Wednesday Halolinks: Reagins Knew Naps Might End Up In Texas

by WiHaloFan on Nov 9, 2011 6:18 AM PST in Angels Rumors And Links

Reagins had a good idea Napoli was going to be bangin' the Texas broads soon after he was dealt to Toronto.

I'm a pissed off fan linkage:

Peter Gammons: Top to bottom, Rangers a model franchise - MLB.com
About a year after former general manager Tony Reagins confided that he had a pretty good idea that when he traded Mike Napoli to Toronto that the Blue Jays would likely flip him to Texas, he and about 10 other Angels employees lost their jobs because they couldn't see that the Texas Rangers have become an equal power to the Sunday Night Baseball soap regulars of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.

Angels Inbox: - angels.com
The difference in ERA when Mike Napoli or Jeff Mathis is catching is well documented. However, do you know the difference in Angels wins vs. losses during those same games? I think those stats are needed to better evaluate the difference between the players. -- Rick R., Santa Ana, Calif.

Hit, pitch and field at Angel Stadium - The Orange County Register
For those baseball fans who’ve always wanted to get an at-bat, hurl a fastball or field a grounder at Angel Stadium, here’s your chance.

Angel Stadium holds largest history lesson - angels.com
There was no baseball game being played at Angel Stadium on Tuesday morning, but that didn't stop over 25,000 people from converging upon it.

Buehrle popular on free agent market - CBSSports.com
Starting pitcher Mark Buehrle has pitched 12 seasons for the White Sox, but he may be heading to a new address in free agency this offseason. And there's no shortage of suitors.

Rangers must make splash in free agency - FOX Sports on MSN
Prince Fielder.

Big splash...HA!

Tweet o' the Day:

@SosnickCobbe:
Dallas McPherson has re-signed with the Chicago White Sox. McPherson slammed 20 HRs to go along with a .283 AVG in Triple-A Charlotte. 14 hours ago via web

Money Wins: Is There Enough Parity In Baseball? - FanGraphs Baseball
In general, I agreed with his assertion: Parity in the MLB exists naturally far more than any other sports league.

Royals notebook - Cain says he’s ready for his chance - KansasCity.com
Moore sent the rumor mill spinning by telling 610 AM the Royals "would have to be interested" in Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano under the right circumstances. That report was quickly picked up in Chicago.

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Comments

Didn't Peter Gammons say, a year ago, that Moreno was about to sign a new TV contract?

by wumbug on Nov 9, 2011 7:36 AM PST reply actions

I wonder if the Rangers will give Reagins their Team MVP award.

by ~MMP~ on Nov 9, 2011 8:11 AM PST reply actions

mentioning reagins should be treated like the F-word... only once a year

it triggers depressive emotion and I don’t think it benefits the HH community at all. Reagins and his albatross of a trade are a very tired subject in baseball let alone on HH.

go long with extenze...i do

by angelsownredsux on Nov 9, 2011 8:16 AM PST reply actions

It's amazing that Lyle still feels the need to defend his (and Scioscia's) unrequited love for Jeff Mathis.

But yet he does once again when responding to a simple question about the difference in wins/losses when Mathis and Napoli were catching.

What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he states the very reason that he and Scioscia were so god-awfully blind: Mathis and Napoli caught the same number of games; 282. That folks, is exactly the problem.

Mike Napoli should have caught 482 games, and Jeffy should have caught 82. That regular playing time would have allowed Naps to become consistent behind the plate and with the bat. The Angels would have seen the real Mike Napoli and even Tony “the dolt” Reagins would not have traded him.

A wise man does not need advice and a fool won't take it.

by angelslogic on Nov 9, 2011 8:20 AM PST reply actions

Fuck you Reagins

you ruined my life

I take it you don't have the DOV Secret Decoder Ring
You need to drink more ovaltine
-Quad Fin Rider

by DAD OF VLAD on Nov 9, 2011 9:16 AM PST reply actions

i thought the job at the printing press had done that

by Rev Halofan on Nov 9, 2011 9:36 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

I thought it was all the kids he may or may not wake up in the morning

and all the hours spent finding just the right gif to post.

CONGER, CONGER, CONGER !!!

by steelgolf on Nov 9, 2011 10:24 AM PST up reply actions

HA!

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Champs Tony Romo Super Bowl MVP
-Me, October 3,2011

by KB_24 on Nov 9, 2011 10:25 AM PST up reply actions

thought it was the traffic he sits in every day

"You realize that Ive been posting on AN since 07 on this name and I am one of the most rec'ed posters there right?" - Some tool named Designatedforassignment from Athletics Nation

by 2pintsofbooze on Nov 9, 2011 4:22 PM PST up reply actions

Last night I saw a show on MLB TV about 2011's longest home runs

Tori hit 2 of them the first week of t he season, then tanked for 3 months. Wonder if he spent those 3 months trying to hit more of the longest home runs.

by Unclearnie on Nov 9, 2011 9:50 AM PST reply actions

I saw that. Trumbo had some of them too.

