Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
What was supposed to be a great season for the Los Angeles Angels has turned into a season of disappointment on a large scale with a few good small things going on. They were supposed to have the most powerful offense in Major League Baseball not just this year but possibly one of the best ever. Instead a ton of things went wrong on both sides of the ball. There are still plenty of reasons however for the Angels to be stoked they have Jason Vargas coming back.
As Vargas readies to return to the mound against the New York Yankees, the Angels remain a team that struggles much more than it seems they should. Pitching strength surely is an area where they will need vast improvement next season when they try not to repeat this year’s performance. To that end, they need to use the rest of this season to gauge what they currently have available for starting pitchers and bullpen guys as well. Vargas will be a staple for as long as the Angels decide to hang on to him.
Having those key guys in the rotation on a regular basis gives a nice measuring stick for the other positions to be figured out. With Vargas returning the Angels are free to move some guys around and decide who their best five guys are right now. For example they will be able to take the rest of the season and determine how much value there is in Tommy Hanson or if they should go in a different direction. They should still have plenty of offense to support a decent starting pitching staff so that is where the focus should be with the team’s GM. Getting Vargas back to full strength is the real start of that process.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
