The OC Baseball Council

That Angel NOT in the Oufield: Assessing the Halos' Options

2010-12-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the failure to sign Carl Crawford, the Angels seem to be reeling about what to do next. Some consider them to go hard after Lee; others consider them to go after Beltre. The Halos want to make a move, but it is unclear about what exactly they will do in the rapidly depleting market of top free agents. Here is a list of some possibilities.

Halos Making a Push for Lee:

I find this one to be highly unrealistic. While the Angels could make Lee a priority and would probably have a decent chance of signing in terms of dollars, the Halos' front office does not hide their reluctance to sign players, especially pitchers, to long-term deals. They even hesitated to go to seven years in their offer to Crawford, who is considered a great athlete at 29 years of age. So I don’t see anyway at all that the Angels would offer Lee, a 32 year old pitcher, a contract of at least six years, especially when it seems as if it would take a deal of at least seven years to sign the southpaw.

Currently the Angels already have one of the better rotations in baseball consisting of co-aces Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Although Haren has never been considered an ace by some standards, he has gotten Cy Young votes and is a three time all star. His 2010 campaign was his worst since 2006, and once he was traded to the Angels, he posted a 2.91 ERA in two solid months in the rotation. The Angels also have a strong three and four in Ervin Santana and Joel Pineiro. Lefty Scott Kazmir, who was one of the worst pitchers in the majors last year, is currently bring monitored closely in an offseason workout plan, and is expected to bounce back well and find his ace potential that he had with the Rays only a few years ago.

So my conclusion on this matter is that the Angels’ interest in Lee is simply due diligence because he is the best remaining free agent. They don’t need him, but I don’t think any team would say that they do not want him. He makes any team better.

Angels Push for Adrian Beltre

This is the more likely scenario. The Angels desperately need offense. They were expecting that upgrade to come in the form of Carl Crawford, as he would have been the perfect fit with his five tool abilities, however I won’t dwell on that too much because simply it didn’t happen. One position of extreme weakness last season was at the hot corner. Beltre is a talented third baseman that had an excellent year last year. I could see the Angels putting their all-in attitude towards Beltre. The only hitch on this scenario is Arte Moreno’s distaste for Scott Boras and the way he deals with teams. After the Angels failed to land Mark Teixeira in 2008, Moreno has adamantly avoided the agent and any player he represents. This is evidenced by the Angels' reluctance to sign Rafael Soriano. Instead they opted for two lefties in Hasinori Takahashi. and Scott Downs. Recent comments would suggest they will cease to pursue anymore relief pitcher. So the question is this: does the Angels' desire to improve on their worst record in seven seasons outweigh their feelings toward Scott Boras? We will see in the days and weeks ahead.

Signing a DH

If they miss out on the last few top tier free agents, the Angels can go bargain shopping like they did after the 2008 season where they signed Bobby Abreu. While it is possible that they take a look at Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui and Manny Ramirez types of players, the Angels seem to be content with the wealth of aging players that they have. The team seems to desire their youthful presence again, as can be seen in their decision to push Torii Hunter over to right for the speedy Peter Bourjos. So signing a permanent DH would leave a difficult spot of having an overcrowded outfield with Bobby Abreu already beginning to fill the DH role with Torii in right. So I highly doubt this will happen.

Acquisition by Trade

With Adrian Gonzalez also off the market as of last week, a huge and unlikely trade target was taken away from the Angels. There are still plenty of viable options, such as Prince Fielder. The Angels have the depth at certain positions (such and the outfield and catcher) to try and get a deal done for a major offensive piece. But I do not think a deal would happen during the off season, and is more likely to happen as a midseason deal, which Tony Reagins has made his signature over the past few seasons. This would allow for the team to determine where it's needs are while also allowing for pieces such as Rivera, Napoli or Aybar to regain their value after less than stellar 2010 statistics.

These are some of the likely scenarios I see for the Halos in the offseason. Let me know what you think as there will likely be a part two to this article.

Crawford, Lee and Werth...Oh My!

2010-12-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Anyone reading this is well aware that the biggest free agent names on the market are Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth. By now you have heard that the Yankees are the favorites to land Lee, the Angels the favorites to land Crawford and the Red Sox the favorites to land Jayson Werth.

But what if things did not go as expected? What could the baseball world look like by opening day? I will throw out an out of the box idea. An entire chain reaction starts as a result of Cliff Lee signing neither with the Yankees or the Ranger.

Cliff Lee Signs With Detroit Tigers
Okay so I do see the Tigers as a possible dark horse iin the Cliff Lee talks. The Tigers shed a massive amount of salary after the 2010 season and currently only have $83.5 mil committed for 2011. This is far below the $134 mil payroll that they had in 2010. Many believe they are interested in Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford, but perhaps they would be better off bringing in a mid-tier outfielder and landing the lefty ace.

This would likely start a chain reaction for the Yankees and Rangers. The Yankees would pursue Crawford vigorously and the Rangers would likely set their immediate sights on Grienke. Suddenly the Tigers would look like a very good World Series caliber team with Victor Martinez protecting Miguel Cabrera and Verlander and Lee baffling opposing hitters.

