it was the heat of the moment

July 31, 2009 at 12:02 pm | In Baseball | 9 Comments
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Trade deadline live-ish blogging!

4:32: Whoa. Late in the game, Padres pull off biggest deal of the day. Pitchers Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter for Peavy. Peavy’s locked down through 2012, but he’s currently injured, and that’s a lot of talent – mostly Poreda – for such a question mark. If the Padres wanted to shed payroll, they did a nice job doing so with no leverage against Chicago.

4:27: Is this an elaborate joke by a few writers on Twitter (notably Jon Heyman) and MLB Trade Rumors? Apparently, Jake Peavy has been traded to the White Sox, despite being on the DL for the last few months. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen this late in the game.

4:19: Chase Weems, not Austin Jackson, for Jerry Hairston. Much better for Yankees, alas; Weems would have to be a great defensive catcher for his offensive abilities to portend anything but minor league fodder. Reds also gave up too much for Scott Rolen – Edwin Encarnacion just isn’t that bad, and they gave up two near-ready arms in Josh Roenicke and Zachary Stewart. I don’t see future superstars there, but two solid relievers and Encarnacion looks steep, unless the Blue Jays are paying some of Rolen’s $10 million for 2010. That said, I am also jealous; I was hoping Rolen was Boston-bound if they could flip Lowell.

4:16: I’m a bit frustrated that the Red Sox didn’t go after Nick Johnson instead of Casey Kotchman, but it mighta taken too much time to find another taker for LaRoche. Plus, Kotchman’s defense essentially makes this a lateral move for 2009. Now, I’m just waiting for confirmation that Halladay’s staying in Toronto and that the Padres and Yankees have been stagnant.

4:09: Clarifying my last comment: I meant for Johnson and for the Marlins. Certainly not for the Nationals, as prospect Aaron Thompson is a pretty laughable return for Johnson. 22 and struggling at AA? Ugh.

4:03: Rumors of Nick Johnson to Marlins. I like this on both ends; very glad to see Florida actually going for it and Johnson moving to a possible contender.

3:58: Apparently not Austin Jackson for Hairston, and Rolen’s for Encarnacion plus a minor leaguer. Okay, back to Cincy not having a great day, but not a BAD day, depending on prospects.

3:48: Austin Jackson for Jerry Hairston? Looks like a big overpayment by Yankees; I’ll retract what I implied about Cincy not knowing what it’s doing if this report is accurate.

3:40: Rolen to Reds. Seems odd that they’re trying this “win now” stuff in Cincy while dealing a big piece of their bench (Hairston), and presumably Edwin Encarnacion heading north.

3:28: Adam LaRoche for Casey Kotchman? That’s a downgrade for the 2009 Red Sox, but cheaper in the future. Of course, Sox + cheap = WHY?

3:23: Stuff coming fast and furious now, but with no idea what prospects are involved in any of these deals. Rockies added a nice bullpen arm in Joe Beimel.

3:20: This Gonzalez-to-Dodgers thing has to be made up. How could Padres walk away from that with anything less than Kershaw? Yankees add Jerry Hairston, Jr.; should be a nice piece off the bench, and sadly, no schadenfreude about an Arroyo acquisition yet.

3:12: Bryan Price as third pitcher to Cleveland… college reliever moved back to starting; looks very good in A-ball, but it’s A-ball. Seems like another Knapp for Cleveland – high upside, no guarantees. Meanwhile, Gordon Edes says Adam LaRoche to Braves; I’m hoping this means bullpen help for Red Sox.

2:56: MLB Network reports that Dodgers may have a chance at Adrian Gonzalez. If that happens and if they don’t get completely taken, I’ll be crushed that the Sox didn’t make that deal instead of getting Martinez.

2:40: Reportedly Justin Masterson on top of Hagadone. Still looking like a nice deal for Red Sox, as Masterson’s problems vs. left-handers limit his value quite a bit and Hagadone is still a ways off. Remains to be seen what else is involved or if Boston will target a new long man.

2:35 PM: Matthew Pouliot throws out the name of Nick Hagadone; Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard reportedly not involved. If this is true, sounds hard for Boston to screw it up.

2:02 PM: Still waiting on confirmation and price of Victor. Also increasingly terrified of how much time the Yankees have to counter-punch here.

