A "Closer" for the people

The news spread quickly. It hit the internet like a wild fire, went out over the radio with a bang and was announced on television as well; Jordan Walden, the 6’5”, 235 pound right-hander out of Fort Worth, Texas was assuming the role as the Angels’ closer for the time being.

It was inevitable. Everyone knew it was coming; just ask them. Just about every blogger, sportswriter and Angel fan wanted to take credit for being the first to predict this scenario. Really? Like I said, everyone knew it was coming.

Truth be known; Fernando Rodney should have never even been signed by the Angels. I questioned the Angels’ interest back on December 22, 2009. At that time, I focused on the fact that his strike outs per nine innings had declined over the previous few years at an alarming rate. Rodney had peaked in 2008 when his ratio was 10.9. It dropped to 7.3 in 2009 and then again last year to 7.0.

This was a power pitcher who was losing his “power” and ability to strike men out in key situations.

My direct quote from that blog entry: “When you look at his numbers and factor in his age, it’s easy to conclude Rodney may be in decline. The Angels would be wise to pass on this free agent.” Truer words have never been written. Just saying.

That all being said, I dare to ask the question, is Jordan Walden assuming the closer role a good thing? On one hand, it is nice to have someone who has the ability to shut down a team and actually close out games in a dominating fashion. On the other, Rodney’s demise hurts the overall depth of the bullpen and makes it a tad bit weaker.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Rodney remain the team’s closer; however, I am pointing out the idea that his failure has ramifications and should not be a cause for celebrations.

Okay, who am I kidding?

Jordan Walden assuming the closer role is a cause for unbridled joy. After enduring years of Francisco Rodriguez and then Brian Fuentes; where Angel fans had to wear a seat belt in order to handle the roller coaster ride each put us through, it’s as if new life was just breathed into the lungs of every Angel fan near and far.

In Jordan’s brief stint at the major league level last year, his strikeout rate per nine innings was an astounding 13.5 (granted it was only over 15 1/3 innings). His current rate (keeping in mind he’s only pitched 3 1/3 innings is 16.2

Is he likely to maintain that? No, but one has to be excited about the Texan who can touch 100 mph on the radar gun now and then. One just has to hope he can bring more than a big time fastball to the table; after all, this is the major leagues and pitchers need more than one pitch to be truly successful.

I’d say the outlook is bright.

This development coupled with the fact that Scott Downs may begin a rehab assignment any day now gives all of Angel fans some hope that the bullpen will not be a major source of concern; at least one can hope that’s the case. Downs is projected to be the team’s set up man and if he can duplicate his numbers from Toronto, it will all be good.

Next up... "everyone" will comment how they predicted this would be Howie Kendrick's break-out season.

Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly okay because if that's the kind of conversations we're all having, it's all good.

Be careful what you wish for

I love four game winning streaks. I love any kind of winning, but when they involve streaks of multiple games they’re extra special. Never mind that two of the Angels victories came after 30 innings, which is basically the equivalent of 3.3 games. It’s still good. Too bad the Angels didn’t receive 3.3 wins for their efforts. Never-the-less – winning is always fun.

That being said, the question remains; is this too little, too late? On one hand I’d like to enjoy the victories at a basic level and appreciate the fact that the Angels played well enough to win. On the other, I can’t help but wonder if they have any chance what-so-ever at catching the Texas Rangers?

I know strangers things have happened and it’s only natural to speculate about the possibility. However, the reality is the odds are against the Angels. I just hope they finish strong.

Look, the Angels have 19 games remaining and their elimination number is 10. Any combination of Ranger victories and/or Angel defeats adding up to ten over the next 19 games and the Angels are mathematically eliminated.

You can run all the scenarios through your head. When you do the math; again, the odds are stacked against the Angels. And when you factor in the Oakland Athletics also being ahead of the Angels the water really becomes murky. Let’s just say the fat lady is warming up.

I know I know who am I to rain on the parade? Let’s just say I’m trying to keep a little perspective. Right now, my immediate hope is that Texas doesn’t roll into town next week to clinch the division. The idea of watching them celebrate in our stadium is enough to make me projectile vomit. Just saying.

Speaking of the nauseating… let’s talk about the role of the closer on the Angels. In my opinion, the much maligned Brian Fuentes was doing a pretty good job. Yes, he made some games interesting, but he had come to the point of being pretty consistent. He had saved 17 of his last 18 opportunities. His ERA had dropped considerably from June 20th on.

Never-the-less, Angel fans clamored for Fernando Rodney to be inserted into the closer role and wished to see Fuentes sent off to parts unknown. Well, be careful what you wish for.

Since August 30, Rodney has blown three out of eight chances. Despite that the Angels did win two of those games; but even with that, Rodney has given Angel fans more to moan about.

Personally, I don’t really have a beef with Rodney and I didn’t really have a problem with Fuentes. The way I see it – closers are basically a hit or miss deal. If your closer isn’t named Mariano Rivera, you don’t know what you’re going to get from year to year.

Look at who has struggled this year. Jonathan Papelbon has blown seven saves and so has Billy Wagner of the Braves. Francisco Cordero has blown 8 saves for the division leading Cincinnati Reds. Jonathon Broxton has six blown saves and has basically lost his role as the Dodgers closer.

Closers can be great one year and a total bust the next and vice versa. I venture to guess that if you ask just about any fan base about their closer – none are entirely pleased with theirs. Even the great Mariano has blown three opportunities (not that Yankee fans are complaining). Nobody is perfect; at least not this year. In fact, only a handful of guys have been even close to perfect. The best of the bunch? Joaquin Soria of the Royals who has 37 saves in 39 chances; Rafael Soriano who has saved 42 out of 45 games; Heath Bell of the Padres with 41 out 44 and Neftali Feliz of the Rangers who has saved 36 out of 39.

Brad Lidge is the only guy in recent memory (not including those suspected of steroid use – hello “Game Over”) who has had a perfect season (Lidge saved 41 of 41 in 2008 for the Phillies). Keep in mind he blew 8 saves the year prior in 2007 with the Astros and then blew a mind boggling 11 games in 2009 with the Phillies.

When you think about it... or at least when I think about it - Brian Fuentes didn’t look so bad.

Think about this – There are 34 closers who have at least ten saves on the year (as of 9/14/10). That group has saved 868 games and blown 145. That’s an 85% success rate (think of someone saving 34 out of 40 games). Most people would consider that a horrible percentage. The percentages dip even lower for those who have save totals between 3 and 9. That group which includes 22 pitchers has only saved 112 out of 174 games for a horrid 64% (think of approximately 26 saves out of 40).

