A Lesson to Learn From the Yankees

By Kevin Mark - Angelswin.com Contributor

Beginning in 1947 and continuing through 1964 the New York Yankees won 16 American League pennants and 10 World Series titles. In 1965 the Yankees finished 9 games below .500 and in 6th place. Yankees fans were shocked. How could a team that made a habit out of winning pennants and championships fall so far so fast? This is an important question for the Angels because if they don't make significant moves this off season they could end up experiencing the same fate as the Yankees of the 1960s.

The 1965 Yankees had future Hall of Fame players Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford and former AL MVP winners Elston Howard and Roger Maris. But in 1965 Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, and Roger Maris were getting old. Bobby Richardson, Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh were above average but not the type of players a pennant winning team is built around. Young players such as Bobby Murcer, Jake Gibbs, Roy White, and Roger Repoz never developed into the championship-caliber type of players the Yankees front office believed they would. In 1966 the Yankees finished behind the Washington Senators and Kansas City A's in last place. It would be 9 more seasons before the Yankees would reach the post-season.

This period of New York Yankees history should not be lost on the Angels. Beginning in 2002, the Angels have won a World Series championship and 4 division titles. But unless drastic changes are made during this off season, the 2009 version of the Angels could follow the same path as the 1965 Yankees. Vlad Guerrero and Garret Anderson are getting up there in age. The Angels have picked up Vlad's 2009 option but it is questionable if Anderson will be back after they declined his option of '09. Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins are both solid players players but neither are corner stones of a World Series winner. Experts have said that Howie Kendrick, Eric Aybar, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, and Kendry Morales have potential but it remains to be seen if they can produce at the Major League level.

The starting pitching the 2009 Angels will have is something the Yankees of the mid to late 1960s did not have. John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, and Jered Weaver have all proven to be Major League quality pitchers. There is no arguing that John Lackey is a true ace. But starting pitching alone is not enough to guarantee continued success when the offensive line up has so many holes. Most Angels fans believe signing Mark Teixeira is the most important off season move the team should make. But signing Teixeira is not enough to ensure continued success. It is time for Reagins and Scioscia to attempt to make several changes to this team's lineup through trades and free agents signings to ensure that October baseball is not a distant memory for the Angels.


This entry is also posted on the Rounding Third and Heading Home blog.

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Angelswin.com Hot Stove Preview

By Brent Hubbard - Angelswin.com Senior Columnist

And as the Red Sox Nation cheered, Halo fans around the world were in a state of collective shock. “But we’re a better team” was one of the more common utterances issued by these Angels fans, among much more colorful language to be sure. As the hated Red Sox moved on to face the upstart Rays in the ALCS, a team no one seemed to see coming, except myself, one has to examine the root causes of the Angels failure in the 2008 ALDS, and look towards the future.

I loathe the Red Sox and hated to see them eliminate my beloved Angels for the third time in five seasons. I loved seeing the Rays eliminate them in the ALCS. Yet I have to admire both teams in certain ways from an organizational standpoint. Wait a second… hear me out.

Most of the 2002 World Series winning Angels team was homegrown talent as are the Red Sox teams of 2007 and 2008. The Rays also were mostly built through the draft and through trades. After Arte Moreno bought the team, most fans seemed to embrace him and his large checkbook. Thinking we can spend our way to continued success and championships. That philosophy doesn’t work. Not in the long term. Ask the Yankees.

The Red Sox were helped greatly by lopsided trades, as well as the overvaluing of their minor league and major league talent they allowed to depart. They are helped greatly by their ballpark, as it is truly the most unbalanced park in the majors. They’ve spent large sums of money as well, adding players like Daisuke Matsuzaka and JD Drew, by offering far more than any other team. The Rays were helped by being among the worst team in baseball for a number of years, leading to a lot of high first round draft picks.

David Saltzer has written a few excellent pieces about his proposed off-season plan of attack for our beloved Angels. This steals my thunder a bit, but here’s my take anyway. Looking at the current state of the Angels, I wonder if the roster needs a complete overhaul or just minor fixes. This article will examine first the state of the roster, internal solutions to current and future holes and look ahead to the future. Tomorrow’s piece will discuss the free agent and trade market, both for 2009, and the upcoming seasons.

When examining our own minor league system, I see most of the talent that meets the Angels current needs down at the lower levels, and logjams at the upper levels where the Angels have talent. Some of this can be attributed to Bill Stoneman, but I think most of this is due to lack of 1st round picks being given as compensation for high priced type A free agents over the last four seasons. Some which have contributed, some that have not.

Looking towards the future: State of the Payroll

The Angels have $85.35 million in guaranteed contracts next year, though $38 million of that is in club options for three players, Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey and Garrett Anderson. The other $47.35 is split between Hunter ($17.5m), Matthews ($10m), Escobar ($9.5m), Shields ($5), Speier ($4.75) and Kendry Morales ($600k). That is $85,350,000 for 9 players. That means 16 spots left to fill and only $40 million to spend to meet the rumored 2009 budget.

It is sustainable for one additional large contract to be on the books for several years as the Angels do not have a very large payroll commitment past this upcoming season. I do expect several current Angel players to have new contracts in place this off-season, but for now, the payroll stands at $40.3 million for 2010 for 5 players, and only $30 Million for 2 players in 2011. Only $18 million in 2012 is committed to Torrii Hunter.

The bottom line is that there are capable replacements for some of the talent on the Angels roster in the upper minors, but any major star is a ways off, so the Angels need to sign Teixiera to remain competitive. And no matter how large the contract, it is affordable under the current projected payroll.

I do not agree with David with his plan to let Anderson walk. I do not see a comparable hitter, younger or older, who is as productive and won’t be looking for a long-term deal that severely ties the organization’s collective hands moving forward. The club option for Garret for his final season in Anaheim is a good move. There is no one on the market who will provide a comparable bat to Anderson for what amounts to a 1-year, $11 million contract, due to his guaranteed $3 million buyout. And because the payroll and the roster is in a state of flux, adding long term dollars to a team for a replacement free agent such as Pat Burrell, will merely lock up money and a roster spot, without adding an impact player.

I believe all three of the club options should be exercised, a small three-year extension (2009-11) should be discussed with Guerrero, pending knee surgery, and an extension should be offered to Lackey. I also believe Santana should be locked up to a four year deal similar to the contract that Escobar and Lackey signed a few years back.