Napoli's 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th homers of the year (four more than Jeff Mathis' career total) rained down on Angel Stadium like knives from the ceiling.

by 44FAN on Nov 9, 2011 11:35 AM PST up reply actions

Yes, but Trumbo's were spread around more and not followed by a prolonged slump

by Unclearnie on Nov 9, 2011 12:49 PM PST up reply actions

I don't know how much stock to put in it.

But supposedly Torii was dealing with quad injuries for awhile and finally got healthy and caught fire.

The 2011 Angels, the biggest cocktease ever.

by Angelsrthebest101 on Nov 9, 2011 2:41 PM PST up reply actions

So the Rangers win their second pennant in a row, and Rosenthal says they'd probably be the favorite to win it next year with the team they have now, yet for some reason it's important to make a big splash in the offseason?

That dont make no darn sense, Kenny.

"Lose your pants and only good things can happen."-MayhemInTheHood

by Mayheminthehood on Nov 9, 2011 10:05 AM PST reply actions

Maybe they should hire TR

He specializes in big splashes, and he practically works for them already.

by Suboptimal on Nov 9, 2011 10:25 AM PST up reply actions

Lyle Spencer is the one revising history

He’s including 2006 and 2007 as “equal opportunities” for both Mathis and Napoli. Mathis was actually in the minors (where he belonged) for four months of 2006 and three months of 2007. Napoli only spent April 2006 in AAA.

Napoli caught Weaver 24 times while Mathis was still failing to learn how to hit a baseball, and he caught Lackey 30 times. He was essentially a full-time catcher for both of those guys until Premium came along. Once he did, Mathis caught Weaver and Lackey 105 times, while Napoli only caught them 72 times.

Also, it’s not enough that we’re assigning ERAs to catcher, but now we’re giving them winning percentages too? Let’s put Jeff Mathis on the field all by himself and see how many games he wins.

by Suboptimal on Nov 9, 2011 10:24 AM PST reply actions

I think Lyle Spencer is Jeff Mathis

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Champs Tony Romo Super Bowl MVP
-Me, October 3,2011

by KB_24 on Nov 9, 2011 10:28 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs

I thing Jeff Mathis is Lyle Spencer

Tell me – when is the last time anyone has seen them both together…any where?

From Jeff Mathis' TOPPS card: "Jeff is a defensive catcher, but he can rake it when it counts." Jeff has a lifetime .199 MLB batting average

by mustard_man on Nov 9, 2011 3:28 PM PST up reply actions

Thanks Sub

I knew something was wrong when I looked at batters faced by pitcher/catcher pair for 2007-2010. Napoli caught a bit more of John Lackey, but Mathis caught the vast majority of Weaver’s starts. For a lot of the pitchers (especially relievers) it’s pretty close to 50/50. Mathis caught more Ervin, Napoli caught more of Joe Saunders.

Napoli caught more games, by about a 2:1 margin, of the following pitchers:

Trevor Bell, Sean O’Sullivan, Matt Palmer, Scott Kazmir, Shane Loux

Napoli isn't a catcher. He's a God-King.

by RallyMonkey5 on Nov 9, 2011 11:12 AM PST up reply actions

You and your numbers are just trying to hold the game hostage.

But I guess Lyle Spencer’s numbers are different for some reason and trying to free the game from you?

by ~MMP~ on Nov 9, 2011 11:19 AM PST up reply actions

Because of the 4000 games he's seen in person.

If the Halos don't care about the way they play, then why should I?

by red floyd on Nov 9, 2011 2:02 PM PST up reply actions

If Jeff Mathis were put on the field by himself.....

Boy aren’t we glad we don’t have to see that.

The 2011 Angels, the biggest cocktease ever.

by Angelsrthebest101 on Nov 9, 2011 2:42 PM PST up reply actions

That's old news about Napoli.

The Rangers were very interested in Napoli all along as well as other teams. Reagins just did not want to deal him directly within the divison. Luckily, it came back to bite him anyway.

Napoli's 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th homers of the year (four more than Jeff Mathis' career total) rained down on Angel Stadium like knives from the ceiling.

by 44FAN on Nov 9, 2011 11:33 AM PST reply actions

I remember reading a quote by Anthropo;po;loous at the time that Reagins shouldn't be surprised by the trade to Texas because he knew it was a possibility.

I’ve tried to find it, but haven’t have much luck with the google. Maybe it’s because my spelling of Anthropoioaf890amnfdlaous might not be quite right.

