Faster than a speeding bullet

Tradition. That’s the word that’s been used as the theme for the 2010 season... Well, if there’s one tradition the Angels can point to more than any other, it’s having a history of fast, athletic center fielders; guys who can really get after a baseball.

Names like Jose Cardenal, Mickey Rivers, Gary Pettis, and Chad Curtis have covered center field like white on rice. Others such as Devon White, Jim Edmonds, Darin Erstad and Torii Hunter have approached legendary status for their abilities to rob hitters of homeruns, haul in sinking line drives to deny hitters of extra bases, and collect Gold Gloves.

The latest in this long line of center fielders is none other than Peter Bourjos. Bourjos’ name became known to many Angel fans for the first time last season when he was mentioned as a possible trade piece in the Angels attempt to acquire Roy Halladay. It’s no wonder. The kid plays a mean center field.

Bourjos is a 23 year old out of Park Ridge, Illinois where he was a 10th round draft pick by the Angels in 2005.

Last night, Angel fans got their first “official” look at Bourjos in Angels stadium (he made an appearance during the pre-season freeway series as well).

So, how fast is young Peter? Let me break it down for you…

Bourjos is so fast, the FAA has declared center field a “no fly zone” and the United States Air Force has issued a stern warning that any fly balls in the PB (Peter Bourjos) Zone will be terminated with extreme prejudice.

That’s right – Bourjos is that kind of fast.

He’s so fast, that he’s a threat to make it to second base on a walk. He’s so fast, that runners trying to tag up from third base on fly balls hit to him are often stunned to find him waiting for them at home plate for the tag.

If the Coyote had his kind of speed, the Road Runner would be toast.... err, lunch.

Let me put it to you another way. What does it say when Torii Hunter a nine time Gold Glover volunteers to move over to right field? It says that Peter Bourjos is the real deal and you'd better believe it.

Bourjos is so fast that once he gets on first base, he’s a threat to score from there on a squeeze play. Once a ball is in the air, he can run into the stands, sell some popcorn and then run back on to the field to wait for the fly ball to land softly in his glove.

He’s fast enough that he can catch fly balls in front of Juan Rivera. Okay, that’s not saying much,but this has actually happened since his call up. Let's just say I breathe a little easier knowing he’s patrolling center field.

Last night as we were watching young Peter’s Angels Stadium debut, 514 Fanatic Bo (also known as HaloBo from his comments on this blog) commented that” he’s faster than a rat running down a high wire.” I say “you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”

Imagine an outfield with both Mike Trout (see the post prior to this one) and Peter Bourjos. That will be one high octane duo.

Yes Angel fans the future is looking bright. We have the kind of player in Bourjos that baseball fans just love. The kind of guy who only has one gear and that’s full bore. We love players that hustle and play great defense and it’s clear that Bourjos is going to be a fan favorite.

Speaking of fan favorites; Garret Anderson was designated for assignment by the Dodgers yesterday. Okay, I know many Angel fans have had kind of love/hate relationship with Garret over the years, but let’s be clear about one thing… Anderson owns virtually every significant statistical record for the Angels.

Even though I’ve never been a huge Anderson fan myself, I fully recognize his contributions and accomplishments as an Angel. Why am I bringing this all up? Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Angels sign Anderson for the rest of the season to let him retire as an Angel.

I think it would be a fitting way to pay tribute to Anderson for all he has meant to the Angels franchise. The rosters will be expanding in September anyway and wouldn’t it be nice to have the opportunity to thank and recognize Anderson as he moves on to the next phase in his life?

Moving on is something Don Wakamatsu the manager of the Seattle Mariners is doing today after the being fired by the Mariners yesterday. You know who really should be fired? All those so-called experts who picked the Mariners to win the AL West. I’m just saying.

Photos of Bourjos in this post were taken at spring training this year.

Notes on Terry Evans, Milton Bradley and Joe Saunders

So many topics, so little time. I guess I have some ground to make up on this blog. There have been a few things that have happened over the last couple days that warrant some comments… So, I’ll just get right into it. Now, remember this blog isn’t necessarily about box scores, so bear with me.

