me (12:56:24 AM) : and i think i'm right to be wary about all of it.
me (12:56:30 AM) : because i think we're taking backsteps here
me (12:56:35 AM) : we're adding guys we don't need
me (12:56:39 AM) : we don't need pitchers
me (12:56:43 AM) : and we don't need outfielders
me (12:58:02 AM) : we're replacing a guy that has the potential of the bat, if he stays healthy, he makes incredible plays in the field, and impedes upon a guy that is our power bat that bats best when he plays and will now have to split DHing with another and he hates being DH
me (12:58:25 AM) : and we get rid of the guy that sees the most pitches of anyone in the lineup, walks the most, bunts the best, and steals bases
me (12:58:29 AM) : and scores runs
me(12:59:17 AM) : and now have the potential of trading our top two prospects, our 2nd baseman (which i'm ok with) and possibly the one guy on our team that brought hope and has the highest batting average with men in scoring position
me (12:59:26 AM) : i dunno about you, but this sounds like the shittiest deal ever.
me (12:59:35 AM) : all four what? a few more home runs.
me (12:59:44 AM) : which probably won't get us shit anyway
me (1:00:24 AM) : what's it going to do? give us no leadership, more errors, possibly crappier pitching, worse chemistry, and a philosophy we've been so adamantly against since scioscia came to the team.
me (1:02:10 AM) : we're quickly getting further and further away from 02
me (1:02:28 AM) : and i'm not talking about time.
It's been a while since I have commented so I guess I am way overdue. Anyways, here is my two cents.
ReplyDeleteReggie Willits is a great lead-off guy and he can make things happen on the base paths. However, his defense could use a little work. Most teams do not see Willits as a starting outfielder, but rather a solid 4th outfielder. If we keep him, I think he'd be more useful as a catalyst of the bench. He can be a situational pinch hitter and pinch runner. There is no need for him in the starting line up if you already have Chone Figgins. Chone Figgins plays the exact same role as Willits offensively except he does it a little bit more effectively.
As for Vlad hating being the DH, he'd better get over it pretty soon. We saw at the end of last year that all those years playing outfield on the turf have taken a toll on his body. Besides, he is not getting any younger. Even though he wants to be an outfielder, it's better for his body to DH more often. We need to do everything in our power to make sure his offensive production does not falter. Yes, Vlad has a rocket arm but that will deteriorate with age and besides, he has a bad tendency to make wild throws. And since he throws so hard, he doesn't have the greatest accuracy in the world. I like the Torii Hunter acquisition. It makes our outfield better. If you have Torii in center and Matthews Jr. in either left or right, it's like having two gold glove center fielders in your outfield at the same time. Most teams would kill to just have ONE.
The Jon Garland trade is highly unpopular with the fans and I don't blame them. It's not my favorite trade either. However, there are some things that are being overlooked. Orlando Cabrera only had one year left on his contract and was up for salary arbitration. The Angels knew that if they were going to get another big bat, they would probably have to pay him the big bucks. Plus, we will eventually have to re-sign Vlad in the not-so-distant future. And don't forget Torii Hunter is being paid 18 million bucks a year. So money is an issue here.
Now let's forget about the money for a second and they trade for Miguel Cabrera. Florida wants starting pitching. The following Angels pitchers have been discussed in trade rumors:
Jered Weaver
Ervin Santana
Joe Saunders
Nick Adenhart (AAA prospect)
Obviously, not all of them will get traded but or two at least could be traded. That hurts our starting rotation depth. Plus, Bartolo Colon is as good as gone. I don't believe the Angels have any plans of resigning him. So you see, if the Angels trade for Miguel Cabrera, their rotation depth would be severely hampered so Reagins was thinking ahead when he traded for Jon Garland.
Now I think the Angels possibly could have done better for Orlando Cabrera but I don't know the whole story. Perhaps this was the only trade available to us that would land us a decent starting pitcher. I don't know for sure because I obviously cannot personally contact the Angels front office. Jon Garland isn't as bad as everyone thinks. He CONSISTENTLY gives you over 200 innings every year which helps out the bullpen. Plus, even though his career ERA of 4.41 is a little high, that isn't terrible either. Also, in 2007 he didn't pitch as bad as his 10-13 record says he did. Remember he played for the WHITE SOX. In 2005 and 2006 he got 18 wins each year because the White Sox had really good offensive production those years. In 2007, they couldn't score a run even if you walked the bases loaded. With the Angels, he will get run support . You can look at his stats to see that when he gets run support, he gets you "W's".
All in all, I like what Reagins is doing. Unlike Stoneman, he is actually willing to pull the trigger on things. I understand that it's bad to trade away your entire farm system for one or two marquis players but sometimes you have to be willing to deal some prospects if you want good players in return. You need a balance. I think Stoneman fell in love with the minor leaguers a little bit too much. For the past few years the Angels problem has been glaringly obvious and Stoneman didn't do anything to fix it. All he did was make minor deals that really didn't help or hurt the club at all (i.e. Signing/DFA'ing Shea Hillenbrand, trading Jose Molina for that one minor league pitcher). I understand that power isn't everything but it has been proven time and time again that to succeed in the playoffs, you need impact bats. The Red Sox didn't go through the playoffs by hitting bloop singles, stealing bases, and going 1st to third. The 2002 Angels didn't win game 6 of the World Series by having Scott Spezio hit a single. The 1988 Dodgers didn't win game 1 of the World Series by Kirk Gibson taking pitches and walking. I can go on and on. The "Angel way" may be good enough to have a strong regular season and win the weak A.L. West division, but if they want to get past the 1st round of the playoffs, they will need bats.
Arte Moreno bought this team from Disney and made it into a big market team. The fans aren't satisfied with division titles and playoff berths anymore like they would have been in the 90's. They want championships.