The good, the bad and the costly

I’m not sure how to handle the Angels’ recent success of late (although I could find a way should it continue). After going an impressive 8-4 on the road; they come home to sweep the Washington Nationals and go 11-4 over their last 15 games. Boo-ya, right? On one hand, a win is a win and I’m jazzed that they’re playing so well. On the other hand, of the five teams they just won series’ from only the Mets are above .500 at the moment. Hmm.

So I guess you could say that I’m delighted that they’re winning, but I’m not going to get too excited because they really haven’t beaten any teams of significance. Again, I’m excited that they’re taking care of business; I’m just not going to get overly pumped up (just yet).

I guess you could say; that’s what the 2011 season has done to me thus far.

Every time I get a little excited, I find myself disappointed a short time later. Maybe there’s something to the way Scioscia goes about his business with that “one-game-at-a-time” attitude. Then again, I’m a fan I’m allowed to let my emotions run the gamut.

So… here we are just past the half way point of the season and the Angels are 1.5 games behind Texas with the trading deadline is getting closer. What are the Angels to do? Will they acquire a “big bat?” Will they add more pitching? What? What in the world will they do, if anything?

The good news is that the Angels are in the hunt and we can actually bring up the trading deadline for all the right reasons (buyers as opposed to sellers).

Okay, so this is the point where you’re probably expecting me to tell you what I think they should do, right?

Well, I’m not going to do that. Nah, it just seems like an exercise I’m just not prepared for and do you really want to hear the rambling of a mad man?

Instead, I’m going to focus a little bit on what the Angels have done over the past several years. I must warn you; this isn’t necessarily going to be pretty. I know, I know – why bring this up now when the team is playing well, right?

Well, I’ve been meaning to do this since Scott Kazmir was released and haven’t had the time to get to it; so now is as good a time as any.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to explore some of the downright horrendous moves this team has made. I hate to do it now, but again – I wanted to do this at some point. Perhaps you know all of this; however, I’m betting there’s a chance you haven’t seen it all laid out just the way I’m about to.

Let’s start with 2002. Yes, it was a magical year; a year that will forever represent one of if not the greatest time ever to be an Angels fan. It also happens to be the year the Angels signed Aaron Sele to a 3-year, $24 million contract. In those three seasons, Sele posted ERA’s of 4.89, 5.77 and 5.05. His signing represents one of the many bad decisions by the Angels front office since that time.

The last decade (through 2009) has been tremendous; however, as we continue down this road – you might wonder how this team ever managed to do as well as it has and also wonder what they might have done or will do if they had made better decisions. I mean we’re talking about a great many decisions that has involved spending a ton of good money on bad players.

Let’s get to it…

The 2003 team didn’t change much from the prior year personnel wise, as they seemed to have a hang-over from their wildly successful 2002 season. It was also the year that Arte Moreno took over as the owner of the Angels. As great as Moreno has been for the Angels; one can’t help but wonder how much greater the team would have been had they made better decisions under his watch.

In 2004 the Angels struck gold with the Vladimir Guerrero signing; however, it’s important to note that Bartolo Colon was also signed prior to that season and while Colon did win a CY Young – he only had two productive years out of four. In his last two years he managed to start just 29 games and had a 5.11 ERA in 2006 and a 6.34 ERA in 2007. In my opinion, the Angels didn’t get anywhere near the return on their investment of 4-years and $51 million (which was a lot of money for a pitcher at the time).

In 2005 the crap that hit the fan came in the form of Steve Finley. Finley made $6 million and for that investment, the Angels received a .222 batting average. Finley was then traded to the San Francisco Giants for Edgardo Alfonzo (prior to the 2006 season), who made $8 million in 2006 and was released on May 21 after playing in just 18 games. I should note that Finley made $7 million while playing for the Giants that same year. A total of $14 million was wasted over those two years.

In 2005 the Angels also acquired J.C. Romero from the Minnesota Twins (for the 2006 season) for Alexi Casilla, who is currently the starting shortstop for the Twins. Romero earned $2.25 million in 2006 while posting a 6.70 ERA. Casilla has basically been on the Twins major league roster for the past five years. Romero became a free agent prior to the 2007 season. Who got the better of that deal? You really don’t answer that…

2006 brought us Jeff Weaver at the cost of an $8,325,000 contract. Weaver was traded to the Cardinals on July 5 of that year after compiling a horrible 6.29 ERA in 16 starts. Weaver would go on to help the Cardinals win a World Series and the Angels went on paying his salary.

2007 was especially bad. It was the year that one Gary Matthews, Jr. signed a 5-year, and nearly $50 million contract that still haunts the Angels today. Matthews ended up being traded to the Mets after three miserable seasons with the Angels (with the Angels picking up most of his salary), where he floundered and ended up out of baseball. Matthews played his last game on June 2, 2010 while costing the Angels $22.3 million the last two years (including this one).

2007 also brought us Shea Hillenbrand. Remember that one? Did you just grimace? If you did, it’s because you probably remember that he signed for $6 million and ended up being released on July 9 after hitting .254 with 3 homeruns. More good money after bad.

Wait 2007 gets even better. That year also brought us Justin Speier and a 3-year, $12.75 million contract. Speier had one good year (his first) out of three. His final two years? Well it included a 5.03 ERA in 2008 and a 5.18 ERA in 2009 and ultimately his release on August 11, 2009.

I’m not done with 2007 yet. That year marked the season the extension of Kelvim Escobar kicked in. Escobar’s extension was for 3-years and $28.5 million. Shields also signed an extension for 3-years and $14.6 million.

Escobar had a fantastic 2007; however, he only managed to pitch in one game in the following two years while earning $19.5 million during those final two years. Shields’ extension didn’t kick in until 2008, where he had a stellar season; however, he proved to be utterly useless during the final two years of his contract with a 6.62 and 5.28 ERA in those years. Ugh.

