Halos Heaven: FanPosts

Read My Lips, No New Free-Agents!!!

2009-11-20T18:43:58Z

The void that will be created with the departures of John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver, and Vladimir Guerrero will be felt long after they sign new contracts with their new teams. Lackey is a true number one Ace, Figgins is a true lead off hitter and has great defensive skills, Oliver isn't only a lefty specialist, and Vladimir was the face of the franchise. But like Tony Reagins said on The Drive yesterday, you have to take the emotion out of the business decisions.

We Will Win, With What We Got or Lightning Strikes Twice.

Last year the Halosphere was bent because Mark Teixeira took his U-Haul to New York for a big payday. Some of the Fan Faithful believed in the unproven Kendry Morales. And that investment paid in dividends. Could Brandon Wood produce similarly to Morales? Wood has nothing left to prove in minors. Given an opportunity of having regular at bats and every day play, perhaps he could put together a good season. And if his defense isn't as great as we were once led to believe or his offense never gets started, he can always be platooned with super-utility player Maicer Izturis.

What about Sean O'Sullivan, given a chance to shine could he become the John Lackey of 2002? And with a rotation of Weaver, Santana, Saunders, Kazmir, couldn't the Angels survive with a pitcher like O'Sullivan or Matt Palmer, Trevor Bell, Dustin Moseley or maybe even Anthony Ortega? Those 5 guys gave us 22 wins last year.

With Vladimir Guerrero gone, our Designated Hitter position becomes a platoon position. It allows Bobby Abreu to take a day or two off, from the field. Giving playing time to Gary Matthews Jr. or Reggie Willits. And when days Abreu is in the outfield, Napoli could share time at DH keeping his bat in the line up, which when hot is a nice bat to have.

But why scrimp in save in 2010?

According to MLBTradeRumors, 2011 will see nearly 30 pitchers who will be available to file for Free Agency. Some of the names available in 2011 will be Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Ted Lilly. Let alone All-Star catcher Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.

What better way to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's existence than to break the bank for a Lee or Halladay and a Mauer or a Pujols.

The Angels can Win With What We Got.

HH Quick Tip: "Resign" vs. "Re-sign"

2009-11-19T23:58:21Z

Quick usage tip for a common word on HH this offseason:

Here's the correct way to use the word that means "sign again" versus the one that means "retire voluntarily from a job" or "accept something undesirable that can't be avoided":

"I hope the Angels re-sign Vladdy, in part because when he resigns from baseball, he will go into the HOF as an Angel."

"If folks here continue to misspell re-sign, then I will be resigned to the fact that this is apparently the nature of The Internets."

Alternative Angels Awards

2009-11-19T22:22:45Z

Since we're in awards season (and The Soth aside, we're not going to see much action there), I thought I'd craft some alternative awards to recognize some of the more obscure achievements of the 2009 edition of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Rather than drifting into cliché and repetition (I'm not dishing out an award to Bobby for unsung hitting coach of the year, for instance), these have a vaguely quantitative feel (vague in the sense that there are numbers involved, but for the most part I have no idea what they really mean)*.

* - I have recently discovered Fangraphs and, notwithstanding some of the smug self-aggrandizing bollocks spoken by the numbers fascists over there, there are a couple of things which do tickle the interest, not least this bloke who is at least introducing some random poetry to his analysis (emphasis on the 'random' part)

And without further ado, the envelopes please…

1. The Buy-one-get-two-free award goes to Juan Rivera. To much howling derision from our divisional rivals and stats gimps everywhere, the Angels signed Juan Rivera to a 3 yr $12.75m deal this time last year. According to Fangraphs measurement of salary derived from WAR (or something similarly fancy), Juan Rivera was worth exactly $15.1m in 2009 (or to put it another way, $100k less valuable than Curtis Granderson). Clearly he wasn't worth that - the market establishes value not a group of baseball propellerheads - but I do like the idea that Juan has already paid out his contract with his performance this year* and that from here on in it's all gravy.

