Prior to the 2011 offseason the Angels were geared up and ready to enter the 2012 offseason as the underdogs of the AL, yet 1 day and $300 million changed all of that. Not only have the Angels brought on two highly coveted players, one of them being the best hitter of this generation and a national icon, they've also strapped a giant target on their back.  The number 5 used to be a symbol all Angel fans could rally around for some tasteful collective hate, but now that's changed, it's because a symbol for the rest of the league to hate and envy us. I can already hear thousands of fans from opposing ball clubs calling for our blood, but who can blame them? The Angels have just become that rich kid in school that drives his parades his fresh new Porsche around the parking lot every morning and shows off his trophy-girlfriend-of-the-week to all his "friends". They'll hate us simply because they can't have what we have, and because of this they'll jump at the chance to make fools of us. They'll have 162 chances to do so (maybe more), and you better believe they'll make the best out of every opportunity.

Is this what we're bound to become? Oh god....

The December 30th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Pujols' contract is heavily backloaded, Angels boast one of the best infields, Halo fans will miss mocking Jeff Mathis and much more...

The Story: Albert Pujols' contract is heavily backloaded, with him earning $12 million in 2012 and over $30 million per year towards the end of the deal.

The Monkey Says: The deal is structured this way allegedly so that the Angels could also afford to add C.J. Wilson, though I think it has more to do with off-setting how much Vernon Wells is owed, which is $21 million annually for the next three years.  What I find interesting though is that this puts the Angels at almost exactly $150 million in payroll for 2012.  That actually isn't far about the $140 million they were hoping to spend going into the off-season.  This can mean a few things: A) the Angels really don't want to spend much more than $150 million annually and will never go above that line, which will be something of a problem once Pujols' deal starts getting expensive or B) The Angels actually want to preserve even more financial flexibility for this off-season and make a run at Ryan Madson or C) their new TV deal also increases in value over time possibly, so the angels need to slowly phase in their increased payroll levels.  I'm kind of hoping it is B, but I have a feeling it is really A.

The Story: Buster Olney rates the Angels infield as the fifth-best in the majors.

The Monkey Says: I actually think that is just about right, especially when you consider how good they are defensively.  They would probably rank much higher if they ever found a way to land a legit upgrade at third base.

It's time for us all to make resolutions for the new year.  Why?  I don't know, it just is.  Society demands it.  Since I want to fit in with the rest of the crowd, I've got my annual installment of Angel blogger resolutions ready to go!  If I can actually stick to these this year, maybe this blog will become a better place. 

Or not.  I'm pretty sure society also demands that bloggers be irresposible, unaccountable and lazy, so I don't see how making resolutions to better myself really fits in.

Because we are headed to 2012, I've got 12 resolutions.  I suspect I will actually adhere to maybe two.

The December 29th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels look like favorites to land Madson, words of warning about the Pujols contract, former Angel Napoli getting sued and much more...

The Story: After the Red Sox trade for Andrew Bailey, it seems that the Angels have a great chance to sign Ryan Madson if they want.

The Monkey Says: First off, the Athletics have now officially raised the white flag on the season already.  They and the Mariners are going to be just awful this season, so it really should be a two-team race in the AL West, possibly even for the next few years if the Mariners don't figure themselves out.  Lord knows the Astros are a long way from being decent.  As for Madson, the Red Sox seemed like the only team out there with money and the need for a closer, so Madson doesn't really have any logical landing spots.  The closest there might be the Angels who are known to be looking for a closer-type.  I just don't know if they want to spend that kind of money, at least long-term.  I'd say that the Halos should offer him a like $12 million for a one-year deal and let him test free agency again next winter, but with him being represented by Scott Boras, I don't know if that is something he'd really consider.  If not, I personally would not be a big fan of giving a reliever, no matter how good, tens of million of dollar in a over three or four years.

The Story: The Angels should be wary of the poor track record of mega-long-term deals in MLB history.