I’m not making this stuff up folks. The numbers are fairly staggering, aren’t they?

In 2008 the Angels traded Orlando Cabrera (and his $10 million contract) to the Chicago White Sox for Jon Garland and his $12 million contract. Garland did win 14 games that year; however, he boasted a hefty 4.90 ERA that season as well. The move did pave the way for Erick Aybar to take over at shortstop; however, it is yet another example of the high cost of mediocre talent in Garland.

2009 brought us somewhat of a mixed bag in Brian Fuentes. Fuentes signed a 2-year $17.5 million deal and ended up leading the major league baseball with 48 saves, but he also blew 7 other opportunities and gave up a key homerun in the ALCS to Alex Rodriguez and the rest is as they say… “History.” Even though he led the league in saves, he was arguably the worst reliever to ever do that. In 2010 he was traded to the Minnesota Twins.

2009 also brought us the trade that sent Alex Torres, Matt Sweeney and Sean Rodriguez to the Tampa Bay Rays for Scott Kazmir (whose recent release prompted this whole post) and his mega contract that included salaries of $6 million in 2009, $8 million in 2010 and $12 million this year. His departure, while costly would have been even more costly had he stayed another year. Rather than paying him $13.5 million in 2012, the Angels will have to shell out $2.5 million in a buy-out. He will end up costing the Angels $22.5 million for the kind of production one would expect to get out of a mannequin.

The string of bad decisions continued in 2010 when the Angels signed the guy with the crooked hat. Yes, I’m talking about Fernando Rodney and his two-year, $11 million deal. Has he been worth it? I think we both know the answer to that, although I would entertain an argument either way.

Add to all of this the string of low cost, low risk signings like Andres Galarraga, Raul Mondesi, and Shane Halter (none of which panned out) and you have reason for skepticism (for what they might do next) regarding their entire decision process.

I didn’t do any calculations regarding the net loss of all the moves mentioned above, but I’m sure we can all agree that the number is substantial. I have to ask myself, what could the Angels have done with the money they spent on Kazmir and Matthews?

Think about it. Just don’t focus on it too much because your head might explode.

All of that being said, I know that the Angels have also made some very good moves via trade and free agency and that no front office is perfect. I just think that all of the decision mentioned above had to have had a negative impact on the product currently on the field and in the Angels' ability (or lack of) to continue to be major players in the free agency market. It also has hindered their ability to make any and all moves necessary to get them back to having a 2002-like season.

Did the combination of events make them gun shy on Carl Crawford? Will it hinder their ability to make a move at the deadline this year? Could the Angels have made a different move or two over the years that would have put them back in the World Series?

These are legitimate questions, don’t you think?

Look, I think Moreno is a great owner and I think Mike Scioscia is the best manager in the game. Do the math. What’s the problem? Is it Tony Reagins or even Bill Stoneman (from prior years)? I’m not going to point any fingers, but it’s a question that begs an answer in my opinion.

I know that some of the problems the Angels have had are related to injuries and are totally unpredictable, but some of them – such as the Gary Matthews, Jr. signing raised eyebrows around the country at the time.

I just think it’s foolish to ignore the history here. I have to question the analysis process that goes into some of the moves the front office has made. The Angels have the luxury of an owner with fairly deep pockets, but let’s face it – there has to be a limit to the kind of wasted money this team can lose. It might be time to pay the piper. It had to come to this eventually.

So… what’s next?

Well, for now – there are games to be played. More specifically, the Dodgers are coming to town and I’m looking forward to seeing the freeway series yet again. This never get’s old for me. The other stuff… well, it definitely does.

So let’s get after it. Anyone notice how well Vernon Wells is playing? Is he going to be a good investment after all? I sure hope so.

Go Angels!

Hello old friend

Today reminded me of an old Eric Clapton song… “Hello old friend, it’s really good to see you once again.”

That “old friend” is spring training and Cheryl and I made our way to Tempe, Arizona today to see the Angels take on the Padres and some other “old friends” in former Angels’ pitching coach and now Padre Manager - Bud Black, ex-Angels - Dustin Moseley (who started the game) and Kevin Frandsen (who managed to homer today).



Prior to the game, it was nice to have a chance to welcome back old friend Chris Pettit who is finally healthy. It was actually just great to see all the familiar faces before the game.

During the game, there were a lot of familiar things that we saw and I’m not just talking about the guys now wearing Padre uniforms who once wore red.

There were some all-too-familiar mental mistakes as Bobby Abreu and Jeff Mathis each managed to get picked off first base. Stuff like this makes me crazy – even if it is only spring training. Speaking of which, I noticed Erick Aybar has one stolen base in three tries. Oh boy… that’s an all-too-familiar stat for sure.

On the bright side – Peter Bourjos showed off his speed with his fourth stolen base of the spring and Maicer Izturis also swiped a bag today (his second of the spring).

Brandon Wood said hello to his homerun swing, blasting his third of the pre-season and Bobby Abreu hit a pair of dingers (his first two of the year). The Angels came away with a 7-6 victory, reminding us all of the best old friend of all… winning.

It was especially nice to see Wood having a good day (he also doubled) and made some solid defensive plays. It’s clear there are fans out there who are really tired of seeing him, but a fair number of us also still support him as much as we can. I just can’t help but wonder if he’ll still be an Angel come opening day.

Last, but certainly not least – we also got to see our old friend “Joe” who works at the stadium. Turns out Joe got a little promotion and now works down on the field during games (as opposed to out in the outfield grass). Joe even took one for the team recently; he took a batted ball hit off his back side from none other than Adam Dunn. Ouch. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and he told Cheryl and me he was disappointed it didn’t even bruise him; otherwise, he might have asked Dunn to autograph his… well, you know.


