 |
Jays’ cash conspiracy makes no sense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REUTERS/Alex Gallardo The newest Anaheim Angel, Vernon Wells, smiles at a news conference to introduce Wells to the media and fans in Anaheim, California January 26, 2011. Nonsensical attempts at secrecy are creating stories where there are none in terms of how much money the Toronto Blue Jays sent to the Los Angeles Angels in last week’s Vernon Wells trade. When the deal became official last Friday, both clubs said the sum of the deal was Wells heading west in exchange for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. But baseball sources confirmed to the National Post that Toronto also included a cash payment to the Angels. Jon Heyman of SI.com, who broke the news of the money changing hands and is one of the most reliable insiders in the business, pegged the amount at US$5-million. All cash transfers greater than US$1-million must be approved by the commissioner’s office. When confronted with this information on Wednesday, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos offered only a cryptic reply. “We agreed for the deal to be that deal, that was the deal that was announced,†he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more to it. I think people are trying to read way more into this, like way more. There’s not. There’s no smoking gun. There’s no conspiracy theory.†In truth, the only conspiracy comes from the two teams involved in their attempts to keep the money quiet. This is what Anthopoulos said last Friday when directly asked about dollars changing hands in the deal: “I guess what I would tell you is the deal that was consummated is the deal that we announced, which is a 2-for-1 deal,†he said. “And that ultimately was the final transaction of Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.†Why Anthopoulos or his Angels counterpart Tony Reagins would try to cover up the payment is more of a mystery than anything else. Given the US$86-million owed to Wells over the next four years and the fact the Blue Jays took on a maximum of about US$12-million in the trade, nobody should question Toronto picking up part Wells’ deal. Certainly it seems like a necessary deal for the Blue Jays. The Angels, roundly criticized for taking on such a huge contract for a veteran player, only look better if it is known they received cash in the trade. Neither team could possibly think it might disguise its financial position and thus better its negotiating position in trade talks with other teams in the future. In baseball, if more than two people know about something, chances are it will eventually leak. All the moving parts in the Wells deal — the commissioner’s office approval, union disclosure, etc. — guarantee that this information will come out. To be sure, this is not an Anthopoulos version of the “it’s not a lie if we know the truth†game his predecessor J.P. Ricciardi played with B.J. Ryan’s fake back/real elbow injury. Nobody is really going to care about the US$5-million. But nobody likes to be lied to, either. • Email: jsandler@nationalpost.com | Twitter: @jeremysandler
Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Angels and Weaver working out long-term deal? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
And the Angels are apparently giving it a try. ESPN Los Angeles reports that the two sides are trying to work out a long-term contract extension for the 28-year-old before an arbitration hearing can take place in late February. Weaver, who made $4.63 million last season, and his agent, Scott Boras, have asked for $8.8 million for the coming season while the Angels would rather pay him $7.365 million. He’s under contract till the end of the 2012 season. “I have no idea (if we’ll get a deal done),” Angels GM Tony Reagins said, according to ESPN Los Angeles. “Any time you have dialogue, it’s positive.” Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook. Source: ESPN Los Angeles Related: Los Angeles Angels Comment Below!. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Los Angeles Angels, Jered Weaver open contract extension talks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updated: January 26, 2011, 6:02 PM ET
By Mark Saxon
ESPNLosAngeles.com Archive ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels have opened discussions about a long-term contract extension for ace right-hander Jered Weaver, owner Arte Moreno said Wednesday. Weaver, 28, would be a free agent following the 2012 season. The Angels and Weaver’s agent, Scott Boras, were more than $1 million apart when they swapped arbitration figures about a one-year deal earlier this month. Weaver is asking for $8.8 million while the Angels have offered $7.45 million. Weaver made $4.63 million last year. More on the Angels
For more news, notes and analysis of the Angels, check out Mark Saxon’s blog. General manager Tony Reagins said it’s too early to predict whether the sides could reach a long-term deal before an arbitration hearing, scheduled for late February. “I have no idea,” Reagins said. “Any time you have dialogue, it’s positive. We’ll see.” Another Boras client, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, recently agreed to a seven-year, $80 million extension with the Colorado Rockies. Weaver led the majors with 233 strikeouts last season. He is 64-39 with a 3.55 ERA in five major league seasons, all with the Angels. Many people have speculated that Weaver could follow his mentor, John Lackey, out of town when the time comes because of Moreno’s poor relationship with Boras. Slugger Kendry Morales, who has three more seasons left before free agency, also is a Boras client. Moreno said he still won’t speak directly with baseball’s most powerful agent, but that Reagins and other Angels employees are free to conduct business with him. The bad blood stems from messy negotiations to keep Mark Teixeira in Anaheim in 2008. “My mother always told me, ‘If you don’t have something nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything,’” said Moreno, speaking at Wednesday’s introduction of newly acquired outfielder Vernon Wells. “I don’t have to deal with anybody I don’t have to deal with. That’s the way I live my life.” Mark Saxon covers the Angels for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow Mark Saxon on Twitter: @markasaxon
Gotta run!. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Vernon Wells Traded to Los Angeles Angels: 2011 Fantasy Impact | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 J. Meric/Getty Images
