Halos Heaven: FanPosts

Angel Stadium garage/rummage sale?

2009-11-07T03:20:06Z

Anyone have any information on time and date? Can't find anything anywhere... I remember Rev posting some pics from previous years... also unable to find that story anywhere on the site

Thanks in advance

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Angels fan license plates

2009-11-06T20:51:26Z

As I was sitting on the 55 N onramp at 17th one morning several weeks ago, I saw this personalized plate on the car in front of me:

ANJLSFN

Got me to wondering if it was possibly someone who reads or posts on Halos Heaven (or another Angels fan site), and if not, was wondering if any of you had personalized plates dedicated to the Halos (or a favorite player on the team) to share.

New found love for Rick Reilly

2009-11-06T19:34:03Z

Came across this at espn today ...... have got to say that i was very pleased to find it. I will always hope and pray for year in and year out success of the Angels but not if it would mean that Mr. Reilly would write this about us. Who am I kidding, I probably would! Here's to hoping that our World Series winning run starts next year

They're having a parade because the New York Yankees won the title? Why not throw one because a bear ate a salmon? Or a hurricane knocked over a trash can? Hey, the bully just gave the nerd a wedgie! Let's throw a parade!

Look, the Yankees played well. But isn't that what the Yankees are supposed to do? They paid their players almost twice as much as the Phillies team they beat -- $208M to $111M. Just the Yankees starting infield made more than 15 teams this year. Throw them a parade? I don't get it. So what? George Clooney got a girl, Paris Hilton slept in satin sheets last night and Bill Gates went to the bank. Call me when you've got some news.

MORE... at the link in my first paragraph.

Would you want Jason Bay in Left Field

2009-11-06T08:44:20Z

Would you want Jason Bay in Left Field

With the Red Sox strading for Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins, they are obviously hedging thier bets that Jason Bay is walking. I still think the Yankees are going to sign him. Matsui is going to Seattle. Damon Idon't know.

The question is, would you want Jason Bay in Left Field for the Angels in 2010? Angels could go after him and I think his asking price took a hit with Boston out of the mix.

Poll

Should the Angels try and sign Jason Bay to play Left Field?

What to do if we don't re-sign Lackey

2009-11-05T21:01:14Z

Just curious what is running through the great baseball minds of the HalosHeaven community in regards to the John Lackey situation. Personally, I'd like to re-sign him, as I feel his is the best free agent starter out there. We all know how he feels about playing for a team with a "better offense," among other financial issues.

So my question to you is what happens if we do not re-sign Big Thunder?

The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look great. Every option is essentially either a senior citizen or injury prone. Dumping the farm in a trade doesn't sound like a stellar idea either. And our in-house options are lackluster. So . . . what does the Ninja do if he finds himself in this situation?

FYI: I'm not interested in seeing a list of the players who, in your opinion, should make up the starting lineup, starting staff, and bullpen next season (and I think I speak for a lot of us around here). That's what 3/4 of every other off-season fanpost are for.

Halos & Abreu agree to new contract

2009-11-05T20:16:30Z

The Angels agreed to a two-year deal with a club option for 2012 with veteran outfielder Bobby Abreu. Per club policy, no financial terms will be announced.

“We are excited to have Bobby and the presence he brings to our organization,” said Angels GM Tony Reagins. “He was an integral part of what we accomplished in 2009 and we look forward to his contributions both on and off the field.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/11/angels-bobby-abreu-agree-to-twoyear-deal.html

The NY Yankees winning the 2009 World Series is as exciting as...

2009-11-05T18:23:24Z

Walmart reporting "better than expected" third quarter earnings due to summer bargain hunting and "well-timed" employee layoffs.
Russell Crowe winning the New York Film Review Board's supporting actor's nod for his turn as a down-and-out off-broadway impresario who teaches inner-city youth to love their bodies and themselves while updating the Hunchback of Notre Dame for South Chicago audiences in the independent film "Heaven and the Humpback."
Microsoft releasing version 3.0 of its critically-acclaimed Bing! search engine with better structured search for local and real estate listings.
Tom Cruise receiving a "People's Choice" award for his "unusually original, given the precedents" portrayal of a sexy and ambitious sports agent, who when faced with non-trivial adversity, responds with panache -- and a tagline that takes America by storm: "Give me my pocketbook, baby!"
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" becoming the best-selling musical performance documentary ever in Eastern European markets.
Greg and Bryant Gumbel receiving a "Bob Costas Distinguished Award of Merit in Sports Broadcasting" for three decades of sibling excellence in sports journalism.
Oprah Winfrey and Emeril Lagasse teaming up for yet another commercially successful venture in middle-market tablewares targeted to suburban family micro-niches.
The United States finally winning the rights, after some risky public evangelism from Vice President Joseph Biden, to finally host the Pan Am Games, after a 28-year American prestige gap, in the beautiful Mid-Atlantic city of Baltimore, MD.

