Angels Fans love to reminice about a time when we were Three-Time Defending Division Champions... or had won 5 of the last 6 Western Division titles. I remember like it were yesterday. Always having something to brag about to my friends who were Rangers, A's or M's fans. I loved always being a champion (even if it meant getting slaughtered by the Sox in October). But, as much as I'd love to relive those glory days, it doesn't mean I'm on the same boat as other Angels fans, who seem to want to bring back Vlad, Figgins, etc.
Don't get me wrong, Vlad seems like a decent fit, but his power numbers only went up last year because he played in a hitters parks, the opposite of what Angel Stadium is. Chone Figgins had, by far, his worst statistical season last year. He had career lows in Runs, Home Runs, Batting Average and Slugging, and career highs in Errors and Strikeouts. Not to mention he grounded into 19 double-plays... that's more than twice he ever had in any other single season to date. Mind you, the Errors would probably decrease when he moves back to Third Base (to make room for Brendan Ryan), but the numbers don't lie. Figgy is not the lead-off hitter he used to be, nor should he be considered for the job.
But the Angels need someone, don't they? Well, someone at the OC Register today kicked around the idea of trading Arbitration eligible Alberto Callaspo and AAAA Player Brandon Wood to the M's for Figgins. I suppose in a worst case scenario, Figgins would work, but we wouldn't be a playoff team. At this point, I'd rather have Erick Aybar (*shudder*) or Peter Bourjos (He can't hit .204 forever, can he?) lead off for the Angels. Don't get me wrong, I'd welcome back Figgy with open arms, and I'd cheer for him whenever I made it out to the ballpark, but I don't think the right move for this team is to revisit the past with players past their prime.
No comments:
Post a Comment