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Archive for the 'Garret Anderson' Category

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Bring back GA? Why stop there?

November 12th, 2009, 1:14 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Commenter TJ has made a passionate — and thoroughly misguided — case on this blog that letting Garret Anderson leave as a free agent last winter was the biggest mistake of Angels GM Tony Reagins’ first two years in the job …. and somehow led to the Angels’ loss to the Yankees in the ALCS last month.

If the Angels wanted to go retro, now would certainly be the time. Anderson is one of 12 players from the Angels’ 2002 World Series team that are free agents this winter.

OF Garret Anderson

C Bengie Molina

C Jose Molina

LHP Scott Schoeneweis

LHP Jarrod Washburn

RHP Brendan Donnelly

OF Darin Erstad

2B Adam Kennedy

3B Troy Glaus

RHP Troy Percival

3B Chone Figgins

RHP John Lackey

It wouldn’t even cost that much to re-assemble the 2002 team — only three of these players are Type A free agents (Bengie Molina, Lackey and Figgins) plus two Type Bs (Anderson and Glaus).

You could probably lure Scott Spiezio, Brad Fullmer and Alex Ochoa out of retirement as well.

Not sure Reagins could keep his job very long with that roster, though.

Posted in: Angels • Chone Figgins • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • John Lackey | 4 Comments »

Type A/B free agent rankings

November 9th, 2009, 2:38 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Elias Sports Bureau (keepers of all things statistical) has released its official rankings of this year’s free-agent class.

Free agents ranked in  the top 20 percent at their position by Elias are considered Type A free agents. Players ranked in the 21-40 percent range at their position are Type B free agents.

This is important for one reason — compensation. This can have a big impact on a free agent’s attractiveness to suitors (and how anxious their former team is for them to leave).

A team losing a Type A free agent receives two draft picks as compensation – either the first- or second-round pick of the signing team (depending on that team’s record the previous season) and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.

A team losing a Type B free agent receives just one sandwich pick as compensation.

This past June, the Angels had five of the first 48 picks in the draft including two first-rounders thanks to compensation for losing free agents Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez and Jon Garland last winter.

They could be in for a similar windfall next June with potential departees John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Darren Oliver ranked as Type A’s and Vladimir Guerrero a Type B.

Teams have to offer arbitration to their free agents in order to receive compensation. That deadline will come along in December.

Here are this year’s Type A and B rankings. Keep in mind that some players have contract options which might keep them from becoming free agents:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Angels • Boston Red Sox • Chone Figgins • Dodgers • Garret Anderson • John Lackey • Kelvim Escobar • New York Yankees • Oakland A's • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers • Vladimir Guerrero | 4 Comments »

Angels on record pace

September 28th, 2009, 11:26 am by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM

The Angels have seven games left to score 22 runs and set a new team record. The 1979 team scored 866 runs to set the current mark.

Looking back on that ‘79 team, it’s easy to understand how they piled up runs. They were filled with star power — Don Baylor in his MVP season, Bobby Grich in his prime, Rod Carew setting the table. It might be harder to look back on the ‘09 team and fathom how they scored so many runs.

You would think teams from the mid-2000s, with Vladimir Guerrero in his prime, Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Tim Salmon et al, might have surpassed this group. Did those teams underachieve offensively in equal measure to the way this team has overachieved?

Then again, Kendry Morales, Juan Rivera, Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar might be stars by then.

Posted in: Angels • Erick Aybar • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • Howie Kendrick • Jose Guillen • Juan Rivera • Kendry Morales • Tim Salmon • Troy Glaus | Post a Comment »

Recapping K-Mo’s big night

August 29th, 2009, 4:50 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Athletics Angels Baseball

 

ANAHEIM

Angels first baseman Kendry Morales was 5 for 5 Friday night with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI.

The two-homer game was his fifth multi-homer game of the season, tying him with Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler for the most in the American League.

Morales is the third player in Angels history with at least five hits, two home runs and six RBI in one game – Dave Winfield did it in 1991 and Mo Vaughn in 1999.

