Kuzul

It’s as if spirit has suddenly vanished on Katella Ave.; almost as if the Angels couldn’t care less in revamping an inactive ballclub faced with tremendous emptiness and shame, unable to lure a blockbuster free-agent in an offseason attempt.

Before, the well-respected ballclub that resides near Disneyland was as popular as the other team in town and the city of Anaheim had been emblazoned with seas of red attire to adore the best baseball franchise in town.

At this point, the Angels are in oblivion, even if this is one of the main attractions in Orange County, even if this is one of the most mediocre clubs in baseball and even if Tony Reagins, the inept Angels general manager, is a toxic waste in a town that once was accustomed to postseason splendor.

These days, as the Halo in the parking lot of Angel Stadium doesn’t brighten the sky as much, the organization is failing so miserably to improve and helplessly transforms into dysfunction.

It was one of baseball’s well-operated businesses, until the owner Arturo Moreno purchased the franchise when the Walt Disney Co. decided to relieve itself of the responsibility in running a profitable business.

And just as much as he downplays the magnitude of becoming the first Hispanic owner, he pathetically denies to confess that he has sabotaged the Angels and disgusted devoted fans in a depress community, unless they drive down the street and spend countless hours at Disneyland to release all the disillusionment and affliction. 

Beyond the duplication of his failures as owner, so largely that fans are bickering in an outcry for losing on every bid this winter, it has lifted the insanity and the sport has strangely teetered.

For all the belief that the polarizing Bill Stoneman, the former general manager who built the Angels World Series championship team, wasn’t aggressive in reaching deals or assembling talent, he’s now truly missed since stepping down after eight years.

And yet, what turned into futility to expand upon the twinge of unsuccessfulness, the malcontent fans might as well just boycott the Angels next season, until Reagins is canned by his softhearted boss and until the Angels make adjustments, erecting a profound club and reinstalling exuberance.

The Angels are wrapped in tremendous disarray, until Moreno is reluctant in believing in Reagins’ horrendous implosions as a nugatory executive, relied on to renew a depleted and lifeless culture. Reagins, by further note, isn’t criticized of his botched inactivity after he hasn’t solidified or rehabilitated normalcy.

Whatever it is, he’s poorly tearing down the essence of Angels’ baseball, ruining a franchise that has plunged mightily and he is heavily not suitable for the task.

The Angels were never on the verge of pulling off a valuable deal to benefit long term, nor were they considered likely the favorites of the AL West, but blameworthy losers and could replicate another awful season.

Honestly, the deranged Angels couldn’t care less about winning a World Series, let alone spending wisely on a few leading candidates, losing on Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee.

What the hell?

It’s not particularly hard to notice that the Angels are cheesy in the way they run a lousy business, unless you are blind or either in denial. Every season, this time, it’s a suspenseful scenario and the Angels constantly keep the fans guessing on any potential upgrading pieces.

But in the end, while other franchises bid aggressively for the best slugger or ace available, the Angels are deprived of putting together the repertoire of necessary players, befitting for rising into top contention in a ripened division.

In all, it figured that the Angels were endangered of losing Crawford based on its history in the past, even if they informed other clubs he was a targeted free-agent amid the pursuit.

The most recent story in the midst of such a misunderstanding, around the time when teams are actively upgrading to add missing pieces, is that Reagins acknowledged he was busy calling other organizations. For now, it’s not easy to believe a damn thing and it feels sometimes as if he’s overwhelmed by a shortage of finances, unsure whether or not he desires to ensure a player of a long-term deal.

“I think when you hear the marquee names being shopped around or portrayed in the media as ‘that player is coming to your market,’ there’s an excitement level, and then when he doesn’t come, obviously there’s some disappointment by some.” Reagins said.

If you haven’t notice, he’s been saying the same thing repeatedly during his tenure and still, he hasn’t done anything to reform the defenseless Angels.

“But you have to go and play 162 games every year,” he said. And being able to add bullpen pieces are significant. When you don’t have those pieces and your bullpen doesn’t perform the way it can, it can really show itself. I’d rather have those pieces than not have those pieces, I can say that.”

