(My Sportsbook) - Two of the early favorites in the American League West Division will get together tonight on Opening Day, as the Oakland Athletics visit the LA Angels of Anaheim for the first of four straight games at Angel Stadium.

The revamped Athletics will have some fresh faces in the clubhouse this season after trading for All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday from Colorado, as well as signing veteran first baseman Jason Giambi and infielders Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera. Holliday will help Oakland's offense immediately and hit .321 last season -- his fourth straight .300 campaign -- although his power numbers dipped, as he hit 25 home runs with 88 RBI.

Holliday was runner-up to Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins for the NL MVP Award in 2007, when he set career highs by hitting .340 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI.

Giambi, meanwhile, is back in the city where he began his career and won the 2000 AL MVP award. He played the first seven years of his career in Oakland, taking home league MVP honors for the A's when he hit .333 with 43 home runs and 137 runs batted in -- both career highs -- in 2000.

However, two years after signing with the New York Yankees, Giambi found himself embroiled in the BALCO steroid scandal in 2003, as he admitted to using several different steroids during the offseasons from 2001 to 2003 and injecting himself with human growth hormone during the 2003 season. The five- time All-Star hit .247 with 19 doubles, 32 home runs and 96 RBI in 145 games with the Yankees this past season.

Garciaparra played just 55 games last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, mostly at shortstop, hitting .264 with eight homers and 28 runs batted in. The six-time All-Star has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons, but has hit .314 with 226 homers and 920 RBI in his career. Cabrera will see more time at shortstop this season, as the 12-year veteran will take over for Bobby Crosby. Cabrera hit .281 with eight home runs and 57 runs batted in over 161 games with the Chicago White Sox last season.

A's manager Bob Geren will enter his third season as skipper and inked an extension through the 2010 season with a club option for 2011 at the end of March. Geren has guided Oakland to a pair of third-place finishes in the AL West the past two years, compiling a combined record of 151-172. The Athletics have made the playoffs just once (2006) since the 2004 campaign.

With starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer sidelined after undergoing right elbow surgery, the A's will hand the ball to Dallas Braden on Monday. Braden will begin his third season with Oakland and went 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 19 games, 10 of which were starts, in 2008. The lefty agreed to terms on a one- year deal in February and is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in six career games (2 starts) against the Angels.

Anaheim has fallen short of a World Series title since being the favorites in each of the past few seasons. Manager Mike Scioscia has been able to guide his club to the division title in four of the last five years, as well as five postseason appearances since winning the World Series in 2002.

The Angels, who have won 90 or more games five times since hoisting up their championship banner, are coming off a 100-62 campaign. They won the AL West with so many games still to be played last year, leading to speculation the team may have become too complacent by the time the playoffs rolled around. Anaheim has bowed out in the ALDS in back-to-back seasons and is also battling with a beleaguered starting rotation.

Anaheim already placed starting pitchers Ervin Santana (elbow), John Lackey (elbow), Jered Weaver (shoulder) and Kelvim Escobar (shoulder) on the disabled list, and will send out Joe Saunders for Monday's Opening Day extravaganza. Saunders enjoyed a career season last year, going 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA in 31 starts while opening the year 6-0 in his initial seven trips to the mound.

The left-handed Saunders is 5-2 with a 4.44 earned run average through nine career starts against the A's.

The Angels went 10-9 against Oakland last season, but the Athletics have won three of the last four matchups in the series.