The "big splash" promised by Arte Moreno has yet to come to fruition as another MLB Winter Meetings has come and gone without so much as a peep from the Angels and General Manager Bill Stoneman. But don't fret Halo Nation, there's still time to add a bat to accompany our more than solid pitching staff.
The Gary Matthews signing was nice, as he will surely add some stability to both the top of our lineup and defensively in centerfield. Memo to those of you bellyaching about the size of the contract--you know who you are: the 50 mil we're paying Matthews will NOT inhibit us from signing more free agents or taking on salary from trades. Is he worth 10 mil a year, probably not, but we needed a leadoff man and a centerfielder and he nicely fills both those roles. Hopefully you, like myself, are sick of Figgy's .325 OBP and see this as an upgrade. If Matthews just matches last years numbers (.313-19-79-102-.371) and plays stellar defensively for a few seasons, then the signing will have been well worth it.
As mentioned above, Matthews is a nice player but he's not the big stick we're holding out hope for. The Manny deal is most likely dead, and that's fine. There are, as the saying goes, 'more fish in the sea,' and we really don't need another outfielder. We need a corner infielder. As the dust from the Winter Meetings settles, we can hopefully make a deal for a solid 30 homer first or third baseman without parting ways with Scot Shields and/or Ervin Santana. Stoneman's right here people--we cannot get rid of our biggest asset, the pitching staff needs to remain intact. A deal can be made by moving Figgy and some minor league talent if Stoneman will just sack up and get it done.
Besides, our roster as it stands is more than good enough to win our division, and Stoneman will have another chance to disappoint us at next years trading deadline. But hopefully it won't come to that.
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