I’d rather have a dignified player, too.

In an effort to not fortify a misplaced era, the Angels aren’t anywhere near returning to its usual form.

So the understanding, for some, is that the Angels prolongs an epidemic of woes, wrongly at a time when the high-market franchises are rebuilding and aiming to rightfully be the elites of baseball.

This is the town that Mark Teixeira was traded to as a rental and then hightailed his way to New York, where he signed a sizable deal with the Yankees.

This is the town that Paul Konerko turned down millions, just to stay in the Southside of Chicago, a place he gladly calls home.

This is the town that had a chance to bid for Lee and, at one point, had been in the sweepstakes to potentially finalize an unforeseen deal with the unhittable ace, but as usual the Angels lagged, allowing the Phillies to present a fitted amount and stun the baseball world by signing the peerless left-hander.

This is the town that was in the running for Roy Halladay in midseason, but opted to rebuff interest in grabbing the Cy Young winner. 

When it comes to baseball in a tepid town that has dysfunctional owners, oddly enough, fans tend to become furious with the lack of aggressiveness in adding a relentless texture.

There has been, on the other hand, gossip that teams from smaller markets with limited profit are forced to overpay to attract top-tier free-agents. And believe it or not, it’s very obvious these days.

The latest deal of insanity came on a $126 million contract for Jayson Werth that the Washington National foolishly gave to a role player who had a fairly superb season as an outfielder for the Phillies. 

Then, it was the Boston Red Sox giving Crawford a ridiculous $142 million deal. It was, by far, one of the most overpaid and mismanaged deals in baseball history, but reports were released that Moreno came close to proposing a contract within a pricey range.

Hell, the last time the Angels signed a top-notch free-agent happened two winters ago, when they brought in Torii Hunter, but since then the Angels famously become known for offseason blunders.

If what is destroying the Angels isn’t visible for people, then either the folks of Orange County are simply humiliated or could be unaware of Reagins.

What’s more important, for the moment, is the destruction and it has held the fans hostage, wondering if the Angels were ever coveted to obtain one of the finest free-agents on the market. 

The situation probably turns burdened for the well-respected manager Mike Scioscia. For now, at least, the responsibility of assembling a refinable aspect falls on the skipper.  

Just the other day, however, it was an amusing party that generated holiday cheers to more than 200 children at the annual Angels’ Children’s Holiday Party at Downtown Disney’s ESPN Zone, but so far, that is as much holiday cheer the Angels have treasured this offseason.

Don’t expect much, until Reagins is given his final paycheck. 

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Adrian Beltre picked a good time to become a free agent and a good year to produce like an elite offensive force. Of course we’ve seen this before. Teams should be scared to offer Beltre anything close to the deals given to elite hitters so far this offseason. Beltre has not been especially consistent over his career, though he does play exceptional defense and can be counted on for 25 home runs of so wherever he plays.

Most teams appear to be set at third base or can expect the continued development of a younger player to fill the role. Of the few teams that make sense for Beltre, several of them seem unlikely because of financial issues, the type of home ballpark, or just because he doesn’t seem to fit in with the type of team they are. Nevertheless here are six interesting destinations for Beltre and one that seems especially likely and necessary.

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I am going to say that this week was not the best one in the career of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim GM Tony Reagins.

First, he gets smoked by the Boston Red Sox in the Carl Crawford deal. Then, he announced late Friday that they were no longer going to pursue Rafael Soriano. Essentially, the two main Angel targets this offseason disappeared within 48 hours.

If it’s any consolation to Angel fans, they did sign a pretty good reliever on Friday.

The Angels signed former Toronto Blue Jay LHP Scott Downs to a three-year, $15 million contract. Downs can earn another $1 million in incentives if he finishes a certain number of games.

Well, I certainly didn’t see this move coming from the Angels.

I didn’t see it coming because A. I thought Downs would sign with the Boston Red Sox and B. The Angels already signed a left-hander earlier this offseason when they inked Hisanori Takahashi to a two-year, $8 million contract.