How do we appropriately measure this singular moment in history? It's hard to do (and no less hard to fathom), but the comments section awaits your attempt. Help me benchmark the long-awaited epiphanic thrust of the New York baseball canon!

Disenchanted Blue Jays Fan Looking For A New Team

2009-11-05T17:16:44Z

I'm a disenchanted Toronto Blue Jays Fan, looking for a new team. Ownership decisions and a general aimlessness in the direction of the team has caused me to consider abandoning the Jays after 25 years of cheering for them.

My search has narrowed to the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and your Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I am looking for a MLB team that has ownership committed to winning, a group of players worth cheering for, and a reasonable shot at competing for the playoffs sometime in the next 10 years.

Convince me (with defensible reasons) why I should join you. Go!

EDIT: You have an automatic leg up on the Tigers, Cardinals and Dodgers because those boards won't let me participate for 2 days. So that's 2 freebie days where I'm all ears for the Angels only.

I hope Darren Oliver retires

2009-11-04T02:39:43Z

No flames, hear me out.

I was listening to MLB radio on XM this evening, and Oliver was interviewed for his perspective on the World Series games. He was clearly on a cellphone, and admitted he was at his son's football practice. The host asked how old his boys were, and he said 7 and 9.

As we know, Darren is the son of a career MLB player, and I have to imagine he is keenly aware of how his boys feel with dad gone 7 or 8 months out of the year. The Olivers live in Texas, so when the Angels are playing at home, Oliver isn't "at home". Even if the family makes a pilgrimage out to OC for part of the season, it isn't the same thing as dad being home every night.

By rough numbers, Oliver has earned $7M over the last three seasons with the Angels alone. While I wouldn't deny anyone the opportunity to make as much money as he can, I can completely understand the pull Oliver might feel to hang it up and be a full-time, stay-at-home dad. I'd like to think he has engineered his financial life to be secure for the rest of his days.

I can see the valuable contribution he would make as an anchor of the 2010 bullpen. He has shown himself to be a steady, cool performer, an excellent role model for the younger members of the staff, and a great teammate. If he elects to return for one more season, it would be a tremendous boost for the team. That would be great news.

But if he decides to call it a career and spend his days watching his kids grow, I can't begrudge him that. And in that sense, a large part of me--jealously--hopes he takes that opportunity.

Vladdy Autograph Signing

2009-11-03T19:02:40Z

This Saturday, November 7th, Angels icon Vladimir Guerrero will be signing autographs at the OC Dugout store. Vlad will appear from 12 noon until 1 pm, possibly later. Anyone who arrives by 1 pm will be guaranteed that their item(s) get signed. Autograph prices are $69.99 for small items, $99.99 for large items - Cash Only.

(wow, will a representative of the IRS be on hand?)

In addition, Vlad will be giving away a personal bat of his own (which he will sign personally for the winner) plus more autographed items. Feel free to forward this email and information to as many people as you think might be interested - Vlad will stay as long as possible so that everyone gets their autographs.

This is Vlad's 1st public appearance in over 3 years.

OC Dugout is at Hobby City - 1238 S. Beach Boulevard - Anaheim

Phillies accused of stealing signs

2009-11-03T18:20:32Z

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2009/11/dodgers_third-base_coach_larry.html

I'm sure you have heard that Larry Bowa said he has heard other teams calling the Phillies cheaters, that they steal signs. I have not seen evidence of this (pictorially), so the glove doesn't fit yet (yes I made a bad OJ pun there). However this is a concern, and I might question my fanhood to the Phillies if this turns out to be true. It is against the spirit of the game (even if it is there historically, even if it was in The Shot Heard 'Round the World). This to me would equate what the Yankees have been doing for years, trying to buy a championship. Not the hard way, like last year for the Phils.

