Moved Here From the Diaries, a Must-Read...

While there has been much love for young Casey these past few weeks and justifiably so, in analyzing Kotch's numbers in becomes apparent just how valuable he has made himself.

AL Batting

As you can see from the link above, Kotch currently trails only 4 perennial All-Stars (2 of which are likely 1st ballot HOFers) in .OPS.

When including the NL, Bonds, Fielder, and Miggy C knock Casey to 8th overall.

On offensive stats alone, Kotch has proven to be one of the most productive players in all of MLB. However, if you add in his truly stellar defensive play (1 error for his career and #1 AL Zone Rating), his overall value increases immensely especially given the fact that 2 of the 4 players ahead of him are either last in fielding pct. for their position (Vlad) or don't play defense at all (Ortiz).

Casey's saved untold runs with his soft hands at first and diving stops to take away extra base hits. He truly is coming into his own and making the lost 2006 season worth the wait.

To think if it weren't for Atlanta holding out for Shields too, he'd be doing this in a Braves uni.

All he needs to do now is hit lefties with a modicum of authority.

Looks like Rev will need to update the poll.

I predict a new winner...

Percival close to signing

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This guy, Buddy Thomas from some MASShole rag called SouthCoast Today has pulled a doozy out of his own ass:

MLB Trade Talk

Apparently this assclown thinks we need Dontrelle Willis. Apparently 6-7 starters isn't enough. He claims the Angels only need a lefty to add to the rotation to be a lock to win the AL West.

Someone should clue this guy in to the fact that we have a lefty who is undefeated on the season and has an ERA less than half of what Dontrelle has posted without the luxury of throwing to Pitchers in the 9 hole. Said lefty can't even crack our rotation for good we're so deep and is the same age as Dontrelle.

The proposed trade is preposterous. Q and Figgy as the centerpieces for a young starter of Willis pedigree is a joke. Stoneman wouldn't trade 2 of our only 3 options at 3rd base (unless you count Shea) and the other, Izzy has chronic Hammy issues. Has this guy bothered to notice the one thing the Angels need is a THIRD BASEMAN and if anyone it's Miggy Cabrera Stoneman would want.

As much of a joke as the Angels/Marlins scenario is, the one where he proposes the Twinkies trading 2 of their best pitching prospects (Garza/Slowey) for a washed up/always injured and vastly overpaid for years to come Scott Rolen has to take the crown.

The one that has the Rays sending the cheap/club controlled Crawford to Chicago for the imminent free agent Buehrle and recently demoted to AAA McDougal is a close 2nd.

I wish I could grasp at straws and hit the keyboard and have someone send me a check...must be nice.

Don't count on Alex in an Angel uniform anytime soon... Arte says A-Rod signing unlikely Looks like any 3b upgrades will come from in house. Unless Florida decides to make Miggy C available which is HIGHLY unlikely. Thoughts? 300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300

 I can understand everybody's frustration with Santana given that he's virtually a guaranteed "L" on the road unless he's given ALOT of run support.

  At the same time one cannot forget he's almost as equally a sure "W" at home, and if he's our 5th starter, .500 is better than 90% of the MLB competition. Furthermore Black Magic has MUCH better stuff and upside than ANY 5th starter in MLB save for maybe Hughes(when he's healthy again) and Lincecum.

  His numbers so far this season are simply more of the same as for his career and are somewhat skewed due to the fact that he has 5 road starts vs. only 4 home starts. Reverse those figures and his ERA is probably only a hair above his career ERA prior to the 2007 season (4.42). Furthermore, prior to 2007 Ervin had 31 starts at home vs. only 25 on the road so the sky isn't so much falling, but rather staying the same shade of grey so to speak.