That’s a lot of anxious moments for fans throughout baseball. Something else to think about - there are 30 major league teams and 121 different players have at least one save and even more who have had "save opportunities."



How many times has one guy started the year as the closer only to be replaced by someone else? I don't have that answer handy - but Angel fans should think about the year K-Rod walked and how many assumed Jose Arredondo would become the closer. Whatever happened to him you ask? Exactly...

My point is that everyone wants a "shut down" closer who is perfect night in and night out while the reality is - that pitcher simply doesn’t exist. Before you start booing your closer or wishing for someone else to take on that role, you’d better realize how volatile the role is to begin with and just having a guy who can handle that kind of rollercoaster ride is not a bad thing even if he blows 5, 6 or 7 games in a year now and then. We all have to temper our expectations when it comes to closing games.

Fuentes would have been fine. Rodney will probably be fine, all things considered.

You watch - when Rafael Soriano hits the free agent market this year - some team, some where will over pay for his services. In my opinion, he doesn't have the track record to warrant a long term deal, but someone will give him one. It will be a move that team will more than likely regret in the long run.

Wishing for win streaks = good thing. Wishing for someone else to close your games for your team = a dangerous proposition.

Jeff Mathis never looked so good making an out

One of the great things about going to the ball park is that you never know what you’re going to see. You might even see a no-hitter (odds seem better than usual for that this year). In fact you might see something you thought would be down right impossible; like Jeff Mathis winning a game in extra innings.

Come on; you knew that was coming, didn’t you?

So yesterday, I went to the Angels/Indians game by myself. Since I was going alone, I thought I’d do something different. I didn’t go up to my section on the view level at all. I thought I’d roam around the field level, take pictures and watch the game from different vantage points. (The photo below, right is of my season seat section around the third inning).

I have to tell you that a bad team looks bad no matter where you sit. That being said, it was great to see an Angels victory; even if it did take 16 innings! It’s not every day that you get to experience a 7th inning AND a 14th inning stretch.

A lot of things went through my mind over the course of the day. Okay, I know the game was only about five hours long (did I say only?), but it seemed like a whole day.

In the third inning I looked up at the scoreboard and saw that both Scott Kazmir and Josh Tomlin hadn’t give up a hit. Of course Kazmir had already walked three, but my point was that I was surprised to see a “pitching duel.” Who knew?

When Jason Donald led off the 5th with a double, I fully expected Kazmir to get shelled from that point on. Much to my surprise, Kazmir limited the damage to one run. That was real progress and yes, I am being serious.

Now if you’ve been paying attention to the Angels of late, you’d know that falling behind at any point in the game, even if it’s only 1-0 smells like disaster. Oh, but not on this day; no sir, Mike Napoli (you know the guy who can’t seem to find regular playing time even though he leads the team in homers) came to the plate with Alberto Callaspo on base and drilled a homerun to deep left field. (That's Napoli's actual homerun swing to the right)

And what do you know? The Angels go on top 2-1.

In the bottom of the 6th the Angels pad that lead with a solo homer from Peter Bourjos. Can I just tell you again how much I like this kid? He’s figuring things out and I have a lot of confidence that he’ll be a solid major league ball player. Even though he’s hitting under .200 I never get the impression that he’s overmatched.

So, the Angels are on top 3-1 and it’s now the 7th inning. I was thinking that this game was cruising along and I’d be able to join my wife Cheryl and her mom for dinner. The instant I thought that I knew I was in trouble.

I guess I should know by now that assumptions in baseball are a dangerous thing. Sure enough, my assuming that a game that was moving along at a nice pace would continue to do so was the kiss of death.

Andy Marte decided to make things interesting with a solo homerun off Jordan Walden. Marte who was hitting all of .211 with 4 homeruns (coming into the game) turned on a 99 mph fast ball and bam; it was now 3-2 Angels. Not to worry I thought.

I have to admit, that I was feeling a little optimistic yesterday and I convinced myself that the Angels bull pen would shut the Indians down and we’d all be going home with a 3-2 victory. Boy was I wrong.

Fernando Rodney (hat cocked to the side and all) gave up the tying run (his fourth blown save of the year) and just like that we were headed for extra innings. What is it with closers with the initials F.R. (like Frankie Rodriguez) and 9th inning drama?

Whatever.

Remember, I was feeling optimistic. I knew Torii Hunter was leading off the bottom of the 9th and I was thinking how nice a walk off homerun would be at that point.

Well, that didn’t happen.

In the bottom of the 10th, Juan Rivera looked like he might be a hero when he sent a fly ball to deep center field. It looked like it had a chance to go out; however, the Indians’ center fielder Michael Brantley had other plans and robbed Rivera of a homerun. Tub of goo lives on.

I looked in the dugout and I saw Torii Hunter shaking his head. I tried to imagine what he might be thinking. I mean, isn’t he’s the only one who’s supposed to take homeruns away from people?

Next thing you know it’s the bottom of the 11th inning and the bases are loaded with one out. Surely the Angels can score a guy now. I mean all they have to do is squeeze the runner home, right? I mean that's Angels baseball!

Up steps Jeff Mathis and the guy who can’t hit worth a lick apparently can’t bunt either. He pops it up and now there are two outs. I start to wonder if Hank Conger could do a better job of hitting while blind folded.

Up steps Erick Aybar and I started to believe this game would never end.

The crowd is getting pretty thin at this point and I question whether or not the rats at the stadium out number the fans. The game goes on and on and on. (That's my section again on the right when the game went into extra innings)

I start to get a little delusional (at least more than usual) and think about how cool it would be to see Reggie Willits hit a walk off homer. When he walks in the 12th inning, I start to speculate as to whether or not he could steal home all the way from first base. Realizing that’s not possible, I start to hope for a stolen base, a balk and a wild pitch to bring him home.

Yes, I was that desperate.

In the thirteenth inning Francisco Rodriguez comes in and walks two. I have to tell you that I don’t particularly care for anyone named Francisco Rodriguez – past, present or future at this point. That being said, he gets out of the inning.

Now, it’s getting cold and I didn’t have a jacket; I had thought I’d be home before it got dark. Now, I was questioning if I’d be home before dawn. I look at the Padres/Dodgers game and wondered which game would finish first (even though their game started three hours later). I’m hungry and the concession stands are out of hot dogs. My stomach started rumbling and I started thinking of where I would stop for a bite on my way home and wondering if any of my choices would still be open when I finally did head home.

The baseball game or something that resembles a baseball game continued on.

