Step right up, get your Saturday afternoon reading right here!

First, Baseball Prospectus Unfiltered has a must-read interview with Chili Davis on being the only Yankee to get a hit—and a home run, at that—in Pedro Martinez’s famous, 17-strikeout game in Yankee stadium from 1999.

Home Run Derby has the sad-hilarious (sadlarious?) pictures of some of the worst seats in America’s major league ballparks.

Squawking Baseball takes Buzz Bissinger to task for some inopportune words about baseball salaries.

Speaking of money, the Biz of Baseball links to a report that Harold Reynolds and Hazel Mae, formerly of NESN, will be joining the new MLB Network. I have to wonder if he will inappropriately hug her.

Joe Posnanski has a nice, long, director’s cut of a story he wrote about A’s reliever Brad Ziegler.

Sox Addict has ESPN leaving single, red socks in LA laundromats.

FireNedCollettiNow is discouraged by Manny’s inaugural GDIP. Given the name of the blog, I’m shocked, shocked.

And last week, while in North Carolina, I penned my weekly column for the Boston Metro about the Angels and their deceptively craptastic offense. Of course, later that same day, they acquired Mark Teixeira. Oops.

If there is one word which described the ancien régime of the Angels under former GM Bill Stoneman, it is “complacency.”

Powered by a seemingly never-ending stream of prospects and the adept National League style managing of Mike Scioscia, the Angels were able to contend year after year despite never making any significant trades and rarely making splashes in the free-agent market.

Trade deadline after trade deadline, offseason after offseason, the Angels would rest on their laurels and stand pat, confident (somewhat justifiably) that their up and coming young talent would keep them in contention.

The problem was that despite making the postseason almost every year out of the short-stacked AL West, the Angels rarely had the true superstars needed to win it all. And this despite having hoards of blocked prospects that teams were practically knocking down Stoneman’s door to trade for.

He just couldn’t bear to part with any of his players. Ever. And eventually many of those prospects just rotted in triple-A until they were too old and missed their shot at big-league stardom.

Which is what makes today’s trade for Mark Teixeira so surprising.

Because if ever there was a time you would think the Angels would not make a trade, it was this year. After all, they already had the best record in the entire major leagues. And they already had an overcrowded outfield/DH/1B situation, with good players and big-name veterans galore.

But Bill Stoneman isn’t around anymore, and new GM Tony Reagins, not satisfied with merely mauling the hell out of the league, decided to go for the jugular this time, shipping everyday first-baseman and rising star Casey Kotchman and a B-grade pitching prospect to the Braves for Tex.

You could just see Stoneman thinking, “Wait just a minute here. Kotchman is still young! He will get even better with time! And we still control him for several years, where as Tex is sure to walk after two months! And we already have the best record in the league!”

But Reagins is more vicious than that. He wants to win more badly. He doesn’t care what it takes.

That is the kind of you-can-never-be-”good enough” mentality that separates the decent francishes from the dynasties. The Angels could have been a dynasty under Bill Stoneman if he had been even a little bit less of a, well, stone, when it came to making deals. Now under Tony Reagins, they just might become a dynasty yet.

And with all the young talent they still have in the pipeline, that is a scary, scary thought for the rest of the AL.

The Angels are in first place in the AL West and have a fine record of 52-34, third best in the majors behind the Rays and the Cubs, but they are going to be hard pressed to maintain that pace if they don’t start getting more offense.

Although they Angels are 6th in the major leagues in ERA, they are way down at 23rd in runs scored. And the biggest reason is their underperforming, overcrowded outfield/DH situation.

When the Angels tried to cram Torii Hunter into what was already an overcrowded situation, we knew that some guys would get left out, and predictably the Angels have gone with a rotation of highly-paid established veterans Hunter, Vlad Guerrero, Gary Matthews Jr., and Garrett Anderson.

Guerrero has shown some signs of emerging from an unusual early season slump, but Matthews and Anderson have been handed starting roles and 300 at-bats each, and have posted OPS figures of .678 and .697, respectively. Matthews’ OBP is only .319, and Anderson’s is even worse, at only .297. And these numbers are being put up in crucial corner outfielder/DH at-bats, where a team really needs to get a sizeable proportion of its offense.

In some sense it is understandable why the Angels keep running these two out there. Anderson has been a franchise centerpiece for more than a decade, and Matthews was awarded a huge 5-year $50 million contract two years back.

But it is time for the Angels to face reality and cut their losses by sending these guys to the bench. Anderson has been in steep decline at the plate for many years now, and is no longer even adequate on defense, while Matthews has never been more than a fourth outfielder at best, except for that one fluky, hGh-fueled free-agent walk year with the Rangers.

