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.

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Here are some thoughts on the Juan Rivera signing:

1.        We have four starting outfielders now—Vlad, Juan, HGH, and Torii, so the DH/Outfield rotation is in full effect.  Reggie will be on the bench I’d imagine. 

(Side note:  as much as we’d probably like HGH to be out longer, the estimates have him back in 4-6 months, since he had the surgery Nov. 4th, he should be back at the LATEST in May)

2.       We effectively have said goodbye to Garret Anderson for sure now.  No way do the Angels re-sign him now.  While I’ve been critical in the past (mostly of his defense), I have a lot of love for GA.  Thanks for the memories…

3.       Kendry Morales will NOT be playing outfield anytime soon.  So if the Angels resign Tex, he’d be at AAA or on the bench.

4.       I hope this doesn’t mean Vlad is in his last year in an Angel uniform.  He needs an extension and he needs to retire in Angel red.  If the extension happens, look for Vlad to be the first Angel cap in the HOF.  If it doesn’t happen, look for me to cry a lot.

So this begs the question of WHY NOW?  We still have HGH tied up for 3 years, Torii for 4, and now Juan for 3.  I hate to say it, but it looks like Vlad might be getting squeezed out.  I really hope that is not the case, because I would rather have Vlad than Tex. 

I think we should have at least waited for Tex to sign before inking this deal with Juan.  I would have rather seen Kendry playing some outfield than Juan.  If we sign Tex, that outfield picture is going to get VERY crowded.  But maybe this is a prelude for trading someone…but I think it could only be HGH or Reggie, and who wants them now?   

Is it only me or is that stupid ad coming back every few seconds on Halos Heaven?

What the heck?  Can you fix this crap Rev?  I have to close it every couple seconds and then it pops back up again!

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So I looked up Dallas' stats today to see how he was doing.  Well in 85 games and 293 ABs at AAA .300/.406/.689 with 32 Homeruns.  He also stuck out 103 times.  Hasn't got a call up from the minors yet, but I'm feeling remorse for letting him go.  What is he on pace for, 60 homeruns?  Dang.  He also homered in 6 straight games in June. 

Good news is he's a free agent at the end of the year.  Maybe we should pick him up and give him another shot.

Link to stats: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Dallas%20McPherson&pos=3B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=425774 

Hello everyone in Red Sox Nation, I am a regular poster over at Halos Heaven (the Angels SB nation blog).  I have somewhat of a dilemma and was hoping you guys may be able to help me. 

You see, I have a neighbor here in SoCal that is a Boston transplant (he moved out here about two months ago) and obviously loves the Sox (but interestingly loves the Miami Dolphins instead of the Patriots).  We've become good buddies because we both love baseball, but I have a hard time not despising the Red Sox because they have owned my team. 

Now the one thing we do share in common is our hatred of the Yankees, and my Angels have owned them even more than the Sox have the last ten years or so.  But he comes over to my house and watches the Sox and I have a hard time not being a little harsh on them because they just keep killing the Angels year after year.  My only hope is that this year this trend reverses and I can start to not be so bitter.

Oh this might interest you as well--he's been looking for work so I got him a job with me vending at Angel Stadium starting today versus Kansas City.  He also claims he'll have to make the Angels his second favorite team with him working there and us being friends and all, but can you guys figure out how I can be more kind to my friend in this dilemma?

I mean soon when the Angels and Sox go head to head, how do you not go to blows with the guy?  Please help me find reasons to not hate the Sox so much...

Just curious after reading all about the Mitchell Report and all the players who used steroids/HGH if this stuff is really as bad as they say it is.  
It seems the media truly distorts the adverse health affects of steroids, because the message I get from them is that one would fall apart like a statue if they took them.  However, I don't see players dying and having heart attacks, liver problems, etc from steroids.  Hey, even the Governator used roids--and he seems to be doing ok (though I heard he had some sort of heart problem).  Hulk Hogan isn't dying--but he did lose his hair.
Some youtube videos on the other side of steroids:

Oh...so you know, I have never taken steroids, nor do I necessarily condone there use--but it seems that these drugs can do amazing things to people without causing a bunch of health problems.  Just curious as to what everyone thinks about this.    

Quietly, Mike Napoli has strung together a 7-game hitting streak.  

According to http://www.insidesocal.com/angels/ Napoli is crediting a new stance invented by everyone's favorite hitting coach, Mickey Hatcher.  

Is this the start of him being the player he was for the first two-months of his career, or are all you haters out there still writing him off?  

Now if Scioscia could only teach him how to throw out runners...  

I was reading several of the Angels news outlets this morning about Brandon Wood being sent back to AAA and found out he got advice from GA on pitch selection.  Uh...Garret Anderson?  Pitch selection?  Let's hope that he isn't getting advice from Shea Hillenbrand on how to drive the ball.  Or advice from Vlad on how to run the bases. Why in the world is GA giving advice to Brandon on pitch selection?  

Sick of Shea?  Anybody else ready for Juan Rivera?  

According to the OC Register:

Juan Rivera has been running on a treadmill and has suffered no setbacks in his recovery from a broken leg but remains out until June, Scioscia said.

