Yankee and Red Sox fans here on Guam have been beating me up over the fact that our record is a product of a poor division. Yes, the Angels kicked our ass, but that is a fluke. Look at the strength of the divisions.

Every so often I check the strength of the division standings by compiling the W-L records/win percentages. Yeah, throughout this season the AL West has been behind the East.

Until Now.

AL West .530, AL East .529.

'nough said.

Now, this is a big reason why I love this particular Angels team. Camaraderie. Vlad, a future HOF, an Angel Icon, was given the business after his first HR in a long time. I quote from my Panther reply:

"Vlad was soooo pumped when he hit the hr he almost took off the third base coaches hand heading toward home. When he got to the dugout he was pumped and everyone just ignored him and stared straight ahead, solemnly. Vlad was like “WTF?” Then everyone erupted into joyous congrats. Abreu was busting out laughing as were the rest of the crew." Precious. Priceless.

To me, this was the best part of the win. Being from Guam, usually I come on late and everything is already said. Seems like everyone missed this. Anyone else saw this? Anyone else impressed? Anyone with video?

I'm sitting here on Guam, checking halos heaven for comments and trying to blog, and as usual there is not much going on (7PM here equals sleep time for HHrs). Can't get into any conversations, trying to stir up trouble, and nobody biting. Usually that's okay, but tonight I was especially excited about the beginning of the season and thought there would be someone up I could harrass. Alas, nothing.

So, since I am both bored and excited, I decided to do a fanpost. Havn't done one in quite awhile. My first few ideas were kind of lame:

1. Announce how I was going to stomp goodvibe in the pregame guesses championship this year. That wasn't very interesting because I'm sure everyone already knows I will win this year.

2. Talk about how I am the all knowing King of Angels Wisdom. Beyond stats. All Knowing (may have said that already). But again, I'm sure everyone already knows that.

So, I finally came upon a (great?) idea. On May first I will call you all out. Here it is:

*Who will have the lowest ERA in April - Mose, Ad, or Lu. I'm callin' ya out, Mose dissers. On May 1st, I will report. Who will win. No poll. Step up.

I guess they all did it. Maybe not? I keep seeing a number of 104 out 671, 402, 1000. Does it matter? You can't hide forever. They tried to hide 2003. Can you hide something? Can you hide it because the players association wants to? Maybe. Maybe you hide it because the owners association wants to hide it too.

Did A-Rod do Steroids prior to his MVP/HR 2003 season? Maybe.  Maybe is bad enough. Maybe Clemens did it. Maybe Sosa did it. Maybe Bonds did it. Maybe Ma quire did it. Maybe?

And now, the number is MAYBE more that 104 out of whatever. They retested bonds sample with a new improved method, and he turned out positive. How many more will turn out positive with this new improved method.

I think we all get it. Steroids were legal (or not illegal), and many, many, people did it.

Or maybe, they all did it. Did the 2002 Angels do it? Maybe.

What now? When did it start? When does/did it stop? When does it end?

This FanPost was inspired by Kristie_Joe and Marshgr.

Alright, I am going to try and tackle our payroll situation and future considerations. I'm a bit in-over-my-head here, but I can give it a go. I'm rounding here, give me a break.

Our Current Payroll:

1) 2008 starting 25 payroll = 118mil (minus Kotch)

2) Minuses (mil) = Frankie (10), GA (14?), White Sox Pitcher guy (12) = 36mil

3) Plusses (contract increments) (mil) = Tori (1.5), Vlad (.5), Escy (.5), GMJ (1), Lackey (2) Shields (0.75), Speier (.5), Morales (0.1), plus Oliver increase (1mil) = 9mil

4) Plusses (arbitration eligible) guess (mil) = Nap, Santana, Fig, Iz, Q = 10  mil

5) Other 25 man (typical 50K or so raise) (mil) = Mathis, Aybar, Kendrick et al = 1 mil

So what I have here is a payroll so far for 2009  = about 100mil (right now)

Our Max payroll is 120 mil (I would guess this is as high or higher compared to Yankee and Red Sox payroll compared to what they take in. Don't expect it to be higher). Tex would probably have broken this barrier.  Obviously Moreno and Team were ready to go for it despite the cost (and future cost).

