One year ago at this time, the Angels' southpaw was a blend of eagerness and anxiety. He was raring to go, but, on the other hand, he didn't know how long he'd hold onto the job he wanted so desperately as one of manager Mike Scioscia's five starters.

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He held onto his job, all right. An appearance in Yankee Stadium for the American League in the All-Star Game was just one of his rewards for a job extremely well done.

"It was one of the best years of my life in every way," Saunders said, reflecting on the magic of 2008 before embarking on a new journey that begins with an Opening Day assignment against the Athletics at Angel Stadium.

Saunders finished 17-7 last season with a 3.41 ERA in 31 starts, delivering 198 innings. He's 32-15 in his career, a .681 winning percentage.

He was 5-0 in April and 6-0 before he finally lost a game, giving up one earned run to the eventual American League champion Rays. He learned he'd made the AL All-Star team six days before his wife, Shanel, gave birth to their first child, Matea.

"We had a beautiful baby, I made the All-Star team, I pitched in the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, I threw up a zero," Saunders said, reeling off the succession of blessings. "What a time that was. We even got a pep talk from [Hall of Famer] George Brett before the game, about winning for American League pride.

"The big thing about last year is that I learned a lot about what it takes to get through a full season. Knowing what I need to do to take care of that is kind of reassuring.

"The full season takes a toll. You've got to give 100 percent every time out. Whether you've got your good stuff or your bad stuff, you have to figure out a way to keep your team in the game, give you a chance to win."

Ervin Santana and Saunders had an internal competition going on early last season, thinking one would be cast aside when Kelvim Escobar and John Lackey returned to claim their rotation spots. That never happened in Escobar's case, and Santana joined Saunders in New York for the All-Star festivities.

Now it's Santana sidelined with an elbow ailment, hoping to get back a month or so into the season along with Escobar -- whose recovery from shoulder surgery has been the story of the spring -- and Lackey, trying to rebound from a strained right elbow.

This makes Saunders the kingpin for now, alongside Jered Weaver, with Dustin Moseley, Nick Adenhart and Shane Loux trying to draw inspiration from what Saunders achieved with his opportunity last season.

There were a couple of bumps along the way for Saunders -- one brief rough patch and the passage of a kidney stone that cost him 10 pounds and a start.

"I thought I was throwing well in August but I got roughed up a couple times," Saunders said. "I got through that, and the kidney stone. That was pretty painful. But I picked it up after that, and all in all it was a great year."

There was some early shoulder tenderness this spring that caused some concern, but Saunders put that aside and was throwing effectively when he came down with food poisoning last weekend.

"I'm good now," he said. "Everything's in working order, and that's all you can ask for at this point in the season."

Mike Napoli, who caught Saunders in the Minor Leagues and has seen him emerge from part-timer to star, feels the Virginian always has had the attitude and stuff to succeed.

"Joe's a confident guy," Napoli said. "He can put the ball where he wants it and keep guys off balance. He's smart and tough, and he's got that swag about him.

"We're a little short-handed in the rotation right now, but Joe and Jered are two guys with experience. We'll be all right."

Pitching matchup
LAA: LHP Joe Saunders (17-7, 3.41 ERA in 2008)
Saunders overcame some early-spring shoulder issues and a bout with food poisoning to fine-tune for his first Opening Day assignment. He was 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in three Cactus League starts, getting most of his late work done in camp games, where he reached as high as 92 in his pitch count. His two-seam fastball, curveball and changeup are his primary assets, but he can also bring the four-seamer up in the zone when the occasion calls for it. Napoli refers to Saunders' "power changeup" as an out pitch, one the lefty can go to when he needs a strikeout as well as the four-seamer. Saunders' confidence level, always high, skyrocketed last season when he advanced from fifth starter coming into the season to the All-Star Game. He worked a scoreless inning for the American League at Yankee Stadium. A bout with a kidney stone and several rocky outings in August cost him a shot at 20 wins. He was 5-2 after the break with a 3.94 ERA after taking a 12-5 record and 3.07 ERA to the All-Star Game. Saunders had a brilliant April in 2008, going 5-0 in six starts with a 2.08 ERA. He was 3-1 against the Athletics with a 3.18 ERA in four outings. He's 5-2 with a 4.44 career ERA against the A's. One thing Saunders would like to do is improve on his home performance this season. He was 7-4 with a 4.27 ERA at Angel Stadium compared to 10-3 with a 2.55 ERA on the road. This suggests that his focus is better in unfriendly conditions, the sign of a competitive athlete.

OAK: LHP Dallas Braden (5-4, 4.14 ERA in 2008)
Braden, 25, has bounced back and forth between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento over the past two seasons, getting called up to the A's nine different times. A 24th-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, he was the Organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and made his big league debut two years later. He won his first career start with Oakland but lost his next eight decisions and finished with a 6.72 ERA in 20 games -- the third-highest ERA in club history for a pitcher with more than 70 innings. In 2008 he was called up four times, making nine relief appearances before finishing the year with 10 consecutive starts. Shut down for the season on Sept. 11 with a strained groin, Braden posted a 3.97 ERA as a starter for the year and entered Spring Training as the team's projected No. 4 starter. After a string of strong outings early in Cactus League play and Duchscherer's injury, however, Braden was rewarded for following the coaching staff's orders to pound the strike zone and pitch to contact. Poised to make his first Opening Day start, Braden has a 2.25 career ERA against the Angels and went 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in five appearances against them last season.

Tidbits
The Angels claimed the 2008 season series from the Athletics, 10-9, but the teams split 10 games in Anaheim. ... The Angels lost their season opener last season in Minnesota, 3-2, but came back to win the next three games of the series. ... The Athletics are coming off their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1993-98 when they had six straight losing campaigns . . . Vladimir Guerrero batted only .188 against the A's last season in 48 at-bats but is a career .288 hitter against Oakland with 19 homers in 281 at-bats. ... Chone Figgins is a .300 career hitter against the A's in 310 at-bats. ... Torii Hunter loves Angel Stadium. He batted .298 at home last year compared to .260 on the road. ... Jason Giambi, back with the A's, is a .273 lifetime hitter against the Angels with 28 homers and 76 RBIs in 429 at-bats. A Southern California native from West Covina, Giambi is a .252 lifetime hitter in Angel Stadium.

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Up next
• Tuesday: Angels (RHP Dustin Moseley, 2-4, 6.79 in 2008) vs. Athletics (TBD), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Wednesday: Angels (RHP Shane Loux, 0-0, 2.81) vs. Athletics (TBD), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Angels (RHP Jered Weaver, 11-10, 4.33) vs. Athletics (TBD), 7:05 p.m. PT