Morales’ four extra-base hits Friday tied the club record as well. Here’s the list of Angels that have share the club record with Morales:

Juan Rivera (Sept. 13, 2008 vs. the Mariners)

Garret Anderson (August 21, 2007 vs. the Yankees — his 10-RBI game)

Gary Matthews Jr. (July 31, 2007 vs. the Mariners)

Dave Winfield (April 13, 1991 vs. the Twins)

Freddie Patek (June 20, 1980 vs. the Red Sox)

Dan Ford (August 10, 1979 vs. the Mariners)

Tom McCraw (April 29, 1974 vs. the Red Sox)

Posted in: Angels • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • Gary Matthews • Juan Rivera | 8 Comments »

Metrodome lineups — then and now

August 2nd, 2009, 10:20 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

MINNEAPOLIS

The Angels are facing a Twins left-hander today — but the similarities between today’s game and the Angels-Twins matchup on Sept. 11, 1999 just about end there.

Those Angels were staggering to the finish of a dysfunctional season. Terry Collins and Bill Bavasi had been fired as manager and GM.

Joe Maddon was serving as interim manager for a game that started at 11 a.m. locally — and had to end by 2:30 p.m. so the Metrodome could be prepared for a University of Minnesota football game that night.

So he sat regulars Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Gary DiSarcina, Darin Erstad, Jim Edmonds and Garret Anderson.

This is the lineup Maddon sent out to be no-hit by Twins left-hander Eric Milton that day.

RF Jeff DaVanon

CF Orlando Palmeiro

LF Todd Greene

3B Troy Glaus

DH Steve Decker

1B Matt Luke

C  Brett Hemphill

2B Trent Durrington

SS Andy Sheets

RHP Ramon Ortiz (making his fifth big-league start)

How does that compare to the lineup the Angels will send out today in their final game at the Metrodome?

ANGELS

3B Chone Figgins

SS Erick Aybar

DH Bobby Abreu

RF Juan Rivera

1B Kendry Morales

2B Howie Kendrick

CF Gary Matthews Jr.

C  Jeff Mathis

LF Sean Rodriguez

RHP Jered Weaver

TWINS

RF Denard Span

SS Orlando Cabrera

C  Joe Mauer

1B Justin Morneau

DH Jason Kubel

LF Delmon Young

3B Brendan Harris

CF Carlos Gomez

2B Alexi Casilla

LHP Glen Perkins

Posted in: Angels • Bobby Abreu • Chone Figgins • Erick Aybar • Garret Anderson • Gary Matthews • Howie Kendrick • Jeff Mathis • Jered Weaver • Juan Rivera • Kendry Morales • Mike Scioscia • Tim Salmon • Troy Glaus | 12 Comments »

New Nationals manager is 0-5; Moose Stubing is in the wings

July 21st, 2009, 6:30 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Cubs Nationals Baseball

See, we knew it wasn’t all Manny Acta’s fault.

Jim Riggleman is 0-5 as the Washington Nationals’ new manager, with all the losses coming at home.

But Riggleman, above, has nothing on Moose Stubing. Not just yet, anyway.moose-stubing-card

Stubing, who was in the Angels organization for parts of four decades, went 0-8 as a major-league manager after replacing Cookie Rojas on Sept. 23, 1988. 

The Angels lost their last 12 games that season to finish 12 games under .500.

As a major-league player, Stubing went 0 for 5, all as a pinch-hitter, with four strikeouts for the Angels in 1967.

It has to be the most frustrating career in Angels history, although Moose did get a big-league baseball card, a 1989 Topps, even though he didn’t manage the Angels that season.

Oh, and by the way, Stubing, 71, is serving as a special assistant to the general manager … of the Washington Nationals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Angels • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • • • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Ex-Angel Garret Anderson fades, but it’s a graceful descent

July 20th, 2009, 6:15 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Looking at Garret Anderson’s first season in Atlanta from afar provokes two questions:Mets Braves Baseball

–Is the longtime Angels left fielder simply fading away, at age 37?