  While trying to search for answers here it behooves one remember that Ervin is ONLY 24 years old, the age that many top pitching prospects are first getting their feet wet. It is also a full year younger than our current Ace, "Thunder Mountain" John Lackey was when he posted this line over the course of April/May 2004:

W/L: 3-6
ERA: 5.95

Those number are virtually IDENTICAL to Ervin's YTD line of:

W/L: 3-5
ERA: 6.00

And Ervin has 1 more home start with which to improve on those numbers.

Let's not lose perspective here. Santana is still a very young pitcher with great stuff whose only problem so far has been a mental one in that for some reason he's comfortable at the Big A and uncomfortable everywhere else while Lackey's problems in early 2004 were less Home/Road centric.

I still think it's too early to tell whether or not he's just another young arm who needs to make adjustments while going through a tough patch or a full-scale basket-case a la Ankiel/Wohlers.

My money is on somewhere in the middle. I do agree that he could use a bit of time in AAA or the bullpen (better option) to get his head on straight while Saunders steps in for awhile.

It is NOT the time to move him since we'd most definitely be selling low. Even if he stays in the rotation and pitches .500 ball for the rest of the regular season, he can be of value in the postseason so long as Sosh has the foresight to align the rotation in such a way that Ervin only starts at the Big-A.

Continue reading this post »

  Bashing Bill for his lack of trading deadline activity has been a popular pastime around these parts. This got me to thinking: Where would this team be if some of those talked about trades had actually happened?

  Scenario 1: Santana/Aybar for Tejada - Miggy has exactly 2 homers YTD. That's 1 more than OC along with a .20 deficit in slugging for Tejada. Given that OC's D has been GG caliber and Miggy isn't close to that, this non-trade is a net plus even before one factors in the loss of Santana/Aybar OR the possible gain from another player who could have been had for those two. Of course Miggy might have accepted a 3rd base role and yes it sucks ass that this team has nary a single homerun from a 3rd sacker YTD. That is deplorable. But having only 2 more and not having Santana and Aybar would be MUCH worse.

  Scenario 2: Mathis/Aybar for Carlos Lee:

  Lee is in Houston and could very well be there even if this trade was pulled off. Of course, he could have signed with the Angels but if he had, we'd have no idea what Reggie Willits could do as well as no idea what Carlos' pant size would be in year 4 or 5 of his contract.

  Scenario 3:  Santana/Aybar/another prospect for Soriano:

  We'd be minus Black Magic (and his home wins!) Aybar and the unnamed player and Soriano would still be in Chicago. Good (non) move.

  In short, thanks Bill for not pulling the trigger on Soriano. Thanks also go to Doug Melvin for taking Texas' offer over the Angels and especially to Peter Angelos for killing the Tejada deal.

  Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make and boy do we have the right GM for that!

Came across this tidbit on ESPN.com:
I would have included a link but this is "Insider" $$$ content. Rev, I hope my cutting and pasting falls short of incurring your wrath as this was but 1 section of a page of "Rumors".

Cutting their losses?
May 12 - Don't be surprised if the Red Sox decide to deal Wily Mo Pena. Although Pena has prodigious power, he is becoming a liability in the field.
According to the Providence Journal, one AL official said Pena still has some trade value, though it seems to be decreasing almost daily. But a team probably would take a chance on his potential.
"It's just a matter of how little they would take," the official told the newspaper.
Small-market teams in search of some pop might be tempted since Pena is young (25), relatively affordable ($3M) and under control through next season. Out of the spotlight and given the opportunity to play every day, he could develop.

Since Pena is a butcher in the Outfield, he would have to slot in at DH for the most part. He's definitely intriguing since he has averaged a homer every 17.94 ABs for his career while playing sporadically. This would equate to 30+ dingers over 550 ABs.

His K rate would make Rob Deer raise an eyebrow but we've already got Naps fanning at a similar clip without the production. His career slugging pct. of .479 isn't bad for a young kid without a full time job.

As a fellow Dominican, he'd likely fit in well Vlad's Latin quarter of the clubhouse too. Given the struggles of Pedroia at 2B and Crisp in Center, he might be had straight up for Figgy or a package of Aybar and another prospect.

