Winter Meetings Recap Part 2: CJ Wilson

This one is really simple. We paid a good price (less than the Yanks and Sox paid for AJ Burnett and John Lackey, respectively) for the best Free Agent Pitcher available, someone who would be an ace on 2/3rds of the teams in the major leagues, but will slide in somewhere between 2 and 4 for the Angels.

A Southern Californian native, Wilson makes the easy choice to live here year-round. In addition, he brings a respectable resume and will fit in nicely with our group of poorly groomed starters. Now that the Angels have perhaps the best starting rotation in baseball (even with a number of question marks regarding the 5th spot), all we need is 2-3 runs a game for an easy victory.

Take into account our bolstered bullpen (more on that coming soon), and full year of Jordan Walden closing games, this should be a pitching staff that simply dominates its opponents night after night. Then you consider that we ripped away Wilson from our biggest rival, who now lacks a true ace, and CJ becomes that much more valuable. While the Pujols deal might be a tad pricey, I feel like the Angels paid a great price for CJ Wilson, who will bring the Halos 15-18 Wins and a sub 3.50 ERA.

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.

Ok, Fuentes, Now Its Personal....

Hey, look at that picture up there. Its a pretty rare one. Its Brian Fuentes throwing a pitch for his new team, the Minnesota Twins. Why is it rare, you ask? Well, he has only faced one batter since being traded for Andre the Giant a few weeks ago. Why is that? Well, because the no-good schmuck seems to have hurt his arm, something the Twins didn't know going into the trade (We're not that sorry).

Why am I being so outspokenly aggressive towards a player who cant suck for us anymore? Well, on a radio interview yesterday with Mason and Ireland on the local ESPNRadio affiliate, he trashed us, the Angels Fans (Note: I am currently unable to find any kind of article pertaining to the interview, but I will provide a link once one surfaces). He complained about us "booing him" last year, even though he lead the league in saves.

First off, buddy, the 2008-2009 Angels played in such a way that my sister could have lead the league in saves. Next, we didn't boo you because we didn't have anything better to do, we booed you because you sucked, and we all knew it. You were also third in the league in BLOWN saves.

Then, he gets on us about booing John Lackey (on his return trip with Boston) even though he was a major factor in the team winning the 2002 World Series. Well, I cant really argue that he helped us win the series, but he got booed because he badmouthed the fans after he left. A classless act.

His reasoning for the booing of himself and Lackey by the Angels faithful? "Thats the kind of fans they are".

You know, at first, I was just happy you are gone. Never around to walk 3 batters in the ninth inning, or grow creepy porn-'staches again. Now, I wish you the worst of luck. I wish your new team the worst of luck (acquiring your sorry ass was a good start). I hope Minnesota not only falls out of the playoffs, but I hope when (if) you come back this season, you have the most miserable final two weeks of the season, and you are pretty much forced out of the league.

Go White Sox!

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues...

Except for Bobby Abreu's solo shot in the first inning, and a few jams that Dan Haren pitched himself out of, nothing went the Angels way last night against Boston.

Between fielding mistakes, poor managing and a bullet off the bat of Kevin Youkilis, the Angels had no chance last night. The first Red Sox run would not have scored if not for Hunter flubbing on a play he normally makes, and Hunters 0-4 night at the plate didn't help, either. The Angels loaded the bases with none out in the 2nd, only to have weak at bats by Rivera, Mathis and Aybar end the threat. Then when Haren got pegged on the forearm by a line drive off the bat of Youkilis, it ended pretty much all hope the Angels had last night.

The Angels bullpen pitched the Halos out of the game for good, not once, but twice.

I understand Mike's decision to put Rodney in for the 8th... he is his 8th inning guy, and when he struggles, he struggles. It happens. But when Matsui made up for Fernando's mistake in the Bottom of the 8th with a home run of his own, I will never know what possessed Mike to put in Michael Kohn, to make his first major league appearance.

Not only was it Kohn's first appearance, but in a game where he NEEDED to keep the one-run lead, against the Boston Red Sox... poor coaching decision.

Its hard to find one guy to blame for last nights loss, But Aybar going 0-for-5 at the top of the lineup is simply unacceptable. It would be one thing if he had a walk, or a sacrifice bunt, or even a productive out, but no. For a guy who is so hot to look so cold, it has me worried.

