Stephen Dunn - Getty Images
Father Time Himself. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
The Tony Reagins-era Angels are infamous for dropping Take-it-or-leave-it-and-we're-leaving contract proposals on players, and just when that strategy might have worked they decided to let the players take their time. They waited too long to see what Carl Crawford would take and Jayson Werth went and upturned this applecart of a market.
No doubt that coming up empty-handed in each free agent pursuit makes them more vulnerable to tougher trade extractions in talks with other teams and higher dollar demands from free agent representatives. This corner they have been painted into looks to get tighter if division rival Texas signs Cliff Lee. Pray for visions of sugarplums instead of visions of a three year Magglio Ordonez deal as Scott Boras shrugs his shoulders to the Reagins led Adrian Beltre overtures.
But is there any advantage in this for them? While Tom Petty sang that "The Waiting is the Hardest Part", but in baseball he might have only been singing about the fans ... Arte Moreno knows his classic rock well enough to know the Mick Jagger role of crooning "Time ... is on My Side" ... and it might be the only tune he can carry with any strength at this juncture.
Folding up the tent and programming the phone to forward calls to voice mail allows the Angels a few advantages:
•Free agents wanting a signing bonus might want the better tax rates that 2010 will deliver than 2011 is likely to. $3 million on December 31, 2010 yields a lot more than if collected on January 1, 2011. At some point, the seller screams "uncle" ... as in "Uncle Sam's cut" in this case...
•Arbitration awards are coming. After monster contracts to Werth and Crawford, and with Lee likely signing before any arbitration figures are exchanged, it is painfully apparent that every player out there will be getting bigger raises than imagined. Waiting to make a trade pays off for the Angels because once team budgets are maxed out on arbitrator-enforced decisions, some decent young players may be available (check out this not-quite-updated list). If the Angels can offer $108 million to Crawford and still be considered "in" on Rafael Soriano and others, a fiscal headache to some middle market club may be just what the Los Angeles Doctor of Anaheim ordered.
•Those Crawford bidding details are not some fan-blog-only secret ... everybody knows that not only are the Angels serious about spending, everybody's seen everything about their finances except Arte's PIN number. Everybody's wife will be turning the nag switch on by this time next week to tell him to call the Angels. That's how it goes... everybody knows. Thanks, ladies!
•Those arbitration deadlines are certainly something the club can wait for. Biding one's time until some GM panics on January 18 after salary figures are exchanged, or February 21 when the hearings are finished, or after pitchers and catchers report.... biding one's time is putting that time on your side. The Angels need to improve but they don't have to make a deal now. It would be nice. Recall that in 2004 they did not sign Vladimir Guerrero until January of that year. And there is no rule against making the needed trade in the middle of Spring Training if need be.
You and I are impatient. But if there is one trait this organization has, it is patience. At this critical juncture, it might be the best bargaining tool of all. Take it away Mick...
1 recs | 153 comments
If Arte were shopping,
I wonder how much he would have had to pay for the publicity the Angels received this week.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
The Angels aren't a heavy metal band....
BAD publicity for them is not just as good as good publicity….
firebird81 - December 10, 2010
You mean the countless articles calling the Angels the "LOSERS OF THE WEEK"?
Yeah, he has to just be loving that shit.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
Talk about me Good, or talk about me Bad.
Just talk about me.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
That might work for narcissists like Julian Assange or Sarah Palin,
But I expect Arte Moreno is breaking mirrors in his hotel room.
Last year he went all Galifianakis on his face and froze out the press for two or three months when the team went into a tailspin.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
It works. Arte, being the marketeer, knows this better than most.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
I doubt
this bad press is bringing many new fans to the Angels. in fact, I think its done the exact opposite.
a lot of people out there love them some Crawford. if the Halos had signed him, many of them would’ve become Angels fans simply by extension. I doubt there are very many Beltre fans out there willing to do the same.
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
He's not a marketeer. He's a billboard salesman.
It’s a variation on real estate. Third parties do the marketing — he just sells the slots.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
and how did he get his start in said billboard business?
hauldog - December 10, 2010
Yeah, almost 40 years ago he got an undergrad degree in marketing from a party school.
Since that time, he’s largely been buying up display space in the form of billboards and kiosks and the like. That doesn’t make him Don Draper or a brand management wizard.
