An untradeable player has been traded

In each of the last two seasons I have included Vernon Wells in one of my How can they trade that untradeable contract? posts.

One for the blog after the 2009 season... one for The Hardball Times after the 2010 season.

Well, it took Adrian Beltre, Carl Crawford and just about every other player in creation to turn down the Angels to do it... but the Blue Jays found a suitor.

Vernon is heading to Los Angeles.
And then drive about an hour south and wind up in Anaheim. But let's for the sake of argument call it Los Angeles.

I personally think it is a terrific move for the Angels.
Wells is a stand up guy with talent. And he should fit in well with the organization and the lineup.

Please spare us all the indignity of breaking down his play and his WAR, VORP and OPS+. That's not what this move is about.

As I wrote before, this is about a change going to do him good.
He signed that gigantic contract to stay in Toronto. And it became his legacy and identity.

He even had to wear the hairshirt and indignity of having to admit he wasn't worth the contract.

It was time for a change of scenery. As much as he clearly loved Toronto, and as much as I thought him having a Todd Helton moment would have been super cool, he had to go.

I had him for two years in a row going to the Cubs. I thought the natural surface and a fresh start with a fan base would be ideal. But now he is off to a model organization with a good pitching staff, Kendry Morales should be back and no doubt Torii Hunter will welcome him with open arms.

He'll be playing for a potential Hall of Fame manager and will no doubt be in a pennant race.

And he won't have the constant reminder that his contract his too big.

Can you say "relaxed"? Can you "rejuvenated"? Can you say "big season for a guy who actually made the All Star team in 2010"?

Not bad for an untradeable player.

Hey Arte! You can still make this biggest splash this off season!

Arte Moreno, I understand you aren't happy that the Angels stayed home this October. Since you took over the Angels in 2003 (when they were still the defending champs), the Angels have made the playoffs in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009... yet have yet to make it past the ALCS under your guidance.

I know that this year with the injuries and Kendry Morales breaking his own damn leg must have killed you.

AND seeing Vlady Guerrero make it to the World Series in a RANGERS uniform must have burned you inside.

And you want to make a splash... like you did with Vlad who won an MVP in Anaheim. And Bartolo Colon who won a Cy Young. And Torii Hunter, who is now the face of the franchise.

And yeah, Carl Crawford would have fit in perfectly with the Angels.
So would have Jayson Werth.

But don't get mad.
WIN THE OFF SEASON!

It's very simple.
Offer Cliff Lee an 8th season.

Get the biggest free agent on the market and bring him to the Angels. Have him pitch with Jared Weaver and Danny Haren and Ervin Santana, giving the Angels the best rotation in the American League.

Yeah, 8 years is nots nuts, but trust me... you want to play in a nutty game right now and with one bold move you can the Angels so much better and pull the rug out of so many other teams.



It would devastate the Rangers... you know the team that actually won the pennant. Remember them? Your chief rivals?

Improving at THEIR expense is a good way to play October ball.


It would continue to take attention away from the Dodgers, who are only in the news in divorce court these days.

The Dodgers should have traded for Cliff Lee in 2009 and it cost them a pennant. Now have him play in Orange County.



Lest we forget that signing Cliff Lee would make this a disastrous winter for the Yankees. They lost out on Crawford and so far all they have to show for this off season is NOT losing Jeter and Rivera (and they could STILL lose Pettitte.)

Everyone and their moose thinks Lee is signing with the Yankees.
Shock everyone. And tell him "You can avoid the New York media and still have a great chance to win a title. And one title is all they need in Anaheim."

And while the Angels have played well against the Yankees in the past, it is a wise policy to try and avoid them in October.

So come on! You know you want to raise a World Series trophy as owner. You can do it by patiently building a team up through the farms system and having the chips fall the right way in the playoffs.

The Angels did that in 2002.

Now it is time for a good old fashioned bought pennant.

Will Cliff Lee still be an elite pitcher in 8 years?
Who knows and who cares?

If he's led the Angels to a few pennants and a World Series title, then it will all be worth it.

So buck up Arte. Make the offer.
You clearly have some dough to spend. Use the cash that was ear marked for Carl Crawford.

