Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Angels.
Major League Signings
- Bobby Abreu, RF: two years, $19MM. Includes $9MM option for 2012 with a $1MM buyout; can vest based on plate appearances.
- Joel Pineiro, SP: two years, $16MM.
- Fernando Rodney, RP: two years, $11MM.
- Hideki Matsui, DH: one year, $6MM.
- Total spend: $52MM.
Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Maicer Izturis, IF: three years, $10MM.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Brian Stokes for OF Gary Matthews Jr. and $21.5MM.
Notable Losses
- John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero, Darren Oliver, Gary Matthews Jr., Shane Loux, Dustin Moseley, Kelvim Escobar
Summary
My first reaction after reviewing the Angels' offseason is that this wasn't a great way to spend $52MM. GM Tony Reagins appears to have overpaid several of his free agent signings.
Like many November deals in recent years, the Abreu contract looked OK at the time and worse as the offseason developed. There's a very good chance his 2012 option vests and this becomes a three-year, $27MM deal for a questionable defender who turns 36 in March. CHONE projects a .273/.368/.415 line, not unlike what Johnny Damon should do for one year and $8MM. Matsui's deal looks a little high, but not excessive.
Rodney was brought in to assume an eighth inning role, and was paid on the strength of his 37 saves rather than his skills. At least he can help prevent Brian Fuentes' $9MM option for 2011 from vesting, as that requires 55 games finished.
I liked the Pineiro move; Reagins did not panic when Lackey left. Pineiro is unlikely to match Lackey, but it's still a positive signing. Reagins also gets a thumbs-up for locking up Maicer Izturis for three years and getting something mildly useful back for Matthews.
Even without Lackey, the Angels have a good shot at improving upon last year's 4.44 rotation ERA. Ervin Santana and Scott Kazmir are somewhat unpredictable, but have ace potential. The Angels had the second-best offense in the AL last year, and CHONE predicts a dropoff to more of a middle of the pack performance. At this point there is no clear AL West favorite, but the Halos remain a respectable contender despite a few questionable free agent contracts.
Obscurity
Hey Tim,
Robb Quinlan resigned with the Angels on a minor league deal!
ivdown
Championship 😛
They had to do it to match their WS contender Dodger’s move of signing Brian Giles 😀
chriscrawford
Well written, Tim. I couldn’t agree more — minus Joel Piniero. While I dont think Joel Piniero is necessarily a bad pitcher, I do question the years and salary. I just don’t believe that Piniero can put up those kind of walk rates three years in a row. But that’s why they play the games, too.
christophervcrawford
Very well written as usual, Tim. The only thing I might question is if Pineiro can put up those kind of ground ball and walk rates for the next three years. But I guess that’s why they play the games.
anotherhalovictory
I think the Angels are in good shape for this year. They have an exciting young infield. If Brandon Wood can produce at 3rd and bat .270 20+HR and 70 RBI they’ll be in good shape. They’re pitching 1 thru 5 is one of the best in baseball. They should have a better bullpen this year with a healthy Scot Shields and the emergence of Jepsen and Bulger. There is a lot of upside for their younger players. And having Abreu around for a couple more years is great for their younger hitters as he can teach them patience at the plate unlike previous Angel teams.
BaseballFan0707
The Angels rotation has the potential to be one of the best in baseball.
But currently, it isn’t.
The following must occur:
Ervin and Kazmir must both remain healthy and pitch consistently and to their natural ability.
Piniero must prove last year wasn’t a fluke.
If those two things occur, THEN they are one of the best in baseball. Right now, I’d say they were more above average than one of the best.
Nookster
I think that the name of the team is too long.
John W
Then shorten it.
jaydh
how can anyone like the pineiro? duncan didnt come with him.
heliosphan
He is a ground ball machine, that’s why.
heliosphan
He is a ground ball machine, that’s why.
drumzalicious
my guess is that Abreu is DH next year
halored101
How do you go from the second best defensive team to a projected middle of the pack with the identical team minus figgins, he’s good but come on. What east coast stay guy projects this stuff.
halored101
Oops read that wrong, oh well, I still don’t buy the stats as they get close about 1 in 10, play out the season.
MLBrainmaker
1) Benedict Arnold apparently does not like John Lackey. What a vengeful use of $5. I have to say the Angels are just as much to blame on that one; there’s no reason they couldn’t pay Lackey and he certainly earned for them. The top half of that organization is poorly run.