However, it has not been mentioned that the Yankees were constantly going to the mound in the ALCS. I remember that they pulled a 5 minute stall tactic by having the catcher go to the mound, coach, throwing to first, catcher going to mound numerous times to get to Mariano Rivera - before a pitch was thrown. Plus other times trying going to the mound in the same at bat. In Anaheim, there is no center field seats, there is the rock pile, where some media sit. Only seats to left and right of center. Honestly, it was sick, I really hope MLB makes a rule for number of times a catcher or fielder can visit the mound, much like coaches and managers.

Poll

Would you care if the Angels got caught stealing signs?

Meet Our Newest Halos Fan!

2009-11-02T20:39:17Z

Hey Everyone. Here's a quick update. Melody Ann was born November 1st, at 2:59 pm! Check her out! She's almost 3 months premature. She's a little smaller than David Eckstein at 14 inches, 2 lb. 4 oz. She seems pretty healthy so far. Thanks to everyone who has been praying and wishing us well. Keep it up! It is slightly unfortunate that she had to be born into a world where the Yankees are in the World Series instead of our Angels. Let's hope our boys are there for her first birthday next year!

UPDATE: The complicated pregnancy that coincided with the ALCS was discussed in RallyManatee's Angel Fan Down FanPost in mid-October

Think About Brandon Wood When You Watch the Phillies

2009-11-01T19:51:38Z

Why You Should Think About Brandon Wood Every Time You Watch the Phillies

Do you feel like Brandon Wood has never been given his shot, that Mike Scioscia has kept him down far longer than any good prospect should rot in the minors? Conversely, do you think that the mere fact that Wood is going into his age-25 year without having earned a spot is telling in itself, and/or are you of the mind that unproven players of that age (or even slightly older) are "too old to be a prospect"?

Well, let me introduce you to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth. You may have heard of them. A combined 9 All-Star selections, 5 seasons (and soon to be more) in the Top 10 of MVP voting; 9 seasons in the Top 25. Ten seasons scoring 100 runs, 12 seasons driving in 100, 10 seasons hitting 30 homers. Some good baserunning & defense for extra spice. Back-to-back World Series appearances.

Where were they, development wise, compared to Richard Wood?

Plate appearances through age-22 season:
83 Shane Victorino
33 Wood
0 Ryan Howard
0 Chase Utley
0 Raul Ibanez
0 Jayson Werth

Through age 23:
190 Wood
83 Victorino
53 Werth
0 Howard
0 Utley
0 Ibanez

Through age 24:
236 Wood
152 Utley
104 Werth
102 Victornio
42 Howard
6 Ibanez

In fact, the Phillies whole roster is filled with guys who would have loved to be where Wood is right now: all but assured of a starting spot at age 25, after having already spent parts of three seasons in the Show. Carlos Ruiz didn't see a Major League pitch until age 27. Pedro Feliz started his decade-long career at age 25. Matt Stairs had one home run through his age-27 year; he has 259 now.

I can say with confidence that Brandon Wood will not be as good as Chase Utley. But to say that his 236 plate appearances so far amount to either criminal development negligence or proof positive that he won't excell is, I think, inaccurate.

Reasons why Napoli should be the Angels' DH in 2010

2009-10-30T07:23:21Z

OK, this may be a long one. Everyone here keeps talking about a certain month or a last half vs first half, when spouting Napoli’s stats. It goes deeper than that, as I’ll try to explain. I put Vlad’s and Nap’s Game Logs ( from www.baseball-reference.com ) for the year 2009, side by side.

Here are the important dates to consider. Vlad was out on the DL twice, from 4/16 thru 5/24, and from 7/8 thru 8/3. During Vlad’s 1st trip, Napoli did not DH until 5/1, and then he DH’ed a total of 9 times until Vlad came back. On Vlad’s 2nd trip to the DL, Naps 1st time to DH was 7/10, and this time he DH’ed 7 times. ( Late in the year Naps had 4 DH Abs, late in games after we had already won the division title.)

During the time he was DH’ing, Naps was catching in about half the games, and DH’ing the other half. Napoli’s total DH splits were .359 BA, .431 OBP, .594 SLG, and 1.024 OPS, and when Vlad came back – the time Napoli started playing less than half the games, and didn’t DH anymore – Naps was at .293 BA, .373 OBP, .533 SLG, with 16 HRs and 43 RBIs.