Meanwhile, Reggie Willits posted a .391 OBP last season, and Juan Rivera batted .310 and OPS’d .887 in his last full season in 2006. While it is uncertain whether either player would match those numbers if given an everyday starting job, both would almost certainly best what Matthews and Anderson are currently providing.

The Angels organization has been a model of stability and has not fired any of its front-office personnel in 9 years. But while that sort of patience and stability in the front office is an asset, major league ball players need to be evaluated more objectively.

If the Angels really want to get back to the World Series, the need to stop basing their lineup on sentimentality.

- What They Need Index -

Today, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick hands out some midseason awards and he names Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana the best 1-2 punch in baseball. I beg to differ.

Don’t get me wrong, Santana is the real deal, boasting 99 strikeouts and only 28 walks. And Saunders is on a heck of a run, to be sure. But I don’t think we can rank him among baseball’s elite starters just because he’s won a lot of games. He’s got 49 strikeouts, which doesn’t even place him among the top 100 on the leader board. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is a pedestrian 2:1. And, frankly, he’s been more lucky than good this first half, with a babip of .241. You think that’s gonna last? Me neither.

What about Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, who Crasnick awarded an honorable mention? Between them they have 175 Ks (Santana and Saunders have 148). Haren has a K/BB ratio of better than 5:1. Webb’s is nearly 4:1. If we’re going by wins, which is a terrible way to evaluate a pitcher, Santana and Saunders have a one win advantage. But that’s pretty much the only advantage they have.

I think Santana and Saunders have been great so far. But I think Haren and Webb have been a little better. And I think they’ll continue to be an elite 1-2 punch going forward.

Who’s going to win the award for best 1-2 punch when it’s handed out in September? I think the Angels pitchers are likely to keep the prize, but not the same Angels pitchers. Santana might just maintain his dominance, but look for John Lackey to supplant Saunders as the ace of the staff. Other candidates to win best 1-2 punch when it’s handed out in September: Roy Halladay and Shaun Marcum, Rich Harden and Justin Duchscherer, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster, and Josh Beckett and Dice-K.

This is one of a series of posts in which we eviscerate each team’s lambastable offseason blunders and laud their miraculous hot-stove coups.

The Angels again made the playoffs in 2007, and again were escorted to an early exit. Last year, the Anaheim squad did a great job of making the most of what they had—speed. Taking advantage of every opportunity to go first-to-third on a single, their aggressive baserunning served them well during the regular season when their small-ball style of play masked their lack of power hitting. But the injured Anaheim ballclub did not last long in October, and scarcely had the season ended when the Angels front office got to work.

In November, they acquired pitcher Jon Garland from the White Sox for Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera and cash. A few days later, they signed free agent center fielder Torii Hunter, one of the gems in an otherwise weak market. However, Hunter’s only an average fielder and is already 32. Plus, this gave the Angels a glut of outfielders: Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Garret Anderson, Vladimir Guerrero, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits. (Could they have made a deal for Miguel Cabrera with the Marlins instead? The world will never know. On the one hand, the Angels’ farm system, though still good, isn’t what it once was—but on the other, the Marlins didn’t get nearly enough for Cabrera anyway. The two sides did some talking, but the deal fell apart.) Those of us expecting the Angels to continue their frenzy of activity with a move to exchange one of those outfielders for an infielder or a relief pitcher or, well, anything, were disappointed. If the Angels can’t find a way to get Reggie’s .391 OBP and speedy legs into the lineup somehow, they’ll be missing out on his productivity while also diminishing his trade value. I would rather see him start in left field over Gary Matthews, Jr. any day. (Well, any day except for when the Angels are playing the Red Sox, of course.)

So it is that the Angels will begin 2008 hoping that Erick Aybar can fill in for Orlando Cabrera. The 24-year old Aybar is the definition of a light-hitting infielder, though his offense should improve a bit once he’s getting regular at-bats. While he doesn’t have much experience at shortstop in the majors, it was his usual position through the minor leagues, so I don’t foresee a problem there. Plus, the Angels will be able to rotate their outfielders through the DH slot, keeping their bats in the lineup while giving their legs a rest. And Torii Hunter will provide the long-needed protection for Guerrero in the lineup. Finally, the addition of Jon Garland will give the Angels another solid arm behind staff ace John Lackey, which they’re no doubt doubly glad of now that 18-game winner Escobar has reported to camp with a sore shoulder.

