I Wish You Would Step Back From That Ledge, My Friends...

Let me preface this post by saying that yes, no one loves bitching about my beloved Halos more than me.  I have been calling for Mickey Hatcher's head for the better part of two seasons now... and I simply don't like Erick Aybar, but the stuff I've been seeing on Twitter and message boards recently is making me sad to be an Angels fan.

On twitter after tonight's loss against a good Blue Jays team, there is actually momentum behind firing Mike Scioscia... you know its not a good sign when the only guy to bring our team ANY playoff success is trying to be made out to be some sacrificial lamb.  Like if we fire Mike and bring in some unemployed schmuck, he is going to turn this ship around and take us to the postseason.  Get real people, Terry Francona isn't going to do anything but hasten our trip to mediocrity.  He took maybe the best on-paper team of all time, the 2011 Red Sox... got them off to a 0-7 start, then back into contention, only to lose their playoff spot on the final game of the season after an epic collapse gave the Rays a chance.  Yeah, he is who I want leading an already struggling club.

Mike is a two-time Manager of the Year (2002, 2009) and has more than 1000 victories as our manager, and has taken us to the playoffs 6 times... DOUBLE what ALL previous Angels' Managers combined had gotten before him in nearly 40 years.  I think the man knows what he is doing, and I trust him to take us back there, even if its with a team that looks almost nothing like the one we have on the field.

The other person that people are rallying against is our new slugger, and future Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols.  Yes, I will admit that he is having, by far, the worst 5 week span of his career.  And yes, I'll also concede that the immediate future isn't looking good.  But to think that a career .328 hitter (in St. Louis) isn't going to turn it around and raise his average back above the Mendoza line is ridiculous.  I can sit here and make a ton of excuses, but the real problem isn't so cut and dry, otherwise Albert would have figured it out by now.  He is just in a slump, and nothing is going to get him out of it better than letting him go out there and get his AB's in every day.  Maybe give him a day off this weekend, but there is no need to consider benching the all-star, or cutting his playing time in any way.

So, you are sitting there, probably still unable to get your Angels gear off fast enough, yelling at your computer screen, saying "Well then, smart-ass, who do we blame for our 10-17 start?!".

The answer is simple: No one.  It's 27 games... we have 135 left to play.  If we finish the season playing .600 baseball (this team is more than good enough to play at that level), we finish the season with 91 wins.  With the two wild-cards, and the additional win here and there, this club should easily find itself in the playoffs, at which point anything can happen.

Here at Angels Nation, we aren't going to be hitting any kind of panic button until we find ourselves under .500 after July 1st.  When that happens, I'll be glad to write each and every one of you an apology, and I'll get out my "Fire Mike" signs.

In Which I Obsess About Uniforms, Part 3

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and sorry about the delay between posts, but Spring Training is boring to write about (even if its delightfully charming to watch).  Thankfully for me (and all of you!), there were quite a few uniform changes in baseball during the off-season, and I'm thrilled to spout off my wonderful opinion about all of them.

But first thing's first... can we please put an end to holiday uniforms?

The atrocity that reminded me to even do this article in the first place were the Phillies hideous green alternates that they wore for their spring game today against Toronto (more on the Jays later).  Here is Scott Podsednik walking to first base in one of these atrocities:

He looks like Christmas... not a good look for Mid-March.  I get it if you are Boston, a city steeped in Irish heritage (and their special uniforms in Basketball and Hockey are quite alright), but everyone else should just back off.

While we are on the subject, lets just do away with those awful flag hats for Memorial Day, July 4th, etc... 

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Ok, now that I'm done with the festive nonsense invading baseball, lets move on to a more pressing matter, the hideous quality of the new-look Miami Marlins.  Their new logo looks like it belongs to a fast food chain that serves seafood.  While the regular white and grey default jersey's don't look too bad (and the Black alternate is almost kind of sharp), the home ORANGE alternate is one of the worst things I've ever seen...

But you know what?  They are so awful, they almost become awesomely bad, in the sense that the 1980's Rainbow Astros jerseys were awesomely bad, and I kinda want one... 

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The only other team that really underwent a severe Jersey makeover in the off-season (New logo, new colors, everything) was the Toronto Blue Jays, and oh my god, this is how you re-invent yourself.

