The Rangers officially signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one year, $5MM deal with a mutual option for 2011 today. Earlier in the week SI.com's Jon Heyman reported that the two sides were in "serious talks" about a deal worth $5MM with incentives. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan first reported the agreement and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News added the specifics, noting that Vlad can earn more by reaching certain incentives.
Guerrero, 35 in February, is a career .321/.386/.568 hitter, though he's tailed off in recent years and had the least productive full season of his career in 2009. Vlad has hit .394/.471/.705 in over 220 plate appearances at the Ballpark in Arlington, though it'd be dangerous to make assumptions based on that sample.
Vlad, who only played in the outfield twice last year, was a defensive liability in each of the three seasons preceding 2009, so he'll serve as the club's primary designated hitter.
Ben Nicholson-Smith and Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
YES!
Well that team has just gotten better, it’s going to be an interesting battle between them and the Mariners for the West this season if it keeps going this way.
you bet
Lol, didn’t know the AL west was just handed around to teams improving in the off season, they’ll still have to beat the angels. BTW I’ll cheer for Vlad when he comes up to bat Angel Stadium
I don’t know man, that will be tough. I mean Matsui at DH can be as good as Vlad, but Chone and Lackey are big losses. That division is going to be rough and what makes it so bad is all of your division rivals are getting your players and filling in what holes they have.
Agreed its tough to lose Figgy and Vlad to division rivals, however I think having Abreu behind figgins helped his bat. Bobby and Aybar can lead off or Izzy when he’s in the line up. Besides cant argue that not signing aging Lackey and Figgy to long contracts is a bad thing in the long run
Just remember that this is what everyone said when the Angels lost Teixeira and K-Rod last year and remember what happened? Angels won 97 games and the AL West by 10. Over TEXAS. Oakland was supposed to be the big challenger and they flubbed. What makes you think Texas and/or Seattle won’t flub? On paper, yes, the Angels aren’t looking good. But in actuality, the Angels are still the same late-inning rally team they were eight years ago. I have confidence in the Angels.
THIS GUY for the Rec! See you in the ALDS Red SUX…
It isn’t like the AL East where the title goes to the team that spends the most money.
Well, that’s great… except the Angels outspent every other team in their division.
Keeping wishing buddy. Hate to break it to ya Red Sux fan but the Halos are still taking it…..
Angels need to wake up and smell the defeat
Nice catch for Texas. Was hoping Baltimore would make an offer to him in time but I guess they will now set their eyes on Delgado. I definitely see the Rangers trying to compete more this season.
There is still Delgado and Dye.
Nice pick up. And line up.
2B- Kinsler
3B- Young
RF- Cruz
CF- Hamilton
DH- Vlad
1B- Davis
LF- Murphy
C- Teagarden/ Salty
SS- Andrus
Rotation
Feldman
Harden
Holland
Hunter
McCarthy
Forgot Julio Borbon
I see Murphy as the odd man out. And I read that Borbon was going to start the year in CF batting lead-off.
Yeah, Borbon is already slated to be the starting CF unless he messes up badly in spring training. Murphy will likely be the 4th OF. As for the rotation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see McCarthy out by opening day in a trade or maybe sent to the pen. Feliz will likely be the 5th starter in your lineup.
looks like a whole lotta strikeouts and a big lack of BB. Welcome to the world of double-plays Texas…
Vlad is a lifetime .400 hitter in arlington right? Wow this is gonna be a nice offensive club
he is .400 against Ranger pitching over the past 7 years. That isn’t saying much.
thats because he’s regularly faced crappy texas pitching…
So much for the Sox dealing Lowell to Texas… at least he isn’t in the AL East
lol, you said it.
If Josh Hamilton comes back healthy and in 08 form, holy holy..monster lineup. Theyre counting on alot of fragile players to pick up big loads.
West will be interesting.
I actually kind of want the Sox to hold onto Lowell. I have a feeling Ortiz is going to be slow again this year.
While I wouldn’t mind see the Sox hold onto Lowell, I can’t imagine it would end well. Beltre would be constantly looking over his shoulder, Lowell would be unhappy not playing everyday, and ~$24M is alot of money for a DH platoon.
It depends on what the payroll looks like for tax purposes. If dealing Lowell means staying below the tax then I’m all for it.
It’s going to be an interesting situation that’s for sure.
There is nothing interesting about the group of aging, overpaid has-beens known colloquially as the Red Sox.
The AL East is even less interesting.
Anyone else wanna bet that LAA still wins that division? It’s just going to happen.
they not winning that division!
Why not? Can anyone off the top of their heads name the rest of the mariner rotation besides Lee/King Felix (w/o looking it up lol & not a seattle fan)? Seattle was last in runs in the AL last season, whos gonna help them in that aspect? I look for the Angels and Rangers to battle for the division. Who knows the wild card could be in the was this year.. not the east
Seattle had the lowest ERA in the AL (Say what you want about their stadium), and that’s replacing Morrow with Lee. Snell is also incredibly high in potential and could develop in that ballpark.