The Monkey Says: Oh, we're back to harping on this again?  Fair enough.  I've said it before and I will say it again, I think the Angels are well aware that the final few years of the Pujols deal will be bad for the club, but they committed to it because it was the price of getting Albert now and reaping the short-term benefits.  It is also a step they felt they had to take to prove that they are willing to do what it takes to win and make themselves into an elite franchise than can acquire elite players.

In the next few weeks, the Angels will have to start getting into arbitration discussions with some of their key players.  The first such big case, Erick Aybar.  Why is his first?  Well, because of alphabetical order, but it is still a big case.

This is Erick's third and last year of team-controlled arbitration.  That puts an onus on he and the Angels to not only play nice during the arbitration negotiations, and possibly even creates pressure for both sides to start working out a long-term contract... assuming both parties are interested in such an arrangement.  So what should they do?

Here is what we know about Aybar:

• Arte Moreno at one point thought so highly of Aybar that he refused to include him in a trade him for Roy Halladay.  So Arte probably wants him to stay for a long, long time.
• Jerry Dipoto loves him some OBP and Aybar has a career OBP of .319 with a career-best of .353, but in a season in which he hit .312.  Homeboy don't walk much.
• The Angels love themselves some defense and Aybar has been a quality defender his whole career, culminating in a Gold Glove in 2011.  Defensive metrics tend to suggest he is an average defender though, so it will be interesting to see what Dipoto really thinks for Aybar's defensive value.
• When Aybar is locked in, he can be great.  That .312/.353/.423 slash line he posted in 2009 was awfully similar to the kind of numbers that Jose Reyes has posted in his career and Reyes just got a nine-figure contract.  If Aybar can get back to being that productive in 2012, he stands to become VERY expensive for the Angels to keep long-term.
• Focus has always been an issue for Aybar as he has a long history of being a streaky player in the field and in the batter's box.  One such example, Aybar had .479 OPS this last August followed by him finishing the season with a 1.038 OPS in the month of September.
• Aybar may be inconsistent, but he is still improving.  In 2011 he set career-highs in steals with 30, RBIs, runs, home runs, ISO and WAR.  If he does that again or better in 2012, again, he is very expensive.
• The general consensus is that Aybar will make $4.5 million this season if he goes to arbitration.
• The Angels made the deliberate decision to move Jean Segura, their best position player prospect after Mike Trout, from second base to shortstop last season.
• Aybar would easily be the best shortstop on the free agent market after the 2012 season, assuming the D'Backs pick up their option on Stephen Drew, and even then, he might still be.

So what should the Angels do with him?

The December 28th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including ticket demand continues to rise, Angels still showing interest in Ryan Madson, sign three to minor league deals and much more...

The Story: The Angels have sold 3,300 new season tickets and 4,500 ticket packages since they announced the signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson.

The Monkey Says: I believe I saw somewhere that those new ticket sales equates to roughly $5 million in revenue, though I think that fails to take into account tickets that would've been sold anyway on an individual basis nor does it account for the parking/concessions/merchandise revenue that will come with those sales.  Either way, the Angels are at least recouping a small chunk of what they are paying to Pujols and Wilson before the games even begin.

The Story: The Angels are "keeping the dialogue open" with closer Ryan Madson.

The Monkey Says: I get the sense that the Angels are just keeping in touch with Madson should his price decline.  In particular, I am wondering if Madson might not be interested in signing a one-year deal since next off-season, the number of closers available is pretty minimal.  As of right now, it would just be K-Rod, Brandon League, Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Valverde and maybe Huston Street.  If Madson joined that crop, he would be far and away the best closer on the market.

Just a couple weeks ago Albert Pujols checked out of free agency C.J Wilson left any prospective bidders in the dust for the Angels, while the biggest star has been left neglected, rather surprisingly. One would think that common sense entitles Prince Fielder to all the attention the free agency market has to offer him now that the other two big prizes have been snatched up, by the Angels of all teams, so why hasn't the Prince received any royal attention?

 


I don't have anything funny to say about this. Just enjoy it for what it is