Halos Heaven: FanPosts

On this day in 1939

2009-07-04T18:56:39Z

"The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."
— Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium, July 4, 1939

On June 21, the New York Yankees announced Gehrig's retirement and proclaimed July 4, 1939, "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader against the Washington Senators, the poignant ceremonies were held on the diamond. In its coverage the following day, The New York Times said it was "Perhaps as colorful and dramatic a pageant as ever was enacted on a baseball field [as] 61,808 fans thundered a hail and farewell".Dignitaries extolled the dying slugger and the members of the 1927 Yankees World Championship team, known as "Murderer's Row", attended the ceremonies. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called Gehrig "the greatest prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship" and Postmaster General James Farley concluded his speech by predicting, "For generations to come, boys who play baseball will point with pride to your record."

(source:wikipedia)

'Pride of the Yankees' is probably my earliest exposure to this crazy sport called baseball. I remember watching it and crying at the end....it fueled my love for this game and how I see it.

Santana Pounded Again Early

2009-07-04T02:54:36Z

Ervin Santana is one of my favorite pitchers for the Angels, especially last year. But, 1-3 with a 7.47 ERA and tonight is not pretty. 5 runs given up in the first 3 innings. As I have stated earlier, Lackey will be fine, but I am concerned about Santana. Saunders is also going through a Sophomore slump as he was hit hard in his last start at Texas. The question for Angel fans, is there a concern for Santana? Or will he turn it around this year?

3 areas need to be addressed before trade deadline, in which I think we will be grateful if one is addressed.

1. Bullpen (set up man)

2. Another starter? Especially with what I see from Santana, and how much can we really get out of Palmer and O' Sullivan?

3. Still would like to see a power bat, as Vladdy suddenly has no power.

I think Dan Haren would be a fine addition to our staff, does any one know when he will be a free agent? I hope we keep Wood and do not move him in any trade.

Best Angel Non-All-Star Seasons

2009-07-04T01:43:46Z

What were the best single seasons by Angels who didn't make the All-Star team? Here's a top 10 list, using Win Shares, with the guys who actually made the squad instead of them in parenthesis. "AA" in this chart is the number of Win Shares "above average," given the playing time of the Angel in question. "MVP" is where they finished in the MVP voting (all but Wally Joyner in 1991 was a top-16 finisher). And, as always when I do stuff like this, the Angel team seasons are pro-rated to 162 games, so that the impact-on-season playing field is leveled.

To give you an idea of what Win Share totals mean (or at least correspond to), here's a list of last year's AL leaders; basically anything above 30 puts you in the MVP conversation; 23-29 is All-Star material, 19-22 is a good regular player, 15-18 is a solid regular or spectacular reserve. Without further ado, and with hopes that it's readable:

G   AB   R  H   HR RBI SB/CS BB  BA   OBP  SLG OPS+ WS   AA MVP  
1) Tim Salmon, 1995 (Manny Ramirez, Paul O'Neill) 
143 537 111 177 34 105  5/5  91 .330 .429 .594 164 32.5  14   7
2) Bobby Grich, 1981 (Willie Randolph, Frank White)
100 352  56 107 22  61  2/4  40 .304 .378 .543 164 30.8  15  14
3) Tim Salmon, 1997 (Paul O'Neill)
157 582  95 172 33 129  9/12 95 .296 .394 .517 136 28.9  11   7
4) Doug DeCinces, 1982 (George Brett, Buddy Bell, Toby Harrah)
153 575  94 173 30  97  7/5  66 .301 .369 .548 149 27.5  11   3
5) Frank Robinson, 1973 (no DHs were selected)
147 534  85 142 30  97  1/1  82 .266 .372 .489 150 25.7  10  15
6) Orlando Cabrera, 2007 (Derek Jeter, Michael Young, Carlos Guillen)
155 638 101 192  8  86 20/4  44 .301 .345 .397  95 25.4   7  15
7) Wally Joyner, 1991 (Mark McGwire, Cecil Fielder, Rafael Palmeiro) 
143 551  79 166 21  96  2/0  52 .301 .360 .488 133 25.1   9
8) Brian Downing, 1982 (Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Ben Oglive, Willie Wilson) 
158 623 109 175 28  84  2/1  86 .281 .368 .482 132 24.6   6  14
9) Vlad Guerrero, 2008 (Ichiro Suzuki, J.D. Drew)
143 541  85 164 27  91  5/3  51 .303 .365 .521 130 24.4   9  14      
10) Bobby Bonds, 1977 (Reggie Jackson, Ken Singleton, Richie Zisk)
158 592 103 156 37 115 41/18 74 .264 .342 .520 136 24.4   6  16