Today we also had to bid an offical farewell to an old friend in Scot Shields, who announced his retirement today. I'm going to miss Scot, as yet another link to 2002 hangs up his cleats.

And on that note, we’ll call it a day; after all, it’s been a long one that started with us leaving home around 5:00 a.m. I’m tired, but as is always the case with spring training; it’s a good-kind-of tired. More to come…

Baseball is in the air

The way I see it the 2011 season has a very different feel to it. It feels as if we are on the verge of some sort of turning point in Angels' baseball history. It’s more than just the 50 year anniversary for me; it’s about turning a significant page. I can’t really put my finger on it. Let’s just say that I get a strange vibe when I think about where the Angels are and where they are going.

It all began when Scot Shields announced he would retire after the 2010 season. Granted, Shields had not been anything like his “old self” of late and it was time; but it was more than that. We are seeing player after player from the 2002 World Series team hang up their cleats for good. It’s as if an era is coming to an end and a new destiny is being forged.

This week Garrett Anderson announced his retirement. David Eckstein and Troy Glaus are without contracts. Bengie Molina has basically retired; although I have not heard of any official announcements from him. They’re joining Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad, Jarrod Washburn, Troy Percival and a host of others from the 2002 team that are no longer playing baseball.

A handful of guys are still out there; guys like John Lackey, Francisco Rodriguez, Chone Figgins and Jose Molina, but the list is dwindling and none of the remaining players are a part of the current Angel team.

At the same time – there are a few new faces on the roster; most notably, Vernon Wells. Other players like Brandon Wood and Jeff Mathis are at a turning point in their careers. It’s do or die time for them. To a lesser degree the same might even be said for guys like Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar.

Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter are in the twilight of their careers. Young players like Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo are trying to make their mark and then there’s the prospects like Mike Trout and Tyler Chatwood both of whom loom big on the horizon.

It’s as if the team is going in a million different directions and I’m not sure what to expect. Maybe that’s a good thing. I haven’t really decided yet.

I know my blog has been relatively quiet lately. Mostly because of just being busy, but also because I’ve just been thinking; thinking about this team and trying to wrap my mind around what I might expect. I haven’t really come to any conclusions yet.

A lot of focus in the AL West seems to be on Texas and Oakland. In some ways, I like that. Even though I’m optimistic about this team’s chances, I am also waiting for an identity to emerge that I can embrace.

My hope is that this team plays the game with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. This team has something to prove and I believe they will get down to the business of winning the AL West again. I expect them to grind to and to play hard in an effort to make things happen as opposed to watching things happen.

I get the sense that this is becoming Jered Weaver’s team and I like that notion quite a bit. I have a feeling that a couple players will emerge from the shadows and shine brightly when it matters most. I expect Vernon Wells to silence his critics and for Danny Haren to return to being an all-star caliber pitcher.

When all is said and done, I believe people will once again marvel at the job Mike Scioscia has done and many will be ashamed for ever doubting this organization.

It’s spring and I want desperately to believe. After all, this is what fans are supposed to do. Writing this post has helped me sort some things out in my head. Putting words on paper once again has given me some renewed energy.

Baseball is definitely in the air and I’m ready for some. Are you?

The 50 Greatest Angels (31-40)

Today’s list in the Orange County Register (OCR) of the greatest Angels (31-40) is very revealing. As I said yesterday, my list isn’t perfect and today’s list reveals some holes in my selections.

From the Register: Fred Lynn (40), Jered Weaver (39), Clyde Wright (38), Bryan Harvey (37), Scot Shields (36), Bob Boone (35), Bobby Knoop (34), Jim Abbott (33), Bengie Molina (32), and Torii Hunter (31).

You might be asking yourself how in the world did James leave Torii Hunter off his list? That’s a good question. How did I? When I was developing my list a couple months back, I had a reason for leaving him off the list; however, I can’t remember why now for the life of me. This is easily the biggest regret I have with my 50 greatest.

Hunter is easily my favorite current baseball player on the planet. It’s not even close. I goofed. What else can I say? At least I wasn’t alone. The OC Register’s Jeff Miller also left Hunter off my list. Then again, I’m not a fan of Miller’s at all, and being of the same mind set in this case is more than a little disturbing to me. Just saying.

Two others who didn’t make my list include Bryan Harvey and Fred Lynn. Both are probably deserving.

Enough about me… let me focus on the “blunders” of others!

Scot Shields was recognized as the set up man of the decade (2000-2009) and yet the OC Register’s Earl Bloom, Bill Plunkett and Mark Whicker left him off their list. So did AngelsWin’s Chuck Richter and Ellen Bell. Shame on all of you!

Then again, I should talk right? Hey, well it’s not about me. Let’s continue….

Keith Sharon of the OC Register left Jim Abbott off his list. Wow. Come on Keith, Jim Abbott? I’m trying to imagine Keith telling Jeff Miller (who ranked Abbott 11th) why he left Abbott off his list. I think we should be launching a full scale investigation into this (anything that will take the focus off my leaving Hunter off my list). By the way he’s #21 on my list.

Then there’s the case of Bengie Molina. Keith and Sam Miller (also of the OC Register) left Molina off their lists. Molina is one of my all-time favorites (yes, I have many) and I can’t imagine leaving him off this list. He might be the greatest catcher in Angels’ history (just a tick ahead of Bob Boone). The OCR’s Dan Woike ranked him 18th.

Speaking of Boone; Bloom and the OCR’s Dan Woike managed to leave him off their lists.

Highest ranked player on the list by our panelists? Jered Weaver was ranked 13th by Sam Miller. I’m betting Miller has a sabermetrics argument that will knock our socks off to justify this high ranking. Perhaps he should share it with Jenelyn Russo, Bill Plunkett and Jeff Miller all of whom left him off their lists. Go get ‘em Sam!

Kudos to Tim Mead and Randy Youngman who managed to have all of today’s players on their lists.

