The 144.5 Million Dollar Man

Today the Los Angeles Angels made a big time move, an even bigger one than dropping the biggest negative on the ballclub.  The Angels have signed Trout to a six year extension (that begins after his current, $1 Million dollar deal for 2014) worth $144.5 Million.  Getting the best player in baseball for $24 Million a year from 2015-2020 is an amazing bargain for the ballclub, which is a nice change of pace, considering the enormous bounties owed to Pujols, Hamilton and Wilson over those years.

Compare it to the deal Miguel Cabrera (really the only other guy who could even be considered for Trout's "Best Player in Baseball" crown), who got over  $300 Million for the next 10 years.  So not only are the Angels getting a discount of about $6 Million annually, they are getting Trout while he is in his Mid-to-Late 20's, rather than the Tigers and Cabrera, who will be 41 when the deal runs out at the end of the 2024 season.

I could post all these stats and bullcrap going over why Trout is better than Miggy, but it's pointless.  You are on one side of that argument or the other.  Either you are smart and know that what Trout does for the Angels is almost unquantifiable, or you are 100 years old and still think Batting Average and RBI's mean anything anymore.  Either we are friends or we aren't.  You aren't going to change your mind and neither am I.

Regardless of where you fall on the debate of who is the better player, everyone can agree that Mike Trout has more MVP-caliber seasons ahead of him.  So the Angels getting Trout for 80% of what the Tigers are overpaying Cabrera is clearly a fantastic bargain for the club, especially since they don't have to worry about paying him until 2015 when Vernon Wells and Joe Blanton come off the payroll.

Even if things aren't great in Anaheim for the next seven seasons, at least we have the best (and one of the most exciting) player in baseball to enjoy and give us a reason to come to the ballpark.

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In other news, the Angels announced that former MVP (and another great Angels "27") Vladimir Guerrero will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day on Monday.

Opening Day is Finally Here!

There is not much to talk about other than that. I'm sure that once the Angels wrap up their game this afternoon, I'll have a plethora of this to talk (complain) about! For those who will be joining me in a day filled with baseball, here is an easy to follow TV Schedule:

Tigers @ Yankees - 10:10 AM - ESPN
Padres @ Cardinals - 1:10 PM - ESPN
Angels @ Royals - 1:15 PM - FSN
Giants @ Dodgers - 5:00 PM - ESPN

(All Times Pacific)

Making the Case for Brandon Wood

10 days till Opening Day. I've really got nothing else to talk about because I'll be damned if I'm going to sit through 9 innings of a spring training game and analyze meaningless baseball. So, lets go over why Brandon Wood is going to have a renaissance season. AL Comeback Player of the Year, anyone?

Last spring, when the Third Basemen job essentially fell into Wood's lap, he was looking forward to it, but had a shaky spring. While he hit .278 with 3 Triples (random...), he looked uneasy at third, and only had 1 home run to go along with a .792 OPS (On Base Percentage + Slugging (Total Bases/At-Bats)). To compare: an average OPS is about .800, a really good OPS is around 1.000, and Albert Pujols averages a 1.1oo OPS. Needless to say, his power and ability to get on base were just ok... not something you are looking for in a Third Baseman.

So, you combine the slow start in spring to the fact that he never really had to earn anything, and maybe Brandon Wood took it easy. Maybe he had no concerns over Spring, and would get a fresh start in April. That never came, he played even worse than he did in spring, then became set back by injuries, then eventually lost his job to Macier Izturis, then got shoved even further down the Depth Chart when Alberto Callaspo came to town. Did Wood deserve this? Absolutely. He was one of the worst (if not THE worst) starting position players in all of the American League. He hit .146, with 4 whole Home Runs and a OPS of .382. Completely miserable numbers.

Brandon Wood's one saving grace? He couldn't get sent down to the Minors. Yeah, I mean, he could. The only problem is, he would have to get through waivers first, and if someone tries to claim him, he is stuck in Anaheim anyway. Last May or so, there was a very good chance he would get grabbed by a struggling team looking for any kind of offense. They could take a chance, and if he didn't pan out, its not a huge deal. Fast forward to today, however, Wood would probably pass through Waivers without much problem, if things get really bad, Wood could just get waived outright and be out of a job, and that's another motivating factor for the young "slugger".

Lets go over all of Wood's motivational tools (in case you missed them): He is third on the depth chart, he was the AL LVP (least valuable player) in 2010, he can wind up in Salt Lake or without a job pretty easily, and he has to earn EVERYTHING.

This kid's got the talent, obviously. You can't get drafted as high as he did, make your way through the minor league system, put up the numbers in Triple A that he did, and not have any talent. The problem seems to be his confidence. He changed his batting stance and swing just about every other at-bat last season, he mis-played balls in the field that a little leaguer could've handled, and he just looked like a nervous wreck at times last season. If he can build up his confidence in some pinch hitting situations, and the occasional spot start, Brandon Wood could turn out to be the player we all thought he would be.

In 2011, Brandon Wood should get a clean slate from all of us. Forget the disaster that was 2010, and if we all expect him to fail (like he probably still will (see what I did there...)), maybe we will get something special from this nice young man out of Texas.



(Ed. Note: I used parenthesis inside parenthesis TWICE in this article. I need to take a writing class or something....)

Kendry Unlikely to be Ready for Opening Day

The official statement today was that Kendry being ready for opening day isn't 100%. As an Angel fan, I read this first as "Kendry to be out for 2011", then as "Kendry back at All-Star Break", finally as "Kendry shelved till May". He has a tightness in the surgically repaired ankle he broke while celebrating a walk-off home run last May. A tightness. That could be anything from "the weather is changing" to "I'm never going to be the same, and you should trade me before I step on the field again while I still have some value."

How about that? Why don't we trade him now, before its too late? There is a gentleman in St. Louis who is looking for a giant contract extension from a team that isn't giving it to him... a 3 time NL MVP, Nine time All-Star, Current NL Home Run Champion and former NL Batting Champ. Is that so crazy? To want to trade for Albert Pujols? Who Doesn't?

Granted, we would have to give up a TON for him. Once he is here, he will also want about a billion dollars over 15 years, or something like that. However, I think the Angels have the pieces to make it work. Send Kendry Morales, Mark Trumbo, Hank Conger and a pitching prospect (pick one) to St. Louis for Albert Pujols. Trade a guy who will never be the same, two unproven rookies and an unknown arm... for a future Hall-of-Famer in the prime of his career? Seems like an easy choice, right?

I'm sure something like this will never go through. If there is something the Angels Front Office has proven, they don't like giving up prospects, period. I think they still feel burned by letting Bobby Jenks slip through their fingers. If this deal were to ever go through, it would take a complete change of heart by Tony Reagins, Arte Moreno and the whole staff. Its not going to happen, but if I were the Angels GM, I'd do this in a heartbeat. I'd also sign Albert to 29 Million a Year for 7-8 years... but that's just me.