Angels Targeting Dunn?

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:24:33 +0000

(Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com)

A number of places, including Mike DiGiovanna from the Los Angeles Times, have said that the Angels are quite interested (“at or near the top of the Angels’ wish list” was the exact quote from DiGiovanna) in acquiring Nats 1B Adam Dunn. To tell you how I would feel about this move, I’ve come up with something that I think would make my feelings quite clear.

Currently, I do not own an Angels jersey. This is mostly due to a lack of money, and because I’m weird in that I want things exactly how I want them. The idea, for example, of a replica jersey, while perfectly fine and valid, irritates me. I’m also not the biggest fan of a blank jersey, though I can understand the argument that you should root for the team over the individual player. I have what I can only guess is the love child of a t-shirt and a jersey with Vladimir Guerrero’s name and number on the back, and now it looks quite dated and out-of-place since Guerrero’s wearing a different name on his chest now (more on that in a future blog post). But still, if I get a jersey from the Angels, I want it to reflect my love of both the team, and of one of my favorite players on that team. Last year, it would’ve likely been a Figgins jersey I got, simply because the little guy was so underappreciated (and not even in the way guys like David Eckstein are because people love how “gritty” they are, but because he was one of the single best players in the American League last year, though Morales got all the attention on the 2009 Angels). So, when I do someday make my future Angels jersey purchase, it’ll be an authentic (and thus more expensive) one, with the name of a player I love on the back of it. Often thinking about who I’d get has been a bit difficult. Many times, there are a lot of players I really like that I’d love to have a jersey of. In 2010, if the Angels were to acquire Adam Dunn, his name would instantly rocket to the top of that list.

(more…)

Player Preview – Hideki Matsui

Wed, 05 May 2010 00:40:10 +0000

(Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com)

It’s got to be hard to be the guy that replaces the face of the franchise. I don’t envy Hideki Matsui that task, although I’m sure a World Series ring and $6MM is really helpful in dealing with it. After spending the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Yankees, Matsui moves over to the Angels to replace former AL MVP Vladimir Guerrero, who the Angels let walk after a disappointing and injured 2009.

Matsui is obviously well-known from his time with the Yankees, but more than that he has a clear and obvious major league history we can look at to base our predictions on, which is always a nice bonus. In his time with the Yankees, Matsui put up a .292/.370/.482 line, while playing most of the time in LF. His defense has never been good, and sometimes has been quite terrible, which definitely caused his value to take a hit, and in the end Matsui averaged about 2 WAR per season with the Yankees.

(more…)

Halo Hangout » DH

Angels Targeting Dunn?

(Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com)

Player Preview – Hideki Matsui

(Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com)