THE DODGERS and Angels are predicted to have very different fates.

Predicting or handicapping a baseball season is really more like rolling dice in which one falls off the table and rolls under the refrigerator.

That is, your guess is as good as mine. No two seasons are alike, and yesterday’s stars can be starting their path to the Injured Reserve; the new talent intimidated by 100-mile an hour fast balls may shake off the willies and start pounding line drives into the gap.

In other words, nobody knows. Past is not always prologue.

Having said that…. The “experts” don’t seem to see it that way.

The Sportsnaut website predicts that the Angels will have another season of sighing, winning just 69 games and finishing last in the AL West. Their summation: “One of the worst teams in Major League Baseball.”

On the other glove, the Dodgers are crowned as another NL West champ with a 100-62 mark. May not be much of a pennant race; the Arizona Diamondbacks are calculated to win 86 games, a mere 14 games back.

USA Today predicts a third consecutive last place finish for the Angels with a 72-90 record and notes that the Halos are projected to have nine players 33 to 39 years old on the roster on opening day.

In the NL West the Dodgers should win a mere 98 games, 13 games ahead of the San Diego Padres. Oh, there’s the additional bonus of having a) the greatest player in baseball history and b) the most world-famous player in baseball history all in one.

Columnist Will Leitch for MLB.Com does nothing to dispel the idea that 2026 will look a lot like 2025. He ranks the Dodgers as the top team in Major League Baseball (and consequently in the NL and NL West).

And here’s comforting news. He doesn’t rank the Angels as 30th of 30 MLB teams. Just 29th. On the bright side, Mike Trout, one of the best players in the sport, will be around for at least one more season. See him before he’s gone.

No surprises here …
Spring training MLB records as of Monday … Dodgers are 11-6 and second in the Cactus League …. Angels are 8-11and 12th in the 15-team Cactus League …