Win Shares has Toby Harrah slightly ahead of DeCinces in 1982, but with more playing time. Otherwise the top six on this list were the best in the league at their respective positions. Again, something to think about when people over-rely on All-Star game appointments in judging a player's career. Yeah, Bobby Grich only made six All-Star teams, but in 1981 he became the first second baseman to lead his league in home runs and slugging percentage since Rogers freaking Hornsby, so maybe don't bug me about his All-Star selections, mmmkay?

Poll

Weirdest thing about that list

Orioles' Billy Ripken 1989 Fleer Card

2009-07-03T22:21:07Z

Since we are in the middle of a series with the Baltimore Orioles, I am posting this little bit of comical Orioles baseball history. Billy Ripken played second base for the Orioles (1987-92, 96) along side his brother Cal Ripken Jr. and managed by his father Cal Ripken Sr.

Ripken posed for this 1989 Fleer baseball card holding a bat that had "F-CK FACE" hand written on the knob and clearly visible in the photograph. Once this "error" was discovered a minor scandal ensued for Fleer and it's young bubble gum chewing Orioles fans. Once the card was released, and the offensive phrase discovered, Fleer hastily issued subsequent versions of the card. The first version after the original "error card" was the white blob where a dab of thick white correction fluid was applied over the knob. The second and third versions had the phrase covered over with black marking pen and a black square. The white blob version has the highest collectible value.

Years later, Ripken claimed the "F-CK FACE" bat was his batting practice bat and the use of it in the photo was unintentional on his part. His explanation was that he wrote the phrase on the bat himself to distinguish it from his game bats.

Billy Ripken now owns three minor league baseball teams with his brother Cal. He served most recently as the first base coach with the US National Team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Are Angels disproportionately snubbed in the All-Star game?

2009-07-03T19:07:12Z

In my HTML clusterfudge of a comment on the Matt Holliday thread, I had a throwaway line about Bengie Molina being arguably the best catcher in Major League history to never make an All-Star game. So I decided to look at which active position players had the most career Win Shares (as of 2008, anyway; for some reason the Hardball Times is no longer keeping track of Win Shares in season) without having ever been named to an All-Star team. There are, shall we say, some familiar names on the list:

C Bengie Molina (122)
1B Kevin Millar (135)
2B Adam Kennedy (104)
SS Orlando Cabrera (169)
3B Adrian Beltre (186)
LF Raul Ibanez (150)
CF ~~Coco Crisp (82)~~ Mark Kotsay (146)
RF Matt Stairs (151)
DH Pat Burrell (163)

Some other current and former Angels nearly crack this list, too, including Jose Guillen (125) and Chone Figgins (101). And, as we all know, Tim Salmon was the best eligible player of all time to never make an All-Star team.

Something to think about whenever someone talks down an Angels or West Coast player's Hall of Fame candidacy based on number of All-Star teams made. Hopefully Joe Maddon will stoke Chone and Jered Weaver, and maybe even Mike Napoli or Juancho this year.

Poll

Best eligible player to have never made an All-Star team

Halos are Ultimate Sports Franchise - (from ESPN)!

