Hitting:

Team wOBA: .346. 3rd in MLB, 3rd in the AL.

The Angels lineup is one of the best in baseball. They can really do it all, and will present match-up problems with several switch hitters and no real ‘outs’ at the back end of the order (unless they insist on giving Gary Mathews at-bats.) They lead the majors in batting average, and at one point in August, every regular was hitting above .300. In addition to that, the Angels are second in all of baseball in steals. Chone Figgins leads the team with fourty-two, but they’re getting healthy contributions from Bobby Abreu (twenty-nine,) Torii Hunter (seventeen,) and Erick Aybar (fourteen.) LA can also play longball. Kendry Morales has done a fantastic job of replacing Mark Teixeira, and he leads the team with thirty homers. Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera also have more than twenty, with Mike Napoli and Vladimir Guerrero not far behind. Abreu and Figgins are tied for the team lead in OBP at .394. Maicer Izturis and Howie Kendrick platoon at second base and are posting remarkably similar offensive and defensive numbers. Izturis is hitting .294/.354/.431 and Kendrick has a slash line of .302/.341/.457.

Fielding:

Team UZR: 5.1. 12th in MLB, 6th in the AL.

Los Angeles fields a pretty good defensive team, particularly when Gary Mathews is left out of the lineup (I should stop picking on him, but that contract is BAD.) Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu both have negative UZR’s, but neither mark is godawful. Third basemen Chone Figgins leads the team with a positive 15.8 UZR. Juan Rivera is second, about a win above average out in left field. Erick Aybar has been an asset in the infield to the tune of six runs above average. Kendrick and Izturis continue their similarities by posting identical 4.3 UZR’s at second base, though Izturis has the better UZR/150 due to less playing time at the keystone.

Pitching:

FIP: 4.50. 21st in MLB, 11th in the AL.

After a low BABIP led to an all-star appearance and a 3.41 ERA in 2008, Joe Saunders was expected to show some regression in 2009. He hasn’t regressed so much as he’s actually just pitched a whole lot worse. His FIP shot up nearly a full point, mostly because his BB/9 rose from 2.41 to 3.29 this year, as well as the extra six homers opponents have already tagged of him in thirty-two less innings. Granted, he was nursing an injury for part of the season, but he’s no better than an average starter even at his best.

Ervin Santana emerged as one of the game’s best starting pitchers last season, but like Saunders, has seen an injury derail his season. He didn’t start until Mid-May, but one wonders if he was rushed anyways. His velocity has been consistently lower than it was all of last season, and though it has picked up a little bit in recent starts, he’s still not throwing like he was in 08. His K/9 has fallen from a sparkling 8.79 to under seven this year, and his BB/9 and HR/9 have shot up as well. 2009 has been a mostly lost season for Santana.

Continuing a theme of past aces turned sour, the Angels will hand Scott Kazmir the ball for the finale of the three game set. In just the latest example of why ERA can be misleading, Kazmir’s has gone from the mid three’s to the low five’s despite nearly identical FIP’s over the past two seasons. His strike outs are down from past years; he’s averaged over nine per nine innings every season since 2005, but only has 110 in 136 innings this year. He also isn’t getting deep in games, averaging five and two thirds innings in his twenty-four starts.

The biggest story to follow heading into the post-season might just be who gets the ball in save situations out in Anaheim. Brian Fuentes leads the league with forty-three saves, but he’s been a league average pitcher all year, and has been atroscious of late. Manager Mike Sciossia has been increasingly willing to trust Kevin Jepsen and his 2.88 FIP. Beyond those two, Darren Oliver, James Bulger, Jose Arredondo, and Trevor Bell form a solid if unspectacular relief corps. Oliver has actually been more effective against righties than lefties this year, so if you see him trotting in to face Johnny Damon, no need to panic.

Overall:

These three games could comprise of over ten hours of baseball. Neither John Lackey nor CC Sabathia is scheduled to start, so neither team has an ace that can stop the opposition’s juggernaut offensive attack. If I were a betting man, I’d say the Angels take two of three, but they’re pretty evenly matched, and the series could really go either way. Since both are virtually guaranteed of their respective division titles, don’t be surprised to see a lot of unfamiliar names out there. The Yankees will likely find time for most of the thirty-seven (!) players they have on the active roster.

Sources:

http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&type=0&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&type=1&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&type=1&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&type=0&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/winss.aspx?team=Angels&pos=all&stats=fld&qual=0&type=0&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/winss.aspx?team=Angels&pos=all&stats=bat&qual=0&type=0&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4366&position=P

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4897&position=P

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3200&position=P

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5127/splits;_ylt=AudbfLmrh5l71l3oBIy9JPyFCLcF