Along with Dodgers, Angels stars, here are others who could have

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S U N DAY , M A R C H 31, 2 013
L AT I M E S . C O M
BASEBALL PREVIEW: AROUND THE LEAGUE
STORY LINES
Along with Dodgers, Angels stars, here are others who could have local impact
BILL SHAIKIN ON BASEBALL
The baseball world looks to Houston on Sunday night, when the
Astros get the honor of kicking off the new season in celebration of
the team’s move to the American League. The baseball world then
will look away, as the Astros endure a rebuilding project so severe
that they might pay less to all of their players this year than the New
York Yankees will pay Alex Rodriguez.
Starting Monday, the spotlight shines on Los Angeles.
In the 46 years that most valuable player and Cy Young awards
have been given in each league, never have players from the same
market won all four awards.
Never have the Dodgers and Angels met in the World Series. If this
is the year — and expectations never have been greater — then the
Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America could set up shop in L.A. and hand
out the annual awards at the beach.
There is no shortage of candidates. On the Dodgers’ side, Clayton
Kershaw won a Cy Young Award two years ago and finished second
last year. Zack Greinke won four years ago. Matt Kemp finished second for an MVP award two years ago, Hanley Ramirez second four
years ago.
On the Angels’ side, Mike Trout finished second for an MVP
award last year. Josh Hamilton won three years ago, and Albert Pujols
won for the third time four years ago. Jered Weaver finished third for
a Cy Young last year, second the year before, fifth the year before
that.
This season could bring a great fall, or it could be a great fall. Over
the seven months that will determine whether this year’s Dodgers
and Angels are tops or flops, here are nine names to watch:
for free agency until after the 2014 season. If
they do, given the thin Dodgers farm system,
would L.A. swallow Andre Ethier’s contract
and pay Headley too?
Clayton Kershaw
Zack Greinke is the money man in the Dodgers’ rotation for now, but one reason he could
flourish here is that he can work in the shadow of Kershaw, the ace. If Kershaw leads the
majors in earned-run average this year, he’ll
become the first to do so in three consecutive
years since Hall of Famer-in-waiting Greg
Maddux. Kershaw won a Cy Young Award at
23; his catcher, A.J. Ellis, got his first major
league at-bat at 27.
Peter Bourjos
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia and General
Manager Jerry Dipoto agree that Bourjos has
to hit to stay in the lineup. The tension between Scioscia and Dipoto could flare anew if
the manager measures his leash on Bourjos in
weeks and the general manager measures his
in months. Dipoto put together a fly-ball
pitching staff with the dynamic Bourjos in
mind for center field, then removed the top
alternative to him by trading Vernon Wells.
Albert Pujols
He set career lows last season in batting
average and home runs. He had more strikeouts than walks for the first time since he was
a rookie. He is coming off knee surgery, and he
has an off-and-on foot injury. He did not hit a
home run last year until May 6 or get his average above .200 for good until May 15. Once is
an aberration. Twice would be a sobering
reminder that the Angels still owe Pujols $238
million — $55 million more than Arte Moreno
paid to buy the team.
Hanley Ramirez
The Dodgers aren’t concerned about the
makeup of Adrian Gonzalez or Carl Crawford;
a player getting trashed on the way out of
Boston is like a player hitting well in Colorado. However, the Dodgers’ season might go
the way the injured Ramirez goes. Best case:
He is a 25-homer complement to Gonzalez
and Matt Kemp, smiling as the Dodgers pile
up wins. Worst case: He can no longer play
shortstop, and he alienates teammates as he
did in Miami.
Robinson Cano
The Dodgers do not have a middle-infield
prospect close to major league ready, but they
do have the fattest wallet in baseball. As a
second baseman — and as the best position
player eligible for free agency next fall — Cano
will be linked to the Dodgers all summer. If
the New York Yankees resume their traditional spending next winter, agent Scott
Boras could masterfully play old money and
new money against one another.
Mike Trout
He was the fourth player to hit at least .320
with 30 home runs at age 20; Mel Ott and Ted
Williams are in the Hall of Fame, and Alex
Rodriguez would be a lock but for his steroid
use. If Trout gets on base ahead of Pujols and
Josh Hamilton, the Angels’ offense could be
unstoppable. If he does not, panic might
ensue. Of the Angels’ eight giveaway items
featuring individual players, five are Trout
items, including a cap with a trout jumping
out of the front.