2009-07-03T15:02:17Z

Not sure if anyone has seen this yet, but ESPN The Magazine has named the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the No. 1-ranking franchise of all 122 professional sports teams. The article will appear in the July 13th issue of the magazine.

So says a snippet from the website article: "The Los Angeles Angels are No. 1 in our Ultimate Standings because they understand the importance of value, performance and effort -- and did so long before the recession hit."

Also: "their knack for identifying talent, executing Sciosciaball and developing good pitchers has the Angels in pennant contention virtually every year (Title Track: tied for No. 1). ..."

There is also a cool video featuring Arte, the Soth, Torii, Figgy, Lackey and the Rally Monkey to accompany the piece. The cover of the mag looks pretty cool too.

MONDAY NIGHT FUNDRAISER....ADENHART FRIEND

2009-07-02T23:59:57Z

Hey everyone, this is a fund raiser for Jon Wilhite. Jon Wilhite, a positional player with CSU Fullerton Titans, was in the car along with Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson that tragic evening. Please come out and support Jon at the Orange County Flyers game at Goodwin Field on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, Monday, July 6th. Free entry all night. Jon will be throwing out first pitch. Thanks.

http://www.orangecountyflyers.com/News/Jon-Wilhite-Night,-July-6th.cfm

What does MLB do with used Angel game balls?

2009-07-02T11:43:03Z

I have been looking for a used Angels Stadium game ball. I have never been lucky enough to catch one (almost caught one that Dino threw near me but it bounced off my finger tip). Is there a place where you can buy a used baseball from an Angel home game? All I can seem to find are baseballs with autographs. They go through an amazing amount of baseballs, someone has to be selling them!

Thanks for the help :)

Angels interested in Dan Haren

2009-07-01T02:22:02Z

Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports says that the Angels inquired on Dan Haren, hoping to add the elite starter through a deal that could have included "their surplus of catchers and middle infielders to put together a blockbuster offer." However, the Diamondbacks declined to engage in more serious talks for Haren. Says one D'Backs exec:

"I almost can't conceive of a package that would motivate us to move him."

Rosenthal goes on to say that the Diamondbacks consider Haren an integral piece of their future, but one source indicated that "talks could accelerate" if the Angels bowl over the Diamondbacks with an overwhelming offer. Rosenthal notes this is a sign that teams are trying to get creative in a depleted market for starting pitching.

what would it take Wood, S-Rod, Conger to start it?

Vote For Torii! Time is running out!

2009-06-30T21:54:42Z

Because getting 4th place in AL OF voting behind Josh Hamilton and his .746 OPS would be a disgrace. Torii deserves to start.

Josh Hamilton is on the DL and in a rehab assignment. Torii probably broke a rib running into a wall and yet still has an OPS of .961 and is on pace to go 20/20 with 100 RBI.

Go Vote for Torii. Up to 25 Times.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/ballot_reg.html

Going to see the Salt Lake Bees on Monday, July 6

2009-06-30T20:38:32Z

Any recommendations for some things to do and see while we are in Salt Lake for the day? I'm traveling with two cousins who think that seeing the first JC Penney's is the height of something or other, so I was pleasantly surprised that they were enthusiastic about seeing a baseball game.

Their dad was my dad's older brother, and they're in their 60s. My husband is clinging to every vacation day from now until he retires in December, so he isn't coming on this trip. I think he might be a little relieved not to spend that much time with a whole bunch of women our age; one of me is enough. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a little odd (Totally Anal About Spelling), but they are odd on the order of the Lake Elsinore baseball game pre-game show with the hearse parade that Sothball mentioned on another thread.

Huh. I made it sound like they're not much fun, but they are lots of fun.

We have loose plans to visit Beehive House that morning and dinner at Lion House unless I can now talk them into hot dogs at the ballpark. We've all been to Tabernacle Square and we don't feel the need to do that again.

