Mt. Rushmore Good & Bad of Angels Free Agent Signings

[happybat4]

Cozart was a pretty bad contract.

[failos]

1 hour ago, happybat4 said:

Cozart was a pretty bad contract.

Oh boy how can we forget

[Inside Pitch]

On 5/14/2021 at 11:47 PM, Erstad Grit said:

Mo Vaughn mashed while he was here. Yes he was a douche but we got the Mets to take his contract and we got a serviceable Appier out of it. Vaughn is no where near a terrible signing. 

The Angels also had insurance on the first three years of his contract, they ended up making money off the contract after they collected insurance and then Disney took their devaluation.  He didn't live up to the hype but compared to the other Angels big name buys he was a massive success and yeah, trading him brought a pretty vital part of that 2002 WS team.

[REDneck]

It appears we need a bigger bad mountain.

[Lou]

Bad Mt. Rushmore: Joe Maddon

[T.G.]

Just now, Lou said:

Bad Mt. Rushmore: Joe Maddon

Took the words right off my keyboard.

[disarcina]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:32 PM, failos said:

Sosh, Vlad, Bartolo Colon, Torii, Orlando Cabrera, and some other dudes

 

On 5/14/2021 at 11:07 AM, Tank said:

he was injured and missed the entire third year of his contract, then was dumped on the mets for appier or sele and we won the WS without him. but his stats for the two years he played here were good.

 

[disarcina]

Orlando Cabrera was a good signing for us - he won an Gold Glove for us here.

I felt we let him go too soon - but the adage is -- better a year too soon than a year too late.

Colon won a Cy Young Award here for us and pitched well for the Halos - when healthy

I think the Halos decided to sign him a few years before when he pitched a shutout gem against us for the Cleveland Indians the night they had the bg opening ceremonies (Season Opener) for the newly renovated Anaheim Stadium - which had been re-named (at that time) Edison International Field.  The game was nationally televised. Colon shut down the Halos line up completely. I think they got two hits or something like that.

Also, might have been one of the last times number 26 - the Cowboy - Mr. Gene Autry - my all time favorite Halo - appeared on the field. (That would have been the year 2000 or so).

 

[disarcina]

Bad Mt. "Crashmore" from the absolute worst to almost as bad

1. HANDS DOWN UNANIMOUS WINNER:  Josh Hamilton (a terrible signing from Day One )

2. Very close second: Gary Matthews Jr. (A terrible signing from day one - five year deal - all because of a highlight reel catch that the guy would never be able to make again). NO ONE on this board liked this signing from the moment it happened and then GMJ proved through his play why it was such a terrible acquisition/ contract/ signing.

3,) Mo Vaughn - became an absolute poison in the clubhouse, got hurt tumbling down the steps of the dugout his first week in a Halos uniform,  He rebounded to out up some OK stats but never lived up to his billing and expected to be a team leader type for performance on the field and by his conduct off the field - failed miserably to meet expectations in both. The negative impact he had on the organization hadn't been seen since the Alex Johnson - Chico Ruiz (the MIF depth guy who pulled a gun in the locker room) days.

4, Gary Gaetti -- some folks may not remember this signing -- he was a slugging third baseman for Minnesota coming off a great season(s) there and come here and was hitting about .200 (if that) by the all star break that first year here -- played about another season for the Halos and rebounded a bit but never to the all star numbers he had in Minnesota. He bounced around after the Halos years and actually put up some good numbers in years with KC and St. Louis after leaving the Halos. Total flop as an Angel.

5. Vernon Wells - I guess we traded for him (I can't remember who went to Toronto ) so perhaps he belongs on a separate list with Kent Bottenfield -- but this deal (I thought it was a F/A signing -- I think it was a trade and sign to an extension deal  perhaps?) was terrible from day one and so did most of the folks here.  He was a huge disappointment here. Terrible decision by the front office to acquire him -- I think it came as response to the Dodgers making some big signing / deal - why we felt the need into that New York Yankees/ Mets 'who can dominate the  off -season headlines' war is beyond me - then and now., But that is what I think motivated us here (as well as with the GMJ signing). Just dumb.

