With the free agent market officially open, everybody’s got rankings out:
- Keith Law at ESPN;
- Jeff Passan at Yahoo;
- Jon Heyman at SI;
- and AOL’s Fanhouse.
I’m also still partial to my rankings.
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Everybody’s free agent rankings
November 20th, 2009, 1:23 pm by Sam Miller, The Orange County Register
AFL not kind to Angels’ prospects
November 20th, 2009, 6:05 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMWith the Arizona Fall League wrapping up play this week, the handful of Angels’ prospects who spent time in the league were fairly unimpressive.
Cubs prospect Josh Vitters (drafted third overall in the 2007 draft out of Cypress High) tore it up for the Mesa Solar Sox, finishing with one of the highest batting averages in the league (.353). But his Solar Sox teammate and fellow OC product, Hank Conger, did not do as well.
Conger (the Angels’ first-round pick in 2006) hit just .211 (12 for 57) in 15 games for the Solar Sox and then was shut down last week by the Angels as a “precautionary” measure. According to Angels GM Tony Reagins, the Angels were concerned about possible fatigue for Conger.
After being sidetracked by injuries each of the previous two seasons, Conger played 123 games (87 at catcher, 36 at DH) at Double-A Arkansas this year — by far a career-high for him. Conger hit .295 with 11 home runs and 68 RBI.
Reagins said the short AFL stint had nothing to do with any recurrence of the shoulder problems that limited Conger last season, just a concern about pushing Conger too far this year.
The Angels also had a pair of infielders (Ryan Mount and P.J. Phillips) and four pitchers see action in the AFL.
Phillips was the most successful of the Angels’ farmhands. He hit .281 (18 for 64) with 11 runs scored and five stolen bases in 18 games. Mount hit just .208 (11 for 53) in 15 games. Both were second-round picks of the Angels in 2005.
Among the pitchers, right-hander Tommy Mendoza was the most effective. A fifth-rounder in 2005, Mendoza was 2-1 with a 5.21 ERA in six games (five starts) for Mesa. But he did have an impressive walk ratio (just three in 18 innings pitched).
The other Angels pitchers were Marco Albano (0-0, 8.16 ERA in 11 relief appearances), Jeremy Haynes (0-1, 9.69 in 10 relief appearances) and Tim Kiely (0-0, 8.31 ERA in 10 games, two starts).
Meanwhile in Venezuela, the Angels’ diminutive hitting machine, infielder Alexi Amarista, has picked up right where he left off.
Amarista, 20, won the Class-A Midwest League batting title this season by hitting .319 for Cedar Rapids (actually the lowest average in Amarista’s three professional seasons). Playing winter ball in his native Venezuela, Amarista is batting .372 (29 for 78) with four doubles, six triples and two home runs in his first 19 games for Caribes de Anzoategui.
Getting back at Boras?
November 19th, 2009, 1:14 pm by Sam Miller, The Orange County RegisterESPN’s Jerry Crasnick: “When Arte Moreno says flat out ‘no’ to Matt Holliday, you have to wonder: Is that Boras-related fallout from Teixeira leaving last winter?”
Without knowing any of the inner workings — you’d have to think Moreno, and any GM or owner, would be open to signing a Scott Boras client if it fills a need and the price is right. But in the owners’ battle against Boras, one thing they can do is make it impossible (or close to impossible) for Boras to use them in bidding wars. If Moreno thought Boras and Teixeira were feigning interest last year, merely to squeeze a few million more out of the Yankees, then why not get back by nipping every Boras rumor immediately and publicly? Indeed, if the owners did this sort of thing consistently, they could accomplish something like a legal version of collusion, where they take away the agents’ ability to create false competition among clubs.
On the other hand: If the Yankees (or Red Sox, or Mariners) are going to sign a guy anyway, why not let Boras use you to jack the price up? It’s not your money. Indeed, it’s your opponent’s money.
STL writer makes case for Wainwright
November 19th, 2009, 12:43 pm by Mark Whicker, ocregister.comHere’s another guy who takes his BBWAA award voting seriously. In fact, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sounded almost as anguished about the Cy Young vote as Henry Schulman did. Maybe these guys should take a week off.
lincecum
Those of us who were presented with cut-and-dried ballots, like N.L. MVP (duh) are not envious of the Cy Young panel. But Goold, like me, thinks Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals was a sliver-thin choice over both teammate Chris Carpenter and the Giants’ Tim Lincecum, who eventually won.
