In the upcoming Nov. 3 issue of Sports Illustrated, Joe Sheenan writes that the Angels should release Gary Matthews Jr.:
“The Angels release Gary Matthews Jr., and the Dodgers release Juan Pierre. Both Southern California clubs need to come to their senses. Two winters ago they each entered into an outlandish five-year deal with a free agent who is now an extra outfielder at best. Rather than waste a roster spot- or, heaven forbid, a lineup spot - on a player who isn’t worth one and who won’t be happy if he’s not starting, the teams need to cut their mistakes and move on. Don’t let the first bad decision lead to more bad decisions.”
Matthews, who made $9.4 million this year, batted .242 for eight homer runs and 46 RBI in 127 games.
In November 2006, Matthews agreed to a five-year, $50 million deal that includes a partial no-trade clause.
“I think he is a great fit,” said Angel manager Mike Sciscia when Matthews was signed.
In the ALDS against Boston, I’m sure Red Sox pitchers thought he was a great fit too. In three games, Matthews went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and no walks.
Matthews made $6.4 million in 2007, so that means the Angels owe him $34.2 million over the next three years (2009-11).
What do you think?
Releasing GMJ is not an option, IMO. I’m not a fan of his contract. The limited no trade clause handcuffs the team. He’s clearly overpaid and under-performed. Playing in Texas boosted his numbers.
However, he’s an outstanding defender that can play all 3 OF positions. The Angels bought out Anderson and there’s a good chance he may not be coming back. Juan Rivera is probably on his way out as well.
If the Angels do not re-sign Teixeira, then Morales is destined to be the first baseman, meaning less time in the OF and less depth.
GMJ’s value to this team is mostly defense. He also gives us value in depth. He’s a better hitter than what we’ve seen with the Angels. My concern is where he bats in the order. He’s not a #2 hitter, never has been. He should be batting 7th, 8th or 9th.
With all the playoff misses the last couple of years, it’s time to make some changes on the team. I agree that he’s a good defensive player but what the team needs is OFFENSE! Start by working hard to sign Teixeria, and if that doesn’t work, go out and find someone else. There’s got to be someone that can come in and bring some offense!! Yes, I think it’s time to release GMJ.
I really hope the Angels can find some way to get rid of GMJ. At the plate he just looks clueless. In the field he is talented but unreliable. He’s getting old and he’s just not a *winner*. The guy is Steve Finley with a big no-trade contract. Ouch.
Matthews was horrible this year but that’s what happens when you play with a bad knee. Is he going to have surgery this winter at least? Tell him he can miss part of the season even. It would be stupid to just release him. He’s a decent player when healthy. He isn’t worth the money Bill Stoneman gave him but you can’t do anything about that now. If you release him you still pay him all of the money.
As for how he did in the playoffs, what about Garret Anderson? He was horrible. The whole offense was mediocre. The power hitters all did okay but didn’t hit for power. The singles hitters didn’t even hit singles. I wouldn’t blame it on Gary Matthews, Jr.
I see Matthews did have surgery this week. That’s good. Hopefully he’ll be 100% next year and at least earn part of his pay. I don’t care about the money though. We can’t do anything about that. He needs to play great defense and at least hit. I don’t care about homers and extra base hits. Just hit singles and walk. If he can do that much it would be enough. He could still be the leadoff hitter. If Figgins is still an Angel next year I don’t know about leaving him at leadoff. He didn’t impress me at all this year.
His defense is so overrated its not even funny. Yeah, he’ll make the occasional diving or leaping catch, but he takes poor routes on balls, makes bad decisions with his weak throws, and is prone to bone-headed plays on a semi-regular basis. He doesn’t draw walks, has minimal power (yet swings for the fences every at bat), and really seems to lack basic baseball acumen that you’d look for in a veteran bench player. His presence on the roster is a net-negative to the team. Release the bum.
This guy cound not catch water if he fell out of the boat. Drop him like a bad habit!!
Here’s an idea nobody’s mentioned.
Hire Rudy Jaramillo,batting instructor away from the Texas Rangers . Offer him 2-3 times what he’s making with Texas. He has been responsible for more Silver Slugger award winners by far than any other active major league hitting coach. Texas has great offense year after year. Don’t forget,GaryMatthews,Jr had his only good years in Texas
If he could raise the batting average of each player by just 5-10 points,this would equal at least all the production of Mark Texeira at a tiny fraction of the cost of Texeira leaving money left over to pursue the likes of Sabathia
Um, yeah. And that ballpark has nothing to do with all the great offenses Texas produces. If anything, credit their scouting and player development. Hitting coaches make very little difference, though I’d be willing to bet that Hatcher’s teachings, if you can call them that, do more harm than good.