2) Lackey wasn’t a Halladay level ace, but he’s an ace. He went deep into games and could really save the bullpen, which matters in racking up wins over a long season. Piniero is not going to come close to that. At best he’s a #4 in the AL; he doesn’t miss bats, never had stellar control before ’09, and until moving to the NL had been taking a step back every season. I think he’s going to look very much like Jon Garland did with the Angel and they’re going to wish they saved their money….
Plus the list of guys they could bring back for that role; Jarrod Washburn, how is he not back with the team? Paul Byrd maybe?
WasianCU
Wish they saved their money like they did with Jon Garland? People forget the value of an innings eater. The Garland trade did two things, 1) Allowed Aybar to have a starting role because he is the future and 2) provided insurance with an innings eater which the Angels desperately needed that season with the injuries they had.
I actually like the Piniero signing. While I do not expect him to put up numbers like he did in St. Louis, he doesn’t walk batters and should eat some solid innings up. People seem to think he is here to replace Lackey but Lackey is already gone, he is replacing all those innings/starts they received last season by the likes of: Loux, O’Sullivan, Bell, Moseley, Palmer, etc. – The signing allows those guys to continue developing in the minors or move to the bullpen where they help the team much more.
MLBrainmaker
My point is there are innings eaters and guys you guarantee $16 million. Garland made $12 million for that one season. I’ll give you that he won 14 games, but if you look deeper, his ERA after the ASB was 6.00. I’d rather give MLB innings to 5 young guys than pay a guy $12 million to get me an ERA of 6, specially when you consider he was making $5 million more than Lackey.
That relates to Piniero in that you could get a guy to eat innings for much less than $16 million, and like Garland I don’t expect him to have a season worth of success in the AL. And like I mentioned above, the low walk rate is new to Piniero, not a proven trend at all, his 1.1 BB/9 is less than half his career average of 2.6.
Obscurity
Well, to be totally fair that’s just cherry picking stats. When he was playing with Seattle his walk rate was an average of 2.8, not fairly bad for someone who also was giving you 160-210 Innings per year. If you want to look at his last three years, his walk rate has declined each year. It’s not unreasonable for him to have a walk rate below 2 this year. His WHIP is not spectacular, but in perspective he is a 5th starter. So having a whip of lets say 1.3-4 isn’t going to be a devastating.
I also believe there is something to say to his GO/FO ratio and his H/9 rating. Specifically towards his H/9 it’s maintained at right around 10 for his career, I’m confident the Angels Front Office was aware of what they were biting into. I do believe that his GO/FO ratio will benefit the Angels due to their infield defense ability to defend.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad signing, and for the price can’t ask much more from someone who on most teams would be a #2 starter, not a #5.
John W
“there’s no reason they couldn’t pay Lackey and he certainly earned for them. The top half of that organization is poorly run.”
The Red Sox grossly overpaid for Lackey, and the “injury clause” in his contract is a joke. All it will do is force Lackey to either complain about every little “twinge” he has or hide any minor injury until it becomes a catastrophic one in order to “protect” the final year of the contract. In the meantime, the Red Sox will not get the performance they are grossly overpaying for. That is a poorly run “top half of that organization”.
MLBrainmaker
Well here is the FanGraphs player page for Lackey.
fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1507&posit…
If you go down the bottom, they include a value analysis using Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a gauge. You can read the articles under the glossary button to learn more about the conversion from performance to WAR and WAR to Dollars, but the short version is that Lackey had been worth $18M/yr over the last 5 years in Free Agent dollars, so his $15M/yr doesn’t seem anywhere near “gross” for his relative value. If you’ve got some stats the other way, then lets see them.
My comment about the Angels “top half” is aimed at Moreno and Reagins, because I have a lot of respect for Scocia. The organization as whole has done a poor job of judging, acquiring and developing talent. They spend big money on Gary Matthews and Torii Hunter (speaking of overpaid, as much as I love him, he’s not worth $18M), but don’t spend on Tex or Lackey. Then they trade a 30-30 AAA 2B for pennies to TB and have given Brandon wood 200 ABs over three seasons stunting his development. To defend Reagins a little, the Angels budget has been locked or dropping for the last three years (obviously sources differ), and as a percentage of revenue (as ticket prices have increased) has been going down. Throw in the $11M still being paid to Matthews and $5M to Justin Speier and the team just isn’t willing to spend the money to compete with the other major market teams. That sucks from a fans perspective, when you consider their $50m/yr TV contract with Fox and their strong gate putting gameday revenues at $230 million.
