Catch this

Maybe it’s just me, but I have found the Angels’ Hot Stove season a bit interesting (albeit slow) so far. If you follow mlbtraderumors.com or twitter or any number of web sites, you may have heard about the Angels search for a catcher.

Adding fuel to the "catcher speculation fire" was Scott Miller of CBS Sports who wrote “With ex-Angel Mike Napoli's October exploits for the Rangers serving as a sledgehammer reminding everyone how short Los Angeles is behind the plate, the Angels are hoping to fill the void this winter. They do not view Hank Conger as being close to a finished product yet, and Bobby Wilson is a backup. The Angels are expected to non-tender Jeff Mathis.”

Miller also tweeted “Angels are casting a wide net and being very aggressive in looking for a catcher, multiple sources say.”

It’s become very clear that replacing Jeff Mathis behind the plate has become a priority and quite frankly that’s a good thing. We’ve seen names like Ryan Hanigan of the Reds and Chris Iannetta of the Rockies as possible trade candidates.

Both are options that have some potential. Iannetta is 28 years old and had a .370 OBP last season and .357 for his career. Hanigan is 31 years old and had a .357 OBP last season and .371 for his career. It's funny how each player’s career OBP matches the other’s performance from 2011.

I assume both are temporary solutions until Hank Conger is ready; although, Hanigan isn’t eligible for free agency until 2015 and Iannetta in 2013. Personally, I like Iannetta a little bit more because of his age and the idea that he wouldn’t block Conger’s path in 2013.

In any case - I find this whole shopping for a catcher thing fascinating on many levels. While most Angels fans are on C.J. Wilson watch, I’m waiting to see what happens with the catching situation. I actually start to smile and my eyes light up when I think about 2012 without Jeff Mathis. I am trying very hard not to get too excited because nothing has happened just yet; however, the possibility of it all makes me happy and maybe even a little giddy.

I also have to wonder what is going through Mike Scioscia’s mind. The domino effect of what happened with Mike Napoli almost blows my mind. It’s as if the Angels have admitted (without actually doing so publicly) that trading Napoli was a mistake and that they are now scrambling to fix that error.

One thing seems obvious to me – the free agent catchers don’t appear to be of any interest to the Angels and that’s probably a good thing. I mean look at who’s out there. Kelly Shoppach has a career .315 OBP and Ramon Hernandez is 35 and will be 36 next May… and those two are among the best available. Yikes.

I’m also very curious to see if Jeff Mathis is actually non-tendered and not resigned. As much as I want to believe this going to happen, I will only believe it when it becomes a reality.

Ten games in and a ton to go

I can’t stand it. In fact, I’m sick and tired of it. If I hear one more fan go off the deep end about Vernon Wells, I might lose my mind.

Last night while driving home from the game I tuned in to hear Terry Smith taking calls on the post-game show on AM 830 when a guy calls in to ask when the Angels would get rid of Vernon Wells. This guy claimed to be a “big fan” and a “big critic” at the same time. Instead, he sounded like a "big idiot" in my book. I’m sorry, but that’s exactly what went through my mind as I listened to this guy go off.

This “big fan” tried to compare Vernon Wells to Gary Matthews, Jr. Hello? I would not have blamed Smith had he hung up right then and there. Smith merely chuckled a bit and then addressed this guy’s mini-rant. Smith is a better man than I am and clearly has more patience for this kind of thing.

Let me remind everyone that we are ten games into the season. Ten games folks; just ten - not 80 or even 50 for that matter.

Yes, Vernon Wells is hitting .091. Big deal. If you actually believe he’s going to stay around this number for the rest of the year, you’re the one who’s actually lost their mind.

Enough of that topic.

By the way, it was great to hear Smith doing the call-in part of the post-game show again. He does a great job and handles callers as well as anyone in the business.

So… here we are ten games into 2011 and I’ve made a few observations.

I’ve taken note of how quickly Mike Scioscia has moved Fernando Rodney out of the closer role and Jordan Walden into it. I’ve also noted the way he has used all three of his catchers in Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson and Hank Conger. Perhaps Jeff Mathis does not have the strangle hold on the position that I thought. One can only hope.

I’ve also noted that Kevin Jepsen who spent all of 2010 with the big league club was sent down to Salt Lake City. I was surprised by that move; although, Jepsen was probably more surprised than I was. Just saying. In any case, I like it.

All of these moves make me believe the Angels and perhaps more specifically Mike Scioscia has a sense of urgency about 2011. I get the impression that 2010 probably ate at Scioscia all off season and he’s not going to play the wait-and-see game this year.

The move to put Scott Kazmir on the DL is also telling. Perhaps Kazmir is really having some back trouble, but one might speculate that Scioscia just didn’t want to trot him back out there at this point in the season.