For those of you scoring at home, the Angels have spent $23 million on left-handed middle relievers this offseason. That’s umm, interesting to say the least.

Then again, if you have followed the Angels over the last couple of years, they have shelled out some interesting contracts to some not so stellar relief pitchers. Of course, I am talking about the $17.5 million they shelled out to Brian Fuentes and the $11 million they spent on Fernando Rodney.

However, I am going to cut the Angels some slack on the Downs signing. He is actually pretty good.

Since 2007, Downs has compiled a 2.36 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 7.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 236.2 innings. Downs features a fastball that hovers around the upper-80s, a slider and a pretty sweet curve.

What makes Downs so good is that he is one of those rare left-handed pitchers that can get both lefties and righties out. Left-handed batters had a slash line of .152/.247/.241 with two HRs and right-handed batters had a slash line of .243/.283/.354 with one HR against Downs in 2010.

That’s some solid work from the 34-year-old from Louisville, KY.

What role Downs will have with the Angels is still up in the air. If Reagins was telling the truth and the Angels are really out of the Soriano sweepstakes, then Rodney is the only closer on the roster.

Even the Angels have to realize at this point Rodney sucks out loud. Downs could very well find himself closing games in 2011.

Would I have signed Downs to a three-year, $15 million contract and on top of that surrender a first-round pick? No, I wouldn’t have.

But then again, after Joaquin Benoit set the market with his ridiculous contract, how could anyone argue with this contract? I would take Downs over Benoit any day of the week and even three times on Sunday.

In regards to surrendering a first-round pick? I don’t think the Angels cared about that. I think they will sign one more Type A free agent this offseason and that Type A free agent will be Adrian Beltre. I can’t see owner Arte Moreno going down this quietly this offseason.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Like so many years past, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim began the offseason with a hole in their roster and a high-profile player in line to fill it.

And like every other year, they came up short.

Carl Crawford agreed to a seven-year, $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox this week, marking the sixth time in as many years that the Angels failed to acquire their primary offseason target.

Last year, Angels fans witnessed an epic collapse when the team failed to re-sign John Lackey and successfully trade for Roy Halladay, a deal in which the Angels were considered the front-runners to complete.

While Lackey’s usually stellar numbers dropped off in Boston, Halladay cruised to his second Cy Young Award and helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies into the playoffs.

In 2008, the Angels made Mark Teixeira a sizable offer, but angrily yanked it back when it became apparent they would have to enter a bidding war with the Red Sox and New York Yankees. Tex eventually went to New York where he won his first World Series championship.

I’m sure the Angels had a nice view of him lifting the trophy from their moral high ground.

That same year, C.C. Sabathia was also on Anaheim’s wish list, but they again lost him to New York after placing a foolish 24-hour deadline on their offer.

Before that, the Yankees outbid the Angels for another superstar infielder, inking Alex Rodriguez to a new 10-year deal. A-Rod continues to get booed in Anaheim for his decision, even though he was never close to making the trip out West.

Of course, New York isn’t the only city to beat the the Angels off the field as well as on it. Chicago teams have also swiped superstars out from under Anaheim, with Paul Konerko returning to the White Sox five years ago and Aramis Ramirez re-upping with the Cubs.

That’s six—count’em, six—players the Angels made a high priority and failed to sign. Absolutely pathetic, and there is no indication that this will be the end of the pattern.

Which target will they not sign in the future? First basemen Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder could both hit the market after next season. Maybe the Angels will excite fans with those names before crushing their hopes and dreams yet again.

What of Jered Weaver? The major league strikeout champ will be a free agent in two years, and agent Scott Boras isn’t likely to negotiate an extension. He prefers his star clients to test the free agent market while he drives up the asking price to ridiculous proportions, which often rules out teams like the Angels.

If it comes down to it, would Reagins and owner Arte Moreno be willing to compete for his services? Recent history says no.

