Seeing Red -- And falling by the way side

So I was one of 43,510 who donned a "fleece Blankie" to not only welcome Matsui to the Angels but to break a Guinness World Record.  I was even impressed by the two Minnesota Twin fans wearing the fleece during the required 5 minutes.  That type of autonomy is reminiscent of the 2002 World Series Game 7 where in unison a sell out crowd of Angels fan beat away on Plastic inflated Thunder Sticks.  However the same autonomy didn't work in the favor of the Angels.  Perhaps because the Twins fans donned the Red "Blankies"  

It was my first game of the year.  Anaheim Stadium is even more beautiful than I remember.  Trees now cover the Rock Waterfall in Centerfield.  Yardhouse and joined the list of advertisers at Angel Stadium.  

But lets get to the game.  Joe Saunders looked ok, with the exception of the long balls to Hardy, and the M&M boys.  Unfortunately the Angels never got hot.  In fact they were fairly cold.  Thanks to Torii Hunter, who put a ball in the outfield gave us a reason to cheer.  Unfortunately the Angels are now 1-1 and falling by the way side in the American League West.

Read My Lips, No New Free-Agents!!!

Originally posted at HalosHeaven

The void that will be created with the departures of John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Darren Oliver, and Vladimir Guerrero will be felt long after they sign new contracts with their new teams. Lackey is a true number one Ace, Figgins is a true lead off hitter and has great defensive skills, Oliver isn't only a lefty specialist, and Vladimir was the face of the franchise. But like Tony Reagins said on the Drive yesterday, you have to take the emotion out of the business decisions.

We Will Win, With What We Got or Lightning Strikes Twice.

Last year the Halosphere was bent because Mark Teixera took his U-Haul to New York for a big payday. Some of the Fan Faithful believed in the unproven Kendry Morales. And that investment paid in dividends. Could Brandon Wood produce similarly to Morales? Wood has nothing left to prove in minors. Given an opportunity of having regular at bats and every day play, perhaps he could put together a good season. And if his defense isn't as great as we were once led to believe or his offense never gets started, he can always be platooned with super-utility player Maicer Izturis.

What about Sean O'Sullivan, given a chance to shine could he become the John Lackey of 2002? And with a rotation of Weaver, Santana, Saunders, Kazmir, couldn't the Angels survive with a pitcher like O'Sullivan or Matt Palmer, Trevor Bell, Dustin Moseley or maybe even Anthony Ortega? Those 5 guys gave us 22 wins last year. With Vladimir Guerrero gone, our Designated Hitter position becomes a platoon position. It allows Bobby Abreu to take a day or two off, from the field. Giving playing time to Gary Matthews Jr. or Reggie Willits. And when days Abreu is in the outfield, Napoli could share time at DH keeping his bat in the line up, which when hot is a nice bat to have.

But why scrimp in save in 2010?

According to MLBTradeRumors, 2011 will see nearly 30 pitchers who will be available to file for Free Agency. Some of the names available in 2011 will be Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Ted Lilly. Let alone All-Star catcher Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.

What better way to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's existence than to break the bank for a Lee or Halladay and a Mauer or a Pujols.

The Angels can Win With What We Got

Torii Hunter is Golden --- And Silver

Major League Baseball announced the Silver Slugger Awards for the American League yesterday.
Torii Hunter was awarded with his first Slugger Award in a move that surprised a lot of people. Hunter who was playing fantastic baseball and carried much of the Angels offense prior to his groin injury that put him on the shelf for 30 days.

The remaining awards went to:

POS	PLAYER	HR	RBI	AVG
1B	M. Teixeira, Yankees	39	122	.292
2B	Aaron Hill, Blue Jays	36	108	.286
3B	Evan Longoria, Rays	33	113	.281
SS	Derek Jeter, Yankees	18	66	.334
OF	Jason Bay, Red Sox	36	119	.267
OF	Torii Hunter, Angels	22	90	.299
OF	Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners	11	46	.352
C	Joe Mauer, Twins	28	96	.365
DH	Adam Lind, Blue Jays	35	114	.305

I do find it odd that Hunter joins; Mauer, Teixeria, Longoria, Jeter, and Suzuki as players who received the double honors. The Captain, certainly has made that Del Taco deal with Tony Reagins seem a smart move over and over again.