2009 Free Agent Decisions: Is the grass greener?

As previously stated, the most important signing for the off-season ahead is to retain the services of one Mark Teixiera. I don’t know what he’ll command, but I am sure it will exceed the contract of Torrii Hunter in both Average Annual Value and number of years.

I think players like Hunter, Guerrero, Anderson can still contribute, but it is time to add a young centerpiece player to go with them. That player is Mark Teixiera. No one else is available on the market that compares, and only a few will be available next off-season (Matt Holliday leading the class). And none at positions where it makes sense the way that Teixiera does. He can contribute now and in the future, and can be a centerpiece along with Vladimir Guerrero for the upcoming season and possibly be that centerpiece if Vlad is not brought back after 2009.

The Free Agent class is better after the 2009 season, yet not that much better. The Angels need to avoid the mistake of signing a player who fits their needs this year, only to sign a better player in the same position next year, the way they did with Matthews and Hunter. The Angels should get Type B compensation for Garland and possibly Rivera, Type A for Rodriguez, who I think will definitely depart, and Teixiera should he leave. This could reap a reward in the draft similar to the one the Red Sox had after they let their free agents go in 2005, which in turn helped them win in 2007 and 2008.

Juan Rivera will not resign, mostly due to playing time concerns, as well as monetary ones, nor will Garland. I do believe Oliver will be back at a similar rate as in 2008. The fact that he is likely to be a Type A Free Agent, will virtually guarantee that the Angels offer arbitration, and settle on a two year deal. Maybe something in the range of 2 yrs / 6 Million.

Arbitration Eligible Players: Who gets what?

The Angels have six players eligible for arbitration. They are Figgins, Izturis, Santana, Bulger, Quinlan and possibly Napoli. Napoli may miss the cutoff, but lets assume he is eligible.

While I think some of these players will be brought back, I also believe several will be non-tendered, making them free agents. I think four are definitely back, Figgins, Izturis, Napoli and Santana. I believe Quinlan and Bulger are probable non-tenders. Bulger may then be resigned, but I think there are capable bats to take over for Quinlan, the way he took over for Shawn Wooten after 2004.

Figgins should command between $6-8 Million in arbitration. Santana will likely get at least $5 M, Izturis at least $4 M, Napoli at least $4 M. This total will be offset if some of these guys work out two or three year deals, or in Santana’s case, a long-term extension.

Still, I can’t see a scenario where these four guys end up with less than $15 Million, and most likely it’s around $19 Million. Which means that the projected payroll has climbed into at least the $104 Million dollar range. $104 million for 13 guys is not a great position to be in.

Club Control: The young guys

Moving onto the young players, those under club control, the good news is that of those 12 remaining spots, it is possible to fill them all with players who are under club control, meaning their combined salaries would equal less than $6 million. I’d expect to see many of the same faces back for 2009, but 2010 is a different matter. I expect some of the minor league talent discussed by David to arrive in 2010 midseason, especially Bourjos, and one he didn’t mention in Mark Trumbo a future 1B/DH type. It is possible for one or two of the following guys to make a leap and jump onto the roster for next year, but most likely only 9 or 10 spots will be filled from the club control ranks.

Of those 9 or 10, I’d expect virtual guarantees for Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders, Howie Kendrick, Jose Arrendondo, Brandon Wood, Kendry Morales, and Jeff Mathis. It is also extremely likely that Kevin Jespen, Sean Rodriguez and Erick Aybar make the club unless Aybar is traded, and one of Matt Brown or Freddy Sandoval, and one of Reggie Willits or Terry Evans are likely on the team. At least one of those last four guys makes the on the club. That’s at least 10 guys not including Anthony Ortega, Nick Adenhart or Rafael Rodriguez, all of which could figure into the fifth starting spot or a bullpen role. And Escobar could be back as soon as May. I don’t know where he fits in roster wise, but you have to assume when he’s back, he’s on the team.

Some trades will have to be made from these ranks, as I do not see the available roster spots if any of our own or other free agents are brought back.

Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux and others are going to have a tough time making the team. It will be a spirited competition in the spring. Especially for the fifth roster spot and last bench spot.

Another area to look at is the 40-man roster. A good portion of our minor league talent is from the 2005 draft or were signed around that time, which means these guys may be eligible for the Rule V draft if they are not placed on the 40-man roster. Names like Rafael Rodriguez, Trumbo, Ortega, Bourjos and others are probably added to this roster this off-season.

We are currently at 41 spots on the 40-man, including Kelvim Escobar on the 60-day DL. Subtracting K-Rod, Rivera, Garland, Quinlan, Bulger, equals 36 left, meaning we can add 5 guys to the roster. The four names above will certainly claim those spots, and if a there is a net free agent gain of even +1 free agent you have a full roster. If you add anybody else, they’d be taking the spots of guys like Willits, Terry Evans. O’Day, Loux, Budde, Moseley, or Thompson. Players like Sean O’Sullivan, PJ Phillips, Ryan Mount, Hank Conger, and Jordan Walden may also be added sooner rather than later. This means some of those young players on the 40-man who have failed to produce yet are either traded or released to waivers.

I suspect 9-10 guys will make the roster from the club control ranks. This makes the salary figure approximately $109 before signing any of our own or other free agents. Is this doable? I don’t know.

Below will examine free agents from other clubs and trade possibilities.

DEPTH CHART (2009)

1B Teixiera* Morales Brown
2B Kendrick Izturis S-Rod Aybar Brown
SS Wood Izturis Aybar S-Rod Mount PJ Phillips
3B Figgins Brown Wood Sandoval S-Rod
C Napoli Mathis Wilson^ Conger^
LF Anderson GMJ Willits Evans
CF Hunter GMJ Willits Evans Bourjos
RF Guerrero GMJ Morales
DH Morales Guerrero Anderson Trumbo

SP Lackey Santana Weaver Saunders FA/Minors* Escobar†
RP Arredondo Shields Oliver* Jespen Speier FA/Minors

ANGELS FREE AGENTS

Oliver, Darren FA
Rivera, Juan FA
Rodriguez, Francisco FA
Teixiera, Mark FA

AVAILABLE FREE AGENTS

I look at the 2009 Free Agent list and see almost no one I find the Angels should pursue, outside of their own guys. I look at the potential trade targets and see little affordable or rumored to be available that meets the Angels needs.

What make sense for the Angels is to wave goodbye to the single season saves leader and put that money into the offense. Specifically as I stated yesterday, re-signing Mark Teixiera.