Carl Crawford Signs With Yankees
After Cliff Lee dawns his new Tigers jersey, the Yankees look to improve elsewhere by signing the next best free agent on the market, Carl Crawford. Their ability to offer large sums of money along with many guaranteed years allows them to beat out the Angels and Red Sox in this race. The signing of Crawford leads to the departure of Nick Swisher who land the Yankees a decent package of prospects as a result of his great 2010 season.

The Angels and Red Sox begin to panic as they watch numerous free agents fall off the table.

Angels Sign Jayson Werth
Despite showing little interest in the free agent early in the off season, the Angels sign Jayson Werth as a result of having nowhere else to turn. Although they would have preferred Crawford, Werth's combination of power and defense still entices them. With Crawford and Lee being off the table, Scott Boras starts a bidding war between the Red Sox and Angels. Backed by the deep pockets of owner Arte Moreno, the Angels land Werth leaving the Red Sox without any major free agent signings.

This doesn't leave the Red Sox down however. With no major free agents left on the table, they work out a deal that gets them Adrian Beltre back and Adrian Gonzolez even without an extension. They then continue to make a trade that improves them at shortstop.

As you can see, there is no easy way to predict free agent destinations. We may have our favorites to land certain free agents but in the end surprises can happen. It even becomes interesting to see the chain reactions that happen when particular teams don't get the man they wanted.

Keep paying attention to the free agent market. Its sure to get good with the Winter Meetings right around the corner.

EDIT:
Wow! Literally within minutes of posting this Jayson Werth signed a massive deal with the Nationals. Didn't see that coming.

Bloggers Wanted!

2010-10-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

We are looking for a few new bloggers here at The OC Baseball Council.

If you are interested please contact us at: ocbaseballcouncil@yahoo.com

Please Include:

A brief description of yourself such as why you want to write for this blog, what your favorite team is and where you are from.
A writing sample about baseball.

If we choose to invite you into the Council...we will contact you with more information.

Thanks!

Which One Is Really Better?

2010-10-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

No doubt that if you've been watching postseason games between the Giants and Braves you have heard the chants surrounding both of their young stars. Perhaps you've heard Giants fans chanting "Posey's Better" when Jason Heyward came up to bat in San Francisco or "Heyward's Better" when Buster Posey came to bat in Atlanta.

The question regarding which one is truly better, is one that is often debated when two or more baseball fans come together. It will likely be the type of debate that voters will need to settle in order to decide the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year.

Although I have absolutely no say into the matter, I have come upon a decision as to who I think deserves to win the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. That player is....well you will have to keep reading in order to find out.

On his debut on April 4th, Jason Heyward immediately made his presence felt by hitting a home run and driving in 4 rbis. He continued to produce, smashing 6 homers and driving in 19 runs in the first month of his career. The rest of the season was up and down for Heyward but not outside the normal struggles that rookies often encounter in their first year. Despite these few struggles, Heyward finished the season with very good numbers.

Jason Heyward

18 Homers
72 Runs Batted In
83 Runs
.277 Batting Average
.393 On Base Percentage

May 29th was the 2010 debut for Heyward's Rookie of the Year rival Buster Posey. On that day Posey had a very productive game by going 3 for 4 and driving in 3 runs. Over the next month, Posey would only hit 1 homer and drive in 6 RBIs. He didn't let that bother him one bit as he bounced back to hit 7 homers and drive in 24 RBIs during the month of July. Much like Heyward, Posey too finished the season with very good statistics.

Buster Posey

18 Homers
67 Runs Batted In
58 Runs
.305 Batting Average
.357 On Base Percentage

With approximately two months less work in the Major Leagues we could easily state that Posey would win if looking at the type of statistics listed above. But before we can hand Posey the title we need to look a bit deeper.

A factor that many like to look into is home ballpark. As anyone knows AT&T Park has never been a hitters park and as a result Buster Posey statistically hits much better on the road. Jason Heyward on the other hand has extremely similar statistics at home and on the road. Seeing as neither player gets a big advantage from their ballpark, we cannot say that their stats are padded by their ballpark.

One area that I often look at is how many quality pitchers that the batter has been paired up against in the season. I have always felt that by eliminating overall bad pitchers, we can see which player has been an overall better hitter. The stats look as followed:

Jason Heyward

Faced 15 starters with ERA of 3.70 or below*
86 Total At Bats
.244 Total Batting Average
6 Total RBIs
1 Total Home Run
17 Base On Balls

Buster Posey

Faced 12 starters with ERA of 3.70 or below*
71 Total At Bats
.296 Total Batting Average
11 Total RBIs
3 Total Home Runs
7 Base On Balls

*Minimum of 3 at-bats against a starter with 15+ starts

As you can see, while Jason Heyward showed better patience, Buster Posey seemed to be a better overall hitter.The fact that he managed to bat near .300 against the better National League pitchers is amazing.

So by now you probably know who I am choosing as my 2010 NL Rookie of the Year.

For me it has to be the Baby Faced Assassin.

Buster Posey.

Winning Isn't Everything

2010-10-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

With “the year of the pitcher” winding down, we close the books on some of the best pitching performances in recent memory. With, two (really three) perfect games and four no-hitters if you include Roy Halladay’s playoff masterpiece, and a new record set for near no-hitters in which a hit was not given up until the seventh inning or later. The 2010 season also saw a record number of pitchers (17) have an ERA under three at the all-star break.