Who’s going to help them? I don’t know…..a guy with 6.1 WAR last year (Figgins) and a guy with a life time .821 OPs and .371 OBP (Bradley). Perhaps they need a bit more power, I can agree with that, but to say they won’t compete is a homer attitude. Who the hell knows, maybe Lopez gets it together and gives them power.
if you expect the Angels to remain the force they were last year, you are going to be disappointed. Fuentes is an awful reliever, and if you don’t expect him to crumble, I do. A 4.42 FIP with a 1.40 WHIP is anything but awe-inspiring. Kazmir is a question mark, and you have to hope Brandon Wood can stick at 3rd.
Lee is replacing Washburn/Bedard not morrow… and your right lopez might “get it together” but hell Wood can finally show his potential w/regular at bats and he will “stick” at 3rd, I doubt you know much bout the angels minor leaguers w/o just looking at stats.
Call it a “homer attitude” I call it optimism, but for now you sound like the homer. Which is fine, any fan will support their team.
I’d be lying if I said fuentes didn’t wreak havoc on my nerves, but hey he did convert 48 saves. Finally, don’t get me wrong seattle has improved and might be in it for a bit but you might be disappointed, just like the 08 season, when you probly had em picked to win the west too…
Actually, I am a Cardinals fan, so I don’t really have a stake in the division, but supporting your team is not the homer attitude I am referring to. I am referring to bashing the other teams in your division, but saying they didn’t get any help for their offense just seems like obliviosity (Is that a word?).
I’m sorry if my tone tried to insult you, it was like 2AM in the morning for me. Don’t ge me wrong. I would die to have Brandon Wood play for the Cardinals, but the Angels fans I have encountered just seem to expect him to instantly develop and help Morales keep the machine running, but I am not so optimistic with prospects.
Lol ok well my mistake for thinking you were seattle fan. Whille Kendry played better than the expectations most of us had Im not sayin wood will too, but I do look for him to have something like 15-20 HR 70+ RBI and good defence. I’m actually looking forward to the upcoming season, seattle and texas have improved to give the Angels some strong competition
Here’s some food for thought …If the Mariners pitching is so good can someone please tell me what happened between 08 and 09. In 08 Seattle had the 6th WORST ERA in all of baseball. In 09 they jump to the best ERA in the AL. Who was added? Nobody. 09 was a statistical blip – led mostly by Jarrod Washburns sub 3.00 ERA over 160+ innings. Next, what does Figgins bring to the table? Not 6 WAR’s – that’s for sure. Prior to 2009 his best EVER 3.2 – going back to 2004. From 2006 to 2008 he was a somewhat reliable 2.5 WAR player. By comparison, the player he is replacing averaged nearly 4 WAR over that same time span. So unless Figgins somehow manages to more than double his career average in WAR his signing is a net neutral proposition at best.Finally, don’t look at Seattle’s wins – check out their run differential. They easily outplayed their pyth by 10 wins. So, if you remove luck from the equation, the M’s have to improve 10+ wins in performance simply to get to the win totals they saw last year. I don’t see it. People are just star struck by big names like Figgins and Lee. When you stop and look at the Mariners team you realize they simply are not that good. They have 2 great starters, one decent, and a bunch of question marks. They could have the worst offense in baseball. They have outstanding defense but that’s really it. I think they will be an 85 win team – max. Rangers will win 87-90. The Angels will win 89-93.
“the Mariners pitching is so good can someone please tell me what happened between 08 and 09. In 08 Seattle had the 6th WORST ERA in all of baseball. In 09 they jump to the best ERA in the AL. Who was added? Nobody. 09 was a statistical blip – led mostly by Jarrod Washburns sub 3.00 ERA over 160+ innings.”That isnt true at all. I will show you the changes08 to 09 differences+27 UZR/150 added in Center (Guiterrez)+21 UZR/150 added in Right (Ichiro moving there from Center)+14 UZR/150 combined between LFers usedOverall, -14.6 UZR and -4.6 UZR/150 from OF to +62 UZR and +18.1 UZR/150 from OF.Can you say extreme?Add to that- 28 starts from Carlos Silva- 20 starts from Miguel Batista+ overall average production from those making up those starts in place of the two limp arm pitchers without the ability to start. There is no “statistical blip” here. The Mariners defense is so strong that it will make a pitching staff. In fact, it can clearly be seen on the balls hit to the outfield.176/.171/.508/.679 – 2009 on Fly Balls (1699 PA).213/.206/.568/.774 – 2008 on Fly Balls (1597 PA).702/.699/.938/1.637 – 2009 on Line Drives (909 PA).734/.727/1.024/1.751 – 2008 on Line Drives (943 PA)When you are dropping 100 OPS points, you are looking at an extreme amount of runs suppressed. And a rotation of Felix, Lee, Rowand-Smith, Snell and whoever – well, they will be extremely strong again in 09.