I’m afraid one of my 50 isn’t going to make the cut and that would be Joe Saunders. I admit he was a sentimental choice on my part (ranked him #49). If he’s not on the list by now, I doubt he’ll be on it at all. I am curious about Rudy May, who I ranked 47th. He has yet to appear and I would be surprised if he cracked the top 30. May is 9th all time in career strike outs by an Angels pitcher, among the top ten in complete games, and 7th in shut outs. It will be a shame if he’s not on the list.

Until tomorrow…

Comings and goings

Seems like the Angels have been making a lot of news of late and trust me, it’s not because of their play on the field (even though it’s been good this week). I don’t normally recap a lot of news, but today I decided to take some time to update True Grich readers about what’s been going on.

The Goings:

Scot Shields is contemplating retirement. He hasn’t announced anything official, but he’s definitely thinking about it.

This from the LA Times blog: "I would say probably," Shields said before the Angels' game against the Oakland Athletics Tuesday night. "There's a business and a personal side of it. From the business side, you look at the bullpen and you can see all the young relievers they have coming up.

"On the personal side, your family comes first, and I've missed too much of my life with them. It might be time to go home."

I have mixed emotions about this one. On one hand I think it’s probably time for Shields to “go home.” On the other hand, it’s a sad day. Shields who was named “Setup Man of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated earned that title for good reason.

Last night I wore Dan Haren’s name and number on my back; in retrospect, I should have worn Shields’ t-shirt as a tribute to his contributions over the years. When you think about it; he had a thankless job. When he was great, everyone took him for granted and when he failed, Angel fans came down pretty hard on him. Heck, I even blogged about his crappy season this year.

Also leaving; the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. No, they’re not leaving the Epicenter, they’re leaving the Angels. They’re dumping the Angels for the Dodgers…

"The Dodgers are one of the most prestigious teams in all of sports and we are excited to begin our partnership with them in Rancho Cucamonga," said Quakes Managing Partner Bobby Brett.

Are you kidding me? The Dodgers used to be one of” the most prestigious teams,” but not any more (in my opinion). Then again, when you only draw 2,099 for the championship game of the Cal League something had to give.

I’ll miss going to the Epicenter. Hopefully, the Angels will land at a nice facility next year; although I have no idea where that might be right now. The two obvious choices are Bakersfield (former home for the Reds’ Single A affiliate) and San Bernardino (which was the Dodgers’ Single A home). I have to say neither one of them appeals to me much.

Next up: File this one under “I didn’t see this coming:”

It appears that the Director of Scouting for the Angels, Eddie Bane is on his way out.

The story broke via Twitter by John Manuel of Baseball America and was confirmed by the O.C. Register’s Dan Woike.

I always got the impression that Bane was highly regarded; so this news comes as a bit of a surprise. He was most recently a candidate for the General Manager’s job in Arizona that went to Kevin Towers.

Bane drafted the likes of Nick Adenhart, Mike Trout, Hank Conger, Jordan Walden and others. I’ll be curious to see if we learn more about the “why” in the coming days.

The Comings…

Mark Whicker of the OC Registers believes that Mike Trout come be up with the big club as soon as next season. Whickers points to current youngsters like the Cubs’ Starlin Castro (age 20); the Braves’ Jason Heyward (just turned 21) and the Marlins’ Mike Stanton (age 20) as examples of young guys who took the fast track to the bigs.

It’s easy to get excited about Trout. All you have to do is read what all the experts who rate prospects have to say about him or just see him play for that matter to start believing he’s coming soon.

Trout’s progress will be fun and exciting to watch. He could be that rare talent that arrives early and if he does – it could make the Angels outfield situation interesting as well. His natural position is center field which is currently occupied by Peter Bourjos and recently occupied by Torii Hunter.

I speculated in my last post that Trout’s anticipated arrival could mean Bourjos could be used in a trade (an idea my wife really got upset with me for even mentioning).

Also coming? How about Adrian Beltre.

Rob Bradford of WEEI talked with Beltre recently and Beltre told him, "I'll see what's best for me and my family," Beltre explained. "This year I was selfish enough, coming to the East Coast, knowing my wife was pregnant and she would be away from me basically for the whole year. This year is going to be more a family thing. It's been tough. I haven't seen family like l wanted to. We're going to settle down, discuss it, and see what's best for us."

Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports' Hardball Talk seems to think that the Angels are a natural fit for him.

Beltre is one of those guys who really seems to polarize baseball fans. Some are sure he’s likely to be a bust once he signs a big contract and others look at him as a viable piece for upgrading an offense and defense (myself included).

I’ll admit that when I first thought about the possibility of Beltre coming to Anaheim, I immediately dismissed it, but once I really looked at his statistics I found them to better than I thought and warmed to the idea.

The idea of Beltre possibly coming to Anaheim makes sense when you factor in what Tony Reagins told Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles: "You always have to take account of how the finances work, but we're not limited financially in any way," Reagins said. "Whatever we need to do that makes sense and that's reasonable, we'll address."

Saxon recaps the Angels recent organizational meetings in his blog; which had one noted absentee in Arte Moreno.

Saxon quotes Reagins who summed the two days by saying "We need to get better in every aspect of what we do," Reagins said. "That's pretty much the tone of the meeting."

Also coming; well sort of…

Mark Trumbo got a start in right field today. The OC Register’s Woike quoted Mike Scioscia as saying “We definitely want to take a look out there. In drills, he’s great, but you want to put him into a game and see how he reacts to the ball off the bat,” Scioscia said. “It just helps us an evaluation tool. It gives us a baseline.”

I only wonder why it took so long for the Angels to start playing Trumbo. If he can live up to expectations he would solve a lot of the Angels woes.

Finally, file this one under “Long gone.” Even still, his 2010 season is the gift that keeps giving…

Rob Munstis from The Bottomline Red Sox blog writes “The Red Sox were officially eliminated from the playoffs last night.”

