Stokes and Rodney are certainly cast-offs. When players like Abreu and Matsui can only net one-year contracts for a fraction of what they were previously making (in ‘08 and ’09 respectively), that suggests “cast off” to me. Doesn’t mean that they aren’t good value for bargain hunters — and I’m not criticizing them as value propositions. The shortness of their contracts makes them even more valuable.

But I’m swoon at dollar stores — it’s hard to get passionate yet about a collection of rentals. I’m passionate about the Angels as a franchise — I wouldn’t listen to 150+ games a year, have a seven-year-old cat named Figgins, and have attended Angels fantasy camp in a place I loathe (Phoenix) if I weren’t.

But with a few exceptions for the characters in the game (say, Vlad or Torii), I get excited about the players that came through our player development system first and foremost.

As far as “2nd best team in baseball” — sorry, that sounds like fishing for fanbase cred to me. The Angels are my #1 team — but I don’t need an inflatable castle in my dream theater to love them. They were the second-best team in baseball last year. This year — I’m not buying it yet. I’ll cross my fingers, hope the inevitable injuries are fewer than probabilities suggest, hope we have a fair amount of luck this year, and hope we have a second strong draft in as many years. Maybe we’ll squeak through into first place again this year if the stars align.

I mean by rumors just the general info you read in blogs, heard on sports talk, etc. Quotes from Rotoworld, BP.com, etc.

It seems Sosh has/is frustrated with Naps defense and his approach to it. We saw what happened in the playoffs last year.

Naps seems comfortable with his strength – offense. Mathis openly talks about improving his strength – defense, while doing all he can to improve his offense. And we know Sosh places more value (much more) on the defensive aspect of catching, and for good reason.

So thats all I’m saying as to why I can see Naps being traded near the trade deadline if we’re in a position to make the playoffs…