One of my favorite posts to write each year is my official predictions for the season (as opposed to my unofficial predictions, which don't exist). I love the post despite the fact that I am generally quite horrible at predicting things. Don't believe me? Well, if the court allows, allow me to enter into evidence the following predictions I made last season that went horribly awry:

--Claiming C.J. Wilson would finish above both Weaver and Haren in Cy Young voting. Well, I got it half right, or at least I think I did because Wilson didn't even get a down ballot vote.

--Saying the Angels would let Aybar go via free agency. This is one I was happy to be wrong about.

--There was no massive Angels-Rangers brawl to the chagrin of many who had hoped to see Ian Kinsler get punched in the face.

--I actually though Jordan Walden was going to be fine and go 38-for-42 on save chances. I mean, I don't even know how to defend that. I really have to lay off the bath salts.

--Jeff Mathis would have a higher batting average than Iannetta. In my defense, I was trolling myself.

--Peter Bourjos would make the All-Star team. This is starting to get embarrassing now

--Mark Trumbo would prove to be an adequate third baseman and start 75 games at that position. YIKES! I feel like I need to hand in my Angel blogger badge and gun now.

This is the part where I would then list the predictions I got right, if only there were any that I definitely nailed. There were basically two that I kind of sort of was correct about, but not correct enough to brag about.

Despite that, I'm going to subject myself, and thus you, to this charade once more. So, without further adieu, here are The Monkey's predictions for the Angels and the 2013 season:

The April 2nd, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Trout got chills on Opening Day, comparing the worst case Angels to the best case Astros and much more...

The Story: Mike Trout got chills for his first Opening Day.

The Monkey Says: I completely forgot that he hadn't done the Opening Day thing before. Maybe that explains why he struck out with the game on the line in extras. Yeah, that's it.

The Story: Comparing the worst case scenario Angels to the best case scenario Astros.

The Monkey Says: I realize this was supposed to be just for fun, but now I am terrified that the Angels are going post a team OBP of .284. I think I might be taking baseball too seriously.

Thank goodness the Angels don't play tomorrow because I already need a day off after the first game of the season.

How does that happen? How is it the very first game of the year felt so stressful?

Was it the fact that both the Reds and Angels entered the game with World Series aspirations? Yeah, that was probably part of it. Both managers were making pitching changes and relying on smallball tactics (for better or worse) like every run was the utmost importance.

But it wasn't that the two teams were somehow geared up to specifically so much as anxious to prove that they were as good as they think they are. Make no mistake, this was not a fun game. There was not a lot of action, nor was there a lot of joy on the faces of the players. Trout was out to prove he is for real. Pujols was out to prove he won't have an April slump again. Hamilton was out to prove the Angels made a wise investment. Weaver was out to show that he still has ace-level talent.

Mix in some great pitching all around, a few extra innings and a home plate umpire with an inconsistent strike zone and you have the perfect recipe for a game played in April that felt like it should have been played in October. Heck, even the weather cooperated with some chilly temperatures to complete the illusion.

Angels 3, Reds 1

There are several different angles to which one could take when attempting to evaluate the extension bonanza that took place around professional sports prior to the weekend. One might wonder if a player is worth the sort of money that the likes of Justin Verlander was handed. One might wonder when their team might have a player of that caliber and looks forward to the day that their team could pay that player an obscene amount of money.

But especially, one has the opportunity to look at that deal and let out a bit of a chuckle. For their team already has a player of that caliber. Only it didn't cost them over $200 million to keep that player around. That's what the Los Angeles Angels have in Jered Weaver, whose contract suddenly looks like a terrific deal with the money handed to Verlander, and the rumored $200 million+ that Clayton Kershaw could see in the very near future.

Back in August of 2011, the Angels signed Weaver to a five-year extension, worth $85 million. That deal keeps him in Anaheim through 2016, and actually makes him one of the better bargains in the league, considering that he's a top tier hurler.

Weaver is a true ace. He's a perennial Cy Young contender. He's been an All Star the past three seasons, including starting the Midsummer Classic in 2011, just over a month before he went on to sign that extension. His numbers aren't actually too far off from the likes of Verlander or Kershaw. The comparison between Weaver and those two makes his contract look simply brilliant.

Opening Day is upon us, which means I can wrap up this little experiment I have been conducting. I've run this poll twice before and now I am running it again to gauge where Angels fans are regarding expectations for the Halos in 2013.

So, please, vote now.  Once all the results are in, I will unveil the results of this study at the end of the week.

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Opening Day is here and with them comes the much anticipated return of our weekly Angels Player Power Rankings. Future rankings will focus mostly on recent play, but to start the year, we base them off of season expectations (Yay, Trout!) and spring performance (Sorry, everyone in the bullpen.)...