“I find it fitting that John Lackey was on the hill for this moment. Sure he pitched well last night (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 K) but you know what?”

“Too little too late Johnny-boy. I don't blame you for signing for $18 million per year... I blame Theo for that. But 13-11 with a 4.47 ERA, a 1.43 and a .280 opponent batting average?”

Well Rob, I feel your pain; however, I can’t say that Angel fans miss Lackey much given his subpar year. In fact, most of us are taking great delight in his subpar 2010 performance.

Just saying.

The view from down low

Last night was indicative of the Angels’ season. It’s not just that they lost, it’s about how they lost. They lost because their defense failed to execute and the result of that poor effort was two unearned runs and 2-1 Rangers victory.

The last two nights Cheryl and I decided to get some tickets down on the field level and we sat 20 rows behind the Angels dugout on Tuesday and 12 rows behind it on Wednesday.

What did we see?

Let’s start with Tuesday night. Ervin Santana was magnificent. He held the Rangers in check all night long on his way to a complete game shut out. I don’t know about you, but anytime the Angels shut out the Rangers, it makes me smile and Santana’s win was reminiscent of his division clinching performance last year against this same team.

Thank you Ervin and congratulations on your career high 17th win. You guaranteed us not having to see the Rangers eliminate the Angels from the pennant race on our home field. I know it’s a small victory, but I’ll take it. I would not have been able to stomach Ian Kinsler popping champagne in our house.

As great as Ervin was, the highlight of the evening was watching Hank Conger. I can’t wait for the day when he’s the every day catcher and Jeff Mathis is a distant memory. Granted, I’ll probably have nightmares about Mathis for the rest of my life, but as long as I’m able to wake up in a world where Conger is the catcher, I’ll deal with it.

Watching Conger motor around the bases on his triple was just fun to watch. The kid is a beast and I mean that in the best way. He’s going to hit a ton once he gets comfortable and he gives all Angel fans something to look forward to.

I have to tell you it’s still strange seeing Vladimir Guerrero, Darren Oliver and Bengie Molina in opposing team colors. Of the three, I miss Molina the most. He’s easily one of my all-time favorites. When he was an Angel I had tremendous confidence in him every time he came to bat in key situations. He was the anti-Mathis in that he was extremely clutch.

In any case, it was a quick night. The game only lasted two hours and twelve minutes. Wouldn’t you know it, given our great seats. Oh well, we were grateful never-the-less given our late night adventure in Rancho Cucamonga the night before.

Wednesday night was down right frustrating. Cheryl and I got a bird’s eye view of Frandsen’s throw that went sailing into right field. It wasn’t even close. Let’s just be clear about Frandsen. He is not now; not has he ever been; nor will he ever be a quality third baseman. Let’s stop trying to make him into something he doesn’t have the capacity to accomplish.

In his brief stint at the major league level this year, I’m sure he has cost the Angels 3 or 4 games with his poor defense.

And then there’s Jeff Mathis. Maybe I should stop here before I say something I may regret. Nah, that wouldn’t be my style. I guess I'll try to temper my thoughts as much as possible.

The passed ball that cost the Angels the win was his sixth of the year. Now, you might think six passed balls is a lot, but think about this; there are 18 catchers with at least six passed balls. Of that group only four have caught fewer innings than he has, but none of them are being touted by their manager as being some sort of defensive genius.

His fielding percentage of .985 ranks as the 98th worst in major league baseball among all catchers. His seven errors ranks as 8th most even though he’s caught 100 less innings than the closest player above him with more errors. Imagine what kind of stats he’d have if he actually played more.

I’m as done with Jeff Mathis as anyone can possibly be. He has caused me more angst than Steve Finley, Shea Hillenbrand and Jeff Weaver combined and that’s saying something.

Speaking of angst, watching Juan Rivera up close the way we did made me appreciate how truly slow he really is. Watching him mosey in from right field after every inning was almost comical. I’m positive Bengie Molina could dust him in a foot race.

I will say this about good ol’ Tub of Goo though – he did get on base four times. He had two singles and two walks. The funny thing about the eight hits the Angels did get last night is that they all came at the hands of just four players, each of whom had two hits (Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick, Rivera and Reggie Willits).

Did I mention Mathis was 0-4? Did I mention that he’s now hitting .189? Yes, I know Brandon Wood is just as bad this year, if not worse, but Mathis is in his sixth season. But, I digress…

Dan Haren Struggled. He threw 114 pitches over seven innings, but to his credit he battled and gave his team a chance to win.

Torii Hunter looks worn out. He left three men on base and even hit into an inning ending double play just when it looked like the Angels might make a game of it.

Jordan Walden hit 100 mph last night in route to a 1-2-3 8th and the rest of the bull pen did a fine job with the possible exception of Matt Palmer who took the loss with help from Mathis.

Before I stop writing about Jeff Mathis, I have to tell you that I had a revelation today. I think I might have figured out why Scioscia continues to play him despite all the evidence against that idea.

Scioscia is the pitch man for Howard’s Appliances. Howard’s sells TV’s. When people watch Jeff Mathis on television, they’re apt to get so disgusted that they’ll throw things at their sets. Think about it. They break their TV’s and have to replace them. Where do they go? They go to Howard’s. It’s a brilliant idea, don’t you think? That has to be the explanation.

Speaking of things I’m trying to figure out…

Kevin Jepsen(much to my surprise) looked good last night (1 inning, no hits, 2 K’s). That being said, I’m not sure how he was anointed as the set up man. He scares the crap out of me. I’m so used to him putting two or thee men on base every time he comes into the game that when he doesn’t I’m stunned. Scioscia’s loyalty towards him is almost Mathis-esque. That 1.43 WHIIP is alarming His walk rate per nine innings is up from 3.13 in 2009 to 4.70 in 2010. On the positive side, he is striking more people out, but the big concern is his control.