Whatever, I hope Reagins gets one of those crazy Frank McCourt credit cards and buys the dodgers.

Vernon Wells 2011 Stats (.218/.248/.412) and 2010 road stats (.224/.299/.400). The front office shouldn't have been surprised.

by snowhor on Nov 9, 2011 2:04 PM PST up reply actions

Your's and 44FAN's recalls are correct. This was part of the newswire stories way back in January.

Anthopoulos added that he didn’t expect Angels GM Tony Reagins to be upset that Napoli was flipped to a division rival.

“This certainly will not catch Tony by surprise at all, because he’s aware of it,” said Anthopoulos. “We did not have a deal in place, did not have any commitments (when the Wells trade was completed), we were open, but once we completed the trade we got several inquiries on Mike Napoli.”

Just Google “This certainly will not catch Tony by surprise at all”. Gammons wakes up and discovers that it is now 2011. Nice of him to join the rest of us.

Dear Texas: "One, two...........THREE!" The next number IS THREE!!!

by Stirrups on Nov 9, 2011 3:08 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

I have found that one before, but I remember a quote that was something along the lines of "he knew it was a possiblity."

That’s the one I haven’t been able to find, even after Google auto-corrects my spelling of Anthromofpsadouls.

Vernon Wells 2011 Stats (.218/.248/.412) and 2010 road stats (.224/.299/.400). The front office shouldn't have been surprised.

by snowhor on Nov 9, 2011 3:40 PM PST up reply actions

BlueBird Banter, another SBNation blog, Jan 25 has your quote

It came in a press con call with Anthopoulos.

Dear Texas: "One, two...........THREE!" The next number IS THREE!!!

by Stirrups on Nov 9, 2011 4:51 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions

Ah, thanks.

I think I was looking for things google tagged as news. I guess blogs don’t count.

Vernon Wells 2011 Stats (.218/.248/.412) and 2010 road stats (.224/.299/.400). The front office shouldn't have been surprised.

by snowhor on Nov 10, 2011 10:44 AM PST up reply actions

Well, I have been roaming the 'net via my phone. Deeper searches take dedication.

Since this was a press con call, I am sure that there are MSM outlets with same/similar quote from that interview.

Dear Texas: "One, two...........THREE!" The next number IS THREE!!!

by Stirrups on Nov 10, 2011 5:07 PM PST up reply actions

I don't understand why we didn't trade him directly to Texas

If we knew they were likely to get Napoli anyway, then what’s the difference??

Thinking back on it, if we had traded Napoli to Texas, I am almost certain that they would have sent us Michael Young in return. While that would not have been a terrific trade by any means, it would have been a lot better than what we got. Young had 3.3 oWAR last season, his seventh in the past eight seasons of 3.0 or higher. He ended up with an OPS of .854 and an OPS+ of 124, at a cost of $16 million. His OPS easily would have been the highest on the Angels, and his OPS+ would have been second only to Howie (125).

If this trade had happened, Young could have been the DH, and Callaspo could have remained at third base. We could have kept Rivera and platooned him in left field with Abreu. When Trout got his call-up and was considered ready, we could have traded Rivera, perhaps for a reliever or for salary relief.

Although our payroll would have been $3 million higher in 2011 (assuming we kept Rivera), we would have a lot more money to spend this offseason. We would have Young under contract at $16 million per season in 2012 and 2013, rather than Wells at $21 million per season from 2012 to 2014. We would not have Abreu on the roster because, as a platoon player, his option would not have vested. We thus would have an additional $14 million to spend in 2012, and we would have a starting outfield of Trout, Bourjos, and Hunter.

by Brody on Nov 9, 2011 6:02 PM PST up reply actions

Michael Young wasn't a power-hitting Gold Glove-winning CFer willing to play LF.

Vernon Wells 2011 Stats (.218/.248/.412) and 2010 road stats (.224/.299/.400). The front office shouldn't have been surprised.

by snowhor on Nov 10, 2011 11:47 AM PST up reply actions

Looking forward to the fundraiser at the Big A

Last year I waited for the rain to clear, showed up, and was turned away. They didn’t even take the canned food I have brought.

Hopefully this year I can take the tour and a couple of hacks.

by JeffJoiner on Nov 9, 2011 3:08 PM PST reply actions

I'd love to do that, but I just can't get there.

If the Halos don't care about the way they play, then why should I?

by red floyd on Nov 9, 2011 4:43 PM PST up reply actions

Ignite Reagins!

“About a year after former general manager Tony Reagins confided that he had a pretty good idea that when he traded Mike Napoli to Toronto that the Blue Jays would likely flip him to Texas…”

"why do you we still have quitlin?" -VladdyG

by cupie on Nov 9, 2011 4:15 PM PST reply actions