What if the Angels would sign CC Sabathia and trade for Jake Peavy and combine those two former Cy 
Young Award winners with three All-Stars already on the Anaheim premises: John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders?
That super rotation of five, all 30 or under, was proposed this week by Lyle Spencer of mlb.com.
It would cost the Angels a ton of money, including a deserved new Lackey contract, and it would also cost young starter Jered Weaver and some of the franchise’s big-league ready prospects. Padres manager and former Angels pitching coach Bud Black (pictured, with Peavy) would likely pick the right ones for San Diego’s purposes.
Peavy has $63 million coming the next four seasons, and the Angels would likely have to get in the ballpark of the Yankees’ six-year, $140 million offer to Sabathia to land the big left-hander. Newsday is reporting the Yankees are considering raising their offer in light of the Angels’ involvement with Sabathia.
If the Angels do take this dream rotation direction, forget about acquiring a big bat.
But what a rotation!
You would have to go way back to find a rotation like that, perhaps all the way to the four-man rotation days of say the 1970 Baltimore Orioles, who won 108 games and a World Series despite a team batting average of .257. Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally each won 24 games and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer won 20. The lineup included a pair of Hall of Famers in Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. Also seeing time with that club were a pair of 21-year-olds who had nice careers with the Angels: Bobby Grich and Don Baylor.
Among five-man rotations, the Mets had some pretty awesome ones in the 70s anchored by Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman — but nothing like the proposed Angels quintet.
I have known Lyle Spencer for more than 30 years, and he has always had the ability to propose bold concepts — and in a way that makes sense. This is one of those.
You can hear the arguments already, how the Angels would struggle to score runs. But Mike Scioscia’s managerial style has always been National League and with starters like those, not so many runs would be needed.
And a rotation headed by two Cy Young winners plus Lackey just might be able to finally silence those great Red Sox lineups in a postseason series.
Sabathia has struggled in postseason play, but with that rotation, he likely would not have to pitch on three days rest to get his team into the playoffs and could go in fresh and strong.
Shortstop Khalil Greene might or might not be part of a Peavy package. He is coming off a horrible 2008 but his previous four Padres seasons offer a whole lot more punch than anyone the Angels have run out there recently.
Just another scenario to consider; probably unlikely, but boy, the possibilities …
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Archive for the 'Joe Saunders' Tag
Angels’ dream rotation: Sabathia, Peavy, Lackey, Santana, Saunders
November 28th, 2008, 8:55 am by Earl Bloom, staff writerAngels reach the century mark
September 28th, 2008, 3:09 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMThe Angels completed the most successful regular season in franchise history with a 7-0 victory over the Texas Rangers Sunday afternoon.
The victory was the Angels’ 100th of the season. Before this season, they had never won 100 games in a season or finished with the best record in baseball. They did both in 2008.
The 29th sellout crowd of the season was on its feet for the final out as Scot Shields struck out the side in the ninth inning. The winningest team in Angels history then left the field to a standing ovation.
The Angels are the first major-league team to win 100 games in a season since the 2005 Cardinals and the first American League team to do it since the 2004 Yankees.
(On a down note — neither the 2005 Cardinals nor the 2004 Yankees reached the World Series. They both lost in the championship-series round.)
After watching their first two playoff starters (John Lackey and Ervin Santana) get roughed up by the Rangers in their final regular-season starts, the Angels got a shutout performance by Joe Saunders in his first start in 10 days (due to a troublesome kidney stone).
Saunders allowed just two hits in six shutout innings and finishes the season with a string of 15 consecutive scoreless innings. Relievers Jose Arredondo, Darren Oliver and Shields each took an inning of work to sharpen up for the playoffs and completed the shutout, retiring nine of the final 10 batters (five on strikeouts).
Mike Napoli led the offense with two doubles and a home run, driving in four runs.
Pass complete — Saunders feeling better
September 24th, 2008, 5:48 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMAngels left-hander Joe Saunders rejoined the team at the stadium today, feeling a great deal of relief. The kidney stone that had been bothering him since Friday finally passed early this morning.
The experience left Saunders with a rediscovered appetite and an eight-pound weight loss.