One last thing, we noticed that Scot Shields wasn’t in the bull pen at all during the game and he was hanging out in the dugout instead. Is he done? I mean, many of us have assumed that’s he’s done “stuff” wise, but is he physically done? In some ways this is kind of sad, if true because he’s the last remaining player linked to the 2002 World Series team.

And on that note, I’ll just say that all in all it was an enjoyable two nights down on the field level. This weekend we’ll be back in our regular seats.

Below are a few more photos from the game on Tuesday; including Mike Napoli going yard, Bobby Abreu having some fun, Jordan Walden throwing some heat and Hank Conger warming up.

Scot Shields is so last decade

A million thoughts go through my mind every time someone emerges from the Angels bull pen. Sadly, those thoughts haven’t been positive of late.

Last night as Scot Shields jogged onto the field I felt something very appropriate. I felt numb. You see, every time Shields enters a game, we can hear Linkin Park’s “Numb” over the loud speakers. It’s an umistakeable tune that has become a trademark of Shields’ warm up routine.



Now I know it’s just a song, but have you ever listened to the words?

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes

Again, it's just a song and it's not actually written or sung by Shields; however, he did pick it for some reason. Which begs some questions...

Really? You’re tired Scot? Don’t you want to be an elite pitcher any more? There was a time when you were exactly that; in fact, you even made the all-decade team as the top set up man in all of baseball.

And if you think you’re feeling faithless, imagine what we fans are going through. I see a lot of people with their heads in their hands or else they’re shrugging their shoulders and saying “really?” when you enter the game. They’re not cheering when you come in; they’re holding their breath.

As for expectations… let’s see Scot.; we’re expecting you to get some outs, not walk anyone, field your position and keep the team in the game. Not giving up three run homeruns would also be nice.

We’d basically like you finish an inning without giving up any runs. Then again, what should we expect from a guy who can’t even finish his name? I mean, why is there only one “t” in your first name? Just asking.

(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)

I don’t know about “every step,” but every pitch (or close to it) definitely looks like a “mistake.” The kind of mistake that good hitters take advantage of. And yeah, you’re caught in the undertow all right. Thing is; you’re pulling the team under with your performances of late.

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

The feeling is mutual. I felt numb last night after that three run blast you gave up to Evan Longoria. Who are you? Where is the Shields with wicked stuff? The guy batters on opposing teams said had the best stuff and was hardest to hit? Where is that guy?

Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take

The more I think about this song, the more I shake my head. What’s motivating about it? It’s an odd choice, don’t you think? It’s also like some sort of self-fulling prophecy.

Shields you've fallen apart right in front of us. Where’s the swagger? I thought you hurt your knee not your arm. Song and lyrics aside; something is wrong. This is not the Scot Shields who dominated the last decade.

I’ve heard a lot of theories about your ineffectiveness. Some think you're just done. Some think you just need to throw more to get back in the groove. Problem is that you can only really do that in live game situations and the Angels can’t afford to let you enter in key situations and when you’re 15-20 every situation is basically a key situation.

There’s not a lot of margin for error. Let me say it again… the Angels are 15-20. That’s ugly; plain and simple.

So here’s the deal Scot. I know Mike Scioscia is going to continue to trot you out there. He needs to know if he’s going to get anything out of you this season. Fans aren’t going to like that much; in fact, they’re going to hate it and and we’re all going to suffer for it. We’re going to suffer when we listen to the call-in shows and visit the message boards.

I’m a patient guy. I need to see some signs of life Scot. Give me something. Show me some guts. I don’t want to see that deer in the headlights look. I want you to compete.

In the mean time, the song should go. There’s nothing motivating or inspiring about it; just like your pitching Scot. I don't want to be left numb after you pitch. I expect better. As fans we deserve better.

There's slow and then there's 'Bengie Molina slow"

I need to rant just a tad bit today.

If you do a few simple searches on the internet you can find all kinds of information that will tell you how statistically bad the Angels’ defense has been this year. You can look up stuff like UZR (ultimate zone rating) and other kinds of analysis on FanGraphs or other sites dedicated to sabermetrics.

All those things paint a certain picture for sure, but I have to tell you I don’t have to know any of that to realize the Angels’ defense stinks this season; especially in the outfield.

Every time a fly ball is hit at either Bobby Abreu or Juan Rivera it’s an adventure. Not a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” adventure, but more of a “Key Stone Cops” kind of adventure. Neither guy is fast nor very athletic and when they do manage to make a catch, it’s like a “look what I found” moment. I often wonder who’s more stunned... me or them?

Last night Juan Rivera looked like he was auditioning for a remake of the movie “Bad News Bears.” I made the comment that he was really “leaking oil” as he tried to run toward a sinking line drive by the Rays’ Reid Brignac in the 7th inning. Rivera came up short and ended up making an error (amazingly only his second of the year).

Later on when he did make an nice running catch of a ball hit by Willie Aybar in the 10th inning, Cheryl said, “now, he’s not only leaking oil; he’s out of gas too.” In other words we both thought that play took a lot out of Rivera. Like I said earlier; balls hit to the outfield are “always an adventure.”

It’s kind of funny, but it’s also really, really sad. I’m actually concerned.

I still believe that Rivera missed a routine fly ball in Fenway last week that cost the Angels a game, but I digress.

As the season moves forward, I believe the defense; especially in the outfield will continue to be an issue and the Angels can’t afford poor defense when pitchers like Joel Pineiro and Joe Saunders really rely on it.

Rivera is so slow, if he were to participate in the “steal third” promotion for kids at Angel Stadium, he’d come up short. As Cheryl would say, “he’s almost Bengie Molina slow.”

