The only thing I’d add is that a lot of people (Buster Olney, etc.) are saying this bat only helps us in the post-season, because we would have won the west anyway. TheOptimist made a valid point earlier that this isn’t really true. Tex makes it more likely that we continue winning at our current rate, which will assist us in locking down home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Especially given the state of the AL as road-teams this season, that could be a huge boost to our post-season chances by itself.

As you say of course, there are no guarantees. But I do think it’s important not to over-look.

But the compelling point to this event is simple: Arte is the kind of owner willing to go ALL IN when circumstances dictate, and Arte is the only person for whom this is NOT a game.

It was a great trade for the angels even if teix doesn’t resign with the angels. personally i dont mind if he doesn’t. and this is coming from a kotch fan.

Couple of points here:
1) the draft picks are key. if he doesn’t resign we get more help for a farm system that is getting thin
2) we need to bat teix 3rd. he is going to thrive there. vladimir is protecting teix not the other way around. vlad doesn’t need protection. in addition, teix’s presence will make all the angels hitters better. mark my words
3) trust our management and FO. tony and arte deserve a lot of credit. i’m pretty confident in this team for the next 10 years or so.

I think your sentiments are well represented, if not difficult to express.

So what are our thoughts on Morales in Left next year should we be able to sign Tex? How serious was the organization in trying him out in said position?

I sure wish Kotch ALOT of success with the Braves.

That said I hope TEX really kicks ass because if Kotch out does him It will sort of suck. BUT the reason we got TEX was to help us in the PLAYOFFS so that is when ALL EYES will be on him. I sure hope the Angels win it all this year and Kendry Morales turns out to be a stud in the bigs with 40HR power.

Rev, you touched on this, but I think it shouldn’t be underestimated what the impact will be upon opposing pitchers.

As cupie and I discussed tonight, having Izturis in the #3 spot was a bold move—but decently reasoned (the Pharaoh is batting like .400 with RISP). But having Teix in that spot dramatically changes the makeup of the lineup.

Let’s say the first two batters reach base. As a pitcher, you might think Mice Tits has a decent RISP avg or something, and maybe he might dink a double down the line, but that’s about the top end of the threat. If you’re facing Teixeira, now you have a 3-run HR threat on your hands. Oh, and you have Vlad batting next. And then Hunter. And then my man GA (who even though isn’t as big of a threat as he used to be, still has the capacity to do some damage, as he’s shown lately).

Pitchers will definitely look at this lineup differently from here on out.

I can’t remember which pundit made the observation on the radio tonight (I think it was Steve Bisheff), but he made a great observation: after this season, Frankie might be gone, GA might be gone, Vlad may be in decline, others may be gone, and Teix might be the Angels’ franchise player if they can re-sign him.

is he gonna start tomorrow? or do we have to wait til friday, this is like a present that i can’t open yet.

I will miss Casey, because he is the only player that my 5 year old son knew by name, and knew what position he played. I tried to tell him that Casey Kotchman was no longer the first baseman for the ANgels, and he asked me why, and I found it a little difficult to try and explain it to him.

That being said, I am glad that we were able to Teixeira to add to this lineup. I know a lot of people here have talked about Kotchman being a much better glove than Teixeira, but he is not that much of a downgrade from Kotchman. Teixeira is a 2 time gold glove winner, and while i understand that the awarding of gold gloves is a somewhat flawed process, the people that win them, for the most part, are good fielders.

The positive effect this trade will have on our offense and lineup far outweighs any minimal reduction on the defensive side.

Welcome to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Mark, let us hope that you help us win the World Series.

to this deal. I was/am a fan of Kotchman too but I like this trade even if Mark doesn’t resign. Morales is the reason and also Trumbo could be following close behind.