Future Cost, 2010: The economy isn't going to get much better. Let's say are budget is still 100mil and we don't sign anyone else this year. The add on for next year would be:

Re-sign Lackey (raise 10 mil/yr min) and Vlad (raise 3mil/yr min) = 13 mil

Add on 10 mil arbitration eligible and a couple mil increments = 12 mil

That puts us at 125mil for 2010

Tex was a luxury that was worth (maybe) the gamble because of  his exceptional ability. He would have cost us in the future. Who else out there is worth this gamble?

Fuentes? add 10 mil. Lowe? add 10 mil. Peavy trade? add 10 mil.

With Peavy we go over budget, but like Tex, he is  (maybe) worth it.

Let's say I'm 5/10 mil high or so.  Let's not split hairs.

Like I've said before, it ain't easy having a contending team year after year. Cudos to Moreno and Co. Keep it real.

I loved VladIS's latest fanpost (us vlads stick together), so I have decided to take it one step further. Hey, what the hell, its Sunday. This is for all you die hard 170/8yr Teix fans.

Dear Theo,

C'mon. You have this very good big sweaty albino gorilla at 1st, and a really good third baseman already. Teix isn't  worth nearly as much to you as us. And besides, what you really need is a guy with offensive stats comparable or better than Teix's but at a different postion. There is one guy on the market that fits that description:  Manny Ramirez.

Yeah, I know you guys have had your problems, but it is time to man up. He is the man you need. He fits perfectly into  your team. If you really care about your team, you will put your ego aside. Call Manny and set up a meeting. The script should be as follows.

Theo: I'm stupid, you're smart. I was wrong, you were right. You're the best, I'm the worst. You're good looking, I'm not attractive.

Manny: All right, as long as you're willing to admit that.

Then everything will be back to normal in NE Patriot Land.

(Bonus points: What movie is the script from)

Oh how things can change. My boy KRod just ditched us for pretty much the same amount we offered him. Tex could get close to his 10 year 200 mil. CC gone. The Elites remaining on the Block are Manny and Peavy. Unless, of course, you still want to go for Tex.

I am the type of person who loves to hear the latest thoughts from the Angel faithful.

1. Do you still want to go for Tex?

2. What would you offer in a Peavy trade?

3. What would you give for Manny?

All of a sudden, these have become important questions.

Although these questions have been asked before, things have changed.

Contest: When (break, tie, or not) will K-Rod become the MLB all time Saves Record Holder?

Love him or love him not so much, our boy Frankie is bearing down on the all time record for saves. Also, there are a lot of smart people on this site who can probably figure out when/if Mr. Rodriguez will break this hallowed record. The winner will receive the Title of:

 “Halos Heaven Official All Time MLB Saves Record Holder Genius Prognosticator.”

The contest rules follow:

Choose Category (in subject line)

Category 1: Frankie will break the Saves Record.

Winning Question: On what date will Frankie Break the Record?

Tie Breakers

1. Number of base runners allowed by Frankie in the game where he breaks the record     

    (any runner who gets on counts).

2. Number of strike outs by Frankie in this game.

3. Number of total pitches thrown by Frankie in this game.

4. Jersey # of the person that Frankie gets his last out against. (#, or closest to this number wins. The first person who posts the correct # wins).

Category 2: Frankie will only tie the Saves Record. On what date will this occur?

Tie Breakers same as category 1, but on the date Frankie ties the record.

Category 3: Frankie won’t break the Saves Record (i.e. because the Angels blow out everyone the rest of the way). On what date will his last save occur?

Tie Breakers the same as the other two categories, but for the date of his last game saved.

NOTE: There has been a change, I have added a Tie Breaker 4. Those few who have already posted will get priority.

Deadline is August 31, Midnight PDT.

I will post the predictions shortly thereafter.

