ShareThisPHOENIX - Jered Weaver is asked so much about how the Los Angeles Angels will replace ace pitcher John Lackey that it has become somewhat of a running joke in the team clubhouse.
Want to know how Weaver spent his offseason?
"Well, you know, John was such a big part of this team but we have five guys capable of doing the job.''
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"Well, you know, John was such a big part of this team ... ''
Nice day outside, isn't it Jered?
"Well, you know, John was ... ''
While "ace pitcher" can be somewhat of an ambiguous term, the loss of Lackey means the Angels will apparently enter this season without one.
The same can be said for the L.A. Dodgers, who have three very strong starting pitchers atop their rotation but no undisputed star. But not having an ace leading the pitching staff doesn't necessarily mean doom -- at least they'd like to think so.
"What are you going to do?" Weaver said of losing Lackey. "He was a competitor. He was our bulldog, and it (stinks) to see him go, but we have to find a way to replace him. And I think we have five guys that can do that."
CC Sabathia. Roy Halladay. Cliff Lee. Felix Hernandez. Zack Grienke. Chris Carpenter. Tim Lincecum ... The number of ace pitchers in baseball today can be counted on two hands. There are no concrete qualifications to becoming an ace, but these pitchers are united by their talent, obviously, and their ability to take utter control of a game. They inspire complete confidence in their teammates before every outing and end up on the statistical leaderboard following every season.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said it would be ideal for his team to have one star in the rotation, but not realistic.
"It's like saying you'd want every wide receiver on your team running a 4.25 (second) 40-(yard dash)," Scioscia said. "I do think we have the deepest staff we've had since we've been here. I think we also have the potential to have more guys step up and be that lead dog than we've had before."
The Angels return four-fifths of the staff that earned a 4.44 ERA last season -- fourth in the American League -- and improved drastically after the midseason addition of Scott Kazmir. The Angels then signed Joel Pineiro through free agency, not as a replacement for Lackey but as an experienced innings-eater to round out the staff.
With Weaver, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Kazmir and Pineiro, the Angels believe they have five capable No. 2 starters, any one of which can lead on a given day.
"Our hope is when you've got five guys throwing the ball that are as talented as our guys are that you're going to head off a lot of trouble," Scioscia said, "and maybe lessen that need to have that one dominant guy.
"And, as we've talked about, that's, what, a handful of guys in baseball? You're certainly not talking about 30 pitchers. You're talking about that legitimate frontline starter on a championship-caliber club. That's a select group. I think we have guys that can mature into that pitcher."
So do the Dodgers.
Take Clayton Kershaw, for example. The 21-year-old was one of the best pitchers in baseball during June and July and allowed three earned runs or fewer in 26 of his 30 starts. He may be destined for stardom, and he may earn the opening-day assignment, but the Dodgers are unwilling to anoint him an ace -- yet.
"People like to throw that word around, but I feel like Kershaw has the potential to be an ace," Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. "Sometimes he goes out there and looks like an ace. But even aces sometimes go out there and don't look like they're aces."
Kershaw could be followed in the rotation by Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla and one of a number of young pitchers vying for the No. 5 starter.
The Dodgers starters' 3.58 ERA tied for second in the National League -- and the bullpen featuring Jonathan Broxton, Ronald Belisario, George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso and others was even better.
It's that type of dominance at the end of the game that will offset not having an ace pitcher, Billingsley said.
"It's not just one guy out there," Billingsley said. "If you had an ace out there, he's only pitching once every five days. It's a team effort, a team game, and you've got to have a bullpen. If the guy doesn't throw the full game, we need someone to close it out."
Of course, an ace pitcher does become important in the playoffs. The Yankees were able to use Sabathia twice in their six-game divisional series against the Angels and could have brought him back for Game 7. He pitched twice more in the World Series.
So is having an ace overrated or is it imperative?
"If you have one it's not overrated," Torre said. "It's still a positive if you get to the postseason because you get to pitch that guy. ... But, with our club as an example, we've got four guys, who, if they pitch up to their potential -- or even close to it -- we're going to be fine. These guys, you pretty much know what to expect. Even though you don't have that quote-unquote 'No. 1 guy,' the fact is that there is no soft spot in the first four."
(Contact Michael Becker at mbecker(at)PE.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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