Los Angeles State Of Mind.

Many baseball fans tend to scream endlessly about a perceived "East Coast bias" amongst baseball analysts. They claim that experts and insiders tend to extol the virtues of teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies while ignoring most franchises west of the Mississippi River. Considering that the last 3 World Series winners and losers were all from MLB's Central or West divisions, it's admittedly getting harder and harder to ignore these teams, but none have stood out more over the last calendar year than the two teams in Los Angeles. Both the Angels and the Dodgers have made waves for various signings and acquisitions, but when each one signs the best available free agent in their respective fields, it signals that it's time to take baseball seriously in California once more.

It's not every day that a franchise signs a Cy Young winner...to be their #2 starter.

First, the Dodgers have been hemorrhaging money since the team was sold by Frank McCourt to Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten, but there have yet to be many negative consequences. They started off by trading for several All-Stars before the deadline this past season, getting Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Brandon League and others fitted for Dodger blue before the end of August. Then, they resigned League and won the negotiating rights to Korean hurler Hyun-Jin Ryu, who they also signed to a contract. But undoubtedly the biggest deal of all came just a few days ago, when Zack Greinke, the best starter in this year's market, agreed to a 6-year, $147 million contract that will give him the highest annual salary for a pitcher in baseball history ($24.5 million per year, as opposed to the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia's $24.4 million). With the signing of Greinke, the Dodgers immediately piece together a rotation that will certainly strike fear into the hearts of everyone around the league, as Zack will be the number 2 guy behind fellow Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. When your top two guys are two of the scariest, most dominant pitchers in the game, having one of Korea's top throwers slotted in at number 3 is really just icing on the cake. Throw in a lineup that still contains Ramirez, Gonzalez, Crawford, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and the Dodgers have the capacity to beat opponents handily with their stellar pitching and equally intimidating offense.

This might be a difficult image for Rangers fans to accept.

Second, but most certainly not last, the Angels have taught us one very important lesson that we must take to heart and keep in mind in future offseasons: whenever you don't hear or see the Angels as a bidder for one of the top free agents, it means they've already signed him to a massive contract that will shock the baseball world. They've now done it three times in the past year, signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson to multi-million dollar pacts last December, and putting a nice little bow on Josh Hamilton to put under the proverbial Christmas tree this year. The thing that all three had in common was that next to nobody expected them to spend the next 5-10 years in Anaheim, but the Angels swooped in on every single one of them and made it happen. Hamilton joins a lineup that contains Pujols and reigning Rookie of the Year Mike Trout, and the fans in Los Angeles are already extremely optimistic that Josh will help them achieve what everyone thought was rightfully theirs this time 12 months ago: the pennant in 2013, and quite possibly a World Series win to go along with that. The 3-4 punch of Pujols and Hamilton (it remains to be seen, but it's likely that Sir Albert will hit 3rd while Hambone hits cleanup) immediately rivals Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder of the Tigers in the "Which AL Team Has The Scariest Heart Of The Lineup?" contest, but seeing as both are on the wrong side of 30 and, in Hamilton's case, have somewhat troubling pasts with injuries, there's no guarantee either will replicate their previous MVP-caliber production. Still, with the greatest player of the last decade batting behind a rookie sensation and in front of their newly-minted coworker, it's gotta give Angels fans a thrill to think about the next 3 years...if not the 2-7 after that.

So both teams in L.A. have, on paper, become the two best teams in baseball, almost overnight. But does that guarantee a championship for either team in 2013 and beyond, much less a playoff appearance period?

Sure, the Dodgers seem to have more money than the World Bank (they'll open 2013 with a $230 million payroll, the highest in baseball history and the first National League team ever to have a payroll over $200 million), and the Angels have two of the best, purest hitters of the past 15 years. But both teams missed the playoffs last year, and had to watch their crosstown rival Giants win their second title in three years behind a supporting cast of Marco Scutaro, Angel Pagan and Barry Zito. The Angels in particular should understand that being the best team in December rarely translates into hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy the following October, as they remained out of playoff contention most of the 2012 season. Both teams should take a page from the Yankees, who are beginning to pinch pennies like it's going out of style (and in anticipation of getting their payroll under $189 million before 2014 to avoid the luxury tax). In some ways, though, these massive contracts and marquee signings are imperative to the long-term success of these two teams, as the Dodgers have very little in the way of promising youngsters in the minor leagues, and the Angels have even less. Just like the Phillies in the past 5 years and the Rangers of the past 3, the window may be closing rapidly on Los Angeles' chance to dominate either league, if it hasn't already started shrinking. Just because it's becoming more and more fashionable for players to sign with teams in the West (even a few outside of California), it's not immediately indicative of an internal power shift. While the Angels may enjoy a little more success, having stolen away a huge threat from the Rangers, they still must contend with a surprising Athletics team (lest we forget, they're the reigning AL West champs), a Mariners team with nothing to lose (and the best pitcher in the division in Felix Hernandez), and the crew in Texas that's still hungry for a World Series title after missing out 2 of the last 3 years. The Dodgers have even more to worry about: the Rockies may be in for a rough couple of seasons, but the Diamondbacks are sticking with Justin Upton and signed Brandon McCarthy to help shore up the rotation, the Padres are starting to show signs of life with Chase Headley leading the way, and the Giants are powered in part by a regular season MVP in Buster Posey (who will only be 26 on Opening Day 2013) and a World Series MVP in Pablo Sandoval. Even gambling men like Magic Johnson and Arte Moreno would be advised that the team that spends the most money in the offseason does not automatically cruise through the season to a title. Just ask the 2011 Boston Red Sox, if and when they come out of hiding.

If either of Los Angeles' teams don't win the World Series in the next half-decade, things could turn ugly out in the Golden State. But one thing's for sure: while the East Coast bias may or may not actually exist, it's a beautiful thing to turn to the West and see a chance at great baseball.