* - I think Sam Miller at the OCR was first to pick this, but it's still worth an prize in my book

2. The That's-why-Mike-loves-Jeff award for defensive incompetence behind the dish goes to Mr Side Salad himself - Mike Napoli. See, I always assumed that the reason Mike loves Jeff is because his inner catchers instinct told him that Jeff is a defensive genius. Turns out that's only partly true. It's because Jeff is a genius compared to Mike Napoli. According to this measure of catcher's defense* produced over at Driveline Mechanics, Jeff ranked 90th out of 114 catchers in the Majors (you could probably strip a fair few of these out due to the small sample size), his defence having cost us about 2 runs. Nipples on the other hand, came dead last and in his limited time behind the plate cost us about 10 runs, or roughly a win. Perhaps our search for a full-time DH has now run its course?

* - I'm not sure I buy these metrics completely. According to this measurement, Mathis was in the black for throwing out runners, something I wouldn't have credited, and in the red for agility behind the plate - blocking pitches and so on - something I think he's pretty damn good at and there is no measurement of the catcher's ability to call a game for Mr CERA. Having said that, most of the good guys are at or near the top of the list.

3. The Mr Clutch award for making it happen when it counts goes to a certain Gary Matthews Jr. According to the Fangraphs 'clutch' score, which is a measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment (?!), Gary Matthews scored 2.11 whatchamacallits which was twice what our next highest batter scored (Jeff Mathis since you're asking) and in marked contrast to Messrs Anti-Clutch, Guerrero and Aybar (which may explain where the 'Failbar' moniker came from. Only 2 everyday players, Ryan Howard and Franklin Gutierrez, scored higher than HGH. Now, while I'd certainly appreciate it if he took his award home with him and buggered off to another ball-club, you do have to ask yourself what qualities you want in a pinch-hitter above and beyond making it happen when it counts and when called to. Perhaps there is some value in our most pharmacologically enhanced substitute fielder?

4. The Jobu award for mashing the curveball* is this year awarded to Kendry Morales. According to Fangraphs there was no player in baseball who did a better job of hitting the curveball this year. As measured by something exotic that I don't really understand, Kendry gives us a +11.3 thingamajigs (if you can tell me what unit this shit is measured in, you're a better man than I) worth of value for hitting the curveball, no-one else in baseball scored higher than an 8*. 2nd place for your LAAofA, was Aybar with a 5.3 which was good for a top 20 finish.

* - sort on wCB

5. The Choose-your-next-pitch-carefully-Mr Santana-it-could-be-your-last award goes to Ervin Santana. Following on from Kendry's ability to mash certain types of pitches, I thought it might be interesting to look at which of our pitchers had the most* and least valuable pitches. Turns out it was the same guy - Mr Voodoo himself, Ervin Santana. On the credit side of the ledger, Ervin's slider is filthy to the tune of +14.8, on the debit side, his fastball is a disgrace -17.4. Clearly magic comes at a price.

* - The best offerings by pitch type - Curveball, take a bow Jason Bulger +12.8, Changeup, Jered Weaver +10.3, Fastball Scott Kazmir +7.0.

Feel free to dive in with your own alternative awards (preferably with a better explanation of what these numbers are supposed to mean than I have provided).

Shore up the Pen

2009-11-19T18:42:09Z

Alright, so I know most of the discussion so far about the offseason has involved our free agents (John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero, and Darren Oliver), big hitting free agents (Jason Bay & Matt Holliday), and trades (anyone remember a discussion about Curtis Granderson?), but there has not been much discussion about other free agents on the market which could really help our team.

What REALLY concerns me is the bullpen. It was torture last year.

Outside of Oliver and Matt Palmer, we had no real standouts. I believe Kevin Jepsen will one day develop into a great reliever, but he’s not a finished product yet. Jason Bulger remains a mystery, Jose Arredondo’s magic of 2008 disappeared, and Brian Fuentes was far from perfect (7 blown saves during the season and 1 in the ALCS). While Fuentes is a decent closer, he’s really not the guy I want on the mound when the game is on the line.

What the Angels had in Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez the previous few years was golden, shortening the game to 7-innings. Our greatest weakness this season was our bullpen. We need to bring it back to the strength it was in the past. Looking over the relievers out on the free agent market, these are the ones who seem to have some value:

Right Handers: Fernando Rodney, Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde, Rafael Betancourt, Kiko Calero, LeTroy Hawkins, Brandon Lyon

Left Handers: Mike Gonzales & Scott Eyre

Here’s MLB.coms list

First, I’m glad Scot Shields will be back next season and hopefully he’ll be hungry to go out there and be his dominant self again. Darren Oliver will hopefully re-up with us again. Assuming we get those two back, who else should we go after?

