Matthews Jr. takes day off..

Apparently HGH still isn't accepting his 5th OF roll and left camp for the day. Kudos to Ninja and Soth for sticking to their guns and not letting HGH run the show here..

almost 3 years ago b0rd3rline 35 comments 0 recs |

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Sitting on the bench while collecting ten million this year.....

things could be worse.

Recipient of the 2008 "The Iron Man" award from scottnak of Halos Heaven!

by 44FAN on Mar 29, 2009 1:15 PM PDT reply actions

Well, so much for the "won't-waive-his-no-trade" issue.

by mattwelch on Mar 29, 2009 1:39 PM PDT reply actions

Reagins was just interviewed during the broadcast...

…last question was on NTC. He has not waived it as of the close of the conversation this morning.

by sothball on Mar 29, 2009 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions

But Reagins hesitated when he said it

I’m certain that they discussed it. TECHNICALLY, the NTC hasn’t been waived yet. But I’d bet that Junior said that he would rather be traded than sit on the bench.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with GMJ wanting to play. I would be more upset if he decided to “milk” it and collect his checks. If he’s healthy, he probably could help someone. He’s just not worth $10M/year. The problem isn’t the player, it’s the contract.

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes

by johnnyangel101 on Mar 29, 2009 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

+1

I never would complain about the a player wanting to get more time on the field.

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Mar 29, 2009 11:56 PM PDT up reply actions

AMEN!!

Personally, I don’t have a problem with GMJ wanting to play. I would be more upset if he decided to "milk" it and collect his checks.

We’ve seen Moo Vaughn, sitting in the dugout and watching his teammates brawl on the field, but still collecting his bazillion-dollar salary.

I have no problem with GMJ wanting more playing time. It is the best thing for the team and for his career, as long as his desire is channeled in the proper way (i.e., pound the hell out of the ball and make a few highlight reel catches). If he doesn’t pass a slumping Rivera on the depth chart, he may well find a taker on one of the other 29 teams, with the Angels paying a portion of the remainder on this contract in exchange for some AAA-level talent.

by George Kaplan on Mar 30, 2009 6:50 AM PDT up reply actions

You know that the Giants almost signed him

And Stoneman added the three-year No-Trade clause to sweeten the deal as SF had matched our money.

They went out and got Zito instead.

So trade Matthews straight up for Zito and Lincecum.

by Rev Halofan on Mar 29, 2009 1:51 PM PDT reply actions

AND Lincecum

Nice. That could probably work, too, given their FO’s history of smart trades…

Light Up That Halo!

by Clutch on Mar 29, 2009 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions

SoCal

My recollection at the time was that Matthews has a son who lives with his mom in Northridge, and that was an incentive to sign with a SoCal club.

He may well find that airfares are cheap enough at his salary level that he can have his son fly to see him play in other cities. Southwest flies to a ton of cities from Burbank, as does JetBlue.

by George Kaplan on Mar 30, 2009 6:53 AM PDT up reply actions

Just a terrible Thanksgiving for me.

Play Wood already. Willits sucks.

by hauldog on Mar 30, 2009 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions

wah wah wah...........

want to play? prove it on the field.

A person who performs good Karma (deeds) is always held in high esteem
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.

by norcaliangelsfan on Mar 29, 2009 2:12 PM PDT reply actions

They got to play him first for him to show something...

Light Up That Halo!

by Clutch on Mar 29, 2009 10:21 PM PDT up reply actions

he showed plenty....last year......

and this year he’s been so so……

Some people only get a limited opportunity in the majors…….much less than what GMJ’s had just this spring.

A person who performs good Karma (deeds) is always held in high esteem
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.

by norcaliangelsfan on Mar 29, 2009 10:31 PM PDT up reply actions

But he's not claiming based on last year

He’s claiming he’s healthy NOW. And it’s pretty well acknowledged that he was injured last year. He was an asshole about it and refused to sit down when he was injured, but it still explains a thing or two. Doesn’t mean they should hand him the starting job now, of course.

Light Up That Halo!

by Clutch on Mar 30, 2009 11:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Have you been watching him this spring?

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Mar 29, 2009 11:56 PM PDT up reply actions

yeah .258 avg..........

Pettit is hitting 80 points higher in 14 more AB’s……………

so based on production……………who wins?

A person who performs good Karma (deeds) is always held in high esteem
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.

by norcaliangelsfan on Mar 30, 2009 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions

Pettit also was playing alot more early on...

when teams were throwing 18 year old prospects on the mound.

Secondly, your just going off of batting average. The guy has been knocking the cover off the ball. Check his other stats vs. AB’s. If the guy was hitting like that in the regular season, I certainly wouldn’t mind him starting.

