It's bad enough the Angels are losing another solid arm and strong locker room presence, but must such a player go to a division rival?
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick broke the news that lefty reliever Darren Oliver is headed back to his first Major League team–and the Angels' Western Division foe–the Texas Rangers. Power hitter and Angel MVP of the decade Vlad Guerrero may be on the next flight after Oliver's to Texas.
Another division rival, the Seattle Mariners, already got Angel sparkplug Chone Figgins.
The Mariners also beefed up their pitching staff with the addition of starter Cliff Lee, who came from Philadelphia after the Phillies signed Roy Halladay, who the Halos (and just about everyone else in baseball) coveted.
And, of course, hated postseason foe Boston swiped John Lackey from Anaheim.
The Angels have added, to paraphrase one wag, 35-year-old Hideki Matsui and his 83-year-old knees.
Amid all this movement, The Bleacher Report's Jose Salviati wonders if the Angels have a plan . . .
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Salviati writes:
What exactly is going on over in the the offices in Anaheim of Los Angeles?
This time of year there are two types of teams–spenders and savers. Fans of the Angels are used to their team being spenders.
The lack of activity and apparent switch to saver from the club this offseason is disheartening.
What is the plan, Tony Reagins?
Salviati notes that fans stuck by the team when it lost Mark Teixeira because they were assured about Kendry Morales. The same goes for Lackey because of last season's addition of Scott Kazmir and hopes for Matt Palmer. But the Bleacher reporter says the silence has been deafening over Brandon Wood replacing Figgy. And what about losing Oliver?
Is the plan to see a healthy Scot Shields in 2010?
No idea because you haven't said anything.
What is going on in Haloland? It's time we heard from GM Tony Reagins.
The natives are getting restless.
Well, as restless as potential season-ticket buyers get in Anaheim.
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.