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    The Angels are still world series favorites.  Don't forget that.  Even without Tex, sure having Tex might have been nice, but think of it this way.  It opens doors for other young players to recieve an oppurtunity.

    Players like Brandon Wood.  Wood has always shown great power at the plate.  He is listed as a 3rd baseman, but with Tex not returning he may be moved to 1st, and I'm sure with consistent playing time he would become a good to great hitter.  Another possibility is DH, the Angels have limited options for the DH spot.  Vlad is a likely cantidate, but why take an arm like that out of the outfield?  Wood is just 1 player who benefits.

    The player that benefits the most is Juan Rivera. Rivera was going to be the answer to the Angels power problems before he broke his leg before the 2007 season, but he was healthy last year and he hit 12 homeruns in limited playing time (just 256 a-bats).  With Tex gone he will likely be playing full time in LF or at 1st base.  Look for him to play like he did in 2006 hitting 23 homeruns and knocking in 85 runs while hitting .310. 

    And then there is a guy like Mike Napoli.  NaPoli hit 20 homeruns while playing just 79 games, look for him to possibly hit 30 this season.  He could give the Angels a legitimate long ball threat hitting behind Vlad (look for him hitting 4th or 5th.

    Enough about the longball, it's not how the Angels play.  This teams focus is still on baserunning and pitching.

    This offense is all about getting runners into scoring position.  They are the most agressive base running team in baseball, which leads me to the point that Chone Figgins is the key to this offense.  When Figgins is hot, the Angels win plain and simple.  Figgy has been the most underrated player in the league the past couple seasons, he has stolen at least 30 bases 5 straight season, and that includes 1 season with 62 steals and another with 52.  Figgins has missed akmost 100 games the past 2 seasons, if he can stay healthy the Angels offense will be healthy.

     The pitching staff is top 3 in the league.  The big 3 of Lackey, Saunders, and Santana will be dominant.  With Weaver and either Mosely or Adenhart being solid 4 and 5 starters.  I know the #5 spot in the rotation being up for grabs seems a little unsettling, but we had a couple guys last season duking it out for that #5 spot in Saunders and Santana and look how that turned out.

    The last thing is the closer role, and to this I say it's covered.  Jose Arredondo will likely be replacing K-Rod, and Arredondo is more than capable of filling this role.  Arredondo had a dominating rookie season, he had a 1.62 ERA (team best), he had a whip of 1.05 (Team best), and hitters were hitting just .190 off him  (team best).  The pen is in good hands.

So there you have it, the Angels were not burned by not signing Tex.  They have more than enough talent to perservere.  And on a side note, With Tex signing with another team, the Angels get a 1st round draft pick to possibly pick up a big bat for the future.