Hubs

Weaver looked great in Cincinnati. He gave up one run in that game in six innings. In Texas, he gave up two HR both to right, where the wind was blowing out. 4 runs in 5 innings certainly isn't good, and the Moreland double before he was pulled also wasn't great. Still, it's not like he was having a horrific year. One good start, one iffy start.

One of the reasons I wanted Richards sent to AAA is in case of an injury he'd have been stretched out..and ready to fill in. Now he's pitched in four of the Angels first six games out of the pen, been good, but will he be ready to start on Saturday in Houston?

Even though Weaver is now out, I was concerned about depth before this. I like the guys DiPoto brought in, thought Hanson and Vargas trades were really great. Yet I really wanted to bring Haren or Santana back, not both, just one. I think they could've gotten Santana back for what they spent on Blanton or a few million more. Haren possibly could have been brought back for what they paid in his buyout, plus Blanton's contract, plus maybe 5 M more. He'd likely have signed for 2-24 with an option for three years. They spent 18.5 on Blanton and Haren's buyout. 10 M this year (same), 12 M next with a 2 M buyout. I know Santana and Haren both got lit up in their first starts, but Santana and Haren were both dominant on occasion with us, and I doubt Blanton will ever be that.

He had one bad game last season and four okay to good ones. Okay.. the bad game might have been jitters. Entered a game against the Red Sox last April, Rays down 8-5. Here's his log: Walked McDonald, Double to Aviles, Single to Pedroia, got Adrian Gonzalez to groung into a double play. Walked Youklis. Ortiz Doubled. Ross Homered. Sweeney grounded out. Then in September he was back up and in his first appearance he allowed a HR to JJ Hardy in a Rays game against Baltimore. They were already losing 7-2. In 2011, in a loss to the Yankees in July he gave up 2 runs, didn't strike anyone out in a game the Rays were losing 0-2. They lost 0-4. He gave up 6 runs in 2 innings of work in a game in September the Rays won 15-8. His log: Entered in the 6th, up 13-0. Austin Romine strikeout, Pena Singles, Jones HR. Montero Singles, Posada Singles, Laird Strikesout, Golson groundout. Then next inning, Dickerson Groundsout, Nunez, Single. Wild Pitch. Austin Romine Singles, Pena Singles, Jones Singles. He's replaced and the next pitcher, Torres, gives up a double to Montero. ^ runs, 1.1 IP... So, he's thrown 10 less than ten games and in two he got absolutely tattooed. He's wild, but must throw a really hittable fastball some nights.

He had 87 strikeouts in 54 minor league appearances last year, but also 46 walks. I'm thinking Ricky Vaughan.

Dane De La Rosa makes zero sense. A 30 year old reliever? Seriously? The guy has a career 10.95 ERA. HIs minors numbers are okay. Brenden Donnelly 2.0? I don't think so.

Also… this only likely matters until Madson is ready at the end of the month, as then they'll have to send someone down from the pen, or send back the extra position guy.

There is no doubt losing Weaver hurts. Hopefully they can fill in for him with Richards and/or Williams, but I wonder who gets called up? Another BP arm or a bench bat? I like the 11 pitcher / 14 position player thing better than the 12/13 set-up they currently have. This is because the DH is unable to be put into the game defensively since you then lose the spot. Trumbo being the primary backup at 1st and the OF (with Trout to CF if Bourjos is hit for), you lose that flexibility if he DH's and then you get Shuck in the game? You basically then have 12 pitchers and 12 hitters, one of whom is your backup Catcher. Shuck / Conger / Romine / Harris is not a deep bench. It worries me more to have a bench like that then a BP of Frieri / Downs / Burnett / Jepsen / Lowe / Williams. Williams has only worked one game, so it's possible they let him be the starter over Richards if they feel they need Richards in the pen. I doubt that though. It's also possible Richards never gives up the spot if he does well in Weaver's absence bumping someone else from the rotation. So do Matt Young, Calhoun, or Jimenez help you more right now than Mitch Stetter, Carpenter, or Maronde? Young and Stetter are long shots since they'd require a roster move, yet I suppose Sisk could be put on the 60-day DL (he's not even on the DL, and I thought he was under going TJ surgery) So Calhoun, Jimenez or Carpenter, Maronde? I'd go for the hitter. Thoughts?

There goes my 25 win projection.

F*CK!

Getting rid of two cost-controlled young players for a questionable ace is a joke. But lets look at what you are proposing in a little more depth. The only way Arizona trades Ian Kennedy is for minor league depth and/or a position of need now. Do they have any positions where they aren't comfortable? They've locked up Prado at 3rd, which was their biggest weakness last year. They have Didi Gregorius for the future as a result of the Bauer/Choo/Stubbs trade with the Reds and the Indians, and Cliff Pennington now. At 2nd they have Aaron Hill, who just got a contract extension. So did GoldSchmidt at first. In the OF, they have Kubel, Eaton (on the DL), Ross, and Parra. They also have Matt Davidson at third in the minors who is one to two years away, and high ceiling prospects at nearly every other position in the minors at A/AA. They have enough starters so that Skaggs was sent to AAA, who I assume would be called up to replace Kennedy, should they trade him. They have a good pen. Oh and they have Miguel Montero at catcher, who they are paying 10 Million a year, and he's locked up through 2017. So… why trade Ian Kennedy again? To fill what need? Bourjos, while I am high on him, only makes sense if he's dominating, Eaton is sent to the minors, and they send back contract dollars to the Angels in the form of Jason Kubel. Trumbo would also work if they sent back Kubel. Bourjos and Trumbo together makes zero sense since they have a first baseman, and the NL doesn't have a DH. They have four quality OF now, and even if they sent one back, what is the point of that if they lose Kennedy? The Angels and D'Backs just don't line up on a trade like this. Kennedy could be traded for young prospects, which the Angels do have depsite their low minor league ranking. If the Angels were to trade for a guy like Kennedy, it would take likely guys like Girchuck, Lindsey, etc. Not major league guys. And the D'Backs have no incentive to go for that. So… Trade Idea debunked.