“the Mariners pitching is so good can someone please tell me what happened between 08 and 09. In 08 Seattle had the 6th WORST ERA in all of baseball. In 09 they jump to the best ERA in the AL. Who was added? Nobody. 09 was a statistical blip – led mostly by Jarrod Washburns sub 3.00 ERA over 160+ innings.”That isnt true at all. I will show you the changes08 to 09 differences+27 UZR/150 added in Center (Guiterrez)+21 UZR/150 added in Right (Ichiro moving there from Center)+14 UZR/150 combined between LFers usedOverall, -14.6 UZR and -4.6 UZR/150 from OF to +62 UZR and +18.1 UZR/150 from OF.Can you say extreme?Add to that- 28 starts from Carlos Silva- 20 starts from Miguel Batista+ overall average production from those making up those starts in place of the two limp arm pitchers without the ability to start. There is no “statistical blip” here. The Mariners defense is so strong that it will make a pitching staff. In fact, it can clearly be seen on the balls hit to the outfield.176/.171/.508/.679 – 2009 on Fly Balls (1699 PA).213/.206/.568/.774 – 2008 on Fly Balls (1597 PA).702/.699/.938/1.637 – 2009 on Line Drives (909 PA).734/.727/1.024/1.751 – 2008 on Line Drives (943 PA)When you are dropping 100 OPS points, you are looking at an extreme amount of runs suppressed. And a rotation of Felix, Lee, Rowand-Smith, Snell and whoever – well, they will be extremely strong again in 09.
Since Suzy did most of the heavy lifting :), Ill just add a few things.
They very well could have a terribly offense, the point is though. They don’t have to have a great offense to win. They already have a fantastic defense last year that will only get better with Figgins at the hot corner. Felix and Lee will continue to do what they do, and their young pitchers will get better, even more considering no more starts from deadweight Silva.
They do have a bunch of question marks, but what team doesn’t that doesn’t have a 170 million dollar payroll? I mean, the Cardinals are a top 3 team in the NL, and have a SLEW of question marks, same with the Phillies.
It’s not luck, there is a reason that team is built that way.
Care to state why?
Losses: Lackey, Figgins, Vlad, Oliver
Gains: Matsui, Rodney
Mariners and Rangers look to be better. Now, I’m not ruling the Angles out by any means, but saying “it’s just going to happen” without any analysis is laughable.
How do the gains of Rodney, that equates to another on the seat of your pants guy like Fuentes and Matsui, another DH equal up to Figgins and Lackey? Rodney may equal out for Oliver, another setup guy since doubt anybody else that was a playoff team would have wanted Rodney to close, but Anaheim has not gone out and replaced Lackey and Figgins at all, while Texas has at least equaled Anaheim with DH acquisitions and Seattle has made leaps and bounds moves ahead of Anaheim this off season.Just standing back, looking ahead to 2010, one would have to call 2010 a pretty close 3 team race and close, nobody a favorite at this point, only because Anaheim has (so far) refused to do anything and it is really surprising. Not dicing on them, just thought that Arte would make some kind of play on Jason Bay and it surprised me when he did not.You Anaheim fans have a question for that have not asked.. Was it a surprise when Boston made that quick move on Lackey? Did that cause some problems for the post season plans?
Because they’re the Angels. They still have Hunter and Morales. They still have Aybar. They still have Kazmir, Saunders, and Weaver.
I think throwing Kazmir in that statement might be a bit premature considering he had 4.9 ERA last season.
Angels? Doubtful. But I see a toss-up between Texas and Seattle… leaning more towards the Rangers though.
They absolutely are still the favorites to win the division.
I like the Rangers but picking up Vlad is not going to do anything for them. The guy has been in SERIOUS decline for the past 2 years. On top of that his health is a huge question mark.
Here is who the Angels have lost:
Lackey – he is replaced by Kazmir. Over the past 2 years Lackey has averaged 170 innings and a high 3’s ERA. Kazmir can absolutely match that.
Figgins – typically a 2.5 – 3.0 WAR player. Last year was just crazy and he is unlikely to repeat. Wood can come in and provide 2.0 – 2.5 WAR next year. If not, Izturis certainly can.
Vlad – upgraded through the signing of Matsui.
Oliver – replaced by Rodney. I like Oliver better but given his age I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if Rodney beats out Oliver in ’10. That said, even if he doesn’t we are talking about 6th/7th inning bullpen spot.
On the positive side, the Angels can expect continued maturation of their young core (Morales, Kendrick, Aybar, Napoli, Santana, Saunders, Weaver, Jepsen, Bulger, etc).
If you think that Runs differential means anything then you have to explain where the Rangers are going to increase their differential by 80 runs and the Mariners by 175. There is NO way either team has made that kind of improvement or that the Angels have suffered those types of losses.
“Vlad – upgraded through the signing of Matsui.”
Vlad, going on 35 years old.
2006 – .387 wOBA
2007 – .393 wOBA
2008 – .373 wOBA
2009 – .343 wOBA
2006 – 2009, 549 Games, 2332 PA, .315/.375/.526/.901, 133 OPS+
Matsui, going on 36 years old
2006 – .381 wOBA
2007 – .368 wOBA
2008 – .348 wOBA
2009 – .378 wOBA
2006 – 2009, 429 Games, 1738 PA, .286/.371/.481/.851, 122 OPS+
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Matsui has his own extreme issues, and had a very similar age 32-34 stretch to the one Vlad just experienced that you are critical of him over.
Vlad might surprise if he spends the winter getting trimmer and then is willing to work with Hurdle in spring training a little. His numbers might even ride a bit higher this year by pitchers working around Josh to see if Vlad can still hit or not.
