With the current search for a new general manager many Angels fans are optimistic.

But I was also optimistic when Tony Reagins was hired. At that time I realized Mike Scioscia may have control/input of many personnel decisions and at that time I would have trusted every Mike Scioscia decision. Now there are many more chinks in the Scioscia proverbial armor, especially when it comes to personnel decisions.

Many posters/commenter's on this site and others have called for the firing of Scioscia.  I for one appreciate the things Scioscia has done for this franchise, I like the style of baseball the Angels play and have played under Scioscia. Even though he has made mistakes (it is always easier to second guess a manager after the game is played), has his idiosyncrasies, and can be extremely stubborn, he has always gotten more out of his teams than anyone ever expected.  Mike Scioscia was one of the reasons why my father stopped being a Dodger fan and
started being an Angels fan.  My Dad always reminisces about how classy the Dodger organization used to be, and how there was a Dodger way of playing baseball from the majors to the lowest team in the minors. In my opinion Mike Scioscia is one of the factors that has made the Angels such a great franchise, and I would like him to continue to be the Angels manager.

Sorry that was my Scioscia tangent, now back to Reagins.  I was bored with Stoneman and I wanted some change. Just like when everyone starts a new job, there is optimism abound.  I knew Reagins did not have much baseball experience, but I had trusted that Arte had hired the right man for the job.  I am the type of person who would rather
give someone new a chance, instead of hiring a retread with old ideas. The problem was Reagins turned out to be a crappy GM (as documented on other areas of this site). We now have come full circle to being optimistic about our potentially new GM.  But for every Pat Gillick there is a Bowden. For every Alex Anthopoulos there is a J.P. Ricciardi.

So what does our potential new GM need to be successful?

My thoughts are:

1) Able to properly evaluate personnel based on observation, scouting, and advanced sabermetrics.

2) Be able to negotiate contracts with players and their agents.

3) To properly evaluation a team's strengths and weaknesses and have a plan that would address said weakness without mortgaging the future of the organization.

4) Have a strong personality to stand up to Mike Scioscia when necessary.

5) Have an understanding of what it takes to win a division and a world series.

Which got me thinking.  Who would be a good GM for the Angels?

(This is where the post turns to bullshit, but a very small part of me thinks it is a good idea)

Duh

Duh

DUH

What about Scott Boras.

Seriously. Just think about it for a moment.

(He would obviously never severe ties and give up his agency)

 If Darth Vader can give up the dark side, so can Scott Boras.

Imagine when Mike Scioscia wakes up in the morning and reads a text from Lyle Spencer saying that Mathis was DFA'd. Mike Scioscia grabs his keys and starts running to the car. Before he gets there the
doorbell rings. It's an overnight package from Scott Boras. In the package is a binder with a 100 pages on why Jeff Mathis sucks. Scioscia rushes down to Angels stadium to try to save Premium from being unemployed.  When he gets there he is greeted with a PowerPoint presentation on why Jeff Mathis is the worst player in baseball. Scioscia then puffs his chest and stares down Scot Boras.

But wait.  The unexpected happens.  Scott Boras makes Scioscia blink first.  When Mike Scioscia takes a piss, Scott Boras pisses further. When Mike Scoiscia says to Scott "I want you to trade Mike Napoli" Scott in turn would say "It is your job to win with the players you have, it is my job to formulate a roster with the best chance of winning"

Scott Boras became such a successful agent because he was able to prepare more than the GM's. He uses every tool available to make his clients look good (he knows his clients deficiencies he just does not
point them out) but by default he also becomes good at truly evaluating players.

Who better to negotiate a contract than Scott Boras?

Do you think Scott Boras would get fleeced in a trade? I think not.

Would Scott Boras show up late to the winter meetings? Definitely not.

Scott Boras is a baseball man through and through.   He has the guts and the cajones to stand up the Mike Scioscia.

He seems like the type of person who would draft the best player available and then convince them that it is in their best interest to sign with his team for this amount of money.

I mean he really doesn't need any more money.  He wouldn't even have to move.

Maybe he is ready for the next challenge of his life, which is building the Angels into perennial World Series champions.

I am just trying to think outside the box here.

Loyal as all hell Arte Moreno did not fire Tony Reagins. He supposedly accepted the Ninja's resignation and then sent word that the Angels ex-General Manager was being reassigned to "special assistant to Chairman Dennis Kuhl".

Dennis Kuhl doesn't do anything, has no say, no power, shows up and smiles and is really nice, probably puts out a fire here or there involving the general public, made sure to give Derek Jeter a painting, and after ruining the radio station has been kicked upstairs where he can't do any harm.

Being the special assistant to that. This is like being the guy who tunes the bass guitar for the Doors.

Out of mind, out of harm's way, out of our hair, but not outta sight.

Time to watch a video with lyrical logic...

The jury is still out about Mike Scioscia’s current value. Many are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, blaming Reagins for our recent struggles. Others want Scioscia’s head on a platter. Most of us are still puzzling it out. Is he a good manager or not? I recently came upon a thread of posts, enthusiastically advocating for hiring Francona and making Sosh the General Manager. This, of course, is a profoundly stupid idea to anyone who knows anything about Sosh’s strengths and weaknesses. For what it’s worth, I think Scioscia’s a potentially great manager, with one big problem buried, like a malignant tumor, deep inside.  