Looking to other teams Free Agents, again, I do not see anything of interest. I do not believe that the Angels currently need another starting pitcher with Escobar due back mid-season, and guys like Nick Adenhart, Anthony Ortega, or other internal candidates also options for that 5th starter spot. I am highly opposed to signing a free agent starter like CC Sabathia or AJ Burnett should he opt out. I’d rather go after a low salary, potentially high reward guy like Mark Prior (who’d be the ultimate low-high guy) or Randy Wolf. But only if needed because one of the currently slated starting five was to be dealt in a package for a bat. Jeremy Affeldt is a possible bullpen/swing-man addition I’d be interested in.

I do have my eye on one very interesting option pitching-wise that may be available. Japanese phenom pitcher Yu Darvish may ask to be posted to the majors. This is the kind of pitcher we need in the Angels rotation, he’s young, he’s got an attitude. He’s tall, 6-5, and thin, but has dominated the way that Daisuke Matsuzaka did, but possibly even better. In this column from Yahoo Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-japandarvish032308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns), Trey Hilman, the Kansas City Royals Manager, and a former manager in the Japanese leagues is quoted as saying, “Fonzie and Elvis,” says Hillman, his former manager. “That’s Darvish.”

ESPN did a profile on Darvish at the start of the 2008 season, yet no one talks about him being posted this off-season. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=darvish

The Angels would certainly have competition, but I think the investment in a player of Darvish’s skill and popularity in Japan would benefit the Angels more than a guy like CC Sabathia or AJ Burnett. He may be worth the increase in payroll over the budget set by Moreno. Moreno has frequently said that he will go for a player who is special. He is definitely that and he has what many pundits have said lack about the Angels lack this season: Personality, toughness, and grit.

Yesterday’s payroll figure was around $106 million for 22-23 guys from our own system. If you add in $3 M for Oliver, $20 M for Teixiera, you are at $127 million for 15 players. Add in a similar contract to Daisuke Matsuzaka for Darvish, and a similar posting fee, and you’ve got a payroll in the $140 million range. Is this doable? Likely? I don’t know.

The good news when looking at adding high salaried free agents is that it is very likely the Angels could add players such as this by offering a smaller 2009 salary and more money if future years. The payroll commitment for 2010 is around $40M, and $30 in 2011, with only $18 on the books for Torii Hunter in 2012.

Which means that large money contracts could be offered this offseason, I just want them to be offered to the right players. I would not sign anyone over 30 years old to a big contract exceeding $10 M per year.

Certain Angels players currently under contract will be offered long term deals this offseason, headed I think by John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Mike Napoli. This will make the future payroll undoubtedly higher, but it is certain to keep it in the range where adding two large contracts is doable.

I seriously doubt they would consider signing Manny Ramirez, but that is an outside possibility I suppose.

Some mid-range free agents the Angels might pursue are Joe Crede, Rafael Furcal if they decide to part ways with Figgins, or Pat Burrell. I don’t think they’ll pursue Adam Dunn. Rocco Baldelli is an unlikely possibility as well.

After 2009, there is a much richer free agent class with names (including some of our own bigger names) that could or should appeal to the Angels like Adrian Beltre, Rick Ankiel, Garret Anderson, Jason Bay, Coco Crisp, Carl Crawford, Jermaine Dye, Vladimir Guerrero, Matt Holliday, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady, and Magglio Ordonez. Pitchers like Josh Beckett, Justin Duscherer, Kelvim Escobar, Rich Harden, Tim Hudson, John Lackey, Cliff Lee, Brad Penny and Brandon Webb are also available. Some of these players have options, but the class is no doubt a better one than the 2009 class.

Trade Possibilities

Trading Gary Matthews is probably the best thing the Angels could do in the off-season as far as trades are concerned. If you have to include a MINF such as Aybar or Izturis, to get him moved, you do it. If you can move a pitcher like Weaver or Adenhart along with him and you were able to get a good young player back, I think you do it.

The Marlins are in a huge need of a centerfielder and if you paid half of GMJ’s remaining salary over the next three years, you may be able to include him in a package with some top flight prospects for a good player entering his arbitration years, like Dan Uggla, or to get a player like Jorge Cantu or Dallas McPherson as insurance in the event that Teixiera signs elsewhere. These three players all have power, something not abundant in the Angels roster, and could all play 1st base if that spot were open. Plus, McPherson and Cantu would not be expensive payroll wise. It would likely be a net decrease if a move such as this were to be made.

Gary Matthews could also be moved to the Giants, if some of his contract was to be picked up, though I don’t know what else they’d ask for, or what we’d get back. Remember that Matthews has a no-trade clause through next season, so he’d have to sign off on either move.

I think it’s also time that some decisions were made with the AAA folk, and some of the upper level who are blocked or are highly similar were moved. Quinlan will be non-tendered or traded, and Willits could be traded for a prospect. We have a glut of middle infielders that need to be moved or cut. Preferably the Angels could get something back.

The Angels have capable replacements already on the 40-man roster in Terry Evans, Freddy Sandoval, Matt Brown, Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Wood.

If Wood takes the starting SS job for 2009, as many hope he will, you only need one middle infielder to help him along and that guy is probably Macier Izturis. You can trim payroll by non-tendering him and going with Aybar, but seeing as Izturis is one of Scioscia’s favorite players, I doubt this. Aybar could bring back something in a trade.

Potential trade targets from other teams include Russell Martin from the Dodgers, (though when I heard they may make him available, I had no idea why, and I doubt they’d move him across town) Matt Holliday from the Rockies, (in which case GA’s option would likely be declined), and Josh Fields from the White Sox.

The potential for deadline deals and off-season 2009/2010 deals are much, much greater than this off-season, with many players reaching arbitration for the first time or who will be due significant raises in this process. Other teams will be in the position that Texas was in 2006 with Mark Teixiera, and Pittsburgh was with Jason Bay in 2007, that is having one and half seasons left of their franchsie player before he reaches free agency. Colorado elected to keep their prize 2010 free agent, Matt Holiiday at this year’s deadline, but he may be moved in the off-season. He’ll certainly be involved in many rumors anyway.

Some potential off-season trade targets after next season include: Paul Konerko, Derek Lee and Derek Jeter, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and David Ortiz. Also Toronto’s Roy Halladay and BJ Ryan will be heading the pitching crop. All of these players are free agents following the 2010 season.

There is plenty of work to be done this off-season, but I hope the Angels do not try to do a major overhaul, nor to supplement this year’s team by bringing in a free agent that won’t fit their bright future. Each of the next two years brings a better free agent class than this one, and I hope the Angels are in a position to be aggressive in those years, which it looks like they will be.

