Angels Dust

Finally a game I was able to watch live (Where are my condensed games??? Where?).

It was a nice one, three long balls, Santana was pretty good, Speier served one up (Am I concerned? A bit.), Frankie making things interesting as usual, but a W in the end. More like this please.

Also, please check out the new At Homeplate Blog, run mostly (but not only) by me at the moment.

Anyway, 3-1, that’s a good start and with the Rangers coming to town, an opportunity to keep this going and gain a few games on the M’s early or at least keep up with them should they beat up the O’s.

The other Miguel is gone, too. Is there anyone else of note available? We can’t possibly go into the season with five outfielders, but who the hell is there that would help us? Or can Juan Rivera play third base?

Now that M-Cab is gone, what are the Angels going to do? With the overcrowded outfield and the surplus pitching, it is a given GM Tony Reagins is not done yet. Does that mean we’re going to play a role in the Santana bidding or is Miguel Tejada already on the way over? As sad as that sounds, he is probably the best bat available now. On the plus side: it looks like we can enjoy Howie hitting for a while now.

Like everyone else, I was a very surprised to find out the Angels signed Torii Hunter to a 5-year, $90M contract. With Vlad, GA, $50M dollar mistake man GMJ*, On-Base-Wonder Reggie Willits and Juan Rivera, the outfield seemed to be overcroweded already. So what was Tony Reagins thinking? Lets check pros and cons:

Cons:

• Torii Hunter is on the wrong side of 30 and declining.
• $18M per year is way too much and five years too long (I’m just having a deja vu).
• The signing pushes cheaper options (Willits, Rivera) too the bench.
• Hunter’s defense is not as good as it used to be.
• Hunter’s is a free swinger who does not walk much

Pros:

• Hunter has more power in his bat than anybody on the team besides Vlad (and maybe GA on good days).
• He did not cost us anything but money.
• He makes Rivera, Willits and maybe Morales available for trades.
• He pushes Vlad and GA into part time DH duties.
• He might push GMJ* into the 3.5th outfielder spot

Overall, I think it is safe to say that Hunter does make the team better in the short run, although not as much as A-Rod would have, obviously, and as I wrote in my post-mortem, the Angels window of opportunity is open right now and if the moves increase the chances of winning a championship within the next two years, I’m all for it. Cheap players are nice and all, but if you can get better by spending some money, why not? As much as I like to see the Angels contend year in and year out, I’m willing to give up the 2010-2012 seasons (which is hardly a given, who know what are 30 millions worth in baseball in three years?) for real shots in 2008 and 2009. Hunter is not the big impact player we have all been waiting for, but he is an upgrade and we have to face the fact that there are simply no big bats out there in free agency since A-Rod took himself off the market and the Halos also do not have any outfield options from within emerging, so Hunter was the best option available for money.

Right now, the signing of Hunter makes the team slightly better now and therefore alone, this move deserves some praise. What would really makes this move ingenious is if Juan Rivera or Reggie Willits will be part of the trade that sends Miguel Cabrera to Anaheim.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to comment on the recent Cabrera-Garland trade as long as I would like to (maybe on the weekend, but only maybe), but overall, I think the Angels made a solid deal here, although personally, I’m sad to see O.C. leave.

Anyway, the day before yesterday, I actually dreamt that the Angels traded for Tejada. I have never dreamt about baseball before and I certainly don’t think it means anything, but I wish my subconciousness could come up with a little more inspriring than Tejada and his .799 OPS.

I haven’t been posting much lately, but the play-offs fell right into my exam phase and after the disappointing ALDS, there was not that much to write about.

Anyway, I wrote the Angels post-mortem for At Home Plate:

2007 Season Postmortem: The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim

The Red Sox have decided to take the extra off-day, which means that the #1 and #2 starters can go on full rest twice in the ALDS. On the first glance, this seems to be a disadvantage for Boston because it allows the Halos to go with Lackey and Escobar twice and skip the #4 starter Saunders (or Santana) altogether. The Red Sox’ ace is Beckett, but who else will they start twice? Dice-K or Schilling? My guess is that Boston is already looking ahead to the ALCS with their decision and they want to give their probable opponents less rest.

Anyway, this decision works in the Angels favor both in the ALDS and in a potential ALCS, so lets take this as a good omen for the postseason. Go Angels!

here we come. At least this way, we most likely clinch at home.

And now back to work.

The Angels waited long enough to clinch the division when I could watch the game live. Thanks!!! I only wish MLB.TV would not end the transmission so quickly.

Now that the division is finally in the pocket as we say here, the only thing left to do is clinch the best record and home field advantage throughout the play-offs. However, I do wonder how much this is actually worth when compared to giving some regulars additional rest.

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Looking at this table, it could to be a huge factor. The Angels win two thirds of their games at home, but are barely above .500 away from Angels stadium. Nearly the same can be said for the Yankees, so whoever plays at home has to be considered the favorite when these two teams meet. The Indians also play a lot better at Jacobs Field, while the Red Sox are a little more balanced, which is a bit odd since Fenway Park is one of the most distinctive ballparks, so you would think the home team can take advantage of by adjusting their play.

Anyway, home field advantage is for real, but so are tired arms and legs. Actually, I have no idea what I would do. Go with a six man rotation and mix in a bench player or two, but not field a reserve & call-up only lineup. At least, the Angels should look out to keep a better record than the Yankees.

With the division title all but secured given a nine game lead and Seattle’s recent break-down, it is not too early early to look a bit further to October. The Red Sox and the Angels are virtual locks to make the postseason. Right now, the Indians are five ahead of the Tigers, who trail the Yankees by three in the Wild Card Race. Even if the Mariners somehow come back to take the Wild Card, our first round opponent will be one of the four teams above.
Right now, we would play the Yankees in the first round and looking at the contenders’ schedules, this is also the most likely scenario, because the Yankees’ (Royals 2, Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3, Orioles 6, Devil Rays 3) and Indians’ (Angels 2, White Sox 3, Royals 6, Tigers 3, Athletics 3, Mariners 4) schedules don’t look much harder than the Tigers’ (Mariners 2, Blue Jays 1, Rangers 3, Twins 6, Indians 3, Royals 3, White Sox 3), if at all. Right now, the most likely scenario that would not lead to an Angels-Yankees clash is the Indians overtaking the Angels so that we have to play Boston (I’d rather not, so lets put them away this weekend).
Looking at the Yankees deep lineup, they are certainly not the team you want to pitch against in the play-offs (but there are hardly any teams left that you really want to face) and even though the Angels have fared pretty well against them in recent years, only Lackey was really good vs. the Yankees this year. And although I know it’s just a small sample, but I’d rather not see Bart or Ervin on the mound against them, that’s for sure.
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On the other hand, the hitting has been pretty good against the Yankees, only Vlad did not hit that well against them. However, a 1-2 punch of Pettite and Wang looks pretty good from a distance, so it will probably get a bit more difficult in October.
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Bring ‘em on!