6. There was a relief pitcher we signed -- closer guy - I forget his name  (Madsen?)- think he pitched for Philly (several years) and then Cincinnati for a year or two as a closer. - was great in Philly (set up guy mainly) did OK as a closer in Cincy -- we signed him and I think he hurt his arm warming up the first day of spring training. I think we signed him to a two year (maybe three) deal and I don't think he ever appeared in a single regular season game with us. In fact, I think the extent of his 'pitches' total was the warm up that first day or two of spring training when he got hurt.  He rehabbed on the Halos dollar for about two season and later came back (I think with KC, Oakland, maybe played for both teams) and actually returned to closing duties and had some modicum level of success after he left the Halos, A terrible waste of payroll for us,

NOW -- I do not place Albert Pujols on this list. The contract was for too long and for too much -- but everyone was pretty excited that he was coming to Anaheim - he got off to a terrible start of this Halos career after absolutely stellar seasons in St, Louis, And that's all everyone remembers. He got off to a terrible start and then towards the end of the Halos contract (which everyone knew was going to be a problem/ issue) he simply could not run anymore (Mr, GIDP) and became a liability on defense -- but for a period of about 7/8 years of that ten year deal - he rebounded from the slow start and put up some respectable numbers -- folks only seem to remember the slow start and disappointed that we did not get the St. Louis ten year production numbers - which wouldn't have happened in St, Louis either.

 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On 5/14/2021 at 6:15 AM, nate said:

OC was a trade

Any bad list should also include CJ Wilson

 

OC was a free agent signing (1/12/05). He was traded the year before, but the Angels weren't involved in the deal. The Angels traded him to the White Sox on 11/19/07 for Jon Garland.

[JoJo26]

3 hours ago, disarcina said:

Bad Mt. "Crashmore" from the absolute worst to almost as bad

1. HANDS DOWN UNANIMOUS WINNER:  Josh Hamilton (a terrible signing from Day One )

2. Very close second: Gary Matthews Jr. (A terrible signing from day one - five year deal - all because of a highlight reel catch that the guy would never be able to make again). NO ONE on this board liked this signing from the moment it happened and then GMJ proved through his play why it was such a terrible acquisition/ contract/ signing.

3,) Mo Vaughn - became an absolute poison in the clubhouse, got hurt tumbling down the steps of the dugout his first week in a Halos uniform,  He rebounded to out up some OK stats but never lived up to his billing and expected to be a team leader type for performance on the field and by his conduct off the field - failed miserably to meet expectations in both. The negative impact he had on the organization hadn't been seen since the Alex Johnson - Chico Ruiz (the MIF depth guy who pulled a gun in the locker room) days.

4, Gary Gaetti -- some folks may not remember this signing -- he was a slugging third baseman for Minnesota coming off a great season(s) there and come here and was hitting about .200 (if that) by the all star break that first year here -- played about another season for the Halos and rebounded a bit but never to the all star numbers he had in Minnesota. He bounced around after the Halos years and actually put up some good numbers in years with KC and St. Louis after leaving the Halos. Total flop as an Angel.

5. Vernon Wells - I guess we traded for him (I can't remember who went to Toronto ) so perhaps he belongs on a separate list with Kent Bottenfield -- but this deal (I thought it was a F/A signing -- I think it was a trade and sign to an extension deal  perhaps?) was terrible from day one and so did most of the folks here.  He was a huge disappointment here. Terrible decision by the front office to acquire him -- I think it came as response to the Dodgers making some big signing / deal - why we felt the need into that New York Yankees/ Mets 'who can dominate the  off -season headlines' war is beyond me - then and now., But that is what I think motivated us here (as well as with the GMJ signing). Just dumb.