1:57 PM: Sounds like Red Sox finally about to pull trigger on Victor Martinez. After all the Adrian Gonzalez and Halladay talks, this is a bit anticlimactic, I’m sad to say. Dare I dream this isn’t all?

Yes, I dare. I’m an idiot.

1:30 PM: It comes to my attention that Orlando Cabrera’s glove isn’t even good anymore. Starting to seem that Beane didn’t get something for nothing; he got something for less than nothing.

1:19 PM: Los Angeles Dodgers traded P Claudio Vargas to Milwaukee Brewers for C Vinny Rottino. Nothing but a depth move here; Vargas has been through Milwaukee once before and they know he’s not a great bet to give much. Rottino’s 29 and has seen his bat decline since 2006 and 2007.

1:14 PM: “According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the Twins have acquired Orlando Cabrera from the A’s for 21-year-old shorstop Tyler Ladendorf.” Unless Ladendorf stays at shortstop, don’t see him making the bigs; Cot’s Contracts informs me that the A’s agreed not to offer arbitration if Cabrera is a Type A free agent, so draft picks wouldn’t be an issue; looks like trying to get something instead of nothing, plus save a million bucks or so.

1:01 PM: Rumblings of SS Orlando Cabrera being traded from Oakland A’s to Minnesota Twins. Nice glove, but with his bat (and at his age), I’m just glad the Red Sox are apparently staying out of this.

11:40 AM: Seattle Mariners traded SP Jarrod Washburn to Detroit Tigers for SPs Lucas French and Mauricio Robles.

First reaction: “CRAP! The Yankees didn’t get Washburn!” I was fairly confident he’d be eaten alive in a hitter-friendly ballpark in New York, and believe his low-strikeout, flyball tendencies were in one of the best ballparks for a pitcher of such abilities.

Even so, this is a bit disappointing for Seattle; French might be able to serve as a back-end starter right now, but Robles’ high strikeouts in the low minors are accompanied by some iffy control. With a pretty solid 23-year-old as well as a higher-upside young guy, Seattle didn’t walk away empty-handed, but I again expected there was more of a market for this pitcher and one could have found a bit better of a prospect package.

Now it’s time to hope the Yankees “address” their “problems” with Bronson Arroyo.

Yesterday, Pittsburgh Pirates traded RP John Grabow and SP Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago Cubs for Ps Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio and 2B Josh Harrison.

I don’t have much to say here; Grabow’s 30 and has major walk problems, while Gorzelanny’s low strikeouts would need to be accompanied by vastly superior control for him to have any sort of upside. The latter pitcher went completely off the rails in 2008, but like Ian Snell, has looked good at AAA and could improve. Still, Hart and Ascanio are less of question marks – they could probably help from the bullpen right now – and Harrison, while old for his league, was a college draft pick just last year and could have a nice bat if he can stick at second base. Solid pickup by the Pirates for a free agent to be and a guy about to get more expensive.

it’s just bad news, bad news, bad news

May 24, 2009 at 7:44 pm | In Baseball | Leave a Comment
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This is an awfully pessimistic selection of news items in a week that saw the Red Sox finally move into first place, the Padres extend their winning streak to nine games (and still end up as far from a division lead as the Orioles are), and the Braves start to make some noise in the NL East.  Still, it’s hard to avoid the fact that there have been some truly pointless moves made this week by executives who should know better.

Rhetorical Question of the Week: How much longer must Red Sox fans suffer through Dennis Eckersley? This is actually a case in favor of him sticking around at NESN; if he was just full of inappropriate slips of the tongue, I could enjoy him. Instead, his color commentary gives Joe Morgan a run for his poorly-earned money.

Much-needed Journalistic Smackdown of the Week: Joe Posnanski ridicules Steve Phillips and those who make up subjective criteria to insist great players aren’t that good.

Why Do You Still Have A Job? It’s hardly news, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be criticized: the Cubs should never, ever have given Aaron Miles a major-league deal, much less a two-year contract at almost five million dollars. Miles is a fringe bench player who, at 32, is coasting on a flukishly productive 2008 (a year in which he almost posted a league-average OPS). This year, he’s regressed to the worst offensive production in his career, reaching base at just a .253 clip. On top of that, his only extra-base hits are six doubles, putting his slugging percentage at a paltry .269 – third worst among NL second basemen with more than 10 at-bats. Even if we give him an extra double and four extra singles to bring his BABIP up to .300, his OPS stands at a nauseating .636. This isn’t bad luck, this isn’t a bad start – this is a bad baseball player. That Chicago is paying him like an above-average bench presence – let alone giving him 21 starts! – is an insult to the intelligence of Cubs fans.