Put Hamilton 2nd. Only if the new 4-5-6 hits though. Trout Hamilton Pujols Trumbo Iannetta Callaspo Kendrick Aybar Bourjos (could also hit 2nd if he hits like in 2011)

The bit about him not being able to hit in day games is a poor excuse.

I Laughed. It's clearly a fan made sign he held up. It's not an official sign.

It's all okay. Opening up in an National League city against a team that won 95+ games last season isn't the best opening series to have. If we'd opened up against the Astros, 3-0. All three games were close, one run games. One was blown by the pen, one was on the starter. Weaver was excellent, Wilson was good except one inning, Blanton was prone to Homers in that bandbox of a park. 1-2 this year is not like going 1-2 to start the season last year against KC at home. The Reds are favored to win their division, and possibly might win the most games in the National league. On to Texas and lets hope for a series win so they can come home at .500 without the panic button being pressed. Still a good homestand next week is key to getting the season off on the right foot.

Blanton in Cincinnati's BandBox = issues. Blanton at home…much better.

I'd like to see the local newspapers get together and offer folks a small monthly fee to read their papers collectively. I'd pay that. I never read an actual newspaper, but that's partly because its cost went up and up and up and so did the ad content. This paywall model is not going to work. $2 a day for non-subscribers is $60 a month. Who is going to pay $60 a month? Did they have an online only subscription that I didn't see? I don't want the actual paper, just would like to read an Angels article now and again. Yet, a lot of their stuff comes from AP anyway.

.300 average, 55 XBH, 25-15-15. 30 SB.

They need another bench bat. I don't like carrying 12 arms in the pen, especially since one who should be a starter, is in the pen instead.

With Profar, they've now literally just destroyed their trade chip in Andrus. He's no longer valuable. I swear I thought this was an April Fools Joke. This contract is worse than A-Rod's, worse than Vernon Wells... They took the money they could've spent on Hamilton, and gave it to a guy already under control for two more seasons, when they have the best prospect in the minors at his position. It's like giving PB this amount of money with Trout in the wings. My god what a terrible terrible deal.

Way too optimistic. This guy is not what everyone seems to think he is. He is more likely to hit .250 than .280, his OBP probably sticks around .330, which is also where his slugging could be. He looked lost at the plate in ST until about March 15th, then turned it on to have respectable numbers. I really don't see the confidence in him as a full-time guy. Starting against lefties sure, but he was so bad against righties as a lefty last year, I hope he can bring those numbers way up. Otherwise maybe it's better he just hits right handed.

Kole Calhoun played 2010 with Orem, 2011 with High A and and 2012 with AAA, I don't think they need to worry about option years yet. Shuck was an NRI, meaning a minor league deal, meaning that he can be sent to the minors. I thought if they were going to give the 4th/5th OF spot to anyone other than Calhoun, they'd have given it to Matt Young, who just dominated in Spring with the bat. I think they want someone who can play all three OF spots and first, but they have Trumbo and Kendrick able to do that in the majors…already..

5 Even BOLDER Predictions 1. Trout (75), Bourjos (40), Aybar (35) combined will steal 150 bases. 2. Trout, Pujols, Hamilton, Trumbo will each hit over 40 Home Runs. 3. Each of the following Angels single season records will be broken, some twice: Total Bases (Trout), Doubles (Pujols & Trout), Triples (Bourjos), HR (Hamilton), OPS (Pujols & Trout), Runs Scored (Trout), RBI (Pujols), Stolen Bases (Trout), Wins (Weaver), WHIP (Weaver). 4. Weaver wins 25 games. 5. The bullpen blows less than 10 saves.

Tulo was #26.

Nationals are NL dude. I ranked the AL only. The A's have a top five in the AL staff. I don't like Texas' staff as much as the Fangraphs article does, after Darvish and Harrison, they have a bunch of question marks. I said in my comments that you could move NY and Texas up and Oakland could fall. Mariners got no love in this piece. Last year the staff allowed 651 runs. They no longer have Vargas, and yes they moved the fences in. They no longer have Millwood. But Hernandez, Iwakuma, Beavan, Maurer, Saunders, is a great rotation. Not to mention that they have Hultzen, Paxton, Walker on the horizon. They love the Tigers, who I had listed fourth. Okay. maybe they're top three and the Mariners/A's/Rays move down. Still, the Fangraphs rankings for the AL teams: 1) Tigers, 2) Rangers 3) Yankees (Really?) 4) White Sox 5) A's 6) Red Sox (Really?) 7) Jays 8) Rays... I'd imagine then that the Mariners & Angels would beat out Minnesota, Houston, Cleveland, Orioles, & Royals…but maybe they like the last two. They probably put Royals ahead of the Angels…but worst they are 11th. I also want to state that this was supposedly a ranking of the entire staff, not the rotation. Oakland's pen is awesome. Pushes them into my top three instead of Detroit who moves down since they are struggling with a Closer decision. Pen issues are well documented here in Anaheim, but I think when all is said and done, the Angels will have a top 5 pen. Yeah I know that sounds crazy. Last season, Tampa, New York, Seattle, Oakland, and the Rangers had top five pen's. Including the pen makes my rankings make a little more sense. I had the Angels 9th as a staff. Best Guess on the Fangraphs rankings would put the Angels 9th to 11th.