Terry Evans was sent to Salt Lake City today to make room for Scott Kazmir. It was one of several moves the Angels made this week. This move is very disappointing on several levels.

The move enables Reggie Willits (who was also activated off the DL) to assume the role of the "fourth outfielder."

I had really hoped that Evans would stick as the fourth outfielder and while I realize the fan appeal of someone like Reggie Willits, it’s my opinion that Evans has more upside and just as much versatility as Willits.

On a personal level, I like both players – but Evans is 28 years old and this could be the end of the road for him. He’s now in that place where it’s time to look in the mirror and decide what would be in his and his family’s best interest. In other words, is it time to give up the baseball dream?

The move wouldn’t have been so hard to take had Evans been picked up by another team; however, much to my surprise he cleared waivers. Even then, had he been picked up by another team, there was still a chance he would have ended up in their minor league system.

I feel for Terry Evans. He really doesn’t have anything else to prove at Salt Lake City and now has to sit and wait for an opportunity. Time is running out for him and waiting for a shot is probably the last thing he wants to do.

Evans is one of the good guys we’ve come to know a little bit through our visits to spring training. He’s not just a name and number in a program any more; he’s a real person and one that Cheryl and I have come to root for. What’s a fan to do?

In a league where people like Milton Bradley are given multiples chances, it’s a shame to see Evans’ dream start to fade. Granted, Bradley has more talent, but it still seems as though things are somewhat out of whack.

Speaking of Bradley, he’s at it again; don’t you know?

The Mariners and more specifically their manager Don Wakamatsu had a little talk with him after yet another incident with fans; this time during last week’s road trip. Apparently, the self proclaimed bad boy of baseball has been putting pressure on himself.

Really? Pressure? That’s what’s behind all this? I ain’t buying it. Now had he said his body was occupied by an alien I might have found that more believable. If Bradley can’t handle the pressure; perhaps he should find another occupation. I'm just saying.

You know, I received a little bit of flack back in March from one Mariner fan who took exception to my “Men behaving Bradley” post. Well, I stand by the statements I made back in March. If Bradley stopped playing baseball today; we’d forget all about him tomorrow. He wouldn’t be missed at all.

I’m betting I’ll be posting about him again and it won’t be because he’s won some sort of sportsmanship award.

On to other, more interesting things…

I love all the blogs that are surfacing around the web. It’s great to see so many different people talking and writing about Angels' baseball. Each is different and offers a unique perspective. I try to check them out regularly.

One of the newer blogs out there is from the folks at Fan Sided. Halo Hangout is written by Nate Proctor, who is a very knowledgeable baseball guy. He’s started a series of player previews on his site and recently did one on Joe Saunders.

Now, if you read this blog regularly, you know that my wife and I are huge Saunders fans and anything written about Joe is bound to get my attention.

Nate basically makes it a point to tell his audience that Joe Saunders is over-rated, and how he should basically be the poster boy as to why “wins are over-rated.”

Nate goes into a lot of detail about Saunders’ 2009 season, citing a number of sabermetric points along the way. Nate doesn’t project a very good season for Saunders and is basing his analysis on what he sees statistically from Saunders.

One problem. In the course of his analysis Nate totally ignored the fact that Saunders pitched hurt for most of 2009. He didn’t mention it once and when I commented on his blog about that omission; he disagrees that it had any role in his performance.

That doesn’t make any sense to me.

This is the problem I have sometimes with the sabermetric types. They often look at the numbers and only the numbers. They don’t necessarily factor anything else into their analysis. While I would agree that wins as a stand alone statistic is somewhat pointless; simply looking at the numbers doesn’t tell the whole story. That being said, a pitcher's job is to pitch well enough to give his team a chance to win and Saunders does that.

I’m sure my statement isn’t new to Nate or any other sabermetrically inclined baseball fans; however, time after time those "other" factors are ignored.

I’m betting that when all is said and done, Joe Saunders will have a season more like the one in 2008 than the one in 2009. We saw a glimpse of what Saunders is capable of when he came off the DL last year and pitched well down the stretch. How will he do this year? Time will tell.

Oh by the way, you don't need me to tell you the Angels beat the Yankees today. I'm sure you know that by now. Let's hope this is the start of something good.