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Castaways, Week 4: You Don't Even Want to See the AAA All-Star Rotation We Traded Away
Sure, Mike Napoli is leading the majors in RBI & is on pace to hit 78 doubles, but even if we hadn't traded the guy for Vernon Wells (6th in the AL in Wins Above Replacement among position...
Segura Steals First, Corbin Rockets Up the Leaderboard, Lost Bullpen Trumps Our Native Arsonists
It's time for our third installment of This Week in Angels Castoffs! In which we examine the exploits of players signed and developed by the Angels organization, but then traded, or allowed to...
Angels Castaways, Week 2: Better Rotation, Brittle Batters, Bitter Tweet
So last week I presented (or at least tried to present, given SB Nation's publishing software), the stats of all MLB players who started their careers with the Angels organization but who now play...
This Week in Angels That Got Away
How would you like to have a 23-year-old, slick-fielding shortstop who's leading the league in hitting and on-base percentage? Or maybe a highly touted 23-year-old starting pitcher who just...
Bill Dwyre Advertises Own Willful, Self-Defeating Ignorance
Bill Dwyre was sports editor of the L.A. Times for a quarter century, between 1981 and 2006. If you enjoyed the trajectory of the Sports section during his tenure, you can thank Dwyre. If you did...
JCVW: Vernon Wells Has Been a Consistent .222 Hitter Since 2010
Vernon Wells has been a consistent .222 hitter since 2010. So cut him, already!
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Eyeballing 2012 Payroll: $151 Million?
62With the news that we avoided arbitration with Alberto Callaspo to the tune of $3.15 million, that leaves just one arb-eligible player left, Erick Aybar. Using Baseball Reference, we can begin to estimate the 2012 payroll now. And for the first time, I see that B-Ref has been overestimating it. BR lists four Angels at being arb-eligible, instead of the two, for a combined estimated total of $18 million (which gets them to a projected 2011 payroll of $159.9 million). But two of those four are Reggie Willits and Jeff Mathis, who will not be offered arbitration by the Angels this year. Now that Callaspo is off the table, we can use the MLB Trade Rumors estimate of Aybar's 2012 salary at $4.7 million to conclude that the arb-total will be around $8 million, not $18. We then adjust the "Additional Players Needed to Fill 25-man" from 5 to 7, and at the estimated rate there of $724,000 per warm body, that gives us $5.07 million instead of the current $3.62. So all in all, let's say the B-Ref estimated of $159.2 million overshoots the mark by around $8.5 million. Or $8.2 million if you prefer nice round numbers. LONG STORY SHORT: We are on the verge of adding Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, replacing Jeff Mathis with Chris Ianetta, and signing our DP combo to extensions, all while increasing payroll over 2011 by around $8 million. That's astonishing.
Fleeter Peter Bourjos: The Next Ray Lankford?
Flete Pete Bourjos is a 24-year-old CF whiz with gap power and a poor K/BB ratio. How do players like that age? Surprisingly well!
Mark Trumbo: The Next Mike Jacobs?
Is Mark Trumbo the next Mike Jacobs? A look at historically walk-averse thumpers is cause for skepticism
Adding Up the Worst Trade Ever: 5 Fewer Wins for $8.65 Million More in 2011
Now that the numbers are in, we can evaluate the Wells/Napoli trade: 5 fewer wins for $8.65 million more in 2011
Too Much, Too Late: Angels Pound Jays About the Face and Neck, 10-6
77Final Score from the Skanky Old Dome: Angels 10, Blue Jays 6 It's all over but the Great Masshole Implosion of 2011, but surely the Chowdah Choke will have that much more entertainment value if...
We've Been Playing .500 Ball Since Aug. 19, 2009
The Angels have been playing .500 baseball since Aug. 19, 2009
Baseball Prospectus Archives Now Free. Let the Anti-Angel Spelunking Begin!
All, a great reference, Baseball Prospectus, which is a paid site, has now freed its whole post-1996 archives older than one year. This is a pretty amazing document dump of original/received...
Crappy Aprils By Splashy Newcomers
Crappy Aprils By Splashy Angel Newcomers: Putting Vernon Wells in perspective, with Lyman Bostock, Reggie Jackson, and others.
Mark Saxon Picks MLBTR's Pocket
Mark Saxon wrote a piece on Bobby Abreu's offense that was too similar to one by MLB Trade Rumors. Worse, they're both wrong about Abreu's alleged offensive decline.
Original Angel Chuck Tanner, RIP
Though most Angel fans probably don't know it, Chuck Tanner was the franchise's minor league manager of the '60s, and the heir apparent to Bill Rigney's job had the organization been run competently.
Angels Trade for Torii Hunter?
The most similar player to Vernon Wells through his age 31 season? Would you believe Torii Hunter? The Angels obviously do.
Reggie Willits Reality Check
Before you think of Reggie Willits as a partial solution to the Angels' LF issues, look at his non-2007 career.
Adrian Beltre's Walk Seasons, and Other Illusions
Is Adrian Beltre a "walk-year" hype monster, or one of the most underrated home-park victims in modern ML history?
Matt's Comp List Revisited: How Did 2010 Turn Out?
How did the 2010 Angels' offensive players perform compared to their preseason historical comps? About the same, except for the ones who were a LOT worse.
Dizzy About Mike Trout? Recall the Cautionary Tale of Ed Kirkpatrick
Dizzy About Mike Trout? Recall the Cautionary Angel Tale of Ed Kirkpatrick
Jim Fregosi, NOT Maury Wills, was the shortstop of the '60s
MLB Network says that Maury Wills was "the shortstop of the '60s." Here's why they're wrong -- it was Jim Fregosi.
How Bad Has Brandon Wood Been?
How bad has Brandon Wood been? Well, compare 42 similarly awful hitters through age 25, and you'll see that 34 were *pitchers*.
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The Punchless Wonders Lineup
18Slugging percentages and Isolated Power of our 1-9 today: 1) .416/.160 Abreu 2) .372/.094 Aybar 3) .403/.123 Callaspo 4) .364/.123 Izturis 5) .432/.169 Rivera 6) .412/.141 Kendrick 7) .313/.032 Willits 8) .333/.108 Mathis 9) .105/.000 Bourjos This is one of the weirdest lineups in modern Angels history.
A Modern History of All-Star Bias
A Modern History of All-Star Bias: How NY and BOS have towered over worthy AL teams in 21st century selection.
Angels Fail to Heed ELO's Admonition; Let Bruce Bring Them Down, 4-2
64As Bruce Chen -- seriously, Bruce Chen -- walked off the mound in the middle of the 8th inning, a frame he hasn't tasted in any game he's started since April 13, 2006, Victor Rojas put it both best...
Moneyball Update
Was just checking out team stats and noticed that the Oakland A's offense is: * 1st in the AL in sacrifice bunts * 5th in stolen bases * 3rd to last in walks, and * 2nd to last in home runs I loved...
What Strasburg has done that C.C., Verlander, and Beckett have not
What Strasburg has already done that C.C., Verlander, Beckett, Lackey, et al never have.
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It's official--Aybar demoted from leadoff
13Izzy's hitting leadoff, Erick 9th. Ironically comes at a time when Aybar has reached base 11 times the past 4 games, going 3/3 in stolen bases.
Godzilla = Clark Kent?
Who does Hideki Matsui compare to historically, and how did that sumbitch hit at age 36? The answer harkens back to Angel history!