If he were a brand management guru, he’d be owning LA right now. The Dodgers are in the weakest position in franchise history regionally, and Arte has failed to capitalize on that. The relative implosion of the Angels — a failure of properly directed investment, player development and imagination — has come at the same time as the implosion of the Dodgers’ brand.
If he’s this grand wizard of marketeering, he’s looking pale behind the sheet right now.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
Hard for me to digest all this failure.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
I'm sure he's been
drinking like Don Draper lately
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
Hey Turk
You’re veering into Halowoodesque Hyperbole here (albeit minus the obtuse bitter narcissism). Arte took a small outdoor advertising company with many competitors and turned it into an $8 billion powerhouse. I know that isn’t selling clicks on search terms for 45 cents a pop but it IS a little more than you tried to reduce it to.
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
Oh, Arte is a hugely successful businessman.
You misunderstand me — I’m not contradicting that at all.
What I’m contradicting is the notion that every convulsion of bad press that the Angels receive is just some small part of Arte’s mad marketing genius at work — and that it all redounds to our favor in some bold masterplot of the Angels empire unfolding.
Nope — sometimes bad press is just bad press, and sometimes brand damage is just brand damage.
(And sometimes a “marketeer” is just a really successful businessman that exploited an industry niche with low-competition by buying low and selling high.)
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
oh okay
Agree.Just hoping they can get out of this swamp.
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
I like how you make it seem so easy to take over LA with a brand
Oh yeah, those 56,000 people every night at Dodger Stadium, they would have come over to Angel Stadium in a minute if Arte was at all… well something effervescent you claim we think he is which you insist he isn’t but you never quite state…
All those USC and UCLA fans and all those LAKERS fans, if only Arte would live up to his hero billing (that you bestow and then take away) it would be so easy for him to to take over L.A. and win 11 million already-sold hearts.
The guy buys Mo Vaughn insurance on Crawford and you blame him for not beheading Jerry Buss.
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
I am pretty sure he knows a little about branding
Have you even thought about what it takes to achieve sales growth like this? I suspect it has more to do with branding than you know. I also suspect the ceo/president has more to do with branding than you know.
hauldog - December 10, 2010
Sure, I was the first employee of a start-up that went from 500k to 40M in three years.
Then joined Google when it was it was a few hundred people, and now it has 190B market share. I work on the marketing logic for their display ad targeting systems.
Look, I know where you’re coming from. I argued your side of the case in 2005 and 2006 during the name change. But as I learned more about Arte’s bio, the more I learned that his bones were dug less on the creative and marketing side, and more on the materials and acquisition side — which is smart for him, because that’s where the money is.
But to suggest that any of this translates into selling the Angels brand nationwide and building its audience over time — I don’t see it. It’s two different games.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
Fair enough.
That is more than I knew about his ascension inside Outdoor Billboards.
hauldog - December 10, 2010
Wow, Turks Teeth, you're smarter than this...
Here’s what I see:
Cheap dig at Arte for his education.
Simplify what he does to make it seem childish and/or terribly easy to do.
The old, arbitrary “if this were so” then “that would follow” fallacious argument. Where you set the parameters and the definitions.
How so? How would you conclude he has or hasn’t capitalized? Is there evidence to support this either way?
‘Relative’ is a pretty redundant word in this sentence is it not. An implosion is still an implosion. And an over-the-top adjective is still an over-the-top adjective.
A ha! Here we get to the crux of your beef, which the previous posturing detracts from.
I would enjoy reading an argument of how Arte has failed to properly direct his investment (my guess it would start with an attack of the GMj. contract, the bullpen absolutely and perhaps the Torii Hunter contract if you needed more ammunition). I’m sure an argument can be made, especially with regards to the bullpen, but overall, I would say Arte’s money has been invested pretty well.
As per player development, I would also enjoy a critique explaining how our club has performed worse when compared to other organizations with regard to developing talent. We seem to have had our hits and misses just like any other.
And a failure of imagination! Well, if you’re referring to the pitifully low turnout of sequels to Angels in the Outfield then I am with you there. There certainly is a gap in the market…
This is either a Ku Klux Klan reference, a Wizard of Oz reference or simply a ghost reference. I can’t tell which.
TheQuestforMerlin - December 10, 2010
Is this about smarts, or sweets?
That’s an awful lot of legalistic parsing there, Merlin.
