Angels Abreu Signing Next Best Thing after losing Teixeira to the Yankees.

The California Angels desperately needed that one hitter in the middle of their 2009 line-up that knows how to take pitches. The Angeles second half season acquisition of Mark Teixeira in 2008 actually seemed to help the hitters around him adjust to the concept of taking more pitches and being just a bit more selective.

Vladimir Guerrero appeared to benefit greatly from having Teixeira in the line-up last year. Bobby Abreu will probably hit behind Kendry Morales and in front of Vlad, and that is probably the perfect table setting for the Angels. Perhaps the only criticism I have for the Angels is not making a play for an additional year for Abreu beyond the 2009 season.

If Abreu proves a solid addition for the Angels in 2009, the Angels will be stuck a year from now with perhaps nobody who can do what Abreu does when it comes to on base percentage and who can play the outfield. I would have offered Abreu a second year at 8 million with a 1.5 million buyout.

Either way, the Angels are starting to get up in age and they appear to be log jammed in the outfield with over 30 year old players and little room for younger players to get playing time. At least the Angels have been able to use the DH to "rest" their veteran outfielders, a strategy that helped sustain them last year through a myriad of outfield injuries.

Why Torre said more than he probably should have said about AROD and the Yankees.

Joe Torre always struck me as a players manager. Being a former player himself, Torre most likely earned the respect of his players by simply knowing the game. Torre also does not come off as a gossiper. So why did Torre gossip about AROD in his book?

The obvious first reason is, to sell books. But I think there is a second reason as well. Torre basically lost his job after two straight years of not making the A.L. Championship finals. Factor in the infamous 3-0 fall from ahead loss to the Red Sox a couple years earliera, and the ingredients were there for Torre to be removed by simply not giving him a "respectful" contract extension.

Where it gets ugly however is that AROD apparently commented about Torre after Torre's removal. I am speculating AROD speaking about Torre in a rather non complementary way just lit a fire under Torre. The one guy who has not done so well in the playoffs, AROD, is the LAST guy who should be talking about Torre's managerial skills. One could argue that if AROD had put up the same type of production in the playoffs that he regularly puts up during the season, Torre would still be manager of the Yankees.

If a manager is going to sell out a former player, doing it after that same former player has already sold out the manager is the one scenario where I can see it happening.

On the the other hand, Torre did burn his bridge back to New York should the yankees ever start flipping through managers the way they used to in the 80's and early 90's.

Comparing Manny Ramirez to Andrew Jones Contract Talks.

A few years back, while Andrew Jones was with the Atlanta Braves, Jones agreed to restructure his contract and accept less money overall so the Braves could re-sign Chipper Jones. At that time I basically worshipped the concept that a player would take less so his team would have more to spend to make the team better overall.

Manny Ramirez appeared to be more about the money, and as a fan that likes the idea of every team having one player that plays their entire career with the same team, it was a disappointment to see Manny go to Boston from Cleveland for not that much more money. Especially when one factors in that Boston and Cleveland got into a bidding war to drive Manny's price up.

Funny how things work out. The passivity that Jones showed regarding his own contract a few years back seems to have translated onto his play on the field, which has steadily declined over the past few years. Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez continues to play to a high enough standard to be considered one of best hitters in the league.

The question I have is, do ballplayers possibly notch down their own expectations if they have given the club trying to re-sign them a "home town discount"? In the case of Andrew Jones, it sure seems that way as Andrew Jones has once again "restructured" 18 million dollars the Dodgers owe him for the coming year. Yes, the Dodgers are waiving Andrew Jones and in exchange Andrew Jones has agreed to have the 18 million dollars spread out over the next 6 years. So, both times Andrew Jones restructured his contract to help a team, it directly correlated to declining performance, yikes.

Carl Pavano signs with the Cleveland Indians, wow!

This is a shocker, Carl Pavano signs with the Cleveland Indians. What would be really amazing is if Pavano actually lasted until Jake Westbrook returned. What I'm saying is even if Carl can't make it a year without some sort of injury, imagine if he lasted just long enough until a proven vet like Jake Westbrook returned. Then anything after that would be a bonus.

I still wish the Indians and Bartolo could both come to terms, with Bartolo really working his tail off to get into shape. Pavano's signing is surely a typical Shapiro surprise, nobody quite expected it, and we won't know if it was solid or not until the end of the season. So be it.

Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants pursue Manny Ramirez, mirroring what the Yankees and Red Sox did in pursuit Teixeira.

The Los Angeles Dodgers face a scary situation. The biggest problem with losing a prized player to someone who plays in the same division is the head to head competition. If the Dodgers lose Manny Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants, the swing in productivity could favor the Giants 10-15 games while losing the Dodgers 10-15 games.

If Manny Ramirez can swing three of the eighteen games to the Giants that would have gone to the Dodgers, the net gain is SIX games, not three, because the three games are head to head competition. In the course of 18 games, yes I could see Manny Ramirez being a difference maker at least 3 games, resulting in a six game swing between the Dodgers and Giants. Then factor in what happens in the other 144 games each team plays. If Manny is a difference maker for the Giants 10 more times, and not having Manny causes the Dodgers grief ten extra times, the Dodgers could lose a total of 16 games to the Giants in the upcoming season.

If the Giants also pick up a Joe Crede, and he is healthy and performs, the Dodgers could be in a situation where suddenly the Giants are breathing down their necks the entire season, and the Dodgers may not even be in the playoff hunt. Would the Dodgers really want to face San Francisco late in the season with their playoff hopes on the line and Manny Ramirez coming up to bat?

Now lets talk attendance. The presence of Manny Ramirez could result in an average of 5,000 more fans per game, because Manny's presence almost guarantees that the Dodger games in September will still mean something. When Eric Gagne was cruising to the record for consecutive saves, Dodgers fans actually looked forward to staying for a Gagne appearance. How many fans will stay an extra inning or two just to watch Manny's final at bat of the night, that sure helps the stadium's concession coffers fill up.

What the Dodgers are going through is the agony the Yankees were going through. The Yankees simply could not afford to lose a player of Teixeira's ability to a division rival, and the Dodgers similarly cannot afford to lose Manny to a division rival. About the only difference is the Red Sox already had a better line-up than the yankees, whereas the Dodgers will fall back while the Giants gain massively.

I recall hearing a rumor that the McCourts plunked a really big wad of money into their Malibu diggs. Wouldn't it be ironic if the McCourts splurged one year too early on their own real estate desires and as a result could not sign the ONE player that would probably have helped pay off their huge Malibu investment?

Have the McCourts really done enough to earn the right to have such an opulent home when it could actually cause them to not have enough left in their operating budget to invest in the ONE player who would probably ensure the type of success worthy of the home they are already creating?

It would not surprise me if Boras creates a 10 million dollar gap between the two teams. Whatever the Giants offer Manny, the Dodgers will have to beat it by 10 million. It looks like Manny will get a four year deal, worth anywhere from 90 million to a 110 million. Wow.