“Lackey – he is replaced by Kazmir. Over the past 2 years Lackey has averaged 170 innings and a high 3’s ERA. Kazmir can absolutely match that.”
Can Kazmir replace that? Yes. Will he? He is coming off a season where he pitched 150 innings and a 4.9 ERA so I think absolutely might be a bit of an over statement.
“Figgins – typically a 2.5 – 3.0 WAR player. Last year was just crazy and he is unlikely to repeat. Wood can come in and provide 2.0 – 2.5 WAR next year. If not, Izturis certainly can.”
Completely agree last year was a great for Figgins and there is a good chance he might not reproduce it but that does not negate the fact that you are losing that production. I feel it is safe to say that Wood or Izturis will most likely not reproduce that.
“Vlad – upgraded through the signing of Matsui.”
I could go either way on this. Vlad has declined since 2007 but was pretty much the same from 2008-09 if you factor in the amount of games played. Same HR rate and hovering around a .300 BA
The last time Matsui played over 100 games and came close to .300 was 2005. Also not to mention last year was his worst year as far as Batting Average goes (.274). His power stayed the same with good HR numbers but that could be masked by the hitter friendly park.
Health wise Vlad has an edge especially since Matsui has only average 107 games per year from 2006-09.
“Oliver – replaced by Rodney.”
You are talking about a guy who had a 4.4 ERA last season vs. a guy with nearly 3x many strike outs as walks with an ERA below 2.9 in the past two seasons. Oliver is by far better.
It is definitely going to be a competition for the West by saying the Angels are still the favorites based on that logic is bad considering the addition of Figgins, Lee, Bradley (who if you use your Kazmir logic of bouncing back to form) and a full season of Wilson at SS are a hand down better team than last year.
— Kazmir’s coming off an injury. What’s important is how he pitched post injury. He was downright nasty. While I don’t expect him to pitch anywhere close to how he did with the Angels – expecting a high 3’s ERA and 170 innings is not being overly optimistic.
— We need to replace 2.5 – 3.0 wins with the loss of Figgins. I am extremely confident that Wood + Izturis can get us to 2 wins (on the low side). Net loss, sure. Huge loss – absolutely not.
— Matsui is no picture of health. Knee surgeries tend to wipe you out. However, he had a great year in 09, but one that was within his statistical range. While I don’t expect an OPS over 875 from him – I do think 825 – 850 is very reasonable. Vlad last year was below 800. And his decline over 2 years has been incredibly steep.
— Oliver and Rodney … Like I said, Oliver would have been my choice. Net, net though is that the change probably means very little. I still see Fuentes closing with Jepsen, Shields, and Bulger providing a strong back-end to the bullpen.
— Finally, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to plan on Santana regaining his form. This is a guy that posted a mid 3’s ERA just a season ago. Injuries killed him in 09. All reports are that he is healthy and ready to go. I would expect continued maturation from Napoli, Mathis, Kendrick, and Aybar. I expect some regression from Morales and Hunter. All in all, this team is very similar to the 08 and 09 versions that both won 95+ games.
three things Angels fans are denying:
1/ Lackey is a B+ or A- (which he will be in Boston) not a true A as in Ace, and they haven’t replaced/bettered that.
2/ signing Matsui means Bobby Abreu is a fulltime outfielder. Torii can’t cover THAT much ground (for much longer).
3/ spending that much money just to win the AL West has been a steadily diminishing return.
yes, they’ve been a great organization in recent years at producing a lot of young talent. they just haven’t been very good at adding the right pieces to put them over the top.
seattle will win the division, even though matsui is an upgrade over the declining vlad, angels dont have the pitching to compete and will probably finish last.
woah, are you serious? Why in the world do you think LA would finish worse than OAKLAND?
HardenFeldmanFelizHollandHunter/McCarthyand… they’ve got the hitting for sure… between Vladdy being there and Hamilton likely bouncing back
definitely a 3 team race
If Harden can stay healthy and Feliz keeps pitching the way he did last season, this is going to be a scary team.
Missed the 5 in his .568 slugging %.
How the West was Lost, by the LAAOA.
Sweet
While not a Rangers fans , I have always like Vlad! I hope his body holds up as he will feast on that park and produce with that line-up.
i picked Feldman as a sleeper in my farm round in roto last year. What kind of ceiling does this guy have? What kind of stat line do you Rangers fans see?
As an outsider to that division but an AL guy, I still say it is too early to count out the Angels. Just saying, you cant be the champ till the current one is dethroned and that could be as many as 162 games away. They seem to find ways to win.
Might they still want Lowell to play 1B if they don’t feel Davis is good enough? Davis only hit .238/.284/.442 last year.
Davis did start to hit after his return from his stint in the minors.
Well it’s good to see it’s 5 million and incentive based for some extra. 7 million straight up was looking kind of crazy.
This is really big for the Rangers. He fits good in that lineup and he hits very good in that Stadium. I can see him batting 4th behind Hamilton if he bats 3rd and they can put Cruz 5th or switch it around.
Am I the only one who believes that the Angels are still gonna be competitive in the West?
Nobody thinks they won’t be competitive. They’re still the favorites, the Mariners and Rangers just closed the gap.
No, I believe too lol
No. I still pick them to win the division. It just won’t be as easy this time around.
