Something is up in Halo Nation.
Something does not add up.
The Angels came into the Winter meeting claiming that they would keep payroll at about 140 million. They said to do this they could spend 15 to 20 million. Then they picked up Iannetta and Hawkins adding oh 5 million or so give or take considering Mathis departure. Then came Pujols and CJ. Now CJ signed for 15 million a year and that plus the earlier signings accounted for the original 20 million right?
So then comes Albert’s 25.4 million. We heard in the press that the only consideration Arte had after the TV deal was not going over the luxury tax. So here is where it gets weird.
According to cots baseball contracts CJ’s contract is heavily back loaded. So much so in fact that he only gets 10 million this season and 11 million next year. Then 16 mil, 18, mil and ends with a 20 million payout. Why set it to pay more when he is old?
Another interesting point. The terms of Albert’s contract has not been posted on Cots. Does it start with a 25 million payout or is it back loaded to?
Look at the math. All of the signings except Pujols but including the arbitration money should equal about 135 million according to what we were led to believe. This is taking into account CJ’s reduced 10 million salary in year 1. So 135 million plus Albert’s 25.4 should equal about 160.4 million. That’s a big payroll.
Here is the kicker though. Arte said the Luxury tax threshold was the limit. Well now that is 178 million this year. Interesting.
From all of this the Angels are still about 17.6 million dollars away from their limit! That’s a pretty big cushion to be sitting on isn’t it?
I think The Angels still have some surprises left this year and it is possible that, because posting fees are not considered under the league tax that surprise may just be named Yu Darvish.
Not convinced yet? Here is the last bit. When JeDi became GM he said that the Angels would be looking at all options. He mentioned Pujols and Fielder and we laughed and said no. But in that statement he also said he would be looking at the far east too…
Are you still laughing?

Over the last year the company I work for has gone through the same hardships many other companies do during recessionary times. Hours have been cut, reductions in the work force have been made and even a wage freeze has been in effect for over a year. We have been forced to hunker down to get through a period of reduced business in order to come out on the other end.

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   The latest topic being floated from the Commissioners select panel, to which the Angels esteemed Manager, Mike Scioscia, is a member, is the idea of allowing teams to change divisions or even leagues depending on such things as payroll and “whether or not they intend to rebuild or compete.” The idea would allow teams that are low income or rebuilding to decided if they would rather play against lesser teams, or to play against the big boys and get badly beaten in exchange for the ability to fill their stadiums with fans wanting to see the more popular franchises. The one restriction would be to limit the movement to two time zones, for instance the Angels could not join the eastern divisions and the Red Sox would be similarly bared from the West.

 

Here is one example by Tom Verducci of what this temporary realignment might bring about.

 N.L. East: Atlanta, Baltimore, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington.
N.L. Central: Cubs, White Sox, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Texas.
N.L. West: Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, San Diego.

A.L. East: Boston, Philadelphia, Mets, Yankees, Toronto.
A.L. Central: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh.
A.L. West: Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Minnesota

So how would you feel about it? Would it be a fun and interesting way to mix things up, or would it just muddy the waters even more than interleague play?

Poll

Would you like to see the angels play the Dodgers 18 times a year?

26%

Yes, Id love to be able to stomp them the Dodgers all year long

23 votes

73%

No, Interleague Play sucks, and so would this

65 votes

88 votes | Poll has closed

With all the projections from Baseball Prospectus and others in the National media predicting the demise of the Angels, it is interesting to see that the only people who put their money where their mouth is, the Las Vegas odds makers, have a different take on the up coming season. The betting line for the 2010 season looks a little more like what we angel fans have been saying all along.

 

MLB
2010 World Series Updated Feb. 2, 2010
Team	Open	Current
N.Y. Yankees	3/1	14/5
Boston	13/2	11/2
Philadelphia	13/2	6/1
L.A. Angels	17/2	14/1
Detroit	20/1	24/1
Seattle	125/1	50/1
Arizona	75/1	60/1
Toronto	75/1	125/1
St. Louis	8/1
L.A. Dodgers	9/1
Tampa Bay	11/1
Chi. White Sox	12/1
Atlanta	12/1
Chi. Cubs	14/1
Colorado	20/1
N.Y. Mets	20/1
San Francisco	30/1
Texas	30/1
Minnesota	30/1
Florida	30/1
Milwaukee	50/1
Houston	75/1
Baltimore	100/1
Cincinnati	100/1
Oakland	125/1
Kansas City	150/1
Pittsburgh	150/1
San Diego	200/1
Washington	200/1
Cleveland	200/1

 

Clearly, Las Vegas isn’t predicting an Angels collapse this year.