RANK	PLAYER	COMMENTS
1		Mike Trout - Fat? Fit? It doesn't matter, he's still the best player on the planet. Go ahead and inscribe his name on the 2013 AL MVP award now and feel free to throw in a 15-year contract extension while you're at it.
2		Jered Weaver - I don't know about you, but I'm pretty anxious to see him in a real ballpark with a real radar gun telling us whether or not it is time to freak out about the Angels' ace.
3		Albert Pujols - Well, this April can't possibly be any worse than last April. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
4		Josh Hamilton - The over/under on when I finally fully suppress my reflex to boo every time I see Hamilton is set at May 15th. But the line could move if demolishes the Rangers in his first series back in Arlington in the second series of the year. Place your bets now!
5		Erick Aybar - Aybar the Two-Hole Hitter Experiement, take three. Aaaaaaand... action! (Fast forward to mid-May: Cut! Cut! Cut! This is all wrong! Who's idea was this? Someone call central casting and get me a real two-hole hitter now!!!)
6		C.J. Wilson - Am I the only one that thinks C.J. is going to have a really big year? I am? Oh. Well, shit.
7		Mark Trumbo - I know better than to worry about Spring Training numbers, but how does Trumbo go 77 plate appearances without a single homer?
8		Howie Kendrick - The best part about Howie quitting Twitter is now we can all say mean things about him after he grounds into a double play without worrying about hurting his feelings. Oh wait, we never did that. I forgot how the internet worked there for a minute, sorry.
9		Ernesto Frieri - Reason #9,784 to be worried about the Angels bullpen this year: Ernasty has looked a lot more like ErnestNOOOO!!!!!! in Spring Training.
10		Jason Vargas - The bad news is that nobody knows how Vargas will perform outside of Safeco. The good news is that in a worst case scenario we can at least rest easy that Vargas finally won't dominate the Halos two to three times per year.
11		Peter Bourjos - The Angels have gone out of their way to rebuff trade offers for two years and giftwrap the center field job for Bourjos with absolutely no threats to his playing time this season. Now it is up to him to justify that immense amount of faith the organization put into him.
12		Joe Blanton - I'd be much more excited about Joe Blanton looking great in Spring Training if not for the fact that Joe Blanton is Joe Blanton.
13		Chris Iannetta - Say hello to this year's winner of the official "Let's all hope this guy doesn't get hurt because the back-ups are terrible" Award.
14		Scott Downs - We all agreed to pretend that there is nothing wrong with Downs and that he is going to be fine this season despite all the evidence to the contrary, right?
15		Tommy Hanson - Unlike the similarly velocity-challenged Weaver, I won't be watching the radar gun like a hawk with Hanson, but that is more out of preservation for my own sanity. Instead, I'll just reduce my expectations and hope that his fastball is down with movement, no matter how hard he throws it, and that his breaking stuff is sharp. If that doesn't work, I have a live chicken in my backyward ready to be sacrificed at the makeshift Santeria alter in my basement.
16		Kevin Jepsen - Reason #12,331 to worry about the bullpen: Jepsen has been dinged up and behind schedule this spring and that is a HUGE problem for the Angels.
17		Alberto Callaspo - Can we stop referring to him by his given name and instead strictly call him "Kaleb Cowart's Seatwarmer?" Great! I'm glad we had this talk.
18		Sean Burnett - The only reason the Angels even considered keeping Mitch Stetter as a third lefty is because Sean Burnett has looked like a dumpster fire after a spring plagued by a back injury and a slow recovery from off-season elbow surgery. Multi-year investments in relievers are always a great idea, am I right?
19		Garrett Richards - The question for Richards now is if he can thrive in relief now that he knows that he knows what his actual role is?
20		Jerome Williams - The success of the Angels in April will be inversely proportional to the number of innings that Jerome Williams logs.
21		Hank Conger - Good on Hank for hanging on and earning a roster spot. I'm really happy for him. I'm not happy enough that I won't be holding my breath the first time he tries to throw out a basestealer, but still pretty happy.
22		Andrew Romine - I knew Maicer Izturis and you, sir, are no Maicer Izturis.
23		Mark Lowe - Reason #156,999 to worry about the bullpen: Lowe was in camp for less than a week after being released by the Dodgers and still wound up winning a roster spot.
24		J.B. Shuck - I wonder if Kole Calhoun said "what the Shuck?" when he found out J.B. beat him out for the reserve outfielder slot on the roster.
25		Brendan Harris - I really can't wait for Angel fans to start suggesting Harris replace Callaspo at third strictly based on the premise that Harris had one good year back in 2007.

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With dawn about to break on a new Angels season, there is a ton of anticipation tempered with a few nagging questions. Time will answer these for me, but I don’t have that kind of patience, so call them concerns or curiosities, here’s my top 5.

5) How will they start?

Better than last year. Frankly, it’d be hard to start worse. Everyone who we expected to be fit, is. There’s far less confusion in the outfield/DH categories than there was even a month ago, and essentially this is the same on-field lineup as last year, so they should be pretty comfortable around each other. Simply put, I think last April was an anomaly. Yes, they have three tough series to kick things off, with the Reds, Rangers and A’s all looking to improve on or justify last year; but the Angels have a few points to make of their own, and I think they’ll make them before they even get to the cannon fodder that the Astros and Twins should be.  

4) Can the “Big Three” possibly live up to the hype?

Yes, if they’re allowed to. Pujols has had a year to get used to playing in the American League, and in Anaheim, and for what must be the first time in his career, he’s not the main focus of the media and fan spotlight. That honor goes to Mike Trout, closely followed by Josh Hamilton. Trout is playing his first opening day, and, watching his meteoric career to date, I see no reason to think he’ll do anything but rise to the occasion. Hamilton, for better or worse, strikes me as someone who just plays his own game regardless. I’m not saying he’s not a team player, he just is what he is, and if that means hitting dingers when a game is well out of reach, or dropping a routine fly when the entire season is on the line, Josh is gonna do what Josh is gonna do. Plus, he’s starting with back to back series against former teams – if he can ignore the pressure, he’ll feel right at home at those ballparks.