Sinatrasratack
“The organization as whole has done a poor job of judging, acquiring and developing talent. ”
this is obviously from someone who is not a frequent watcher of the team. Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Howie Kendrick, Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar, Brandon wood, and others (im missing a few) are all homegrown as well as some great minor leaguers that are going to be ready by next season. that is most of the 25 man roster!!
Almost their entire team is homegrown and they are good. Also Torii Hunter was in the MVP race till he missed a month of the season, and even taking out that month he still had good stats and was a team leader.
On the impact of Lackey, funny how the east coasters never favored us WITH Lackey as our ace… but now that he is with Bostons it is a huge loss for us? Yes he was a money pitcher and in the playoffs the Angels will miss him, but during the regular season he wasnt the Angels best pitcher since 2007. He constantly misses time and is a n injury waiting to happen. The Angels fans arent made about the Lackey money he got, I beleive the Angels made him a great offer, it was the years… He will be broken down in years 4 and 5.
So saying that Reagins and Moreno aren’t doing a good job is kind of ignorant since they have owned that division for the past decade, and if you say that you ‘admire him’ so much you should probably spell his name correctly SCIOSCIA
Sinatrasratack
also — Letting Tex go is bad???? he was with the team for a couple of months. He was a rent a player and said he wanted to go to the east coast. the Angels (who apparently arent a good judge of talent according to you) let him walk and replaced him with a guy making 1/ 30th of his salary and he put up similar numbers and is younger.
And also as a season ticket holder I must say you couldn’t be further from the truth about prices. Our tickets are basically the same price as years before. and the Parking is only 8$ cheapest in the majors, Arte moreno has lowered beer and food prices all while putting a dominating team on the field.
Isnt willing to spend the money, they have one of the highest payrolls in the MLB
I once again reiterate–Lackey might have been considered the Ace but hadnt led the team in any stats in years. Funny how once he is gone he is nationally recognized as an ace, would have loved that attention when he was with the team
I think you listen to a little too much ESPN and their East Coast bias.
MLBrainmaker
I’ve heard enough of Rex Hudler’s grating commentary to assure I follow the team…and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the team, specially since I feel much safer at Angels game than a Dodgers game (aside from the shooting last season…). However, I think you’re viewing them with “fan eyes” not critical analysis.
With your list of players you make my point, the majority of that crew have significant ML service time despite just making significant contributions last year, and a guy like Wood is out of options from going up and down for 3 years, while only collecting 200 ABs in 3 season. What is smart about that? You don’t develop talent by giving a guy 40 MLB ABs then sending him back down.
Then they take a guy in Sean Rodriguez that went 30-30 in 400 AB in AAA and trade him for Scott Kazmir, who clearly hasn’t been the same guy since his shoulder issues that shortened his ’08 season. And Rodriguez is leading ST in HR and may win a starting spot with TB, and its not like he was the centerpiece of that trade, he was the PTBNL in that deal, also not a smart move.
He wasn’t the ace every year, but over the last 3 years, Lackey was the Angels best pitcher in EVERY category (avg. Ks, ERA, W, BBI). And don’t give me that Lackey will be “old”, because when his contract ends he’ll be younger than Torii Hunter when Hunter’s contract ends, and Hunter is signed for $18M to Lackey’s $15M!! and as far as bad contracts go the Angels are still paying $15M to Gary Matthews and Justin Speier….
Also, your anecdotal evidence on ticket prices does not replace the stats, the Angels have raised ticket prices, whether your seats or not, every season since 2002. 6.4% in 2008, 5.2% in 2009, and 2.9% for 2010, all greater than the rate of inflation for the respective year, while payroll has stayed the same over that same time period.
MLBrainmaker
I’ve heard enough of Rex Hudler’s grating commentary to assure I follow the team…and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the team, specially since I feel much safer at Angels game than a Dodgers game (aside from the shooting last season…). However, I think you’re viewing them with “fan eyes” not critical analysis.
With your list of players you make my point, the majority of that crew have significant ML service time despite just making significant contributions last year, and a guy like Wood is out of options from going up and down for 3 years, while only collecting 200 ABs in 3 season. What is smart about that? You don’t develop talent by giving a guy 40 MLB ABs then sending him back down.