Thanks.

Matt Holliday (Rant #1)

2009-06-30T18:50:54Z

Lately, there has been debate on whether or not to go after Matt Holliday or not this coming offseason. I was out of the country till yesterday, so I didnt have the chance to offer my opinion. Beware, heavy stat post after the jump.

Im using fangraphs.com to attempt to predict Holliday going forward, and using a win/dollar ratio, put a price tag on him.

So we all know that Matt Holliday is putting up less than expected numbers with the A's this year. But how bad has he actually been? He started off the season horribly, but over his last 46 games, hes hit .314/.432/.465. His batting average is right at his career average of .315, while his OBP is up, and slugging down. But batting is just half of the story, he has been superb in the field. He is 6th in the majors with a +5.9 UZR for LFers. Over the course of a whole season, thats a +13 mark, meaning that his fielding will be worth 1.3 wins over average over the course of a season.

But what is wrong with Holliday this year? Taking a quick glance at his peripherals show a decrease in his K% and an increase in his BB%, usually a sign of improvement. Hes also swung at less pitches this year, and improved his contact rate. So what gives? The answer lies in his balls in play. He has lost 6% of his line drives, and added 5% to his fly balls, and 1% to ground balls. This would cause his average to drop significantly, as line drives have the best chance to fall in for hits. A rule of thumb (but extremely crude way) of predicting BABIP is LD% +.120, but Holliday has had a career correlation of LD rate +.150 (yeah I know, really lazy on my part) so Holliday's BABIP should be around .154+.150=.304, very close to his actual .309. Hollidays career BABIP is .351, and his career LD% is 20%. So if Holliday's LD% returns to normal, around 50 points should be added to his BABIP (+60 for LDs, -10 for loss of ground ball and fly ball hits). So as long as Holliday can hit line drives, his batting average should be fine, and as long as he can get walks, his OBP will be fine as well (fine as in near career norms).

Another of the more shocking trends is his complete loss of power. This is even more strange because he is hitting more fly balls, which should result in more HRs, and show more power (at least in Isolated Power (SLG-AVG), which only takes into account extra base hits for slugging). His power is down however because his HR/FB is way down, to 9.3%, down from his 16.7 career percentage. Is this just fluctuation, or is it due to the park switch? Determining RF/CF/LF from the 75 and 105 degree marks and using hittrackeronline.com, last year Holliday hit 3 HRs to RF, 15 to CF, and 7 to LF. In 2007 he hit 7 to RF, 12 to CF, and 17 to LF. In 2006 he hit 12 to RF, 10 to CF, and to 14 LF. Coors has HR factors (courtesy of hardballtimes, and LF and 1/2 LCF combined, CF and 1/4 of LCF and RCF combined, and RF and 1/2 of RCF combined) of LF at 128, CF at 104, and RF at 127. McAfee's factors are 98 to LF, 76 to CF, and 97 in RF.

Heres adjusting his HRs if he played McAfee instead of Coors

2006(C)-RF-12, CF-10, LF-14: 2006(M)-RF-9.3, CF-7.3, LF-10.7. Holliday loses 9 HRs.

2007(C)-RF-7, CF-12, LF-17: 2007(M)-RF-5.3, CF-8.8, LF-13. Holliday loses another 9 HRs by playing in McAfe-

2008(C)-RF-3, CF-10, LF-14: 2008(M)-RF-2.3, CF-7.3, LF-10.7. This time he loses 5 HRs.

Now obviously his HRs wouldnt be this depressed because he plays only half his games at McAfee, so he would possibly only lose around half of the numbers I just calculated. Angels Stadium is 100 to LF and 108 to RF, so Holliday would still hit for enough power. This conclusion would be supported by a higher SLG when he plays away, which doesnt appear, although his total line does improve significantly over his home line, but it is still way to small of a sample size to draw conclusions from. While Holiday may not slug .600 again, he should still be over .510 for the rest of his career.