Do the Angels have the worst rotation in the division? Im saying yes.
THey ahve a good 4 man rotation its their 5th starter is a question mark
Really? How so?
What a ridiculous statement.
Okay then, I’ll put my money where my mouth is and post both Bill James and CHONE’s FIP predictions per 4 man rotation (please correct me if the names are off but I believe these are current):NAME BILL JAMES PREDICTED FIP-CHONE PREDICTED FIPKazmir 3.84-4.15Weaver 3.84-4.04Santana 4.24-4.36Saunders 4.41-4.72=16.33-17.27Braden 3.94-4.26Duchscherer 3.63-4.17Anderson 3.63-3.92Gonzalez 4.61-4.5715.81-16.92Lee 3.72-3.43Hernandez 3.41-3.34Snell 4.28-4.50Rowland-Smith 4.04-4.4615.45-15.73Feldman 4.56-4.76Harden 3.67-4.08Hunter 4.73-4.91McCarthy 4.58-4.6317.54-18.38So its the Mariners clearly followed by the A’s, then the Angels then Rangers. With the Mariners sterling defense, youd expect those real-time ERA numbers to drop drastically, same with Oakland. LAA & TEX arent in the same park in terms of defensive uzr’s so you’d expect those numbers to stay somewhat true. So yes, I was wrong, The Rangers clearly are the worst rotation in the division. However, the Angels are in no way shape or form fit to be called division frontrunners, its clear as day its Seattle who has that right, who will start to look better offensively once they sign a 1B. People saying “its a 3 team race” though, show some respect toward Oakland or else youre going to be calling them the leagues “surprise team” when many saw it coming, they were basically a .500 team last year (pythag W-L) and got better defensively and pitching-wise with Crisp+Duchscherer being added. If they grab a 3B then they should be viewed as serious challengers to Seattle.
Ok, nice little write-up. I’ll give you a “Like” for that 🙂
I knew Texas would have a worse rotation; the reason why I thought it was a ridiculous statement.
thanks!
Bradley put up very good numbers in 2008 with the Rangers and only played 126 games, even though he spent most of the season as a DH. There’s no reason why a healthy Vlad couldn’t better Milt’s 2008 numbers in one of the better hitters parks in baseball.
Pretty good news. I think it will make the lineup more like a typical Rangers lineup of feared hitters from Kinsler, Young, Cruz, Hamilton and then Vlad. Now, if only everybody stays healthy.
The Rangers should be really good next year, especially if Feliz comes into his own.
true, but you have to consider that those “no-names” helped keep the mariners in games so that they were able to pull off 85 wins. It wasn’t just felix. I’m not saying that Mariners will win the division, but they are up there along with the rangers and angels.
He should be a monster DHing here 81 games a year. This team is ready to take the next step, Harden and Feliz being the key.
No, this season is definitely going to be an interesting three-way race. I just hope the M’s get one more SP or power bat in order to get ahead…
Are the Angels done? Absolutely not. Is there rotation weaker than it was as of October 2009? Of course it is. Kazmir and Lackey were both in the rotation at the same time so a rotation minus Lackey and w/o a suitable replacement is weaker by defacto. I’ve always liked Kazmir and all but is he an automatic 200 IP/Sub 4.00 ERA lock for 2010? Who knows?
Figgins may have benefited from Abru’s bat but that’s sort of a moot point as far as the Angels should be concerned. Since Abreu is signed for 2 more years then theoritcally that would’ve been two more years of him performing as he did in 2009. W/o him can anyone really predict what Wood will do in 2010? Obviously his 3 year lines are all sample sizes but how can anyone assume that a guy who’s only been a .192/.222 hitter thus far will be a +2 WAR player next year?
I think the Angels, on paper, still have the best OVERALL staff, but much depends on Kazmir and Santana staying healthy and pitching up to their potential. Also, Weaver is a good pitcher but is he ace material? The M’s have two legitimate aces in Felix and Lee and while the Angels don’t match up well in the front of the rotation, they are better 3-5, regardless of who the 5th guy is.
As far as offense, the Angels were always good at producing runs. With Figgins no longer in the leadoff spot that just became more difficult. Matsui will replace Guerro’s production but Woods will not replace Figgins OBP and speed factor. And you have to wonder how Aybar will perform w/o having Figgins in front of him. Aybar’s .364 OBP was hit driven as he only drew 30 walks. He probably won’t see as many FB w/o someone like Figgins on base as a base stealing threat. If he can’t get on base as well as he did in 09 then Abreu and Morales won’t have as many run producing opportunities.
King Felix is not an ace. He’s never even been to the playoffs. Jack Morris was a ace. Dave Stewart was an ace. King Felix? I bet he couldn’t even spar with the three I just mentioned without shaking at the knees. Orel “The Bulldog” Hershiser… 😉
Also, keep in mind that much of that offensive damage in 2009 was done with Torii Hunter and Vladdy on the DL for much of the year.
Aybar batted 9 most of last year, not 2Wood wont replace figgy as a leadoff cuz he wont be leading off, he has the power potential which i think he’ll fulfill with regular at bats.