My first choice is Rafael Soriano, and one writer is already predicting we’ll land him. Throws hard and strikes a lot of guys out (oddly, I remember him most for getting hit in the head by a line drive off Vlad’s bat in 2006).

Kiko Calero put up good numbers last year and seems to be a bit under-the-radar, so he probably could be had pretty cheap. Wouldn’t be a bad addition in my opinion.

Mike Gonzalez also intrigues me, I just don’t know how I’d feel about him joining the team. Great strikeout guy, but wild and blew 7 saves last year as well (not to mention he’s injury prone).

Some off-the-radar guy like Escobar for the pen on the cheap?

So what do you guys think? How do we shore up the pen?

My 2010 Opening Day Prediction

2009-11-18T00:06:47Z

via www.montrealgazette.com

Batting Order

SS - Aybar

RF - Abreu

CF - Hunter

1B - Morales

DH - Guerrero

LF - Rivera

2B - Kendrick

C - Mathis/Napoli

3B - Wood

Pitching Rotation

Lackey

Kazmir

Weaver

Santana

Saunders

On the Batting Order:

It is becoming quite evident that the demand for Chone Figgins is quite high. Brandon Wood is the biggest reason why the Angels should not get into a bidding war for Figgins, even though he is coming off a career year. While the jury is still out on Wood and the debate will surely rage on all season long on whether or not he is ready, now is the time to find out. The resigning of Bobby Abreu ruled out any possibility of moving Figgins to the outfield in order to make room for Wood at third. If the Angels are ever going to give Wood a chance they either need to do it now or trade him before his value declines.

While many believe Vladimir Guerrero is finished, I do not and I think his 2009 postseason is evidence of that. As much as many fans like to criticize Big Daddy, he hit .378 and had 7 RBI in 9 games to go along with a surprising three walks, two of which were key to the Angels winning games. There is no debating that Guerrero is past his prime, he's entering his age 35 season and he spent seven seasons diving around the concrete outfield at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. However, I am convinced there are still at least two productive years in Guerrero's future and it would kill me to see him spend them with anyone else but the Angels. Guerrero's power numbers from this year hold very little relevance in my mind because of how much time he missed and how much he played through pain, but his .295 batting average is very respectable. While Vladdy won't ever come close to matching the numbers from his 2004 MVP season, I do believe he is capable of putting together two seasons similar to what he had in 2008 where he hit .303, had 27 home runs, and 91 RBI.

The bottom line is that Guerrero is Hall of Famer. All that's left to be decided is whether he goes into the Hall as an Expo or as an Angel. And sorry Angels fans, but if Vladdy leaves this offseason he'll be inducted as an Expo given the numbers he put up in Montreal. I'm from Montreal and Guerrero is the reason I am now an Angels fan so I honestly have no preference what logo appears on his plaque, but Arte Moreno should care and he should want Guerrero to be enshrined with an Angels hat on.

If Guerrero does come back, I think we can all agree it is time to move him out of the cleanup spot. Kendry Morales has the power to hit in the middle of the order and be productive, as he proved in August while both Guerrero and Torii Hunter were on the DL. Guerrero's home for the rest of his (Angel) career should be in the fifth or sixth hole where there will be less pressure on him but where his still dangerous bat can make any lineup extremely deep.

If Erick Aybar can continue to learn from Bobby Abreu's plate approach, he can be a more than suitable lead-off hitter. Assuming Kendrick isn't the centerpiece of a trade, like he's been rumored to be, I eventually envision him as a number 2 or number 3 hitter, but for now Bobby Abreu fills that slot very nicely. Torii Hunter put up near career numbers in less than 120 games and is certainly capable of at least matching his numbers from last year in a full season. While he may have been streaky, Juan Rivera showed us what he could do with a full dose of playing time and I see know reason why he shouldn't repeat or improve on his 2009 numbers either.

On the Pitching Rotation:

via janeheller.mlblogs.com

It would break my heart, and the Angels hopes at a pennant, if John Lackey signs with the Yankees or the Red Sox. The issue isn't whether or not the Angels want to get into a bidding war with the American League East, they simply don't have a choice. John Lackey is the ace of their staff when healthy. The plan B appears to be a trade for either Roy Halladay or Edwin Jackson, but as it's been debated, those options may require giving up too much of our core. In my opinion, resigning John Lackey is an absolute necessity if the Angels want to be serious World Series contenders.