Once Vlad returned Napoli was played very sporadically, and his offense sputtered to being awful. In looking at these numbers, it is obvious to me, that with regular playing time, Napoli is a star – a legitimate force in the lineup. When he plays sporadically, he goes downhill fast. Here’s a glaring example. Napoli started 100 games this year, ( at least 1/3 in the last 2 months of the year, so declining.) where his stats were quite acceptable. During his STARTS his stats were .278 BA, .356 OBP, and .504 SLG.

Something that dragged all his numbers down, was his PH appearances, where he was 1 for 11. Look at his season numbers and realize the effect that 1 for 11 had on his totals. Obviously Napoli is NOT a good PH’er.

Here’s something else interesting. From the time Scioscia finally decided to DH Naps, in those 2 stretches of time, including the games he caught, the team was 29-9. THAT, my friends is a good case for making Napoli the 60-80% DH next year, and an excellent reason to let Vladdy walk away.

I also looked up the team’s record again, in games where Vladdy started. Up until the last 5 games of the year, when we were playing loose, having won the division, the team was 42-41 in Vladdy’s starts. THAT, my friends is an even better reason to let Vladdy walk away.

Based on the possibility of playing regularly, DH'ing 4 games and catching one, I can see Mike easily getting 600 ABs, and accumulating totals like .280 BA, 35+ HRs, 90-100 RBIs, .400 OBP, and .550 SLG %. ( He also walks more, and strikes out less, when he plays regularly.) Thanks for reading.

My opinion of what the Angels should do this off-season

2009-10-29T18:58:54Z

My opinion of what the Angels should do this off-season:

1) Offer arbitration to all of our free agents. It goes without being said that we should get draft picks for any departing free agent. The biggest risk is Guerrero accepting arbitration and getting paid way more than he deserves. But I still think he will be considered a type A free agent so the risk is worth it, especially for only one year.

2) Let Figgins depart via free agency.

A) It is time for the "give Brandon Wood a chance" era. He is out of options (meaning 25 man roster or waivers). If we were going to trade him we should of done it when he had value. I say we let him play a half to ¾ of season and see what he can do. You never know until we give him a chance. He could be good or he could flame out. If he fails we can always fill third with Izzy. Who would not be much of a downgrade from Figgins (especially in an average Figgins year)

Izzy: .283/.346/.398/69/18 (BA/OBP/SLG/Avg RBI over 162 gm/SB over 162 gm)*

Figgins: .291/.363/.388/59/48 - counting his career year.

*Izzy's stats do not include the half-year in Montreal

B) Figgins has killed us in the playoffs. Figgins career stats in the playoffs are .172/.223/.246 (BA/OBP/SLG). In 135 playoff plate appearances Figgins has scored a total of 13 runs and has 6 RBI's. He is not scoring or driving them in. The only good thing that Figgins has done in the playoffs is steal bases (35 steals) when on base.

C) Figgins had a career year on the eve of free agency. Don't expect a repeat performance.

3) Sign an outfielder.

A) Bobby Abreu has done wonders for this team in terms attitude, chemistry, and teaching the younger guys about hitting. (I think his influence far exceeds that of Mickey Hatcher and would be especially helpful to guys like Wood, Aybar, Morales, and Kendrick). I also think it is possible to get him with a relatively short-term contract (two years with an option for a third).

B) I think Guerrero really wants to stay with the Angels. I think it will be possible to sign him for a short-term deal (one to two years) for a respectable amount of money (5 to 8 million/yr). He just needs to understand that he may not be batting in the heart of the order and that he will not be playing in the outfield.

C) We should not go after Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Holliday could not hit in the AL and Bay is hitting in Boston. It would be a mistake to sign an outfielder on the wrong side of 30 for a long-term deal. We have some pretty good prospects in the minors (Peter Bourjos in AA, and Trout/Grechuck probably in low A at the start of next season). Of course none of these players are guaranteed to make it to the Majors let alone be a star. But with another draft coming up where I envision at least a few picks in the higher rounds than previous years, lets not create a log jam in the outfield with aging, overpriced, underperforming players. If none of our young guys pan out then there will always be a FA outfielder in the market. There will be a time in the next year or two where we will need the money to lock up our young infielders to long-term deals anyways.