The last offseason to see Anaheim successfully woo a good player came in 2007 when Torii Hunter reportedly agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal at a local Del Taco.

But to find the last great player, the last true superstar to don a Halo, you have to look back seven years when the Angels locked up both slugger Vladimir Guerrero and ace Bartolo Colon.

Despite never making a World Series appearance, the pair helped transform the Angels into a consistent threat in the American League. In 2004, Big Daddy Vladdy won the AL MVP; the following year, Colon earned his first Cy Young award.

Those were the good old days.

Now fans are just as likely to see their club refuse to do what it takes to bring in the talent they need to win again. Perhaps even more disturbing, in failing to reach the stars they seek, they also overlook other talented role players.

In 2010 alone, they’ve missed out on catcher/first baseman/DH Victor Martinez; infielders Ty Wigginton, Juan Uribe, and Adrian Gonzalez; and pitcher Jorge de la Rosa. All were available, and all were snatched off the market while the Angels fought against history and the AL East to land that one big fish.

This is becoming a disturbing trend. The Halos are quickly sliding down toward that tier of inconsequential clubs that make a bunch of non-impact moves.

Like the Baltimore Orioles trading for J.J. Hardy or the Kansas City Royals signing Melky Cabrera, the Angels are left with ho-hum deals that excite no one and change nothing about their current standing. The kind of deals you skim past while reading up on the day’s transactions.

Alberto Callaspo was one of those moves, a trade deadline acquisition last season that neither benefited the Angels nor the Royals; it was merely a shuffling of the Titanic’s deck chairs.

After losing out on Crawford, the Angels are expected to turn their attention to Adrian Beltre, the only high-profile free agent left even though he is a player with two good seasons and a whole host of bad ones to his name.

Boras, Beltre’s agent, is sure to demand a salary similar to the one he got from the Seattle Mariners six years ago in the hope the teams will forget he wasn’t worth the paper that contract was printed on during his tenure in Washington.

In a spacious ballpark like Anaheim, away from the hitter’s delight of Fenway Park, Beltre will doubtlessly underperform again.

Crawford, meanwhile, is not just the next stop in a continuing history of failure for the Angels, he’s also the next for fans to boo vociferously. But maybe fans should aim those boos at the sky box that houses Tony Reagins, the man who is as reluctant to sign highly valued free agents as he is to talk about them in the media.

He is, after all, a graduate of the Bill Stoneman “Take Phone Calls and Sit on Your Hands” school of business management.

Yes, Reagins has a had a couple of good pickups over the years. But he is also directly responsible for at least three of above-mentioned blown deals. He was only given a free pass on the Teixeira mishap because of the rise of Kendry Morales, not that the Angels brass had any idea he’d be this good.

The fact that they offered Tex an eight-year, $160 million deal tells you all you need to know about what they though of Morales’s future at first base.

At this point, the most anyone can say for Reagins is that there are still four months to go before Opening Day. The Angels’ fallback targets are few and far between, though, and it will take a lot of work to buck the trend of history this time.

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Cliff Lee is the hottest player on the free agent market right now, but that doesn’t mean that he and the Los Angeles Angels would be a good fit. 

A “mystery team” is said to have made a seven-year offer last night for the starting pitcher, and speculation abounds as to who it was. ESPN that same night also wouldn’t disclose their source, but claimed that the Angels had entered the race for Lee.

Could those pieces of news be related?

Angels fans should probably hope not. As strange as it sounds to consider it better to not go after the best pitcher on the market, that’s exactly what Los Angeles should do.

Read on to learn why.

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As baseball continues to evolve and new players crop up, talent is becoming a premium.

Small market teams have to keep a different mentality than their large market counterparts. The Kansas City Royals will always operate differently than the New York Yankees; building a team through the draft and using their better players as trade chips rather than sign the big-name players available through free agency.

But while that fact will probably never change, there is a new, alarming trend in baseball which could prove damaging to the game itself.

More and more, teams are signing players to huge contracts that lock their payroll into a single player, thereby preventing them from growing in constructive ways.