As for the rotation as a whole, it would be without a doubt one of the deepest in baseball with each pitcher capable of winning 15+ games. Especially if Ervin Santana can rebound and find his 2008 All-Star form, this rotation could boast a number one starter (Lackey) and three number two starters in Scott Kazmir, Jered Weaver, and Ervin Santana. Personally, I don't think that Joe Saunders is as good as those three, but he will likely end up as our fourth or fifth starter and he's a guy that a lot of teams would love to have as their number three.

The Bottom Line:

When it comes down to it, there's no reason to mess around with a roster that won 97 games. The team that the Angels put on the field this past season did some amazing things under incredible circumstances. If we can manage to go three for four on our big free agents, losing only Chone Figgins, then I believe we will have the pieces in place to make another strong run at a title.

via blog.ticketchest.com

Should Troy Glaus be our DH?

2009-11-18T07:45:50Z

Rotoworld is reporting that Mozeliak says he won't be back with the Cards. He missed all but 14 games last season, and he's 33 years old. Speculation is that he'll have to move to 1B, or an AL team.

So the question is whether Troy Glaus can be a cheaper DH alternative to Vlad? It's risky in the same way that Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney and Mike PIazza were risky to Oakland. But, remember that season that Thomas had in Oakland? In the spacious confines of the Colosseum? IF Glaus is healthy, why couldn't he do that much and maybe more in Anaheim? He should/may/might/hopefully/too lazy to look up money figures, cost half as much as Vladdy. IF he's healthy, he's a lock for 25+ homers and a solid OBP and a less than Vlad, but still decent average.

If it were anyone else, I'd say hell no. But it's a hometown hero, right? Maybe 1 year, 5 million, plus incentives, and a vesting option for a second year? Considering his injury history, he'd be foolish to expect a multiyear offer and big money, right?

Angels Alternate Jerseys

2009-11-19T10:06:31Z

I know the Angels wore the solid-red jersey less than ever in the 2009 season (especially with the 161-game absence of Kelvim Escobar), but I am having a hard time recalling - did they wear the sleeveless home jersey alternate (with the red teeshirt option) at all this year?

crazy trade ideas from ignorant fans

2009-11-18T23:53:36Z

Okay, I've been reading many of these posts regarding potential trades. The trades some people are proposing are absolutely ridiculous. And the Angels won 97 games last season. 97 GAMES! And let's face it. We lost to the Yankees. There is clearly nothing to be ashamed about. Those jokers spent almost double our payroll and BARELY beat us. In game one, the Angels beat themselves with bad defense. End of story. Game two, we were actually winng up until Brian F****** Fuentes served up that bomb to gay-rod. And games 3 and 5...the Angels played valiantly. We were able to come back and beat the skankees in both games. I honestly believe that the Angels ALREADY have world series talent. The only issue is executing plays when they matter most. Poor defense is what really did us in that series. Why is everyone proposing to dismantle the team's entire farm system just to receive one or two players?

Ok, on to the trades.

I was looking around the posts, and I'm seeing things like "GMJ for Nick Markakis". Is this poster serious? Honestly, do your research before you propose ridiculous trades. First of all, GMJ will never be the player Nick Markakis is. Nick Markakis has had 3 straight seasons near 20 hr, 100 rbis, .300 avg, and 10 SB. Do you really think the Orioles would be willing to give him up for a guy who had one good year? Not to mention the fact that we owe GMJ $23 million over the next two years, while Markakis is making 3.35 million. If you propose this to the Orioles, they will tell you to go f*** yourself.

Next, "Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell for Santana, Kendrick, Wood, Mathis, Willits, and minor league prospects". Yes, Adrian Gonzalez is a franchise player and Heath Bell would be a welcome replacement over Fuentes. But at the expense of our entire future? Ervin Santana has the potential to be an ace. Give him a few years, and he can certainly develop into one. Barring injuries, I guarantee you that Kendrick will also develop into an amazing hitter. He has great gap hitting power, and hits for average. And Wood, Mathis, and Willits constitute a versatile bench that has helped Soth when he needed it most. This trade is basically saying we're trading 1/3 our team (which won 97 games) for 2 players.