–Or is Anderson being used improperly by the Braves?

Research reveals the answer to both is probably yes, with qualifiers. For one, Anderson is still a useful player, just not the one he was in Angels heyday (1999-2003). The fade is graceful — we’re not talking Brian Giles here — just like GA’s game has always been.

Anderson is batting .286, with 6 homers and 34 RBIs, in his first 71 games as a Brave. That has been boosted by a 7-for-13 surge since the All-Star break, which is typical Anderson form, since July is his best career month.

His .316  OBP, while unsightly, is not a career low.

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Posted in: Angels • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • Juan Rivera • • • • | 7 Comments »

Wondering aloud about who is ‘the guy’ in Anaheim

July 17th, 2009, 11:36 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

my-mug215 If you believed that Manny Ramirez would hear mostly boos in his return to Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, don’t bother to read the rest of this column’s first item.angels_percival

I’m not saying you should cheer him or boo him; I just understand why Dodgers fans did what they did, and why they threw plastic syringes at the feet of Barry Bonds. I am not condoning the latter.

It is because Manny is THEIR GUY, just like Barry was San Francisco’s guy.

And I wish Angels fans would have their guy or guys again, because then Chone Figgins would have at least been second to Evan Longoria in the All-Star vote, and Torii Hunter would have been voted an All-Star starter.

Hey, I know Tim Salmon and Troy Percival (pictured) and Darin Erstad and  Brian Downing. I know why Angels fans fully embraced them; some of them, the smart ones, even embraced Garret Anderson.

But I don’t really know the newer guys. GA was the last Angel that I actually covered on a daily basis.

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Posted in: Angels • Chone Figgins • Dodgers • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • Jered Weaver • Steroids • Tim Salmon • Torii Hunter • Troy Percival • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • | 12 Comments »

All-Star Braun’s biting comments irk Brewers GM

July 7th, 2009, 8:45 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

my-mug25Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin is unhappy that All-Star left US Yankees Spring Baseballfielder Ryan Braun, in a plea for help for his struggling team, said the Cubs’ starting pitching is better than the Brewers’.

The statement is not exactly an original thought, but Melvin called the remarks inappropriate and irresponsible.

Braun, 25, the leading NL outfield ASG vote-getter two years in a row, is signed with the Brewers through 2015, so Melvin should get used to hearing from him from time to time.

Perhaps Braun, who urged the front office to make a move, learned to shoot from the hip from Melvin himself — who fired Manager Ned Yost with 12 games left last season in a bid to spark the Brewers into the playoffs.

Braun’s deal, worth at least $45 million, is still very tradeable, even in this economy. It bumps up to $51 million if he reaches Super Two status.

If Braun’s still unhappy this winter … well, the Angels figure to clear a lot of cash with John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu and Kelvim Escobar eligible for free agency.

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Posted in: Angels • Bobby Abreu • Chone Figgins • Former Angels • Garret Anderson • John Lackey • Kelvim Escobar • Vladimir Guerrero • • | 1 Comment »

Braves fans hate GA. Sigh.

June 23rd, 2009, 9:05 am by Sam Miller, The Orange County Register

Guess 3,000 miles wasn’t enough distance to escape the maddeningly unfair “lazy” label:

“I come with a question: has Garret Anderson always had “lazy” and “lackluster” body language? I ask this because many Braves fans this year are incredibly resistant to Garret because of his on-field body language. He appears statuesque and almost bored to death in the field and there’s just a general dislike for him.”

Then there’s also this:

“Anderson doesn’t seem to show any real desire to win. … Did he do that in LA for the past however many years?”

I suppose Angels fans had to stretch to find a reason to criticize the guy because there were few legitimate complaints, his play being so excellent and all. But Braves fans, don’t make this harder than it is: GA can’t hit any more. You have a corner outfielder who can’t hit. Leave it at that. No need to get all holier-than-thou.

That said, Uncle Garret’s Sleepytime Jamboree might be the nickname of the year.

Posted in: Garret Anderson | 4 Comments »

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