I’m telling you, something is different about the team’s approach to personnel this year.

This brings me to Tyler Chatwood.

Let’s just say that this young man could be special. I love his make-up and the way he battled back last night after giving up four runs in the first two innings. He only gave up four hits which is somewhat impressive; it’s just too bad two of them happened to be homeruns.

He didn’t get rattled and held his own. He didn’t light the world on fire, but he served notice that he’s not intimated and he will be back. I think he has something to build on and should get better over time; be it this year or whenever he gets more of an opportunity.

I love seeing Angel pitching prospects get their shot. It’s become somewhat of a tradition for Cheryl and I to show up early and take photos of their debut from the moment they walk on to the field to warm up to the first inning and beyond.

I’ll post those photos in the near future. Between late nights at the ballpark, sleep and work - keeping the blog up to date is a bit of a challenge. I can tell you right now, I won’t be posting after every game because that task would make me lose my mind faster than the people calling into the post-game show. What I will do is try to keep the blog as up to date as I humanly can and keep things relevant.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I’m not a big analysis guy and my posts are definitely from a fan’s point of view and often about the fan experience itself. I think we’ll all be better off if I try to keep the blog fun and focus on things you’re not likely to find on other blogs or fan sites.

I mean, my credentials as an analyst are about as solid as a Jeff Mathis throw to second base. In other words, I will often miss the mark.

Take Howie Kendrick for example. This off season I will admit that I was ready to ship him off to parts unknown in hopes of obtaining a piece that would help the Angels. I proposed making Alberto Callaspo the second baseman and using Howie to acquire a third baseman or another piece that would make the team better.

Given Howie’s start that proposition looks pretty foolish, even though we are only ten games into the season. I even said Howie was “expendable.”

Well, what do I know?

In any case, that doesn’t mean I won’t be making suggestions in the future and I’m certainly not backing off my “Jeff-Mathis-is-horrible” stance either. I’m just noting that I’m apt to make mistakes and get things wrong from time to time… just like everyone else. Difference is I don’t have a problem admitting it.

Speaking of Mathis, don’t think I didn’t notice his epic failure in Kansas City on April 3 when he went 0 for 6 at the plate and 0 for 6 in trying to throw out runners. I’m just glad I wasn’t in Kansas City to witness the debacle. I certainly noticed it; I just decided to give Mathis an early season pass.

Okay, truth be known, I wasn’t ready to start ranting so early in the season. That may all change at any given moment though; so stay tuned just in case.

80-82

The headline says it all; the final tally for 2010.

I suppose some sort of analysis of the just completed season is in order. Then again, I’m a little tired of pointing fingers and all that. Truth be told, I’m kind of glad the season is over. The season was all kinds of frustrating and the year has been emotionally draining on many levels.

That being said, I do feel obligated to do a brief recap. Fortunately, I can sum up the season failures fairly easily.

The reason for the Angels poor showing can be directly tied to Brandon Wood’s epic failure at the plate, Erick Aybar’s inability to become a good lead off man, the continued horrible play of Jeff Mathis (and Mike Scioscia’s puzzling loyalty to him), Scott Kazmir’s miserable performance and a bull pen that was no friend to Smokey the Bear, let alone the Angel starting pitchers (they couldn't put out a match with a fire hose let alone a fire).

The list above does not represent all the reasons the Angels failed; however, they are the most significant outside of Kendry Morales’ injury in my opinion.

Let the Hot Stove Season begin.

Here’s the first shot heard around the Southern California scene, courtesy of Torii Hunter and the LA Times.

"Arte is [ticked off]," Hunter said. "And when he's [ticked off], great things happen."

Don’t tease me Torii. Please let me look back on that quote with fondness come next spring. I want to look back and say, "Arte really didn't mess around." I’ve been hearing a lot of "big" talk of late from Tony Reagins, etc. and I want to believe what I’m hearing. Time to walk the walk.

Let’s make Plan A, (whatever the heck it is) a reality. No stop gaps. No settling. Make some magic and let’s get back to winning. Make this off-season one to remember for all the right reasons.

Now, how do we fans stay tuned? Let me break it down for you.

Between now and the day pitchers and Molinas report (and beyond), I’ll be checking MLB Trade Rumors frequently (and you should too). When I say frequently, I'm talking about every ten minutes (just kidding... sort of).

Anything that might happen or actually does happen will be found there (it's not all rumors). Consider it your one-stop shop for all things Hot Stove.You wan to know who all the free agents are - check out MLB Trade Rumors. Need a list of Scott Boras clients? MLB Trade Rumors has it. Man, I should get paid for this plug!