Honestly guys, do your research before you propose these ridiculous things. What the Angels really need is to sign a free agent closer, such as Valverde, Ryan Madson, or Rafael Soriano. And we also need to focus on re-signing Lackey or trading for a front of the line starter. If Figgins decides to walk, they have to give Brandon Wood a chance, and then make a move at the trade deadline if he falters. Honestly, allowing him in the lineup for the first half of the season won't make or break the team. If we're lucky, maybe he can blossom into a 30 home run hitter. He certainly displayed power in the minors. And 224 ABs in the majors isn't enough to tell a players true ability.

That's all I have to say.

Scioscia named manager of the year!

2009-11-18T20:00:26Z

Like we didn't expect Scioscia to get manager of the year. He did a great job this year, Congrats to Sosh and to the Angels. Today Mike Sciosca was awarded the 2009 American League Manager of the year.

LINK - to - STORY

It was Scioscia's second Manager of the Year award. He was named by the BBWAA in 2002, when the Angels claimed their first World Series title under his direction after entering the postseason as a Wild Card.

Former Dodger manager Jim Tracy too the honor in the National league.

Mount Halos (instead of Mount Rushmore)

2009-11-18T16:47:36Z

As the Angels prepare their 50th season who would you put up on Mount Halo? Like Mount Rushmore you can use 4 faces. They can be mascots, owners, players, coaches, anyone related to the Angels.

Congrats LA Angels (bc original name) on 50 years!

I would put up:

Gene Autry (with cowboy hat)
Mike Scioscia (manager with the only world series, face of franchise)
Nolan Ryan (who would be first to spray paint "F the Rangers" on it, come on like 4 no hitters for the Angels)
Tim Salmon (represents what Angels baseball is all about)

Jason Marquis

2009-11-17T21:54:20Z

I have come to the conlusion that the Angels depth is a little too thin right now to swing a blockbuster trade for someone like Halladay, and it is my opinion that we can win it all without him anyway. So, I've been pouring over the list of FA pitchers to see if there are any diamonds in the rough that could keep the Angels competitive with the other perrenial post-season teams in the event of a Lackey departure.

Only one man really seems to stand out, and that is Jason Marquis. Some facts: He has pitched fewer than 190 innings only once in the past 6 seasons (167 in '08). He has had no significant injuries. He just turned 31 in August, making him only 2 months and 2 days older than Lackey. Since giving up a career high 35 HRs in '06, he has gotten his HRs-allowed down to 15 in the last two seasons, and last year was in the launching pad of Coor's Field. His '09 WHIP was a career low 1.380 as a full time starter. That's a better '09 WHIP than Saunders, Santana, and Kazmir. His lefty/righty splits are about even. Money wise, he earned under $10 mil last year. He should get a raise, but he'll cost far less than the $16/yr or whatever it is that Lackey wants.

All of the above, plus the fact that there are zero other good, young, healthy, free agent, starting pitchers, makes me believe that Tony Reagins needs to be at Marquis' neighborhood Del Taco at the same moment that Lackey is signing papers with the Spanks or Sux. (Joel Piniero had a good '09, but he's due for his next injury.) Marquis may not be a bonified ace, but the facts are we just can't get an ace this year without trading away the farm. However, if Lackey makes room for him, I believe that Weaver will step into the role of staff ace. And Marquis is as quality a #2 starter as Saunders, Santana, or Kazmir. This will allow us to continue to use guys like O'Sullivan, Palmer, and Bell in more strategic ways, and will let them develop in their proper timing, rather than relying on one of them to hold down the 5th spot. Plus, we can give the money we save to Figgy, Oliver, Vlad...

Please weigh in.

The Absolutely Essential Trades for 2010

2009-11-17T04:50:47Z

Trades I want to see. Really, these will work!

- Draft Tommy Lasorda and trade him back to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp and Vin Scully.

- Package Physioc and Al Davis in a trade to Kansas City for Mike Jacobs, Matt Grienke, and a really bad broadcaster to be named later...much later. Like in 2014. And I have this crazy instinct Al Davis will work his charm in KC and trade the entire city for Georgia Frontiere.