Seriously you guys... Even Jeff Mathis can't look bad in these stunners.  Going back to the look and feel of the jerseys they first came into the league with, but properly avoiding light blue, while still having the freshness of a new jersey.  While they aren't the best jerseys in the league (Cardinals, Dodgers and Yankees all tie for first), they are certainly the best revamp job since the Angels switched to Red in 2002.  Not only does Toronto have maybe the best farm system, top to bottom, in all of baseball, but they are going to look good too.  The next decade of success couldn't have happened to a better group of fans.  Now we just need to fix everything about the Royals.

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One last thing I need to touch on.  While the Orioles didn't go all out in revamping their jerseys, they did bring back an old friend to all their caps and logos this year, The Bird!

I have a personal admiration of The Bird, and have always been a fan of the black cap with the white front and orange brim.  This causes problems at my home, because my wife hates The Bird.  She says he looks like a Saturday morning breakfast cereal mascot.  I don't understand why that is a problem.  He is awesome, and the caps look great.

It's going to be another rough season in Baltimore (only because the other four clubs in that division are so much better), but things are going to be looking up in the future, and they are going to continue to have some of the best caps in the league.

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Oh hey, I almost forgot to mention that the picture I led with, of the Texas Rangers throwbacks, is what the Rangers are going to be using to commemorate their 40th season.  That's right, they are ripping off our idea from last year, for a less important anniversary season.  I don't understand why they would want to look back so fondly at those hideous jerseys (the second from the left, from the late 80's/early 90's isn't so bad, the rest are awful)... they didn't make the playoffs in Texas until 1996, and didn't have a World Series appearance until 2010.  Some history.

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In actual Angels news:

- Garret Richards looked GREAT yesterday in his spring start against the Indians, I really hope he wins the 5th starter spot.  He is going to have a good season, no matter where he plays.

- Kendrys Morales is making quite a few starts for the minor league teams in spring training now.  He might actually be ready for April 6th!

- Chris Iannetta, who left the game in the 2nd inning yesterday with tenderness in his wrist, is day-to-day.

In Angels Nation news:

- A regular season preview post should pop up sometime next week full of terrible predictions that will never come true (I picked the Phillies over the Sox last year, haha).

- Angels Nation will be making its pilgrimage to Arizona for spring training next weekend, very excited.

Alternate Universe MLB; Episode 1: Prince Heads North

Welcome to the Alternate Universe MLB, where things that didn't happen did, and things that did happen didn't.  We begin our adventures with the legacy of one Prince Fielder, and what would have happened if he went to another of his father's teams, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Let us go back in our time machine of choice (mine is the TARDIS) to one week ago, when Prince Fielder was still deciding what Major League city he should make his home for the next 5-10 years.  When visiting Toronto, they roll out the red carpet.  They offer him big dollars, long years, incentives, a lifetime supply of Maple Syrup and the Key to Canada (which it turns out only opens bland beer factories and a safe full of Bryan Adams and Celine Dion records).  He gets to bat after the great Jose Bautista in an already electric lineup (that just added big time slugger Jeff Mathis), and has joined a club with one of the best fanbases in the league.

April rolls around and the new-look (down to the Jerseys, which are damn fly, and I'll get to in an upcoming "In Which I Obsess About Uniforms" column in the near future) Blue Jays are off to a fast start.  Fielder starts to shed a bit of weight to be able to last the entirety of his huge contract he signed with the Jays.  After finding themselves in first place at the end of May, Toronto begins to put its eggs in the Felix Hernandez basket.  They want an Ace who can help put the exclamation point on an already great club.

June 15th, 2012, and the Blue Jays just finished off a deal that sends half their farm to Seattle for King Felix. They also increase the food budget for travel days, which was already getting strained keeping Prince Fielder happy.  Now with both the King and Prince, the Jays are poised for a postseason bid, their first since becoming back-to-back World Series Champions in 1993.

October 3nd, 2012, The Blue Jays wrap up the Division Title, finishing with an even 100 wins, a full 10 games ahead of the 2nd place Yankees.  Felix and Prince both figure into the Cy Young and MVP discussions (respectively), and John Farrell is the clear favorite for Manager of the Year.  Things are going to be tough in the postseason, as the Jays need to take down the two-time AL Pennant winning Texas Rangers, who won the Wild Card.

October 10th, 2012.  In just 3 short games, the Blue Jays finish off the Rangers and look forward to Albert Pujols and the resurgent Angels (did you really expect anything less?).  After many battles in the NL Central, Fielder and Pujols already have a long rivalry.  The Series goes 7 games, with King Felix outdueling Dan Haren in a 2-1 Jays victory.  Toronto is back in the World Series!