4) Trade GMJ for anything. I mean I would even take a bag of balls and a case of sunflower seeds (Just not Milton Bradley). If the Ninja can do it without eating his whole salary the trade will instantly be a success.

5) Sign John Lackey unless he wants more than a $100 mil.

A) If the Angels don't make a serious run at Lackey I think it will be because they know more about his medical issues that they have reported during the season.

B) As the saying goes you can never have too much pitching. A rotation of Lackey, Weaver, Saunders, Kazmir, Santana looks really nice on paper, doesn't it. The only problem with this staff is the lack of a true #1 starter. You know the type that can completely shut down good team when the time matters (during the season and playoffs). Lackey is very good, but he just falls short of the Santana/Haliday/(I hate to say it) Sabathia class. But then again he should not get that kind of money either. I think it is possible to get him for a little more that Burnett money.

C) We can't afford not to have Lackey. A rotation of Weaver, Saunders, Kazmir, Santana, plus unproven rookie pitcher does not sound good at all. One injury, which would most likely occur to someone on the staff, could easily prevent us from winning the AL west let alone making another serious run in the playoffs. Our rookies (Bell/O'Sullivan/Walden/Reckling/Ortega) all need at least one more year in the minors. And it might be a good idea to introduce some of them to the majors by having them pitch relief in the second half of the season if they progress well enough.

6) Make a serious run at Aroldis Chapman. Just because NY and Boston are chasing him does not mean he is unavailable to us. We are a big market team (I know some will hate to admit that) that may not have the monetary advantage that Boston or NY has, but we have a few social factors that can be pretty persuasive. We have a Cuban player in the majors who can help mentor him. We have a strong Latin presence within the clubhouse, management, and community. We have good weather. After he meets with the northeastern teams have him come on down to warm So Cal and eat cabrito made by Guerrero's mom in the backyard. After that half the battle is won.

7) Address our relief pitching. I would be happy if Fuentes never got another save for the Angels in his career. I can count on one hand the amount of times Fuentes had a 1-2-3 inning. In a best-case scenario Shields could come back and be the closer (I know he is not perfect), Arrendondo can turn things around to compete with Jepsen for the set up role. Fuentes can become a situational later inning type pitcher. There are definitely a lot of ifs in that plan. Another option would be to pursue Papelbon. Just writing that make me feel weird and it would take a lot of money.

8) Lock up Jared Weaver. I know this will be difficult with Boras as his agent. He is a So Cal kid who likes playing here. The longer we wait the more expensive it is going to get. He will probably have to get a little more than Ervin Santana

Just don't propose a trade in which we give San Diego a poo poo platter of type B prospects for Adrian Gonzales. If a trade is going to be made, each team will have to view it as an advantageous deal.

Lets hope the Ninja has a good off-season.

A lurkers thoughts on the off-season

2009-10-29T15:32:06Z

With the heart breaking end of the season still glaring at us from behind the tube, while the Yankees and Phillies fight for intergalactic East Coast dominance, it's that time of the year for me to look forward to the off-season. With our off-season inevitably looming ahead, it seems a bit like a steam train heading straight towards an 8 foot thick brick wall and neither side is going to come out ahead. Obviously that analogy is referring to the Free Agent class bred from the 2009' Angels and the Angels Organization.

It's well documented that the Angels will have several key positions most likely leaving the organization this off-season, and to say that is fair is an understatement. We've had, probably the best years out of 4 of the impending Free Agents, including John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and Darren Oliver. Each of these players has contributed whole-heartedly to the club and it's fair to say they want what they want, be it money or championships. With a total of (I believe) 6 Free Agents on the active roster, the organization does have a lot of holes to fill.

* Bobby Abreu

* Vladimir Guerrero

* Chone Figgins

* John Lackey

* Darren Oliver

* Robb Quinlan

We know their stats, we know their production, we know just about everything that we need to know to gauge how valuable they are to the Angels. I won't dwell into the stats all that much, I'm not a stat-head myself which makes me probably the least likely of person you'd want discussing those type of arguments. The question here is, what do we do to replace the total production. I'll start with Abreu and work my way down, guesstimating, hypothesizing and using voodoo to predict my outcome.