When Sin-Soo Choo stepped up to bat in the top of the 16th, I remember thinking that this has to be about his 15th AB of the game. Wasn’t he just up? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Choo walked with two outs. Matt Palmer was pitching and just as my mind starts to wander again (I start to speculate whether or not Palmer would receive credit for a complete game if he pitched nine innings), Palmer tries a pick off throw that gets past Juan Rivera (surprise) and Choo high tails it down to second base.

I thought to myself; well, that’s about right – the Angels probably average at least one error every nine inning (at least lately) and that was the second one in the game. After all, the Angels are next to last in the American League in fielding (I actually looked that up)!

Even if the error hadn’t happened, Choo probably would have stolen the base anyway (Jeff Mathis was behind the plate) since the Angels have given up the third most stolen bases in all of baseball this year (yup, looked that up too). Either way, we had to know Choo was getting to second base one way or another. Just saying.

Anyway, Palmer pitches to Jordan Brown and catches a come backer just as he completes the little bunny hop he does after he throws the ball; Rivera handles the toss (I know that’s hard to believe) and we were on to the bottom of the 16th.

Torii Hunter came to the plate and I’m thought once again that a walk-off homerun would be nice. Hunter doubles and I started to like our chances. Alberto Callaspo advanced Hunter to third on a ground out and now Hunter was a mere 90 feet away with one out. I felt good; that is until I saw who was up next. (The photo to the right is Hunter stroking his double),

No, please; not again! It was Jeff Mathis. At this point I was sure the game was going to break records for the number of innings and my choices for dinning options were getting smaller and smaller by the minute.

Surely, Mike Scioscia wouldn’t ask him to squeeze again, right?

Right!

Boo-ya! Mathis swung away and hit a fly ball to right field; Hunter tagged up and scored the winning run.

Game over and it was time for me to head to In ‘N Out. And that’s what a 16 inning walk off win is all about.

The two teams combined to throw 506 pitches and even though the Indians out hit the Angels 14-6 (and let’s not forget the Angels had two errors to boot – no pun intended), the Angels emerged victorious and I had the perfect material for this, my 200th post on this blog!

Baseball is amazing. Jeff Mathis came into the game hitting .194 and he ended up being a hero by doing what he does best, making an out (he’s now hitting .192). Tuesday night Lou Marson of the Indians entered that game hitting .189 and proceeded to hit a grand slam to help the Indians to a 6-1 win. It was only Marson’s third homerun in 241 plate appearances this year.

That’s baseball. I love this game!

A Bourjos night of baseball

Let be known that I traveled 979 miles (distance from Anaheim to Seattle) to see the Angels finally score some runs. It could have been a historic night for all the wrong reasons; but alas, it was not.

The Angels went 31 scoreless innings until Peter Bourjos went to work and hit a line homerun to center field to give the Angels a 1-0 lead in Seattle. The Angels record for futility is 33 innings, but thankfully it still stands.

Bourjos was a one man show; he was hit by a pitch, stole a base, threw a runner out at third for an assist, hit the homerun and later added a single. This night was his night; although, he did have one get past him (it was a tough play) that led to a Mariner run in the bottom of the 9th.

In the end the Angels finally won a game (it seems like it’s been forever) and beat the hapless Mariners 5-3.

The night was not without its keystone cop like moments (hello Erick Aybar), but all in all a good effort.

Leading that effort along with Bourjos was Ervin Santana who threw 7 2/3 innings, scattering eight hits, without giving up any walks and striking out four. Fernando Rodney got his first save since assuming the closer role for the departed Brian Fuentes.

The low points (I hate to go there) were led by Jeff Mathis, who went 0 for 4 while striking out once. Mathis also failed to throw Ichiro Suzuki out on two steal attempts. I know, I know he’s a defensive genius, right Mike Scioscia? Truth is, I doubt Mathis could throw out a beached whale before volunteers rolled it back into the sea.

Enough ranting for tonight.

It was a nice night for baseball at Safeco Field with a game time temperature of 65 degrees and 20,545 in attendance. In fact it was a Bourjos night. My chili dog was good and more importantly the Angels came out on top. Can’t ask for more than that.

I will try to post some photos from this game later on. The photos of Bourjos in this post are from Sunday’s game in Anaheim.

How to ruin my day with one swing of the bat

I didn’t see it when it happened. To be honest with you, I was listening to the game on the radio and I had dosed off for a bit while the score was 2-2 and Fernando Rodney had just finished pitching the 8th inning. When I awoke, I heard something about Scot Shields giving up the walk off homerun and I promptly turned the radio off.

It wasn’t until later that night while watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN that I actually saw it.

Imagine my horror. As I watched Johnny Damon launch a walk-off homerun beyond the right field fence, my face went blank. I looked at the T.V. and immediately thought of this blog and how I have consistently made Damon the target of many a snarky comment. Then I uttered the words… “Thank you Scot Shields for ruining my day.”

So here’s the thing about making any player the consistent subject of ridicule. Sometimes stuff like that will come back to bite you in the butt. It’s not like Damon is a crappy player who isn’t capable of delivering moments like the one he had yesterday. Nope. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I dislike him so much. He's actually pretty good.

It simply wouldn’t be much fun if Damon was a horrible player that constantly looked bad on the field (although it is a nice thought).

So you’re probably wondering why it is I dislike Johnny Damon so much.

I have multiple reasons. First of all, he’s greedy. Yeah, I know, I know you can’t blame a player for wanting to get the most money he can. I understand and agree with that. It’s just that Damon has always appeared to me to be sort of a mercenary. I get the impression that he’d play for Cuba against the United States if the price was right.

When he left Boston for the Yankees he made it sound as if New York was exactly where he always wanted to be. This past off-season he turned down a nice contract from the Yankees and ended up signing with the Detroit Tigers for less. He didn’t do it because he wanted less money; he and his agent Scott Boras miscalculated the market for his services and he had no other choice.

Of course, in true Damon like style, when he signed with the Tigers he told everyone that this was his first choice all along. In other words, Damon has this habit of talking out of both side of his mouth.

Damon also got my attention at the first World Baseball Classic. When Team USA played in Anaheim, Cheryl and I went to some of the games; afterwards, we waited where the players exited and caught the bus back to their hotel. Some of the players would walk to rented cars and drive themselves. Damon was one of them.

As he walked through the crowd, not stopping for anyone requesting an autograph, one fan yelled out “Johnny – you’re the man!” Damon stopped, looked at the crowd and said, “Yes, I am.”

It just struck me the wrong way. Maybe he was being funny; but something told me he really believed this. And I suppose on some level it’s not a horrible thing for an all-star baseball player to believe that, but to admit it out loud seemed bush league to me.