Mistake of the Week: I love Kevin Towers, but… this has not been a good week for the Padres’ GM. His reported trade bounty for starter Jake Peavy was, at best, a fair return – which begs the question of why he’d bother to take it rather than hold onto his under-contract ace. Still, it was the sort of deal that would have only slightly disappointed me had Peavy not vetoed the trade. But one under-the-radar trade did occur that makes me wonder what Towers is thinking. Disclosure of possible compromise to objectivity: my fondness for outfielder Jody Gerut is biased by having met the man at a Fall League game. But while his offensive production this year is underwhelming, it’s also out of line with what he demonstrated last year with only a little BABIP luck. More importantly, he has brought tremendous defensive value and helped cover the spacious outfield at Petco Park. Scott Hairston deserves more playing time, but Chase Headley isn’t gonna be a defensive asset in the outfield, and 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff has been a far greater offensive disappointment than Gerut.

Still, despite being the least of San Diego’s problems, Gerut’s hardly a guy who should be considered untouchable in trade talks. The real problem here is the return: outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. is not the hitter his father was. He’s had a solid 2009 at AAA, but it’s his fourth year at the level, and he’s never demonstrated a consistent ability to get on base or hit for power. His moderate speed might make him a fun player to watch, but his most optimistic upside would seem to be a slightly slower Juan Pierre. Unless Towers is assembling young talent for a larger deal, my faith is considerably shaken.

Underrated Cut: Like the Padres, the Marlins are a generally smart ballclub. They undermined my faith in them this offseason, but there’s little reason to think they’re a bumbling group of incompetents. Yet that’s the only way one can really justify the demotion of starter Ricky Nolasco, who will reportedly make at least two starts at AAA before returning to Miami. On one hand, the Marlins don’t have much to lose; after a hot start, they’ve fallen into a pretty solid fourth place. On the other hand, a tiny dent in Ricky Nolasco’s service time isn’t worth putting the big-league team at a considerable disadvantage this early in the season. Nolasco’s ERA stands at an atrocious 9.07, but I simply don’t think he’s been terrible as much as bad and unlucky. His strikeout and walk rates are in line with those of useful pitchers, and his XFIP stands at an acceptable 4.32. The surge in line drives and dip in grounders are worrisome, but to me, it’s far too early in the year to conclude that those wouldn’t return to normal.

Perhaps Nolasco has lost his ability to command his stuff, but the bottom line is this: If I’m wrong, the Marlins would keep him around to continue giving up a few too many homers. If I’m right, they’re insulting a 26-year-old who was their best pitcher last year, hurting his confidence while giving him no reason to feel any loyalty to the team when he reaches free agency. And for what? An early look at the raw, erratic arm of Sean West? With Rick VandenHurk and Anibal Sanchez on the DL, there’s really no way anyone the Marlins promote will be as good as Nolasco. The six-year cycle has been broken; 2009 is not going to be a fun year for Marlins fans.

Underrated Addition: Not to end this on such a negative note, it’s worth noting that the wildcard-contending Reds finally did something about their thin outfield.  After a quarter season of Darnell McDonald – an experiment whose failure should surprise no one – the team recalled Jonny Gomes, who declined sharply after a great rookie campaign in 2005, but remains young enough, at 28, to be a very good hitter.  While he struck out quite a bit at AAA Louisville, he could add some power to the Reds’ bench, and at least be an upgrade from McDonald.  He and Laynce Nix give Cincy what I believe is their best shot of winning this year, and that dark horse chance at a playoff berth gives me my only real interest in the NL Central.