If there were any indication that we still need a power bat in the lineup, it was on display in the 2nd inning. The Angels loaded them up with none out, only to pop out twice and have Aybar (shocker!) ground out to end the inning. Pathetic.

There were a few things I did like about the game last night. Haren looked marvelous, outside of the solo-shot to Ortiz. Also, Michael Kohn has a great name, which is ripe for parody. I mean... its only good for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan jokes, but man... oh the jokes I'll make.

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Jared Weaver gets the ball tonight against the Sox, facing off against Child-Molester Jones... er... John Lackey. This will be Lackey's first start in Anaheim against his old club. With the comments he has made about the Angels management and their fans when signing with the club (and in consequent months), if he gets anything but an enormous boo from the Angels faithful, I will be disappointed. I'd also like for him to pitch really well for the first few innings, but then fall apart in the 5th, for old-times sake. Maybe a 6-run inning? At this point, I want Lackey to fail less so the Angels win, and more so he looks like a fool (with his pants on the ground).

Its A Race Again.

Dan Haren. 'Nuff Said.

While Dan Haren and Alberto Callaspo aren't exactly the same as Cliff Lee and Bengie Molina, they might be just enough to make this a race again. Even though the Halo's lost three of four over the weekend in Texas, they still only find themselves 7 back with 10 left to play against Texas, including three this weekend in Anaheim.

Dan Haren is not having the best year of his career, but when you consider the fact that he was pretty much stuck on a go-nowhere team that had just about no chance of going anywhere, he obviously knew he couldn't do it all by himself. I don't want to say he gave up, because he didn't. He is still top 10 in the league in terms of strikeouts, and was having an above average year, but you could tell he wanted out of the desert.

Alberto Callaspo is not going to be an all-star, on or off the field, but he is a better option at third base than Brandon Wood or Robb Quinlan, and with Macier Izturis back from injury, our infield depth is at a season high.

The best thing about Dan Haren, while not only does it make the 1-2-3 punch of Weaver-Haren-Santana sound fantastic for a postseason series (should they make it that far), is that he is signed on through at least the 2012 season, with a club option for 2013.

The Angels have exactly two playesr who will be free agents at seasons end, Brian Fuentes and Scot Shields. If we can manage to trade for or sign another quality closer, pick up Carl Crawford and maybe another arm for the rotation/bullpen (Rich Harden, Chris Young and Matt Thornton look to all be available). The 2011 Angels will be a frightening force to be reckoned with.

Important series starts tonight as the Angels welcome Boston to town for a three game set. I expect everyone to make it out to the game tomorrow to boo the living hell out of a modern day Benedict Arnold, John Lackey.

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Joe Saunders. You will be missed. My favorite memory of you is when you matched the eventual Cy Young Winner Zach Grienke pitch-for-pitch in an amazing 1-0 win over the Royals last season. Grienke was pitching out of his mind, and you beat him. Good luck in Phoenix, Joe.

AngelsNation.net 2010 Mid-Season Awards and Anti-All-Stars.

Ok, so its the slowest sports day of the year. No Baseball, and Basketball, Hockey and Football are all out of season. Lets give out some mid-season awards, in recognition of baseball's first-half greatness. Also, I'm not here to give out the regular awards (MVP, Cy Young, ROY), because those are boring, and I agree with most experts. So, lets have some fun, and then we will get to the Anti-All-Stars.

AL LVP (Least Valuable Player): John Lackey, BOS - P. This one is pretty easy. He got a huge paycheck this offseason, and he is making 18.7 Million Dollars to have an incredibly average year. He is by far the highest paid player on the team, and the only one in the top 25 in terms of salary. So far, he is 9-5. Not bad, sure... but I'm sure Boston didn't think they would be paying him at the clip of 2 million dollars a win. He also has an ERA nearing 5.00. Good Job, Lackey, hope you still enjoy playing in a ballpark where you have traditionally struggled.

NL LVP: Carlos Zambrano, CHC - P. Also pretty easy, even though he makes less than Carlos Beltran, who is out all season with an injury, he has been far more detrimental to his team. He also makes 18.7 Million Dollars, and he has been so remarkable bad this year, that it almost seems like his dugout tantrums are the least of the Cubs worries. Why this man still has a job in that city is beyond me. Any other manager would have stopped putting up with that crap weeks ago. Hell, Mike Scioscia probably would have cut him off the team two years ago when he beat up that Gatorade machine.

