Coachbulldog

I rarely go on a rant here, but this year's Hall of Fame selection really irritates me. 2014 will go down as the year the Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers, and the various selection committees were fully revealed as hypocrites and the election/selection process as nothing more than a grand farce. Tony LaRussa has already been elected unanimously by the expansion era committee. Looking at the final stats of LaRussa's managerial career he is certainly a Hall of Fame manager. But using the logic that currently prevails, he should never be enshrined in Cooperstown. Why? LaRussa's Hall of Fame credentials were accumulated managing some of the biggest 'roid users of the entire era. The players that played for him that put up amazing numbers and won hundreds of games that make LaRussa's resume shine will never be in the Hall because the self righteous, guardians of the game will never elect them. However, the man who managed them is allowed in at the first opportunity. Did LaRussa know about the steroid use of Cancesco, McGwire, and the rest of the players? He claims he didn't and voters give him the benefit of the doubt. Really?!?! LaRussa is a lawyer, a bright guy, and yet he had no clue of the rampant PED use going on in his clubhouse? I believe LaRussa is a liar, but the hypocrisy is the electors refuse to give players like Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza the same benefit of the doubt they are giving LaRussa. By all accounts Tom Glavine is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He will stand there on induction day and proudly accept his enshrinement while writers and purists applaud that he did it the "right way" in an era that was filled with PED use. What a joke. Glavine should be put in the same category as Bonds and Clemens because he is just as much of a participant in the issues of the PED era as any of the juiced up players. It comes down to this legal definition of accessory: Accessory: contributing to or aiding in the commission of a crime. One who, without being present at the commission of an offense, becomes guilty of such offense, not as a chief actor, but as a participant, as by command, advice, instigation, or concealment; either before or after the fact or commission. Glavine was a high ranking member of the Players Association who was very vocal against instituting any drug testing. He wasn't the only player that resisted but he was one of the most outspoken and, as a leader in the MLBPA, he had a great deal of influence. While Glavine continued to stand on his principles, the PED era continued. If the PED users are considered to have committed "crimes" against baseball then Tom Glavine should be seen as an accessory to these crimes and viewed in the same light as Bonds and Clemens and kept out of the Hall of Fame.

You're correct about Weaver and Wilson coming off the books but that doesn't really mean the Angels are going to get any luxury tax relief. When Weaver and Wilson come off the books they will have to either be resigned or other players signed to replace them. Unless the Angels choose to go with lower quality pitchers which will translate into a less competitive team, they are going to have to spend big bucks to fill the top two slots in the rotation.

As much as I hate the Cardinals, have to give them credit for solid player evaluation. But in the archaic sport of baseball, a sport that has been fighting technology and trying to quantify attributes like "grit" and "heart" and "clutch" for decades, kudos to the Cardinals and general manager John Mozeliak for realizing that the team's offense last season was less clutch and more of a fluke.

If I'm the GM of a team that has a shot at playing deep into October I would not hesitate to give up a first round draft choice in exchange for signing a player that could be the difference maker in the upcoming season.

I don't see this having much of an impact on MLB's blackout rules. According to item 20 beginning on page 13, the blackout rules being addressed are local markets being able to watch their teams. Very few MLB games are blacked out in local markets. Yes, consumers have to purchase a service like Directv that carries a regional sports network, but MLB doesn't blackout games except on Saturday when FOX has exclusive rights. I don't see the FCC getting involved in regulating regional sports networks and territorial rights. From what I read, MLB.tv blackouts (Angels games in the LA area, Rockies games in Colorado and Utah, etc...) will remain.

In addition to Bob Hamlin, the Royals had another Rookie-of-the-Year award winner who ended up being nothing, Angel Berroa. I agree with you about trading young, unproven prospects for solid, dependable MLB players if the team is in a position to make a postseason run. I wonder how different the Angels would look today if the front office had traded guys like Brandon Wood, Matt Brown, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Dallas McPherson, Nick Gorneault, etc... for MLB players.

Thanks for clearing that up!

Did you actually read the column? It isn't serious.

100% agree with both of these posts!

The LA Times wasn't the only outlet where fans thought trading Trumbo was a bad idea. Full story

This rule change will not happen without approval from MLB and the Players Association. The players and owners will be the ones who decide so each of you will get exactly what you're asking for.

Add to Santana's salary demand is the team that signs him loses a draft choice. Be interesting to how much he ends up making and where he ends up playing.

The problem is that it is impossible to predict when that "outlier" season is going to occur making it a huge, high risk gamble to hold on to a Trumbo hoping he will have season for the ages.

What was he responding too?

And the Mariners are the new Blue Jays.

The statements are all true which is exactly my point. There were a lot of posters who were dead set against trading Trumbo and tried to argue the statements made by the Diamondbacks fans weren't accurate.

If we could rewind the clock one week and these comments were posted on Angelswin.com, 99% of us would have responded like sharks to blood in an effort to defend Trumbo. Now we read them with smugness. Trumbo is a basically a one-dimensional player. He's definitely not a bad player to have around, but the thing about the Diamondbacks is, they have other options. Mark Reynolds V2.0 in LF He’s [Trumbo] not as worthless as his OBP might suggest, but the fact that it takes him 500 outs to hit 30 home runs means that his overall value is limited

Carson's AAA stats tell me there is no guarantee he is a MLB pitcher. At first glance his 3.45 AAA ERA seems to say he has some upside but his other AAA stats say otherwise: WHIP 1.483 K/9 7.6 BB/9 3.8 K/BB 2.04 It is only a 60 inning sample size, but those are very medicore numbers.

Maybe teams would want Cron instead of Trumbo.

I was totally wrong.

If his primary concern is money then he made a huge mistake by firing Scott Boras.

Robinson Cano is never going to sign with Seattle. Jay Z created this entire scenario to bluff the Yankees into playing millions more and it blew up in his face because Jay Z horribly miscalculated how it would play out. Turns out the Mariners were serious, believed they sincerely had a shot at signing Cano, and made an outrageous offer. Backed against the wall Jay Z and Cano now have two choices: take the Mariners money and play in Seattle or go back to the Yankees with their tails between their legs and take Cashman's lower offer. I don't feel bad for the Mariners because they were naive to believe Cano was serious about playing there. What is sad about all of this is Scott Boras and the Yankees end up the winners.

Morales and Vargas were both in their walk years so that trade was basically pitching for hitting for the 2013 season. What the Angels are looking for is pitching they can control for several seasons and, even though Trumbo is also controllable for several seasons, his value does not equal decent, controllable pitching.

It is a good move for the Royals if there are more signings/trades in the pipeline. Aoki is a free agent at the end of 2014 season. It looks like Dayton Moore is setting the Royals up for a one shot at glory season in 2014.

I think you're right. What concerns me is Mike Trout is already the best player in baseball and by the time he's a free agent he might have become the best player since Willie Mays. I would hope the Angels would be doing all they can to lock him up to as many years possible as soon as they can.