Dear Boston: Karma's a Bitch.

League Leaders in Douchey Fans, overhyped potential and players stolen from the Angels. Oh, also losses. The Boston Red Sox lost again today to push their miserable (glorious, in my eyes) start to 0-6. I don't like to say "They deserve it" but, seriously... they deserve it.

For years, they'd get all high and mighty when talking about the Yankees "Buying a Championship"... so what have they done the last decade? Buy Championships.

Granted, I'm a bit biased, but nothing makes me happier than to see the legion of douchebags in Boston Caps put their heads down in shame after getting swept by the Cleveland Indians. I fully believe this stems entirely from the two shady moves the Sox made this offseason. Between shipping off a bunch of worthless prospects for Adrian Gonzalez and stealing Carl Crawford from underneath the Angels by throwing 20 million more dollars at him at the 11th hour... this is Karma. They deserve it.


The Sox will be fine. They will still win 85-90 games, but this absolutely puts their World Series chances in jeopardy, as well as winning the East, which is currently being dominated by the Orioles, who have started 5-1. If the Red Sox go 0-162, the Angels could go 3-159, and I'd still be the happiest baseball fan on the planet.

A Realistic Wishlist for the 2011 Season

The excitement for baseball to return is building up inside of me. I'll probably get back to writing a ton more, and today's post will just be a wish list of realistic expectations for the 2011 MLB Season.

• To Buy a new Hat. I'm kind of sick of the California Angels cap I bought before last season, and according to my wife, I always just buy a new hat at the Stadium the first time we go to a game in April. (Odds: Even)

• For Brandon Wood to never, ever start a game for the Angels. I think if Alberto Callaspo and Macier Izturis can stay healthy, this shouldn't be a problem. I mean, if he has to start some afternoon game I won't be able to watch anyway... that's ok. (Odds: 3-to-1)

• For Scott Kazmir to have an ERA under 5.00. Listen, buddy. Before 2009, you had never even posted an ERA above a 4.00. Then, you decided to stink it up for the Rays, and got traded here, where in 6 games, your ERA was a respectable 1.73. Then, last year happened. Your ERA was almost at 6.00, and for times, you were the league leader in runs allowed. Not Cool. I'm not asking for too much, not even a return to form, just have an average ERA for a 5th Starter. (Odds: 4-to-1)

• For Reggie Willits to make the Big League Roster. After a solid rookie campaign in 2007, Willits skid through 08 and 09, but Willits had a return-to-form in 2010, albeit in limited action. I'd like to see Reggie as a fourth outfielder, with the departure of Juan Rivera and Bobby Abreu's move to DH. Also, you don't lose any of the speed with Hunter, Bourjos or Wells out of the lineup. (Odds: 2-to-1)

• For Vernon Wells to hit .280, 28 HR, 90 RBI, .330 OBP. Pretty much his career averages in hitting and OBP, and respectable power numbers. If we can rely on a healthy Morales to hit 30 and 100, that's a pretty good 1-2 punch in the middle of the lineup. (Odds: 4-to-1)

• A Wild-Card Spot. Yeah, thats right, the Rangers can have the West. When the Angels win the West, they are 2-8 in playoffs series. When they win the Wild Card? 3-0. However, the East should have 4 good teams, the Central should have 3 again, and the A's are always competitive. So that leaves 7 teams to compete for a Wild Card (including the Angels), that will be a sticky situation. (Odds: 10-to-1)

• A team that doesn't play in Boston or Philadelphia wins the World Series. I mean, we have already gone over how Carl Crawford is going to sabotage Boston, but Philadelphia has a Pitching Rotation for the ages. Once they get into October, they should be pretty unstoppable. (Odds: 20-to-1)

Thats pretty much it. I'm just so jazzed for baseball, that none of those things could happen (I don't get a new hat, Brandon Wood starts every game, Reggie Willits is stuck in Salt Lake all season, Vernon Wells has a season-ending injury on Opening Day, the A's win the Wild Card and Boston beats Philly in the World Series) and I'd still be thrilled that baseball is back. Other sports can cover up the fact that baseball is gone, but none could ever replace it.

I can smell the Aramark Cheese already......

Carl Crawford: Double Agent

I bet Theo Epstein thinks things are all sunshine and lollipops in Boston now, but he doesn't realize what I've found out. Through something we in the business call "investigative journalism", I've discovered that Carl Crawford really did want to join the Angels, but he, Torri Hunter and Arte Moreno had a better idea than just throwing all this money at Crawford. They hatched up a plan to sabotage the Red Sox, and what better way to do that than have an Agent on the inside?!