In a deal that sent shock waves through the baseball community last weekend, the Toronto Blue Jays sent Vernon Wells and his monstrous contract to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. While the Angels inexplicably handcuffed themselves with one of the worst contracts in baseball history, it’s not relevant to fantasy baseball. In fact, we don’t even care about Wells’ declining defense. All we really want to know is how his bat will fit into the Angels lineup. 2010 was a fountain-of-youth type season for the now 32-year-old Wells, as he blasted 31 HRs for just the second time in his career after posting home run totals of 16, 20 and 15 in the three seasons prior to last. His batting average, which has been all over the map in recent seasons (.245, .300, .260) checked in at .273 in 2010, just a few points shy of his .280 career batting average. Even his line drive and flyball rates have been up and down in recent seasons, making it difficult to find any patterns that might explain his sudden power resurgence. According to Hit Tracker Online, however, 32 percent of Wells’ HRs qualified as “just enough†last season, a mark slightly above league average. All things equal in 2011, fantasy managers should expect a small regression in Wells’ home run total. Unfortunately for Wells, things are no longer equal. With last weekend’s trade, Wells moves from baseball’s fourth most home run-friendly park (Rogers Centre) to the eighth least home run-friendly park (Angel Stadium of Anaheim) according to ESPN’s MLB park factors. This trade does, however land Wells in a more fantasy-friendly lineup. Instead of being sandwiched between Jose Bautista and Adam Lind, Wells now finds himself in a lineup with speedsters Erick Aybar and Peter Bourjos and run producers Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales and Bobby Abreu. This probably won’t help Wells blast 30 HRs again, but it will likely aid his run-scoring and run-producing opportunities. Wells won’t blow you away in 2011, but if you’re willing to lower your expectations from his 2010 HR total, he could be a borderline No. 2 outfielder in most standard leagues.
 ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS Check out the Home Run Heroics Forum to discuss the hottest baseball topics, including the upcoming 2011 fantasy baseball season! Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ 2011 Big Board: Previous articles from Fantasy Baseball Insiders: Follow Fantasy Baseball Insiders on Facebook & Twitter This article is
What is the duplicate article? Why is this article offensive? Where is this article plagiarized from? Why is this article poorly edited? Flag This Article
If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Diving into the depths: Los Angeles Angels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This is part of a 30-article series looking at each team’s depth chart headed into spring training. Rotation The Angels have the fine top four, but I don’t expect Kazmir to bounce back and there isn’t a lot behind him. While Takahashi was signed with the idea that he’d pitch in a setup role, it’d be no surprise to see him called on as a starter early on in the season. Bullpen There are probably just four locks for the Angels pen, but the team should be hoping that Walden leapfrogs everyone and entrenches himself in the closer’s role sometime before Memorial Day. … Thompson won’t be a candidate for saves this year or any other, but he’s another right-hander with a pretty good chance of being more effective than Rodney. Catcher First base Second base Third base Shortstop If Mathis gets 400 at-bats this year, he could well doom the Angels to mediocrity all by himself. Wilson is nothing special, but he’s adequate both offensively and defensively. Conger has all of the offensive upside in the group, but if it was about offense, Mike Napoli never would have been traded in the first place. … The Angels should be able to get by with Callaspo and the oft-injured Izturis at third base. I’m putting Callaspo atop the depth chart, but Izturis could well be the team’s leadoff man on Opening Day. Left field Center field Right field DH Or the leadoff man could be Scott Podsednik, if the Angels decide to put Wells in center and send Bourjos back to Triple-A. That’d be another lateral move, though. If the Angels really think they’d be better off with that arrangement, they might as well trade Bourjos now, since Trout, baseball’s No. 1 prospect, is going to be ready in a year, if not earlier. Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Los Angeles Angels: Finally Cut Ties With Mike Napoli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Mike Napoli, Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimStephen Dunn/Getty Images The day most Angel fans surely knew would be coming is here. Mike Napoli, along with Juan Rivera, has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Vernon Wells. Mike Napoli set a career high in games played and at bats for the 2010 Angels. As a part time catcher and first baseman after the injury to Kendry Morales, Napoli smashed a career high 26 homers and drove in a career high 68 runs. He also saw his on-base percentage fall to .316 and had an anemic .182/.641 OPS with runners in scoring position. Those internal numbers, as well as not being the most defensively sound catcher in the organization, made this move inevitable. While the pitching staff enjoyed throwing to Napoli, the Angels coaching staff had concerns about Napoli’s conditioning and inability to remember pitch sequences during pitchers meetings. With Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson, and prized rookie Hank Conger all looking for at bats, it seemed clear one of them would be moved. The less said about Juan Rivera’s 2010 performance, the better. Lack of playing time and an appeared lack of desire to play makes his inclusion by subtraction. Click here to continue article at LA Angels Insider.com Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/LAANGELSINSIDER Like us on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/2acvkze Eric Denton is the head writer and content editor at LA Angels Insider.com. Angels coverage from the locker room to the press box to the front office and everywhere in between. Featuring interviews with the players and coaches making headlines for the Angels. This article is
What is the duplicate article? Why is this article offensive? Where is this article plagiarized from? Why is this article poorly edited? Flag This Article
Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