Abreu: It's hard to mask his type of production, patience and even if it's not a stat, influence on other players. This is a player who is a typical #2 style hitter, that can draw a walk, hit a bomb and run the base paths with ease. His liability is his defense, which would make him much more likely to extend his career in the American League. Unfortunately I don't see Abreu returning to the Angels as he has not accepted the Angels initial offer, and I can't see the Angels extending the offer for an aging defenseless outfielder.

Guerroro: This is another individual who's feats are widely known all throughout baseball and who's untraditional skill set makes him a viable threat to anyone who's risky enough to keep his injured body in the dugout. With the lack of available sluggers on the Free Agent market or trading block, I can absolutely see the Angels trying to resign him to a 2 year deal with an club option for a third. Or possibly a 1 year deal with a mutual option followed by a club option. This doesn't have to do with only the fact that he is still a slugger, but also that he draws audiences and is as Rev said, a sure-fire HOFer.

Figgins: Figgins had a career year, several times. Whether it be SB's, AVG or OBP, he's a bit of a chameleon in the statistical standpoint. In my opinion, the man has slowed down, forgotten how to hit ground balls and lacks the initial burst of a true base stealer. I'm no scout, or stat-head (as mentioned previously) this is all just based on observation over this last season. I cannot see the Angels trying to resign Figgins, it doesn't make sense on any level for the organizations future.

Lackey: Oh Lackey, Lackey, Lackey, sentimentally this is a hard thing for me to see. I was hoping the Angels were going to be able to lock him up to an extended contract last year, alas it never happened. This is the one Free Agent that if the Angels are not able to re-sign, will hurt the most in my opinion. Never dominating, always resourceful Lackey, is an Ace in his own right. Sure he doesn't have a FIP of 1.1, or a 97MPH FB and a 8" Breaking Splitter like some Bostonians call the "Ace of All Aces". What he does have his determination, heart and the ability to spot pitches when he's on that makes him a bit of a Maddux style pitcher. I forsee the Angels attempting whole-heartedly to resign Lackey to a 5/75 up to a 6/85 type of deal.

Oliver: Oliver is awesome, plain and simple, the man of a million jobs and he knows how to do each of them. Most likely he'll be heading to retirement, which bums me a bit, I always liked him. As a person he was really easy to talk to and converse with even at the Park. If he does not retire, the Angels will offer him arbitration and he will accept being the clever man that he is (ala 08' Off Season).

Quinlan: Q, I have nothing to say here. There was this one year where he hit lefties really well. Was that like 3 or 4 years ago? He seemed like a hardworking player, but never grew into a sustainable every-day player. He's not an A or B type free agent and I can't see the Angels re-signing him with other available youngsters in the minors or a deeper class of backup players in the Free Agent Pool.

My final thoughts on this matter in particular is if the Angels are unable to resign either Abreu or Lackey then they will have to explore both Trades and Free Agents. I could see them trying to explore Holliday depending on the shake of the economy for top-tier Free Agents. They could, and most likely will give SD a call to see how Adrian's doing (with the obvious hang-up right when Gonzalez's name is mentioned). Jorge Cantu could be moved to RF if they attempted to talk with the Marlins. There are many names available, too bad not all of them are the impact players the Angels are looking for.

As for Lackey, if they can't resign him then that's an issue and I personally do not feel like Sean O'Sullivan has the ability to be a 5th Starter for an entire Season. Possibly a look at Javier Vasquez, or Jeremy Bonderman? Who knows, but it will be an entertaining off-season none the less.

Would it have been different with Cliff Lee?

2009-10-29T03:35:20Z

Well for people who watched game 1 of the world series, Cliff Lee was outstanding. The Angels had a chance to get him in July from the Indians. Instead the Angels settled for Kazmir later in the season. Instead of Kazmir we would have Cliff Lee defending AL cy young. Kazmir cost the Angels game 4 and game 6, so Cliff Lee would have definitely helped. He shut down the Yankees and has had a great postseason. Just a question would it been a different if the Angels just would have taken the bullet and aquired Cliff Lee?

Poll

Would the Angels have made the World Series if they aquired Lee instead of Kazmir?

2009-2010 Angels (fully formatted now)

2009-10-29T00:45:14Z

First of all the Angels have some decisions to make of their own with their free agents.