6. There was a relief pitcher we signed -- closer guy - I forget his name  (Madsen?)- think he pitched for Philly (several years) and then Cincinnati for a year or two as a closer. - was great in Philly (set up guy mainly) did OK as a closer in Cincy -- we signed him and I think he hurt his arm warming up the first day of spring training. I think we signed him to a two year (maybe three) deal and I don't think he ever appeared in a single regular season game with us. In fact, I think the extent of his 'pitches' total was the warm up that first day or two of spring training when he got hurt.  He rehabbed on the Halos dollar for about two season and later came back (I think with KC, Oakland, maybe played for both teams) and actually returned to closing duties and had some modicum level of success after he left the Halos, A terrible waste of payroll for us,

NOW -- I do not place Albert Pujols on this list. The contract was for too long and for too much -- but everyone was pretty excited that he was coming to Anaheim - he got off to a terrible start of this Halos career after absolutely stellar seasons in St, Louis, And that's all everyone remembers. He got off to a terrible start and then towards the end of the Halos contract (which everyone knew was going to be a problem/ issue) he simply could not run anymore (Mr, GIDP) and became a liability on defense -- but for a period of about 7/8 years of that ten year deal - he rebounded from the slow start and put up some respectable numbers -- folks only seem to remember the slow start and disappointed that we did not get the St. Louis ten year production numbers - which wouldn't have happened in St, Louis either.

 

1.) "I play for my teammates, not the fans" - Eff You Josh - Go toss another ball to a fan in LF - whoops. What? Too soon?

2.) GMJr never...I mean NEVER had a clutch hit in Texas - nor Anaheim. Made a great catch on Opening Night in Anaheim - but hit like crap.

3.) Mo fell down the stair first game.

skip to 5) Wells was a trade (Napoli) because we couldn't sign Carl Crawford and Sosh loved his pet Mathis.

ALBERT - After the first month, nobody cared about him. He sucked. I once asked Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register if Albert "might" go to Arte and either: Pull a Lyman Bostock & give a refund for his underserving money - OR - restructure his deal (like TOM BRADY) so the team could maybe sign a high caliber pitcher like a COLE or BAUER. Fletcher told me something like 'Albert believes he can lead the team to the playoffs and/or he signed his contract and he deserves that money'...

The Cards knew he was on the downtick - Arte is star-crossed - so he overpays for a declining selfish player and St. Louis is laughing...

[Angels 1961]

Joe Rudi, great movie after he retired. RUUUUDI

[Erstad Grit]

Escobar (pitcher) was another very good underrated signing. 

[nando714]

On 5/14/2021 at 10:30 AM, Chuckster70 said:

GOOD MT. RUSHMORE: Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Grich, Don Baylor, Shohei Ohtani

BAD MT. RUSHMORE: Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Mo Vaughn, Gary Matthews Jr.  

mo Vaughn I might disagree with. His numbers weren’t terrible in the 2 years he was here. Why he was traded I totally forgot and I was around 12 years old at the time lol

[disarcina]

23 hours ago, JoJo26 said:

1.) "I play for my teammates, not the fans" - Eff You Josh - Go toss another ball to a fan in LF - whoops. What? Too soon?

2.) GMJr never...I mean NEVER had a clutch hit in Texas - nor Anaheim. Made a great catch on Opening Night in Anaheim - but hit like crap.

3.) Mo fell down the stair first game.

skip to 5) Wells was a trade (Napoli) because we couldn't sign Carl Crawford and Sosh loved his pet Mathis.

ALBERT - After the first month, nobody cared about him. He sucked. I once asked Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register if Albert "might" go to Arte and either: Pull a Lyman Bostock & give a refund for his underserving money - OR - restructure his deal (like TOM BRADY) so the team could maybe sign a high caliber pitcher like a COLE or BAUER. Fletcher told me something like 'Albert believes he can lead the team to the playoffs and/or he signed his contract and he deserves that money'...

The Cards knew he was on the downtick - Arte is star-crossed - so he overpays for a declining selfish player and St. Louis is laughing...

St. Louis was disappointed when Pujols left - but they sure got the better end of the deal - and the thing is -- the Angels deal was not that much more than St. Louis. I always felt that Albert really should have stayed in St. Louis and would have been a true icon there like Musial, Gibson, Brock etc. But St, Louis front office - which can be pretty stingy - spent their Pujols 'dividends/ savings' well.  That being said, I have no ill will towards Pujols and wish him well. He had an RBI single tonight against Madison Bumgarner in his second AB as a Dodger. He's playing first and batting fourth tonight.

