According to the Rotoworld site:

While fellow free agent Jorge Posada wasn't ready to talk, Mariano Rivera indicated that he planned on testing the market as a free agent. "They had the opportunities and they didn't do nothing with me," he said, "so we'll see what happens. ... This is a business. Nothing against the New York Yankees."

So if we give Mo-Riv $10 million a year for 3 years, would it be wise to trade Frankie for something juicy?

Frankie is just ONE season away from free agency and looking for a big, big payday.

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Do not guess who you WANT to be in the lineup.
Guess Who will most likely be in the lineup ... Afterwards you can comment on what you think of the likely lineup.

Angels 2008 Opening Day Starter Will Be:

First Base
Kotchman
Morales
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Second Base
Kendrick
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Shortstop
Cabrera
Figgins
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Third Base
Figgins
Izturis
Wood
McPherson
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Catcher
Mathis
Napoli
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Left Field
Anderson
Rivera
Willits
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Center Field
Matthews
Willits
Figgins
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Right Field
Guerrero
Rivera
Willits
Morales
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

Designated Hitter
Guerrero
Rivera
McPherson
Anderson
Morales
OTHER (2 points for a correct Write-In)

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The 2007 Club in Angels History
2007 Individual OFFENSIVE Performances that rank in the club's Single-Season All-Time Top Ten

Batting Average
Chone Figgins tied w/ Tim Salmon's 1995 campaign at .330 for 7th place all time

Slugging %
Vladimir Guerrero at .547 is .001 behind Doug DeCinces' 1982 campaign, good for 9th place all time

OPS - OnBase % + Slugging
Vladimir Guerrero tied w/ Darin Erstad's 2000 season .950 for 7th place all time

At Bats
Orlando Cabrera tied w/ Garret Anderson's 2002 and 2003 seasons with 638 AB, 10th place all-time.

Hits
Orlando Cabrera had 192 hits; good for 8th place all time.

Doubles
Vladimir Guerrero hit 45 to tie Orlando Cabrera's 2006 mark for 3rd all time.

RBI
Vladimir Guerrero with 125 ranks 4th all-time

Singles
Orlando Cabrera tied w/ Sandy Alomar's 1971 seasons with 148 singles, 3rd place all-time.

Adjusted OPS+
(This stat adjusts for the league performance and park factors and uses 100 as the baseline of a league average player)
Vladimir Guerrero's 154 OPS+ ranks 7th all-time.

Runs Created
Vlad ties himself (in 2006) at 8th all-time with 123.

Extra Base Hits
With 73, Vlad had one more than Don Baylor's MVP 1979 season, ranking 8th all-time.

Times on Base
Vlad ties Brian Downing's 1982 campaign and his own 2004 MVP campaign with 266 Times on Base, this three-way tie ranks 9th all-time.

Sacrifice Flies
Orlando Cabrera had 11, tied with 3 other season-highs for 7th place all-time.

Intentional Walks
In 2007, Vlad broke his own Angel single season record for IBB with 28, 1st place all time.

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The 2007 Club in Angels History
2007 Individual PITCHING Performances that rank in the club's Single-Season All-Time Top Ten

Wins
John Lackey had 19 Wins, tied for 8th all-time with Langston, Tanana and Ryan twice.

W-L %
Kelvim Escobar had a .720 Winning Percentage, good for 5th all-time.

BB/9
(Walks per 9 Innings Pitched)
John Lackey's 2.09 rate ranks 10th all-time

Games
Scot Shields appeared in 71 games, good for 4th all-time. That he holds 1st and 2nd place on the franchise single season rankings tells us a little as to why he has apparently run out of gas...

Saves
Frankie's 40 ties Percy for 5th all time. Percy had 40 in 2002. Nice "ring" to it, eh?

K-to-BB
(Strikeouts to Walks Ratio)
John Lackey with 3.44 Strikeouts for every walk issued in 2007 ranks 5th all time.

Games Finished
Frankie finished 56 games in 2007, 6th all-time.