beautiful loser

February 24, 2009 at 12:01 am | In Baseball, Graphs & Stats, Rooting Hierarchies | 3 Comments
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10. Chicago Cubs (64.66% schedule-weighted support)
Last Ranking: 5
Added: RF Milton Bradley; RPs Kevin Gregg, Luis Vizcaino, Aaron Heilman, Jeff Stevens, Mike Stanton, and David Patton; C Paul Bako; 2B Aaron Miles; OFs Joey Gathright and So Taguchi
Lost: RPs Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, Bob Howry, and Jon Lieber; 2B Mark DeRosa; SPs Jason Marquis and Rich Hill; CFs Jim Edmonds and Felix Pie; 1B Daryle Ward; IF Ronny Cedeno; C Henry Blanco
Strengths: Despite the loss of Mark DeRosa, the Cubs boast one of the NL’s best lineups. Assuming the team treats Aaron Miles as an expensive backup, Mike Fontenot should take over at second and do a fine, if less homer-filled, job. RF Milton Bradley’s offensive abilities have been underrated due to his volatile temper, but assuming he can stay healthy while playing every day, he’ll be one of the NL’s best right fielders, if not at the very top of that list. 3B Aramis Ramirez, LF Alfonso Soriano, and reigning Rookie of the Year C Geovany Soto should all help the Cubs have one of the league’s elite offenses.

The Cubs boast one of baseball’s best rotations. While there are some health questions about Rich Harden, he has joined Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano to form one of the finest front three in all of baseball. While he’s rather pricey at $12 million, Ted Lilly complements them as a reliable fourth starter, leaving the final rotation spot open for either Chad Gaudin or lefty Sean Marshall, either of whom could be a fourth starter on a weaker team. Aaron Heilman may also get a shot at the rotation, but based on his struggles in relief last year, I’m inclined to believe it would be a short-lived mistake. With so many strong starters and power sidearmer Carlos Marmol sliding into the closer’s role, opponents may have to get their wins against the middle relief.
Weaknesses: What I said about opponents badly needing to beat the team in the 7th or 8th? That may not be so difficult. The team did an awful job of replacing four of their six most used relievers from 2008, as a team with their budget should not be forced to rely on Luis Vizcaino as anything other than the 12th man on the pitching staff, nor count on Aaron Heilman, at 30, to find the closer potential he was once thought to have but never reached. The team’s biggest relief pickup was Kevin Gregg, who is a useful pitcher but whose value was greatly inflated in two seasons with Florida by the almighty save. Consider these stat lines from National League relievers (FIP and xFIP  from THT):

For more perspective, consider also the following (“svc” is MLB service time, as listed at Cot’s; saves are the total for the last two seasons):

It should now be obvious that Pitcher C is Kevin Gregg. Pitcher A, who looks roughly comparable to Gregg with the park-neutralizing xFIP, is Michael Wuertz, who was inexplicably traded to Oakland for two low-value prospects earlier this month.  Pitchers B and D, respectively, are Joe Smith and Tyler Yates.  Neither of these two may have been available to the Cubs, but that does not undermine my point: relief pitchers of Gregg’s caliber are not season-changing setup men (much less closers), and they should not be considered anything but a minor pickup even if they’ve closed in recent seasons.

While the lineup is very strong, it is not without its flaws. I’m not inclined to worry yet about CF Kosuke Fukudome’s second-half fade in 2008, as his walk rate and isolated power stayed fairly consistent and his falling batting average correlates strongly to a plummeting average on balls in play; while his torrid April wasn’t representative of his true ability, something resembling his May-June numbers would be perfectly acceptable now that he has moved out of right field. Bigger concerns in the lineup include 1B Derrek Lee, who has two years left at $13 million and is simply not the caliber of bat one wants at first on a playoff team, and especially SS Ryan Theriot.

Unless the Cubs do the unthinkable and start Miles over Fontenot at second base, the only bat of any real consequence on the Cubs’ bench will be 1B Micah Hoffpaiur. This and the bullpen’s lack of depth have redefined “shallow” so extremely that I no longer feel bad for my sympathy for the Dodgers.
My Stake: On the whole, the Cubs’ offseason deserves more scathing reviews than I’ve seen it receive. Their sole good move was the signing of Bradley (and the final year of the contract becomes a club option if there are injury issues), while the bullpen and bench were left to languish as useful role-players, like Ward and Wuertz, departed as free agents and others, such as Fontenot and Gaudin, moved into bigger roles without adequate heirs to their old jobs. Essentially giving away a solid reliever like Wuertz and inking $2 million-plus a year into a replacement-level player like Miles are indefensible moves, and trading starting depth like Marquis for such a marginal bullpen piece as Vizcaino seemed pointless.