Damon will probably continue to torment me with his play. He’s already thrown out Angel base runners on at lest two occasions this year; despite the fact that he “throws like Mary.” He’s also hit extremely well against the Angels.

I guess I will take some solace in the fact that he’s doing all this while not in pinstripes, but it doesn’t really provide me with much comfort.

I’ll continue to make fun of Damon on this blog. I know, you might be thinking that I haven’t learned my lesson and you’d be right. At least Damon isn’t the only player who is the subject of my ridicule.

This coming Wednesday the Angels will face John Lackey for the first time. Stay tuned.

The week in review April 19-25, 2010

Yankee fans are kind of like cockroaches. They’re in every city and no matter what you do; you can’t get rid of them. They’re annoying as heck, but they scatter when the light hits them in the eyes.

This past weekend the Yankee fans were out in big numbers once again and were last seen scampering for the exits by the end of the weekend as their Yankees lost yet another series in Anaheim.

Beating the Yankees never gets old. It's just too bad the Angels didn't sweep.

Many Yankee fans were present at the "Big A" this past weekend. In fact there were far too many for my liking. I’ve never understood why so many Angel season ticket holders vacate the stadium when the Bronx Bombers roll into town. I mean, I can sort of (but not really) understand not wanting to see the Indians (who arrive today), but the Yankees? Come on.

Friday’s and Sunday’s games were the most memorable of the season to date. Classic Angel/Yankee games with the traditional outcome. Nothing beats being there for wins like those.
I got a kick out of all the crisp new Yankee hats and new Mark Teixeira jerseys and T-shirts that were present at the stadium. A World Series title has a way of bringing out the roaches, err… fans in big numbers. I wonder how many of them even know who managed the Yankees before Joe Girardi and Joe Torre.

That being said, I didn’t see any major incidents between Angel and Yankee fans over the weekend and that’s always a good thing.

Winning the series was a great way to end the week, but I expected better than the 4-3 record for the Angels over the last seven days.

As I look back on the week, one player stood out big time; Kendry Morales. "K-Mo" hit .542 for the week with three homeruns, 10 RBI’s and a monster 1.509 OPS. Sha-zam. That’s some big time hitting right there.

Morales already has two homeruns right handed this season after hitting only four from the right side in all of 2009. It’s like I said back in the first week of the season, Morales has put the league on notice. He can hit and hit for power from either side of the plate and he’s on his way to becoming the most dynamic hitter in the history of Angels’ baseball.

Yes; he can be that good.

The funny thing (at least to me) is that most Projections don’t see Morales hitting 30 homeruns in 2010. They’re looking at 2009 as some sort of statistical anomaly, I guess. In fact none of Bill James, CHONE or the like have him even driving in 100 runs.

Okay, whatever… the Angels usually out-perform their projections any way.

Oh and by the way –Morales is this week’s winner of the True Grich Award (given to the Angel who had the best performance of the week) with an honorable mention going to Bobby Abreu who had hit an impressive .385 for the week and a solid 1.121 OPS.

The bull pen did an excellent job as Fernando Rodney, Kevin Jepsen, Brian Stokes and Jason Bulger combined to pitch 18.2 scoreless innings. That’s the bull pen we envisioned before the start of the season. They were getting it done.

All of that being said, the highlight of the week for me was Brandon Wood's bases loaded double that drove in two key runs against the Yankees yesterday. As Wood came to bat; the enormity of the moment was clear. Here was Wood's chance to do something positive. Cheryl (my wife) turned to me and said, "Let's pray for Brandon." We did and Wood delieverd in a big way.

One observation about that inning. When Mike Napoli was batting just prior to Wood, Francisco Cervelli trotted out to talk with his pitcher - Javier Vazquez. At the time, I muttered that he's probably telling Vazquez to not give anything good for Napoli to hit because Wood was on deck. Napoli walked, which fueld my own speculation. What he actually said, I'll never know - but that scenario in my head really made me want Wood to come through even more.

It felt so good to see Wood succeed. Moments like that are truly priceless.

So as we enter the new week, the Angels are 10-10 and two games in back of the hated A’s. The good news is that the Angels haven’t even hit their stride yet, while Oakland looks like they’re playing well above their heads.

I know it’s early (and I'm more than a tad bit biased); but once the Angels hit their stride, the AL West could be in big trouble. I’m just saying.

BFF (Brian Fuentes Forever)

Head’s up to those of you back east. There’s a baseball that’s headed your way. It left Anaheim last night sometime around 9:30 p.m. Yeah, that’s right, Brian Fuentes served it up to one Miguel Cabrera; so be on the look out for something resembling a meteor crashing back to earth.

After all, today is "Earth Day" and we're still waiting for Cabrera's homerun ball's return to the planet.

Okay, so here’s the thing about Brian Fuentes from my point of view. Last night’s homerun was more about Cabrera than it was Fuentes in my opinion. Cabrera is probably one of the five best hitters in baseball. He’s going to take your pitcher yard every now and then. Besides, it wasn’t like Mike Scioscia was going to banish Fuentes to the bench when he returned from the DL. I know some Angel fans would prefer something along those lines, but they’re not living in the real world.

All I know is that if Fuentes can solidify his hold on the closer position, the Angels will be a much deeper and ultimately better ball club. Now, if he can’t do that, I trust that Scioscia will remove him from that role at the appropriate time. As always that’s on his time not ours (ours, being the fans’). We saw this last year when Kevin Jepsen started taking on a bigger role. And even though that was a move that had to be made; it made the team weaker because the Angels’ lost some depth in their bull pen.

So – if you want the Angels to succeed; you should be hoping that Brian Fuentes is successful. The booing that took place last night was actually disgusting to me. If you want to boo someone, boo Johnny Damon.

Speaking of Damon; just before Jered Weaver struck him out looking; I yelled out “He’s going to be taking!” Sure enough Damon took a called strike 3. I figured it was a cold night and Johnny wanted the evening off. Seriously, it was predictable because Damon is one of those guys who like to look at a lot of pitches and if you can make your pitch, you can catch him looking.

The funny thing about his ejection to me (and you have to remember, I don’t need a whole lot of incentive to find things about Johnny to poke fun at) is that he actually played well the two games his team lost and when his team wins one; he’s in the clubhouse. I guess if the Angels have to lose a game, I can swallow that bitter pill a little easier knowing Damon didn’t have a role in it.

Now, did you notice how I diverted this conversation away from Fuentes and on to Damon? Isn’t it more fun to make fun of Damon than it is to lament over a bad outing of one of our own?