I understand that Arte has a lot of sweeties that want to do free advocacy for him — and this organization has absolutely thrummed for a half-decade under him. That’s all fine, and I agree.
But my point was — and it still stands — that every bit of bad press the Angels get is not, as Wumbug suggested, some bold imagineering experiment by Arte to net us publicity (bad or good) — and if it were, it would be a terrible strategy.
And I don’t buy that being a very successful businessman because of one’s shrewdness in one part of an industry necessarily generalizes to all aspects of the industry. Witness how difficult it has been for Bill Gates to develop a decent cloud computing strategy, though he should know all the pieces inside and out.
That’s all I’m saying.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
Bill Gates is retired.
And he spent his career defending a product licensing model that defies the very definition of cloud computing.
Stirrups - December 10, 2010
It didn't hurt him in the end.
But you can tell from interviews that he’d love to be part of the game.
Sorry if I use Bill Gates as a matryoshka figure. It’s synecdoche.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
Nope. It just hurt the rest of us.
If Gates had been expanive enough of a thinker to embrace ubiquitous computing, everything would be cloud-based, utility computing for about 10 years now.
It all went to hell in a hand basket when GWB admin #1 came into office and pulled the plug on the anti-trust suit. The DOJ had Gates so dead to rights that the judge was falling asleep during the trial out of boredom waiting for the foregone conclusion.
Stirrups - December 10, 2010
Do you know Matthew Hubbard at google?
hauldog - December 10, 2010
And I agree with your original point, about the bad press ;-)
Just the previous paragraph I felt came out of left field, or you jumped the shark etc etc other phrases of the same ilk.
TheQuestforMerlin - December 10, 2010
I confess to occasionally shooting arrows...
…just to see what they will hit.
And I admire Arte — but also have the instincts of an idol-breaker. All heroes are flawed.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
More often than not your arrows hit true
But I like to keep you on your toes when I can!
Hey, you gave me something to write about instead of responding to the old “what do we do now, Carl Crawford was our saviour etc etc”, so thats definitely a good thing! I was getting bored (am bored) of reading the same thing from posters.
TheQuestforMerlin - December 10, 2010
Tell Sergey and his boyfirend they are flawed
to their faces, mister Idol Breaker… HA !
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
I suggested that?
I am a professional marketeer. I know of what I speak.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
Rec'd just for the
~MMP~ - December 10, 2010
"went all Galifianakis on his face" bit.
~MMP~ - December 10, 2010
Your right Rev...
Thanks for being the voice of reason, and reminding us all that patience can pay off..
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
after all, we waited how long to win a World Series
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
Yawn
HalosBiggestFan - December 10, 2010 via mobile
HaHa!
I YAWN to your Yawn.
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
That's not a yawn, mate.
This…. :-O is a YAWN.
red floyd - December 10, 2010
Really Trying to be Patient....
The time leading up to and including the MLB Winter Meetings has, based on results thus far, represented a loser effort by Arte and crew. In my humble opinion, this might have been their worst public showing since Arte bought the team in April 2003.
Whatever plans Arte, Reagins and Scoscia had going into the offseason have been blown apart, and there’s no signs of life on what – if any – contingency plans exist to mitigate the current mess. Despite Reagin’s absurd comments yesterday about Takahashi, the reality is that signing was not something the front office was fixated on. The Angels likely have been locked in on Crawford for weeks. He was the centerpiece for closing the gap with the Rangers in 2011.
It’s been quoted by ESPN and others that in the end, the Angels raised their offer enough that there was very little financial difference between their bid and the Red Sox’s bid. But by then, Crawford was clearly drawn to everything that Boston had to offer — and the Angels had suddenly become what one Baseball exec called “a team in trouble.” So despite all the hyperbole yesterday associated with the shock of losing out to the Red Sox, the hard reality may be that Arte and Reagins could not close the deal with Crawford for reasons relating to strategy, commitment, and long-term vision. Results matter, and the results were that the Angels could not get it done on Crawford.
A day removed from losing out on Crawford, one could surmise that the contingency plan for the Angels might also be the worst outcome yet: overpaying on players that will not bring the team what Crawford likely would have.
I know I’ll get flamed for saying the following: I really do believe Crawford was a perfect fit for how Scoscia manages the team to play “Angels baseball”. Crawford is a hard-nosed player that will grind it out on every pitch. He is a vocal leader in the clubhouse. Crawford would have been a great compliment to the strengths of Hunter and Morales. He’d have been a big defensive upgrade in left. His speed fit in with the team plays offensively.