But not if a player is brought in simply to fill a hole with no foresight as Gary Matthews was in 2007. To be fair, he did fill two holes, leadoff and playing center field. Only because Figgins dramatically improved his standing with this club in 07, and did almost reach that level of play in 08, was GMJ not hitting leadoff these past two seasons.

In conclusion, all I can say is that this off-season will be eventful. We’ll either see the Angels hang onto most of their 2008 team, look towards the 2010 free agent class, and the future beyond, or some combination of the two. Bring on the hot stove.

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Life Without Teixeira

By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com Columnist

As we plan for 2009, many Angels fans have wondered: What happens if we don’t resign Teixeira? While failing to sign Teixeira will be bad for us (we traded 3 years of Kotchman to get Teixeira), life without Teixeira won’t be the end of the world.

Without a doubt, the team that took the field in 2008 was the best the organization has ever fielded. Yet, it failed to go past the first round due to the lack of timely hitting and the lack of power. The team in 2008 needed another bat and getting that additional bat should be the focus of this offseason.

If the Angels go into the season in 2009 without Teixeira, they won’t need just one more bat—they’ll need two more bats to replace the offense lost by Teixeira. And, in 2009, we should be breaking Wood and Morales as regulars, and we will need to get the veteran hitters who can carry the weight until those two get settled into our lineup. This offseason, offense should be the priority and getting 2 bats will most likely require a trade and a FA signing.

In some ways, life without Teixeira opens up more possibilities than life with Teixeira. There are many directions Reagins could go. So, trying to predict his moves becomes much more speculative in a post-Teixeira universe.

The obvious target that Reagins should pursue is Matt Holliday. He’s a comparable hitter who is just now entering into his prime. While not as powerful as Teixeira, he has more speed and would make a great #3 hitter to get on base in front of Vlad. He would be the most comparable slugger available and the most able to fill the hole left by Teixeira.

The risk, of course, is that Holliday will be a FA at the end of 2009. Any trade involving Holliday would need to include a window to sign him long-term. We can’t afford to risk losing all that it would cost to land him for just 1 year. And, with Boras as his agent, odds are high that he will push us by declaring himself a FA next year.

To land Holliday, it would most likely take a combination of Nick Adenhart, Anthony Ortega, Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos and Sean Rodriguez. That’s a lot to risk, but, Holliday is worth it.

Beyond Holliday, we would need to sign another FA slugger. We need another hitter capable of an 850 OPS. Without Teixeira, Kendry Morales will most likely takeover 1B, so, that means we will have a hole open for another OF/DH type. While Dunn and Burrell have been tossed around, it would require us to convince one to split time between RH and the DH spot rather than their customary spot in LF. Between the two, I’d prefer Adam Dunn, as he’d bring a left-handed bat with more power and fewer health issues.

While many would like to see Manny here, I don’t think we can afford him AND Holliday, and frankly between the two, I’d rather have Holliday. He’s younger, faster and doesn’t bring the baggage with him that Manny does while playing better defense. But, if we got both, we would finally have the hitting and confidence to go deep in the post season. The only question with Manny is whether his offense is worth the headaches and his financial cost.

The one downside to pursuing Holliday is that it doesn’t give us much flexibility to pursue a 5th starter or to upgrade to another top-tiered starter and weakens a lot of our depth. However, with the offense, we’d still win plenty of games—enough to win the division—and would finally have the offense to go deep into October.

Another direction that Reagins could go is to pursue Prince Fielder. There have been rumors that he could be moved so that the Brewers could free up some money to pursue Sabathia. They have a prospect for 1B that they believe is ready and might be willing to deal him. If we did make a deal for Fielder, we could still afford to pursue a FA OFer, move Morales to the DH spot and still potentially have money left to pursue a pitcher to round out our rotation. While we couldn’t afford top-tiered pitching with the remaining money, we could get someone from the second tier.

These are only two of the many ways in which we could go in a life without Teixeira. Right now, there are rumors about Peavy floating around that could change everything. Other teams may have to make some moves depending on how they see the economy affecting their revenue. The possibilities are nearly limitless for us without Teixeira.

At this point, I still believe that we need to go for broke to sign Teixeira. Keeping him and adding another bat will help us move beyond the 1st round. While I believe that signing Teixeira, trading for a young bat and signing Sabathia is ideal, if we lose out on Teixeira, we could still win the weakened AL West by trading for a hitter and signing another FA slugger. At that point, we’d have enough pitching to win the shortened series and the upgraded offense to finally get past the 1st round. And getting this team past the first round has got to be the goal for this offseason.

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Where Do We Go From Here?

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com Columnist

After another heart-breaking exit in the first round, Angels fans everywhere have one question on their mind: where do we go from here?

While 2008 was supposed to be our year, it’s never too early to start wondering how we will ensure that 2009 is our year. Before the Hot Stove officially begins, here’s a stab at how the Angels can and should remake the lineup so that we will get deeper into October next year.

As part of developing our plan for the future, though, we first need to take a look throughout our minor leagues to determine which players are likely to have an impact at the Major League level and when we can expect to see them in the majors. We do not want to create future logjams or unsustainable financial burdens within the system unless an unbelievable opportunity presents itself.

As I see it, the key players who will have an impact in our organization in the next 2-3 years are:

Peter Bourjos, OF
.295/.326/.444 with 50 SBs

Hank Conger, C
. 303/.337/.517 with 13 HRs in 294 ABs

Estimated Time of Arrival: 2011

Sean O’Sullivan, RHP
16-8, 4.73 ERA with 111 Ks in 158 IPs 9-8

Jordan Walden, RHP
2.76 ERA with 141 Ks in 156.1 IPs

Estimated Time of Arrival: 2011-2012

There are other notable prospects, but, for reasons that will be discussed below, they may become blocked by moves made this offseason and therefore may be best used in trades. Additionally, players below Rancho were not considered as projecting their potential impact and timeline is much more difficult.

Looking at the list, though, we have a future leadoff hitter, a future catcher and two pitchers, all in development. But, unfortunately, most of the talent is 2-3 years away and so, we need to fill some bridges until we can get these players ready for the majors.

Looking at our major league roster, we have plenty of talent and not too many holes to fill. We can build for offense at 3B, LF and DH, and we need to fill 1 player in the starting rotation. Depending on our moves, changes may need to be made to our bullpen.

So, where do we go from here? Here are the 5 moves we need to make in order to field a better team in 2009.

