ukyah

he didn't have any real chance of beating out abreau, but his finishing second is a testament to how great his season was. one of the greatest seasons ever for an undrafted player.

doesn't make it any less stupid. michael cuddyer isn't worth the 15th pick. the guy's guaranteed to be on the DL and his career will be over in two years.

i'd take grilli over salas, personally.

he's 28 years old and 240 (yeah right!). conditioning has always been a problem with him. the giants have already gotten his best years. he'll be a good offensive player for several more years, but not 6/100 good and that's what he's looking for. if he suddenly became available for 3/50, then sure i'd love to have him, but that's not going to happen. if his market collapses for some reason, then he's still going to sign with the giants. as i already said, i don't really see how he sticks at third as he ages that body. he has 1b written all over him, and that's just one more deal breaker for the angels. i virtually guarantee that dipoto and staff aren't even considering the guy. i'd be shocked.

i think it would be awesome if the Angels signed a ton of these korean and cuban guys, rather than any of the big name american FA. i like how they'd complement the angels needs and i like their long term prospects better, plus they don't effect the luxury tax in the same way. i don't expect it, but i'd be stoked.

aj burnett is not coming here. his wife won't fly and he's already flat out refused trades to the angels. he's just about done with baseball, and it would take a major sea change in attitude for him to come here, it's not going to happen based on probability.

i didn't know mike, but he seems to be loved and missed, and that's all that a person can hope for at their passing. a life well lived. my condolences to AW, his friends and his family.

honest question, does it? due to role or a full bullpen? has anyone seen any salary estimates for what grilli might be looking for? i'd doubt he'd be expecting closer money/role at this point, although that's not a given. i wouldn't mind having him back at the big A.

i'd be very confident to bet that the angels don't even place a call to his agent.

sandoval has had great success in the post season, no doubt. his regular season numbers are ok, but he's going to get paid because of 3 world championships. he's also a fat ass, and it's extremely likely he's not going to be able to stick at third because of his fat assness. that's a deal breaker for me. the angels have enough guys that they're paying for their contributions to another organization's championships, we don't need anymore. start paying guys for what they're going to do and not what they've already done. FA should be a predictive proposition and not an opportunity to stick it in the prom queen.

i disagree, the way to keep a "window" open the longest is to stay young and flexible. it's perfectly fine to trade away aging cost increasing players as long as you replace them with mlb quality players, preferably young and cost controlled. if we replace howie with garbage, then that's a bad move no matter how you slice it.

shit is getting weird when i start agreeing with eric notti more than once in a calendar week. although, i lean a little more toward the cardinal way of trading post 30 year old players coming on contract years for younger cheaper talent or their respective draft picks. having said that, notti's thoughts outline a valid plan.

i've actually changed my opinion on the ramos trade. i had a bit of an epiphany about it really. ramos isn't particularly good as either a reliever or a starter, but he's an improved version of rasmus, in the sense that he can actually go the six+ innings. he's an emergency valve for the angels. the angels are going to use him as a situational lefty, thereby limiting some of his weaknesses as a reliever. not that he's particularly bad against righties, which he's not, but rather limiting his batters faced. he has a history of being a starter, so if the angels need an absolute emergency starter, they have one readily built in to the pen who isn't just a classic mop up man.

doesn't piodeportes have an incredibly accurate history? he gets clowned because he's seemingly some nobody who gets inside information.

i'd take him as a hitting coach right now. also, i agree with eric notti. now, i have to go rinse my mouth out.

exactamundo, richie.

i would be all for bringing ibanez in as a coach, right now. however, he's up for a manager's position and i hear that's a better job. also, i'd bet cash money if they asked scioscia or dipoto, then they would endorse him.

i don't think advanced metrics can help you predraft in determining a player's major league worthiness. i think they help management in determining when to promote a player from one level to the next.

ibanez has really led an honorable baseball life. he gets mad respect from everybody all over. it says a lot about the guy.

i predict a rocky tenure for ramos because he's pretty close to bad. i hope to be wrong.

two things from that astros board. 1. nitro. 2. they're going to lose their collective minds when hank does one of his patented CF airmails. i predict that someone over there will post a little youtube history and they're going to freak out before the season even starts.

he has cub written all over him.

not a fan of ramos, but hey not every reliever can be jeppy.

exactly. however, my sense is that the angels aren't in on the moncada sweepstakes and that AW is setting itself up for disappointment, but i could be totally wrong.

if you're talking about the two korean pitchers coming out, neither one of them are really worth a shit. i'd be surprised if they post for little more than a few million.