What do you guys think?

There have been threads in the past about folks looking for the 2002 WS DVD etc. Those of you still looking for it look no further than good 'ol Costco. Costco is selling a repackaged version of the 2002 WS DVD for $12. I've personally seen it at the Tustin and Irvine locations. When I say repackaged, I mean it looks different and could very well be a different film altogether. I didn't buy one yet so I don't know. For the record, this can be bought at Amazon as well: 2002 Anaheim Angels If anybody has picked this one up, can you confirm whether it's different than the previous DVD?

  I've been on HH for a year now and can't recall seeing this particular topic.

  Post your foul ball/homer catches. Include where you were sitting and whose bat from whence it came (if possible).

  Personally I've been attending games since the late 70's and have caught exactly ONE foul ball. But it was worth the wait:

Year: 1995
Location: Lower View, in line with 3rd base.
Batter: KINGFISH

The ball bounced off my hands and rolled down my back onto my seat when I promptly sat on it. MINE!

UPDATE: I moved this from the Diaries. Enjoy... (Rev out)

With all the trade talk and speculation out there the one option that makes the most sense is trading for Manny. The Angels and Red Sox are aligned well in this regard.

We need an impact bat. They need relief pitching and a shortstop now that Gonzalez signed elsewhere. Alex Cora will not cut it, and Theo knows this.

My guess is Manny could be had for O.C. and Shields straight up. If not, maybe Mathis could be included (Varitek ain't getting any younger). I see Mathis as expendable with Napoli and Molina in the fold and Conger 3-4 years away. While Santana is being linked to Boston for Manny, Shields makes more sense with the Speier signing and the fact that Boston already has 5 good/great SPs in  Beckett/Schilling/Papelbon/Wakefield and (soon to be) Matsuzaka. Having Shields in the postseason increases Boston's chances of winning more than having Santana.

Figgins can take over at short or platoon with Aybar for a year or two until Wood is ready.

The net increase in payroll is only about $8 million leaving plenty of room to maneuver at the trade deadline as well as next winter when Bart's contract expires.

In a perfect world, Vernon Wells (or Jones) would slot nicely in CF, but when factoring in the net loss to the team in terms of ML talent (Santana) and future talent (Adenhart/Aybar), the price would be steep. The contract extension that would be borne would be at least 5-6 years and $16 million or more given the current market.

While Manny creates a log-jam of LFs, his presence in the cleanup spot would equate to ZERO intentional walks of Vlad in key situations. That's easily 10 more ribbies for Guerrero, possibly double that.

With Manny in the fold, Sosh could experiment with Rivera in CF with Figgins in Center on Weaver's day to start given the high ratio of fly balls.

Manny would probably need at least 1 option year guaranteed which would equate to 3 years at roughly $19 million per year. His contract expiration would coincide with Vlad's assuming his option year is picked up leaving $34 million in salary room in Winter 2009. Just in time for locking up the Weavers and Kendricks (and hopefully Santanas) long term.

Percival had role with Tigers

This article shows what a huge influence Percival is even in limited exposure. It also reinforces my belief that he'll make an ideal pitching coach in Bud Black's imminent departure.

Who wouldn't love to see Percy back in Halo Red? I for one, would love to see it.

300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300/300

The Angels desperately need a 3rd baseman. Assuming Ramirez stays in Chicago, what are the chances Arte and Bill make a run at A-Rod? He's clearly on the outs in NY, and a flop in the postseason would all but seal his fate.

The only teams in baseball that both need a 3b and can afford his salary have LA in their names. The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching. We've got it.

If the Angels sign Zito, who's from SoCal (apparently the NY teams don't want him), and move Santana, Mathis, and McPherson to NY, that  might get it done. Mathis could replace the aging Posada after learning from him, D-Mac could re-ignite his career with the short porch in RF and zero pressure (save for the media) to be the big bat, and Santana would instantly become the number 3 starter for the Yanks.