- Sign Manute Bol and then trade him to Boston for Jason Bay. We can sell this! Imagine a guy 7'-7" patrolling the Green Monster. Can't miss...

- Trade Matt Kemp and Jason bay to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez. The plan is starting to work...stick with me!

- I just realized I didn't actually have a previous trade for Al Davis. Sorry about that!

- (Insert whatever crazy trade you want in this space).

- Trade Jacobs BACK to KC for George Brett's infamous pine tar bat.

- Take some practice swings with the pine tar bat against Al Davis' head. If it doesn't break (the bat that is)...the plan gets closer to the ultimate goal!

- This is the easiest part of the whole scenario...trade Alex Rodriguez to the Dominican Republic to lure Pedro Guerrero out of retirement. This is our almost ace in the whole (or hole...whichever).

- Matt Kemp and Jason Bay get traded to the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks for Luis Gonzales.

- You should now be cognizant of this ultimate ingenious plan...

- We now trade Matt Kemp and Jason Bay for...get this...Samuel L. Jackson!

So here's my line-up for the 2010 ALCS against the defending champs...

- Curtis Granderson (this wasn't in my trades, but I figured I had no choice. I had to inherit this one).

- Abreu

- Pedro Guerrero! (He was so good in the '81 playoff's against the Yanks...can't miss!!!)

- Samuel L. Jackson! (He was GREAT in Pulp Fiction!!)

- Luis Gonzales! (The only guy to ever get a game winning World Series hit against Rivera!!!)

- (Who's on first)

- (Doesn't Matter...he'll be swinging the infamous PINE TAR BAT!!! Ha!)

- (What's on second)

- (Matt Grienke...just because we want to give the Yanks a fighting chance).

Pitchers??? Aw...we have Grienke. Who needs anyone else?

If this somehow doesn't work, we have Vinny to help soothe our misery, and we are FINALLY rid of the Phyz! Vinny and Huddy...what a team! Are you ready for a delicious Farmer John Hot Dog? You will be!

OK. None of this makes sense. Is it any different than any of the other trade suggestions posted in the last 3 weeks? Maybe someone can swing another trade for Georgia Frontiere. To patrol center field. Or for batting practice.

If you trades aren't at least as ridiculous, don't bother. Please. Somehow, I doubt we'll be disappointed.

Kendrick in the outfield? Trade for Dan Haren? What about Aaron Hill?

2009-11-17T00:17:50Z

Hey fellas!

Its your buddy Christhammer here! How ya doin?

Like many of you, I was saddened that the Halos did not make the World Series this year.

I hate the Yankees with a passion (especially their spoiled, arrogant fans and the concomitant media adulation) so this year was bitterly disappointing for me.

I don't want to rehash everything that has been already been said as to WHY the Angels lost in the ALCS. We all know the reasons, and each of us have proffered various solutions to prevent a repeat of such a collapse in 2010.

Henceforth, I would like to offer all of you my suggestions for making a very good Angels team even better:

1) Move Howie Kendrick to left field: I personally think that Howie would be a better outfielder than 2B. He can use his speed to complement Torii Hunter, especially in that left-center gap. He can also play everyday which is critical to the team's success.

2) Make Bobby Abreu your DH: Clearly, Bobby is better with the bat than the glove. Keep him in your line-up and let him continue to be a positive influence the younger players like Aybar and Isturis.

If Abreu balks or walks, I think that Hank Blalock would be a better designated hitter especially in terms of home run production.

I like Vlad very, very much, but unless you can get him on the cheap, I don't think he is worth holding onto at this point. Also, he has to move down in the line-up, no excuses.

3) Trade Gary Matthews Jr. for Nick Markakis: Nick reminds me of Trot Nixon, but without the juice. He's a young, solid right fielder with good pop in his bat. If you get him now, he can continue to blossom with Kendrick, Aybar, Wood, etc.

Of course, the Angels would have to eat GMJ's salary. That's not fun, but Reagins should never have signed that mofo for Wall Street money in the first place. Oh well, lesson hopefully learned.

4) Let Figgins go, put Wood on 3B: I really like and respect Figgins alot. Very underrated hitter and fielder who never gets the publicity he deserves. Woe are us under 6 footers.

