Matthews: "I can contribute every day", So Can A Woman in Philly: Wednesday Halolinks
by WiHaloFan on Oct 28, 2009 5:00 AM PDT
in Angels News
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Printrallymonkeys: A pause for praise
There are so many things to respect and admire about the Angels. Here are some that leap to mind in the afterglow of one of the franchise's greatest triumphs:
Looking At What Exactly is Angels Baseball - Beyond the Box Score
Sure, back when the Halos won the World Series in 2002 they were a great defensive team led by Darin Erstad's +20 defense in center field. They were also very good the following season. However, since 2003 they've only had one really stand out defense squad (2005) followed by some below average to average ones before the 2009 team.
Los Angeles Angels Have a Big Offseason Looming - Bleacher Report
For those of you scoring at home, the Angels could lose their No. 1 starter, their leadoff hitter, their No. 2 hitter, and their cleanup hitter. That is a lot to replace in one offseason.
The Most Delusional Man On The Planet - FanGraphs Baseball
The contract makes it impossible for the Angels to trade him, so in the end, they’ll just end up releasing him, at which point Mr. Matthews may be shocked to learn that other teams do not share his optimism about his ability to still be a top-line center fielder.
Most Angels free agents signal their desire to stay, except for Matthews -- latimes.com
Three key Angels headed for free agency -- Chone Figgins, Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero -- have publicly expressed a desire to return to Anaheim, and center fielder Torii Hunter, after talking to free-agent pitcher John Lackey, is convinced the right-hander wants to remain an Angel. Gary Matthews Jr.? Not so much.
The rich go on getting richer in the Bronx - The Globe and Mail
There will be sentiment aplenty tonight when ailing principal owner George Steinbrenner shows up for Game 1. But this Yankees organization has moved beyond what even The Boss might have envisaged, having become an economic armada that pumps cash at a rate its competitors simply cannot match.
FOX LOADS AD BASES - MLB News - FOX Sports on MSN
The Bronx Bombers are back in the World Series - and bringing ad dollars with them. Ad sales are about 5 percent ahead of where they were at the same time last year, network and ad industry sources said.
Former GM expects Padres to eventually trade Adrian Gonzalez - Sporting News
...to the Red Sox
"They're going to have a $40 million payroll for the foreseeable future," said Towers, "and there's just no way they can devote half of that to one player. It's just a matter of when they decide to trade (Gonzalez)."
Angels pack up, clear out after early exit - FOX Sports on MSN
Adenhart's locker has remained undisturbed for more than 6 1/2 months as a shrine to the 22-year-old pitcher, killed along with two friends in early April when their car was broadsided by an alleged drunken driver. "I would say the only thing I'll remember from the season is the death of a teammate and how close it brought us together as a team - and the chemistry is brought," Hunter said. "You realize how close you are with your teammates when you lose one. I think we had a little extra fire for him and we dedicated this season to him."
Adenhart's parents to decide on his locker | angelsbaseball.com: News
"I think now that the season has concluded it's something we'll sit down and talk about," said Tim Mead, Angels vice president of communication. "At some point we'll talk to the family and see how they want to handle it. When they were here in April we talked about them coming through and going through the locker after the season, so we'll talk to them and then talk internally."
Police: Woman offered sex for tix | 6abc.com - Philadelphia News
"DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX (Philadelphia) "Diehard Phillies fan--gorgeous tall buxom blonde-- in desperate need of two World Series Tickets. Price negotiable--- I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!"
ESPN fires Steve Phillips after he admits affair - Sporting News
Steve Lefkowitz, Phillips' representative, said in an e-mail that his client "is voluntarily admitting himself to an inpatient treatment facility to address his personal issues, and informed ESPN of his plans Friday."
I wonder what Phillips did with his World Series tickets?
October 28 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 28.
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I would still categorize the Steve Finley signing as the worst
It was for fewer years and less money. But he was utterly worthless and a whiner to boot. GMJ has been productive at times and kept his moaning respectful. To my knowledge, he has not been a clubhouse poison.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Steve Finley wasn't as bad as
Dave Parker or Cecil Fielder
by AngelsForever!!!! on Oct 28, 2009 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions
that was a time period...
where the Angels really went crazy with free agency. One that comes to mind: Bill Travers. I don’t think he hardly pitched after coming over from the Brewers.
Finley was probably the worst. At least Matthews has given us some production.
Mo Vaughn….still put of decent numbers.
by eastcoastAngel on Oct 28, 2009 6:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Moo Vaughn = worst Halo signing ever
$80 million obese, injury prone, loud mouthed clubhouse cancer & steroid cheat from Boston. Spent most of his time here on the DL with ankle & knee injures that were mostly related to his ballooning to over 275 pounds. The trade that sent his fat ass to the Mets Vaughn was orchestrated by none other than Steve Phillips before his intern stalking days at ESPN.
Now there's a hole in the sky
And if the ground's not cold
Everything is gonna burn
We'll all take turns, I'll get mine too...
This Rally Monkey's gone to Halos Heaven!
Phillips was stalking interns then
…only it was at the Mets. It was one of the reasons he was fired (the team was sued).