With all the exciting pitching going on, the races for the Cy Young are completely open. The biggest debate being in the American League, and in deciding whether or not a pitcher with only a 13-12 record on the year deserves to win the award. Felix Hernandez leads virtually every pitching category with a 2.27 ERA (first in MLB), 232 SO (second in MLB), 1.06 WHIP (second in AL), 249.2 IP (first in AL), and 6 CG (third in AL). In other words, almost no pitcher has been as dominant as King Felix this year. However, some, because of his low win total, are discrediting his season. But how important are wins in rating a pitcher?

Major League Baseball is changing. No longer do pitchers go out and throw 120 to 150 pitches in a game on a regular basis. All teams use a five-man rotation which limits the number of starts in a season for a pitcher. On top of all that, the economics of today’s game make teams wearier of leaving starters in over a certain number of innings, so as not to risk injury. If CC Sabathia blows out his arm, that’s quite a big investment lost by the Yankees. Even King Felix missed out on the strikeouts title because he was not allowed to take the mound for the last game of the season due to workload concerns.

So where does this leave the value of the wins column with a pitcher? The category cannot and will not go away. Too much importance has been placed on wins throughout the modern era. But the voters for the Cy Young need to begin to look at the other categories weighted against other factors on a pitcher’s season resume. Last year the voters took a step in the right direction by voting both Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum the 2009 Cy Young winners with only 16 and 15 wins each, respectively. But this year will be the true test. Will the value of a pitcher be punished because of an increasingly outdated statistic. Will CC win it with a league leading 21 wins or will Felix win it with his dominance in nearly every other category? Only the voters can decide.

Maybe neither of them will win and someone else will claim it. There are many others worthy of votes.

Jered Weaver is one such pitcher who is deserving of some votes. Much like Felix Hernandez, Weaver suffered in the wins category as a result of having no run support and a sketchy bullpen to follow him. Weaver left six games with the lead, each resulting in a no-decision and he ended up with a disappointing thirteen wins. With more wins he may have been a frontrunner for the Cy Young with a major league leading 233 strikeouts, and finishing in the top 5 in the AL in WHIP and ERA. With a low number of wins however, its extremely unlikely that he will even finish in the top 5 in voting.

Wins will never be erased from the face of baseball as it should not, but what needs to happen is the category needs to take a backseat to categories that accurately depict how good a pitcher really is. Unfortunately for many pitchers however, it may be a long while before players and fans see such a thing happen.

Which Spider Will Spin This Webb?

2010-10-06T00:45:00.000-07:00

Brandon Webb will be facing a busy offseason this winter, or will he? It is still unclear as to how teams will value his Webb’s worth. The 2006 Cy Young Award winner has pitched only four innings over the course of the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Webb underwent shoulder surgery and has faced several setbacks in trying to return to the hill. It was believed last year that he would be a possible starter for opening day, but he pushed maybe a little too hard during spring training and didn’t throw a pitch in 2010. The Diamondbacks took a huge risk in picking up his option worth about $8.5 million to retain him, when he didn’t even throw. So that raises the question as to what type of value Brand Webb has on the free agent market this winter.

According to MLBTradeRumors, Brandon Webb will not be signing cheap this offseason. He is looking for the type of deal that the A’s gave to Ben Sheets last winter that was worth about $10 million. Sheets and Webb are very similar in that they both, in my opinion at least, are high risk, high reward types of players. Sheets didn’t exactly turn out as planned for the A’s as he ended up being hurt during a large part of the season. Webb is in the same position, but is he really able to ask for such a high base salary.

The reality of today’s baseball landscape is that teams are in trying to save money. Spending upwards of $10 million is not in the cards for a lot of teams anymore excluding the exceptions of a few select clubs. Webb may be seeking huge contract, but I think he may end up accepting an incentives-laden deal with a base salary of about $4-5 million. Then the signing club would be able to minimize the risk while maximizing the reward. For example a 150+ innings pitch incentive that increases his money. Apart from his first season in 2003, and the seasons since the injury, he has never dipped below 200 innings, but expecting that much out of him is unfair, because he has to work up to it. So I think both the bidding clubs and Webb’s camp may face a compromise.

But it will certainly be interesting to see which club’s will take the risk of signing the former ace.

Whats Next For The Mets?

2010-10-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

With the recent news of Omar Minaya leaving the post of the New York Mets' general manager, there is a great amount of anticipation as to who will claim the position and how will they transform the franchise. Perhaps they operate on the same ideas and goals that Minaya did or maybe they have a fire sale and reboot the team.

In this post I am not going to speculate as to who might or might not claim the job. Those type of decisions are extremely hard to determine especially with all the internal options that the Mets might have in their offices. Instead, I am going to simply speculate as to how the team might work now that Omar Minaya is no longer the general manager.

With a vacancy left open following the 2004 season, Minaya returned to his position as Mets GM and has been there since. Immediately upon returning Minaya made two big acquisitions in Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. A year later he added Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner as well as many more players. With these big names, the Mets won the NL East in 2006 with 97 wins. In 2008, he added Johan Santana and then Francisco Rodriguez in 2009. Minaya's tenure also saw the emergence of stars David Wright and Jose Reyes.

Now, at the end of 2010, the Mets find themselves in a disappointing third place in the NL East and searching for a new general manager. When they do, I believe changes may come very quickly.

