With the impending offseason approaching, the Los Angeles Angels need to start rebuilding a slightly broken 2006 model, and turn it into a 2007 contender. Fear not! Some of the pieces are already in place. But with the Halos essentially out of the playoffs, it's time to start thinking about how to fill in the gaps of a talented, but flawed team.
We know that lots of $$ will be freed up with the parting of Erstad, Kennedy, Salmon and Romero. Signing a first-rate free agent is an option, but Stoneman has not been really active doing this since the Vlad and Colon signings. It was well documented, that not signing Konerko and standing pat was a major blunder last off-season.
The Angels need to sack up and cut Kotchman loose or preferably, trade him. He will never be a first-rate talent. The same can be said of Napoli and McPherson, who just can't stay healthy. Napoli and McPherson have NO trade value, so they can stay in organization until they do. Catcher Jeff Mathis will be a better player than all of these guys which you will see happen soon.
They need to deal Figgins who is not cutting it as a leadoff man and is a defensive liability. But he does have trade value. An option is to package Ervin Santana with Figgins to get a first-rate talent to play 3rd or 1st and protect Vlad in the lineup. Let's face it, their offense stunk this year--it's been a problem for two seasons now, and again Stoneman did nothing to address it. Santana is a great talent, but I think the emergence of Weaver and Saunders is promising enough to part with Santana if the right talent can be had--say A-Rod or Tejada. A-Rod is interesting--if he flounders in the playoffs this time, I believe he'll be dealt. The Angels should be one of only a handful who can take on his contract or a majority portion thereof. Tejada poses another problem, with Cabrera still under contract. Two options here--deal Cabrera, Kotchman and Santana for Tejada OR keep Cabrera and move Tejada to 3rd. Tejada has expressed reluctance to move to the position, but would he rather have another grueling season in Baltimore, with essentially no chance to play for a contender? My gut feeling is that he would accomodate to get out and come back to the west coast to Anaheim to bat behind or in front of Vlad.
At any rate, Stoneman needs to conduct major surgery on the team in the off season, putting together a more traditional lineup of hitters that are prototypical to their spot in the batting order. Figgins would be better as a #2 or #9 hitter where he'd see more fastballs and still ghet an opportunity to steal bases and remain a major terror on the basepaths. Cabrera is more of a #7 or #8 hitter, where he can still drive in runs, but also can start bottom-lineup rallies. This team currently has NO #3 hitter. That HAS to be addressed. Soriano is NOT the answer to this team. He strikes out too much which doesn't help a team with an already low OBP. There is also no leadoff hitter on this team. I'd love to see them go out and get Juan Pierre for that spot, and the Cubs might be more than willing to part with him after this season. The interesting thing about Pierre is that besides being a spectacular centerfielder (which would help the Halos right their AL-leading outfield errors total), Pierre is also a close friend of Figgins. Could he help Figgins become a better hitter, base stealer, fielder or just a more happy camper in general by being on the team? It's an interesting question. That is, if Figgins is still with the team and doesn't expect to play centerfield in 2007.
So Stoneman needs to get going. Oh and here's hoping that the "Kingfish", Tim Salmon plays everyday until he gets #300. As soon as that happens, let the rebuilding begin!
We know that lots of $$ will be freed up with the parting of Erstad, Kennedy, Salmon and Romero. Signing a first-rate free agent is an option, but Stoneman has not been really active doing this since the Vlad and Colon signings. It was well documented, that not signing Konerko and standing pat was a major blunder last off-season.
The Angels need to sack up and cut Kotchman loose or preferably, trade him. He will never be a first-rate talent. The same can be said of Napoli and McPherson, who just can't stay healthy. Napoli and McPherson have NO trade value, so they can stay in organization until they do. Catcher Jeff Mathis will be a better player than all of these guys which you will see happen soon.
They need to deal Figgins who is not cutting it as a leadoff man and is a defensive liability. But he does have trade value. An option is to package Ervin Santana with Figgins to get a first-rate talent to play 3rd or 1st and protect Vlad in the lineup. Let's face it, their offense stunk this year--it's been a problem for two seasons now, and again Stoneman did nothing to address it. Santana is a great talent, but I think the emergence of Weaver and Saunders is promising enough to part with Santana if the right talent can be had--say A-Rod or Tejada. A-Rod is interesting--if he flounders in the playoffs this time, I believe he'll be dealt. The Angels should be one of only a handful who can take on his contract or a majority portion thereof. Tejada poses another problem, with Cabrera still under contract. Two options here--deal Cabrera, Kotchman and Santana for Tejada OR keep Cabrera and move Tejada to 3rd. Tejada has expressed reluctance to move to the position, but would he rather have another grueling season in Baltimore, with essentially no chance to play for a contender? My gut feeling is that he would accomodate to get out and come back to the west coast to Anaheim to bat behind or in front of Vlad.
At any rate, Stoneman needs to conduct major surgery on the team in the off season, putting together a more traditional lineup of hitters that are prototypical to their spot in the batting order. Figgins would be better as a #2 or #9 hitter where he'd see more fastballs and still ghet an opportunity to steal bases and remain a major terror on the basepaths. Cabrera is more of a #7 or #8 hitter, where he can still drive in runs, but also can start bottom-lineup rallies. This team currently has NO #3 hitter. That HAS to be addressed. Soriano is NOT the answer to this team. He strikes out too much which doesn't help a team with an already low OBP. There is also no leadoff hitter on this team. I'd love to see them go out and get Juan Pierre for that spot, and the Cubs might be more than willing to part with him after this season. The interesting thing about Pierre is that besides being a spectacular centerfielder (which would help the Halos right their AL-leading outfield errors total), Pierre is also a close friend of Figgins. Could he help Figgins become a better hitter, base stealer, fielder or just a more happy camper in general by being on the team? It's an interesting question. That is, if Figgins is still with the team and doesn't expect to play centerfield in 2007.
So Stoneman needs to get going. Oh and here's hoping that the "Kingfish", Tim Salmon plays everyday until he gets #300. As soon as that happens, let the rebuilding begin!
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