Even if you regret it, you'll still be loved in Boston for keeping Cliff Lee out of the Bronx... and that's worth SOMETHING.

Hey! The Angels game is over!

Bobby Abreu finally had enough and hit one out.
I have a question for you Angels fans who were actually still there in the 14th.

Did you get any reward by the Angels for sticking around?
A pin. A ticket. A stuffed monkey.

If you were there to the end, then you don't need to prove your loyalty to the Angels in any other way.

Oh just stop playing, Angels and Mariners!

The Angels and Mariners are in the 13th inning in the town of Los Angeles of Anaheim.

2 dead from the neck up and going nowhere in a hurry playing out the string in mid September are 13 innings into this game.

There must be a rule to just end this game.

I mean if Bud Selig can end an All Star Game as a tie, can't they step in and say "Folks... this won't affect the standings or the history of either team. You saw 13 innings. Get back on to the 5 and go home!"?

They have Defensive Indifference.

Why not "Outcome Indifference"?

A. L. West... you blew it

Back in late June, I pointed out that the history of the Texas Rangers contain one gigantic summer swoon after another as the team melts in the heat.

I said that I wasn't buying them until they make it through the summer.

And guess what?

They had a bad August.

With today's loss (and Cliff Lee's latest meltdown... he had better turn it on in October or else he is costing himself millions of dollars!) the Rangers finished August 13-15.

Guess who else had a lousy August?

THE ENTIRE AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST!!!

Oakland finished 13-15.

The Angels finished 11-16.

Seattle, a non factor, wrapped up the month with a win to improve to 13-14.

The entire division finished below .500 for August. The Rangers started the month with an 8 1/2 game lead, played sub .500 ball and finished the month with an 8 1/2 game lead.

Had the A's or the Angels played winning ball this month, there might be a pennant race in the West. There might be a little suspense.

Instead we are all but certain to have a Division Series in Texas which, by the looks of things, will mean they would get whipped by the Rays or the Yankees... unless of course Cliff Lee turns things around.

Either way, the Rangers gave you an opening... and the rest of the division just stared at their toes.

I don't have a horse in the A. L. West race. I want it to be competitive.

With the A's folding and the Angels trading away their closer, it doesn't seem like it will be.

Thanks... thanks a lot.

I wasn't wrong about the Rangers

Back on June 21, I wrote that I wasn't buying the Rangers.

I had seen this story before... the Rangers get off to an amazing start, everyone starts thinking they are for real. Then the summer kicks in and they wilt away.

In late June as the Rangers finished an 11 game winning streak (and won 14 out of 15) they opened up a 4 1/2 game lead over the Angels and looked for real.

Since then they've had a losing record (23-25) and in August they've lost 10 of 16 games and 8 of their last 11 games... just as they've ALWAYS done in August.

They've lost 4 straight (including a sweep by the Rays) and it's been nearly 2 weeks since they've won 2 in a row.

In other words my prediction was right.

Here's what I DIDN'T predict... the rest of the Division would be such garbage.

Actually the A's have been good. They've played 6 games over .500 since the Rangers winning streak.

Here's the problem... they were 6 games UNDER .500 then.

Meanwhile the Angels have collapsed to a 20-27 record since and the Mariners? Yikes... they are just 18-31 (and a fired manager) since.

It helps to win a Division when the rest of the teams have to have winning streaks to reach break even.

There's about 3 more weeks until Labor Day.

Can the Rangers blow a 7 game lead? Just ask the Mets if that is possible.

It's still hot in Texas, and I haven't been wrong yet.

2 out of 3 isn't good enough

For my friends who think I am being cynical about the Red Sox 2010 chances and that I am already looking towards 2011, let me present today's game.

Beckett was great for 5 then got hammered and the Red Sox not only lost but it wasn't even a teeth grinder.

They took 2 of 3 from the Angels... and it wasn't good enough.

They needed to SWEEP in order to even keep pace with the Yankees.

In trying to make up nearly a week of games with a month and a half to go, they need a 5 or 6 game winning streak... winning series is inadequate.

2 out of 3 might be fine for Meat Loaf, but not for the 2010 Red Sox.