Acquisitions: Torii Hunter, Jon Garland

Losses: Orlando Cabrera, Dallas McPherson, Bartolo Colon

Projected Lineup, Rotation, and Closer:

1. 3B, Chone Figgins, .393 OBP, 41 SB

2. LF, Reggie Willits, .391 OBP, 27 SB

3. RF, Vladimir Guerrero, 27 HR, .403 OBP

4. CF, Torii Hunter, 28 HR, .287 AVG

5. DH, Garret Anderson, 16 HR, .297 AVG

6. 1B, Casey Kotchman, .372 OBP

7. 2B, Howie Kendrick, .322 AVG

8. C, Mike Napoli, 10 HR, .351 OBP

9. SS, Erick Aybar, 1 HR, .237 AVG

SP1 John Lackey, 3.01 ERA, 224.0 IP

SP2 Kelvim Escobar, 3.40 ERA, 195.2 IP

SP3 Jered Weaver, 3.91 ERA, 161.0 IP

SP4 Jon Garland, 4.23 ERA, 208.1 IP

SP5 Joe Saunders, 4.44 ERA, 107.1 IP

CL Francisco Rodriguez, 2.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

Grade: A-

The Angels accomplished two major goals this offseason: acquiring a dependable starting pitcher and picking up a bat for the middle of their lineup. Their roster heading into 2008 is deep, with last year’s injuries having given some of their younger players and utility guys more experience. Their rotation looks solid—Weaver and Saunders are both young pitchers who should see a step-up in workload this year. Their lineup is stacked, too. My only reservation ist that Torii Hunter might not have been the best possible guy to get to protect Vladimir and, that by acquiring him, the team now has too many outfielders. But if the biggest problem a team has is too many good players, that’s an enviable problem to have. The Angels should make it to the playoffs again this year, and, if they stay healthy, have the roster to get a bit further this time.

-Hot Offseason Action Index-

The Seattle Mariners – Erik Bedard

The good folks over at the USS Mariner wrote a post this week suggesting that the Mariners’ pursuit of Erik Bedard is foolhardy and what they actually need is more offense, not more pitching.

But I disagree.

The Mariners actually had the sixth highest OPS in the American League last season, behind only the Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, and Devil Rays – all teams full of real mashers. Four of those five teams were legitimate playoff contenders, and the Rays would have been if they had had even league average starting pitching.

No, what was really the Mariners’ downfall last season was pitching, specifically starting pitching. The Mariners were 10th out of 14 AL teams in ERA last season, and even that mark was only that high thanks to a passable showing by the bullpen – the Mariners starting pitchers were actually 12th out of 14 in ERA, ahead of only the execrable Baltimore and Tampa Bay squads.

What the M’s really need is starters who can put up quality innings, and replacing Horacio Ramirez and his 7.16 ERA with Erik Bedard and his 3.16 ERA would go far toward addressing this need.

Anaheim Angels of Anaheim – A power hitter

The Endless Quest Continues. The Angels have been searching for a legitimate power hitter to pair with Vlad Guerrero for years now – the piece which many feel is the only thing keeping them from another World Series title. Last year they threw offers at everyone they could, but the best they could come up with was Gary Matthews, Jr. This year they chased hard after Miguel Cabrerra, only to have the Tigers pull the rug out, and then panicked and overpaid for Torii Hunter despite already having 5 other Major League quality outfielders on the roster. Hunter does have a bit of power, but he’s not really quite the piece the Angels were looking for, and they continue to search for better options such as exploring a trade for Paul Konerko.

Ultimately, the answer may come from within if Juan Rivera can return to his 2006 form after battling through a broken leg last year, or if Casey Kotchman continues to blossom at the plate. But even without that power hitter they are still questing after, the Angels are otherwise totally stacked up and down the lineup, in the rotation, and in the bullpen, and should continue to dominate the AL West standings for years to come.

Oakland A’s – Takers for Joe Blanton and Huston Street

It wouldn’t really be fair to evaluate Billy Beane on what he’s not trying to do, which is win this year, so I’m going to evaluate him on what he obviously is trying to do, which is build a team which can contend in 2010, having already shipped out Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, and Mark Kotsay. So with that in mind, what the A’s need to do is find teams who are willing to overpay for middle-of-the-road starter Joe Blanton and upper-tier closer Huston Street.

Waiting until 2010, or perhaps more realistically 2011, is going to eat up the prime years of Blanton and Street, so even though they are cheap there is no real reason to keep them around if Beane can swing a trade on a down year for free agents while their value is uber-high due to how cheap they are and how many years away from free agency they are.

Some commentators (including myself), have wondered if Beane couldn’t have gotten a bit more for Haren and/or Swisher, but in any case if Beane can move Blanton and Street for some more high-grade prospects, he is going to have a truly monstrous stash of talented young players set to be ready for the big time by 2010 or 2011.

Texas Rangers – Surprise, Surprise, Starting Pitching

It seems like the Texas Rangers have been in desperate need of some real starting pitchers since the formation of the Earth. Yeah, I know there wasn’t technically any baseball back then, but even so the Rangers somehow still found a way to be last in the league in ERA.

This team has a lot of other holes, but there is nothing like the black hole that is the starting staff, a black hole which seems to grow bigger every year. I almost didn’t have to look, but I did anyway, and sure enough, the Rangers’ starting staff was dead last in the American League with a horrific 5.50 ERA last season (even worse than the Devil Rays!), and the team has done absolutely nothing to address this need.