There have always been teams like the Yankees (I hate to use them as the example, but they’re the best one), who swoop in a sign players to contracts no other team can match.

In 2008, the Yankees signed first baseman Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, $180 million contract. They basically came in at the last moment and bidding against themselves, over paid Teixeira by untold millions.

While it yielded them a World Series Championship, it’s hard to justify Tex’s contract. Most recently, free agent outfielder Jayson Werth signed a seven-year, $125 million contract with the Washington Nationals.

The signing raised eyebrows across the baseball world and many general managers have called the deal “irresponsible.”

Though the owner of the Nationals, Ted Lerner, is one of the richest team owners in baseball, the Naitonals are still a small market team.

Despite fielding a sub-.500 team every season, Nationals fans can look forward to No.1 draft picks every season (Bryce Harper and Stephen Strausberg for example), but having such a huge contract invested in Werth could make it impossible to sign these draft picks to acceptable contracts down the road.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, already under contract through 2013, just signed a 10-year, $157 million contract. Tulo is coming off a huge season (.315/27/95), but the contract will take him through age 35 and he has had issues with injury in every season. Since his first full season in 2007, Tulowitzki hasn’t started more than 155 games, and missed 40 games with a broken wrist last season.

With ace Ubaldo Jimenez and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez needing new contracts soon, how much money will the Rockies have to pay them? If it costs them two players to pay Tulowitzki, it wasn’t worth it.

National’s GM Mike Rizzo justified the Werth contract by saying that, in order to lure the big name players to small market teams, sometimes it’s necessary to overpay. In other words, why would a player chose a team less likely to win consistently than a team that is always in contention if not for the money?

A fair point. But such contracts can only hurt in the long run by destroying payroll flexibility. What’s the point if Jayson Werth will be the best player on the team for his entire seven-year contract? Do the Nationals expect to win anything in the next seven years?

Yes, seven years is a very long time, but how many losing seasons have the Pittsburgh Pirates had to endure?

18 if you really don’t know.

People who disagree with me might point out Alex Rodriguez‘s contract (10-year, $275 million signed in 2007) as a long term deal which is beneficial to both sides. A-Rod gets his millions while the Yankees get one of the best offensive players into the middle of the lineup. All true. But can you really say A-Rod is not overpaid, no matter what kind of stats he puts up?

Angels fans are worried now that the Werth contract will price them out of the running for Carl Crawford. They’re worried that if a player like Werth can get seven years and $125 million, how much will a better overall player like Crawford want.

That is the perfect example of the consequences of these big deals. The Angles are the best fit for Crawford, but will they have to go to eight, even nine years and $130-150 million to sign him? Maybe.

Paying players huge, payroll eclipsing salaries isn’t anything new of course, but are we going to see more seven, eight, nine and ten year contracts from small market teams desperate to attract the big players?

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The dominoes are starting to fall. Jayson Werth has signed a surprisingly large contract with the Washington Nationals (seven years, $126 million) leaving outfielder Carl Crawford as the number one prize on the free agent market. Crawford and his agent were already looking for a contract in the $100 million dollar range, but if Werth going to average $18 million a season what can Crawford now command?

While the Angels certainly do need to get younger and more athletic in the outfield I believe their more pressing need is fortifying the infield. It’s no secret third base was an offensive black hole for the 2010 Angels. With the free agent loss of Chone Figgins and the development failure of Brandon Wood the Halos were forced to go without a regular starter most of the season.

This is why the Angels must put Adrian Beltre at the top of their free agent shopping list.

Article continues here at LA Angels Insider.com

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Eric Denton is the head writer and content editor at LA Angels Insider.com. Angels coverage from the locker room to the press box to the front office and everywhere in between. Featuring interviews with the players and coaches making headlines for the Angels.

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The 2010 MLB Winter Meetings kicked off with a bang this week when the Washington Nationals signed outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126-million deal—and ignited the baseball world in the process.

One baseball writer called the signing “irresponsible.” A general manager reportedly nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the terms of the deal.