So now that I have dissected his season so far up to this point, how should we value him as a free agent?

Despite all his struggles, Holliday has still put up 2.2 wins above replacement (WAR) so far this year. On his current pace, Holliday will be worth 4.8 WAR over the season, but he will improve, and will likely end up in the around 5.5 WAR range. Assuming such, over the past 4 years, Holliday has been worth 4.4, 7.9, 6.2 and 5.5 WAR. It is safe I think to predict he will be worth around 5.8 WAR over the next 3 seasons. One of his top comps on BB-R is Jason Bay, and the players look very similar, except offset by one year. Holliday's first season was when he was 24, Bays when he was 25. Bay also went through a rough patch, where he OPS+ 93 one year. But he bounced back and is now one of the premier players. (but I digress)

But assuming an average of 5 WAR over 5 seasons, and assuming a 4.3 Million dollar per marginal win added (the economy makes this number lower than the current 4.5, as total monies will likely be less than last offseason), over the course of a 1 year deal, Holliday would likely be worth something like 21.5 Million dollars per season. But when signing a longer deal, the player gives up around 10% due to the security of the deal, also because there is risk of injury/ineffectiveness. Taking off about 2 Million extra (per season) to compensate likely less effective defense and base-running to aging, we arrive at about 5 years, 85 Million, which is probably still a tad bit high for him. If Holliday wants to see those numbers, he is really going to have to rebound during the second half. If he doesnt rebound, teams will likely project him around 4-4.5 WAR per season, and drop up to 4 Million a season off of his price, and his market price would probably be around 5/70.

From all accounts, Holliday loves SoCal, and Boras listens to his clients. If Holliday wants a deal done with the Angels, Boras will make it happen. If he asks for the most money, Boras will also make that happen. Also, Holliday is very close to Garret Atkins, who grew up in Irvine (in the house next to mine), and Atkins likely speaks favorably of SoCal.

Teix & GA vs Kendry & Rivera

2009-06-30T16:41:18Z

we're almost to the halfway point of the season and it looks like we're hitting out stride. taking this opportunity to examine and compare what we lost over the off-season and what we replaced it with. i want to focus on 1b and lf, big tex and ga.

what we lost: tex .276 20hr 60 rbi (20.0 mill) ga .284 4 hr 27 rbi (2.5 mill) total: .280 24 hr 87 rbi

what we have: kmo .280 13hr 41 rbi (600k) rivers .307 13 hr 43 rbi (3.25 mill) total: .293 26 hr 84 rbi

granted ga was injured which i think further validates letting him walk (durability issues) and tex is the beneficiary of hitting in a wind tunnel for half his games. also consider the salary implications, tex and ga 22.5 mill compared to kendry, rivera, abreu & fuentes 17.35 mill.

Standings Since April 25

2009-06-29T12:01:24Z

Since the morning of April 26, when we woke up in last place, at 6-11, 5.5 games out of first place, we've gone 35-21. That's the best record in baseball since then. Here's a list:

LAA 35-21 .625
BOS 35-23 .603
LAD 35-23 .603
TBR 35-24 .593
COL 35-24 .593
NYY 34-24 .586
DET 33-25 .569
TEX 32-25 .561

And yes, since swapping Jeff Weaver for Jered in the rotation on July 3, 2006, we are (once again!) playing exactly .600 baseball -- 288-192.

Can we keep it up? Not .625, I don't think. And .600 is a hard, hard dollar when two-fifths of your rotation is Matt Palmer and Sean O'Sullivan. But this team has surprised us before....

Bush League Bunt Coverage

2009-06-29T17:33:19Z

Why can't Figgins stay at 3rd base on bunts with runner at 2nd?

Have you noticed that when defending a sac bunt with a runner at 2nd base, Figgins gives up 3rd base and charges every bunt attempt. Don't the Angels have any bunt coverage on this play other than forfeiting the opportunity to force the lead runner as occured in Sunday's game in Phoenix when Mathis could have easily thrown out the lead runner but Figgins had immediately vacated 3rd.