1. Resign Teixeira. This is a no-brainer. Teixeira’s impact on our lineup was huge: Vlad went from an OPS of around 830 to an OPS of around 970—even though he was playing with more inuries after Teixeira got here. We cannot afford to lose what Teixeira brought to our offense and our defense. Not getting this move done forces us into a lot of difficult options that will result in fielding a worse team for 2009 and beyond.

2. It’s time to say some painful goodbyes. While some may disagree with some or all of these cuts, it’s time to recognize that we cannot hold onto everyone and need to free up some money to get some players to improve ourselves. Players who need to go include GA, K-Rod, John Garland, and Rob Quinlan.

The most painful goodbye for me will be GA. He is the last link to a lot of great memories with the Angels, but, alas, it is his time to go. If we keep him, aside from the monetary cost, GA will tie up at least 2 roster spots as we will need to have a ready backup as he continues to decline. This goes against the stability we need in the lineup and ties up 1 spot where we could actually pursue a player to improve the team.

As for Juan Rivera, while he does have power, we have a comparable player in Kendry Morales (whom I think is actually a better hitter) and who is signed for a few more years to a reasonable contract. I don’t believe that Juan Rivera will continually produce the way he did in July of 2006, especially with his injured leg. He will command more money and probably could get a better deal elsewhere. Either Kendry or Vlad needs to be in RF with the other being the primary DH. We need the stability in the OF and in the DH spot. We shouldn’t be using that spot for the walking wounded.

As for Frankie, I’m very worried about his loss of velocity, his increasing peripherals, and apparent salary demands to justify the investment in him. Some team will overpay for him. While we will probably lose a few games while Arredondo goes through his growing pains, we do have Shields as a fall-back option in the pen and other players who could be converted into closers. If Escobar comes back at some point next year, for example, he could go into the pen.

3. Make Brandon Wood the starting SS. We’ve held onto Brandon through many trade proposals and it appears that the payoff is finally here. With the changes that Brandon made to his swing during the All-Star Break, he finally became a major league hitter. While his defense is not as flashy as Aybar’s it is more reliable than Aybar’s. And, the offensive upgrade from Aybar to Wood is incomparable. Sure, Wood will have some growing pains, but, in the end, it will be worth it.

If we make the moves below, we will be in the best situation to let Wood develop. We could start him off much like Jhonny Peralta, who started off low in the lineup and move him higher up as he develops. But, if Wood develops like Peralta, the Angels will be much better off with him than with Aybar.

4. Sign C. C. Sabathia. We need a starter, and there is none better out there than him. Signing Sabathia gets us that bridge to our next pair of dominant pitchers and makes Adenhart expendable. Arte has said that he is willing to go over his budget for the right player. Sabathia is that player. He’s durable, reliable and local. We might be able to get him to sign with us for less than top dollar. While he may want to continue to bat, he might also want the chance to pitch in the post season on a regular basis close to home and would have that opportunity here.

5. Trade for a new 3B and move Figgins to LF. Extend Figgins for 3 years. While there are 2 notable LF FAs available (Dunn and Burrell), they will not come cheaply and would block Bourjos, who should become our future leadoff hitter. We need Figgins in our lineup to leadoff, as we don’t have a better option until Bourjos is ready. Therefore, extending Figgins through 2011 gives us that bridge to Bourjos and gives us a guaranteed salary schedule.

Assuming we can sign Teixeira and Sabathia, we can still boost the offense by making a prudent trade for 3B. Luckily, there are a few who may be available due the budget constraints of other teams. Two in particular, Uggla and Zimmerman would make a lot of sense for us, as they are young and powerful. In order to win in the post season, we need more players with power potential who can make game-altering hits to help us advance. Both Uggla and Zimmerman fit those requirements.

In order to trade for these players, we could offer a combination of players that includes Adenhart, Trumbo, Rodriguez, and Aybar. For budget conscious teams, those players offer huge upsides for relatively low cost. And, for us, they are all blocked: Adenhart would be blocked by Sabathia; Trumbo by Teixeira, Rodriguez by Kendrick; and, Aybar by Wood and Izturis as our primary backup. All of those players would be top-5 talent in any organization and should be able to net us a young and powerful player for 3B.

With these 5 moves, we would have a substantially upgraded offense, and much improved rotation and a weaker bullpen. Our defense would be about the same overall, but, the stability in the lineup would be greatly improved. Barring injuries, we would see far fewer platoons and lineup shifts, and Scioscia might be able to use under 100 different lineups in a season for the first time since 2002.

Our new lineup would be:

1. Figgins, LF (S)
2. Kendrick, 2B (R)
3. Vlad, RF/DH (R)
4. Teixeira, 1B, (S)
5. Hunter, CF (R)
6. Uggla/Zimmerman 3B (R)
7. Morales, DH/RF (S)
8. Napoli/Mathis, C, (R)
9. Wood, SS (R)

Our new rotation would be:

1. Lackey, RHP
2. Sabathia, LHP
3. Santana, RHP
4. Saunders, LHP
5. Weaver, RHP

Our bullpen would be:

1. Arredondo, RHP
2. Shields, RHP
3. Oliver, LHP (he needs to be resigned)
4. Jepsen, RHP
5. Speier, RHP
6. Loux, RHP (or another long-term reliever)

The payroll for this team is sustainable. Assuming the cuts above are made, we would only be increasing the payroll about $4-5 million for 2009. In 2010, Escobar’s contract comes off the books and Figgins becomes a FA. By then we should know if Bourjos will be our replacement leadoff hitter or if we need to find another solution. By 2011 we could trade a SP to make room for O’Sullivan and to keep our payroll within reasonable limits. By 2012, we could do the something similar to make room for Walden.

With 4 division titles in the past 5 years, we’ve achieved Moreno’s promise to make the Angels perennial champions. What the fans want now is to become perennial contenders for the championship. Making these moves would go a long way to bringing another championship to Anaheim in 2009 and beyond.

Reagins, get it done!

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Postmortem: What Happened and What Now?

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

By Jock Thompson - Angelswin.com Columnist

After winning 100 games for the first time in franchise history, the 2008 Angels missed their best opportunity to bring home a World Championship since 2002. Even after securing home-field advantage, the Angels were unable to take even one of their first two games at Angel Stadium. Post-ALDS player comments left no doubt as to how Angel players felt about the superiority of this team, and few in baseball believe that the Red Sox were that much better than the Angels, if at all. But Boston is advancing in the post-season, largely due to the following:

1) John Lester. John Lackey pitched well, but the Red Sox had the best pitcher in the series, a lefthander with a terrific arsenal and great location movement and who maintains his stuff well into the late innings. Boston manager Terry Francona made a huge mistake in removing him after the 7th inning in Game Four, but the Angels were unable to seal the deal.