I’d even venture to say that Torii Hunter seems a step slower this year. Perhaps he’s feeling some side effects from his off season hernia surgery. I really don’t know. What I do know is that when the Tigers were in town; watching Austin Jackson run down fly balls was like watching a younger version of Torii Hunter. Just saying.

Where am I going with all of this?

I don’t normally do this; but I can’t help but think about the upcoming class of free agents. Carl Crawford anyone? I’m thinking he’d look pretty good in red.

Help is also in the minor league system in Peter Bourjos and Mike Trout; although, there’s no telling how far away they are from making an impact at the major league level. Trout isn’t even at Rancho Cucamonga yet and is spending his first full season at Salt Lake City this year.

I’m also thinking about Jayson Werth of the Phillies. He’s already wearing red; however, he needs to dawn some Angel red next year. Again, just saying.

If you came to this blog looking for some comments about Brian Fuentes’ pathetic performance last night; I’m sorry to disappoint you. I will admit that it was very painful to watch, but he really hasn’t pitched that much this year and I’m willing to give him more rope.

Yeah, I’m drinking the Mike Scioscia kool-aid on this one. If he can get it together, the bull pen will be that much better. We still don’t know what the Angels are going to get from Scot Shields and depth is an issue. The Angels need Brian Fuentes to be good and so I’m going to hope for exactly that.

On a bright note, Trevor Bell looked solid in his 2010 debut last night. He even appeared to have a little bit of swagger and I haven’t seen much of that coming out of the bull pen this year.

Onward…

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.

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.

Tough duty in Tempe... somebody's gotta do it

These days in Tempe are long days, but they are good days. Today was no exception. The weather was incredible and the baseball was top notch.

We started the morning with breakfast to go from Matt’s Big Breakfast. It was easily the best meal I had in two days. We arrived at Tempe Diablo Stadium early in the day and I had a chance to catch up with Bob, who I wrote about last month.

While waiting for the players to make their way out to the practice field, a friend of mine who works for the Angels invited us into the stadium to watch batting practice. We jumped at the opportunity and spent the morning taking photos on the field. It was quite the treat.

As the crowd trickled in, Cheryl and I made our way out to grassy area in left field to visit another member of the awesome team that works at the stadium – Joe, who I also talked a bit about last month.

Joe was ready for a big crowd and we chatted with him for quite a bit before heading over to see his wife Jackie. Joe had some more great stories and observations for us. He’s just a lot of fun to spend time with.

We eventually made our way over to see Jackie who works the VIP elevator. In order to talk with her we had to get in with her and we did. We got some strange looks from people who wondered why were spending so much time in the elevator going up and down; as you might imagine.

We had some fun with that telling people that Jackie was telling us the “untold” stories of what happens in the elevator. Jackie, ever the good sport chimed in and said “we’re up to Aunt Hazel.”

Spending time with the people who work at the stadium is just priceless. You can even have a good time just riding in the elevator!

As we left the elevator and made our way to our seats, we ran into an old friend named Gary, who is annual visitor to spring training. Seems like we’re always running into someone we know in Tempe.

We also ran into fellow 514 Fanatics, Christy and Andy, along with their kids; Christy’s sister Cindy and her brother John and their friend Jeff.

Our friends Dori and Vic were also in the house. The 514 Fanatics were representing!

Game time and lucky for Cheryl and me, Joe Saunders (our favorite pitcher) was on the mound to face the Giants, who had Barry Zito going for them.



Joe looked very sharp for four innings. He seemed to run out of gas in the fifth, but not before he fanned six Giants along the way. That’s a high number for a guy who usually relies on his defense to get the majority of his outs. In any case – Joe looks ready to roll.

These days it seems like there are ex-Angels on just about every team in baseball. Today was no exception as Bengie Molina reminded the Angels and their fans of how good a clutch hitter he is.

Molina had the biggest hit of the day for the Giants; a bases loaded double that knocked Saunders out of the game. Unfortunately, I got that on video today and will upload it in the next couple days. Molina looks to be in mid-season form and will hold off one of the Giants top prospects in Buster Posey for a little while longer.

When he left the game, he made it a point to go say hello to Mike Scioscia, the coaches and the team. There are a lot of great memories tied up in Bengie Molina. He’s easily one of our all-time favorites.

Funny story about the Molina’s... One year Cheryl and I made up some t-shirts that read “Thall shalt not steal on the Molina Brothers.” We always received some nice compliments whenever we wore them.

One game as Cheryl was walking the concourse a lady stopped Cheryl to ask her about the shirt. Turns out it was Bengie’s wife. One thing led to another and we ended up making shirts for the whole family.

We always associate Molina with good times and good memories.

Speaking of memories, Bobby Abreu gave us one today. Abreu homered off Zito in the third inning for the biggest blast of the day. It’s always good to see Abreu hitting lefties hard. Abreu also homered after the game when he stopped on his way out of the player’s parking lot to sign autographs for waiting fans.

Here are a couple more photos... a familiar face returns in Scot Shields and a bright young one trying to bunt his way on in Peter Bourjos.



More blogging tomorrow… I’m dead, dog tired right now.

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.

True Grich's All-Decade Team Part 2

Time for the True Grich Angels All-Decade Pitching Squad. Like the previous picks for the position players, these picks are based on the best single season of a pitcher in a given year, as opposed to a comprehensive look at who did what over the last ten years.

Occupying the #5 spot in the All-Decade rotation is a personal favorite of mine and my wife Cheryl’s in Joe Saunders. Saunders was a solid performer in 2008 when he led the team in both wins (17) and had the lowest ERA among the starters (3.41). Saunders was one of three Angel pitchers to be selected to the all-star game that year. Saunders threw his first complete game that year and managed 103 strikes outs. Saunders; who relies on his defense (by pitching to contact), really came into his own as a starter in 2008.