October 30th, 2012.  In 6 games, three of which were won by King Felix (who won the World Series MVP and eventually the AL Cy Young), the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series!

This begins a long and storied chapter in the franchises history.  After re-signing Bautista and King Felix to huge extensions, the Great White North becomes a free agent destination for the better part of the '10's.  Prince retires in 2019 after 573 Home Runs and 4 World Series Titles.  He enters the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2024.  Like Joe Carter before him, Prince will transcend the game of baseball in Canada, becoming the most beloved ballplayer in Canada.

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Obviously, none of this happened or will happen, but this is the kind of BS I have to write about when the Angels have done jack diddly since signing Pujols and Wilson.  At least Pitchers and Catchers report in few weeks.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So... are you proud of yourselves? Vernon Wells is on the DL with a groin pull. Many Angels "fans" had jumped all over Wells' slow start, wanting him to be taken out of the lineup. I ask you this: For what?

You want an infielder who has practiced all of 3 times at playing the outfield (Alexi Amarista)? or a guy playing so old, he refuses to swing the bat (Bobby Abreu)? Or, do you want another Peter Bourjos, only without the pop in the bat and who has lost a step (Reggie Willits)? Well, thats what you've got. Congrats. I hope you are happy with yourselves.

I'm not Vernon Wells' biggest fan, but at the same time, he is trying to prove his worth for a new club where he was already disliked because of his contract and who we traded to get that contract. Well, Vernon Wells is more than a big contract, he was one of the most consistent hitters of the last decade in Toronto. He had a slow couple of years after signing his big contract, but started to turn it around last year, making his first All-Star Team since 2006. He was finally starting to turn his Angels Career around (hitting 3 HR in the last 8 games, and bringing in all 3 of the Angels runs on Saturday's loss to the Indians), but it still wasn't good enough for the Wells Nay-Sayers, and now they have gotten their wish, and Wells is out of the lineup. But at what cost?

Between Abreu, Amarista and Willits, whomever Scioscia decides to go with over the next two weeks, none of those are going to have the same impact in the lineup as Wells would have. No one has the same potential to put runs on the board with one swing. No one brings the same solidity to Left Field, a position that has long been a troublesome spot for the Halos. I just hope the Angels can manage to win 8 of their next 15, but its going to be tough without Wells around, regardless of how well our Pitchers pitch.

Vernon Wells, You Are on Time-Out.

In his first game AGAINST the Blue Jays in his career, Vernon Wells went 0-4, never looked comfortable at bat, plus extended an inning by letting Jose Bautista reach base on a single on a ball that he SHOULD have caught, but instead decided to Garret Anderson the Ball and let it fall in front of him. The next batter, Adam Lind, hit a two-run double into Left-Center which tied the game.

I'd excuse the poor effort in left field if it wasn't for two factors: He is a Gold-Glove Center Fielder, so left field should be a piece of cake, right? Also, he was inept at the plate. Leaving 5 runners on base, striking out twice. If he would've had a 3-run blast, or even a clutch double as some point in this game, and he can make up for the run's he gives up in left, then I'd excuse it.

This won't happen, but he needs the day off tomorrow. He needs a day to think about his game and his approach at the plate. Just one day. A short time-out while Chris Pettit shows us what he can do in a big-league game. Is that too much to ask? If nothing else, he needs to drop down a couple spots in the lineup until he finds his swing. Guys like Callaspo and Trumbo are too hot to be coming up an inning after Vernon Wells kills another rally.

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I wish I had something nice to say about the game today, but I'm just too miffed that the Angels blew a winnable game. I appreciate your enthusiasm, Tim Salmon, but the Angels didn't get beat today, they beat themselves.

Vernon Wells = Mike Napoli?

Bad News Angels fans: Not only have the Halo's cut ties with the 2010 leader in Home Runs, but we have now associated ourselves with one of the worst contracts in Major League history. The terribly under-performing Vernon Wells is coming west to play for my beloved Angels, and I don't think I could be more unenthusiastic.

The Positive? He will bring solidity to a Left Field position that has been a crap shoot since Garret Anderson got old. He is a defensive AND offensive upgrade from Juan Rivera, but it comes at a (BIG) Price.

Not only are we going to have to suck up some of his $86 Million owed over the next 4 years, but we lost one of the best young catchers in baseball. Mike Napoli is headed to the great white north to play for the Jays.

The deal is official, and Vernon has waived his no-trade clause. He is currently in Anaheim for his physical, and once he passes that, the deal is done and the Angels have made one of the more mind-boggling moves in franchise history.