Since Minaya took the reigns in 2004, the Mets payroll has increased a substantial amount from approximately $96 mil to $126 mil.

Even with that $126 million dollar payroll, the Mets only had one player (David Wright) with more than 20 homers, one player (Wright) with over 100 RBIs and one player (Wright) with a slugging percentage of over .450. That is before even mentioning the catastrophe in Oliver Perez who pitched a whopping 46.1 innings and posted a 6.80 ERA this season. Such an extreme payroll gives the Mets absolutely no room to improve in its problem areas.

The large contracts of many of their players mixed with the under performance of nearly all of their players could cause the new Mets GM to look to deal some of its highly coveted pieces. I could imagine a situation where the Mets would begin to shop players like Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran. All of these contracts are very pricey and the Mets would likely have to eat some of the mney in order to move these players.

The justification for these players would be that the Mets could receive some good pitching talent and young players. Guys like Santana and Reyes would likely fetch some top prospects while Rodriguez and Beltran could land the them some decent prospects with high upsides.

One shocking deal could involve moving David Wright. Although extremely unlikely, Wright would be well sought after and could land some major prospects. Interested teams could include the Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Cardinals, White Sox, Rangers and A's.

In order for the Mets to make it back to the top, they must find a way to shed some of the lengthy and expensive contracts. By doing this they open up some flexibility to grow, regroup and possibly contend in the near future. If they do not, they will be stuck with a team of aging veterans.

While Omar Minaya believed in the team he built, another general manager may not be so optimistic.

My advice to the future GM:

Sell and Rebuild.

Pay Day For Beltre!

2010-10-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

One of the most attractive free agents on the market this year will without a doubt be Adrian Beltre. The talented third baseman signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox last winter worth about 9 million. Beltre has been a force for the Red Sox with his .321 average (4^th in the AL), 28 home runs, .919 in OPS, and .553 SLG (5^th in the AL), and not to mention his gold glove caliber defense. With his deal in Fenway officially over with the Red Sox beating the Yankees on the season’s final day, the question now looms: where will Beltre end up in 2011?

Here are a few potential suitors for the third baseman’s services:

Boston Red Sox:

An obvious fit, the Red Sox would be smart to bring back the man who was an offensive force for them this season. Beltre became the a picture of consistency for the team in a disappointing year that saw key players such as Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and 2008 MVP Dustin Pedroia all spending significant time on the DL. Beltre can obviously hit in Fenway, and slides very nicely into the team’s line up. Beltre may not be an absolute necessity, however, because the team could move Youkilis to third, and then aim to find a temporary replacement at first for the 2011 season before trying to acquire a big gun first baseman next off season. So if Boras gets too pricey for the Sox, there is some flexibility.

Los Angeles Angels:

With the epic disappointment that is Brandon Wood in 2010, the Angels upgraded their third base position by acquiring Alberto Callaspo from the Royals. Callaspo, in my opinion, has played up to the expectations that the Halos were hoping for when they acquired him in July in an attempt to keep pace when they were still considered to be contenders in the AL West race. Callaspo is under team control until after the 2013 season. Beltre would be an even bigger upgrade over Callaspo, but they my not want to commit the inevitable hefty price tag that will come with Beltre. They may also be a little weary of Beltre’s stint with Seattle where he failed to deliver.

Detroit Tigers:

The Tigers also suffered a disappointing season despite having one of the top players in the game in Miguel Cabrera. Brandon Inge, the club’s current occupant at the hot corner is a free agent, and I could see the Tigers being a little apprehensive in resigning a player with the injuries that he’s had in the past couple seasons, although it has been rumored that they have been in talks about an extension. Beltre could be a viable option for the club.

Oakland Athletics:

The A’s pushed pretty hard for the third baseman last year, and actually offered the most money and years in a deal, but the Red Sox appealed to Beltre the most, obviously. So the A’s remain a potential bidder for his services, but may be reluctant to pursue a player who may not have mutual interest.

Atlanta Braves:

The Braves are an obvious suitor for Beltre should Chipper Jones retires at the end of the season. Atlanta will look to return to the postseason again Beltre would no doubt be a nice complement to Heyward and Alex Gonzalez in the line up.

Chicago Cubs:

Beltre would be a nice fit should Aramis Ramirez not pick up his player option worth $14.5 million for next year, although it is likely. And Beltre may not be any cheaper than Ramirez as the bidding for his services may get up to that price range.

Baltimore Orioles:

The second half was a bit of a turnaround for the O’s. The hiring of Buck Showalter made the O’s season look a little less like a complete lost cause. The O’s could use a player of Beltre’s caliber in the line up, and with Ty Wigginton a free agent this year, it may pose for a perfect opportunity to upgrade the roster.

Colorado Rockies:

The Rockies also have a third baseman that could be leaving to free agency, making Beltre a candidate to fill the hole. We’ve seen what Beltre can do in a hitter’s park, imagine what he’d be capable of in what some consider to be the hitter’s park of all hitter’s parks.

These are just a few potential suitors for Adrian Beltre. Let me know who else you think may be in the bidding in the comments.

Welcome To The Team

2010-10-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

We have a new blogger here at the OC Baseball Council!

Welcome JoeGill005.

Look for his posts and tell him what you think. Like me he will try to respond to your comments and questions.

