Falling off the Reagins bandwagon...

I like Angels news. I come here to discuss a baseball team on a blogging website. Im as guilty as all of you.

But Edwin Fing Encarbnaoangngaoopon?

I could literally care less.

Maybe it’s time for a little reality?

2008: 100-62, lost in ALDS 3-1
2009: 97-65, lost in ALCS 4-2
2010: 80-82, 3rd place in AL West

So the gist of what is being written here is that after having two seasons better than any other GM not named Amaro, Epstein or Cashman, Reagins is now on thin ice?

Sorry, but I just don’t get the sense that this is how Arte rolls.

I believe that over 2011 and 2012, the Haren trade will be on the level of the Tigers’ acquisition of MigCab. In addition, it was a good counter-move to the Rangers’ acquisition of Cliff Lee, only the Angels will have Haren for two more seasons plus an option, while the Rangers will most likely be watching Lee pitch on YES. Insult to injury may be felt if the Rangers either watch Smoak fulfill his promise in Seattle, or flip him to the Brewers for one season of Prince Fielder.

(aside: Has everyone noticed that the two coveted jewels of the Tigers’ farm system [Maybin and Miller], who were untouchable but ultimately traded to the Marlins for Cabrera, were both traded by Florida in the span of a week? Bright talent in the minors doesn’t always equal success in the majors, and Skaggs and Corbin may be years before they show if they have the stuff to succeed.)

We all know that the Kazmir experiment hasn’t worked out, but it did mean that the Angels didn’t overpay for Lackey, and the latter’s failure to thrive in the lower-pressure #3 role in Boston is a clear indication that the Angels’ front office read that player file correctly.

What folks here keep failing to put in perspective is that the front office is a three-headed monster of Reagins/Scioscia/Moreno, four if Stoneman is included. Decisions are made with deliberation, not on a hunch or on the fly. It seems realistic to conclude that Kazmir was acquired due to his age, his potential to return to form, and (perhaps most importantly) a feeling from Butcher that he could “fix” Kazmir.

It is true the team was caught flat-footed when Morales was injured, exposing a talent deficit in the minors. At the same time, Reagins didn’t panic and trade away a lot of talent to get a partial season of some current MLB player, and would have acquired Derrek Lee if not for Lee’s desire to play elsewhere. We don’t know what the opposing GMs asked in return for their 1B, but if the price was someone like Bourjos, I am just as happy the trade wasn’t made.

Likewise, I don’t think anyone anticipated how Juan Rivera just completely lost it, looking fat, old and incompetent in 2010, which was not how he played in 2009. If Rivera had played as projected and Morales stayed healthy the entire season, the outcome of 2010 would have been much, much better.

I don’t think the Angels will outbid the Red Sox for Beltre, but their ace in the hole may be the team’s location in SoCal, close to Casa de Beltre. I think the team will sign Crawford, who has given signs he wants to play in Anaheim. I do think Reagins will have one trade (at least) to make which will address some of the team weaknesses, whether it is a player for the big team or depth for the minors.

But most importantly—and I think this is the factor so many here tend to overlook, as we are focused on the “now”—is that the team has to plan for 2012.
° That will be Weaver’s final season in arbitration, and as a Boras client we should anticipate his leaving.
° That will be Torii’s final year under his deal.
° Assuming they’re still with the club, that will be the final arb year for Aybar, Kendrick and Napoli, among others.

So a lot of personnel decisions will need to be made following the 2012 season. I believe some possible trades this past season might not have been made to keep the guys like Bourjos and Segura in the pipeline to staff the club in 2013, which could shape up to be a huge transitional season for the team. The only two starting pitchers under contract in 2013 are Haren and Santana (both option years), and so keeping guys like Chatwood and Richards in the system instead of trading them is important to planning the team’s future.

When Morales went down and the team’s offense was in a funk, I think it would have been easy to find some replacement parts, if cost was no object. I don’t think there is a team in baseball which would have turned down an offer which included Bourjos, and that is before he was promoted and showed what he could do in a MLB center field. Trout would have been an “open sesame” which would have garnered just about anyone in exchange. I believe 2010 was managed in the front office with an eye on 2013, and that is the hallmark of the Moreno organization—play for today, but plan for tomorrow.

This time next year, the premise behind this thread will seem like unbelievable goofiness.