It’s a cold Friday morning on the east coast, and not surprisingly the sun still did rise today after yesterday’s fiasco. I’m “over” the Angels misplaying their hand on Crawford. The future is now…so Arte – what’s the plan to improve the Angels? We’re waiting….and we’ll try to be patient.
mustard_man - December 10, 2010
Nice essay,
but if you’re over it, you fooled me.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
I really am
The “essay” was my final expression on the topic…..
mustard_man - December 10, 2010
This ^
KennyKatella - December 10, 2010
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
WiHaloFan - December 10, 2010
You Can't Always Get What You Want
(But if you try sometimes, you might find… You Get What You Need)
red floyd - December 10, 2010
Camera cuts to a smiling mathis
clover_black - December 10, 2010
Get Off Of My Cloud
I’m on my 19th Nervous Breakdown
WiHaloFan - December 10, 2010
You too, huh?
Angelsfan015 - December 10, 2010
I sit and watch
As tears roll by
rspencer - December 10, 2010
Angels
From the Rolling Stones to Leonard Cohen…nice work, Rev.
George Kaplan - December 10, 2010
glad someone caught that!
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
Angels
throwback to early HH days
yeswecan - December 10, 2010
I think I know which song jjackflash would list here.
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
You Light Up My Life?
red floyd - December 10, 2010
Close, but try again.
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
it's raining men?
firebird81 - December 10, 2010
The coolest
rock and roll song ever.
http://www.rollingstones.com/video/jumpin-jack-flash-live-1968
jjackflash - December 10, 2010
And the original promo video...
http://tinyurl.com/33fys9g
jjackflash - December 10, 2010
"I'm a little black woman in a big silver box!"
red floyd - December 10, 2010
Would you guys be willing to take gamble on trading for Jose Reyes & Carlos Beltran?
I know both come with injury concerns and down production but Reyes would solve the leadoff problem and Beltran could answer LF.
310Angel - December 10, 2010
Who would you propose we trade to get that type of deal completed?
mustard_man - December 10, 2010
Not really sure who
As long as we don’t give up Trout, Chatwood, Richards
310Angel - December 10, 2010
Not me.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
Napoli + Jepsen + middle infielder of your choice = Reyes
This would solve all kinds of problems.
Better yet, maybe the Mets are dumb enough to take Mathis instead of Naps.
river-z - December 10, 2010
What would you call that?
The “premium package upgrade”?
Angelsfan015 - December 10, 2010
that's right
it’s so premium all the ladies in Queens are gonna swoon when they see these guys.
river-z - December 10, 2010
Beltran si, Reyes no
I’m fine with a one-year overpay for Beltran in LF, while Trout sharpens his spikes.
mattwelch - December 10, 2010
I'm good with both at the right price
But I really do like the idea of Beltran, especially in LF taking some of the strain away from playing CF all those years. His plate discipline is still fantastic, and he still has pop!
TheQuestforMerlin - December 10, 2010
I guess I prefer Reyes, since it seems like we need a leadoff hitter more than power.
river-z - December 10, 2010
But CC was going to be our Brown Sugar
clover_black - December 10, 2010
I think
It’s possible we lock up Beltre this month…but other than that I can’t help but wonder if this team might be in for a significant make-over through the trade market that could take some time to sort itself out.
1 year of Carlos Beltran to hold place for Trout doesn’t sound like a terrible idea at all to me. If we were willing to give Crawford 18 mil for 6 years, 18.5 for 1 year of an outfielder with great power and plate discipline isnt the WORST idea.
Also….Johnny Damon on a 1 year deal anyone? Leadoff hitting LF with speed and on base skills? Sign me up
ihearhowie2.0 - December 10, 2010
I'd take Damon .271/.355/.756 over Rivera .252/.312./721 (last year's stats)
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
I'll vote for that
and Beltre at third
Raaddad - December 10, 2010
Even if for just a year (in the case of Damon)
Damon in left and Beltre at third – that would be nice.
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
Like many here have said (even Gammons),
there’s not an obvious, large maket for Beltre.
Like Rev. contends, patience is a virtue here. I think it’s not necessary to bow down to Boras’ normal demands and tactics; I think Beltre can be had at a reasonable price and term….2-3 years @$10-$13MM per year.