And according to the IE paper:

Juan Rivera remains in Arizona rehabbing a broken left leg. While there is no timetable for his return, he has started running in a harness on a treadmill. The harness takes some of the weight off the leg.

"He's doing very well with it but he's still a little ways away from getting into baseball activity," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's cleared the hurdles and everything looks as good as it can right now, and he hasn't had any setbacks."

And finally from LA Daily news:

Juan Rivera continues to make progress from a broken leg, but he still remains on schedule to return sometime around the All-Star break. Rivera broke his left tibia Dec. 22 while playing winter ball in Venezuela.

Scioscia said Rivera has started running on a treadmill with the assistance of a harness that lifts him slightly as he runs to help reduce some of his body weight. He is doing his rehabilitation work in Arizona.

After watching him have a horrible spring (except for 1 good game), I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever make it to the major leagues.  It seems that he is one of those career minor leaguers or AAAA guys.  He has now spent two years at AAA and still doesn't seem ready for the majors.  

I know the rumor has been going around that the Angels might move Jose Molina, but I am definitely not comfortable doing so since Mathis has had such a terrible spring.  I think going into spring training it was his back-up job to lose, and he did just that by batting a measly .145 (I know, small sample size).  But heck, last year he batted .300 in spring training, and then went on to stink it up in the majors.

On another note, in the rule 5 draft last year we lost catcher Ryan Budde to the Phillies, but isn't he suppose to be offered back to us if he doesn't stay on the major league roster?  Anyone hear anything about this?  

We sure could use the catching depth, because after Mathis, it looks like the next in line would be Bobby Wilson, who isn't quite ready yet.

Suppose the Angels could sign one of two players this next off-season (never mind if they'll be available, let us pretend that they WILL be available) who would you rather have donning an Angels uniform next year:

Carlos Zambrano or Alex Rodriguez?  

I would take Zambrano, because it would give us a truly elite pitching staff:  Lackey, Zambrano, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Kelvim Escobar (and I would rather see Brandon Wood or a healthy Dallas McPherson in 2008).

pAy-Rod would be intriguing if Brandon Wood flopped at AAA this year, but I doubt he will.  Who would you rather have A-Rod or Zambrano?

This years Angel team will be better than last year because of the following reasons:

1)  Addition by subtraction

Losing Jeff Weaver, JC Romero, Esteban Yan, Eduardo Alfonzo, Brendan Donnelly, Adam Kennedy, and Darin Erstad is actually a good thing.  

These players were in the terrible to very average range as far as production, so losing them and replacing them with other players actually improves our team.  Jeff Weaver alone cost us ten games.  If it had been his brother pitching in his spot, we probably would have won the West last year.

2)  Addition by Addition

Replacing GMJ with Erstad is a plus.  He's a better hitter than Erstad is now.  

Replacing Kennedy with Kendrick is also a plus, he'll also hit better than Kennedy will.  

Justin Speier was better and will be better than Brendan Donnelly.  

Darin Oliver cannot be worse than JC Romero was last year.  

Jered Weaver is better than Jeff Weaver on the order of magnitudes.  

Shea Hillenbrand is really not that bad.

3)  Changes in Health

Bartolo Colon will have more than one win this year.

Casey Kotchman will not have another freak illness.

Garret Anderson can run without pain this year (if he runs is another matter).

Losing Juan Rivera and Dallas McPherson will hurt, but a healthy Kotchman + Anderson should make up some of that lost offense.

4)  Players who have gained experience will get better

Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Casey Kotchman and Kendry Morales WILL get better.

Thus Tony DeMarco prediction:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6841778/

of us finishing in 2nd place at 83-79 is just (insert obscenity here) stupid!

Sources: Braves trade LaRoche to Bucs for Gonzalez

The Pittsburgh Pirates, filling their need for a left-handed power bat, acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche from the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday for lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez, two sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

ESPN.com could not immediately confirm if other players were involved in the deal.

LaRoche hit 32 homers and drove in 90 runs last season and finished in a tie for seventh in the National League with a .561 slugging percentage.

Gonzalez went 3-4 with 24 saves and a 2.17 ERA for the Pirates in 2006.

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2734082

Guess that means he has no chance of coming to the Angels.  Looks like the Pirates got the best of the deal.

Well, Bootcheck will be back with the Angels system after he cleared waivers.  Not real big news.  I suspect Ryan Budde will be back after being selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft.  

The other news from the Angels is that Kendry Morales has some sort of knee injury.  It doesn't sound too serious, but if someone has to go in for an MRI, I guess it could be.  This sucks, because he is one of the few almost-MLB-ready prospects with power who hasn't been injury prone (read D-Mac; Kotchman has never shown real power numbers yet consistently, but we all think he'll put them up one day).

What is up with the winterball thing?  I always thought that the whole worried about injuries occurring was a little overrated, but our guys just seem to keep going down.  First Juan Rivera, then Kendry, and I remember that Vlad had a thumb injury not to long ago in winterball too.  It should be banned for all our players unless the Angels want them to play.