Don’t get me wrong – if Fuentes starts to struggle on a regular basis; I’ll be among those calling for Rodney to become the closer. I’m just not in that panic mode yet. That was only his second outing and he’s coming off the DL.

Scioscia will do the right thing because believe it or not, he probably wants to wins games even more than we fans do. I’m just saying.

The Week in review April 12-18 plus one

I have to admit that I didn’t watch a lot of Angels' baseball this past week. Those two 10 a.m. starts in New York conflicted with this thing called a job. Never-the-less, it was nice to know the team managed to go 4-2 on their first road trip of the year.

I’m very encouraged by the performances from the pitching staff and I’m especially pleased that Joe Saunders took a step forward in dismantling some of the projections that have been published about the kind of season some are expecting from him.

The one thing I really can’t understand is the continued “hating” by some fans on Brandon Wood. It’s as if some people really want him to fail. It makes absolutely no sense to me what-so-ever. And if you’re one of those fans who have gone so far as to boo Wood, shame on you.

Brandon Wood succeeding would be a good thing. Having a rock solid third baseman for the next several years would really be a shot in the arm for the organization. In any case, whatever is going to happen is going to happen on the Angels’ terms and not ours (as in us fans).

Face it; there were a great many fans who wanted to see Maicer Izturis start over Erick Aybar (I may have been among them – but my memory is a little foggy, don’t you know) and many continue to pine for a Mike Napoli over Jeff Mathis (again, I know a certain blogger who might have been on this wagon as well). In both cases, Mike Scioscia is showing us all (once again) that he knows best.

So here’s the thing; I trust Scioscia and I take it seriously when he said the following (as reported by the OC Register’s Dan Woike) “He will get an opportunity because we really feel good about his defense,” Scioscia said. “We have some options if we have to take some pressure off him. There is no finite amount of at-bats where we will make a decision and say, ‘This is it.’ Brandon is going to get an opportunity to contribute because we think his bat will play really well in the big leagues. We’ll see moving forward.”

I mean does anyone really see Maicer Izturis as the long term solution at 3B? I like Izturis as much as the next guy, but Wood’s upside is too high for him not to get a legitimate shot. Be patient folks. If you really want something right now and you can’t wait – go to Starbucks for coffee (better yet – support a Long Beach company like It’s a Grind); otherwise, enjoy the ride with Brandon Wood. It could be a lot of fun. And if you play your cards right – you could have bragging rights down the road and be among those of us who believed in Wood. Seriously, there’s plenty of room in the spotlight for this one.

Okay, so last week I gave the True Grich Award to Hideki Matsui. This week that distinction (because there’s no actual trophy) goes to Joe Saunders who edges out both Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana. Saunders went eight strong innings against the Blue Jays without giving up a run, allowing five hits, walking one and striking out 2. It was vintage Saunders. I expect more of this from him all season long.

Even though Monday was part of this week and not last – I have to comment on it just the same; after all, the Angels only played six games last week and not seven like opening week.

How awesome was it that John Lackey tanked on Patriot’s Day in Boston? This was good news on so many levels. First of all, the Tampa Bay Rays swept the Red Sox in four games in Boston for the first time in their club’s history. Secondly, Lackey gave up eight earned runs in just 3.1 innings and saw his ERA blossom to 5.63. All the while, Joel Pineiro combined with Kevin Jepsen and Fernando Rodney to shut out the Detroit Tigers.

The only thing that would have made it a better day is if Johnny Damon had gone hitless. He even threw out a base runner much to the shock of this blogger. Go figure.

I look forward to more days like this.

Opening Night Review

The 2010 Angels opened to a sell out crowd last night and the reviews are in. Granted, you’re basically only going to see my review on this blog because well, that’s just the way I roll. I’m just saying.

Hideki Matsui was easily the star of the night with two hits (including a homerun) and two runs driven in. His arrival in Anaheim seems to be a big hit; as fans in the right field pavilion greeted him with a sign reading “MatsuiLand.” Very cool. It was reminiscent of the Wally World gang that established their beach head back in the Wally Joyner days. I don’t know about you, but I love stuff like this. Kudos to the fans in the right field pavilion!

I guess it’s time for me eat some crow. During the off season, I posted an entry voicing my concern over the Angels’ interest in Matsui. One game into the season, and I’m already prepared to say I was wrong. Not only is Matsui fast becoming not only an offensive force, but a fan-favorite as well.

I love the Matsui dynamic in the clean up spot. For the last six years, we’ve basically had the free swinging Vlad Guerrero in that role and although Vlad was tremendous as an Angel; having an OBP machine like Matsui in there makes me feel very confident.

It appears Matsui’s impact is far reaching. Even as we were leaving the stadium last night, there were two camera crews from Japan interviewing fans about the game. It’s the kind of stuff that creates a buzz in the stadium and I like it.

Jered Weaver didn’t exactly rock the house, but our “rock star” definitely got the job done. The bull pen was solid; although I have some concerns about Fernando Rodney’s velocity which topped out at just 89 mph. Here’s a guy who reportedly can hit 100 mph on the gun throwing significantly below that.

Side note: When asked about Rodney’s velocity on the post game show, Jeff Biggs replied to one caller with “his velocity is fine.” I’m hoping Biggsy provides better responses than that moving forward. It looks like the post-game show might go through some growing pains initially as they iron out some of the logistics. I’ll excuse the fact that he’s in a studio and not in a locker room, but this show needs to have better access to the players and manager after the game.

Onward…

Erick Aybar looked like a force to be reckoned with. I loved his debut as the every day lead off hitter. He had two hits, a walk and two runs scored. If he keeps that up, Figgins will become a distant memory.

I know, I know, I walked right into a Brandon Wood discussion with that last statement and while it’s true that Wood struck out three times last night, I’m simply not concerned. If anything, I’m anxious because I want him to shut the doubters up once and for all. He will. Trust me.

I’m thinking that Kendry Morales just put the American League on notice last night with his first homerun of the season. This one came from the right side of the plate and if this is a sign of things to come, the AL West and the rest of the league are going to have their hands full. It’s early, but Morales has the potential to be the most dynamic hitter in the history of the Angels.

There, I said it. What’s more; I believe it too.

Now, what was up with the crowd last night? It was pretty quiet until about the 7th inning. I heard a caller on Roger Lodge’s show this morning saying last night had a play-off-like atmosphere. Huh? I don’t think so. It was as if the fans were waiting for something to happen.

Looks like Josh and Jake (514 Fanatics) will have to get the crowd going tonight.

Joe Saunders takes the hill; so you know Cheryl and I love that.

Fraternizing with the enemy

I’m baaaack….

