With the heart breaking end of the season still glaring at us from behind the tube, while the Yankees and Phillies fight for intergalactic East Coast dominance, it's that time of the year for me to look forward to the off-season. With our off-season inevitably looming ahead, it seems a bit like a steam train heading straight towards an 8 foot thick brick wall and neither side is going to come out ahead. Obviously that analogy is referring to the Free Agent class bred from the 2009' Angels and the Angels Organization.

It's well documented that the Angels will have several key positions most likely leaving the organization this off-season, and to say that is fair is an understatement. We've had, probably the best years out of 4 of the impending Free Agents, including John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and Darren Oliver. Each of these players has contributed whole-heartedly to the club and it's fair to say they want what they want, be it money or championships.  With a total of (I believe) 6 Free Agents on the active roster, the organization does have a lot of holes to fill.

* Bobby Abreu

* Vladimir Guerrero

* Chone Figgins

* John Lackey

* Darren Oliver

* Robb Quinlan

We know their stats, we know their production, we know just about everything that we need to know to gauge how valuable they are to the Angels. I won't dwell into the stats all that much, I'm not a stat-head myself which makes me probably the least likely of person you'd want discussing those type of arguments. The question here is, what do we do to replace the total production. I'll start with Abreu and work my way down, guesstimating, hypothesizing and using voodoo to predict my outcome.

Abreu: It's hard to mask his type of production, patience and even if it's not a stat, influence on other players. This is a player who is a typical #2 style hitter, that can draw a walk, hit a bomb and run the base paths with ease. His liability is his defense, which would make him much more likely to extend his career in the American League. Unfortunately I don't see Abreu returning to the Angels as he has not accepted the Angels initial offer, and I can't see the Angels extending the offer for an aging defenseless outfielder.

Guerroro: This is another individual who's feats are widely known all throughout baseball and who's untraditional skill set makes him a viable threat to anyone who's risky enough to keep his injured body in the dugout. With the lack of available sluggers on the Free Agent market or trading block, I can absolutely see the Angels trying to resign him to a 2 year deal with an club option for a third. Or possibly a 1 year deal with a mutual option followed by a club option. This doesn't have to do with only the fact that he is still a slugger, but also that he draws audiences and is as Rev said, a sure-fire HOFer.

Figgins: Figgins had a career year, several times. Whether it be SB's, AVG or OBP, he's a bit of a chameleon in the statistical standpoint. In my opinion, the man has slowed down, forgotten how to hit ground balls and lacks the initial burst of a true base stealer. I'm no scout, or stat-head (as mentioned previously) this is all just based on observation over this last season. I cannot see the Angels trying to resign Figgins, it doesn't make sense on any level for the organizations future.

Lackey: Oh Lackey, Lackey, Lackey, sentimentally this is a hard thing for me to see. I was hoping the Angels were going to be able to lock him up to an extended contract last year, alas it never happened. This is the one Free Agent that if the Angels are not able to re-sign, will hurt the most in my opinion. Never dominating, always resourceful Lackey, is an Ace in his own right. Sure he doesn't have a FIP of 1.1, or a 97MPH FB and a 8" Breaking Splitter like some Bostonians call the "Ace of All Aces". What he does have his determination, heart and the ability to spot pitches when he's on that makes him a bit of a Maddux style pitcher. I forsee the Angels attempting whole-heartedly to resign Lackey to a 5/75 up to a 6/85 type of deal.

Oliver: Oliver is awesome, plain and simple, the man of a million jobs and he knows how to do each of them. Most likely he'll be heading to retirement, which bums me a bit, I always liked him. As a person he was really easy to talk to and converse with even at the Park. If he does not retire, the Angels will offer him arbitration and he will accept being the clever man that he is (ala 08' Off Season).

Quinlan: Q, I have nothing to say here. There was this one year where he hit lefties really well. Was that like 3 or 4 years ago? He seemed like a hardworking player, but never grew into a sustainable every-day player. He's not an A or B type free agent and I can't see the Angels re-signing him with other available youngsters in the minors or a deeper class of backup players in the Free Agent Pool.

My final thoughts on this matter in particular is if the Angels are unable to resign either Abreu or Lackey then they will have to explore both Trades and Free Agents. I could see them trying to explore Holliday depending on the shake of the economy for top-tier Free Agents. They could, and most likely will give SD a call to see how Adrian's doing (with the obvious hang-up right when Gonzalez's name is mentioned). Jorge Cantu could be moved to RF if they attempted to talk with the Marlins. There are many names available, too bad not all of them are the impact players the Angels are looking for.

As for Lackey, if they can't resign him then that's an issue and I personally do not feel like Sean O'Sullivan has the ability to be a 5th Starter for an entire Season. Possibly a look at Javier Vasquez, or Jeremy Bonderman? Who knows, but it will be an entertaining off-season none the less.