While I would like the Angels to keep him, I get the sense that he might be ready to move on. Very well. Let him blossom elsewhere, and let us give Mr. Brandon Wood the opportunity to show his stuff at 3B. The time has come to take the wrapping off this Secret Santa.

5) Trade for Dan Haren: Talk amongst yourselves.

Seriously, it looks like Lackey is headed out to the highway. While Haren is no Halladay or Lee, I do think that he is a very good pitcher (223 Ks/38 BBs in '09) who would fit in nicely with Weaver, Sauders, Kazmir and Santana.

Now the question is, what do you have to give up in order to get him?

I don't know. I'm stumped on that one.

6) Keep Macier Isturis at 2B however, if the brains at the front office (ugh) can put together a nice little package to bring Aaron Hill over, then I would go for it! I like Macier for his average and his defense, but Aaron Hill would be such a phenomonal advancement for the Angels offense, its not even funny.

Imagine having Kendry, Hill, Hunter, Markakis and Howie in that line-up???? Add in the willyness of Abreu and Aybar, and you have a very dangerous line-up.

Okay, I'm getting carrried away, but I hope you guys see what the potential could be here.

7) Solidify that bullpen: Let's face it, Shields is getting older and will probably not have the stuff of yesteryear. I do like Jason Bulger, but I'm not sold on Arrendondo and Fuentes. Where can we get some power arms for the 7th/8th/and 9th innings????

How do you guys feel about JJ Putz? Should we take a chance on him? Can we get Joel Zumaya on the cheap? What about Francisco Rodney?

This is where I'm stumped as I think the relief corps pickings are slim out there.

8) Showcase a few Triple A guys: not full-time, but here and there. We've heard so much about the farm system. 2010 will be the time to have more short stint call-ups.

9) Take a look at the Quiet Men: Josh Willingham, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Michael Cuddyer, Luke Scott, and Dan Uggla just to name a few. Perhaps the Angels might want to take a shot at Xavier Nady.

Sometimes, its guys like these that can bring the right intangibles to a team like the Angels (work ethic, camraderie, hidden talent, etc) and help take their game from winning baseball to championship baseball.

Think of how Nick Swisher impacted the Yankees. Its the middle-tier guys you least suspect that can not only give you the most bang for your buck but bring some much needed levity to a very competitive sport.

10) Fire Tony Reagins and persuade Bill Parcells if he would like to try his hand at baseball:

Why not? He appeared in the Superbowl 3 times and won 2 of them. He loves challenges and he loves to win. I think he would be a great fit for the organization. Imagine the intricate discussions that Parcells and Scioscia would have about player talent and execution. Imagine the collaboration and the tension as well!!!!

You may not know this, but Parcells was a baseball prospect before he went into coaching football. He turned down a lucrative deal with the Phillies to be their catcher, opting instead to go to college.

Well folks, I hope these 10 suggestions will make good cerebral grist over some beer and tacos.

ANGELS WORLD CHAMPIONS IN 2010 OR BUST!

Olney Predicts Angels will sign Matt Holliday

2009-11-16T19:33:29Z

"Link":http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/features/rumors#3641

According to Buster Olney, NY is remaining in the Holliday bidding just to drive up the price.

That Bay's first choice is to remain in Bahston and that The Angels will sign Matt Holliday!

After getting out bid by NY last year for Tex, I just figured we'd stay away from Scotty's clients.

But if we sign Holliday and play him in left, does that religate Juan to the bench or would he be trade bait?

Would BoreAss' drive his contract so high that we couldn't afford to sign the ACE pitcher that we need?

Do you like this move?

Trade for Gonzalez and Bell. Call me crazy...

2009-11-15T06:53:00Z

Everywhere have discussions involving Angels and the usual free agents and trade targets. Here's a new proposal for you: Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell.. Here's a few points

Assuming we don't resign Vlad, we will be losing a big bat in the middle of the lineup. It is aweful lot to ask for Morales to fill that void. Adrian would give us balance from the left side with Torii, Rivera, Napoli along with Morales

Morales had a great year. But is it realistic for all of us to expect the same level of production form him again already ?

Morales does ok on defense and rapidly improving. But I don't see Gold Glove in his future. Gonzalez will give us that Gold Glove that was missing since Texieria left. If Figgins leave, Morales-Kendrick-Wood (un-proven/inexperience)-Mathis could give us the worse infield defense in the league.