If we can do these moves AND add Soriano, this team would qualify as Arte's "Major Changes".

Whaddya think???

With Bart likely done for 2006 he finishes with as many wins for Halos (1) as he got for the Dominican WBC team.

Note to Bill: 4 years from now, make sure Weav, Santana, Lackey (and likely Adenhart) stay as far from this thing as freaking possible.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm actually happy Bart's gone for the year. Why? Because it gives 10-11 more starts to see what Saunders is made of. If Colon needs surgery he's likely done for at least half of 2007 as well.

This team has already benefited from Colon's injuries since without him going on the shelf, Weaver would likely still be lighting it up in Salt Lake.

For a team that entered today 2 games over .500, the 10-0 contribution from the rook starters is of huge relevance.

Having Weaver get 19-20 starts this year and Saunders 12 or 13 will go a long way toward solidifying the rotation for 2007 and beyond, especially since Colon's contract is (thankfully) expired after next season.

Furthermore, if Saunders proves to be the real deal, Stoneman can afford to OVERSPEND on a big bat since $30 million comes off the books this winter (AK/Ersty/Romero/Shitty Weaver/Alfonzo/Yan) and another $34 million by 2008, (Colon-07, G.A.-08, O.C.-08). If Vlad's production declines significantly by 2008, the club holds a team option on him for 2009, and can decline said option and free up another $14 million or so.

Some of this will be offset with raises for Lackey, Rodriguez, and Shields, as wells arbitration eligibility for Santana and Rivera if they're not signed to a multi-year contracts by then.

Either way, the team is aligned not only with emerging impact talent at every position but the outfield, but a whole hell of a lot of payroll flexibility as well. In fact, no team has the combination of current talent, strong farm, payroll flexibility, AND an owner with deep pockets.

The future looks good.

 It seems the Angels are (finally) done talking to Oreos about Tejada (Thank God). We may have an Angelos to thank for the Angels future.

Continue reading this post »

Thank God. Let's hope the Register is wrong and Stoneman isn't adding another player (Wood/Adenhart) to the deal. This one is too one sided in the O's favor.

Continue reading this post »

The LA Times says Tejada doesn't want to play third. If we get him, I guess O.C. moves to third. At this point, any trade looks like it's gonna cost too much. Wood and Santana are a lot to lose in my opinion.

Continue reading this post »

The Astros, Angels and Rangers are offering significant major-league talent for Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada, FOXSports.com has learned.

Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who said last month that the team would not trade Tejada, could reconsider his position due to the quality of the proposals. The Angels are offering right-hander Ervin Santana and Class AAA shortstop Erick Aybar, according to multiple major-league sources.

The Astros are offering "prime major-league pieces," a major-league source says, topping the proposal they made for Tejada last off-season - closer Brad Lidge, shortstop Adam Everett and an outfielder, either Jason Lane or Willy Taveras.

The Rangers' package is centered around third baseman Hank Blalock, though the team is believed to be more intent on improving their pitching after parting with setup man Francisco Cordero in their trade for Brewers left fielder Carlos Lee.

Would be as follows:

Erick Aybar for Ryan Shealy (Rockies). Shealy is a career .330 hitter in both the minors/majors (albeit only 99 ABs in the Show) with Prodigious power. Skeptics would say his power hasn't manifested itself with only 2 dingers in those 99 ML ABs, but a closer look shows that Shealy has 11 2Bs in that span which projects to 66 over 600 ABs. More than likely 10-15 of those doubles turn into dingers as he gains experience and turns on more inside pitches. Sure he has typical Coors Field Home/Away splits (.269 road / .410 Home), but the sample is small.

This guy is a potential Ryan Howard. He's old for a prospect (as was Howard last year) who is blocked by an All-Star in a non DH league, and who lacks the athleticism for the Outfield (which doesn't seem to stop Adam Dunn).