Adjusted ERA+
(This stat adjusts for the league performance and park factors and uses 100 as the baseline of a league average player)
John Lackey, 144, 8th all-time. Dean Chance's 1964 Cy Young season is #1 at 200. Bartolo Colon's Cy Young 2005 season rated 120, 39th all time!

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Breakdown Rundown

First, L.A. Seitz is optimistmic about the future.

The Chronicler BRILLIANTLY points out that improving much will be difficult for the 2008 Angels as:
"each regular is an average or better player, making finding significant upgrades difficult."

Matt Welch gos on the offensive aggainst the Masshole Nation. Worse than Yankee fans, and with 21 fewer world championships!

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Follow Baseball's Postseason on the SB Nation Blogs:

Rockies (Purple Row) @ Snakes (AZ Snakepit)

Indians (Let's Go Tribe) @ Red Sox (Over The Monster)

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Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive

Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore

Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people and I
Want to see life

Driving in your car
Oh, please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more

And if a double-decker bus crashes into us
To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine

Oh, there is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out

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Just As Evil Empire VS. Angels - NOON
Curt Schilling @ Jered WEAVER

Click "Read More" for the rest...

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2002 - 99-63 (.611) - Mike Scioscia
2005 - 95-67 (.586) - Mike Scioscia
2007 - 94-68 (.580) - Mike Scioscia
1982 - 93-69 (.574) - Gene Mauch
1986 - 92-70 (.568) - Gene Mauch
2004 - 92-70 (.568) - Mike Scioscia
1989 - 91-71 (.562) - Doug Rader
1985 - 90-72 (.556) - Gene Mauch
2006 - 89-73 (.549) - Mike Scioscia
1979 - 88-74 (.543) - Jim Fregosi

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I will try to do what the allegedly non-fan objective baseball analyst types do. I will try to dissect this game without emotion. At the moment, I am emotionally spent, so this might be one of the few windows of opportunity for to ever try such a thing.

First
The ball that hit Vlad got away from Delcarmen. It was not intentional. Sure Vlad was pissed, but like so many of the Mickey Hatcher school, he sits on top of the plate and then is surprised when he gets hit. Figgins, Kendrick, they spent a lot of time on the DL this season because Hatcher has them on the plate. Vlad a few days and some diminished ability, but really, we would not get pitched inside as much if we were not on top of the plate. We would not, then of course, have a .284 team batting average, so the answer, once again, is to sacrifice batting average, back off the plate and have a masher who augments the offense with power.

Second
The fan who grabbed the ball was the dorkiest sweetcheeks closet case on the East Coast, but every fan on Earth has the right to dive for that ball and if I were sitting next to an Angels fan who did just that to an opposing catcher I would be buying him all the beers he wanted that night.

Third
We had ample opportunities to put this pathetic contest away. This game was gift-wrapped and handed to us numerous times and we resisted. The reason is the offense did not get the elusive "clutch" hit that we needed and the pitching staff did a fabulous Grant Ballfour imitation.

Fourth
It is either Mathis or Escobar, but it was pretty apparent by the fifth batter that the outside corner was a wasteland and that pitches to Righties there were not going to be called a strike. And yet one or both of these players insisted on placing the ball just there, time and time again. Escobar's voluminous walks to this team were as or more unclutch as/then the offense's lack of a breakthrough hit. Kelvim is a very good pitcher, but this season he took a step back from greatness with the walk totals - and sucking up a good walk IS the Red Sox game. The Mathis/Escobar battery played right into it.

Fifth
We are without our best defensive Centerfielder, our future-HOF Right Fielder can hardly field and then leaves the game early, our only middle of the order threat has PINK EYE and we rlied on Scot Shields to pitch two hitless innings. And with ALL THAT going against us, we got shutout on the road by the top Cy Young contender and then held Boston to a draw until the bottom of the 9th. A ragtag group of cripples did all that. This Red Sox team is just not that great. Be it Cleveland or, miraculously, us, they are not going anywhere.

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For founding this franchise and cursing us to a life of gloomy servitude in your stead.

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Anaheim Hold 'Em.

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