This represents 7 consecutive times that he has done so. Maybe reading the bunt first would be a better option.

It may not be the NL West

2009-06-29T14:08:57Z

First Place...finally and there is the thought we got there beating up on a weak NL West. Could be. That could be the reason the Dodgers have such a good record. The Dodgers having a good team could be a reason as well. But, for those of us in Red how about another theory? The Angels did so well against the NL West, despite having its pitchers having to bat, because the lineup required Scoiscia to leave out the cleanup hitter. Vlad.

Vlad has some good baseball left in him and I think he will have a good second half. But that does not negate the fact that his power numbers are worse than Mathis, Issy and just about everyone besides the pitchers. A manager has to have balls if he wants to win. Inter-league play gave Scioscia his balls. Vlad had and has no business batting clean up. Obviously he spent a few games in minor league rehab [even Manny will] but not enough. Vlad the pinch hitter--Vlad the hitter is an older hitter whose Hall of Fame skills are slipping. Still...he is not coach-able. He won't be selective. In one Colorado game he was up three times saw about eight pitches and accounted for four outs. His latest pinch hit experience was a one pitch grounded back to the pitcher. His rehab should continue in a seventh or eighth spot [if at all] in the batting order.

But Vlad likes Texas, so Mike might do the coward thing again and place him at cleanup tonight...but that would be based on the historical Vlad...not the Vlad we have today, injured and in need of some mending. The skipper loves to profess "team", he ought to start acting that way with Vlad.

Visit to Wrigley Field

2009-06-28T23:41:48Z

Mrs. Sothball, the junior Ms. Sothball (daughter) and I got to attend a game at Wrigley Field on Sunday 6/21/09. It was a day game between the Cubs and Indians. The Cubs won the game, 6-2. For us, the star of the show was Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field is one of only 2 baseball stadiums remaining that were built prior to the "automobile age". The other is Fenway Park. As a consequence, these 2 fields have very limited parking facilities, and are surrounded by a mix of residential and commercial buildings. So, you either walk, take the subway (the "El" in Chicago), or park as close as possible. The parking rates are pretty high close to the park. For our game, the asking rate was $30.00. We parked on the street for free about a mile from Wrigley, and then walked to the field. It was actually a great experience. The surrounding area is called "Wrigleyville". There are lots of stores, shops, restaurants, and sports bars…lots of sports bars.

Here are some of photos;

Here’s the view of the main entrance…sort of. It’s below the red "Wrigley Field" sign.

This is the view just inside the main entrance to the right.

Here’s a 4 picture panorama inside the main entrance.

I hadn’t realized how many seats there are on rooftops of adjacent buildings. This photo was taken from the very top corner seat. That’s Sheffield Avenue below. Sheffield intersects with Waveland at the upper left of the photo…where the red car is turning.

This was the view from our seats. The "luxury" box seats were added about 10 years ago. They are directly over our heads. It’s the thin layer of seats directly below the upper deck (seen at upper middle of the photo).

The hand operated scoreboard. This photo was taken at the end of the game, right after the final score was posted. It’s on the lower left side.

Here’s the sign at the front displaying the final score…Wrigley’s version of lighting the halo.

Impressions?

1) If you’ve ever met a Cub fan, they seem more "in love" with their team, almost as though the team is a part of their extended family. I think I understand part of the reason why. Wrigley Field and the surrounding residential neighborhood are tightly interwoven. They are a part of one another, and seem to play off each other.

2) People we met were friendly and curious. I had no problems with anyone, even though I was wearing an Angel cap and shirt. About the only team identity that may have caused problems would have been a White Sox gear.

3) The food was great, and the facilities were adequate. No extended waiting time for food or restrooms.

