There’s an extremely popular video game called Halo. A game in which I truly suck. Something about FPS and I do not get along. Old reflexes, I suppose. Not shocking though. As I was growing up in Flint, Michigan, there was a popular place called Halo Burger. Still is popular and still operating for over 80 years now.
Another popular place with a halo reference was the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or whatever you wish to call them now). I say “was” because of a thought that has been churning in my head. I get the feeling the tide has changed over at Angels Stadium. There’s logic for my thinking. What do Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre (among others) have in common? Besides now being among baseball’s wealthy (Beltre was already there), they spurned the Angels and their advances to play elsewhere. Crawford in Boston and Beltre in Arlington. There are others that have as well.
The path of exiting the Angels is slowly becoming a beaten down one, too. Prior to the 2009 season, Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez left. Previous to 2010, the list included John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero. Lose talents as this and you would think the Angels would be in somewhat of a shambles. While they did finish third in the AL West last season, things aren’t as bad as they seem, are they?
Not really, but that’s because of two words. Not the Rally Monkey. That would be Mike Scioscia.
The two time Manager of the Year (2002 and 2009) will be entering his 12th season as the Angels skipper. All he’s done during his stint is produce a World Series winner and five American League West divisional titles and six playoff appearances. Not a bad run for Scioscia. And I’ll be the first to admit that when Scioscia was originally hired, I was a tad skeptical. I knew he previously coached in the Dodgers organization, but someway, somehow, I was not totally convinced. Chalk that one up a being completely wrong.
Some, in fact many, could argue that it’s not difficult to manage a team with so much talent as Scioscia has been blessed with over the years. I think we all know how that You can shovel out a load of cash, but that doesn’t always guarantee you a World Series ring. The Angels haven’t been in a World Series since their triumph in 2002 and they have had talented squads. But I believe this goes without saying. Talents still needs to be managed. Scioscia has supplied that.
Granted, the Angels had a lackluster 2010, but you lose Kendry Morales to injury, the aforementioned departing free agents (especially Lackey), the perceived depreciation in skills of Torii Hunter and you’re left shaking you head.
That talent isn’t exactly being replenished. Nathaniel recently took a look at the Angels organization and provided us with this insight:
"System Overview: The Angels have the best prospect in baseball, Mike Trout. Beyond him, they have one very raw but very high-upside pitcher (Fabio Martinez Mesa), a second potential star (but raw) outfielder (Randal Grichuk), and a whole lot of solid players.The strength of this system is that no positions lack a prospect who could potentially be a viable MLB regular. But beyond Trout, Martinez Mesa, and Grichuk, it’s difficult to see stardom in anyone–the #3 pitcher in the system, Tyler Chatwood, didn’t even crack 5 K/9 in Double-A last year, for example."
And that falls, whether all his fault or not, on the shoulders of Angels GM Tony Reagins.
Reagins made a big splash upon being named the general manager in October of 2007. He was able to pry Hunter to the West Coast. He’s also be able to bring in the likes of Teixeira, Bobby Abreu, Dan Haren and Hideki Matsui. As is a custom, there’s a list of those brought in that haven’t lived up to expectations, too. Scott Kazmir and Fernando Rodney are names that immediately cross my mind on that.
One thing that Reagins did was send Gary Matthews, Jr. to the New York Mets. He realized that his contract was the perfect definition of being “an albatross”. Reagins was so anxious to dump Matthews that the Angles absorbed all of the $11.4 million salary from last season. The Angels are also on the hook for about $11 million of $12 million Matthews was due for 2011. Methinks that contract is a reason the Angels have been little crippled when it comes to bringing in high priced free agents.
Still, the jury is still out. Reagins did pull a move to acquire Vernon Wells from the Toronto Blue Jays. The second that deal was made, Wells became the highest paid player on the Angels roster at $24.6 million. The Blue Jays are offsetting Wells a bit be giving the Angels about $8.6 million. As Nathaniel pointed out in his analysis of the Wells deal:
"Wells is signed for four years and a ridiculous $92 million from this point forward. The Jays are covering all of $5 million, leaving LA on the hook for a still-egregious $87 million."
Why bring that type of salary onto your books? Could it be because the Angels missed out the the likes of Crawford, Beltre, and maybe even Jayson Werth? Oh, and get this. The Angels contemplated trading for Carlos Beltran previous to acquiring Wells. Huh? In a piece by Joel Sherman for the New York Post:
"The way I hear it, the Mets and Angels did actually discuss Beltran. But the Angels ultimately saw Wells as the better choice despite the much larger financial investment. The Angels liked that there were no doubts about Wells’ health as compared to Beltran, whose knees are a serious wonder. And despite the sense that Wells’ defensive game has regressed some, the Angels believed he was definitely capable of playing center field. They did not believe that about Beltran."
And to drive this point home a bit more, The Wall Street Journal had an excellent column by Dave Cameron about all the expense the Angels have incurred with just their outfield, the most expensive in baseball if you consider the four highest contracts on the books. A whopping $61 million! That does include the monies still owed Matthews, Jr. There will probably be at least a handful of teams that will not have that figure as a total payroll come opening day.
The better question to pose is this: Has playing for the Angels lost a bit of steam, or even its luster? Maybe, maybe not. No definitive word on that. I couldn’t imagine any player not wanting to play for Scioscia. If they don’t become an Angel, it has to be the money then. Well, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either since owner Artie Moreno is usually willing to part with some finances. So, maybe the thrill is gone in Anaheim.
Or you could just stare at this…