Then they take a guy in Sean Rodriguez that went 30-30 in 400 AB in AAA and trade him for Scott Kazmir, who clearly hasn’t been the same guy since his shoulder issues that shortened his ’08 season. And Rodriguez is leading ST in HR and may win a starting spot with TB, and its not like he was the centerpiece of that trade, he was the PTBNL in that deal, also not a smart move.
He wasn’t the ace every year, but over the last 3 years, Lackey was the Angels best pitcher in EVERY category (avg. Ks, ERA, W, BBI). And don’t give me that Lackey will be “old”, because when his contract ends he’ll be younger than Torii Hunter when Hunter’s contract ends, and Hunter is signed for $18M to Lackey’s $15M!! and as far as bad contracts go the Angels are still paying $15M to Gary Matthews and Justin Speier….
Also, your anecdotal evidence on ticket prices does not replace the stats, the Angels have raised ticket prices, whether your seats or not, every season since 2002. 6.4% in 2008, 5.2% in 2009, and 2.9% for 2010, all greater than the rate of inflation for the respective year, while payroll has stayed the same over that same time period.
Guest 2064
I really think the Angels will win the AL West again.
bjsguess
It feels like last year all over again.
The naysayers went on and on about the impact the Angels would see by losing Teixeira and K-Rod. Looking back, the Angels couldn’t have played last year any better. I’ll take Morales and his salary over Teixeira and his any day. While I’m less than thrilled about Fuentes, K-Rod continued his regression. 3.71 ERA in the NL … ouch. Fuentes was just as good for about $10m less over 3 years (assuming his option vests).
Now we move in the ’10 season. Gone is Lackey – added are Kazmir and Pineiro. Lackey (prior to 2008) was a stud. The last 2 years … he became a middle of the rotation type pitcher. His once stellar health track record has now been called into serious question. Giving him $80m+ would have been silly for the Angels. The Angels don’t need either Kazmir or Pineiro to be studs. If Kazmir puts up 175 innings with an ERA in the 3.5 to 3.75 range then Lackey is effectively replaced. Pineiro is replacing the crummy starts we got from Ortega, O’Sullivan, Palmer, etc. Again, we just need 175 – 200 innings with an ERA below 4.5 to see a big upgrade.
Figgins is gone but having Wood (former Minor League Player of the Year) and Izturis (solid glove – OPS close to 800) as alternatives is hardly a bad situation. If Wood can go 250 with 20 HR’s his offensive contribution can rival what Figgins typically gave the Angels. In 09 Figgins went crazy. But in 07/08 he AVERAGED 116 games, 303/380/374 slash. He averaged 25 XBH’s and slightly below 75% CS success rate. When you look at wRAA (runs above average) he posted a mammoth 17.8 score last year. He had a similar big year in 2007 with 17.1. The other 6 years COMBINED account for a total of -2.7. So in his 8 years of playing 2 years were outstanding, the other 6 years he posted below average production. Between Figgins’ propensity for injury, his inability to get an extra base hit, and his diminished speed, his presence in the batting order won’t be missed as much as people think. This is especially true when you have a guy like Wood stepping in. Say what you want about him, the kid has been an absolute beast in the minors. 250 with 20+ HR’s seems like the floor of his likely production.
When you factor in how much time was missed by Lackey/Santana/Saunders/Shields/Escobar/Adenhart from the pitching staff it was huge. Went through a long stint without Vlad, Kendrick, Hunter, and Rivera. Honestly, this team suffered through some devestating injuries and still won the 2nd most games in baseball. To expect another 90+ win season is hardly wishful thinking.
One final thing … what people also forget is that the team didn’t make any long-term commitments. They grabbed a bunch of picks (5 of the top 50), and still have their core as being under arbitration. While the team is positioned to win today, it didn’t come at the cost of winning tomorrow.
alxn
The Angels needed breakout seasons from Figgins, Aybar, Morales, Rivera and more. Figgins is gone and the other 3 probably more likely to regress than to improve on last year. I also think it is a little ridiculous to call 20 HRs the floor for a rookie who has never done anything in the majors. How many top prospects have raked in the minors and always failed to deliver in the bigs over the years? I’m not saying it will happen but you need to temper your expectations when dealing with a rookie, especially one who has yet to produce. Hitting 20 HRs would be a very successful year for Wood IMO.
