I JUST DON'T KNOW.

19^th in runs scored. 19^th in hits. 22^nd in home runs. 19^th in RBIs. 24^th in total bases. 22^nd in on base percentage. And 22^nd in slugging.

On paper, this doesn’t really sound like a division contending team, let alone the best team in baseball by a fair margin.  But when you factor in 8^th in ERA, 7^th in shutouts, 1^st in saves (by ten saves, between first and second), 25^th in earned runs against (yes, that’s a good thing), a winning starting rotation, a solid bullpen, a slid defense, a consistent running game, and you get the Angels. 

Up until last night at about 5-something eastern time, the Angels were not the media’s favorite team to look at.  In fact, the Angels crept slowly into first place without so much as a sneeze.  It wasn’t until about three weeks after the Angels took first place that ESPN even took notice on their power rankings.  The Angels were clearly the underdogs of 2008, who’s game was so much more old-school than any other teams, besides maybe the Minnesota Twins and a more distant example in the Baltimore Orioles. 

This is exactly why I love the Angels.  They defy convention.  Just take a look at the stats for a second.  Even with the pitching stats, there is no way, on paper, that the team should be anything resembling the word “good.”  But baseball isn’t all about numbers, like most sports analysts would love for you to believe.  Yes, the stats have some importance; they tell a lot about where a team is doing well, where they can improve, and what good “deals” are (I’ll get to this, eventually – I know anyone that cares to read about the Angels wouldn’t mind another take on the recent happenings).  But if you’ve never seen an Angels game, you have no idea from just looking at the stats what kind of game they play.  They play a game of movement, of fundamentals, and they do it all while looking like they’re having a great time, like they’re out in a sandlot somewhere playing on passion and drive and the sheer desire to destroy the guys on the other side.  It doesn’t look like a game for money, at least in a general sense, nor does it look like a team whose players are seeking to become the biggest names in the sport.

On the contrary – many of these players go overlooked.  Aside from Vlad, maybe Rodriguez, and maybe Garrett Anderson (and Torii Hunter, but only for guys who watch AL teams fairly consistently), there aren’t many names that average joe-shmoe on the outside world of sports would know too readily.  No A-Rod, no Jeter, no Griffey.  Nothing like that.  Just Maicer Izturis, Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and good ol’ Casey Kotchman.  Every one of them reliable (aside from Kendrick, who I’m still finding debatable. Sorry guys – consistency is key, and I’d rather be batting .178 like Mathis and hit in the clutch, with a .350 avg with men in scoring position, than bat .330 overall and strike out when it actually counts), and they all contribute 100% to the team.  You couldn’t ask for more – no disruption, no attitude, no temper, no Ramirez-“esque” antics that draw negative media attention for all the wrong reasons.  No.  Just a solid, down-to-earth, down home feel.

I would imagine that this is what draws so many people to their games, and draws them to the fan base.  It breeds such a family atmosphere, both at the park, and at home.  I revel in the fact that they are an overlooked team, and while it frustrates me when the media says that the reason the Angels swept Boston was because of the absence of Ortiz, I know that the Angels are doing something right.  You don’t go 7-1 on the season as a fluke.  It just doesn’t work that way.

So on to the real business.  Southern California got a few shake-ups yesterday.  I find it funny that things all happen at once.  The Inland Empire, as we “coastal” and “metropolis” people call it – ie. Riverside, Chino, San Bernardino, Ontario, etc – got rocked pretty good with a 5.4 earthquake.  To put that in perspective, for those of you who haven’t experienced an earthquake, the Whittier earthquake of 1987 (I was just about two at the time, and Whittier is literally about 5-10 miles from my hometown) was a 5.9 and caused about $358 million in damages, and a few years ago the Northridge earthquake (which more people will remember) rocked the LA area at 6.7, killing over 60 people and injuring about 3,000, while causing billions of dollars worth of damage to buildings, homes, and major LA freeways. So 5.4 isn’t exactly huge, but it isn’t exactly minor either. 

Not but a few hours later, things were getting shaken up at Fenway during Angels’ batting practice.  Not too many people really saw this coming.  For the last few days the reports have rumored the possibility, but there couldn’t have been too many people that thought it would materialize.  All you have to do is look back at the history of the team at the deadline.  This same deal was in the works last year, and never made it through.  But this Reagins guy, mover and shaker all by his lonesome.  I don’t think Stoneman would have flinched on this one.  No deal. I really think.