Stay tuned for more additions to the council!

My Dear Prince

2010-10-03T02:25:00.000-07:00

As the 2009 trade deadline approached, everyone was hoping and praying that their team would acquire a great player, whether it be a current headliner, or a future superstar. We saw Cliff Lee move from cold and cloudy Seattle, Washington to humid and hot Arlington, Texas. Roy Oswalt joined the 2008 World Champs while his ex-teammate Lance Berkman was shipped up to the Brox. Dan Haren fashioned on a new Halo and San Diego added veterans Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick to their lineup.

While all of these big names were on the move, another royal name remained in his native colors of navy and gold. The Prince remained in Miller Park.

Although Prince Fielder remained with his team at the trade deadline, many speculate that he could possibly be on the move this off season should the Brewers once again make him available. Some could argue that the Brewers would be better off holding onto Prince until the trade deadline in hopes of raising his trade value. I would however disagree. The Brewers would likely get more if another team was allowed to control him for a full season.

Now lets have some fun shall we, and list a few teams that may have interest in having a Prince in their presence.

Boston Red Sox
The most obvious suitor, in my opinion, for Prince Fielders services in the Boston Red Sox. Should they decide to watch Beltre walk during the off season, the Sox would be primed to fill his hole. Without much effort, they could slide Youkilis back over to third base and let Fielder play first. There is no doubt that Prince Fielder's extreme power would work well within the hitter friendly confines of Fenway Park. There in no doubt that every Yankee fan would tense up a bit with the though of Fielder walking to the plate at Yankee Stadium with "Boston" written across the front of his jersey.

Atlanta Braves
Much like the Red Sox, the Atlanta Braves will have a wide open spot available for Prince Fielder on the roster. With the likely departure of Derrek Lee and Troy Glaus, the first base position is there for the taking. The Braves could also use some much needed power in the middle of their lineup. The combination of Fielder and Heyward would definitely become dangerous. With the addition of Prince Fielder, I think the Braves become even better that they are now, 90 wins and all. With their lineup and pitching you could be looking at a 100+ win team.

New York Mets
Should the Mets decide to part with Ike Davis in a deal, they could add Prince Fielders amazing power to the lineup in support of current stars like David Wright and Jose Reyes. The Mets might be able to use some extra pop behind Wright and should they figure out their pitching concerns, they could become a very, very lethal team.

San Francisco Giants
Will they ever get that power bat they've been searching for? Well, this could be the perfect opportunity. While Huff has been playing a very good first base, there is no denying that Prince is the better player. Of course Huff is the least expensive of the two. I look at this similar to the Braves: With a power bat in the middle of an already good lineup and a great pitching staff, the Giants could find themselves in a position to wil the NL West Division for many years (should they also decide to extend Prince.)

Chicago White Sox
With Paul Konerko possibly leaving Chicago, the Sox could possibly be searching for a replacement. There is no doubt that Fielder could make an impact with the White Sox and help them finally out duel the Minnesota Twins. We all know that Kenny Williams will try almost anything to win. You can put in on the booaaarrrd.....maybe!

Texas Rangers
It seems like the Rangers were acquiring a new player every week during the month of July. There's no reason to believe that they won't try their luck again this off season. With Justin Smoak departing and Chris Davis being nothing special, the Rangers could be looking for an impact first baseman. With new management and a rich farm system the Rangers could potentially have the pieces to get such a deal done.

Oakland A's
Now here is a bit of an unexpected team. With their great young pitching staff, all the A's need is a good offense to find themselves as legitimate contenders. Adding Prince's bat would certainly add a spark to an underwhelming lineup. Also, as we've all seen, Billy Beane is willing to acquire star players and resell them should things not work out.

Los Angeles Angels/Dodgers
I combine these two because they would seemingly both have the same reasons for acquiring Prince Fielder and that would simply be resignability. Fielder is from Ontario, California and would possibly be interested in signing an extension to go home. However both of these scenarios are extremely unlikely as both teams seem content with their first basemen. He would either have to accept being a DH (in the Angels' case) or either team would have to include their own first basemen in a deal of some sort.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Offseason

2010-10-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Its spring training. The smells of hot dogs and popcorn fill the air. Cotton candy filled children scream and ask their parents questions. Others sit quiet, likely feeling ill from the massive amounts of sugar coursing through their blood stream. Despite the many different faces, young and old, gathered in the stadium, everyone is here for one thing. To watch baseball.

Welcome to Camelback Ranch. Spring training home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As the excitement for the 2010 season rises, so too does the excitement to watch the Dodgers enter the postseason once again.

For those of us who believed this would actually occur, we found ourselves sadly mistaken and left increasingly frustrated. Where did the offense go? The world's greatest detective Sherlock Holmes would be stumped. But to be fair, some have actually gotten better with the bat from the 2009 season

For example, shortstop Rafael Furcal is actually having one of his better seasons. Raising is batting average by 32 points (as of 9/29) from .269 to .301. He has also become more lethal on the base paths stealing 22 bases as compared to just 12 the season before.

Although there are a few players on the Dodgers who have had better seasons as compared to '09, there are a vast number who have had greatly disappointing seasons.. This list includes stars like Casey Blake, Manny Ramirez and obviously Matt Kemp.