Call me crazy, but today I went looking for Milton Bradley. Yeah, that’s right; this baseball fan went looking for a fight. I traveled all the way to Peoria, Arizona looking to find Mr. Bradley so that I could ask him to turn in his uniform. I’ve had enough of his antics and decided it was time for someone to take a stand.

And if you believe all that, well… we need to complete a real-estate transaction involving some water front property.

Seriously – I was in Peoria today to check out the Mariners and a couple of “old” friends in ex-Angels Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera. It was strange seeing them in different uniforms; although, we’ve seen Cabrera dawning White Sox, Athletics, and Twins uniforms since leaving the Angels.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, Milton Bradley didn’t play today. Neither did ex-Angel Casey Kotchman.

As I watched the Mariners, I had to wonder where their power was going to come from. Ken Griffey, Jr. hit clean up today and although he did hit a walk-off grand slam to lead the M’s to a 6-5 victory, I’m not feeling it for the Northwesterners.

I’m also thinking that rotation is not that deep and all this talk about them being the possible favorites in the AL West just isn’t making much sense. Texas on the other hand, I get. They’re going to be tough, but I’m not too worried about Seattle.

Here are some photos from today’s action. First up are old friends Figgy and OC.



Followed by Ichiro and Kip Wells (warming up in the bull pen before surrendering the walk-off grand slam).



Now, you might be wondering what was an Angel fan doing in Peoria? Let’s just say I like to make my way around to some of the other Cactus League parks when I get a chance.

Just so you're aware, I did stop by Tempe prior to heading over to Peoria. You know I had to do that. I caught some of the Angels batting practice prior to their heading over to Scottsdale to play the Giants.

Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera were putting on quite the display of firepower today sending several baseballs out of sight beyond the trees in left field. They were hitting absolute bombs. I should probably note that the wind was blowing pretty good at times and that could have enhanced today’s performance.

Cheryl and I will be at Tempe Diablo Stadium tomorrow and I hope to post another report some time tomorrow evening.

It’s good to be back in Tempe. Man, I love spring training.

Here's some photos from batting practice.

First up Hunter going yard and Brandon Wood making it look easy.



We'll end with the 2010 potential MVP Kendry Morales (you like the sound of that MVP thing?) and a new face in the bull pen - Fernando Rodney (I'm diggin the red glove).



I also shot some video today and hope to have those up soon. More "hard hitting" questions were posed today. So check back soon.

Tis the season.... baseball season

Yesterday was “officially” the first day of spring. Personally, I think of the first day of spring as being the day pitchers and catchers report, but that’s just me.

The way I see it; there’s only one season and that’s baseball season. The rest of the time is merely the days between the end of the baseball schedule and the beginning of a new one.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating just a little.

I can’t wait for the season to begin and for the 162 game schedule to be under way. The anticipation of a new season is always exciting. I know there will be many unexpected things taking place just about every day. Hopefully, the “surprises” will be things we enjoy and want to happen.

You know it’s funny; we wait all winter for the season to begin and before it even gets under way, we start thinking about the fall and another play-off run. Sometimes we look so far ahead we forget to experience the season at hand.

I try not to do that. I love the way a season unfolds and I try to savor every game. By the end of the season so much of it will be a blur, but some key moments will also stand out I’m sure. I’m thinking of Jered Weaver’s first no-hitter (probably against the A’s) or Brandon Wood’s forty homerun season. Hey, it’s spring and this is the time to dream big.

Baseball is so very unpredictable (a good thing) and yet we fans can be very predictable (a funny thing) at times.

One of the things we know will happen is that the Angels will be aggressive on the base paths. There isn’t a team in baseball that’s better at going first to third on singles to the outfield. The Angels will run and they will run often.

Also predictable is how Angel fans will react to that aggressive style. It’s kind of a love/hate thing. We’ll love seeing them take the extra base but we’ll also moan when they get thrown out trying to be aggressive. When they’re successful, we’ll say “that’s Angel’s baseball.” When they’re not, we’ll exclaim “what was he thinking?”

We become walking, talking contradictions.

We also love to see the Angels put the ball in play and force the action, but we’ve also come to appreciate seeing them take a few pitches too. Last year the team took a giant step forward with their patience at the plate. We celebrated their higher on base percentage. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Not Bobby Abreu that’s for sure.

That being said, if they’re taking pitches, they better not strike out. If they strike out looking, we’ll scream “take the bat off your shoulder.”

We basically expect perfection from a sport that’s designed to make people fail time after time.

We can count on a great deal of the “what in the heck is he… oh my – nice play!” scenarios to play out over and over again. We’ll turn second guessing Mike Scioscia into an art form. We will bemoan the bad plays way more than we’ll celebrate the good ones.

I have no idea why that is; it’s just what fans do, I guess.

It’s all going to be a part of yet another amazing season. And when you think about it, this year is set up to be exactly that – amazing.

How can it not be? We have the all-star game! We have the two-time Manager of the Year and a new cast of characters to cheer for in Brandon Wood, Hideki Matsui, Joel Pineiro, Fernando Rodney, Brian Stokes, and a full season of Scott Kazmir. We have the return of Scotty Waddy Do-Da (forgive me, that’s Cheryl and my nickname for Scot Shields).

It’s all going to be good.

There are some big games on the schedule this year. Some much bigger than most. The one everyone is waiting for is John Lackey’s return to Anaheim. I know that will be an electric night. It will be charged with emotion. It will be hyped and it will be hyped some more. Heck, I’ll be hyping it right here.

I can’t think of a game Angel fans want to win more than that one at this point in time. Of course, there’s a chance Lackey won’t end up pitching against the Angels in Anaheim, but let’s hope he does. You know he wants that game as much as we do.

We’ll also see Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver and Vladimir Guerrero in “strange” uniforms multiple times. They too will be emotional games, but they won’t have the same kind of tension and/or energy that playing Boston does. Figgy, Oliver and Vlady will undoubtedly receive huge ovations and deservedly so.

Inter-league play will see the Angels travelling to play two historic baseball organizations in the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

There’s so much to look forward to, but the thing I am looking forward to the most is the pennant race itself. I think it’s absolutely awesome that the Rangers and Mariners have upgraded their teams. I’m excited that the competition is rising to the challenge.

As for the A’s… well, let’s just say they’ll find ways to annoy me one way or another, I’m sure.

Everyone in the AL West has something to prove, but the Angels have something even more special in my opinion and that’s a division title to defend. I’d much rather have a team that has something to defend rather than something to prove. If you’re out to prove something, it usually means you’ve fallen short in the past. If you’re out to defend something, it’s because you’ve accomplished a thing or two or should I say three years running and five out of six years?

