Trumbo Ready For Third Base Audition

No I’m not talking about Tony Reagins here although that Tony also lied when he said ” we will always explore ways to get better” . He is getting a pass today.

The liars in question are former R& B super group Tony! Toni! Tone! A band comprised of not a single dude who was actually named Tony ( however you choose to spell it). One of their best and most famous songs is a sensual serenade to  the beautiful weather that we usually get here in So Cal.  ”It Never Rains In Southern California” .

Yea right fellas… it is literally raining cats and dogs here today which means terrible traffic , random car accidents and terrified California drivers who correlate rain falling from the sky with the need to drive two miles an hour so everybody sees you.

Not cool! It’s going to be a long day.

Onto the Monday Links:

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Tony Reagins Apparently Knew Napoli Was Headed To Texas

I seriously thought my days of criticizing Tony Reagins had come to an end when the man resigned or stepped down or was fired earlier this fall. But nope. I was wrong. In an MLB.COM story  by Peter Gammons the claim is made that Reagins was fully aware that Mike Napoli would end up in Texas:

About a year after former general manager Tony Reagins confided that he had a pretty good idea that when he traded Mike Napoli to Toronto that the Blue Jays would likely flip him to Texas, he and about 10 other Angels employees lost their jobs because they couldn’t see that the Texas Rangers have become an equal power to the Sunday Night Baseball soap regulars of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.

If Reagins truly confided this to Gammons he should be ashamed of his own foolishness. This startling revelation could likely lead to him never receiving a prominent role in baseball again. The oversight in letting an extremely valuable player (Napoli) who plays a talent scarce position ( Catcher) knowingly be dealt to your chief division rival is inexcusable. It’s the equivalent to leaving your backdoor open and letting your neighbor jack your flat screen. You must protect this house!

Onto The Tuesday Links:

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Sometimes Its Fun To Say Nice Things

Angels fans don’t have Tony Reagins to kick around anymore. With Fernando Rodney and (hopefully) Jeff Mathis being let go in the off season – Vernon Wells could find himself as the lone Halo target at the proverbial shooting range. Much has been written about the failures of Reagins during his tenure as Angels GM – namely the Kazmir / Wells trades –  the Rodney signing, letting Darren Oliver walk and an overall failure to assert himself as the true leader on all things pertaining to Angels personnel decisions. What many have failed to give Reagins credit for is a few key signings, that he did not make,  that have panned out nicely for the Halos. Whether Reagins was truly unable to offer up the money to match some of the  free agent deals signed by these expiring Angels players is something we will likely never know. What is known however is that by not signing two widely adored Angels (John Lackey and Chone Figgins) – Tony did the right thing. Sometimes the best move is the one you don’t make (see Napoli – Wells Trade) and the decision to let Lackey and Figgins walk falls right in line with that theory.

Lets take a closer look:

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