You can say what you want about the chances of Figgins’ last season being legit but the fact is that he did have that season and it greatly benefitted the Angels, and it will not be there this year. There is no way that Izturis/Wood come anywhere close to Figgins’ monster season last year.
That being said, Kazmir and Santana are both potential aces and greatly underachieved last season. They could very realistically have bounce back years.
If I had to bet my money would be on the Rangers for the AL West, but I think the Angels will be right there as always and the Mariners could make a run as well.
post2010exangelsfan
Reagins sucks, and the Angels are going to suck because of him.
Rootdown
They have half the yankee lineup from a few years ago.
WasianCU
2 OF’s and a DH? Hardly Half.
Rootdown
Half the production, at least.
Rootdown
Half the production, at least.
Ricky Bones
Rodney is a roller coaster ride each time on the hill so we’ll see how that goes. Piniero away from Duncan & gaining a big contract is likely to regress & Kazmir & Santana lack consistency. Other than that, the staff looks pretty good.
lonewolf34
It would be nice if you could get these all in BEFORE spring training
Daniel Z
Funny how so many people say Piniero will not pitch well since he doesn’t have Duncan — do they know the Angels have Mike Butcher?
monkeyspanked
Funny how neither Piniero or Figgins has a track record of their ’09 success, but the Angels will be hurt by missing Figgins in the line-up and hurt by Piniero in the Rotation because there’s no chance of him being as good this year. Sounds like a bunch of crud to me. I think the Angels will be fine once again.
sallen22
As usual, none of the non-Angel fans and East Coast swine understand anything about the Angels and get their facts wrong.
1. Pineiro isn’t replacing John Lackey. Scott Kazmir replaced John Lackey. Pineiro’s replacing Matt Palmer and Shane Loux. The Angels rotation will be better in 2010. Santana and Kazmir are healthy again, and both are aces. Weaver’s still a great #2 or 3 pitcher and Pineiro will enjoy the Angels defense and run support and Joe Saunders when healthy had an ERA closer to 3 than 4.
2. Rodney was not brought in for the 8th inning. The Angels really don’t have those roles defined. Remember how dominant Bulger and Jepson were after May of last year? Well now you can add Scot Shields and Fernando Rodney into that equation. The Angels have one of the best bullpens in the game. I wouldn’t expect to see Fuentes facing A-Rod anytime soon. Fuentes will be partially 9th inning but only when there are lefties batting. If it’s righties, you’ll see Jepson or Rodney.
3. How is replacing Guerrero with Matsui bad? It seems like a wash to me. Matsui’s more of a left handed presence, which is what the lineup needed.
4. Chone Figgins was viewed by the East Coast media as over rated for the past few years. Why is it that all of a sudden, he signs elsewhere and it’s seen as a HUGE loss. Stupid anti-Angel idiots. Check out Brandon Wood’s minor league numbers and tell me he doesn’t have the talent to be a good 3B. The man even plays an above average SS for gosh sakes.
5. This one is entertaining. How are Aybar and Morales going to regress when they are in the physical prime of their lives? Both these guys put up these numbers in their very first year as starters. They are only going to get better, much better. Much to the dismay of East coast swine.
6. Howie Kendrick his .360 after being brought up from the minors in May. What makes anyone think he won’t hit .320 over a full year?
7. The Mariners were outscored by 54 runs last season, their record was a result of LUCK. And guess what, they lost their biggest gun in Russell Branyon. Chone Figgins is a small ball player, he’s going to a team that already plays small ball, he’s not going to drastically improve that offense. They lost one of the liveliest arms in the game in Morrow and landed Cliff Lee for one year. How is this a team that’s going to challenge the Angels? How are they going to be anything more than a .500 ball club? How are they going to erase a 54 run deficit?
Have you all forgotten that this was the 2nd best team in baseball last year. They were the only team that could even challenge the Yankees, and if it weren’t for some terrible calls, they could have taken that series to 7 games, not won but given New York all it could handle. Meanwhile the beloved Red Sox were swept by these Angels and the Phillies got steamrolled by the Yankees. The Angels get younger and better and all the East Coast swine can come up with is….”The Mariners and Rangers will challenge”.
Tools.
heliosphan
Lots of good points, but have fun with Fernando “I only blew it once” Rodney. Even though he has the stuff and ability to be dominant in stretches, sometimes, he’ll turn a non-save situation into a game with his control problems.
I’m really excited to see a whole season of Kendrick, and if Wood doesn’t pan out, maybe Ervin Santana could be exchanged for a third baseman.