Casey Blake

2009

.280 BA .468 SLG .363 OBP

2010 (As of 9/29)

.249 BA .412 SLB .321 OBP

Manny Ramirez

2009 (Even With 50 Game Suspension)

19 HR 63 RBI

2010 (As of 9/29)

8 HR 40 RBI

Matt Kemp

2009

.297 BA 101 RBI 97 Runs .842 OPS

2010 (As of 9/29)

.248 BA 79 RBI 78 Runs .742 OPS

Now if we view the statistics listed above we see that all three of these players were large contributers to the Dodgers' 2009 success and a part of the Dodgers' 2010 downfall. Just imagine had Blake hit 40 points better, had Manny hit 11 more homers or had Matt Kemp driven in 22 more RBIs. Indeed the team may still be in the race if not leading it. How many of those runs, rbis, hits or homers would have been game tying or game winning. We can only wonder.

Now I'm writing this blog not to ponder what could of been but what can be and what can happen next year if the Los Angeles Dodgers play their cards right and make the right moves during the 2010-2011 off season. But before we can go off and state that the Dodgers need this and that and should get this. We must first look at this realistically. Amidst the conflict between the McCourts, the Dodgers must find a way to operate and improve in very cost efficient ways as the money simply is not there. Don't get angry if I state that there will be no Carl Crawford or Jason Werth or Cliff Lee, it's just extremely unlikely to happen due to their extremely high asking prices.

The Outfield
Currently, the Dodgers' outfield looks pretty set. The two stars of the team in Ethier and Kemp (barring a surprising and blockbuster trade) will fill out center and right. The only position in question is left field. Despite having a $2 mil option on Scott Podsednik, he has the ability to void the option having had over 525 plate appearances on the season. Figuring that Podsednik has put together a pretty fine season, one might suggest that he would rather hit the free agent market. Age however might become a factor in his decision as he is currently 35 years old. Should the team desire to shed that $2 mil, they could go with in house options such as Trent Oeltjen, Xavier Paul or Trayson Robinson. There are also a few cheaper free agents. One player that I believe could fit well with the Dodgers is current Yankee Austin Kearns who has put together a decent season. Xavier Nady is another possible option with a very high upside. In fact he hit 25 bombs only two years ago.

As I stated before, I highly doubt the Dodgers will be strong competition for Werth's and Crawford's services, but seeing as they have almost $38 mil coming off of payroll at seasons end, there is always that slight possibility.

The Infield
This should be a very short section. The LA Dodgers don't seem to be in a need of any immediate infielders. In fact I think they have a very good infield and should stick with it. With James Loney at first, Ryan Theriot at second, Rafael Furcal at short and Casey Blake at third, the team would not greatly improve from any of the infielder that will be available on the free agent market with the exception of Adrian Beltre or Adam Dunn. Beltre is an expensive option, where as Adam Dunn may be a bit cheaper. The problem would be finding a position for him to play without dealing James Loney.

I guess I could say that the one area of concern is at the catching position seeing as Russell Martin hasn't been very good offensively. Unfortunately, with the exception of Victor Martinez, there is not much help available on the free agent market. Since I was previously writing about the Angels' off season possibilities, perhaps the Dodgers might be a suitor for Mike Napoli's services should he become available. He would bring with him above average power and another threat in the Dodger's lineup.

The Pitching
When looking at the stats of the Dodgers' pitching, you are left wondering how on Earth they finished fourth in their division. Clayton Kershaw posted a 2.91 ERA (as of 10/1), Hiroki Kuroda a 3.39 ERA, and Chad Billingsley a 3.61 ERA. That is three pitchers who pitched very well this season. It has been said way too many times that good pitching leads to success. That did not happen this year, but if the offense begins to hit well again in 2011, the current pitching staff would seemingly hold its ground.

The problem however is that three starters will be free agents this year; Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, and Vncente Padilla. Due to each of these pitchers' age, they may be signable for the Dodgers this off season. However they would be hard pushed to sign them prior to them hitting the free agent market as they may be very sought after. In fact, in my opinion, Hiroki Kuroda seems to be one of the better pitchers on the market after Cliff Lee. So resigning Kuroda should be a prime objective for the Dodgers this offseason.

Another objective for the Dodgers this season should be signing and upgrading their bullpen. While the starting pitching ERA is pretty good, the relief ERA is the opposite. Entirely dominant in 2009, Jonathan Broxton greatly faltered in 2010. Some would say the Dodgers should search for another closer, possibly Rafael Soriano, but I disagree greatly. Signing Soriano would be costly and there is no reason to assume that Broxton, at the age of 26, cannot bounce back and have another dominant season in 2011. Instead, they should search for some middle and long relief pitcher. May I suggest a pitcher such as Grant Balfour, Arthur Rhodes or Jon Rauch. Rauch has actually shown that he can step into the closer role, should Broxton have problems, and he has also shown that he can set up quite well in the 7th and 8th innings.

The Conclusion
To wrap up this blog about the Los Angeles Dodgers, I will simply say that it is not the pieces that the Dodgers had in 2011 that caused the team to falter but instead the underachievement and nonperformance of those pieces. I believe that had they gotten better offensive numbers out of many of their stars, they would have been in the race up until the end.

Since they did struggle however, we must look at ways to improve the team. Here are my suggestions and ideas into how I believe the Dodgers could raise their win total in 2011.

