Monday, November 01, 2004
Change of Plans
As we learned over the weekend, the Angels have decided against resigning Troy Glaus. This goes against my original plan, but I totally understand why they're letting him go. If he was going to be looking for Eric Chavez money then it makes good business sense to take your chances with the cheaper McPherson. It also appears as if they are very willing to deal Jose Guillen. Another route different from what I had mapped out, but that's fine, Stoneman. I can play this thing on the fly if you force me to.
With Glaus and Guillen gone, our lineup is out half of its G-Force. Enter one Carlos Ivan Beltran. Stoneman indicated that he was letting go of Glaus to free up the money it might take to get Carlos Beltran and I'm fine with that. Carlos is a future member of the 40/40 Club, a true centerfielder and he more than proved his mettle this postseason. Sign him up. I hope this doesn't make me racist, but let's appeal to his Puerto Rican roots and get our Latin-American players and owner to recruit him.
That's the obvious move. After that, I want to scrap all other names from my free agent pitcher list and pursue one man, a certain 6'10" left-hander dubbed The Big Unit. This team needs a true dominator. This team needs somebody who can match up with a Schilling/Prior/Clemens. Nobody can fill that role like Randy Johnson can. I know the big rumor is that Steinbrenner will do whatever it takes to get him in pinstripes and that was the only place Randy wanted to go last year. However, the Yankees situation is no better now than it was at the trading deadline. They have no viable prospects and the contracts of their stars are immovable. It would almost certainly have to be a three-way deal and I just don't see anybody rushing to help the Yankees anytime soon.
So why not us? With the nearly $40 million in savings from last year's payroll, the Angels should have plenty for Beltran, Weaver, and Johnson. The rumor is that the Angels will pursue Pedro, but I think that would be a mistake. Pedro is on the way down and is not worth a long-term, highly lucrative deal, especially when a better, albeit older, Randy Johnson can be acquired for $16 million. I realize he's almost as old as the franchise itself, but he also was the best pitcher in the National League last year and would win the Cy Young if he had any help at all from his offense. He didn't consider the Angels to be true contenders last year, but don't a first round playoff loss and rumors of Carlos Beltran change that a bit?
I think the Angels have plenty to offer the D-backs in return, certainly more than the Yankees. How about Jose Guillen, Ramon Ortiz (sign-and-trade), Kasey Kotchman, and Kevin Gregg? Would any knowledgeable Angel fan not make that deal to get Randy Johnson? I know Stoneman didn't want to part with Kotchman or McPherson before, but given our glaring need for starting pitching, would getting one of the three best pitchers in the game not warrant letting the lesser of the two rookies go? Kotchman is not going to supplant Erstad anytime soon anyway. Make that deal and announce our presence with authority.
How's this for a team:
Figgins
Beltran
Guerrero
Anderson
McPherson
Erstad
Molina (Jose or a cheaper Bengie)
Kennedy
Eckstein
Johnson
Colon
Escobar
Washburn
Lackey
Weaver
Shields
Donnelly
Rodriguez
Percival(?)
I think that team goes to the ALCS for sure, if not further. Stoneman, let's not mess around with Pedro or Pavano. Let's get The Big Unit over in Anaheim and get Carlos Beltran with him. You've wet our appetites with an AL West banner, and now we're hungry for a pennant.
My God, how long until March?
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With Glaus and Guillen gone, our lineup is out half of its G-Force. Enter one Carlos Ivan Beltran. Stoneman indicated that he was letting go of Glaus to free up the money it might take to get Carlos Beltran and I'm fine with that. Carlos is a future member of the 40/40 Club, a true centerfielder and he more than proved his mettle this postseason. Sign him up. I hope this doesn't make me racist, but let's appeal to his Puerto Rican roots and get our Latin-American players and owner to recruit him.
That's the obvious move. After that, I want to scrap all other names from my free agent pitcher list and pursue one man, a certain 6'10" left-hander dubbed The Big Unit. This team needs a true dominator. This team needs somebody who can match up with a Schilling/Prior/Clemens. Nobody can fill that role like Randy Johnson can. I know the big rumor is that Steinbrenner will do whatever it takes to get him in pinstripes and that was the only place Randy wanted to go last year. However, the Yankees situation is no better now than it was at the trading deadline. They have no viable prospects and the contracts of their stars are immovable. It would almost certainly have to be a three-way deal and I just don't see anybody rushing to help the Yankees anytime soon.
So why not us? With the nearly $40 million in savings from last year's payroll, the Angels should have plenty for Beltran, Weaver, and Johnson. The rumor is that the Angels will pursue Pedro, but I think that would be a mistake. Pedro is on the way down and is not worth a long-term, highly lucrative deal, especially when a better, albeit older, Randy Johnson can be acquired for $16 million. I realize he's almost as old as the franchise itself, but he also was the best pitcher in the National League last year and would win the Cy Young if he had any help at all from his offense. He didn't consider the Angels to be true contenders last year, but don't a first round playoff loss and rumors of Carlos Beltran change that a bit?
I think the Angels have plenty to offer the D-backs in return, certainly more than the Yankees. How about Jose Guillen, Ramon Ortiz (sign-and-trade), Kasey Kotchman, and Kevin Gregg? Would any knowledgeable Angel fan not make that deal to get Randy Johnson? I know Stoneman didn't want to part with Kotchman or McPherson before, but given our glaring need for starting pitching, would getting one of the three best pitchers in the game not warrant letting the lesser of the two rookies go? Kotchman is not going to supplant Erstad anytime soon anyway. Make that deal and announce our presence with authority.
How's this for a team:
Figgins
Beltran
Guerrero
Anderson
McPherson
Erstad
Molina (Jose or a cheaper Bengie)
Kennedy
Eckstein
Johnson
Colon
Escobar
Washburn
Lackey
Weaver
Shields
Donnelly
Rodriguez
Percival(?)
I think that team goes to the ALCS for sure, if not further. Stoneman, let's not mess around with Pedro or Pavano. Let's get The Big Unit over in Anaheim and get Carlos Beltran with him. You've wet our appetites with an AL West banner, and now we're hungry for a pennant.
My God, how long until March?
# posted by j.h.k. @ 6:11 PM 