If you ever have a chance to see a game at Wrigley, take it! You can suspend time in your mind and imagine what it was like seeing a baseball game 75 years ago.

To check out more photos, go to this link (taken the day of the game) and at this link (taken on Monday, 6/22 on a tour of the stadium). There are two pages of photos for each link.

John Lackey and our middle infielders follow up

2009-06-28T05:55:43Z

Ok, I posted about a month and a half ago, then Rev Halo Fan and his followers jumping on me for defending Lackey and asking what could happen in the feature with four middle infielders. As I recalled Matt Welch posted that Lackey had a poor ending to the 2008 season. I posted, he pitched well in the playoffs and nearly tossed a no-hitter in Boston. LAckey will be fine, he just needs a couple of starts as he did not have a spring training. Then we had Rev and his followers jumping on me, different opinions are not endorsed on this board. I do thank the very few who has stood up for me and has brought the same very point up.

I posted we had four middle infielders, Kendrick, Ayber, Maicer, and Wood. What will happen, will one be moved? Will Kendrick be traded? Well the post is removed, not shocking, and in the post, Rev called me an ASS. Good question I thought. Rev, why is the post removed? Clicking on my post, the page says 404: the page you are looking for does not exist.

In summary, looks like Scoscia, took care of the four middle infielder problem, moving Howie and Wood down. As for Lackey, one run today, and is pitching well. July and August I predict he will be one of the top 4 pitchers in the American League. Im sure, Rev will remove this post or have some negative comment. An ANgel fan since 1979.

we have four middle infielders, who gets traded?

by Ca1IFORNIA ANGELS about 1 month ago

3 comments | 0 recs

Interleague Success: What should we take from it?

2009-06-27T05:59:04Z

I assume many of us have been ecstatic with our recent success. We've mostly been pounding the ball against our most recent opponents: Padres, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, and so far so good with the D-Backs.

But the Angels have done this before. We are incredibly good when it comes to inter-league play (9-3 this season I believe). Right now we are tied with Texas, who sneaked past the M's and our beloved Halos earlier this season. Even though we had a rough beginning, we're still holding our own in the AL West, through injuries, bullpen troubles, and offensive slumps.

Pretty soon, we're going to be done with inter-league Play. I don't want to sound like a nay-sayer in light of a great victory, but when we go back to playing teams from the AL, can we safely say that we are now an improved team? Once we no longer face the NL, will our weaknesses from earlier this season flare up once again? I hope they won't.

Anyway, just a curious question: How do you guys think we should translate this success? What should we take from these series against the NL, if anything at all?

Poll

As inter-league play comes to a close, what do you think our recent series have shown us about our Angels?

Could the Angels be looking at Dan Uggla?

2009-06-27T02:40:26Z

In the article, it mentions notjhing regarding the Angels being interested. But directly after Uggla, was Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates and it is said that it could be a big upgrade for the Angels. Now, I'm not into Freddy Sanchez as he's already 31 years old, but Dan Uggla is intriguing.... he's on pace for 30 homers, and 100 RBI's. Granted his avergae is .226 and OBP is .336, but those power numbers make you take a second look.

Could Howie Kendrick return to form like we all hope he does? Yes. Is it guaranteed that he will? No. Please people, don't tell me why the Angels will never deal with the marlins again because everyone here knows the reasons or excuses. Instead, I'll ask what is fair value for Uggla and what could the Angels part with and still keeping the team in tact for a title run?

I'd consider trading Brandon Wood for him. Uggla has proven it at the MLB level, Wood has not. Wood, Aybar, and a AAA arm (Not one of our top guys... someone projected as a low #2 future rotation type). Who's to say Uggla couldn't move to 3rd if HK picks himself back up. Without a SS beyond Izturis, Figgins can play SS. I think that's fair trade value.

http://bases.newsvine.com/_news/2009/06/24/2965677-10-most-likely-to-be-traded-infielders?category=sports