On the other hand, the Bradley deal is of a greater magnitude than several small incompetences combined, and they robbed A’s GM Billy Beane when acquiring Harden and Gaudin last summer. And lest we forget: they are the Cubs; few teams get as much mileage from unending futility.
‘09 Predictions: With the potential for a full season of Harden and hopefully a rebound from Fukudome, I’m not too worried about Ryan Dempster’s probable regression. I am, however, concerned that the team’s offseason acquisitions don’t cover their losses, and that concern is magnified because of just how many of those losses were in the bullpen, which is tasked with keeping the leads that the strong starting and offense will hand it. I still see the Cubs as the NL’s best club by a notable margin, but I don’t believe they can repeat last year’s 97 wins. I have them at 95 wins, but it wouldn’t shock me if they were to be one of the year’s bigger disappointments.

‘08 rooting hierarchy iv: there’s winners, and there’s losers, but they ain’t no big deal

March 27, 2008 at 10:36 pm | In Baseball, Rooting Hierarchies | 2 Comments
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18. St. Louis Cardinals 41.38% unweighted; 47.91% weighted (60/30/42.86).
Last year: #10. 78-84, 3rd in NL Central.
In 2008: It’s not hard to remember the Cardinals as perennial contenders who were widely respected through the baseball world. Yet they have fallen fast, and new GM John Mozeliak has given no indication that he knows how to turn the organization around; until they show signs of life, St. Louis is not redeemed in my eyes by past success under a different GM. Strokes of bad luck – injuries to Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter, the team’s two best players – do not excuse giving a so-so pitcher like Russ Springer twice his market value, nor do they negate signing Joel Pineiro or giving a job to incapable-of-hitting Cesar Izturis. Still, the Cardinals have done a few things right – namely, giving incentive-filled contracts to starters Matt Clement (recovering from shoulder surgery) and Kyle Lohse (recovering from thinking he could get a four-year deal), and getting D’Angelo Jimenez to hopefully oust Brendan Ryan from the team’s utility infielder role – and therefore had a better winter than some teams.
Prediction: 71-91, 5th in NL Central

17. Toronto Blue Jays 44.83% unweighted; 46.81% weighted (50/44.44/43.75).
Last year: #18. 83-79, 3rd in AL East.
In 2008: I’m not sure if there’s a team about whom I care less than the Blue Jays. J.P. Ricciardi is supposedly a sabermetrics-friendly GM, but he is nowhere near the other “stat guys” running teams. The Jays alienated many sabermetricians, to be sure, by signing the legendarily overrated David Eckstein (ironically, the contract actually wasn’t that out of line with Eck’s abilities), and Ricciardi has been known to make moves that Billy Beane would never consider. Yet as is a better habit of his, he signed several low-profile players – not stars, nor huge assets, but solid contributors – to deals far below the market would have expected. This is similar to the club as a whole: plenty of small things to like, despite a few high-profile negatives; ultimately, it’s a hallmark of a bland, boring team that inspires neither love nor antipathy.
Prediction: 82-80; 4th in AL East

16. New York Mets 48.28% unweighted; 41.05% weighted (25/54.55/50).
Last year: #13. 88-74, 2nd in NL East.
In 2008: The Mets are a frustratingly inconsistent club. This offseason, they overpaid Luis Castillo – speedsters in their mid-thirties are seldom a wise investment – and traded 23-year-old Lastings Milledge for a bad catcher and an older outfielder. But they also saw, where Milwaukee did not, the value of reliever Matt Wise (and negative value of Guillermo Mota); they found a bargain in reserve infielder Marlon Anderson; and for whatever reason, were the team to benefit from Bill Smith’s willingness to take the third-best package for Johan Santana. It’s not a staggering display of front office talent, but I’ve historically had a soft spot for the franchise, and whether by luck or by design, they pulled off one of the best trades of the year.
Prediction: 89-73; 1st in NL East, lose NLDS

15. Detroit Tigers 51.72% unweighted; 58.5% weighted (75/44.44/50).
Last year: #8. 88-74, 2nd in AL Central.
In 2008: It’s hard to attack the Tigers on their front office merits, particularly in the wake of their mind-boggling bargain extension of Miguel Cabrera. Yet while they’ve become an offensive juggernaut without spending on the wrong hitters, they reside in the same division as the Indians. Academic respect doesn’t always translate to active support, and unless my native ballclub does something to squander my fandom, the Tigers’ rival status vastly outweighs their competence.
Prediction: 91-71; 1st in AL Central, lose ALDS