2) Angel fundamentals. Let’s face it, aside from the starting pitching, the Angels played poorly for most of the series. They made some key base-running mistakes, played shaky defense, and most important, their plate approach with runners in scoring position was terrible, something that plagued the Angels all season and remains an ongoing organizational weakness. Consider the following series numbers: In 20 ABs with runners in scoring position, Angel hitters offered at 15 first pitches and five second pitches prior to seeing strike one. They came up empty in all 20 swings while recording 10 outs, a sac fly by Teixeira being the only RBI.

3) Poor individual Angel performances: Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar were a combined 4-for-35 without a walk, and neither were particularly solid defensively. Kendrick struck out seven times while stranding 13 baserunners. Frankie Rodriguez did nothing to impress would-be suitors in his two appearances; he and Ervin Santana – who had a two-out-none-on four run first inning meltdown – share much of the burden for the Game Two loss. Garrett Anderson completely disappeared after Game One. And in spite of Torii Hunter’s 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, he was guilty of more first-pitch hacking than any other Angel hitter, resulting in 12 runners left on base.

4) The botched squeeze: A lot of second-guessing on this one, but even those who agreed with Scioscia’s call here have to admit that it was a huge high-stakes gamble. Erick Aybar isn’t exactly the steadiest player on which to lay this burden, Delcarmen throws nasty moving stuff and hadn’t been particularly close to the plate with his first two pitches, and Willits was committed. Keeping these factors in mind along with Willits’s speed, a safety squeeze – as opposed to a suicide squeeze – might have been the better call. Allowing Aybar – a fine contact hitter – to continue his AB with a 2-0 count and the infield drawn in might have been the best call.

The Bottom Line: This was destined to be a close series, and in spite of the Angels’ occasionally poor play, it was. All four games could have gone either way, the Angels coming back several times to keep them close. Other than playing better – and adopting better plate discipline with runners on base – the Angels couldn’t have done too many things differently. This divisional series defeat can hardly be compared to the futility of, say, the Cubs vs. the Dodgers

So what’s ahead for 2009? There are free agents, extensions and player options to consider, along with promising newcomers who need playing time. Most of the off-season moves will depend on owner Arte Moreno’s purse-strings and perhaps a tightening budget in a down economy that threatens revenues. Spending in one area will adversely impact another, and bang-for-the-buck should always be a consideration. But here are one fanalyst’s ten recommendations, in priority sequence:

1) Address the team’s offensive weaknesses – notably plate discipline, ability / willingness to take walks and power – without overpaying. The first priority is obvious: Sign Mark Teixeira, if possible. If not, consider free agents like Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn and even Manny Ramirez.

2) Gauge the interest of CC Sabathia in coming to SoCal at a discount to what the Yankees will offer, something that has been long rumored among his friends and in the press. Particularly if Teixeira can’t be signed, the Angels may need to build 2009 around starting pitching again. A front five of Sabathia, Lackey, Santana, Saunders and Weaver is almost a 2009 post-season guarantee - health permitting, of course.

3) Pick up Guerrero’s and Lackey’s options; explore extensions with both of them. Prior to any contract discussions, persuade Guerrero to have his knee surgically repaired.

4) Find playing time for both Kendry Morales – either at 1B if Teixeira walks, or DH/OF - and Brandon Wood, either at 3B or SS. Both bats should improve Angel HR power going forward.

5) Find a place for Maicer Izturis in the lineup, whether it be at SS, 3B or as a utility / DH. Work him into the DH mix in an effort to keep him healthy.

6) Gauge Chone Figgins’ ability / interest in playing LF, in what is likely his final season as an Angel. If either or both is lacking, explore his trade value.

7) If Figgins isn’t going to be the LF, consider re-signing Juan Rivera.

8) Allow Jon Garland, Garrett Anderson, and Rob Quinlan to walk. Thanks for the memories, guys.

9) Re-sign KRod only at a hometown discount. If this isn’t possible, the bullpen could be a true committee, with Shields and Arredondo alternating sharing two-inning saves, supplemented by Jepson and Escobar, the latter by mid-season.

10) Explore Aybar’s trade value, but don’t just give him away. If he stays, he comes off the bench and / or shares time until he improves offensively.

And finally, expand front office efforts in identifying “free talent” being disposed of by other clubs. GM Tony Reagins had a good first year, landing Torii Hunter at the last minute – even if the Angels slightly overpaid for his services – and scooping up Teixeira for Casey Kotchman at the deadline. But in recent years, the Angels have had little if any success in identifying either talent that other organizations are willing to move for little in return, or inexpensive free agents with good upside.

For example, Carlos Quentin might have filled Angel power / OBP needs for years to come, and he was sent to the White Sox for nothing. Aubrey Huff could have filled LH power needs, and now in retrospect, he would have been a bargain at the three-year $20m deal price for which he signed with the Orioles.

Even with the encroaching talent of TEX and OAK, the AL West remains the Angels’ for the taking in 2009. The Angels off-season moves need to keep the post-season – and what it will take to win there – in mind. The lessons of 2008 should prove instructive.

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So Close, Yet so Far!

By Mark W. Bender - AngelsWin.com Columnist

The 2008 LA Angels were a special team during the regular season. They had the contribution of every team member’s efforts when it counted. Early in the season, the hitters kept the team in contention, during the middle part of the season, the pitching staff kept the team in the games, and towards the end of the season, both the offense and the pitching staff kept the team in the games.

The Angels were in many ways fortunate to be able to clinch the American League West Division on September 10th. But sometimes when you do the “best thing”, you end up with results that you don’t expect. Clinching early allowed the Angels to rest their key players, and give Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, and others a chance to get ready for the upcoming playoffs.

Sometimes accomplishing the goal of winning your division early can backfire. By not being in that “must win” mode, when it does come time to start the playoffs, you can’t get that “must win mentality” going quick enough, and by the time it kicks in, your team is already out of the playoffs. That’s exactly what happened to the Angels in 2008. Even though a team that clinches early can rest its players, it also loses the momentum you build when the team is trying to earn a playoff spot.

The Chicago Cubs and LA Angels both had the chance to clinch their division early, and we all know the results of that. Last year the Colorado Rockies came into the playoffs with momentum. This year, the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers are the teams with momentum still in the playoffs.

