i think i’d go up to $21MM/yr, then drop.
we can get Dunn, Peavy and probably somebody else on the cheap and still improve the team.

You can’t compare a contract that buys out arbitration years with a free agent contract. Apples and oranges. If anything M Cab’s contract justifies what Tex is getting.

Are these the Win Shares that take defense into account?

I think people know where I stand on this issue. If Tex was the one player that could put us over the top and give us a World Series ring or if we could afford to have a 200 million dollar payroll, I would be fine with it since we could get more players in an attempt to buy a championship. Unfortunately we don’t have the resources to do that and IMO Tex isn’t enough since we still need at least another power bat in the middle of the order with high OBP and another high OBP guy at the top of the order that you can pencil in for a BA of at least .290 every year, with 30 or more stolen bases, 100+ runs, and can at least hit some triples and doubles instead of slap singles around like Figgy, Aybar, and Reggie. We also could use another arm in the bullpen that can get K’s even if if is not in a closer role.

Since the Angels don’t have the offense to overcome the power and patience of Boston, in addition to Tex they need to acquire either Adam Dunn or Manny Ramirez and somehow have to find a leadoff hitter that can wear out the pitcher, work the count, and set the table for the middle of the lineup in order to even put a scare in the Red Sox. For pitching, Juan Cruz would be great for the bullpen since you know that the Red Sox are going to work the count up to 100 pitches by the 5th or 6th inning in any playoff game which makes a strong bullpen paramount. I also wouldn’t mind taking the gamble and acquiring Ben Sheets since he is the one pitcher left on the market that has shown that he can get a bunch of K’s and dominate. I would take John Lackey, Santana, and a healthy Sheets any day in a battle with Lester, Beckett, and Dick K.

I know the cost to get Tex, Manny or Dunn, a leadoff catalyst ,and Cruz would put us right up there with the Yanks, but I feel that is what is needed at the very least to go deep in the American League playoffs since we don’t have the young, cheap nucleus that Tampa Bay has. Other than Mike Napoli, it seems that our farm system hasn’t been able to develop any power hitters or just plain impact hitters that can stay healthy and play at the Major League level since Glaus first came up. Though Wood, Morales, and HK have the potential, there are still too many question marks with those 3 to definitively say that you can build a WS caliber team around them even with Tex in the fold.

Even with the acquisitions I mentioned above, I wouldn’t feel 100% confident unless we also got another horse like Sheets or Peavy to go up against Boston. Against a team with the swagger of the Red Sox in the playoffs (especially against the Angels), you need a lineup full of hitters that intimidates and works pitchers and a starting 3 that can strikeout and dominate power hitters which the Red Sox have a plenty of.

So even with Tex, we still need a lot of players to put a scare in the Red Sox since we will eventually have to go through Boston if we want to reach the World Series again. Unless Moreno secretly has the money to spend like the Yankees, the salary of Tex will prohibit the Angels from getting all the pieces they need to become a dominant force in the playoffs.