14. Chicago Cubs 55.17% unweighted; 63.89% weighted (80/40/57.14).
Last year: #24. 85-77, 1st in NL Central, lost NLDS.
In 2008: For a contending team with rather apparent weak spots, the Cubs were surprisingly quiet this winter. Of course, learning from some of the teams reviewed to this point, standing pat is sometimes a valid strategy. But what Chicago’s winter lacked in bulk, it made up for in quality. The biggest free agent splash was Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, whose signing may have had the biggest rooting hierarchy impact of any single transaction. While it hurt to see the Padres miss out on such a promising import, the Cubs have earned my respect and interest by that move alone. It doesn’t hurt that their other major moves over the winter included dumping the contract of Jacque Jones, bringing back Kerry Wood, and getting Jon Lieber to fill out the rotation at a reasonable cost. Like the Orioles, the Cubs have a track record of great concern, but with so many teams showing more recent incompetence, I’m willing to give some leniency until they overpay another player like Jason Marquis.
Prediction: 92-70; 1st in NL Central; lose World Series

13. Colorado Rockies 58.62% unweighted; 56.92% weighted (50/63.64/57.14).
Last year: #23. 90-73, 2nd in NL West, lost World Series.
In 2008: In case David happens to read this entry: I’m well aware that the Rockies have really turned things around and have some incredible homegrown talent. On top of that, they’ve been prudently aggressive in getting players into long-term deals. Yet their taste in free agents is often mind-boggling – this winter’s signings include Mark Redman, Kip Wells, Yorvit Torrealba, and Luis Vizcaino – and on a more subjective level, Clint Hurdle is one of the most annoying managers I’ve seen.
Prediction: 82-80; 4th in NL West

2007 rooting hierarchy ii: because i’m bad, i’m bad, i’m really really bad

March 27, 2007 at 11:55 am | In Baseball, Rooting Hierarchies | Leave a Comment
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Today’s installment: clubs who are disliked but not outright hated. These teams are generally incompetent but either media-adored, or in contention thanks to a short-sighted plan or luck.

27. Houston Astros The franchise is heavily reliant on a handful of core players, and GM Tim Purpura made his big splash in the form of LF Carlos Lee, whose signing is projected as this winter’s most damaging contract. Instead, he should have put that money into a solid starter like John Thomson and signed a cheaper and/or better outfielder (such as J.D. Drew).
26. Cincinnati Reds “Wayne Krivsky” is something of a code phrase for a person who is obsessed with relief pitching. Last season, GM Krivsky dealt talented young hitters Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to Washington for some insignificant bullpen arms. That alone doesn’t damn him, but this winter’s moves (including adding reliever Dave Weathers) were next to insignificant, and certainly aren’t the sort of things Krivsky has to do to right the ship. Hurting the team even more is just how little negative publicity the near-giveaway of Kearns received.
25. Baltimore Orioles Incompetent and a lengthy track record of it. While they’re too irrelevant to really hate, my mind is boggled by the caliber of players on whom they choose to spend their money. This winter, it was a bizarre and expensive bullpen upgrade that left them scraping together the likes of Steve Trachsel, Jay Payton, and Aubrey Huff to (supposely) fill other voids.
24. Chicago Cubs Well, at least they got rid of manager Dusty Baker. That aside, the team spent its winter on an ill-advised free-agent splurge. The additions should help the team contend, but that doesn’t justify the money they gave to Alfonso Soriano after a career year in 2006, much less the pricey signings of SPs Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly, who are (to put this gently) not very good.
23. Colorado Rockies The most notable thing here, from a non-baseball standpoint, is the team’s “let’s be overtly Christian!” philosophy. I’m not ardently anti-Christian, but religion should be a private decision, not a workplace consideration. That aside, the team recently reminded me why I used to dislike them – Byung-Hyun Kim is being screwed out of a roster spot by the likes of Josh Fogg. GM Dan O’Dowd just makes too many huge mistakes, and the religious stuff bumps them down a few extra spots.
22. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim You know, it’s hard for me to put the Angels this low on the list. The team has offed the Yankees in multiple postseasons this decade (2005 and my predicted stunner in 2002), and for that I must express my gratitude. But, a solid farm system aside, they’re very questionable judges of talent, with Garret Anderson, Gary Matthews, and Shea Hillenbrand among their below-average lineup. It’s not that the Angels are total idiots – it’s that with the money they have, they could be so much better if GM Bill Stoneman was complemented by better evaluators of major-league hitters.

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