Ah yes, the season is getting close and I feel my swagger coming back.

More than anything I want the Angels to make their news on the field and not off of it (hello Dodgers). I want to the focus to be between the lines and for this season to be about accomplishments, realized potential and FUN.

That’s right; fun. Baseball is fun. We should all take the time to enjoy each and every game and embrace every pitch.

Fourteen days until opening day.

End of the year inventory time

There are currently 37 players on the Angels’ 40 man roster. Three players need to be added by the beginning of the season. Of this group of 37, let’s see who might, should or will make the 25 man roster on Opening Day.

What we know…

Opening Day locks (assuming no one is traded or injured): Kendry Morales, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood, Maicer Izturis, Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera, Gary Matthews, Jr., and Hideki Matsui. That’s 12.

Opening Day pitching locks: Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Brian Fuentes, Kevin Jepsen, Jason Bugler, Fernando Rodney, Scot Shields, and Matt Palmer. That’s 10 and brings the total to 22.

That means three others will make the team. One will likely be a pitcher; most likely Sean O’Sullivan or Trevor Bell with the edge going to O’Sullivan (after all, the Angels might need his dancing skills in October).

Two others need to make up the rest of the roster. Leading Candidates: Freddy Sandoval and Reggie Willits.

On the outside, looking in would include Terry Evans and Bobby Wilson; both of whom would be lost to free agency if they do not make the 25 man roster. Also on the bubble are pitchers Rich Thompson, Anthony Ortega, and Rafael Rodriguez. All three are likely to head back to Salt Lake City and be used as depth for the major league squad during the season.

Some interesting notes…

If you take a look at the official roster on the Angels web site, you’ll notice that Terry Evans will be wearing Darin Erstad’s old number 17. Kendry Morales has a new number and it’s 8. The #17 could be good luck for Evans, but let’s hope the #8 is not a jinx for Morales, as this is the number last worn by Dallas McPherson and Josh Paul.

Joe Saunders is now the oldest pitcher among the four locks for the rotation at 28. Should Palmer become the fifth starter, he would be the oldest at 31 (by Opening Day). Scot Shields will be the oldest member of the pitching staff at 34 beating Brian Fuentes by less than a month.

Sean O’Sullivan is the youngest pitcher on the 40 man roster at just 22 years of age and Peter Bourjos is the youngest position player also at 22, but will be 23 by Opening Day.

Two of the Angels best pitching prospects Trevor Reckling and Jordan Walden are not yet on the 40 man roster and will likely start the year at Salt Lake City. Keep your eyes on these two; they could make their way up to the big club soon.

Basically the Angels lose Lackey, Oliver, Quinlan, and Figgins and replace them with Palmer (or Kazmir depending on how you look at it), Rodney, Sandoval and Wood.

Scenarios….

If the Angels don’t add any players, youth will definitely be served and some Angel fans will be more than a little nervous and/or skeptical. Personally, I think the Angels could still make a few moves.

I believe the Angels will try to add to their rotation. They may not get a top of the rotation guy, but they’ll try to find an upgrade at the fifth starter over Matt Palmer. Best free agent pitchers still on the market include Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Todd Wellemeyer, Jarrod Washburn, Vicente Padilla, Pedro Martinez, Noah Lowry, Rich Hill and two guys coming off injuries – Ben Sheets and Erik Beddard. You can mix in a few veterans in John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Paul Byrd. Not an impressive list based on their recent history; however, we’re talking about a possible #5 starter here.

Of that group, Pineiro or Garland would be the most likely targets for the Angels in my opinion; although, neither one excites me very much. The popular choice is Sheets because of his upside, but the injury risk isn't something I believe the Angels can tolerate.

A trade is also a possibility; however, the best option, Josh Johnson – doesn’t appear to be available. Perhaps the Angels could take a look at Aaron Harang of the Reds, who was last being pursued by the Dodgers. Harang is inconsistent, but can be pretty good at times.

On the offensive side of things, I believe Mike Napoli could be traded. I believe it is Mike Scioscia’s intention to make Mathis the #1 guy. If that’s the case, Napoli becomes expendable and a nice trade chip. The arrival of Matsui basically makes Napoli’s days as a DH a distant memory and again, expendable. Bobby Wilson would probably do a nice job as a backup to Mathis and could also provide a little bit of pop for the offense.

The other guy still on the block is Matthews with his remaining two year, $23 million contract. Where he ends up (if anywhere at all) is anyone’s guess. Chances are he will still be on the Angels opening day roster.

I’d still like to see the Angels sign Chad Tracy as a back up for first, third and LF. Yes, I'm still beating that drum.

Will the Angels do more? ESPN’s Rob Neyer asks the question: Are the Angels finished dealing

Moving on...

It’s been pretty quiet on the hot stove lately. I imagine things will pick up after the first of the year. Plenty of free agents still looking for jobs including the two biggest names in Jason Bay and Matt Holliday.

Some interesting names still looking for contracts include former Angels Bengie Molina, Garret Anderson, Jarrod Washburn, Adam Kennedy, Orlando Cabrera, Vlad Guerrero, Rob Quinlan, Alfredo Amezega, Darin Erstad, Scott Schoenweis, Justin Speier, Jeff Weaver, Brendan Donnelly, Bartolo Colon, and Kevin Gregg. That’s a lot of ex-Halos looking for work.

Other names still out there include Johnny Damon, Adrian Beltre, Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Miguel Tejada, Joe Crede, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Khalil Greene, Jose Valverde, and Randy Johnson.

For a complete list, visit mlbtraderumors.com

I am trying to remain optimistic about 2010. I don’t want to go back to the way things were pre-2002. My expectations have changed dramatically. There are some bright spots to focus on and I will try doing that.

First of all, I want to see what Scott Kazmir can bring to the table. Here’s a guy who has shown tremendous upside at times and could possibly be as good as or better than Lackey. His 2009 post-season wasn’t very good; in fact it stunk. I’m willing to give him a pass on that, but I want to see some lights out kind of pitching from him in 2010. If he’s as good as he can be it will make a world of difference. He was pretty darn good in 2005 (3.77 ERA), 2006 (3.24 ERA), 2007 (3.48 ERA with 239 K’s) and 2008 (3.49 ERA) and if he can come close to those years, I’ll be very happy.

As I said in a previous post, I’m excited about Brandon Wood and Kendry Morales. There are lots of things to be enthusiastic about. That might be hard for some fans to grasp.