Link to the article:
http://anaheim.angels.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070110&content_id=1776954&vk ey=news_ana&fext=.jsp&c_id=ana

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Ok, so I am going to predict which Angels will have better years this upcoming season and which ones will have worse.

Angel Player Predictions

Starting Pitchers:

Bartolo Colon:
Will rehab successfully but will lose a lot of velocity on his fastball. He will get lit up for a while before he learns to become a finesse pitcher. Will have a bloated 6.29 ERA during the first half, but will lower it to 5.36 by having a descent second half.

Kelvim Escobar:
People will rave about his ability to throw so many pitches for strikes and he will have run support this year. Escobar has a career high 17 wins.

John Lackey:
Lackey emerges as the new ace of the Angels staff. Will have a 2.91 ERA

Ervin Santana:
Will struggle due to the trade rumors that circulate throughout the year. Struggles with low run support and has a 13-9 record.

Joe Saunders:
Will start with the Angels when Bartolo has some shoulder stiffness and when Escobar has more scar tissue broken-up in his arm. Saunders pitches dominantly but is returned to AAA despite the fans objections.

Jered Weaver:
Will finally struggle a bit in the second half of the season as teams adjust to his deception. First half he wins 10 games, but then finishes with a 16-10 record after he adjusts to the league adjusting to him.

Bullpen:

Hector Carrasco:
Struggles with his new role in the bullpen and gets time in only for mop-up or when Shields and Speier need a breather.

Brendan Donnelly:
After drilling Jose Guillen, Scioscia promotes him to the closer role. No, but seriously, Donnelly ranks fifth in the pecking order and struggles with his role. Team decides to trade him before the All Star break.

Chris Resop:
Struggles in long relief and shuttles back and forth from Salt Lake and the Angels.

Francisco Rodriguez:
Doesn't blow a save until July 6th when A-Rod swings and misses at strike 3 and the ball gets away from Jose Molina. Damon scores from third and the game goes on to extra innings where A-Rod makes an error and Orlando Cabrera scores from second on a routine ground-out.

Scot Shields:
Shields is more dominant than ever and finishes the season with an ERA of 2.17 and 83 K's in 81 innings pitched.

Justin Speier:
Is also dominant and adjusts well to his new role behind shields and K-Rod
Catchers:

Jeff Mathis:
Plays well in spring training, but gets sent to AAA anyways as Napoli still keeps his big league spot.

Jose Molina:
Plays good defense but plays only to give Napoli days off and to lay down sacrifice bunts.

Mike Napoli:
Plays well during the first half of the season and hits 15 homeruns. Establishes himself as the Angels primary catcher.

Infielders:

Orlando Cabrera:
Plays amazing defense but struggle to repeat his 2006 performance. Hits .267 with 30 doubles

Chone Figgins:
Starts the season at third and continues to decline. Loses third base job to Dallas McPherson.

Maicer Izturis:
Gets very little playing time and is regulated mostly to pinch hitting/running.

Howie Kendrick:
Begins the season on fire and hits .380 during the first half of the season. Reality sets in for Howie during the second half and finishes with a .355 batting average.

Casey Kotchman:
Has an incredible spring training and earns back his first base job. Hits 24 homeruns and bats .290 while playing excellent defense.

Dallas McPherson:
Has a good spring training but is returned to AAA. After a May call-up he begins to get regular at-bats and replaces Figgins at third base. Hits .250 with 32 homeruns.

Kendry Morales:
Struggle during spring training and is sent to AAA. Lights up AAA pitching and gets called up on April 21st to be a regular DH when GA goes on the DL.

Robb Quinlan:
Plays first when facing lefties and plays sparingly at third. Hits .310 against lefties, but doesn't get much playing time.

Outfield:

Garret Anderson:
Sits out most of spring training with a hamstring issue. Hits poorly and goes on the DL with a mystery ailment. Plays sparingly and hits .260 with 10 homeruns.

Vladimir Guerrero:
Hits .340 with 36 Homeruns.

Gary Matthews:
Gets off to a hot start in Anaheim and we see lots of posts about how we were wrong about this guy. Then reverts back to his normal self and hits .265 with 8 homeruns.

Juan Rivera:
Has a career year. Hits .320 w/ 36 homeruns.

Talks between the Angels and Colorado Rockies about a trade for first baseman Todd Helton cooled considerably Wednesday, with the Angels' concerns about the veteran slugger's health, age and huge contract all but killing a deal that, according to industry sources, nearly happened this week....The Angels are apparently comfortable with the players they would have to give up for Helton-- believed to be first baseman Casey Kotchman, utility player Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar--but they are reluctant to commit five years and a significant amount of money to a player whose career appears to be in decline.

Crazy huh?

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/angels/la-sp-angels7dec07,1,7379427.story?coll=la-headlin es-sports-mlb-angels

Ok, so I think the Angels should sign Piazza. I know, most everyone here wants Rivera as the DH, but I think Juan should play left after GA gets hurt again (just a matter of time). Then Piazza could fill in as our full time DH. His stats away from Petco were .332/.372/.564 as a catcher, so what could he do as a DH? He could also be our third catcher not to mention I would hate to see the Oakland A's of Fremont get him. Comments, concerns, observations, rebutals or arguments?