If he wants more, I would be willing to let him walk away to wherever.
Might want to look (again) at trading for Heath Bell….Soriano’s not worth the money and agrevation.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
Beltre for three years would be remarkable.
SenorChuckles - December 10, 2010
Rev I am not following your logic on the signing bonuses
What taxation changes make it beneficial to paid paid now?
hauldog - December 10, 2010
After this week's big news about the continued Bush-Obama tax relief for millionaires...
These guys have nothing to worry about, right?
Big Easy Halofan - December 10, 2010
So we've heard
If you were a first responder on 9/11 however, the joke’s on you.
Commander_Nate - December 10, 2010
cuts were deepest in 2010
I believe the proposed legislation goes back to 2004 levels but I may not be precisely recalling that.
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
Good Job Angels. Typical
Now go overpay for Beltre or get skunked again this off-season.
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
YAWN....
maze88 - December 10, 2010 via mobile
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
was more of what I was thinking.
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
dish it out
eat what you zerve
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
Hahahaha
my feelings aren’t hurt. Nor does this bother me at all. Only for a point of clarity, I never gave the ol’ “Yawn” at any one person’s post. Only at the main post itself. Your Zerve mi amigo.
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
swerve
past that zerve but don’t hit the curve
Rev Halofan - December 12, 2010
Argh. i don't want to wait even if its for the best.
I almost watched cricket last night to get something baseball-ish
river-z - December 10, 2010
Is time on their side?
I am not so sure some team like the Orioles, Athletics, Tigers, or some unknown won’t swoop on Beltre (especially the Orioles, they have money to spend).
And what arbitration spawned trades are we speaking of here? The only things I saw that seemed potentially viable and helpful were: Ellsbury, Choo, Bautista and Josh Willingham. And of those, Choo is unlikely to be traded (and has question marks), Willingham isn’t worth a trade, and Bautista is intriguing but I think most are skeptical of what he can do. Ellsbury is the best option due to the Crawford deal…but do we want to strike a trade with Boston?
For the most part, I agree with Rev’s assessment which is the Angels should be smart and not overreact. But I have trouble understanding what options we have besides Beltre at this point.
tizzidy19 - December 10, 2010
When do we gey
M.Napoli For President in 2012 - December 10, 2010 via mobile
When do we get Beltre?
Is what I meant
M.Napoli For President in 2012 - December 10, 2010 via mobile
we liked your first post better
yeswecan - December 10, 2010
When we put Justin Beiber on OUR billboards too?
I don’t know…
Raaddad - December 10, 2010
Around shower time
linkbruin - December 10, 2010
For whoever said that the Angels offered a
“Hunter like contract, 6/108 for some option to make it close to 7/146” you are insane. What option bumps a contract up 30+ million dollars.
Our offer was not even close to being good enough. The Angels front office is TERRIBLE at this free agent thing and need to fire Stoneman as a special advisor, because his stench is all over this shit.
Im excited to see what mediocre player we overspend for because its apparently better to overpay shitty players rather than good ones.
PhiSlamma - December 10, 2010
It was 6/108 with an option that bumped it up to 7/126, not 146.
~MMP~ - December 10, 2010
Not close.
In fact thats laughably bad.
PhiSlamma - December 10, 2010
the Werth contract
is laughably bad.
I’d call the CC offer, in the wake of Werth’s, simply pathetic.
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
Not argument for me
but you have to offer a competitive offer. Who the hell offers a contract 20+ million dollars under current FA value and basically says “BAM, deal with it, you have 48 seconds to decide”
This front office is monumentally disappointing.
PhiSlamma - December 10, 2010
not only that
but they then offer CC the same money and years as Werth, but only if the vesting option is excercised 6 years from now. I could see Crawford’s agent reading that offer and saying to Crawford “WTF??? are they serious?”
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
nail.head. exactly.
firebird81 - December 10, 2010
Since the winter meetings are a done deal this is the perfect time for Rev
to post another fan confidence poll, but add a sea level mark and call it the Mathis line and see if the confidence level goes submariner.
steelgolf - December 10, 2010
I'll spin one off Kenneth Burke here and say:
PATIENCE BELONGS TO THE CONQUERED.
Turks Teeth - December 10, 2010
"Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice" - George Jackson.