Face it, Angel fans have gotten a bad rap in the past. We’ve been accused of having a lot of “bandwagon” fans. I think that’s basically true of just about every fan base and quite frankly, I hate labeling fans one way or another. There are all kinds of fans. All I ask is that when you come to a game you come to cheer and have a good time.

No question the upcoming season is full of question marks, but if you really love Angels baseball – you’ll see this as an opportunity to shock the world to a certain degree. No one saw 2002 coming and it could happen again. I don’t want to miss out. Do you?

Optimistic, but concerned

I’ve become accustomed to the Angels way of doing things; to the way they fly in the face of conventional wisdom as dished out by the so-called “experts” and simply do their own thing. It’s hard to argue with the results given the overall success of the franchise since 2002.

This is without any question the golden era of Angels' baseball. There’s never been a better time to be an Angels fan and I’m thankful for their success. I’ve bought into how they do business over the past several years and believe the Angels have the best owner and a manager who is second to no one.

Never-the-less, I have hard a very hard time understanding this off season. Now mind you, this is coming from someone who can be accused at times of drinking the company kool-aid and wearing rose colored glasses.

If you listen to enough sports talk radio – you will hear a lot of Angel apologists telling anyone who has a complaint or concern to be patient and trust what the team is doing because their track record has been so good. It’s as if it’s become some sort of sin to question anything the Angels are doing. Our concerns are often labeled as being “silly” and some believe to question is to panic and we shouldn’t ever do that.

The thing is even though the Angels have been highly successful, that doesn’t mean they’ll continue to be good to great every year. Let’s face it, they’ve stumbled here and there with some of their signings of players like Shea Hillenbrand, Steve Finley, Justin Speier, Jeff Weaver, J. C. Romero, and Gary Matthews, Jr. to name a few. Granted, no team is perfect and the Angels have been able to overcome some mistakes for the most part.

That being said, you have to figure that some of these mistakes are finally catching up with them. Clearly the Angels would have more flexibility in their payroll if they didn’t have to pay Matthews $23 million over the next two years and still had to pay Speier’s contract even though he is no longer on their roster.

These mistakes become magnified when Angel fans watch players who have been cornerstones of the organization leave via free agency only to be replaced by players who seem older, slower and even in decline.

This brings me to their latest free agent acquisition in Fernando Rodney. In my last post, I outlined some of my reasons for believing he was not the best option. Granted, the Angels front office know more about baseball than I could ever possibly imagine, but that doesn’t mean I can’t question this move.

My understanding was that the Angels didn’t offer Darren Oliver arbitration because they believed he would become too costly and weren’t willing to go above the $3.655 million he made in 2009. They gambled that they’d be able to re-sign him at a good price and they lost. They then go out and sign Rodney for two years and $11 million, despite numbers that would seem to indicate he might be in decline.

On one hand I would like to trust Tony Reagins and Mike Scioscia on this matter, but quite honestly; I’m having a hard time with it.

One of my favorite sites – mlbtraderumors.com ranked Rodney 47th on their list of the top 50 free agents. They even predicted that "no one would want to pay a premium for his 37 saves."

I really can’t recall reading anything positive about Rodney and instead read many times that he wasn’t likely to land a closer job with another team. When the Phillies were reported to be interested in signing him for two years and $12 million there appeared to be some snickering going on.

So… what’s a fan like me supposed to think when the Angels come around and give the same guy $11 million?

It’s a ways away from April 5, 2010 (opening day) and I’m certain that when that day rolls around, I’ll be as gun-ho as any fan about the Angels chances because that’s what we fans do. I know games aren’t won on paper and anything can happen in baseball. I’d simply like my team’s chances a little more if they would do some things that actually made sense to me.

Don’t mock me because I have concerns and please don’t spout the mantra that we should blindly trust the Angels front office because of their success. If you do, I’ll accuse you of being complacent and over confident; two attributes that can easily lead to disaster.

At the end of the day I trust the Angels and believe they’ll compete again in 2010, but I refuse just blindly follow and not question some of the things they do.

For the record, I’m very excited about Brandon Wood, delighted that Joe Saunders is off the trade rumor circuit and I can’t wait to see what Kendry Morales will do in 2010. I’m also thrilled that Torii Hunter plays on my favorite team and that Mike Scioscia will be leading this team for many, many years.

It’s also important to note that for me, 2002 is starting to become a distant memory and I fully expected the Angels to have won another title by now. My expectations have been raised and even though I appreciate what they’ve accomplished, I expect better.

Angels need to look elsewhere for bullpen help

At one point during this hot stove season, Arte Moreno was quoted as saying he wanted to add a power bat, another starting pitcher and a relief pitcher. So far, the Angels have landed one of those in Hideki Matsui. Not ideal, but he does fill a need for a left handed run producer.

Today, we learned the Angels are in serious discussions with Fernando Rodney

What do we know about Rodney?

Rodney is projected as a possible set up guy; however, it should be noted that he saved 37 games in 38 opportunities for the highest save percentage in the league this past season. He did this despite a 4.40 ERA; not exactly the kind of number you’d want from a guy who’s supposed to shut down the other team when it really matters.

Was he lucky? Perhaps.

Consider this; in 2007 and 2008 he had more strike outs than innings pitched. Last year his strike outs per nine innings reached a career low 7.3 (against a lifetime ratio of 8.6). He also gave up a career high 8 homeruns. Quite a big number for a “stopper.” It should also be noted that Rodney will be 33 when the 2010 season begins. He’s also coming off a season where he pitched a career high 75.2 innings.

When you look at his numbers and factor in his age, it’s easy to conclude Rodney may be in decline. The Angels would be wise to pass on this free agent.

Given the inconsistency of last year’s bull pen, Rodney doesn’t seem like a good fit. He raises a few too many questions for me.

Now where is that starter Moreno wanted? John Lackey is gone and two players the Angels reportedly had interest in are no longer targets. Halladay has moved on to Philadelphia and Javier Vazquez is now a Yankee. And just for the record the Derek Lowe rumors make no sense what-so-ever. He’s too old, too costly and just not that good.

And that big bat? There is talk the Angels are among four teams supposedly "interested" in Jason Bay, but given the log jam already in their outfield, this too makes very little sense; unless they plan to move one or more of the current batch of outfielders. Also, Bay appears to be out of the Angels price range.

If Moreno is to achieve his hot stove goals, the Angels clearly need to get busy; more importantly, they will need to get creative. The free agnet pool lacks depth and doesn’t meet the Angels needs or budget.

As I said in a previous post, it appears the Angels have moved on to plan B, C, D or worse. Not exactly what most of us expected and not the kind of thing that builds confidence.

Stay tuned.