You should also check in with the OC Register’s Angel Blog regularly. It's really the best source for Angels-specific information in real time. Sam Miller and Dan Woike along with a cast of thousands (give or take that many) keep Angel fans on top of all the action.

And add AngelsWin and Halos Heaven to your internet book marks. The two fan oriented sites are usually among the first to hear about any late breaking Angels news. Let me put it to you this way - if an Angel fan hears it, sees it or heaven forbid, smells it - they're likely to post about it at one of the two sites on their active message boards. Both also have great blogs, conduct in-depth interviews with players, front office people, other not-so-famous folks and much more.

LA Angels Insider is also another great resource for all things Angels (they even let me post a blog there once in a while). Eric Denton runs a first class site with lots of exclusive content.

If you use Twitter, you need to follow Sam Miller (@SamMillerOCR), Dan Woike (@OCR_DanWoike), Mark Saxon of ESPN (@markasaxon) and Lyle Spencer of MLB (@LyleMSpencer).

Be sure to check out all the Angel blogs (see my blog roll on the right) and please keep coming back to this site; after all, I’m not going any where and I get depressed when my site meter dips too low.

That should keep you on top of all the Angel news all off season long.

In closing today’s post, I’ll leave you with a few photos from the last home stand. Enjoy!





Photos: Top Row: Bobby Grich at the 50th Anniversary Announcement, followed by Ervin Santana. Second Row: Mark Trumbo followed by Peter Bourjos and in the last row: The Matsui faithful.

More:





Top Row: Bobby Wilson, Hideki Matsui, Torii Hunter
Bottom Row: Mike Scioscia, Howie Kendrick, Scioscia again

Dead man walking

Okay, so I’m listening to the Angels/Mariners game on the radio last night (Tuesday) and the Angels and Marines are scoreless in the 7th and I hear Terry Smith say “The Angels need a two out hit from Jeff Mathis” and it hits me… I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more demoralizing line than that one.

And with that one line, this blog post was born.

Every time Mathis comes to the plate, my expectations drop considerably. Any hope I might have for a rally or just a simple single disappears completely. After all, Mathis has just five hits in his last 51 at bats and he’s hitting .193 on the season.

It would be one thing if Mathis actually made up for his horrible offense with outstanding defense, but that’s not the case, at least not in my opinion. I don’t understand Mike Scioscia’s man crush on Mathis; I just don’t. I know that Scioscia knows more about catching than I could ever dream of, but I still don’t see it.

The easy thing to do would be to just accept the idea that Scioscia knows more and shouldn’t be questioned, but that’s just not how I roll. I wish someone would ask Scioscia the questions that would clarify exactly why Mathis is his guy.

The way I see it, Mike Napoli is for all intensive purposes a “dead man walking.”

Napoli is uncertain about his future in Anaheim. He told Bill Plunkett of the O.C. Register “I have no idea,” Napoli said when asked what he thought the waiver news signaled about his future with the Angels. “I don’t know what my future is here. “I think it could go either way. I want to be able to play every day. I feel I have the potential to help the team out being in the lineup every day. … I’d just like to play.”

Plunkett goes on to write that Napoli said he has talked with Scioscia about playing time in the past and the conversation always turns back to “not getting it done on the defensive side.”

I’m sure smarter people than myself can tell me what it is that makes Mathis better; at least I assume as much. I’ve read all kinds of things over the past few years and none of it jives with what I see when I watch games at the stadium or on television.

My image of Mathis is of a guy who can’t throw runners out and is more likely to air mail a ball into the outfield when trying to throw someone out. He can’t hit and he can’t throw. What else is there? I guess he calls a whale of a game because I can’t imagine any other reason why he’s on a major league roster, let alone getting consistent starts over Mike Napoli or even Bobby Wilson.

Prior to the 2009 season I read about how his brother helped convert a barn on his property into a batting cage and how he worked on his hitting in the off season. The 2009 season rolled around and Mathis still couldn’t hit worth a darn. He then teased us with glimpses of a major league hitter by doing well in the play-offs and we were duped into believing he finally figured it out.

Enter 2010 and he comes out of spring training and looks as if he might pick up where he left off in 2009. After 10 games he was hitting .324 and then he suffered an injury to his wrist that put him on the DL. He never recovered and when he came back on July 19 his average continued to go down steadily (occasionally going up a point here and there) until he found himself hitting .236 on July 11. On July 15 he had three hits and his average jumped to .258 and then it was over. From July 16 on, his average never went above that .258 mark and plummeted all the way to where it is today at .193.

How bad is Jeff Mathis? A member of Halos Heaven named Suboptimal articulates just how bad Mathis is in his piece titled Jeff Mathis Making History Backwards.

