MVN: Most Valuable Network

Orlando Cabrera's departure may have saved the Angels the headache of his contract come the conclusion of the 2008 season, but it may have created a larger burden in the loss of his offense from an already weak Halo infield.

Miguel Cabrera would have been a nice addition, but his unexpected signing with Detroit left the Angels wondering just what to do about the power vacuum on the left side of the infield. Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Cabrera, Miguel Tejada -- these are just some of the players the Angels targeted or were seriously looking at to help the infield's offensive production. And yet the 2008 season will start bereft of so much power that I'll bet the Cal State Fullerton baseball team's infield will out-produce the Angels.

(OK, that's not really a fair comparison, even without the aluminum bat argument, but it illustrates the dire situation.)

Offensively, the right side of the infield looks better, should Howie Kendrick and Casey Kotchman stay healthy and perform to their averages -- but that's a topic Joe Florkowski will tackle shortly.

The big bat the Angels were hoping to sign this off-season -- Miguel Cabrera -- would have given Vladimir Guerrero protection and added punch to the offense. Obviously, that plan did not work out and instead the Angels signed Torii Hunter as their lineup solution. While another outfielder is just what the Angels needed (and I say that with all due sarcasm, and is an issue I'll be discussing in a future post), Hunter's addition does do one thing that actually helps the infield -- it allows Chone Figgins to get regular playing time at third base.

Besides his baseball skills, Figgins has made a living with the Angels by utilizing his insane versatility. Infield, outfield -- didn't he even pitch once? I don't know. But at any rate, even with his jack-of-all-trades skills, Figgins has shown that he is at his best when he can focus on a single position.

It is likely that Figgins will be the team's regular third baseman this year. Last season, Figgins showed his worth by getting on base regularly either via walk or hit, and making the offense churn. His speed made him a threat to steal either second or third, and every pitcher in the American League knew that. An OBP of nearly .400 last season -- with an average of .330 -- kept Figgins on base and allowed him to score 81 runs in 115 games in a season cut short by injuries, namely a broken hand. Without a lot of long-ball power in the Angels lineup, Figgins's on-base prowess gave the hitters who followed someone to drive in -- which they did, as the team finished fourth in the league in runs scored.

Defensively, Figgins is an above-average third baseman who has a great arm. He can make the long throws and beat runners, but where he needs to improve is positioning and his path to the ball. Too many balls got by him simply because he let the ball play him, but regular time at the hot corner will solve that.

If healthy, Figgins will again be a major component to the team's offense. His on-base production will keep the Halo run production machine churning, and his defense will greatly improve thanks to regular playing time.

Brandon Wood has put it some time at third, trying to help his chances of sticking in The Show. One more solid year at AAA is more likely in his future, but with no solid star at either shortstop or third base, Wood's path my have become a little less complicated. Two home runs in Cactus Play thus far also hasn't hurt.

Speaking of shortstop, that is where the real position battle -- and biggest question mark -- lies.

Maicer Izturis? Erick Aybar? Brandon Wood? With Orlando Cabrera gone, there is a wide-open battle for shortstop, and it's not definite that the winner out of camp will remain the shortstop all year.

Simply from an offensive side, Izturis would appear to have the edge. In 102 games, Izturis turned in a respectable .289 average with an OBP of .349. But what was really key was his RISP average -- an amazing .406! Two trips to the disabled list due to hamstring injuries cut into his playing time and his overall speed, both on the base path and in the field. His defense is above average -- he makes the plays, and his speed allows him to get to a lot of balls. His control throwing over to first is sometimes suspect, but not bad.

Simply from an offensive standpoint, Izturis probably has the nod, as I said. Someone has to step up on the left side of the infield to help fill in the offensive void left by Cabrera's departure. (Again, Joe will talk about the right side of the infield later, where more of the infield's offense comes from.)

Aybar is possibly the better all-around defender between the two. However, his offense is a tougher sell. In 2007, he hit .237 over 79 games and 194 at-bats with a not-too-great .279 OBP. Unless he has a smokin' hot spring, it's likely Aybar will be the #2 shortstop.

Wood might get a look at shortstop as well, but the Angels are really eager to have him in the big leagues on a permanent basis, and that path is better served by having young Brandon spend a full year in AAA as an everyday player and seeing what he can do -- especially with the strikeouts! (More on Brandon in a future post.)

So, in a nutshell, the Angels will have a bit of a void on the left side of the infield that will be felt in the batters box. Figgins's full return and penchant for getting on base will keep giving the big hitters a runner to drive in. Izturis had a great 2007 in terms of RISP production, and if he can keep it up in 2008, the Halo offense will keep moving forward.

Defensively, the left side of the infield may suffer a bit without Cabrera's gold glove, but both Izturis and Aybar are a lot closer defensively to Cabrera than some other options. What will really be missed defensively will be Cabrera's leadership on the infield. He was the caption of the crew and helped all the other infielders with positioning. His loss makes the infield younger, and even though Figgins is the veteran of the crew, I do not think that he is ready to take on that mantle. It will likely fall on someone like Alfredo Griffin, who will likely have to do a lot of between-inning coaching.

It will be an interesting test to see how the left side of the infield will perform, both offensively and defensively, compared to the right side. Figgins's steady play will keep some consistency, but the spring will really help determine what is going to happen up the middle come April. If Izturis gets the starting nod and keeps his OBP and RISP numbers at their 2007 levels, the offense will have worked. But if the shortstop position becomes a revolving door, the offensive and defensive chemistry will crumble and even more pressure will be put on Kendrick and Kotchman to bail out an underwhelming offensive crew.