[disarcina]

On 5/16/2021 at 9:19 PM, JoJo26 said:

1.) "I play for my teammates, not the fans" - Eff You Josh - Go toss another ball to a fan in LF - whoops. What? Too soon?

2.) GMJr never...I mean NEVER had a clutch hit in Texas - nor Anaheim. Made a great catch on Opening Night in Anaheim - but hit like crap.

3.) Mo fell down the stair first game.

skip to 5) Wells was a trade (Napoli) because we couldn't sign Carl Crawford and Sosh loved his pet Mathis.

ALBERT - After the first month, nobody cared about him. He sucked. I once asked Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register if Albert "might" go to Arte and either: Pull a Lyman Bostock & give a refund for his underserving money - OR - restructure his deal (like TOM BRADY) so the team could maybe sign a high caliber pitcher like a COLE or BAUER. Fletcher told me something like 'Albert believes he can lead the team to the playoffs and/or he signed his contract and he deserves that money'...

The Cards knew he was on the downtick - Arte is star-crossed - so he overpays for a declining selfish player and St. Louis is laughing...

I always thought Pujols should have stayed in St. Louis - the Angels deal was not that much more --and had he stayed with St, Louis, he'd be an icon there in American's best baseball city - with Musial, Gibson and Brock.  The Cards used the Pujols dividend/salary savings well -- the Cards front office is a pretty stingy bunch - they're not that far off from being Billy Beane in Oakland -- Pujols started at 1B tonight for the Dodgers and he hit fourth in the line up. As of the 7th inning Pujols is 1-3, rbi single and a strikeout. I have no ill will towards Pujols and hope he plays well for LA Dodgers to finish out his HOF career on a high note.

[rageous]

On 5/16/2021 at 5:23 PM, disarcina said:

 

NOW -- I do not place Albert Pujols on this list. The contract was for too long and for too much -- but everyone was pretty excited that he was coming to Anaheim - he got off to a terrible start of this Halos career after absolutely stellar seasons in St, Louis, And that's all everyone remembers. He got off to a terrible start and then towards the end of the Halos contract (which everyone knew was going to be a problem/ issue) he simply could not run anymore (Mr, GIDP) and became a liability on defense -- but for a period of about 7/8 years of that ten year deal - he rebounded from the slow start and put up some respectable numbers -- folks only seem to remember the slow start and disappointed that we did not get the St. Louis ten year production numbers - which wouldn't have happened in St, Louis either.

 

LOL what?  HIs contract will go down as the worst contract of all time if you calculate the dollar to the value he provided.

Its possible some other long term deals will be worse due to higher dollar amount but to this point there is no doubt that Pujols signing was the worst in the history of MLB.

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 5/14/2021 at 8:15 AM, Taylor said:

You don't find Ohtani exciting?

I picture you saying that, while uncrossing your legs like sharon stone in whichever movie she did that in

[Blarg]

At this point I'm ready to carve Maddon into the MT Crapmore of Angels managers.

[Blarg]

5 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I picture you saying that, while uncrossing your legs like sharon stone in whichever movie she did that in

Basic Instinct. And 30 years later she claims she was setup and didn't know they were shooting her upskirt, which is the stupidest claim ever. 

[fan_since79]

Who was the pitcher we signed some years ago who got hurt and never threw a single pitch for us? He had previously won the ERA title while with Oakland I believe?

That was a BAD signing.

edit: Now I remember. Steve Ontiveros.

[fan_since79]

"You're a VERY BAD Free Agent Signing, Mr. Pujols!"

 

"Anthony wished him into Dodger Stadium, dear. It was very good that he did that!"

[Erstad Grit]

2 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

"You're a VERY BAD Free Agent Signing, Mr. Pujols!"

 

"Anthony wished him into Dodger Stadium, dear. It was very good that he did that!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA