He just missed the All Decade Cut, but I love this 2008 Mark Teixeira card...
if ever I do an all 00s league, the Angels are going to be a top contender
Lineup: No Angels all decade team could be complete without Chone Figgins, one of Bob's earliest creations for the blog! He's leading off with great speed and an OB 10, on at 3 card that sets up nicely for the MVP -- 2019 Mike Trout! What can I say about this amazing card -- OB 11, HR at 17 with good speed and very few outs on his chart -- this guy is unstoppable! Unfortunately, his support isn't great. Bobby Abreu is shockingly similar to his original Showdown cards and hits 3rd without a lot of pop, but has OB and speed. Maybe he should hit second and let Trout have two OB 10 dudes with speed in front of him. Cleanup is a solid Justin Upton, bringing great OB 9, HR at 17 power. Pujols and Ohtani bring a pair of powerful OB 8 bats. Hard to believe, but Albert had over 50 doubles and 30 Homers in his first season with the Halos! Ohtani's first year was similarly awesome, with tons of power. Ianetta is a solid catcher, a good OB 9 who can knock in the extra base hitters in front of him with solid singles. Kendrick is a good #8 hitter, giving them another good OB 8 hitter. Rounding it out is Simmons, who may only be an OB 7, but people will love that +6 defense! Overall, an average lineup with the potential to do real damage thanks to their MVP candidate.
Rotation: Easily the strength of this team, and what a powerful strength it is. All Tier 2, mostly Control 6... plus three guys with IP 7, liable to go the distance every time out (and save the weak bullpen). Honestly, people forget how good Jared Weaver was, and CJ Wilson got a great card from Colby. The 2014 Angels, overall, were a great team and 3/4 of these starters are from that team (they won 98 games for a reason). The rotation's success will make or break the Angels' chances in the All Decade league.
Bullpen: Obviously there are other holes in the lineup that'll have people doubting the Angels, but this extremely "meh" bullpen in a sea of Tier 1/Tier 2 heavy 'pens is what pushes the Angels to the back of most prognosticators' pre-season standings. Joe Smith is undoubtedly an elite arm, with no doubles on his Tier 2 card. De La Rosa is similarly great, with another control 6 card... but then we've got a Tier 2 with low control in Huston Street, which is guaranteed to be risky against these high OB lineups in crucial situations. Following that up is a PAIR of Tier 3 relievers, including a Control 2! On the bright side, all these cards look gorgeous thanks to Matthew P. However, I believe it's arguable that with their epic rotation, the Angels don't *need* a great bullpen to contend!
The Angels come in at a "mere" 6870 Points! Honestly, I think this is mainly due to the bullpen, which comes in at a soft 770 points with a highest point value of 180. If they had a typical bullpen's points (around 900), they'd be right at the 7000 point mark. Therefore, I don't think Angels can be counted out -- even against teams like the Astros and Rangers! So now, 29/30 teams revealed, here are the point totals!
- Dodgers 8010 points
- Yankees 7920 points
- Red Sox 7770 points
- Nationals 7670 points
- Astros 7420 points
- Mets 7230 points
- Reds 7220 points
- Dbacks 7210 points
- Phillies 7200 points
- Blue Jays 7140 points
- Rockies 7090 points
- Rangers 7070 points
- Rays 7060 points
- Cubs 7000 points
- Twins 6910 points
- Indians 6880 points
- (T16) Mariners 6880 points
- Angels 6870 points
- Orioles 6830 points
- Giants 6800 points
- Braves 6790 points
- Marlins 6750 points
- White Sox 6740 points
- Tigers 6710 points
- (T24) Cardinals 6710 points
- Athletics 6670 points
- (T26) Pirates 6670 points
- Royals 6570 points
- Padres 6510 points
Wow that Howie Kendrick card might be the highest quality picture card we've ever seen
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