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Thursday Halolinks: Jordan Walden May Not Be Deep, But Depth Is Needed

If the Angels are looking to get deeper in the bullpen, why would they consider trading Jordan Walden?

By WiHaloFan
Stephen Dunn

It's all about the money:

  • Start printing those playoff tickets! The Angels claimed shortstop Thomas Field off waivers from the Twins on Wednesday. - angels.com. "Field has posted a .264/.359/.414 slash line in his Minor League career, totaling 47 homers and 47 steals in 524 games. He batted .246 with eight homers while playing in his first season of Triple-A this year, and appeared in 18 games with the Rockies from 2011-12." Alright, I get it -- it's called "depth"-- and since he's only 25-years old there's a chance the guy might contribute at some point in his career.
  • Here's something I don't get, or else someone's just making shit up: With Greinke likely out of picture, Dipoto looks at 'pen - angels.com. "Dipoto is against spending top dollar on a closer, but he isn't against spending money on a collection of relievers who can shorten the game and make the bullpen a strength, especially in a market that may be deeper in relievers than it is in starters." Makes sense right? If you can't get starters who can get you into the later innings with a lead, shorten the game for those crappy starters and turn it over to better pitchers. If that's the case, what's this mean: Do the Halos think Walden's no longer a decent reliever? Does he have more trade value than bullpen value?
  • Maybe this is why Walden's available:
  • Whatever the case may be, it's a shame the club doesn't look into making more of these types of deals: Phillies To Acquire Wilton Lopez - MLBTradeRumors.com. "Lopez, arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, projects to earn $1.4MM in 2013. The 29-year-old posted a 2.17 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and a 55% ground ball rate in 66 1/3 innings with the Astros in 2012. In three-plus MLB seasons, he has a 3.14 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 55.9% ground ball rate. He's under team control through 2015." These are the types of deals smart clubs (like Oakland) make that get overlooked by a lot of people. Imagine if Lopez had been in the Angels pen lat season, how good would those 66 innings looked next to Isringhausen or Hawkins? Twenty-two blown saves, not in that alternate reality.
  • This is one of the weirdest stories; player flourishes and then all of a sudden...done: The Official End Of Chone Figgins (As A Mariner) - Lookout Landing. "Chone Figgins is gone. His every last belonging is gone from the apartment. We're no longer going to go our separate ways -- we're actively going our separate ways. There are probably good memories. Maybe one will occur to us someday."
  • Remember those stories about how we should expect Jered Weaver's performance to tank? Here are a couple of interesting videos looking at the effect of dropping velocity and pitching results:
  • Let the debating begin: Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released for 2013: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa among new names - Yahoo! Sports. "Barry Bonds might be the best hitter in baseball history, and Roger Clemens might be the best pitcher of his generation (or so), but both also might not get into Cooperstown because they are associated with performance-enhancing drugs." My feelings about Bonds, Clemens, and the other "tainted" candidates changes daily. I'll read a post about how good these players were before they enhanced their bodies and think, "Yeah, they're HOFers." And then I'll read something about cheaters, and what about those poor players who didn't use that were screwed, so it becomes, "They made their bed, now they can lay in it." The voters have a tough decision to make, but this guy shouldn't be one of them: Philip Hersh is gonna stick it to the "druggies" - HardballTalk. "Which is his prerogative (not voting for suspected PED users). Just as it’s the BBWAA’s prerogative to allow a person who has covered ice skating, downhill skiing and the like since 1987 to continue to vote on the Hall of Fame while it makes hard-working baseball writers who cover games for a living wait ten years after membership before getting the privilege."
  • Winning Powerball Tickets for Jackpot Sold in Ariz., Mo - Yahoo! "The jackpot swelled to $587.5 million, according to Lottery official Sue Dooley. The two winners will split the jackpot each getting $293.75 million. The cash payout is $192.5 million each." One of the winners can now afford to sign Greinke!
  • This is one point of view I don't agree with: How Marvin Miller Turned Shortstops Into Sheiks - Businessweek. "The real miracle of Marvin Miller’s career is not merely that he added strings of zeroes to the salary schedule but that he was able to convince most ordinary Americans that paying baseball players like sheiks was simple fairness." I absolutely think it's fair for players to make as much as they do. If they're not worth the salary then the owners shouldn't pay it. Pretty simple supply and demand scenario. Also, why doesn't anyone complain about Tom Cruise making $75M a year. Noted in this post, five actors made over $30M last year, but no one is complaining about the high cost of movie tickets as much as they do about the cost of MLB tickets. By the way, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made $36M last year. Is he the Vernon Wells of the movie industry?
  • Liar: Glass willing to spend more than $70 million on Royals’ payroll - KansasCity.com. "Glass also disputed the notion, generally based on industry estimates by Forbes magazine, that he has pocketed more than $100 million in operating profit since purchasing the club in 2000 from the estate of Ewing Kauffman. "From the time we’ve owned the team until now," Glass said, "accumulatively we’ve done no better than break even. We’ve actually subsidized it slightly during that period of time." Wouldn't it be better if he just said, "Yeah I'm making a ton of money, so what. That's why I bought the team." Instead of his woe-is-me, firstworld problems.
  • In five years Upton will make as much as Cruise did in one: B.J. Upton of Tampa Bay Rays agrees to deal with Atlanta Braves, says source - ESPN. "Free-agent outfielder B.J. Upton has agreed to a five-year deal worth $75.25 million with the Atlanta Braves, a baseball source told ESPN." And provide more entertainment.

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