Resign Hiroki Kuroda
Resign Vincente Padilla
Bring Octavio Dotel back
Sign Jon Rauch or Arthur Rhodes
Sign Xavier Nady
Trade for a catcher

Now I know many of you are reading this thinking to yourselves "Wait! He said the problem is with the offense, why should the Dodgers only make moves based on pitching." To that question, my answer is simply this: There is no way to sign a slugger for cheap that would fit into the lineup both defensively and offensively. While some would argue that there is plenty of money to be spent on a slugger, I say the Dodgers should focus more strongly on keeping and building a good pitching staff. The Dodgers didn't lose because they were missing offensive pieces, they lost because they underachieved. I strongly believe that as long as the McCourt saga continues, the Dodgers will not be able to spend too much, even with money being shed.

Now should the Dodgers bounce back and their players perform similar to the 2009 season, they will have no problems in competing once again during the 2011 season.

It wouldn't take a miracle for the Dodgers to return to the top, it would simply take a little more patience and some better at-bats.

The Los Angeles Angels' Offseason Part 2

2010-09-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Upon writing the first blog about the Los Angeles Angels' off season, I was asked a question regarding the financial numbers of the Angels and how they can afford to pay for some of the acquisitions that I think they will make and that I wrote about in the conclusion of that blog. This is the answer I gave and I decided it best to post here as to ensure that others don't have the same questions or concerns about what I was writting

If you have no clue what I am talking about please read the previous blog first

Heres how i figured it out

Carl Crawford's 118 mil over 7 is on average 16 mil a year.
Adrian Beltre's 37 mil over 3 is on average 12 mil a year.

if you consider who said the Angels would drop or trade you have

Hideki Matsui -6 mil
Scot Shields -5.35 mil
Juan Rivera -5.25 mil
Mike Napoli -3.6 mil
Jeff Mathis -1.3 mil
Kevin Jepsen -415k
Kevin Frandsen -410k
Justin Speier -5.25milwe stop paying him after 2010 Season)

That's approximately 27.575 mil coming off the books going into the 2011 season. Of course that is also assuming the Angels are able to shed the entire contracts of Rivera and Napoli

Now say they payed Crawford the 16 mil and Beltre the 12 mil next year (which is very unlikely as contracts are often back heavy paying the player more as the contract gets closer to the end) that would be taking on 28 mil plus of course multiple arbitration cases.

Then we cant forget that starting in 2012 the Angels will no longer be paying the 11 mil of Gary Matthews Jr's contract, possibly be shed of Bobby Abreu's 9 mil, Joel Pineiro's 8 mil, Fernando Rodney's 5.5 mil. So there is plenty of contracts coming off the books. There are even more in 2012.

With the extra income surrounding the All-Star game, the Angels' success over recent years, and Arte Moreno's wealth I don't see it being too much of a problem especially when it greatly increases the Angels' offense, defense and of course their chances to win. If the Angels hope to keep winning there is only one solution and that is spending money to fix problem areas. If they want to compete they need one of two things

1. Willingness to Spend
2. Rich farm system

Since they dont seem to have the greatest farm system, they will need to spend or go through a lengthy rebuilding stage. But I dont see Arte Moreno waving the white flag in 2011 or beyon.

The Los Angeles Angels' Offseason

2010-09-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

After an up and down April and May for the Los Angeles Angels, fans were left on the edge of their seats wondering if Mike Scioscia's ball club could once again claim the American League West Division Pennant. After winning 8 of their last 14 games, Angels fans were beginning to think that the Angels could overcome their early deficit to both the division leading Oakland A's and second place Texas Ranges.

It all changed on May 29th.

Following a stellar 2009 season (34 HR, 108 RBI, .306 BA, .569 SLG), first baseman Kendry Morales was on pace to put up similar, if not better numbers despite being in a lineup of then struggling bats. After going 1 for 3 in his previous at bats on May 29th, Morales came up to bat with the bases juiced, facing off against right handed pitcher Brandon League in the bottom of the ninth inning. With one swing of the bat the game was over. Walk off grand slam. Unfortunately Kendry Morales would not be walking of the field or back onto it for the remainder of the season. With what can be summarized as one the strangest injuries in recent years, the LA Angels would lose their first baseman to a fractured lower left leg.

After that joyful then deflating moment, many Angel fans wondered if their team would have a strong enough lineup to overcome their western rivals.

As the season continued, their questions were answered with a big no. While some can point to the loss of Kendry Morales as the result of the Angels downfall, the truth is the reigning AL West Champions collapsed as a result of multiple struggling bats and questionable defense.

Players who excelled with the bat in 2009 quickly became average or below average hitters:

Erick Aybar

2009

.312 AVG .353 OBP

2010 (as of 9/25)

.254 AVG .306 OBP

Bobby Abreu

2009

.293 AVG 103 RBI

2010 (as of 9/25)

.256 AVG 76 RBI

Juan Rivera

2009

.287 AVG 25 HR 88 RBI

2010 (as of 9/25)

.251 AVG 13 HR 50 RBI

That just to list a few.

With the season happily coming to a close for Angel fans, the hopes and expectations for the 2011 season are just as high as they were coming into the 2010 season. Another pennant is expected and another World Series is craved for. But before we get to the 2011 season we must first cross the 2010-2011 off season.

