Damon signs with Yankees

No, we certainly didn't expect Damon to sign with the Angels, but now that he's with the Yankees, the Red Sox need a centerfielder and a shortstop. How about Steve Finley/Darin Erstad and Orlando Cabrera? Damon's signing probably means the Manny-Trade-Talks are heating up again.
The Red Sox certainly want a bat to compensate at least a little bit for the loss of Manny's production, so a third team (or Garret Anderson?) must be involved/included. Still, I can't see the Red Sox fill their needs without trading Manny, they have nobody in the minors who could play short or center in the bigs.

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I said, "I'd be pissed too, if a guy was throwing at my head like that." He thought that was pretty funny. It kind of lightened the mood.

Greeting Oakland's visibly upset Frank Menechino at first base after he'd been hit in the foot by Angels pitcher Scott Schoenweis for the second time in the game.
Scott Spiezio

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all

Booo-ring!

You can't really say the Angels are having a busy off-season.

Yesterday however, while searching for a good signature for my new forum, I found out that this great quote

Baseball Is Life, Life Is Baseball!

belongs to Angels Great Tim Salmon. He is such a profound philosopher, isn't he?

So, instead of shutting the blog down until Mr Stoneman gets a deal done worth talking about, I'm going to post my favorite Angels quotes here from time to time.

Bjoern

Three's A Charm

Someone on a German (!) us-sports-forum suggested that the news about a disgruntled Tejada in Baltimore might not result in a Tejada for Manny trade but rather in a three team deal involving the Angels, Orioles and Red Sox. I find that idea very intriguing...

Tejada -> Red Sox
Manny, $$$ -> Angels
Cabrera, Erstad, ??? -> Orioles

This looks like it needs some minor tweaking, but it might be easier to work out than a two way deal.

Horay, we have a LOOGY!

The Angels traded minor league infielder Alexi Casilla (never heard of him) to the Minnesota Twins for J.C. Romero, who will get $2.2 mill. next season.
I'm not too happy with the fact that Romero felt "disrespected" by the Twins Organisation (which, as far as I can tell, seems to be a pretty good one) and clashed with his manager, because that might mean that he'll bring some unhealthy attitude to the clubhouse.
Also, he reportedly has trouble keeping inherited runners from scoring and his 2005 numbers aren't all that great: 3.47 ERA, 48 K, 39 BB, 6 HR in 57 innings.
BUT, his lefty split is a line of beauty: 2.54 ERA, .198 BAA, .308 OBA, .267 SLG, 28 K, 10 BB, 2 HR in 28.1 innings pitched.
So I guess this is a good addition after all. It addressed a major weakness (no lefty in the pen) and didn't cost us too much.
Casilla (21) started the season in AA Arkansas and hit .211, .286, .211 in 19 AB, then went to AAA Salt Lake, where he played 13 games, hitting .256, .310, .256. On May 16th, he was sent down to A Cedar Rapids, playing in 78 games, hitting .325, .392, .409 and stealing 47 bases in 59 tries. Not bad, but not great for a 21 year old playing Single-A ball. And with their depth in middle infielders, the Angels won't miss Casilla much, I expect.

Finley on his way out of town?

Ken Rosenthal says:

The Angels are trying to move center fielder Steve Finley in a salary exchange. Among their possible targets: Padres outfielder Ryan Klesko and Giants third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo.

Although neither Klesko (.248, .358, .418, 18 HR) nor Alfonso (.277, .327, .345, 2 HR) are players I want the Angels to trade for, if this gets us rid of Finley, I will gladly take it . Klesko can be a descent fourth or fifth outfielder, who can get on base (75 BB, that tops everybody on the current roster) and Alfonzo can be, ah, might do, ah,... I'd rather have Klesko.

To Be Manny Or Not To Be Manny?

Nothing new on the Manny front.
I suggest Finley, Kennedy, Yan and some prospect other than Wood, Morales, Santana or Mathis. Maybe Callaspo or Kendrick? Plus some Cash, of course.
OK, the Red Sox won't bite.

Bye the way, did anyone knew that OC was the best player in the majors when it came to hit a sac fly? Me neither.

No Konerko

As everybody already knows, Paul Konerko really did take a hometown discount and resigned with the White Sox for a paltry $60 mill for five years. I agree with Joe Florkowski from League of Angels that it's good to see a star player show some loyality towards his old team.
So we might see some CK at 1B after all.

In totally unrelated matters:
Check out this story about a homeless senior softball player.

Bjoern