If you take the time to read Suboptimal’s piece you will see that Mathis is monumentally bad. We are talking bad in epic proportions. I mean he’s one of the worst hitters in the history of baseball. Yes, he’s really that bad.

At the time that piece was written Mathis had a career batting average of .200 which ranked him 7th worst in the history of baseball for batters with at least 1,000 plate appearances which includes more than 3,000 players (a point hammered home by Suboptimal).

I’m thinking if your offense is that bad, your defense better be among the best in major league history. I’m thinking it better be more spectacular than Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. I mean we’re talking about defense that would put Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez in his prime to shame, right? His defense shouldn’t just be good; it should be Molina good as in Bengie, Jose or Yadier good.

Well, that’s not the case.

So as we look to the 2011 season (what Angel fan hasn’t done that?) I can’t help but believe that the catching situation is foggy. That being said, I also can’t help but believe that Napoli will be playing for a different team, thus the phrase “dead man walking.”

Napoli is making $3.6 million this year and despite his lack of playing time, leads the Angels in homeruns and is due for a pay increase. Regardless of whether or not that increase comes voluntarily from the Angels or via arbitration, Napoli’s salary is going up. I find it doubtful that the Angels will keep a guy making more than $4 or $5 million on their roster if they view that guy as a part time player.

If ever there was a candidate to be traded, it’s Napoli and even though his own manager might not like his game, he does have value. He can catch, play first base and DH and has Paul Bunyanesque power. His trade value is high right now and the Angels will deal him, in my opinion. It’s not something I’d like to see, but I believe it’s inevitable.

Of course the thought of Mathis as the man behind the plate makes me uneasy and it doesn’t make me feel confident about 2011. The hype behind Hank Conger seems to have faded somewhat after a good, but not great season at AAA and it seems likely to me that the Angels will keep him at Salt Lake City for another year, especially since I haven’t read any glowing reports about his defense (he’s made 13 errors). If defense is the main requirement for Scioscia, it’s likely Conger has more work to do.

That being said, Conger might be further along than I think and might play a signficant role in 2011. I suppose anything is possible.

What I do know is that the Jeff Mathis/Mike Napoli debate has been beaten into the ground on internet message boards and on AM 830’s Angels talk, but it’s a discussion that’s important to Angel fans. It’s murky. It’s volatile and it leaves Angel fans feeling uncertain and even confused.

I have no idea how it will play out, but I have to believe the catching “controversy” will have to be resolved this off season some how.

One door closes and another opens

Opening day is tomorrow and it’s time to look forward; however, before we step into a new season, I thought it would be appropriate to kick the door shut on the spring.

The big questions of the spring have basically been answered. Brandon Wood is going to be the starting third basemen (filling the big shoes of Chone Figgins) and Bobby Wilson and Terry Evans; two players who are out of options (they can’t be sent to the minors without clearing waivers) have made the 25 man roster along with veteran Robb Quinlan.

Scott Kazmir will start the year on the Disabled List (DL); however, he’s scheduled to just miss one start. Matt Palmer will start in his place on Friday, April 9 against the hated A’s, with Kazmir rejoining the rotation for the series in New York against the Yankees the following week.

The Angels’ bull pen may be the best in baseball with Brian Fuentes, Scot Shields, Kevin Jepsen, Fernando Rodney, Jason Bulger, and Brian Stokes. That’s a group that should be able to step on the neck of opponents and crush any attempts at overcoming any leads the team has during the year.

I really don’t see any Cinderella stories emerging in the AL West this year. The glass slipper isn’t going to be there for Texas and certainly not for Seattle or Oakland in my opinion. The Angels look like champions of the west again and if the shoe fits… well, you get the picture.

They’ll be lacing them up tomorrow night with Jered Weaver making his first ever opening day start. The rest of the rotation will have Joe Saunders going on Tuesday with Ervin Santana on Wednesday, Joel Pineiro on Thursday and Palmer on Friday.

We are going to see an entirely home grown infield with Kendry Morales, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Wood. Add Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli to that group and again, you have a core that was drafted or signed by the Angels and then developed through the Angels’ minor league system. In fact 13 of players on the 25 man roster came up through the Angels organization. These foot soldiers are ready for the challenge ahead.

Rounding out the 25 man roster are Maicer Izturis, Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera and Hideki Matsui. Reggie Willits will start the year on the DL.

Last, but not least Mike Scioscia the 2009 AL Manager of the year will be back to make sure everyone toes the line.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to kick it up a notch. It’s time to step on some toes (if necessary), make tracks in the sand and get this shoe err, show on the road. I’m ready for some Angels baseball; either that or a shoe commercial. Quick start the season before I use the line "There’s no business like shoe…" oops… too late.