Angels also had 8 players w/70+ runs, and 9 w/50+ RBIs
Oakland will win the division..Brett Anderson is the best pitcher in the AL….Chris Carter is gonna be up by June and will have a similar career path as Pujols (Instantly .300 hitter with 35 + homer pop)….Cocoa Crisp and Rajai Davis are the 2010 version of vince coleman and willie mcgee…Gio Gonzalez ended the season on a tear; every start seemed like he was going 5 ip with 10 k’s….Duchsherer, the 2-time all star is back…combine that with Michael Taylor and the arrival of Adrian Cardenas/Grant Desme and no team can in the west can hang with the A’s. Book it
Comedy at its finest!
Billy Breane’s (wet) dream!
They might be the best team in the AL next to the yankees when you really think about it. The angels haven’t gotten any better, the tigers are forgotten now, minnesota and seattle are two teams that are right in there but the mariners right now don’t have enough offense and the twins really need francisco liriano to come along to be serious. Chicago is the only other team that will be close to or just as good as texas. The Red Sox can be thrown in to if they get a-gon at the trade deadline. Texas has upgraded both there pitching and offense. They filled the DH role last year wth marlon byrd and andruw jones, now they have a future hall of famer who can still hit.300 and drive in 80-90 runs. Rich Harden if healthy is a big upgrade over millwood, he can be dominant at times. feldman won 15 games last year, derek holland I think is gonna develop into one of the best lefties in baseball and tommy hunter has been coming along well. It’s all set up for the Rangers to be very successful.
Except their pitching and defense is terrible, as usual. So, no, they arent even close to touching any of the AL East’s big 3.
Lol, are you freaking kidding me? Their defense is top third of the league. This was analyzed 100 times last year. Andrus is arguably the best defensive SS in the league, that made a huge difference. Now moving borbon into center.. their defense will be very good.
Texas problem is going to be a combo of young, 5IP starters and a broken down Rich Harden. Hitting is NOT going to be a problem.
Think 70’s Red Sox (weaker for Rangers though) offense and a staff that is missing a perenial 20 game winner like Boston always had in Luis Tiant and you have what Texas will this year, then this will be the AL West where 90 wins will be enough with 3 good teams beating each other up and the A’s getting stepped all over again.
Lol, what a comical post. The Rangers improvement last year (87 wins) was almost entirely attributed to their huge defensive improvement. Moving young to3b for Elvis Andrus was a huge defensive upgrade, hes arguably the best defensive ss in the league. And then Kinsler stopped making errors and put up one of the better defensive seasons at 2b.
Then for 2010, Julio Borbon upgrades CF significantly. The Rangers defense is one of the top 5 in the AL.
They still arn’t as good as the AL East elite, but wow, bringing up their defense..
Angels are still favorite. M’s and Rangers have holes in their batting order, don’t care if the M’s have Lee and Felix, can’t win games if you can’t score runs 1-9.
I still have the Mariners for the division. Rangers will be a wild card team with the Angels, Tigers, Twins and Red Sox.
Texas definitely has a chance to compete in this division. Mariners will be strong, but I think this team can still hold their own.
How can you think that when the rotation and bullpen are so godawful? Harden is a beast but wont give you more than 150 IP. The defense isnt pretty either. Texas are a .500 team in this div in 2010.
WTH are you talking about. The rangers defense is one of the best in the league And our bullpen is lights out and it got better with Oliver. Also our rotation has some of the best young arms in the league!!
Please name one hole in the rangers line-up. Especially If they stay healthy
Saltalamacchia, Davis, Murphy. There is no “if they stay healthy”. There are always injuries, and the Rangers don’t have talent on the bench to take up the slack. That’s why they lose at the end of the year. They don’t have the horses to run with the Angels.
Murphy is on the bench, and come on Salty is the catcher. Hole in the lineup is relative to position, in which case their weak hitters (salty, probably andrus and maybe borbon) are not that far off from their position averages. And andrus/borbon more than make up for it with defense.
Davis, as a 1b, may count as a hole in the lineup. But hes also a 23 year old that was one of the two or three most productive hitters in minor league baseball for his time in them and who hit pretty well after returning from AAA. He esentially just had a bad rookie year. It can count as a hole for now, but he could also hit 45 HRs, heh.
You sir are correct.
Borbon CF
Young. 3b
Hamilton LF
Cruz RF
Vlad DH
Kinsler 2b
Davis 1b
Salty/teagarden C
Andrus SS
The only holes I see is Davis and the catchers spot, but I think Davis is goin to have a break-out year soooo… That just leaves the catcher hole.
great low-risk signing. Rangers definitely are taking steps in the right direction. I guess this means atlanta or san francisco is going to sign Jermaine Dye then.
Uh Oh White Sox fans, not good. Well at least they can resign Jim Thome right?!?
We need a left handed bat anyways and with this deal it almost helps us in the fact that the Thome’s asking price has had to of gone down with:
Abreu – $9m
Matsui – $6.5m
Vlad – $5m
Thome can really only command $4m on the open market and if he gives us a hometown discount like has been reported then that would be perfect.
Being an Angels fan, this does hurt a bit. However, every season “experts” say we won’t go to the playoffs, yet somehow we make it. Its just a Halo thing.