I know most of you will take this as good news but Steve Phillips said he would not have done this deal. Listening to Phillips on Mike and Mike this morning was so frustrating because obviously he doesn’t know about Morales and to a lesser extent Trumbo. He is the same guy that said as GM he felt compelled to make a deal just to bolster the team morale. But then again this is coming from a guy who traded for Mo Vaughn (maybe thats why he doesn’t like us) and gave Scott Kazmir to the Rays.

is that teixeira is a monster 2nd half player. He always heats up in summer, and check out his numbers after he got traded last year. He spent all but 2 half seasons in the AL, so the pitching isnt going to be baffling him too much

I was in the Yankee Club restaurant yesterday evening and a friend calls me to tell me that he was very disappointed in me…I had not called him to let him know that we had traded Kotch for Tex…I had travelled to NYC fully expecting the Angels to stand pat! I was shocked!

Rev, your analysis makes me feel better about this trade. I cannot imagine that there is a defensive 1b in Kotch’s class! I hope I am proven wrong because Kotch seemed to save 1-2 errors per game with his glove! Especially from Figgins!

The AWESOME NEWS is that I plan to be at Fenway for the unveiling of Tex as an Angel! Wow! Timing!

I have to say that it sure is cool to have everyone acknowledging the Angels position in the league right now! Let’s not peak too soon! :)

Welcome aboard Tex! See you this evening!

I agree that Morales was key to this trade. I don’t think the Angels will resign Tex and be able to extend Vlad, Lackey or make a run at Frankie. Morales could be an offensive upgrade over Kotch though his defense is not. Trading Kotch was like trading your favorite son, there must have been much, much discussion and knowing the Angels there is a larger plan in place.
Let’s enjoy Tex, win the World Series and go from there. In the short run this makes us a better team, the long run is always a bit of a crap shoot.

just looking at Teixeira’s page on Baseball-Reference and I happend to notice that he was drafted out of high school by the Red Sox in the 9th round, and the guy who sponsors his page, is a lawyer in CT who was hoping that he would be playing in Fenway in 2008. Little did he know that his dream would come true, but that he would be playing for the visiting team.

When is lackey a free agent??

Here is my take after a day to let this settle…

My first reaction to the deal was frustration because the net gain in runs this year – or in a short series – is minimal. The team has a 12 game lead – they are going to make the playoffs. My immediate thoughts went to the fact that resigning Teixeira will be near impossible and then, “who starts at 1st base in 2009”. Well, Kendry Morales is the answer to that question, like it or not. He is similar to Kotchman v. 2008. So there isn’t a big drop offensively. Defensively, that is another story. But, this deal does help in 2008 – and if Teixeira blows up in the post-season he could be a HUGE difference. We’ll see how this plays out in October/November. Because Kendry is able to emulate Kotchman in 2009 – this deal is really quite good. It is a win/win for the Halos. They get Teix now and aren’t REQUIRED to resign him because they have an in-house replacement that is similar in production to the guy they traded for Teixeira.

What I appreciated about Kotchman was his eye and ability to draw a walk. I knew he had doubles power, but figured it would increase as he aged, and coupled with his good eye, he could hit 22-28 HR’s a year. Well, Kotchman has regressed this year – I wrote a big post on this (specifically his BB rate) last week on Halos Heaven.

As a few of my comrades from HH and other Angel blogs rightly pointed out in the BBTF thread that Kotch – when he is patient – has the ability to show good power. This year he is – for whatever reason – swinging earlier in the count and performing worse than last year. But, 2007 was a good year for a 24 year-old, especially when I considered that he would be progressing for a couple of years. If he is heading to an organization that respects plate discipline, maybe his BB rate can return to pre-2008 levels. If so, his development will continue upward. His BB rate this year is 4.7% of PA’s. It was 10%+ last year. A few of us speculated that Mickey Hatcher might have finally caught up with him – along with GA. Hopefully a change of scenery and coaching will bring back that important part of Kotchman’s game.

Anyway, here’s to hoping that he rediscovers his ability to draw ball four in ATL and help the Braves for years to come. He is a class act and a stunning defensive first baseman.

Ol’ Tex will help us come October. Even his presence in the line up will benefit the Angels.
If he signs, which I suspect he will, then that would make this trade sooo awesome.

Granted I love Kotch, but if we wanna win, we need to make moves.

I look forward to seeing Tex in the lineup.