Remember That Time . . .

A while back, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia made a statement to the press indicating that he would love a rematch with the Yankees in the play-offs next season, regardless of how much the Yankees spent on payroll, since the Angels had "the team" to beat them. I made fun of him for it. Now, the statement sounds sad. With the Mariners on the verge of acquiring Cliff Lee and the Red Sox prepared to sign John Lackey, the Angels don't seem nearly as competitive. Don't get me wrong, they're still a good team, but they'll need more than good to think about beating the Yankees, or the Mariners for that matter. Pitching for the Angels does not look particularly strong right now, and it is unclear, to me anyway, how they will address a number of deficiencies. They are said to be close to a 1 year, $6.5M deal with Hideki Matsui, but considering Matsui's defensive limitations, that doesn't strike me as enough to counter what the Ms have done so far.