Heath Bell was someone that we tried to get before anyway. He's a more dependable closer than Fuentes. Having Shields-Fuentes-Bell is much better than this year's Bulger-Jepsen-Fuentes.

I would propose packaging a group of players for Gonzalez and Bell. Maybe 7 for 2 with a pool of players like Santana, Arredondo, Rivera, Kendrick, Wood, Mathis, Willitis, and or minor league prospects. I don't believe any of them are can't touch prospects. Morales can easily bat DH/slide into one of the outfield spots and occasionally relieve Adrian at 1B.

Call me crazy, but this makes alot more sense to me than going after Granderson/Holliday/Bay/Matsui/players like them this year.

GRANDERSON?

2009-11-15T04:51:22Z

Granderson would be a great addition to any team that has lacked consistency against right handed pitching. Five tool player? Check. Posesses the intangibles? Check. We would get this guy for 3 years and for under ten million for each of these years. Yes we would be giving up some of the capital within our farm system but we will need someone to replace figgins in order to preserve mike socialism's coaching steez (steez = style for you non-hip folks). And for those of you who haven seen what kind of person this guy is... http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en&q=granderson%20commercial&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#q=beyond+baseball+granderson+&hl=en&view=2&emb=0&client=safari

Curtis Granderson Rumors: Friday

2009-11-15T01:39:09Z

The Angels and Tigers have discussed a trade for center fielder Curtis Granderson, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday.

Davidoff says the Halos would use Granderson in left field and either shift Juan Rivera to DH or trade him ... Davidoff adds that the Yankees "think very highly" of Granderson and the Cubs are "expected to inquire." Talking to the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers, Baseball America's Jim Callis suggested the Cubs are in the best position of these three suitors to acquire Granderson.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/angels-tigers-discuss-granderson-trade.html

Surprised this wasn't mentioned here

Vlad to the Rangers?

2009-11-14T07:17:24Z

So I'm sure all or at least most of you have heard the rumors that the Rangers are interested in signing Vladimir Guerrero. I'm surprised nobody has said anything on here about it yet so I thought I'd make a post about it.

Anyways, if Vlad did sign with Texas, how would you feel about it?

Personally, I would be kind of pissed off. Not necessarily at Vlad but just the fact that he would be playing with our most heated division rival (in my opinion). I love Vlad and what he has done for the Angels so I don't want to hate him but I would almost have to if he played for the Rangers. I cannot stand them, mainly because of Marlon Byrd and Ian Kinsler. They are Class-A Douchebags.

Also, I'd kinda be scared given Vlad's career numbers in Texas. But then again, those numbers were amassed against horrid Texas pitching over the years. But still, it is a scary thought.

Here are some links regarding the story:

LINK to YAHOO ... LINK to NBCSPORTS

Lackey turned down Angel's $72 Million offer!

2009-11-14T00:05:08Z

According to Buster Olney, Lackey turned down an Angel's offer during the season of $72 Million.

http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/olney-lackey-turned-down-72-million/40707/

It's unclear for how many years this offer was, but some fans have speculated a progressive annual salary, starting at 12.4M and increasing over five years. Lackey made 10M in 2009, so this would seem a descent raise and a fair offer. But Big John seems to expect more, and it's probably going to come from elsewhere.

What are your predictions where Big John ends up? The Evil Empire, the Red Sux or what?

Could Granderson be a smart plan B?

2009-11-12T19:02:13Z

So apparently Detroit is trying to shed payroll and will consider dealing Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson, etc. etc.

Now, I know the guy's not exactly young but in the event Figgins leaves and Tony decides to save his resources ($$) for next year's free agent class that will be far superior, does a move for Granderson suddenly become really attractive?

We get an experienced lead off hitter with some pop to replace Figgins, it allows Abreu to shift to the DH (vastly improving our outfield defense) and opens up 3rd base for Brandon Wood.

And more importantly it gives us some pretty comfortable payroll flexibility to work with in-season trades or the aforementioned 2010 free agent class.

Granderson - RF

Abreu - DH

Hunter - CF

Morales - 1B

Rivera - LF

Napoli - C

Kendrick - 2B

Wood/Izturis - 3B

Aybar - SS

not too shabby. Good blend of youth and experience. Thoughts?