While big names such as Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth and Cliff Lee will circulate the potential free agent pool, this off season's free agent list is slightly underwhelming when compared to the previous and following free agent years. This gives the Angels little room for mistake when attempting to revive their currently dormant team.

The Outfield:

Obvious fits for the Angels would begin with the names of Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth. Both have shown that they can play any outfield position and finding room for them in the Angels roster would not be a problem, or would it? Currently the Angels hold six Major League ready outfielders on their 25-man roster (Hunter, Rivera, Abreu, Bourjous, Matsui and Willits). With Matsui expected to depart at seasons end, the Angels will still be crowded in the outfield.

There is no arguing that the Halos could use a good speed/leadoff man in Carl Crawford or another power bat in Jayson Werth to protect K-Mo. But first they would have to make room for them. One solution to this problem would be dealing Juan Rivera to a team searching for a power outfielder. You could then move Abreu to full time DH thus giving you a spot to fill in left field.

There is also another solution which I believe could work for the Angels. I will first put it out there and then explain so stick with me. During the off season I think that the Angels should attempt to deal not Rivera but Willits and/or Abreu. In return they should seek prospects to refuel the farm system. I propose this because Rivera has shown that he can play both first and third base in the past and could operate as a backup for Kendry (we don't know how well that leg will heal) and any outfield spot. Not to mention that Juan has a high upside as shown in 2009 and any pieces that would come back for him would be minimal following his 2010 statistics and his below average defense. Abreu on the other hand still offers speed, power and a high on base percentage. Willits' speed and plus defense would be an asset to any team.

The Infield

At quick glance the Angels may look solid in the infield but further observations would suggest that there is indeed room for improvement. On July 22nd the Angels acquired infielder Alberto Callaspo to fill the gaping hole left by the underwhelming performance of previous top prospect Brandon Wood. While this was a boost to both infield defense and offense, it was not the solution the Angels were seeking to set the team into overdrive. All around the infield, there were questions. How are we to replace Morales? When is Howie going to have the .300 season we are expecting? What happened to Aybar? Why is Brandon Wood still in the lineup?

With nearly every infielder under contract for at least the next few years, there is no easy way to improve the infield without dealing current infielders to other teams. Some say we should deal Aybar, other say Wood should go, then there are the Mike Napoli rumors. As we know, slugging catchers are hard to find, especially ones that are fan favorites. Despite my own admiration for watching Napoli hit homers in an Angels uniform, I believe it is best for both sides that Napoli depart to another team. Next season he will crave more playing time which will not be available when catchers like Mathis, Wilson, Budde and Conger are all major league ready. By trading Napoli, the Angels could bring in a veteran bullpen arm and make room for Hank Conger on the major league roster.

I also believe that the Angels should deal Maicer Izturis. He is a highly coveted utility man that could potentially bring in some decent pieces. By doing this the Angels could then name Callaspo as the utility man and free up space for a power hitting third baseman. Someone like Adrian Beltre or Aramis Ramirez. Other fits include resurgent Aubrey Huff who has experience at third as well as Miguel Tejada, Ty Wigginton, Troy Glaus, and Adam LaRoche or Jhonny Peralta should their options be declined.

The Pitching

In a surprising move, the Angels acquired veteran ace Dan Haren on July 25th. The 2010 season also saw the rise of Jered Weaver as an ace as he is currently posting an ERA of 2.99 (as of 9/25) and a career high 220 strikeouts (as of 9/25). The Halos also got good numbers out of both Joel Pineiro and Ervin Santana but got disappointing results out of lefty Scott Kazmir. A bullpen that was once one of the best, quickly became one of the worst. All season long Angel relievers struggled to hold leads or prevent runs from scoring.

In order to have a strong team in 2011 the Los Angeles Angels must look at their bullpen and make some changes. While young arms like Michael Kohn and Jordan Walden have come up from the minors and wowed coaches and fans alike, it isn't likely that the Angels will use only internal options to fix the pen nor should they.

I believe that the Angels will need a reliable left handed pitcher. All-Star Veteran Arthur Rhodes is a very good choice. Having posted sub 3.00 ERAs in each of the past three seasons he has shown that age is not a factor for him. Another option would be to move Kazmir to the pen and use the recently well pitched Trevor Bell as the fifth starter.

Nonetheless there are numerous relievers most of whom are veterans. Should the Angels hope to get a young reliever it will likely have to come in the form of a trade.

Conclusion

Throughout this blog I have laid out a few facts and suggestions as to how the Angels can improve themselves during the 2010-2011 off season. Below I will list a few things that I think will actually occur during the off season:

The Angels Sign Carl Crawford to a 7 year $118 mil contract
The Angels Deal Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera for minor league prospects and relief pitching
The Angels Sign Adrian Beltre to a 3 year $37 mil contract
The Angels Sign Multiple Relief Pitchers While saying goodbye to RHP Kevin Jepsen
The Angels say goodbye to infielder Kevin Frandsen and catcher Jeff Mathis.

Should the Angels make some relevant and important moves during the off season, they look poised to make another run at the AL West pennant. With the great arms of Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, the return of Kendry Morales, and some much hoped for offensive boost, the Angels would be poised to be one of the best American League teams in 2011.