It will start out minor. Crawford will pull little "pranks" on fellow "teammates", like hiding jock straps, putting Josh Beckett's Glove in Jell-o, crank-calling Curt Schilling's radio show, and putting itching powder in Varitek's socks. From April to May, it will just be minor inconveniences... but when the season really starts rolling, thats when the double crossing really begins.

A big four-game set against the Yankees in Fenway? Oh, bummer, John Lackey, I wonder how the Feds finally found out about all the lewd images of children on your hard-drive! An important series against the Twins? I have no idea how Adrian Gonzalez caught such an awful case of herpes...

If through all of his evil plots, the Red Sox still manage to make the postseason, Crawford will unveil the final stage in his plan. Miserable play. He will strike out looking every at bat. He will miss every catch in the outfield, and even sabotage his "teammates" from the on-deck circle. "I have no idea how the bat just slipped out of my hands... I hope Pedroia is ok..." The Red Sox will finally become wise after having been swept by the Tigers in the first round. They will ask forgiveness from Crawford, as he has all the power in his multi-million dollar deal. He will simply say "Trade me, straight up, for Erick Aybar, and you only have to pay me half"

In 2011, Carl Crawford will become an Angel legend, in another uniform. God bless that man.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Don't look now, but the American League West just got a little bit worse. When Cliff Lee decided to take his talents back to the City of Brotherly Love, the Texas Rangers slid right back into mediocrity.

This feels very familiar to a week ago when the Angels let Carl Crawford slip right through their fingers, and another team came out of nowhere and scooped him up with a better deal in a "better baseball city".

So, after a month and a half of off-season deals, the Angels and Rangers have gotten little to show for it. A few relievers and a couple of huge miscues on the top two free agents available. In essence, both teams have got nothing to show for the huge amount of money the supposedly had available to spend this off-season.

In the end, the West comes out the losers, once again. The Angels, Rangers and other West Coast teams just aren't as attractive a local for prospective Free Agents. I've begun to come to terms with this, and hope that the table scraps like the Beltre's and Guerrero's of the world can produce better than I think they can.

Reagins: "I'll see your Carl Crawford, and raise you: Scott Downs!"

Lets just go ahead and hand Tony Reagins GM of the Year right now. He knew one thing about the Angels last year. They had no lefties in their bullpen. When Arte told him to fix the problems with the club, he took him quite literally.

Sure, he had pressure from Arte, Hunter and the Fans to sign Carl Crawford, but hey... he had to get some left-handed relievers, and nothing was going to stop him, especially some loser outfielder from Tampa Bay ((Not) Real quote from Tony Reagins: "Tampa Bay? They have a Team now").

Well, even with the Red Sox and Nationals throwing Hundreds of Millions of dollars at All-Star Outfielders, I think its pretty clear that the Angels are going to win this offseason hands down. First Takahashi from the Mets (remember 1986? They are like Red Sox killers over there!!) and now Downs from the Blue Jays (Joe Carter!!!!).

When Arte Moreno calls Reagins into his office after the rest of the Hot Stove season has settled, and starts barking at him for not doing enough, Reagins is going to have a the best defense ever. "Dude, Arte, man... The team didn't have, like, any Left Handed relievers last year... and we like... lost a bunch! *giggles* Well, now I went out and got like, 4 of 'em... how can we lose now?!"

Arte will have to bow down to the superior baseball mind and Tony Reagins will then negotiate his $123 million dollar raise (leftover money from the Carl Crawford fund).

Carl Crawford adds "Orange County Pariah" to his Resume.

Carl Crawford did the unthinkable last night. He signed a 7 Year, $142 Million deal to sign with the Boston Red Sox. Tha'ts right, folks, he has become public enemy number one here in Anaheim. John Lackey and Mark Teixeira, you guys are off the hook.

I've got no problem with big market teams making big market offers. I'm more upset with Crawford, Angels GM Tony Reagins and Angels Owner Arte Moreno. Crawford because, well, he was just leading us on the whole time, and bolted the second Boston threw crap-loads more money in his face.

Reagins because he isn't a very good GM when it comes to dealing with Free Agents. He always under-appreciates players in value, and then offers them deals that look like jokes compared to Boston and New York.

Lastly, I'm mad at Arte for not putting up the money he said he would. He said "oh, I'm mad about losing, so I'm going to spend money to make us look good again", then didn't spend enough to get the top offensive free agent on the market. Mind you, Offense is where we need the help. So if you are going to be a tough guy, and puff your chest, and talk a big talk... back it up with dollars, Arte.