"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon
by George Kaplan on Oct 28, 2009 5:54 AM PDT up reply actions
except that the incident happened almost five years before he got fired
I think he was fired for trading for and signing Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Pedro Astacio, Mike Bordick, Bobby Bonilla, Rickey Henderson, Kenny Rogers, and Jeromy Burnitz. Trading away Bay and trying to trade Reyes.
The Mets didn’t really care who he was boinking as long as they were winning. When they tanked, he was out the door.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
I'll second that
Don’t ever pay for Boston’s trash.
The HK-47 hitting droid is the finest line drive machine ever built
by RallyMonkey5 on Oct 28, 2009 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Wrong comment on the reply
I was seconding Mo Vaughn as worst Angel FA signing.
The HK-47 hitting droid is the finest line drive machine ever built
by RallyMonkey5 on Oct 28, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions
In every interview i've seen GMJ in, he's been 100% pure class and genuinely seems like a great person.
That being said, it might be time to part ways, if they can both agree to a good solution.
What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.
Agreed
Regardless of him being a bad signing for us, at least he never let his unhappiness over not being an everyday player become a distraction to the team.
by Hoppity Hooper on Oct 28, 2009 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions
This.
I genuinely like the guy, but there’s nowhere in our World series caliber team for a .250 (maximum) hitter with the potential for 10-15 HR and a mediocre glove that’s getting worse with age.
Sarge jr. must depress his dad.
by shiftyeyedgoat on Oct 28, 2009 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions
I would have to say
Steve Finley was the worst. While he did good for a little while, up to when he got hurt running into the wall, then he didn’t produce very well.
GMJ had a Career year with the Rangers, Which was the last year on his contract with them. He came over here, didn’t produce as well as everyone was hoping he would, and I think alot of people blame him for losing the ALDS to the Red Sox because he got hurt during the last week of the Season in 2007.
GMJ was the worst
Say what you will about Finley and Vaughn, but those looked like decent siginings at the time, or at least they had a chance to pan out. Criticizing those deals is almost pure hindsight.
Even in the first year when he played on one ankle, Vaughn hit 33 homers, drove in over 100 runs, and posted a 119 OPS+. He hit 36 homers the next year. Vaughn really wasn’t that bad for the Angels.
Finley was old, but he’d been old for a while, and had still put up four pretty good seasons in a row, with OPS+s over 100 and over 20 homers per year. That, at the time, was not a bad deal, especially for just two years.
Matthews was a horrible signing from the start, and pretty much everybody knew it.
Well, when you put it that way, I have to agree
that Matthews was the worst in terms of seeing the train wreck BEFORE it happened. It kind of reminds me of when the Dodgers gave a big, long term contract to Darren Dreifort despite the fact he had only one winning season (12-9) and was injury prone. Like the Matthews deal, we all said at the time “well, that probably wasn’t a good idea” , and he proved us right.
As you mentioned, Mo Vaughn became a bad deal in hindsight. Though he did have 2 good numbers years, the deal soured due to the clubhouse cancer he became (which is ironic considering he was touted before that as a clubhouse leader) which peaked in the 2001 season when he didn’t even bother to show up at the ballpark except for when Boston was there to visit their clubhouse (which won’t endear you to your current teammates) and made comments about his desire to play for an east coast team. I found it telling when after he was traded to the Mets, his former teammates could hardly contain their joy about him being gone. I don’t think the Angels would have had the tight team spirit they did in 2002 with him still on the team.
by Hoppity Hooper on Oct 28, 2009 9:43 AM PDT up reply actions
If the Angels had
A) signed Carlos Beltran or
B) signed JD Drew
at the time instead of Finley, we never would have been in position to sign Matthews. And I don’t think in the end we even saved money on those deals.
The HK-47 hitting droid is the finest line drive machine ever built
by RallyMonkey5 on Oct 28, 2009 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions
If the question is "which was the most ill-advised FA signing"
then you are absolutely right: it’s GMJ by two furlongs. But if the question is, “which FA signing did the most harm”, then I think it’s Moo. Although Moo did leave his positive mark—the cow-catchers in front of the dugouts.
What we've got can't be bought
Character aside
GMJ’s contract was the most ridiculous I have seen as an Angel.
Play Wood already. Willits sucks.
Gary Gaetti
I need to change my answer. I said Gary Gaetti was worst but I looked it up; no, indeed Gary Matthews was worst. I think he may be a decent player if someone gambles on giving him a full season of AB’s. But I wouldn’t.
My own two cents – Let Figgins and Vlade go, sign Lackey if he bites, sign Abreu for what he wants, start Woods at 3rd, shop for another starter if Lackey skips or go with Palmer/O’Sullivan.
BTW and IMHO
I recommend the first link WiHaloFan listed above, “rallymonkeys: A pause for praise.” It’s a nice appreciation of what our team brought to the field character-wise this year.
What we've got can't be bought
How about...
Kevin Appier? Well, at least the FO had the balls to just outright cut his pathetic ass.
Null and void because of '02
Nick would be proud.
by halofan4life on Oct 30, 2009 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions
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