Many times during the 2008 season, the Angels were able to execute the game plan and win the close games. Frankie Rodriguez played a vital role in many of those victories. Yet when it came time for the playoffs, the Angels weren’t able to execute their game plan, and they yet again struggled against the Red Sox.

The Angels are known as a team that can execute when called upon. Their entire season rode upon a suicide squeeze play that Erick Aybar couldn’t accomplish. There is a saying in baseball that “You live and die by the squeeze play”. Unfortunately the Angels season died when Aybar didn’t execute when he was called upon to bunt. If Aybar executes, the Angels might have won game 4. This could have completely turned momentum around, and won game 5 in Anaheim, and made Mike Scioscia look like a hero instead of a scapegoat.

For the Angels that one play crushed their entire season. So close, yet so far!

This article was orginally published on BleacherReport.com and can be found at the LA Angels Bleacher Report Community page.

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The Angels Most Excellent Regular Season

By Bruce Nye - Angelswin.com Columnist

With all Angels fans suffering the pain and agony of being eliminated by the Boston Red Sox again in the 1st round of the post season it’s important to not forget what was a terrific regular season replete with new personal records and outstanding team performances.

Myth Buster
It’s been said that the Angels 100 win 2008 record (a season best for the team) was accomplished, in part due to the weak AL West in which the 2nd place team, the Texas Rangers finishing 21 games behind. A look inside the numbers tells a different story. To win 100 games in a 162 game season, a team must have an average win percentage of .617. The Angels record against the AL East was 30-16, a .652 average and against the AL Central, the Angels record was 24-17 for a .585 average. So against the non-AL West opponents in the American League, the Angels win percentage was .621.

New Kids On The Block
The 2008 season was not made excellent with just veteran players with multiple years experience in the Major Leagues. The bullpen was bolstered by newcomer Jose Arredondo, who could find himself in the closer role in 2009. Arredondo finished the year as a set-up man and registered 10 wins and a 1.62 ERA. Two other newcomers, Jason Bulger and Kevin Jepson contributed down the stretch, with Jepson making the post season roster.

Due to nagging injuries, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez and Kendry Morales had meaningful playing time. And 2007 part-timers Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis made critical contributions. The 2009 season will no doubt include significant playing time for this talented group of youngsters.

Behind The Dish
The 2008 season saw Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli sharing time, but down the stretch, Napoli emerged as the go-to guy. Napoli had 20 home runs for the year finishing only behind Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter.

On The Bump
The Angels ace, was nagged by injuries until early summer and had 12 wins and was once again a dominate pitcher. But the biggest surprise was the emergence of Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana. Both were fighting for a spot on the roster in spring training and ended up as the No. 2 and 3 starters. Saunders racked up 17 wins and Santana won 16, pitching 211 innings and had more than 200 strike outs. Rounding out the starting staff were Jeff Weaver and Jon Garland who also had double-digits in wins resulting the starting staff each winning more than 12 games in 2008.

And of course, much has been written about Frankie Rodriguez garnering 62 saves (a new major league record). It is hard to imagine any closer besting this record. To achieve these kinds of numbers, a closer must be on a team that wins a lot of games, has a lot of close games and be a dominant closer. Frankie may be gone after this year, but his record will be remembered.

The Offensive Angels
After getting off to a slow start from a hitting standpoint, the Angels offense gathered momentum in July and soon the numbers starting improving dramatically. Torii Hunter was terrific – precisely what the Angels hoped they were getting when they signed him to a new five-year free agent contract last winter. Vlad had 27 home runs and joined Lou Gehrig as the only major league player with 11 consecutive years of hitting .300 and more than 25 home runs. The mid-season trade for Mark Teixeira paid dividends from the first game he played. Teixeira brought a style of patience and the much-needed big bat to the middle of the line up. Garret Anderson, as he usually does caught fire down the stretch and ended the year hitting .293 and had some fine moments including playing in his 2,300th game and scoring 1,000 runs in his long career.

Health concerns continued to be a nagging issue for the Angels. The infielders, Chone Figgins, Aybar, Izturis and Howie Kendrick seemed to be haunted by pulled hamstrings and in the case of Izturis, a broken thumb. The hope for 2009 is to keep these valuable players healthy.

No i In Team
Without a doubt, the story behind the 2008 Angels was consistency. Late in the season they racked up an impressive stat: they had not lost a series to an American League dating back to June 2008. It wasn’t until losing 2 of 3 games against the Rays in mid-August that this impressive streak ended.

Along the way, the 2008 the Angels swept the Red Sox twice winning 8 of the 9 games they played. They also had a sweep over the Yankees.

Another measure of consistency was their road record. The 2008 Angels won 50 games at home and 50 games on the road. They finished with the best record in baseball and were often rated the No.1 team in baseball by the various sports rating agencies.

To be sure, the season ended on a sour note, but the six-month ride prior to the post season brought many smiles to faces of Angels’ fans. For a team that was once described as mediocre, the climb to excellence during the past several years has been a steady one. But with excellence, comes higher expectations. Even though those expectations were not realized, this 2008 Angels team has plenty to be proud about during the regular season.

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YES. WE. CAN.

(AP Photo)

By Chuck Richter - Angelswin.com Executive Editor

Can we do it? YES. WE. CAN!

On Sunday night the Angels won what was a grind of a game. Put on hold were celebrations in the streets of beantown and in the clubhouse. The Angels sent Red Sox fans home looking like they were baptized in lemon juice and have put the pressure squarely on Boston.

Tonight, the Angels have a chance behind John Lackey who nearly pitched his first no hitter of his career in Boston earlier this season. John and the Halos offense will attempt to hold down the Red Sox and force a deciding game 5 at home in Anaheim. John opposes Jon Lester who threw a gem in game 1. The Angels go into game 4 after getting a good look at Jon, hoping to send Lester to the showers early.

In game 1, the Angels middle of the order was on base against Lester and hit him well (8 hts, 1 walk), but it was the Figgins (0-5), game 3 star Napoli (0-4), Kendrick (0-4) Mathews (0-3) and Aybar (0-4) who did not get on base at all, thus resulting in 1 run.

That needs to change, but the good news is that Figgins, Napoli and Kendrick (2 hits last night) have all started hitting. Perhaps Aybar's bat will wake up after driving in what was the winning run in the 12th inning last night.

