Who Jumps first? Glen or Woy? Pujols AND CJ to the Angels!

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'm not worried about the money because it's the LA market which the Angels happen to be in the driver seat of at the moment because of what's going on with the Dodgers.

We made a big splurge the year we brought in Vlad and Colon and that worked out pretty well for us so here's hoping to more of the same.

Keith Law said on the Baseball Today podcast said that Moreno has a ton of money and that people in the industry have been waiting for this to happen for years now. Supposedly we were the front runners last year for Crawford and Beltre but Reagins just couldn't close the deal, even going as far as pulling an already agreed upon deal off the table before it was signed to re-structure it.

I think Pujols will bring in a lot of money in off-the-field revenue as well. Manny was able to negate the cost of his contract in just a few months here with the whole "MANNYWOOD" thing and Pujols has a lot more lasting value than him IMO.

I actually like the Wilson deal because $80 mil over 5 years isn't completely absurd for a lefty who can go 200 innings for us and give us possibly the best rotation in the AL barring injury.

There really is no such thing as a bad deal if you have an owner with unlimited resources who is willing to spend his money. Good for you guys, i'm jealous.

 

[manchild24]

This move made every sense in the world, Am I surprised? Id lying if I said yes. I heard Sunday night there was a mystery that could be the Halos. Plus we snuck in there and stole Vlady from no where.

The Angels want to own LA and by doing this they put a crippling shot in the Dodgers. The Marlins are or were playing the Latino card, well LA is 4xs the size and last time I checked there were more people, especlally the Latino population.

Fuck they play him at first base for 5 years then the DH him the remaining 5 years. We will reload again once we get rid of Wells and Hunters contracts

Pitching staff - we take a teams number 1 and will become our 3 (ala Phillies)

 

[Villain]

The Marlins are or were playing the Latino card, well LA is 4xs the size and last time I checked there were more people, especlally the Latino population.

Pujols is Dominican, not Mexican. Between Miami and Anaheim, the ethnicity card favors Miami. Not to mention that Angels fans are more likely to be white than hispanic (at least compared to Dodger fan demographics). That being said, he'll do great with the fans anyways and all ethnicities of fans will adore him throughout So Cal and Orange County especially. The bandwagon Halo shirts should be making a return. I'm hoping that there isn't a return of those stupid thundersticks those fans haven't touched in years.

 

[Villain]

We better get a young stud potential Ace.

Billingsley, Eovaldi, and Loney come to mind as potential trade chips.

 

[Goober]

Billingsley, Eovaldi, and Loney come to mind as potential trade chips.

Lol at anyone wanting James Loney.

 

[Villain]

Some scouts believe he still has serious some potential in him with modifications to his swing. For the record, I'm not suggesting a deal centered on Loney, I'm suggesting Loney's presence in an upcoming deal.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Must be nice to be a fan of a large market club that can just throw money at players

That isn't the case at all. On the way home today, I turned on MLBNetwork radio and Tim Salmon was on. He talked about coming up through the minors and breaking into the MLB in 1993, and the Angels were very much a small market team. They were that until Arte Moreno bought the team- incidentally, he bought the team for less money than he paid out to Albert Pujols.

Moreno's background is in business and marketing. In 10 years, his company, Outdoor Systems (he rose to president and CEO) went from $500,000 profits to almost $90 million. When the company went public and he sold it, he received $8 billion from it. More than enough to buy the Angels at $180 million, invest in the team- both free agents and player development- and do that multiple times over.

For at least the past three off-seasons, MLB insiders have expected Moreno to make a move. Considering he didn't pull off a big signing before, like Mark Teixiera, people wrote him off. It was a mistake for people to forget Moreno, considering he has that large sum of money and it was rumored for quite some time that he had interest in Pujols.