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
All the Major sports networks are calling the Angels the Biggest loser. I really hope they have a big plan. I feel like a kid again when everybody would make fun of me for being an Angels fan..
ramo - December 10, 2010
I say we vote to put Reagins on "The Apprentice"
that way we can at least get the satisfaction of Donald Trump and his comb over firing him.
steelgolf - December 10, 2010
Off-season trAdition
Dono Romantico - December 10, 2010
Of what, sitting on our hands
while other teams get the good talent and we settle for 2nd best?
Angelsfan015 - December 10, 2010
No, while other teams sign the premier free agents and we sign...
An aging OF/DH who would have been premier 5 years ago.
Balls and Strikes - December 10, 2010
I think we have all been patient since september.
And were confident we were getting Crawford. We had Hunter working on him at the AllStar game and had Hunter constantly keeping in contact with him.
We were made to believe this was going to be our big spending year. And instead, so far, we’ve come up empty handed.
Ya I know a few days ago we were all practically saying we didn’t want Crawford, until he was really gone and reality sunk in.
We’re all passionate about this team and want to see them win, but right now we all are left with hanging heads wondering when it’ll be our turn to shine again.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
And we wouldn't be nearly as mad if he signed with Toronto or the Orioles
but when it comes to our east coast rivals of either the Sux or Skanks then we as fans are full bore pissed off.
steelgolf - December 10, 2010
Interestingly TRUE.
wumbug - December 10, 2010
yup!...
I think him signing with the Sux is really pouring salt in our wounds. I don’t care if would have signed with ANY other team besides the Skanks.
This one just stings really bad.
I know most of us are probably tired of losing FA’s to the Evil East Coast but I just wish once we could come out on top and steal someone the thought they had in the bag.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
I can see what the Sux are doing and why.
They have to compete with the Evil Empire in Pin Stripes more than we do. There is only one way to unseat them as the dominant East Coast team and that is to make themselves better, which they did.
Angelsfan015 - December 10, 2010
Fuck Patience.
I don’t root for patience. I don’t root for a team always in position for 2 to 3 years from now. I spend my Arte bucks now. I bleed my Halo red now. If I wanted to root for Tomorrowland I would be a Royals fan.
Draft picks and minor league prospects don’t mean shit until they prove they are Tim Salmon instead of Brandon Wood or Jeff Mathis or Dallas MacPherson. Meanwhile, don’t waste my time.
Not getting locked into a Miggy Cabrera contract so that we have the payroll flexibility to not get locked into a Teixeira contract so that we have payroll flexibility to lose out on a Crawford contract don’t mean shit. Not for today. Not for 2012. Not even for those idiots thinking that this leaves us flexible enough to get shut out of a Pujols contract.
The dollar realities of 2010 are well beyond the realities of yesterday, and will fall far short of the realities of tomorrow. Costs will keep going up. Whining about CC dollars in 2010 using 2008 FA payroll math is a loser’s game. $20 mill on the books for a CC in 2017 will not stop Boston from offering a Mike Trout $35 mill a year starting in 2016. But it will stop the Angels from having CC patrol LF for us in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015…
The big dogs are already out on the hunt. We have been on the porch too many consecutive offseasons. Our youngsters are fizzling out, our pros are getting long in the tooth, and those in between are seeing FA just around the corner. Annual revenue has more than doubled over the past 8 years, and franchise value has appreciated through the roof. Meanwhile, payroll has been flat for several years now. “Budget”, my ass.
So Fuck patience. I am not going to the stadium in 2011 so that I can sit there and root for 2013. We aren’t playing for 2013. We are playing for now. It’s a sport. We are ALWAYS playing for now.
Stirrups - December 10, 2010
We are going to be so good in 3 years
When we pass on another good player to be good in another 3 years.
I cant wait.
Also, IF Pujols hits free agency I cannot wait to see what the Angels offer:
“I think these terms are MORE than reasonable.”
Raegins slides a check across the table with a huge smile
“Uh, Tony, this is a gift certificate to In and Out.”
“BAM! That just happened. Take a minute to gather yourself before you say yes. WEST COAST ONLY BABY! Cant get no double doubles in Beantown.”
“My client wants an actual contract offer”
“You have 10 seconds to decide on my previous offer then I am going to pout and call you a bad person and bad agent through the press”
PhiSlamma - December 10, 2010
a double double sounds bomb right now.
I know whats for lunch!
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
a double double sounds bomb right now.
I know whats for lunch!