I need to move on from being mad about this, but that likely won't happen until the Angels make a damn move this offseason. And no, while he is a nice piece, the no-name lefty specialist from the Mets isn't going to cut it.

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At this point, the best offensive free agent is Adrian Beltre. Some Angel fans are welcoming him and agent Scott Boras into the Angel family (I know very well that Boras represents players on the Angels, but Jared Weavers hold-out is part of the reason we hate Boras so much) with open arms. I'm more hesitant. Can he still hit? Was last year in Boston a fluke? Was it a result of the tiny ballpark? Is he going to get back on the Roids? I know he will be a terrific defensive third basemen, and at this point, he is still an incredible step above a platoon of Callaspo, Izturis and Wood, but will he be worth the stupid money we are going to throw at him now that we've been burned by Crawford?

Angels Talk to Lee's Agent (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Free Agency)

As the Winter Meetings come to a close, and more players are getting signed, the Angels have stood firmly planted on their stance of not signing anyone you've heard of. Since signing former Mets Reliever Takahashi, the Angels haven't done much of anything, except continue to be in the talks in signing Free Agents Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre. Well, last night, Angels GM Tony Reagins was in contact with Professional Yankee's Daddy Cliff Lee's Agent Darek Braunecker (I've give you a second to catch up with that run-on.... ok, lets go). If for nothing else, just to ruffle the feathers of the Yankees and Rangers (the only two teams considered to be true contenders for the Cy Young Winner). However, there are a number of great reasons for the Angels to sign Cliff Lee, lets go over them now:

1. Our biggest rivals, the Rangers and Yankees, won't have him. This is easily the most important, as Cliff Lee has always had a good track record against the Angels and in Angel Stadium.

2. Between Lee, Weaver, Haren, Santana and Pineiro, the Angels would have maybe the best rotation in Major League history. A man can dream, can't he?

3. It would likely force the Yankees or Rangers to acquire Zach Greinke from the Royals. Therefore making 100% of the games the Angels play against Kansas City a complete waste of time for everyone involved.

While its simply a pipe dream, and to be honest, I'd rather have Crawford and Beltre than just Lee, its still something pretty amazing to think about. Maybe someday, we will get a GM with the balls to pull this off.

As it is now, though, Cliff Lee and his agent are keeping the other top Free Agents hostage. The Yankees aren't going to pursue Crawford or Beltre too strongly until they know if they've got Cliff Lee or not. The Rangers aren't going to do a damn thing either. The Red Sox seem to have made their moves, and everyone seems too poor to make a run at Crawford right now.

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Moving on to other Hot Stove news:

-Carlos Pena has agreed to a one year contract with the Chicago Cubs. I don't think it will be enough to make them contenders, but at worst, it makes them better.

-The Kansas City Royals sign Jeff Francouer. Oh man... I know who my 2011 World Series pick will be now.

-Jack Cust signs with the Seattle Mariners. Oh man... I know who my 2011 World Series pick will be now.

-Paul Konerko is staying in Chicago to play for the White Sox. With how high they were speaking of him, and how no one else really showed any interest, I'm shocked... to say the least.

Arte Prepares to Open His Wallet

Thats right, 7 Years, $126 Million... for Jayson Werth. I love Jayson Werth... especially his beard, but damn... thats a ton of money, Washington. If they are going over-pay people this badly, the president better put together a bail-out package together for Nats. I think it speaks volumes to Nationals fans that this team wants to win now. They lost the strikeout machine (and on-base machine) Adam Dunn to free agency, but they still have youth in guys like Strasburg and Harper, and Vets like Ryan Zimmerman. Not to mention they are interested in Tampa's Carlos Pena.

But what does this mean for the Angels and Carl Crawford? 8 Years, $180 Million is what is being thrown around rumor sites and the like. Something the Angels could afford, but would they have anything left over for a guy like Adrian Beltre or Rafael Soriano? That is really up to Arte Moreno and how much he wants to dig into that wallet of his. Then it comes down to if Moreno and GM Tony Reagins really want to go out and buy half a team, or if they are just going to target one key guy, and put him into the situation the team is currently in.

If Moreno goes nuts, signs Crawford, Beltre, Soriano, and a couple other role players, does that make the Angels a new evil empire? Would we be as hated around the country as Boston and New York? It would be an interesting thing to consider for the Angels front office.