“It gives you an appreciation for just being able to do normal things,” he said. “I was in bad shape.”
Just how bad did he feel when the pain started?
“It felt like somebody had stabbed me in the back, punched me in the gut and kicked me in the (groin) all at the same time,” he said. “I’m serious.”
Saunders resumed throwing in the outfield before Wednesday’s game and will probably throw bullpen sessions each of the next two days to get his arm working again.
“I feel strong right now,” he said. “I’m going to take it a little easy with my running and weight lifting because I haven’t done anything for six days. But I feel strong.”
He is scheduled to start the regular season finale in Anaheim on Sunday.
Saunders still struggling with kidney stone
September 22nd, 2008, 7:12 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMAngels left-hander Joe Saunders was not at the stadium with the team this afternoon. Instead, he was paying a visit to a local doctor to see what can be done to alleviate the discomfort he’s feeling froma kidney stone.
Saunders still suffering, won’t start Tuesday
September 21st, 2008, 12:48 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMJoe Saunders walked gingerly into the visitor’s clubhouse this morning – but he’s walking gingerly everywhere he goes.
The Angels left-hander is still waiting to pass a kidney stone that has left him in significant discomfort since Friday night. Saunders went to the hospital with the abdominal pain Friday and was given medication for the pain and told the stone should pass in 48 hours. As of Sunday morning, it hadn’t.
“I’m hanging in there,” Saunders said. “The pain the other night when I went to the hospital was the worst pain I’ve felt in my life. It was just constant hell.”
Saunders will not make his next start, scheduled for Tuesday in Seattle. Instead, the Angels will move Jered Weaver and Jon Garland up a day to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday (still on normal rest) then use a spot starter (most likely, Dustin Moseley again) on Thursday.
Saunders will return to the rotation for a final pre-playoff start on Sunday in the regular-season finale at Angel Stadium. That would give him six days’ rest before Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
Saunders’ next start in question
September 20th, 2008, 4:44 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMAngels left-hander Joe Saunders went to the hospital Friday with abdominal pain and was diagnosed with kidney stones. He was at the stadium briefly today before returning to the team’s hotel to ride this out.
Saunders is scheduled to make his final start of the regular season on Tuesday in Seattle but that is “a little bit in question,” according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia.
If Saunders is not ready to pitch on Tuesday, Shane Loux is the most likely candidate to fill in. Saunders could be added to the rotation later in the week to give him a final tuneup before the playoffs. If Saunders is the Angels’ Game 3 starter, he would not be needed until Sunday, Oct. 5.
Angels 6, A’s 4 (final)
September 18th, 2008, 3:33 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
The Angels’ offense came back to life after two games in which they managed a total of three runs on 10 hits and didn’t have a hit with a runner in scoring position.
The back-to-back-to-back home runs by Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood made the most noise Thursday but Gary Matthews Jr. quietly had another good game with three hits including a double.
Matthews is making a move recently to salvage his lost season. With Thursday’s three-hit game, he has hit safely in nine of his past 12 games, batting .339 (20 for 59) in that stretch.
Joe Saunders threw seven shutout innings, allowing six hits. Justin Speier pitched a scoreless eighth but Jason Bulger continued to hurt his chances of making the post-season roster by hitting the first batter he faced in the ninth then walking the next.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced him with Jose Arredondo at that point. Bulger has failed to retire any of the seven batters he has faced in his past two outings, walking four, hitting two and giving up a single.
Arredondo walked a batter to load the bases then gave up a run-scoring infield single off the glove of first baseman Kendry Morales to lose the shutout bid. He struck out Travis Buck then gave way to Francisco Rodriguez..
With the bases loaded and the tying run on deck, it was probably the least pressure-packed of Rodriguez’s 66 save opportunities this season (the most in major-league history).
So he supplied his own. Rodriguez walked pinch-hitter Jack Cust to force in a run before getting a forceout that brought another run in. Kurt Suzuki singled in another run to make it a two-run lead before Ryan Sweeney grounded out to end the game.
The Tampa Bay Rays play later tonight (the Boston Red Sox are off). But the Angels’ win Thursday afternoon trimmed their magic number to clinch the best record in the American League to 10 (seven to eliminate the Red Sox from consideration).
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