ESPECIALLY, compared to Rivera’s Spring Training stats. THAT you can’t argue with.

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Mar 30, 2009 10:12 PM PDT up reply actions

I'd take consistant hitting over his "power" numbers.....

it’s true when GMJ is hitting the ball it’s going for bigger hits (doubles, homers etc) but the problem is consistancy……….and it was his same problem last year…..He’d have one good game….then go MIA for a week……

Well since teams were throwing 18 yr olds out there like you say……shouldnt GMJ doing even better since he’s a seasoned vet?

As for Rivera….well……he is always a slow starter……..he’s gonna get it going.

Confrontation simply means meeting the truth head on - Coach K

by norcaliangelsfan on Mar 31, 2009 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions

GMJ didnt start playing till mid-spring....

there was an injury and some surgery recovery. check it.

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Mar 31, 2009 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

MAYBE they have a trade in place

Perhaps they basically are gently nudging to waive the NTC and thy will swap him with someone who has their own disgruntled high-priced underachiever.

Perhaps they will be trading him for someone like Scott Rolen and then flipping Rolen to a low-market team for a prospect while picking up the tab.

by Rev Halofan on Mar 29, 2009 2:55 PM PDT reply actions

In that same interview during the game with Reagins...

Ninja said that GMJ will be on the Opening Day Roster for the Angels…

There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. -- Al Gallagher

by K3YEROUT on Mar 29, 2009 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Anything less than that would have ensured that controversy ensues…

by Rev Halofan on Mar 29, 2009 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions

I know that was just a hypothetical

Perhaps they will be trading him for someone like Scott Rolen and then flipping Rolen to a low-market team for a prospect while picking up the tab.

…but if the Blue Jays are going to swap bad contracts, they’re going to try to unload Vernon Wells. Wells had a career year, signed a 7-year contract which pays him $21M/yr between 2011 and 2014, then got fat and forgot how to hit.

If you search hard enough, you can find examples which make the GMJ signing not so bad.

by George Kaplan on Mar 30, 2009 7:01 AM PDT up reply actions

we

will definetely be picking up the tab. Probably around 40%. 33 mill left. If someone gets him for $18 mil or something then it would be a good trade for both sides. He is a good defensively and average at the bat. for us he is useless, for other teams he might actually be a small upgrade

Terrorist plot to blow up Fenway? I'm okay with that

by Sinatrasratpack on Mar 29, 2009 4:06 PM PDT reply actions

bobby abreu signed for 5 mil

so gary matthews cant expect to be paid more than 2-3 million by his new team. Meaning we’ll be taking on more like 80% of the contract if we trade him.

by ihearhowie2.0 on Mar 29, 2009 6:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Beat me to it

I was gonna say – in today’s market – its gonna be a whole lot more than 40%. The shitty thing is that the contract escalates on the back end too. The deal avg’d $10 mil a year but it increases to $12 mil by the final yr.

Outfielders For Sale! This weeks special...GMJ - see Tony for details!

by gorams77 on Mar 29, 2009 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions

LAT says $33M remaining on his deal

so that’s most of it, but it’s still not a hugely back-loaded deal.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on Mar 30, 2009 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions

I have seen the light

I will re-assess my guess. I didnt think about Abreu setting the bar pretty low. However. The will be some team that is willing to take him for $5 mil

Terrorist plot to blow up Fenway? I'm okay with that

by Sinatrasratpack on Mar 29, 2009 6:44 PM PDT reply actions

Best news all offseason

Abreu was a good pickup, but this is a signal the FO isn’t going to allow contracts dictate playing time, unlike a certain blue franchise I could mention (cough Juan Pierre cough, at least through the first half of 2008).

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on Mar 30, 2009 4:39 PM PDT reply actions

The Angels are in the same hole

As the Dodgers are.

For his sake, I hope HGH plays his ass off because you just can’t trade him [who would take him?] or dump him [because his stupid salary].

Let him force the issue, instead of his salary.

by BBFan1 on Mar 30, 2009 7:52 PM PDT up reply actions

HGH is going to earn his spot back...

and lead us to the WS and then in 10 years he’ll be in the top 20 Angels of all-time.

Hey, here’s for wishful thinking.

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Mar 30, 2009 10:13 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

I wonder ...

if during his day off, he drove in a Ferrari to downtown Chicago with his buddy Cameron Fry (who was wearing a Gordie Howe jersey) and his girlfriend Sloan Peterson?

Blogging is FUN!

by Downing Rules on Mar 31, 2009 4:56 PM PDT reply actions