Something else to consider: Guys like Napoli, Mathis, Aybar and others still have arbitration to go through... which means even less money in Arte's pocket.

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Lets go over some other non-Angels Hot Stove goodies:

-Adrian Gonzalez will be swapping coasts and Leagues. The Padres and Red Sox agreed to trade the All-Star First Basemen, and the Red Sox will also give Gonzo a fat new, 7-year Contract, to keep him in Bean Town for the foreseeable future.

-The Diamondbacks have traded slugging Third Basemen Mark Reynolds to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for two minor-league relievers. Expect both his home run and strikeout numbers to increase in the AL East and Camden Yards.

-White Sox resigned Catcher AJ Pierzynski to a two year, $8 Million deal... even though he still sucks.

-Both the Red Sox and Yankees have expressed interest in Twins Reliever Brian Fuentes. I don't normally speak in "Internet Speak" around here, but there is only one word to convey my thoughts on this rumor: LOL!
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Dallas Cowboys Legend Don Meredeth passed away today at the age of 72. I am too young to have been able to see him play, but I saw a few years of his Monday Night Football announcing career, and Hank Hill was always quite fond of him. Anyone Hank Hill thinks so fondly of is ok in my book.

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Also passing over the weekend was Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo. He was 70, and always seemed like one year away from making the Hall of Fame. Hopefully the voters rectify this for 2011.

Angels Finally Make Some Noise.

The Angels and Left-Handed Vet Hisanori Takahashi (most recently of the Mets) are close to inking a multiyear deal with the Japanese southpaw. Takahashi was 10-6 last year with the Mets, including an ERA of 3.61 and 8 saves (after former Angels Francisco Rodriguez hurt himself beating up his step-dad). In his time as a reliever, his ERA was considerably lower. He seems to finally be a solid replacement for Darren Oliver, whom the Angels missed dearly as he helped lead the Rangers to the World Series.

The Angels have also contacted agent Scott Boras regarding Free Agent Closer Rafael Soriano (of the Rays). It seems that in addition to going after big-time outfield bats in Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth, the Angels are very serious about solidifying their shaky bullpen. As any Angel fan can tell you, the two things that needed the most help last season were the Pen and outfield offense (even All-Star Torii Hunter had a down year in many categories).

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The second really big off-season acquisition was made today when the Chicago White Sox signed slugger Adam Dunn to a four-year deal worth $56 Million. Dunn, who has played his entire career to date in the National League, will probably see most of his time at DH, but if the Sox fail to resign All-Star Paul Konerko, Dunn could also be asked to fill in at first base.

Its a big deal for the White Sox offense, but the team still has a ways to go before they can compete (on paper at least) with the Tigers and Twins for the Central Division crown.

The Hot Stove is on Fire.

Eh, maybe thats a slight exaggeration. Miguel Tejada is taking his talents to the Bay Area, to replace Juan Uribe on the defending Champion San Francisco Giants. Man, I'd never thought I'd have to type that sentence.

In more hot stove tid-bits:

-The Dodgers (who signed the aforementioned Uribe) traded Ryan Theriot to the Cardinals for a right-handed minor league pitcher.

-The Texas Rangers bolstered (we'll see...) their bullpen by signing Japanese Side-Armer Yoshinori Tateyama, formerly of the Nippon-Ham Fighters (my favorite team name in all of sports) of the Japanese Pacific League. Tateyama had a career low 1.80 ERA in 58 appearances last season.

-The Oakland A's have reported interest in former Astros/Yankee First Basemen Lance Berkman. When asked about the Athletics interest, Berkman was quoted as saying "Woah, someone is interested? Did they not see my 3 month Yankee career".

-The Texas teams signed a couple of lackluster backup catchers this week in Yorvit Torreabla and Huberto Quintero (to the Rangers and Astros, respectively), the rest of the league was reportedly unaware these guys still played baseball.

-The Colorado Rockies handed all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki a blank check Tuesday. It ended up being good enough for the 8th highest contract in MLB History. Thats right. 1 time all-star of the Colorado Rockies, Troy Tulowitzki, is going to be one of the 10 wealthiest men in baseball history. Go figure. Tulo is guaranteed $157.7 Million Dollars over the next 10 years. Insane.

-The Rangers (again with the Rangers? I had to talk about you for all of October, its time for you to go away now) reportedly were interested in signing long-time Yankee Lefty Andy Pettitte, but have recently denied such claims. Rumor has it the Yankees were upset that they were even talking to the winningest pitcher in post-season history, and threatened to offer Cliff Lee even more money to leave Texas. If the Rangers stay relevant, this could be a great rivalry for years to come.