Anyway, back to the original point. Just take a look at how many players from the Angels are homegrown, and how they use the draft and player development to build their team the way small market teams do:

C/1B Bobby Wilson
C Hank Conger
1B Kendrys Morales (signed as a FA, came up through their system.)
1B Mark Trumbo
2B Howie Kendrick
SS Erick Aybar (undrafted)
3B Alberto Callapso (undrafted)
OF Peter Bourjos
OF Mike Trout
OF Jeremy Moore
UTIL Alexi Amarista (undrafted)
SP Jared Weaver
SP Ervin Santana (undrafted)
RP Jordan Walden
RP Trevor Bell
RP Kevin Jepsen
RP Michael Kohn
RP Bobby Cassevah
RP Rich Thompson (undrafted)
P Garrett Richards

Those are 20 players who finished the season with the Angels, and all were drafted or came up through the system. In addition, they dealt some of their homegrown players for both Vernon Wells (well, they took on salary) and also for Dan Haren. I'll take that, and the ability to add players, whether its Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon, or Pujols and Wilson. I wish he was running the Orioles right now.

 

[Goober]

It does kind of upset me that they were unable to keep Tex if they had this kind of cash just lying around though..

Yeah those fuckers. If they would have kept Tex, Trout would be a Brewer right now.

 

[NAHSTE]

It does kind of upset me that they were unable to keep Tex if they had this kind of cash just lying around though..

Please tell me you're joking. Tex is 70% the player Albert is.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

It does kind of upset me that they were unable to keep Tex if they had this kind of cash just lying around though..

True, but you also have to take into account they had Morales right around the corner and a crowded outfield at the time. However, when you have a player development system like that, a rental trade for Tex is a great move to make.

As it was, Pujols was a deal that's great on multiple levels. Moreno is the first Latino to own a major sports franchise, and Pujols is arguably the most marketable and popular Latino player right now, and they are in an area with a huge Latino population. This deal is definitely going to pay for itself.

I don't want to leave mention of Wilson out either. That rotation is just sick.....three great right-handers in Weaver, Haren and Santana and then you throw Wilson in there. Also, is Jerome Williams still on the team? He did pretty damn well in his six starts last season, and if he has turned a corner, is a good option as the fifth starter.

 

[NAHSTE]

True, but you also have to take into account they had Morales right around the corner and a crowded outfield at the time. However, when you have a player development system like that, a rental trade for Tex is a great move to make.

As it was, Pujols was a deal that's great on multiple levels. Moreno is the first Latino to own a major sports franchise, and Pujols is arguably the most marketable and popular Latino player right now, and they are in an area with a huge Latino population. This deal is definitely going to pay for itself.

I don't want to leave mention of Wilson out either. That rotation is just sick.....three great right-handers in Weaver, Haren and Santana and then you throw Wilson in there. Also, is Jerome Williams still on the team? He did pretty damn well in his six starts last season, and if he has turned a corner, is a good option as the fifth starter.

People keep playing the Latino card. Didn't realize Anaheim jews were latino, or that Dominican-Americans were like Mexican-Americans.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

People keep playing the Latino card. Didn't realize Anaheim jews were latino, or that Dominican-Americans were like Mexican-Americans.

For a marketing guru like Moreno, this is a dream come true. That is why people keep bringing it up.

 

[NAHSTE]

LOL Jews... The Jews all live in Beverly Hills silly. The OC is full of WASPs who love the family atmosphere provided by the rally monkey and thunderstix.

Either way Anaheim is decidedly beaner free, no?

 

[Woy]

Hey guys, was I supposed to jump off a bridge?

 

[Goober]

Pitching staff - we take a teams number 1 and will become our 3 (ala Phillies)

The Angels are terrible, and old with no hope of improvement (ala Phillies).

 

[NAHSTE]

There really is no such thing as a bad deal if you have an owner with unlimited resources who is willing to spend his money. Good for you guys, i'm jealous.

:tellmemore:

 

[Goober]

Billingsley, Eovaldi, and Loney come to mind as potential trade chips.

For Votto. Great post.

 

[Mogriffjr]

Pujols took FOREVER to get down the line on a hot shot that hit off Plouffe, flew in the air, came down into the SS's hands and still beat AP by a step :smh:

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

:tellmemore:

The fact is, as much as people are piling on the Angels, one World Series title and the deal is vindicated.

Not looking good though. At least they have 9 more years.

 

[Glenbino]

The fact is, as much as people are piling on the Angels, one World Series title and the deal is vindicated.

Not looking good though. At least they have 9 more years.