“making the playoffs”
and then — since 2002 — cashing out.
rightly, wrongly, it gets boring.
ask Braves fans.
King Felix is not an ace. He’s never even been to the playoffs. Jack Morris was a ace. Dave Stewart was an ace. King Felix? I bet he couldn’t even spar with the three I just mentioned without shaking at the knees. Orel “The Bulldog” Hershiser… 😉
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Roy Halladay never pitched in the playoffs. Does that make him any less of an ace? Just because Felix’s team hasn’t been very good of late means little w/ regards to his legitimate standing as a bonafide ace.
The angels are still the team to beat. It’s easy to get excited when your team makes a headline, but let’s be honest no team is near as deep as the angels in the west. Texas, Seattle, and Oakland have holes all over their rosters.
How does texas have holes “all over their roster”.
Their offense is strong. Their defense is strong. Their bullpen is strong. Their bench is pretty decent with greene and murphy. They have the #1 farm system in baseball to draw on and strengthen as they go forward.
They do not have holes all over the team. However, they have a very significant hole – no true 200+ ip ace, and generally starters that won’t go deep into games. But at least their SP is improved from years past with good emerging prospects who had solid contributions last year, and an ace arm when healthy in Harden that just needs to give another ~140 ip like the last two years to really help. Not really a “hole” in the roster, but health in general is another big concern between Hamilton, Vlad and the prementioned Harden.
I don’t care about someone saying the angels are better, I generally agree that you have to knock the champ off first. But the characterization that they are full of holes is way off.
And considering its on a shoestring budget and in a position to get better over the next few years via the farm, its pretty impressive.
Yes I keep stating that the Rangers will be the Angels competition, not so much seattle.
Good post Damian09
lineup
cf barbon
2b kinsler
3b young
dh vlad
rf hamilton
lf cruz
1b davis
c saltalmacia
ss andrus
WOOW!!!!
Seattle is getting a bit too much love right now. They managed to win 10 more games than they should have last year, and I don’t think they’ve improved themselves by 15 to 20 games to take the division this year. They’re like the Giants of the AL West, great pitching, but can’t hit a lick. You can’t count on Bradley to be reliable, Kotchman isn’t going to duplicate Branyan’s performance, and as stated above, Figgins probably isn’t going to be as good as he was last year. I suppose they could get lucky again, but as constructed, they’re just a little better than .500. There’s a lot of parity in the division right now, but I’d put my money on LAA or TEX.
Rangers could very well average close to 5 runs per game…. unfortunately they’ll have a team ERA in the 5’s as well…
The Rangers had a team ERA of 4.38 last season. They added Oliver (2.71 ERA) to their bullpen and Harden (career ERA of 3.39) to their rotation. They will have a full season of Feliz (1.74 ERA last season, top 5 prospect in baseball), and a full season of Holland/Hunter.
Explain to me how they will have a 5.00+ ERA.
I’m a Rangers fan and I like this move. I do think Vlad has some life left in him as long as we don’t expect him to play any in the OF. One problem with the Rangers off season is that we are depending on alot of bounce back or injury returns. Hopefully Hamilton shows his 2008 form. Hopefully Harden can pitch 180 innings. We hope Vlad can give us 500 quality AB’s. If we hit on all the bets, we should win the West. But that is asking for alot. The A’s are still a year or two away. The Mariners are better but have number of questions about the back of their rotation and their offense. The Angels have lost some key guys but they have to be my favorite to win the West until somebody steps up and takes it from them.
“”Lackey – he is replaced by Kazmir. Over the past 2 years Lackey has averaged 170 innings and a high 3’s ERA. Kazmir can absolutely match that.”
Can Kazmir replace that? Yes. Will he? He is coming off a season where he pitched 150 innings and a 4.9 ERA so I think absolutely might be a bit of an over statement.”
If you look at John Lacky’s number, you will find his breakout year is in 2005. If you have chance to find the Angels’ news about pitching at that time, you will find the news about Lackey is similar to the news about Kazmir/ Santana. The angels had high hope on Lackey at that time and extend his contract to 2009 but not too many people thought it was a good contract extension because they don’t think Lackey can pitch as staff ACE in the rotation. However, you can see all the media say the angels lost their ACE this offseason. Kazmir/Santana both have good stuff and they really did this in past few years. If the Angels can give Lackey a chance, why the angels can’t give both of them another chance? I believe both of them will be more mature this year and bring the Angels to the offseason.
“”Vlad – upgraded through the signing of Matsui.”
I could go either way on this. Vlad has declined since 2007 but was pretty much the same from 2008-09 if you factor in the amount of games played. Same HR rate and hovering around a .300 BA
The last time Matsui played over 100 games and came close to .300 was 2005. Also not to mention last year was his worst year as far as Batting Average goes (.274). His power stayed the same with good HR numbers but that could be masked by the hitter friendly park.
Health wise Vlad has an edge especially since Matsui has only average 107 games per year from 2006-09.”
In fact, the Angels start to change the batting strategy since last year. Young players start to be patient at plate and this is because of Abreu’s coming. Compared to Vladdy, Matsui is a more patient player at plate even they have similar power number. I think this is the main reason the Angels choose Matsui over Vladdy. Also , Matsui played in AL East for past few years. If he played in AL West this year, his number maybe better than play in AL East. Besides, the cold weather in NY is not good for Matsui’s knee. In warm sunny southern california, he will be better and healthier.
