Angels become older, slower and are now without an "Ace"

John Lackey just punched me in the stomach. Worse yet, he punched every little kid who wears his jersey or t-shirt in the stomach as well.

Okay maybe that’s a tad bit over the top and maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but word is Lackey is in Boston for a physical, which points to the likelihood that he will be a member of the Red Sox in 2010. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated takes it a step further and says Lackey has agreed to a five-year, $85 million deal.

The Boston Red Sox? Really, John? I thought you were "old school." I guess I was wrong. Old School doesn’t sign on with a hated rival. No way, no how.

I didn't see this coming. You had me fooled, John. I guess I was a real sucker.

If I sound bitter it’s because I am! Hello? We’re talking about the best Angels pitcher since Chuck Finley not just leaving, but leaving to go to the team that has been more than just a thorn in the side of the Angels; they’ve been a spear for goodness sake.

I don’t fault Lackey for going for the biggest pay day; after all, most people would do the same… but Boston? Come on, that’s like making a deal with the devil and I doubt too many people would do that. In my mind, Lackey no longer has a soul; he just sold it. Can you picture Lackey and David Ortiz in the 2010 post season pouring champagne on one another and hugging like long lost brothers?

I didn’t want to believe the reports when they first came out. When the rumor first appeared as being "twitter-worthy" I had to chuckle. I was even ready to blast Ed Price of AOL for being irresponsible. Turns out he got it right.

Now my wrath is just going to be aimed at John Lackey. Again, I don’t blame him for taking the money, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I said as much in a previous post titled: An Open Letter to John Lackey.

I guess part of me is still 12 years old. Part of me wants to believe there are still players in the game that aren’t all about the money. Randy Wolf was willing to re-sign with the Dodgers for less than Milwaukee offered him. Tim Salmon took less money to stay with the Angels his whole career. I thought Lackey might do the same. Boy was I wrong.

Just goes to show you how little we know about what a player thinks and finds important. Just goes to show you how shallow loyalties run these days. That’s not a judgment; just an observation. And yes, I know loyalty goes both ways and I have no idea what the Angels offered or didn’t offer. I’m just reacting here.

I mean we’re talking about leaving the Angels. We have an awesome fan base and Southern California is a great place to live with an ideal climate. On top of that, the Angels have a world class owner and manager. I know Boston is a great sports town, but I never would have pictured Lackey in a Sox uniform. Then again, what do I know?

I feel like Lackey just gave the Angels the finger and I don’t like it much.

In other not-so-good news, the Angels appear to have a one year, $6.5 million deal in place with 35 year old Hideki Matsui. Great. Whoopee.

Don’t worry Matsui makes up for his lack of youth (he will be 36 next June) with bad knees. That’s right… both of them are bad. He’s really going to be a force on the base paths or is that a road block? I really thought the Angels were past the point of signing players past their primes to contracts. I mean I know the whole retro thing is cool these days, but this is crazy. I assume Bobby Abreu made them believe they can continue to find lightning in a bottle.

While the Angels definitely needed to add a left handed power bat, I was hoping for better than this.

I guess this also means Abreu isn’t going to DH and will continue to be somewhat of an adventure in right field. I like Abreu, but I like him as a force in the batting order and for what he can teach about hitting to the rest of the team. As for his fielding…well, not so much.

But wait, there’s more…

The news keeps getting better. Word is that Roy Halladay is heading to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee to Seattle as part of a three team block buster. Up to the minute details can be found on mlb.traderumors.com.

Wow.

Lackey to the Red Sox. Halladay to the Phillies. Lee to the Mariners. I don’t know about you, but this off season just became a downer for me. Not only did the Angels lose an all-star third baseman and their ace, but Seattle just added one of each.

Let’s recap. The Angels just got older, slower and no longer have an ace. Beautiful. What’s even funnier is that it’s time to renew my season tickets too.

I'm a very optimistic guy. I can even be accused of wearing rose colored glasses when it comes to the Angels. That being said, I'm not happy today. The good news is that it's only December and Tony Reagins and Arte Moreno still have time to do something, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I don't like what I've seen so far.