Lackey: He must be resigned, he is our ace and no one on the team is ready to step up in that role. (Kazmir did well in his short time with us during the regular season but the post season shows he isn't an ace. Weaver isn't there for two reasons: he has to figure out his to pitch on the road (Sosh pushed him back to game 3 instead of having him pitch in a much more important game 2) and he could regress like he did after his rookie season.)

Vlad: I have been a little down on him and still think he is way past what we was but I think they should resign him but only if Sosh can pull his head out of his butt and take him out of the cleanup spot.

Abreu: With the uncertainty of Vlad and GMJ and of course with his positive influence, I think they should and will resign him (and probably overpay him just a bit too).

Figgins: He has been a favorite of mine since I was a quick utility infielder when I played plus hearing my mother chant "Let's go Chone" (pronounced how its spelled, not how it's actually said) makes it all the harder to say I think his time here should and will be done. I was borderline before the playoffs, and it was actually Aybar's play that pushed Figgins off the edge for me.

Escobar: I still think fondly on 2007 but who knows what he will be like once he's back. If Lackey walks and no deal for Arroyo comes about then there is a slight possibility he could be coming back.

Oliver: He has been way too good to let go especially since 2 All Star break's ago. The type A designation makes it tempting to let him walk, but in our bp we need him, plus he has a little unfinished busines (note: Tex 3 run double).

Free Agents: This class is bad. There is no 2 ways around it. There is a little talent at the top but not too much else besides bench players here. I think they will get Bay (with Holliday going back to the Cards) and pay A LOT to do so after having big chunks of money by cheaply resigning Vlad and letting Escobar walk. Personally I like Beltre if they decide Wood isn't ready yet but I think his time is now.

Starting Lineup:

SS: Aybar
RF:Abreu
CF:Hunter
LF:Bay
1B:Morales
DH:Vlad
3B:Wood
C:Napoli
2B:Kendrick

While I would personally like Kendrick before Wood, Sosh likes having someone to turn the lineup over and I think Kendrick steps into that role with Aybar taking Figgins' role.

Rotation:
Lackey
Weaver
Kazmir
Saunders
Santana

BP:
Fuentes
Jepsen
Bulger
Arredondo
Palmer
Oliver
Shields

Having Rivera and GMJ on the bench would be a lot but I see a trade involving Rivera if they are able to land Bay. Personally I would love to see him get packaged with Fuentes and maybe even Napoli to bring in a big arm (Papelbon (mostly sarcastic, I realize it wouldn't happen, but it's just an idea) anyone??). Wood replacing Figgins adds a lot more pop to the lineup and Bay over Rivera makes the lineup stronger while hopefully Rivera can be sent off to make our bullpen and/or pitching staff better. You add in a healthy Vlad and this teams loooks like it has the complete package.

If Figgins leaves...

2009-10-28T09:09:48Z

Just a thought about what to do if Figgins departs for greener money, er pastures. We need a leadoff man. Here's my proposal. First re-sign Bobby Abreau as the Right Fielder. Then we make this trade.

We send Rafael Rodriguez, Trevor Bell and Terry Evans to the Tampa Bay Rays for Carl Crawford. We then sign Crawford to an extension.

This gives all you guys have have wood for Brandon Wood just what you desire as he becomes the third basemen, ( until mid June when his .167 avg. finally lands his useless butt on the bench for Izturis).

Also if we do not bring back Guerrero, we move Rivera to Dh.

And i have to throw this in. Since HGH really wants out, and it looks like Lackey is going too, lets trade HGH and cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Bronson Arroyo. And don't tell me the guy can't pitch. Nobody, not even Cliff Lee had a better final 12 starts than Arroyo.

Anyway, just a thought on something we could do to improve the team without spending a ton of cash.

Gary Matthews Jr. wants out of Anaheim

2009-10-27T22:12:37Z

According to LA Times, HGH wants out of Anaheim.

If he wants out that bad, can he restructure his contract? I am sure the union would have an absolute cow but...

I think the Halos would make a deal if they could find a taker. Question is how much salary would we have to eat?

How much is to much?

DIscuss...

Here is the link to the story.

(Ignore this part, only needed for 75 words)

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If Figgins leaves...

Gary Matthews Jr. wants out of Anaheim