Or call Joe Crede, he’ll at least make all the plays there (before he gets hurt).
sallen22
Rodney doesn’t need to be successful, if he is great, if he isn’t, I’m sure Bulger, Jepson, Shields, Stokes or any number of our outstanding reliever in AAA and AA will fill his shoes.
Even if Wood didn’t cut it offensively, he’s still among the top defensive 3B in baseball and it’s only his first year starting. When you take a shortstop of hs range, glove, arm and smarts and slide him over to 3B where he doesn’t have to cover as much ground or have as good of an arm, you’re golden. Not to mention Maicer Izturis could step in and handle the position too.
This is the deepest team in baseball.
sallen22
Rodney doesn’t need to be successful, if he is great, if he isn’t, I’m sure Bulger, Jepson, Shields, Stokes or any number of our outstanding reliever in AAA and AA will fill his shoes.
Even if Wood didn’t cut it offensively, he’s still among the top defensive 3B in baseball and it’s only his first year starting. When you take a shortstop of hs range, glove, arm and smarts and slide him over to 3B where he doesn’t have to cover as much ground or have as good of an arm, you’re golden. Not to mention Maicer Izturis could step in and handle the position too.
This is the deepest team in baseball.
heliosphan
Lots of good points, but have fun with Fernando “I only blew it once” Rodney. Even though he has the stuff and ability to be dominant in stretches, sometimes, he’ll turn a non-save situation into a game with his control problems.
I’m really excited to see a whole season of Kendrick, and if Wood doesn’t pan out, maybe Ervin Santana could be exchanged for a third baseman.
Or call Joe Crede, he’ll at least make all the plays there (before he gets hurt).
sallen22
As usual, none of the non-Angel fans and East Coast swine understand anything about the Angels and get their facts wrong.
1. Pineiro isn’t replacing John Lackey. Scott Kazmir replaced John Lackey. Pineiro’s replacing Matt Palmer and Shane Loux. The Angels rotation will be better in 2010. Santana and Kazmir are healthy again, and both are aces. Weaver’s still a great #2 or 3 pitcher and Pineiro will enjoy the Angels defense and run support and Joe Saunders when healthy had an ERA closer to 3 than 4.
2. Rodney was not brought in for the 8th inning. The Angels really don’t have those roles defined. Remember how dominant Bulger and Jepson were after May of last year? Well now you can add Scot Shields and Fernando Rodney into that equation. The Angels have one of the best bullpens in the game. I wouldn’t expect to see Fuentes facing A-Rod anytime soon. Fuentes will be partially 9th inning but only when there are lefties batting. If it’s righties, you’ll see Jepson or Rodney.
3. How is replacing Guerrero with Matsui bad? It seems like a wash to me. Matsui’s more of a left handed presence, which is what the lineup needed.
4. Chone Figgins was viewed by the East Coast media as over rated for the past few years. Why is it that all of a sudden, he signs elsewhere and it’s seen as a HUGE loss. Stupid anti-Angel idiots. Check out Brandon Wood’s minor league numbers and tell me he doesn’t have the talent to be a good 3B. The man even plays an above average SS for gosh sakes.
5. This one is entertaining. How are Aybar and Morales going to regress when they are in the physical prime of their lives? Both these guys put up these numbers in their very first year as starters. They are only going to get better, much better. Much to the dismay of East coast swine.
6. Howie Kendrick his .360 after being brought up from the minors in May. What makes anyone think he won’t hit .320 over a full year?
7. The Mariners were outscored by 54 runs last season, their record was a result of LUCK. And guess what, they lost their biggest gun in Russell Branyon. Chone Figgins is a small ball player, he’s going to a team that already plays small ball, he’s not going to drastically improve that offense. They lost one of the liveliest arms in the game in Morrow and landed Cliff Lee for one year. How is this a team that’s going to challenge the Angels? How are they going to be anything more than a .500 ball club? How are they going to erase a 54 run deficit?
Have you all forgotten that this was the 2nd best team in baseball last year. They were the only team that could even challenge the Yankees, and if it weren’t for some terrible calls, they could have taken that series to 7 games, not won but given New York all it could handle. Meanwhile the beloved Red Sox were swept by these Angels and the Phillies got steamrolled by the Yankees. The Angels get younger and better and all the East Coast swine can come up with is….”The Mariners and Rangers will challenge”.
Tools.