This year, the Rangers will run out the exact same staff that compiled that record last season. Just to give you an idea, Brandon McCarthy led all Rangers starters with a 4.87 ERA. Ooof.

Hector Lavoe, the great Puerto Rican salsa crooner once sang “your love is like yesterday’s news,” (Tu amor es como un periódico de ayer) and in this day and age, yesterday’s news (actually, this past monday’s news) should seem like a teenage fling to the middle-aged White Sox GM, Kenny Williams.

You see, right after trading for Orlando Cabrera, Williams was on the verge of landing Torri Hunter. The Sun-Times “broke” a story last Monday that reported:

Sources both in the Sox organization and the camp of free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter have told the Sun-Times that the two sides could be signing a contract within the week.

In other words, while it appeared Williams was playing checkers in the Garland for Cabrera deal, he was actually playing chess, staying moves ahead of the game.

Before I try to offer my opinion on the “reporter” with some dry, witty, sarcastic remark, lets remember that the reporter in question is Joe Cowley, who once famously voted Derek Jeter 6th in his MVP ballot, contributing to Morneau getting the trophy, with Jeter not far back in the polls.

Let’s just say I will think twice next time I read something penned by Cowley.

We now know, of course, that the Angels had their finger on the dial right after hanging up the trade-talk phone with the ChiSox. And were that much quicker. And those chess moves that Williams was so erroneously praised for, might actually have him in check.

Without Hunter, Williams’ center field options in the free agent market are reduced to Andruw Jones and former South-sider Aaron Rowand – and Sox fans are torn.

Personally, I can’t ignore Jones’ horrendous season this year and I cannot possibly imagine Rowand commanding less than $75 million over 4 years. However legendary his status among Sox fans is, I doubt Rowand is really worth that much.

Let’s think about this for a minute. It’s rumored that the Angels beat out Williams by $20 mill. Which means he had offered a 4-year/$70 deal. I doubt he offered a 5th year; Williams favorite flavor in contracts is of the 3-year-kind. And now that the Sox shelled $19 mil per 4 years for Scott Linebrink, I can only assume Williams decided to spend some his CF money on relief pitching.

In reality Williams has a few more options. There’s always Kosuke Fukudome, who, according to UmpBump’s very own Paul Moro, will command around $10 mill over 4 years. (Considering Hunter’s inflated price tag, Fuku’s price tag suddenly jumped to about $30mill/4years.

And then there are the prospects. For the past four years, the White Sox have had promising outfield prospects that fizzled once they made it to the majors.

Consider this: Last time the White Sox signed a Japanese player (Iguchi in ‘05), they won the World Series. Last time they failed to move their underachieving outfielders and/or upgrade via free-agency, well, this season happened.

Williams has already released World Series hero Scott Podsednik. Can I pull a Joe Cowley and say he’ll go after Fukudome instead of Jones/Rowand?

Only time can tell.

It’s Thanksgiving and that means that you’re going to be subjected to any number of sports columns about what people are thankful for.

Me, I’m thankful for the Torii Hunter signing, which gives us something to talk about on this fine national holiday other than the weather, the turkey and A-Rod.

From ESPN.com:

Outfielder Torii Hunter and the Los Angeles Angels reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday night on a five-year contract thought to be worth $90 million.

That’s $18 million a year for Mr. Hunter. Not too shabby.

I’m also thankful for Vegas Watch, who got up early this morning to break down the Torii Hunter signing, thus sparing me the trouble of looking up statistics. You, Vegas Watch. You!

Hunter’s career OBP is .324, and his career OPS+ is 104. He’ll be 33 in July. He looks good out there, but by any metric Hunter was an average fielder this year; THT has him at 0, BP at -1. Only the leaders and trailers have been published from Dewan’s system, but he’s in neither, which means he was between +3 and -9.

It looks as though Hunter is an overrated fielder coming off a career year at the age of 32. This seems like a pretty solid formula for someone to get more money than they’re worth, does it not?

As Vegas Watch points out, this leaves the Angels with a surplus of outfielders — six, if you’re counting at home: Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Garret Anderson, Vlad Guerrero, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits.

Where will they all play? Here’s what the LA Times says:

Hunter, who has excellent speed, instincts and athletic ability, will play center field for the Angels, and Manager Mike Scioscia said Matthews would rotate through the corner outfield spots, and right fielder Vladimir Guerrero and left fielder Garret Anderson would rotate through the designated hitter spot.

It’s hard to imagine that the Angels are going to pay Matthews $10 million a year to be a bench player. But that’s what it looks like is going to happen.

You’ve got to think there will be more to come. You’ve got to think that some of that outfield glut will be traded — possibly for Miguel Cabrera.