Goold meticulously spells out his case. I would add this:
– As Schulman pointed out, strikeouts should not be a major factor in the voting. The Cardinals’ strategy is to pitch to contact, keep the pitch count down and go as many innings as you can. Since the Cardinals also have a very good defense, that’s a feasible strategy and Carpenter, for one, should not have been penalized for it.
– What didn’t make sense was the fact that Wainwright had more
wainwright
first-place votes than anyone but had only five second-place votes, which is basically why he finished third. Only once before has the leading vote-getter failed to win the Cy Young. That was when Tom Glavine edged Trevor Hoffman in 1998. That shouldn’t have happened either. Read the rest of this entry »
Arte Moreno: Lackey or Figgins won’t be back
November 19th, 2009, 12:16 pm by Sam Miller, The Orange County RegisterThere’s a whole mess of stuff worth discussing in the LA Times’ interview with Arte Moreno, but most relevant:
“”We’re at $101 million now. We were at $113 million last year. If you look at what (Lackey and Figgins are) asking, you can’t bring both of them back.”
So now we know: about $12 million, not quite the $14 million we had figured, and not the $25 million or so a lot of fans were probably hoping for. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Based on the reports we’ve been seeing, it looks like Figgins wants around $10 million a year, and Lackey closer to $18 million a year. The Angels also need to replace (or re-sign) their DH, and replace (or re-sign) Darren Oliver.
Let’s revisit our poll:
Who would be more valuable to the Angels in 2010?
Morales going with ocho, no cinco
November 19th, 2009, 12:01 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMAngels fans are hoping for a repeat performance by Kendry Morales in 2010. But one thing will be different about the switch-hitting first baseman next season.
His number.
Morales will switch from No. 19 to No. 8 next season.
The last Angels player to wear No. 8 on a regular basis was catcher Josh Paul in 2005. Oft-injured third baseman Dallas McPherson also wore it at times during his ill-fated Angels career.
Outfielder Terry Evans will also swap No. 64 for No. 17 in spring training.
Coaching staff will return intact
November 19th, 2009, 11:47 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMOne day after Mike Scioscia was recognized as the American League Manager of the Year for 2009, the Angels announced that his coaching staff will return intact for the 2010 season.
Hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, first-base coach Alfredo Griffiin and bench coach Ron Roenicke have been on the Angels’ major-league staff since Scioscia was hired in Nov. 1999.
Third-base coach Dino Ebel was promoted to the major-league staff after Joe Maddon left to become manager of the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2006 season. Pitching coach Mike Butcher joined the staff in 2007 after Bud Black left to become manager of the San Diego Padres. Bullpen coach Orlando Mercado has been in the Angels’ organization for 16 years and will be starting his eighth season on the major-league staff. Bullpen catcher Steve Soliz will begin his eighth season in that role.
SF writer: Why I voted Carpenter 1st, Lincecum 2d
November 19th, 2009, 11:32 am by Mark Whicker, ocregister.comHenry Schulman covers the Giants for the San Francisco Chronicle and does it as professionally as just about anybody. The pro came out in Hammerin’ Hank on Thursday when he explained why he did not vote for the Giants’ Tim Lincecum to win his second consecutive Cy Young Award.
Lincecum won the award anyway, his second consecutive. He made $650,000 last season, by the way.
carpenter
Schulman was under no obligation to even divulge that he had a Cy Young ballot, let alone explain why he didn’t vote for the guy he covers daily. Instead he voted for the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter and put Lincecum second.
No doubt he’ll get slammed heavily for this, but it’s a great (and rare, these days) example of accountability. Way to go, Henry (even though you should have voted for Adam Wainwright).
Bourjos added to 40-man roster
November 19th, 2009, 11:20 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMWith free agency opening some spots, the Angels added outfielder Peter Bourjos to their 40-man roster today.
The procedural move protects Bourjos from next month’s Rule V Draft (to be held Dec. 7 at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings). The Angels now have 38 spots spoken for on their 40-man roster.
Bourjos, 25, hit .281 with 32 stolen bases in 110 games at Double-A Arkansas last season.
Hicks wants to hang onto Rangers
November 19th, 2009, 11:11 am by Mark Whicker, ocregister.comTexas Rangers owner Tom Hicks is trying to reinforce his bid to hang onto his baseball team, and that could have an impact on what happens in the free agent market, particularly as it relates to Angels righthander and Texas native John Lackey.
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