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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Archive for the 'Angels' Category
Everybody’s free agent rankings
November 20th, 2009, 1:23 pm by Sam Miller, The Orange County RegisterAFL 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.
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.
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.
Scioscia to Selig: Tighten up the playoffs
November 18th, 2009, 12:33 pm by Mark Whicker, ocregister.comAngels manager Mike Scioscia said Wednesday he hasn’t forgotten about the tedious nature of the postseason schedule and had spoken with commissioner Bud Selig about his concerns.
Scioscia called it “ridiculous,” during the ALCS, for the Angels to have played only eight games in 21 days.
“I’m very hopeful the commissioner is gong to consider tightening up the schedule,” Scioscia said, as he was named American League Manager of the Year.
“You run the risk of a bad weather situation when you play the World Series in November.”
Scioscia’s first priority would be to do away with the two, and sometimes three, off-days that follow the final game of the regular season. Back when Scioscia played, the postseason began on Tuesday after the 162nd game was played on Sunday.
Of course, baseball would have to make accommodatons for rained-out games and also tiebreaker games to decide division titles.
“It’s not right that a team can reset its starting rotaton no matter how much difficulty they had winning the division,” Scioscia said. “Absolutely that would be the first thing they could do.”
Report: Dombrowski says no Tigers fire sale looms
November 18th, 2009, 12:10 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Granderson (Getty Images)
Curb your enthusiasm, if you will, for Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson.
The Detroit Tigers, contrary to earlier reports, are not so keen about dumping their two All-Stars.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said no such sale in under way.
He did not, however, specifically mention center fielder Granderson, 28, (who has been linked to trade talks with the Angels, among others) or right-hander Jackson, 26.
“I can assure you 100 percent that we do not have any kind of fire sale, or salary dump, or whatever you might call it, taking place,” he said. “I can also tell you that I’ve been part of that in my career, so I know what that situation is like.
“In that situation, you go to your owner and say, ‘This is not a good trade, but I can move this salary. Would you still want me to do this?’ And he says, ‘Yes,’ and you just move the salaries … I’ve done that, but not here.”
Scioscia wins Manager of Year award
November 18th, 2009, 11:08 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMMike Scioscia has won the BBWAA’s Manager of the Year Award for the second time in his 10 seasons as manager of the Angels.
Scioscia received 15 of the 28 first-place votes to win the American League award for 2009. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was second with six first-place votes followed by Yankees manager Joe Girardi (four), first-year Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu (two) and Rangers manager Ron Washington (one).
Scioscia also won the award in 2002 when he led the Angels to their only World Series title.
This year’s honor follows a season that saw him pilot the Angels through difficult times — the April death of Nick Adenhart and a long list of key injuries — to win the A.L. West title for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Scioscia is the first manager in baseball history to lead his team to the post-season in six of his first 10 seasons.
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