey carried the starting rotation with quality pitching performances while Joe Saunders seemed to inspire the batting order to cover for his 4.60 ERA. Ervin Santana struggled as did rookie Sean O'Sullivan. The Los Angeles Angels move of Matt Palmer from the bullpen to the rotation paid off in the month of September and the addition of Scott Kazmir off waivers gave them solid left handed pitchers in time for the postseason. The Angels bullpen lacked a true stable of set up men, relying on the ancient Darren Oliver most of the time. Closer Brian Fuentes managed to amass an impressive save total with 48, but had an astronomical ERA for a closer at 3.93. The Los Angeles hitters combined to make one of the most dangerous offensive machines in MLB. They ranked in the top four in batting average, runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. They could run and hit. First baseman Kendry Morales took over for Vladimir Guerrero as the complete weapon, hitting .306 with 34 home runs, and 108 RBI. Right Fielder Bobby Abreu proved worth the contract hitting .293, 15 homeruns, driving in 103 RBI, and stealing 30 bases. Third baseman Chone Figgins led the team with 42 stolen bases and left Juan Rivera and catcher Mike Napoli provided more power with 45 combined homeruns. The 2010 season should be an enjoyable one at Angels Stadium of Anaheim if the team can keep Abreu and Kazmir on the roster. Kazmir is perhaps the key to solidifying the starting pitching rotation. A solid rotation and this offense would make the Angels one of the most dangerous complete teams in baseball and Los Angeles Angels tickets would be a strong possibility for a trip to the World Series.
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