This guy will be 33 by the time Helton's untradeable contract expires. No way they sit him on the bench for 6 more years.

His age is a benefit for a team like the halos as his learning curve is likely shorter and his maturity should benefit him.

Aybar is the Halo's BA #3 prospect. He's also a SS which puts him behind Cabrera for 2 more years and likely surpassed by Wood by then barring a shift by Wood to 3rd base. The Halos also have Sean Rodriguez progressing well in High A Rancho Cucamonga so the position is well stocked. The Rockies have a lousy Clint Barmes at SS. Aybar would be a MAJOR upgrade as he's got nothing left to prove in AAA.

The Angels #3 prospect for the Rockies #8. Straight up. Win/Win.

#2: Mathis/McPherson/Arredondo for Aramis Ramiriez. Assuming the Angels can get him to waive his out clause which I'm sure he would do being traded to a perennial contender with fellow Dominicans Vlad/Bart, etc. Big upgrade at 3B. See my post on Trade Musings for my assessment of Ramirez.

This would shore up BOTH corner infield positions, leave LF for Rivera, add much needed POP, and leave the core of the future intact:

Jered/Lackey/Santana/Kendrick/Wood/Napoli/Adenhart/Kotchman (yes I still believe in Casey) and ADD Shealy who would be under club control for his entire prime years (27-32).

If Stoneman can pull these off, not only will this year end on a brighter note potentially, but the next 6-8 look even better!

With $22 million coming off the books with the expiring contracts of Ersty/AK/J.C.(Thank God)/and Jeff Weaver, Stoneman could always add a Soriano or Lee in the offseason when all it will take is dough.

I'm a newly registered user but long time reader of this blog. Check out my bio if you want to know my Halo history...

While I agree that losing sucks, and it pains me to see the Angels in the cellar while the Dodgers are fighting for first, the REAL focus should always be "What's best for the team/organization for the long haul"?

By that I mean fielding a team with a chance to win year in and year out and to ultimately win MULTIPLE world championships over the course of the next decade+.

The key to being successful in this way is to have a fruitful and productive farm system (check), and ownership with the wallet to sustain a $100+ mil payroll.

That's only half the battle though. You can have both of these and squander your opportunity anyway. Trading away young talent and watching them flourish on other teams and spending big $ on over 30 past their prime free agents is the sure way to undermine these blessings.

For all his faults, (overcaution, seeming lack of creativity in engineering trades, etc.) Stoneman has done an Excellent job in setting the Angels up for the future. The present may be a little rough, but that's baseball.

Is their anyone on this board who did not see this coming? By "this" I mean a step back as a team (although I admit I didn't expect a step back to last place)??? The writing was on the wall in many respects. For instance:

G.A.'s Arthritic back and bad legs combined with turning 34.

Erstad's slid into mediocrity in 2001, couple that with age and injury and you get....2006 Ersty!

Donnelly can't cheat after getting caught using foreign substances anymore.

Colon coming into the year hurt...and as usual...fat.

D-Mac dealing with injury and Glaus sized expectations.

Not knowing what to expect from a rookie Mathis.

Knowing what to expect from veteran JoMo.

Salmon lucky to have a big league uni on at 38.

But the bottom line here is that this a normal transition phase for any team in any sport: Young, talented yet unproven players will suffer through rough times as they gain experience while aging veterans struggle to squeeze out whatever production they have left in their beat up old bones.

The important thing to remember is this: We have the best owner we could have ever hoped for in Arte Moreno who will spend what's necessary to field a winner. We have a great skipper who commands respect throughout the league....And we have the best farm system in baseball.

2006 is just a dry run for 2008 and beyond.......Let's get Morales, Napoli, Mac, Jered, and Howie some experience under their belts, and wait for the next wave in 08/09 with Wood, Aybar, Arredondo, Adenhart, Marek, Sean Rod., etc. It's never been a better time to be an Angel fan....Really!