See the update at the end of this post where fan favorite Torii Hunter first accuses Angels owner Arte Moreno of lying to him about having no money to re-sign him, then changing his tune.
ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 13, 1:18 P.M.: When the Angels snagged Albert Pujols before the start of last season, we made like the Dodgers when they got Darryl Strawberry and proclaimed the Halos the 2012 World Series winner. Then Prince Albert didn't show up until spring was nearly over (despite filling a uniform), we moved on to lionize Mickey Mike Trout Mantle even after El Hombre finally got hot and before you knew it the Angels finished third in the AL West. So, while–HOLY FUCK!–the Angels reportedly reached a deal with Josh Hamilton, we won't go shopping for a spot in the Big A parking lot for the 2013 World Series victory parade just yet.
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For one thing, this is just a rumor, but Major League Baseball teams still require pitchers. The Angels have already let two three starters go and done little to bolster a bullpen that held leads like spaghetti strainers hold water. New Angels closer Ryan Madson was out all last year recovering from Tommy John surgery..
Unless there are superstar hurlers lurking in the minors that Anaheim can exploit ala Trout before the Yankees inevitably woo them away, finding more arms will be complicated by Arte Moreno opening his fat wallet to extract $125 million for Hamilton over five years, as reported by Yahoo! Sports.
Not only does Moreno want to be THE Los Angeles team, even though he's not in Los Angeles, he apparently wants to spend himself into a corner just like the Dodgers just did, too.
Ah, well, at least the Angels will have one helluva outfield with Trout, Hamilton and Mark Trumbo.
Suck it, Texas!
As for mound dwellers enlisted to keep opposing batters from hitting balls over the trio's heads and into the stands, has anyone asked if Kendrys Morales can pitch?
UPDATE, DEC. 14, 8:58 A.M.: Follow former Angel/current Tiger Torii Hunter's tweets from the bottom up, watching them shift from bitter to congratulatory.
Torii Hunter Jr.'s is a bonus!
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.