Game 4 starts in less than 10 minutes and the result of tonight's game cannot squash what has been a fantastic season in '08. But with that said, Arte's Angels want to fly back with a purpose in mind after tonight's game, not looking back on the highlights of the season or plans for the offseason, they want to come back winners and give a little deja vu to the viewers and fans, a vision of what once took place in 2002 when the Angels had their backs up against the wall vs. the Giants in the World Series going into game 6, only to win the next two games.

See, for us Angels fans, this series against the Red Sox is of that magnitude, they're the team to beat, they're the team that has owned us in postseason, they're the team that we need to put under our feet as we march forward for the ring, and do away with any talk of a curse or superiority that Boston has over us.

If the Angels silence the crowd in Boston tonight and if the chowds listen closely, they'll hear a sound that resonates with Angels fans in October, all the way from Anaheim. The sound they'll hear is:

YES. WE. CAN.


Game 4 lineups:

Los Angeles Angels

3B Chone Figgins
LF Garret Anderson
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Vladimir Guerrero
CF Torii Hunter
C Mike Napoli
RF Juan Rivera
2B Howie Kendrick
SS Erick Aybar

RHP John Lackey


Boston Red Sox

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
DH David Ortiz
3B Kevin Youkilis
RF J.D. Drew
LF Jason Bay
1B Mark Kotsay
SS Jed Lowrie
C Jason Varitek

LHP Jon Lester

Angels fans, join us in the Gameday Chat Room for tonight's contest here:
http://angelswin.com/chat.htm

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Not Quite Good Enough

By Jock Thompson - Angelswin.com Columnist

That swirling sound you’re hearing just might be the Angels’ 2008 playoff hopes circling the proverbial drain. And once again, they’re hearing the criticism, from fans and pundits alike.

When recent Angel post-season failures are examined by talking heads and other mediots, they are often categorized under “can’t win in the playoffs”, thanks to nine consecutive playoff losses dating back to 2005. Or “the Red Sox have their playoff number”, thanks to 11 straight losses to Boston, three of which date back to 1986. That the most recent three Angel post-season failures from 2004-2007 were all against eventual World Series winners who dominated everyone they played is ignored. In fact, the best team often wins, even in a short-series – and this might well be happening again.

In the most exciting – and for Angel fans, agonizing - 2008 postseason game to date, the Angels again fell short against MLB’s franchise-of-the-decade Friday night. You may be tired of the obnoxiousness of Red Sox Nation (I know I am) and the odiousness with which the lesser Red Sox beat writers feed its worst elements (yes, I’m looking at you, Dan Shaughnessy). But classlessness aside, there’s no denying this basic truth about the team they support.

In another “bloody sock” franchise moment, JD Drew came back from the dead – or at least a bad back - to hit a key first inning double, before delivering his ninth inning crusher off of Frankie Rodriguez. The Ghost of Manny Ramirez is alive and well in Jason Bay, the player for whom the Angels’ previous tormentor was traded and who hit another big HR Friday night. John Lester is one of the AL’s best – and underrated - young pitchers. And Jonathon Papelbon (two saves) has been Jonathon Papelbon; one doesn’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to be lights-out at closing time.

Unlike other playoff teams that currently find themselves in a 2-0 hole, the Angels didn’t fold early after Bay’s first inning jack put them four runs down. The offense was relentless if inefficient in its one-run-at-a-time pursuit, finally catching the Red Sox in the eighth inning before Drew’s heroics in the ninth. But the glaring weaknesses and puzzling inconsistencies that keep them from performing consistently at Boston’s level stopped them from getting over the hump again.

The Angels have picked up 20 hits over two games, but their inability to hit in the clutch (4-for-21 with runners in scoring position over the first two games) has left 21 base runners stranded. And 19 of the Angels’ 20 hits have been singles, a disturbing sign from a team that outslugged the Red Sox over the last three months of 2008, after the additions of Juan Rivera and Mark Teixeira to the lineup. This power outage has been the key factor in their inability to score more than a run per inning during the post-season.

But it’s their traditional lack of plate discipline, unwillingness to consistently work counts and, seemingly, an absence of game situation awareness that has once again been the Angels’ biggest hurdle. In particular, their unwillingness to take the first pitch at critical moments – see Vlad’s AB in the first inning of Game One, Rivera’s AB in the first inning of Game Two, or almost any of Howie Kendrick’s ABs – has again short-circuited promising innings. As their five free passes suggests, Friday was better than Wednesday, but key ABs were given away on both nights.

Clearly some of the younger Angels don’t appear to be ready for primetime. Kendrick may have been a minor league batting champ, but until he improves his pitch recognition he’s a hole in the lineup, particularly in the postseason against the best pitching the AL has to offer. Ditto Eric Aybar. Combine all of this with notable performance failures at key times – e.g. - Ervin Santana’s uncharacteristic two-out-none-on first inning meltdown, Rodriguez saving his worst changeup of the year for Drew in the ninth – and we are where we are.

The 2008 Angel club is the best version since 2002, and a fine season has been affirmed by 100 regular season wins. Even down 2-0 heading into Fenway, I’d be shocked if this team rolled over now. And while there are long odds against the series coming back to Anaheim, it wouldn’t completely surprise me, because anything can happen in a five-game series and this year’s Angels are more than capable. But as occurred in 2004, 2005 and 2007, the Angels may now well be up against the eventual World Series Champion. And if so, as improved as they are, what they’re bringing to the table right now still isn’t quite good enough.

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Is there a Mr. Autry in the house?

By Mark Bender - Angelswin.com Columnist

With the Angels loss in game 1 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, the Angels have their backs up against the proverbial wall. The Angels finished 31-21 in one-run games (club record 19-12 on road) and 30-7 in two-run contests (17-2 at home). Along with 9 walk-off wins, the Angels are a team that knows how to compete. Problem is for the Angels, it’s hard to compete against something you can’t see or control; The Boston Red Sox Curse! Fortunately the Angels have something that the Red Sox team is lacking: The Angels fans and the spirit of the Rally Monkey!

The current Angels teams has had its back against the wall this season and have managed to win the games that were considered "must win" games. This Angels team knows how to "rise" to the occasion. The Angels team in 2002 lost all of their first games in each round of that playoff season. This years team also has a lot of great character, and has the ability to match the 2002 teams results.

Now it's time for the current team to "Cowboy up"! Let’s hope the team can exceed the definition of "Cowboy up", get back on your horse, don't back down, never give up, and do your best with the hand you've been dealt. I really feel that this team has been dealt the right cards and can "go all the way"!

Now all we need to do is page Mr. Autry!

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