Kaleb Cowart
Baseball America ranks the Angels’ farm
system as the worst in the game and rates
Cowart, a third baseman, as the only Angel in
baseball’s top 100 prospects. After trading 13
young players over the past four years — for
Scott Kazmir, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke,
Alberto Callaspo, Chris Iannetta and Ernesto
Frieri — the Angels might have to use money
rather than prospects for July upgrades.
Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times
CLAYTON KERSHAW , above, of the Dodgers pursues a rarefied third
straight ERA-leading season. Other interesting angles involve Angels’ Albert Pujols, below left, Yankees’ Robinson Cano and Padres’ Chase Headley.
Andrew Friedman
If the Tampa Bay Rays make no progress
toward a new ballpark by year’s end, their
highly regarded general manager may finally
consider running a team with money. If the
Dodgers do not win, maybe their controlling
owner throws money at the general manager
trained on Wall Street. The Angels tried to get
Friedman before they hired Dipoto, but they
weren’t letting the new GM bring in his own
manager. The Dodgers already hired Friedman aide Gerry Hunsicker. Could they get
Friedman by buying out the contract of Joe
Maddon, the popular Rays manager and an
L.A. guy?
Chase Headley
The Dodgers do not have an entrenched
veteran or power hitter at third base, making
that position perhaps the most logical for an
in-season upgrade. The San Diego Padres
might not trade Headley, who in 2012 led the
NL in runs batted in, within the division. They
might not trade him at all, since he cannot file
Morry Gash Associated Press
Kathy Willens Associated Press
Donald Miralle Getty Images
Season opener: Texas at Houston
Tonight at Minute Maid Park, 5 PDT, ESPN
Rangers: LH Matt Harrison. Astros: RH Bud Norris
[email protected]
twitter.com/BillShaikin
Baseball’s many physical dimensions
Unlike other professional sports, baseball is played on fields that vary in size from park to park. Other than the infield diamond, no two stadiums are alike —
from the home run distance to the height of the outfield walls.
How Dodger and Angel stadiums
compare to MLB’s extremes
Dodgers: One of the
most uniform
footprints of any
stadium in baseball
The footprints
Deepest point in center field:
436’ Minute Maid Park (Astros)
Shortest center field:
390’ Fenway Park (Red Sox)
Angels: Short power
alley in right field
protected by an
18-foot wall
Deepest
left-field line:
355’ Wrigley
Field (Cubs)
Deepest
right-field line:
353’ Wrigley
Field (Cubs)
Shortest
left-field line:
310’ Fenway
Park (Red Sox)
Shortest
right-field line:
302’ Fenway
Park (Red Sox)
Angel Stadium
Angels
Field
dimensions
and fence
distances
in feet.
400’
330’
Outfield-fence profile is from
left field to right, with minimum
and maximum heights in feet.
4’6” to 18’
Chase Field
Arizona Diamondbacks
407’
330’
335’
Dodger Stadium
Dodgers
395’
330’
Fenway Park
Boston Red Sox
330’
4’ to 8’
7’6” to 25’
Most playble
foul territory:
O.co Coliseum
(Athletics)
330’
Minute Maid Park
Houston Astros
435’
390’
302’
310’
326’
315’
For a look at all 30 MLB stadiums,
go to www.latimes.com/sports/ballparks
Outfield wall heights
40 feet
Tallest: 37-foot-high “Green Monster”
in left field at Fenway Park
Tallest in center field:
25-foot high at Chase
Field (Diamondbacks)
Shortest: 3-foot high
right-field corner near the
bullpens at Fenway Park
3’ to 37’
7’ to 25’
O.co Coliseum
Oakland Athletics
Wrigley Field
Chicago Cubs
400’
400’
30
330’
20
330’
355’
353’
10
0
Left Field
Center Field
Note: Vertical height has been exaggerated for clarity.
Sources: Google Maps, MLB teams sites. Graphics reporting by Lou Spirito
Right Field
8’ to 15’
11’5” to 15’
Lou Spirito For The Times