What’s with the bashing of announcer Rex Hudler? The guy has a “freshness” that other announcers lack and always presents a positive outgoing attitude. He’s fun to listen to and gets people fired up! These are actually traits that preserved him through a long major league baseball career with marginal talent. But his abilities as an announcer are abounding. Give credit ware credit is due!
I think that we have no choice but to keep him. Bill Stoneman’s wonderful contract deal with GMJ will be hanging over our heads for a few more years to come. Nothing we can do so we might as well utilize him. While GMJ is an average player at best, I believe that the more that he plays the better he will become. Let’s face it, GA and Juan probably won’t be back in 09, so that leaves an open spot for Gary and Reggie to share.
You can’t just release him. As people above have said, he at least makes a capable defensive backup and can run if his knee heals correctly. Yes the Angels have others who can do that, but how long till those same people who say release him start complaining about the fact we are paying him to play for someone else if he puts up good numbers again, especially if he comes in and robs a homerun or two in center, as he has done before.
Unless we can trade him, we might as well keep him as an extra outfielder and the Angels really should look to resign Juan Rivera and put him in left.
I agree with keeping Rivera. He always produces when he’s playing regularly. Keep GMJ as a back up outfielder and hope his poor 2008 was due to injuries. Time for Figgie to go. Yeah, he’s fast but chokes in the playoffs every year. Wood can fill his shoes for a lot less money.
I’m not the biggest Figgy fan in the world, but who takes over at lead off? GMjr.? Um, abso-freakin-lutely not. Aybar? With that lousy OBP and bad baserunning instincts? No thanks. Over the last few seasons, Figgy has really honed his batting eye, and kept his average up to a respectable level. He’s still one of the best baserunners around, and plays a phenomenal third base. We can sit around and hope that Aybar eventually becomes a serviceable lead off hitter the way Figgy has in recent seasons, but since we have him for one more year, lets utilize him. And can we please do away with all this “choking in the playoffs” nonsense? Calling a player a choker because he wasn’t so hot over 3-4 games is ridiculous. If its June and Figgins goes 2-16 in a series against Oakland, no one bats an eye. In October things are magnified, but you should not overreact to someone’s performance over a handful of games when you have the player’s whole career to judge his ability. I don’t hear any Sox fans calling Pedroia a choaker after his performance against the Angels in the playoffs. Its baseball. Players get hot and get cold. The time of the year has very little to do with it.
Matthews Jr. was hurt and just had knee surgery. It’s very hard to hit with a bum knee. Releasing him is not the answer - financially. Let him get healthy next year. If he can get back to an above average player, the Angels can then at least trade him. They’d have to eat part of his contract. But getting a player in return, is much better than just eating the $30+ million remaining. Worst case, if he does get his game back, the Angels have a nice veteran 4th outfielder. No matter what, he will not hit 20 HR anymore. Both he & Torii came from a hitter’s park to a pitchers park in Anaheim. Torii’s offensive numbers were down too last year. Neither signing looks good right now. Angels locked up $140 mil. combined for 2 center fielders - and who opposing pitchers do not fear.
Garbage Matthews Jr. is deplorable in left field, or any other position he is filling in for. 50 Mil. for 5 years is absolutely rediculous for a player who had ONE career year in Texas of all places. I wish we could trade him but no one wants this piece of garbage. And you can’t use two years of being injured as an excuse for not producing. If your able to be on the field and make “spectacular” catches and have great defense, you should be able to square one up every once in a while and send it over the fence. Every time I see Garbage Mathews Jr. step in the box I say to myself, ” Oh great, here comes another ground out the either second base or shortstop!” and it never fails. This guy isn’t worth the paper he wipes his ass with. Get rid of him!
In regards to players having ups and downs: The time of the year has everything to do with it. Figgins chokes in the playoffs every year. He can’t handle the pressure. Guess who wins the playoffs: those players who rise above play off pressure and perform on the field. Figgie doesn’t.
Clearly, you keep Matthews. It makes no sense from a monetary standpoint to release him, pay his contract, then replace him with a rookie or another free-agent for additional money, someone who would probably not produce as much as Matthews anyway. Free-agents have always been mostly losing propositions for the Angels; Bartolo Colon? And, oh yeah, Whatzisname, the the big-deal first baseman from Boston? Moe Vaughn? Slipped on a banana on the dugout steps the first year, never heard from again? Keep Matthews, big-dollar free-agents never pay-off in the long-term.