“”Oliver – replaced by Rodney.”
You are talking about a guy who had a 4.4 ERA last season vs. a guy with nearly 3x many strike outs as walks with an ERA below 2.9 in the past two seasons. Oliver is by far better.”
The Angels has Jepsen and Bulgar. After their horrible performance in April and May, they picthed pretty well since July. Also, Shields will come back this year. I think the Angels bullpen will be good enough. I think Rodney will be the closer at the end with his good number at SVO.
The Angels really bled off players to division rivals this year. Certainly has to be considered t three team race in the AL West this year with Oakland bringing up the rear. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Seattle, Texas and LA finish in any order, even in last place if the A’s surprise. Texas and Seattle have both done quite a bit to improve though Texas has less margin of error and more downside with the players they brought it (Vlad, Harden).
Aybar batted 9 most of last year, not 2
Wood wont replace figgy as a leadoff cuz he wont be leading off, he has the power potential which i think he’ll fulfill with regular at bats.
Angels also had 8 players w/70+ runs, and 9 w/50+ RBIs
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Aybar batted in the #2 spot 161x and the #9 spot 201x but most of his #9 PA came prior to the all-star break.
I never said Woods would replace Figgins in the leadoff spot. Simply, they have no one to replace FIggins in that role. He led the team in OBP, SB, Runs Scored, Hits, and BB and played GG caliber defense. I’m simply stating that they will miss that production. Abreu drove in a lot of runs because Figgins was on base 40% of the time. Denying that his production won’t be missed is like me saying there’s ZERO chance the Yanks won’t miss Damon or Matsui. On paper they brought in some good players but you have to see what they do.
To add to a previous discussion, I don’t see Hideki Matsui as an upgrade for Vlad Guerrero whatsoever. At best, his production could almost equal that of Guerrero. Unfortunately, the Yankees-padded stats will not be present on the West Coast.
And as far as Figgins being “typically” a 3+ WAR type of player goes, it is my opinion that we cannot make that assertion and call it accurate. We’re talking about a guy who played at least three positions every season prior to 2008. Figgins finally found his niche at third base, and the Angels were smart to look at his UZR/150 there dating back to 2003. Figgins plays third base better and more consistently than any other position on the field. Thus, we can infer that full-time play there will boost his “typical” WAR to 5+ or even 6+.
That inference, of course, comes with the assumption that Figgins will remain productive at the plate. His 2009 numbers pretty much fall in line with his 162-game averages, looking a little bit like his 2005 season. The walk total looks a little high at first glance, but Figgins might finally be comfortable on both sides of the game now that he knows his role. His confidence at this point has to be through the roof, which bodes well for his 2010 season and beyond.
I love this move for Texas. Vlad hits like crazy in there ballpark. Should be a good AL West race between Texas and Seatlle, but don’t forget the Angels. They lost some big pieces but I still wouldnt count them out.
I hope Vlad Kills in Texas, his numbers in that stadium are amazing…so that could be big on why they got him… Angels are going to have fun facing all their ex players now… Vlad is a crowd draw for sure….Matsui not so much, I’m not going to go to a game hoping to see Matsui take some at bats….Vlad still has that going for him
Vlad was brought in to protect Hamilton, no way he hits in front of him. The lineup I would like to see…
CF- Borbon
3B- Young
LF- Hamilton
DH- Vladdy
2B- Kinsler
RF- Cruz
1B- Davis
C- Saltalamacchia/ Teagarden
SS- Andrus
Most likely though, from offseason comments from coaches the lineup will look like this…
CF- Borbon
2B- Kinsler
3B- Young
LF- Hamilton
DH- Vlad
RF-Cruz
1B- Davis
C- Salty/Tea
SS- Andrus
I wish we could see Kinsler hit down in the order at 5, he has the real ability to drive in 100 runs, and I think Young needs to stay in the 2 hole where he is most successful, but that last lineup is what Washington is talking about.
Their ERA was well below 5 last year, and while some of the young guys could take a step back, we added Harden and improved the bullpen. The pitching carried this team last year while the offense stuggled for the most part.
I don’t think the Mariners are getting enough Credit. I don’t see the Angels being good this season. I see the 1st and 2nd place in the West going to the M’s and Rangers. I see the Rangers winning it cause they have the better offense but The M’s have good pitching. There like the Giants. Don’t have much hitting. They need Bradley to step it up this season
Even if Vladdy sucks at least the rangers dont have to pitch to him
Ron Washington has already said that Kinsler will bat 5th. Borbon, Young, Hamilton, and Guerrero will be the top 4 in the lineup.
Ron Washington has already said that Borbon will leadoff, Young will follow, and Hamilton and Guerrero will be the 3 and 4 hitters. Then Kinsler, Cruz, Davis, Saltalamacchia / Teagarden, and Andrus
Ron Washington has already said that Borbon will leadoff, Young will follow, and Hamilton and Guerrero will be the 3 and 4 hitters. Then Kinsler, Cruz, Davis, Saltalamacchia / Teagarden, and Andrus