Continue reading this post »

Hello fellow angel loyalists,  I forgot about this site.  I was so fed up with this season like everyone else. How bout Aramis Ramirez? He's opting out out of his contract.  Maybe a 3-4 year contract 40-45 mill? He's 33 and he's been consistent.  Error's could improve (14 last season) but callaspo-izturiz have to go no pun intended. Abreu has to go unless he becomes a mentor/part time player,   We only need 2 catalyst (bourjous, aybar).  Thanks, Reagins is gone and texas got drubbed! Light up that halo!!!!  

I love Mike Napoli.

I celebrate Mike Napoli from now through the end of time.

He's nobody's wingman any more -- he's the bloody-beaked griffin of baseball destiny, gobbling up Reagins' gut tripe like cheap menudo on Alvarado St. 

Continue reading this post »

In response to Rev's article ranking the bad decisions and unfortunate events that led to the Angel's second couch-warming off season in a row, I would like to begin a discussion about what went right in 2011. It's not that I disagree with Rev, nor am I a deluded optimist, but for my health's sake, I prefer not to revel too long in negativity. I'd rather move on in the grieving process toward acceptance, and look for the silver lining in this golden-haloed, 50th anniversary season of Angels baseball. So, here are some of what I consider to be the highlights of the season. I may not be able to come up with 10, but I'll start. Please add your own:

Continue reading this post »

Let's go, Team Maddon!

Amazingly, as awful as Vernon Wells was this season, there were actually players who performed worse (not named Jeff Mathis). The one player who I believe could be traded for Vernon Wells, and actually significantly improve the Angels, is Adam Dunn.

First, let me preface. I watch the White Sox from time to time; however, I am definitely not an expert on their team. So, their payroll/prospects/philosophy, I really don't know. I am basing this trade on what I see on the Major League roster.

We'll start with contracts. Vernon Wells is owed 63 million dollars over the next three seasons, and will be 35 years old by 2015. Adam Dunn is owed 44 million over the next three seasons, and will be 34 years old by 2015. So, for this trade to work, the Angels would have to throw a sweetner Chicago's way. If it's money, 12-15 million. My ideal situation would be to throw in Morales. I really like him, and hope he comes back strong; however, it is a gamble. The Angels would still probably have to throw some cash in, but maybe could get bullpen help. I might be getting too greedy..but I digress..

So, the first logical question, is why would the White Sox make this move? Adam Dunn had an awful year. I think it's the worst season in over 100 years from an everyday player. He also received a large contract in the off-season, which has White Sox fans irate at his production. By August, Dunn became strictly a platoon player, and never started against left handers (somehow Wells continued to start against righties). They would be glad to get rid of Dunn. In return, they get Vernon Wells, who amazingly, hits pretty well somewhere other than Toronto. He hits well at US Cellular Field. He could take over center field for Alex Rios, who also had a worse season than Wells.

The next question, is if Dunn was so bad, how can he help the Angels? In my opinion, Dunn is not a declining player yet. He simply had a bad year. Well bad doesn't quite do it. He hit .159, slugged .277, but also managed to have an on base % of .292. I believe he will return to his career averages (bat speed did not seem to be an issue for him). Now over his career, Dunn has never been known as a contact hitter. To expect him to hit higher than around .265 or strike out a ton would be unfair. The bright side of Dunn, is that he can hit 40 home runs and draw over 100 walks in a season. Two areas the Angels lacked was power and guys who can get on base. He also does not have the drastic home/road splits that Wells has. Unfortunately, he does have pretty bad lefty/righty splits. The benefit here is that there are more right handed starters than left handed starters.

This trade allows for Mike Trout (the savior) to become the permanent left fielder. Bobby Abreu can be the 4th outfielder. Dunn becomes a power threat at DH in the middle of the Angels lineup, while providing a lefty bat in between Howie/Torii/Trumbo. Against lefties, Maicer can DH, helping him stay healthy throughout the year.

Of course, this would all be unnecessary if Wells would just opt out of his behemoth of a contract...but we all know he won't...but one can dream...

I live in Rochester, NY, so I have to use MLB.TV to watch Angels games. It costs $24.99 a month, but I don't really have any other options.

What absolutely shocked me, however, is that they charge you $24.99 at the end of the season for access to the archive of the games during the off-season. As if someone would pay $25 to watch irrelevant sports!

I called to request a refund. The next day, it was denied via email. When I called to complain, the customer service agent told me that he was not authorized to issue a refund and could not forward my call to someone who could. Basically, it is impossible to speak to a live human being on this issue.

I am fine paying $24.99 a month to use MLB.TV when it works. I have used it three times in the last six seasons. Every time, something goes wrong, and ultimately they charge me for something that I did not want, which usually leads to me not resubscribing the following year. This leads to an extremely stupid outcome: they take an extra $25 from me this month, and I respond by not giving them $150 the next year.

MLB, stop using shady business practices. MLB.TV makes a ton of money as it is, and you end up costing yourself customers by trying to rip people off.

P.S. My credit card company will be having a word with you.

Rangers' Michael Young just drove in his 105th run of the season with just 11 homers. That's clutch hitting, any way you slice it.#Angels

http://twitter.com/#!/LyleMSpencer/status/118543317653925889

Brilliant analysis Lyle... it's not like RBI totals are an indication of hitting in a lineup with a bunch of high OBP guys in front of you or anything. Young and his "clutch" hitting wouldn't have anywhere near the same number of RBIs if he was a Halo this year.