The #4 starter for the decade goes to the pitcher who shares my birthday (April 11) and that would be Kelvim Escobar and his 2007 season. Escobar had his finest season in the majors that year, going 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA. His strikeout to innings pitched ratio was a solid 7.4 (he struck out a total of 160 batters). Escobar also had three complete games, including a shut out. Early in the season, he was among those being discussed as a possible CY Young candidate, but never factored into the voting by season’s end.

Ervin Santana’s 2008 performance gave the Angels reason to sign him to a 4 year, $30 million (with a club option for a fifth year). That year he went 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.119 WHIP. He also had an impressive 214 strikeouts in 219 innings for an 8.8 strikeouts to innings ratio. He joined Saunders on the all-star team and finished 6th in the CY Young balloting. He threw two complete games, including a shut out. His performance earns him the #3 spot on the True Grich Angels All-Decade squad.

Interesting tidbit about “El Meneo” (Shaker) is that he seems to pitch best in even numbered years. Hopefully, 2010 will be a good one for Santana.

The #2 spot is occupied by an old friend of the Angels in Jarrod Washburn, who’s 2002 season ranks as the second best performance of the decade (in my opinion). Washburn was 18-6 with a 3.15 ERA, 1.175 WHIP, and 139 K’s. Washburn didn’t make the all-star team, but finished 4th in the CY Young voting. He was clearly the ace of the staff during the Angels championship season, even though he went 0-2 in the World Series.

The top dog on the All-Decade squad goes to a player who is now "dead to me." Yes, “you know who” had an amazing 2007 season, going 19-9 with a league leading 3.01 ERA, 179 K’s and two complete game shut outs (both against Seattle). The pitcher, forever to be now known as “Judas” made his first and only all-star performance and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting.

If I still sound bitter, it’s because I am. Never-the-less - John Lackey (cough) gets the top spot on the True Grich Angels All-Decade Pitching staff.

Jered Weaver did not make the cut, but had a short, but fine 2006 season and a solid 2009 campaign. He just didn’t have the numbers to crack the top five (in my opinion), but could/should dominate in the next decade.

The closer of the decade is between two pitchers who will go down as two of the all-time best for the Angels; Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez.

Rodriguez saved an astounding 62 games in 2008. He finished 3rd in the Cy Young Voting, made his third all-star team (at the time), and even finished 6th in the MVP voting. All that being said, I believe his best season was 2006 when he lead the league with 47 saves. In 2006 his ERA was lower (1.73 to 2.24), his strike outs to innings ratio was higher (12.1 to 10.1) and even his WHIP was better (1.096 to 1.309). He also only blew 4 saves in 2006 as opposed to 7 in 2008.

“K-Rod” was known to give Angel fans a roller-coaster ride during his last couple seasons in Anaheim, but he was easily the most successful closer in Angels' history. But the question is - was his 2006 season the best of the decade?

Before we get to that, let’s look at Troy Percival.

Even though “Percy” made the all-star team four times, his best season (in my opinion) came in a year when he didn’t make the mid-summer classic; 2002. That year Percy had a career best (as a closer) 1.92 ERA. He saved 40 of 44 games and averaged nearly 11 K’s per nine innings. He also racked up seven saves in the post season, including the most important one (game 7 of the World Series) in Angels' history.

So, who was better? Who gets the nod on the All-Decade squad?

They both do. Only Percy wins the closer award and K-Rod wins as the best set-up man of the decade.

With apologies to Scot Shields, K-Rod’s 2004 season cemented him as one of the game’s elite relievers. That year he had 12 saves to go along with 27 holds. He averaged an incredible 13.2 K’s per nine innings. Shields has never hit double digits in that category.

K-Rod had a 1.82 ERA which better than any season by Shields and only gave up two homeruns (oh for the good ol’ days) the entire season. He is the True Grich Angels All-Decade Set-up Man.

If you want to make a case for Rodriguez as the Angels’ best closer of the decade, you won’t get much of an argument from me; however, I am picking Troy Percival as the closer and Francisco Rodriguez as the top set up man (remember this is based on a single season performance).

As we close this decade and the all-decade selections, you may have noticed (like my friend and 514 fanatic, Jeffrey did) that I neglected to pick a top DH. For the most part, that role has been a revolving one Mike Scioscia has used to give some of his players rest. I chose not to include it for that reason. Brad Fullmer was purely a DH, but he was average, at best.

My pick of Darin Erstad as the best player of the decade (based on a single season performance) doesn’t really provide us with a true picture of who the best Angel player of the decade was. I chose to do that on purpose, believing my criteria made for a more interesting list.

Had I gone the route of who was best based on statistics alone, the award would have come down to two players. One, who made my all-decade team (Vladimir Guerrero) and one who ironically did not (Garret Anderson).

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that both players drove in more than 100 runs four times during the decade, but it probably will surprise you to know Anderson actually drove in more. He drove in 479 in those four seasons (2000-2003) to Guerrero’s 475 in his four (2004-2007). Anderson was a machine for the first four years of this decade and vastly under-rated. Guerrero was everything that was advertised and highly celebrated.

Who was better? An argument could be made either way. Anderson’s impact was over a much longer period of time (9 seasons) and included a World Series title. Vlad’s six years were very impressive and included an MVP title. If you pushed me to pick one, I’d give the edge to Anderson, simply because of his longevity.

The irony of all this shouldn’t be lost. I guess in some ways it’s a reflection of GA’s career and the perception that surrounded him. Anderson was very much under-appreciated as a member of the Angels, but holds almost every statistical record for the franchise. Some even thought Anderson to be “lazy,” while my friend and fellow 514 Fanatic, Bo simply called him “Mr. Smooth.”

Also ironic (probably only to me) is that I was never a huge Erstad fan and yet he ended up as my Angel of the Decade (again based on specific criteria). In any case, I hope you enjoyed this exercise as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.