-No word yet on Carl Crawford, but the most recent report I heard was that most GM's and Experts would be shocked if, at this point, he didn't end up an Angel by the first of the year.

I've already written far too much, and for that, I apologize. Oh, and yes, the picture is taken from The Sims, but that was the best picture of a stove on fire the internet had to offer.

The Angels Glass is Half-Empty.

The Rangers have lost 7 of their last 10, and only lost a game and a half in the standings. The just got swept by the East-Leading Rays, but have lost NO ground in their quest to take their first Division crown in a decade.

The Angels, on the other hand, have had their fair share of obsticles. Loss of offensive weapons Guerrero and Figgins to Free Agency, loss of Morales to injury, Brandon Wood, the inability to ever trade for a bat to replace Morales, and long cold streaks at the plate by everyone on the team.

Even so, this team has stayed around .500 all season long, and has never really fallen all the way out of the West race.

The only problem? They are playing like they are out of it.

When you watch the Angels play today, take notice that no one will wait for the right pitch. They will try to do too much with the junk that is thrown to them. Most of them will not have that extra spring in their step, and The Pitchers will sweat more than Roger Clemens in Washington. They are playing like a team that has nothing to play for, even though they only find themselves 8 games out with 41 to play (including 7 against Texas).

If the players are going to play like they are out of the race, I'm going to start writing like they are out of the race. Its all misery, all the time!

Personally, I cant wait for September 1st to get here, to see how the young players (who will more than likely get plenty of playing time) perform at a big league level. I've really enjoyed watching Peter Bourjos the last few weeks, and I'd like to see what guys like Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger can do against big league pitching.

Also, the Carl Crawford Countdown has begun! 115 Days till the free agency period begins! Oh, and by the way, the Rangers magic number is down to 35.

Are You Ready For Some Football?!!

Or Basketball? Or Hockey? Or anything but Baseball?

Angels lost again, resulting in their first time getting swept at home in 2 years. Things aren't going to get much better with Texas visiting this weekend.

In a worst case scenario, the Angels would find themselves 13 games back on August 2nd, and Texas' magic number to clinch the division (or at least eliminate the Angels) would be down to 44.

It looks like now is a better time than ever to trade away Abreu, Matsui, and Pineiro (if he is ok) for some prospects or good young major league talent to a contender. Build towards next year, where we will have a whole season of Dan Haren, Kendry Morales and Carl Crawford.

Anyway, Go Jets!

The Most Important Week of the Season (Seriously).

I wish the above sentence was not hyperbole, but it is. With the Rangers 14-Inning win last night, they took a 5 game lead in the division. They have two more games in Detroit before the important weekend series in Texas against the Angels. The Angels are in New York for the next two days before the flight to Texas. While these are both big series' against two rivals, thats really only half the story.

If the Angels find themselves even further out by the end of the week, god forbid by 8 or 9 games, all signs point to the Angels finding themselves as sellers at the trade deadline. Say goodbye to any of your favorite players, because there is no one on the team that would be safe from a fire sale at this point.

However, if the Angels can manage to creep closer to the Rangers, they would certainly become buyers, and you can say goodbye to any of your favorite prospects, because its likely they will be traded for someone like Lance Berkman, Adam Dunn or (god willing) Carl Crawford.

I think a worst case scenario is that the Angels and Rangers both play .500 baseball for the next six games, and the Angels don't lose or gain any ground. Because then Tony Reagins will likely pull a Bill Stoneman and not do anything at the deadline, to play it "safe". Then we still have a team not good enough to catch Texas, but wont have any extra pieces for the future.

This season reeks of 2006, where a incredibly awful month and a half has the Angels playing catchup all season long, but they will ultimately fall short. The Angels really didn't do anything at the deadline that year either, and were unable to catch the A's.

Also, a note to Reagins, unless you are going to go out and get a quality bat AND a quality arm, don't bother. Trade some of the aging fielders (Abreu, Rivera, Matsui) for a few prospects, and lets focus on getting Crawford and some bullpen help in the off-season. Unless we are going to make an actual effort to catch and pass Texas, whats the point?

Tonight in New York, Sean O'Sullivan makes his first start of the year, as a replacement for the injured Scott Kazmir, against Phil Hughes, the Yankees young All-Star. Its going to be a tough game to win, but like I said, its a must win game in the most important week of the season.