So let’s break it down.  Mark Teixeira has hit .283 with 20 home runs this season.  He is a career Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star, and his season averages are pretty much insane.  He hits over 30 home runs a season, on the average, and claims about 120 RBIs as well.  He’s good. There’s no doubt about that.  I remember watching him play with Texas, when the Angels saw him quite frequently, and I hated him every time we saw him, because there was never a game that went by where that guy wasn’t getting a hit and being a general pest. 

On the flip side, Casey Kotchman is definitely having a career year.  He’s only been healthy for an entire season let’s see… this time.  He’s got himself 12 home runs, three in the last four games he’s played, he’s hitting .287 currently, and has been more effective against left-handed pitching than any lefty in the Angels lineup.  Not to mention, he’s been hitting in the clutch, batting very effectively in the two spot, taking pitches, working the counts, and he is easily the best defensive first-baseman playing the game.  I don’t care what you Youkilis fans think. You’re wrong.  Casey is a jewel.  He is subtle, hard working, respectful, and an all around asset on the field and in the dugout. 

The deal itself, taken at face value, looks like a steal for the Angels.  Teixeira was worth five players to the Braves when they traded for him last year at about the same time, and yet because of the strains on the market, the Angels got him back for only two, an almost even one-to-one trade, first baseman for first baseman, plus a minor league reliever Stephen Marek.  But you can’t just look at it that way.  There is so much more than just today involved in this deal, and that is where I start to doubt the move completely.

For one, I think the Angels got where they are largely in part because of the contributions of Kotchman, and I feel bad that he has to get taken out of a possible World Series run to sit with a team that has no chance in hell of making it period.  That just sucks on any ethical level, and he better get something for his contribution.  Two, I’m a big proponent of the idea “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  I think everyone’s statements about the fact that the Angels are 7-1 right now against Boston means nothing in the post season, because they’ve been wipped by them the last few times in the division series.  However, I think this is totally irrelevant at this point.  The Angels had losing seasons during the regular season against Boston those years they were swept in the post season.  And I think that saying the post-season is different is totally ridiculous.  You have the same team, the same players, same parks, and with the Angels’ philosophy of one day at a time, I don’t think that has any relevance at all.  7-1 over the season should indicate that the Angels can take Boston anywhere anytime, especially with the best road-record by a VAST majority.  Bring it, is what they should have been saying.  But instead, they fell to the stupid media hype about the dumb big bat, and caved in.

I lost respect for the team’s management a bit yesterday.  Being a fan of faith, I know – not think, but know – the Angels could’ve done it as it was.  They’ve been doing it thus far, even with bad offense, and now with good offense.  Good pitching trumps good hitting. ALWAYS.  Now, we lose a bit of the luster for the old game by bringing in a media-approved “big bat.”

But my biggest concern is not for this season, but for the future.  Mark Teixeira becomes a free agent at the end of 2008.  Scott Boras is his agent.  Enough said.  It has been rumored that Teixeira and Boras will look for $230 million over a 10 year deal.  To put that in perspective, A-Rod, who is arguably the best talent in baseball (at least offensively, he’s unrivaled), is currently signed with the Yankees for $252 million over 10 years (with perks for hitting marks that he makes that could put him over $300 million in that span).  I don’t think Teixeira is worth nearly that much.  Truthfully, I don’t think anyone should be worth that much. It’s just ridiculous.  But if the Angels don’t sign him after this season, it puts a huge hole in a place that Kotchman would have been filling for the next three years, at least, easily.  And there is every reason to believe that Kotchman will get better and better and better with every season. 

I don’t know that the Angels will be able to land him for that kind of cash.  They’re already paying a decent sum to both Hunter and Matthews, and will be stuck with a lot of work to do at the end of this season in terms of all the free agencies and arbitrations with Frankie Rodriguez, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver, John Lackey, Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Jon Garland, Juan Rivera, etc etc etc.  The list goes on.  Plus Teixeira in the mix; that’s a lot of work in the off-season for a two or three month rental player.  And I don’t know how much more Arte Moreno will be willing to stretch his wallet and the payroll. 

I just fear the future of this team because of this one move.  It leaves too many questions, and takes away that whole underdog appeal.  I just don’t know if it’ll be worth it in the long run, or if it was even worth it to begin with.  I guess we’ll just have to watch and find out.  I just know that I’m definitely not jumping up and down at this one, like everyone else in my generation of young home-run watching fans, I’ll stick to the traditional view and say I think we just lost a bit of magic, whether on the field, or in my perception.