The Jeff Weaver Award for Why the **** are you still pitching?!?: Scott Kazmir, LAA. Sure, he has 7 wins, but his 9 losses is among league leaders. His near 7.00 ERA is unfathomable, and his 17 home runs allowed are staggering. Also, his 71 Earned Runs are tops in the majors. His 7 wins and past success are the only things that keep him going to the mound every 5 games. The Angels need to replace him to have ANY chance at keeping up with the Rangers.

The Brandon Wood Award for Why the **** are you still playing?!?: Brandon Wood, LAA. I'm sure this comes to no shock to anyone.

The Steve Finley Award for Worst Free-Agent Pickup: Chone Figgins, SEA. I don't need to throw the stats at you, but he is hitting poorly, not getting on base, and getting caught stealing. I know everyone in town misses him dearly, and think we would be better with him, but I disagree. Its clear that he has been in a regression for the better part of 2 seasons, and this season was the full nose-dive to obscurity.

Well, as we are coming to a close for the Mid-Season Awards, let us take this time to honor the Anti-All-Stars, the worst every-day players at every position. There will be a few surprises, I promise you.

National League:
C - Yadier Molina, STL
1B - Todd Helton, COL
2B - Akinori Iwamura, PIT
3B - Pedro Feliz, HOU
SS - Brenden Ryan, STL
OF - Tony Gwynn Jr, SD
OF - Nate McClouth, ATL (DL)
OF - Ryan Church, PIT
SP - Kenshin Kawakami, ATL
CP - Chad Qualls, ARI

American League:
C - Gerald Laird, DET
1B - Garrett Atkins, BAL
2B - Gordon Beckham, CHW
3B - Brandon Wood, LAA
SS - Jason Bartlett, TB
OF - Trevor Crowe, CLE
OF - Nolan Reimold, BAL
OF - Ryan Raburn, DET
DH - Justin Smoak, SEA
SP - Scott Kazmir, LAA
CP - David Aardsma, SEA

You might notice that Yadier Molina was on both the actual All-Star Team and this fictional Anti-All-Star Team. Well, he is having a downright awful season statistically, and should have never made the All-Star Team. Way to go, America. Also, Aardsma barely edged out Fuentes for closing duties on the Anti-All-Star Team.

Also, Congratulations on two-time honorees this evening, Brandon Wood and Scott Kazmir. You are both truly special, and I can't wait for an entire second-half of watching you two struggle to play baseball.

Is Fernando Rodney dead or something?

Thanks Kevin Jepsen. Thanks a ton. I think its pretty cool that you figured out a way to instantly pitch us out of a close game.

Ok, maybe not instantly, it took about 50 balls, a few walks, a token Big Papi double play, and a terrible play in the outfield by Juan Rivera. Still though, it seemed like it went from 1-1 to 4-1 almost instantly.

So, is Fernando Rodney dead or something? I mean, in a pretty important game (for it being only May 4th), that is TIED, wouldn't you want your best reliever to come into the 8th? Then, to add insult to injury, Coach Mike decided that the best option to stop the bleeding in the 8th was our good buddy, Scot "LOL" Shields. Its almost like we are trying to lose. I hope its so we can make one of the most epic comebacks in Major League history, and not so everyone has an excuse to leave town.

Tonights game wasnt all bad. Mike Napoli finally seemed to find his stroke. Eric Aybar fell down trying to avoid a tag, and that made me laugh. I like when I can laugh at Aybar, even in a loss.

I'll be honest, the game isnt even over yet, and I'm writing this. I dont think I can watch much long, and the hockey game between the Sharks and Wings is winding down, and its a close one.

But lets face it, its already 5-1, and the bases are loaded again. This is a loss.

Tomorrow, though, is a MUST win. Yeah, a must win game in May, sue me. Its our first game against Anaheim's very own Benedict Arnold: John Lackey. He might as well be in the dugout sipping tea and munching on crisps. Damn backstabber.

Angels Record: 12-16
Outlook: Must. Beat. Lackey.