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
hell ya
Once pujols gets his 30mil a year then its gonna be a free for all on all first baseman that are close to being as good as him. Then that’ll branch off to every other position and that’s hows salaries keep rising. CC money might be laughable in 5years.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
You are my fucking hero.
You nailed it.
WiHaloFan - December 10, 2010
word.
Balls and Strikes - December 10, 2010
Holy Shit
You sir are a steely-eyed missile man. I’m with WiHaloFan: you are my hero too.
Your essay should be required reading by Reagins and his minions. You nailed it far better than any of us others who tried to convey a similar message.
Take the weekend off – you earned it.
mustard_man - December 10, 2010
this is my thought as well
hauldog - December 10, 2010
You hit that one out of the park Stirrups.
Rec’d and I totally agree. While I wasn’t a huge fan of signing CC, given the amount of money it would take, there’s no doubt in my mind he would’ve helped improve our team immediately. And the simple fact of the matter is, FA’s are expensive, their not going to be cheaper next off season, or the off season after that. I’m tired of this small market approach. Either pony up the money Arte, or quit claiming to “spend what it takes to compete”. At this point I wouldn’t be shocked to see us sign Kouzmanoff at third, seeing Jermaine Dye in left, and Tony Reagins beaming happily while shouting at the top of his lungs, “nailed it!”
halofolife - December 10, 2010
+1
grahams98 - December 10, 2010
Damn Fucking Straight!!!!
FINALLY someone said it. lol
desecrator09 - December 11, 2010
thats good
get it all out of your system. this is yet another part of Reagins “process”
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
reply fail
2pintsofbooze - December 10, 2010
song to describe off season tus far: buttercup
SCHalo - December 10, 2010
* thus
SCHalo - December 10, 2010
Never thought of that
“Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby, just to let me down”
WiHaloFan - December 10, 2010
its been a subliminal message all along! !
And we never noticed!
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
yeah it's one of those fun to sung type songs
until you read the damn lyrics. Reagins= buttercup, heretofore. by no means am i giving up on this offseason but the crawford fiasco was a kick to the nads.
SCHalo - December 10, 2010
It's a 9 inning game!
I can’t help to remember how we lost out on Konerko and the world came to and end. Somehow we ended up with Tex ,lost him and the world came to and end.. Now we have Morales. (Kind of worked out I would say) Many were saying how ridiculous the expected contract to CC was going to be before he went to boston. Let people say what they want in the offseason, last year Seattle was the darling of the winter meetings. At least we aren’t Tampa Bay! or Oakland or Minnesota or …… …..
Dfresh - December 10, 2010
I can't help but remember...
…how we lost out on Konerko and were left without a big bat to pair with Vlad while we waited for Morales to grow.
…how we ended up with Tex for a few weeks, then lost him, and still had no big bat to pair with Vlad while we waited for Morales to grow.
…how we finally waited long enough for Morales to grow, but it was too late to pair with any Vlad, who was tool old and whom we let go anyway.
And then Morales went down after a couple of months. And we ended looking up at Texas. Just like Seattle…and Oakland…and Tampa Bay.
Stirrups - December 10, 2010
Get.Out.Of.My.Head
rmhalofan - December 10, 2010
+1
angelslogic - December 10, 2010
Another thought...
Timing is everything. Had the Angels stepped up and paid Konerko more than market they would have had a real shot at another World Series or two before Vladdy faded/left and Kendry would now be a patrolling left field instead of Rivera. Does Crawford alone guarantee a trip to the post season, no….but the Angels had big issues before Kendry went down and this team isn’t likely to see the the post season without major upgrades. I know that hindsight is 20/20 but there is a huge disparity between what the Angels say they are going to do and how far they are actually willing to go.
grahams98 - December 10, 2010
with two more championships under our belt.
We really would be running LA and the West Coast Baseball right now. That may have given us the leverage to get Crawford and add another two…
Ahhh shoulda, coulda, woulda……
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
Gonna go with The Replacements on this one
I Can’t Hardly Wait.
mattwelch - December 10, 2010
Reagins is thinking more Nick Lowe-ish
as in Cruel to Be Kind.
rspencer - December 10, 2010
ah you still mystify
and I wanna know why!