I have really enjoyed the Angels day off. Halo heaven fans are having a good time with posts and comments and enjoying themselves. This is how it should be. A reward for a great season so far by our Angels.

Now we come to a point where we just had a day off. We take on the Yanks for three games then have another day off. Then, we have Seattle for two games and then we have ANOTHER day off.

Then, the days off are over. Only two more until we enter the playoffs. That is why September is so important for us.

Mike (Sosh), in his great wisdom, has seen fit to give as much time off (days off) for our players as he possibly can. Our outfield and DH, while kind of old but healthy, appears to be well rested because of this philosophy. We even give Rivera days off. Hasn’t played a lot of games, but sometimes he needs it.

Now for the infield. Figgy needs some time off. Kendrick needs some time off. Mathis needs some time off. Tex will need some time off. SS doesn’t need time off, because Mike has been very, uh, responsible for not playing our two great shortstops too much (fix). This is where September comes in. So who do we bring up to give our great team some rest:

3b:

2b:

1b;

C:

Starting Pitcher:

Other?

Mikes philosophy is to rest players so they will be healthy at the end of the season. It is a tough philosophy but it appears to work if you have a good team.

Feel free to explain who you would bring up, how much playing time they should have, and at what position. Be specific. “Trade for Erstad” not allowed.

Of course, if you disagree with the days off philosophy, explain your point.

I really, really, hate "Tex."   Yes, that is what I have been calling the new guy, but I really can't stand the name. Texas? Cowboy? "Hey Tex, how 'bout shooin' some hosses then go and brand some heffers."

Ok, I could call him.... hold on let me check the spelling.... "Teixeira". Still not sure I got that right. Hey, did you ever here of i before e execpt after c? And the pronunciation: Texera? Tecshara? Teshara? Ok, I could probably learn to spell ....hold on...."Teixeira", but knowing he could be gone in 3 months, do I bother?

One HHer called him "Marky Mark". Mark would be okay if he were family, but I hardly know him. I really can't see calling him "Mark" until I get to know him better (maybe next year).

So what does that leave? I guess a nickname:

Mr. T? Kind of corny, but he was tough (young guys may not remember Mr T).

Or how about just "X."  After all, he is the only Angel (I think, current roster) player with an X in his name. And it does stand out.  Yes, I think X would be good (Xman?).

I really, really, hate "Tex."

They are coming back. I'm sure we all know this already, but one of the latest posts:

http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080611&content_id=2891573&vkey=news_ana&fext=.jsp&c_id=ana

Now for the hard questions. Figgy first: Do we send Wood back to high salinity waterland, or do we keep him and cut (trade) the Q?

Now for Aybar. Who is our starting shortstop. Iz or Aybar. Or do we platoon them like our catchers?

Tough questions.

I looked up a "ray", and the definition is "a straight line between two points." So I guess that is who (what) we are playing against.

The Rays are the last team to have beaten us. They Swept us 3-0. After that we split with the W. Sox, then took the next 6 series (including a sweep over the M's).

However, the "Rays" are only 13-16 on the road. Furthermore, I am hot too. In my last fanpost on 4-21, http://www.halosheaven.com/2008/4/21/446616/the-big-road-trip, I predicted that we would go up 4 of 6 on the B Sox by winning two of three. (I only got "fair" support from HH fans on my poll).

I am now predicting we end up 3-3 against the point to points. And now, a Poll.

Forget the Mariners. These two teams are the road to the World Series. Although it is early, we would like to make an immediate impression.

We are without our top two starters. We are without our star 2nd baseman. On the other hand, we are deep at all positions, and we are ready. Bring it on!

Boston's domination was last year. They are old and we are young. Detroit beat us out for whats-his-name. So what. I say we take 4 of 6. Let's Rock.

Now, I'm not sure this is new news, because I can't figure out this new site, but I think it is.

IZ and NAP win starting JOB. YEEEHAAAAAA. They deserve it. All Iz had to do was to stay healthy. Wow. I'm excited!