That hurts!
So the A's signed Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas for just $500.000. This figure might go up to $2.6 million, but that's still pretty cheap for a guy who will most likely put up an OPS of .900+ if he stays healthy. If you look up "low risk, high reward" in wikipedia, I'm sure this deal is already cited there.
I keep asking myself: why couldn't the Angels make this deal? They have the money, they have a DH spot just as comfortable as that one in Oakland and they even have better weather, which is always nice for an oldtimer like Thomas. Why didn't anybody in the organisation seriously think of it when the team so clearly lacks power?
Well, there's always old mafioso Mike Piazza, some might say. While he's probably as cheap as Thomas at this point and a little more likely to stay healthy, the last two years he put up an OPS around .800. While this is still above average for the Angels, it is much less than what Thomas might and, I believe, Juan Rivera or McPherson should provide. So signing Piazza doesn't make much sense for the Angels, but Thomas might have. But, he's with Oakland now and it doesn't take a genius like Billy Beane to know this was a good move for them and it might hurt the Angels in the end, when (better: if) Oakland edges away with the division.
posted by Bjoern @ 2:33 AM
6 comment/s
6 Comments:
Bjoern, This is Joe Florkowski from League of Angels. I happened on your site by accident while searching my own name. I have to ask you, how does a guy from Germany start an Angels blog site?
Also your site looks good.
Hi Joe!
What a noble visitor in my humble house! This reminds me to update your link. :)
The story of how I became an Angels blogger is short and rather unspectacular:
In my youth, baseball was just an tertiary hobby, but I started playing some softball in university (I sucked badly) to start the addiction. In 2003, I bought myself a copy of MVP Baseball and since the Angels were world champions at that time, they were the default team. So I got to know them quite well and soon after that, I discovered MLB.com and watched Angels games. I read some ESPN, discovered Aaron Gleeman's Blog and soon after that The Hardball Times, Pearly Gates and League of Angels and I thought, "cool, I want to do what they do, share some thoughts, too". Well, here I am. Hidden in the obscurity of less than 2000 hits, but still.
Bjoern, I always like to see people rooting for the Angels in strange or unusual places whether it is New York or Moscow or Germany. I will be sure to mention your Web site in a future Angels post on www.all-baseball.com.
Also let me know if you want any of the things they give out at Angel games. I have a ton of Thunderstix (you know those inflatable things they give out at Angel games.) You can annoy your friends with them.
That would be great (both the mentioning and the things)! It's pretty hard to get your hands on MLB baseball stuff in Germany, especially anything that doesn't have a Yankees logo on it. If you ever plan to send a baseball aid shipment, let me know and I give you my address. Maybe I can return the favor with some Fifa World Cup things, if you are interested in soccer, or a German Baseball Association Pin. :)
Bjoern,
I posted something new on www.all-baseball.com/leagueofangels which mentions this blog space. Check it out if you get the chance. We talk about your Angels blog and the impact of having such a blog in Germany. Maybe something like this could lead to a further globalization of baseball. You never know.
Genial dispatch and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.
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