Rev Halofan - December 10, 2010
ANGELS
I dont really like paying 120 million to anyone
Im sorryI love Tori Hunter but he isnt worth 18 million now!—Thats just too damn much money!—Id Love to get Beltre-We really dont have a 3B and I just dont see any out there like Beltre-I just worry about him after he signs-he tends to back of a little bit-Though I hope Im wrong about that—We should gp after both Beltre and Soriano more than any of the others because we need those 2 the most—We can trade for a LF or still put Napoli at 1B and move Morales to LF-What the hell is wrong with that?—35 to 40 hrs from both of them! I think Trumbo and Trout will be good THIS year also—-Suffice to say get Beltre and Soriano—Who do we have there?Beltre 12 million for 5 years would get him and Soriano would go for 7 million for 3 years
thats 19 million
-much better than Lee 22 million-Crawford 21 million & Werth 17 million——-If the Angels will do that they will be ahead in money and be a better team at the same time—spc7 - December 10, 2010
I know how you feel but,
Not many FAs really are worth the weight of their contract near the end, especially when they’re in their late 30’s.
But if we ever want to sign top FAs then that’s the bullet we’re going to have to bite, simple as that.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
I always hate it when
Sports writers or espn always predicts us to the the FA scraps but now I’m starting to think they’re all right.
Lately I wonder why do we even go after the top FA’s when we know the yankees or red sox are in on them too and we also know we’re not going to out bid them.
Idk I guess I’m just losing faith on Tony, Arte and the FO. Ya we know how to make great trades but for them to get everybody pumped about just lose out on top FAs year after year just pisses me off..
Give Us Something To Jump and Scream about ANGELS! Not just piss and moan about when we’re left with nothing.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
ANGELS AGAIN
TRY THIS LINE-UP
C—Conger
1B—Napoli
2B—Kendrick
SS—Aybar
3B—BELTRE
LF-Morales
CF—Peter
RF-Hunter
DH— Abreu
Bench—Wilson-Calypso-Rivera-Isturis
5 guys with 20 or more HRs
All can hit 300
5 t0 6 with 90 runs & 90 RBIs
3 with 30 SBs
Starters—Weaver-Santana-Haren-Pinero-Kazmir
Bullpen—Soriano-Rodney-Walden-Takahshi-Palmer-Bulger-Bell
5 good starters—A much better pen
And during the season alot happens—at least 5 pitchers can be called up right now for the pen-The only real question is in the starting 5
Zack Granicke would be a great add but I think he will cost the farm right now— I just dont see him worth 20 miliion later on or the draft picks and players it would take to get him
Start 2011 with the Roster I just laid out and the ANGELS will win and win BIG!
spc7 - December 10, 2010
Kendry should not be playing the outfield
hauldog - December 10, 2010
if we had
Adrian Gonzalez I’d kick Morales’ ass to the out field. He can’t be worse then Abroo.
Meaning if we had a sufficient replacement at 1st id move him to the outfield, but not for Napoli.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
He is recovering from a broken leg
hauldog - December 10, 2010
it was a clean break
And he’s had close to a year to let it heal.
Shouldn’t be that big of a deal since he’s still in his 20s, it should be 100% healed by now and stronger then before considering that’s what happens when you break a bone.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
wheres Trumbo??
Don’t. Tell me he’s not worth a shot in left.
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 10, 2010 via mobile
He's not worth a shot in left
mattwelch - December 11, 2010
AHHHHH
He told you not to tell him!
Rev Halofan - December 12, 2010
guess i needed an lol to show i was being sarcastic
C.A._Rep_Los_ANGELS - December 12, 2010
The Stones song that works best for me regarding this issue goes like this:
“I can’t get no…Satisfaction”
“When the man comes on the radio
about some bullshit iformation
how we’re getting Crawford and Soriano
like to tell him where he CAN go
I can’t GET NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Raaddad - December 10, 2010
Angels Commitment
This organization has slowly dismantled a 2002 Champion into an also ran. Don’t talk to me about raising ticket prices to sign the players. You don’t get into the Baseball business to make a profit and if that’s what you think then don’t buy it. They have the right manager, and I think he may be the best in baseball but I don’t see him enjoying this run of mediocre talent that he is presented with. If this team would have just gone the extra mile and resigned its major stars a few years ago they wouldn’t be looking at these high prices for average free agents. I’ve been a fan since they moved to southern cal but it was a long road to the top buts it real fast returning to the bottom. Don’t take us there Arte!
calidan - December 20, 2010
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