The problem teams have is that, while no one seems particularly miffed that Werth is off the market, his new contract will set the tone for these meetings despite the fact that it was so far above what other teams would have offered.

Werth’s old team, the Philadelphia Phillies, for instance, came to him with only a three-year, $48 million offer, hoping to avoid a guaranteed fourth year.

Seems reasonable enough, right? The 31-year-old won’t likely be as productive after three or four more years, anyway. The Phillies were playing it smart, bunting the runner into scoring position instead of swinging for the fences.

But in the back-alley sandlot of contract offers, the Nationals just broke a window with their home run cut. Now every other team in the league is in trouble.

That includes, perhaps especially so, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Think Alex Rodriguez‘s 10-year, $250 million contract in Texas. The Rangers were crippled under the weight of an outlandish deal that wasn’t even in the same ballpark as A-Rod’s other offers.

Case in point, it took nearly the life of the contract just to repair the damage and make Texas competitive again.

Still, despite its devastating effects, that one contract has colored every serious contract negotiation since. Suddenly guys are asking for—nay, demanding—eight, nine, even 10 years guaranteed.

Guys like Carl Crawford.

Crawford is twice the player Werth is. He covers more ground in the field, he’s far more dangerous on the basepaths, and he’s been a more consistent producer at the plate.

Sure there’s a little gap in power, but factor in everything else he brings to a club and there is no reason Crawford won’t expect to top Werth in money and years. A 10-year, $190-million contract suddenly seems pretty reasonable, even in today’s economy.

The Angels, meanwhile, were hoping to nab the Gold Glover and perennial All-Star with an offer of five years, six at the most, with a higher per-year salary to compensate.

That deal looks pedestrian now.

What’s more, Werth’s contract isn’t the only thing the Angels have to compete against.

Boston seemed like the ideal destination for Werth a week ago. His big bat from the right side of the plate would have been a natural fit in the hitter-friendly confines of Fenway Park. The short porch with the tall fence in left field also means Werth wouldn’t have to cover as much ground as he gets older and his speed diminishes.

All of that is out the window now, and despite the Red Sox acquiring another big-time slugger in Adrian Gonzalez, they’ll still want an impact player for left field.

They were already rumored to be the Angels’ main competition for Crawford’s services. Now they might be the front-runners.

For their part, the Angels have promised to do what it takes to make the club competitive again. But verbal guarantees mean nothing if they’re not backed by cash, and Boston’s wallet is historically fatter.

Crawford could still end up in Anaheim, where his speed and glove are so desperately needed, but only if he truly wants to be an Angel and is therefore willing to take a slightly less lucrative deal. And, more importantly, if the rest of the league bands together to ensure monstrous contracts like Werth’s don’t become the norm again.

Those are very big ifs, though, and the Angels can’t afford to bank on the league manning up and Crawford showing a softer side.

Owner Arte Moreno and general manager Tony Reagins certainly have their work cut out for them at this week’s Winter Meetings.

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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim enter this holiday season with a rather sizable wish list. Now they might be able to check off three items with one deft move.

On Thursday, left-handed relief pitcher Hisanori Takahashi agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the Halos. It was not the high-profile signing many are expecting, and media coverage of the deal is all but non-existent.

But make no mistake, this is as meaningful a signing in the short term as any deal the Angels will make this offseason.

Takashi is as versatile a reliever as they come, having shown the ability to start, fill the setup role and even close games when necessary. And all for less money than it took to lock up the limited and inconsistent Fernando Rodney.

A longtime veteran of the Japanese league, Takahashi made his major league debut last year with the New York Mets at the tender age of 35. He posted a rather average 4-4 record in 12 appearances as a starter with a below-average 5.01 ERA. Where he did his real damage was out of the bullpen.

In 57 1/3 innings of relief, he dominated to the tune of a 2.04 ERA. The Mets were so impressed with his work, they even used him as a closer when former Angel Francisco Rodriguez was injured. He converted all eight of his save opportunities.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins should be arrested for stealing this guy off the market.

Takahashi, first and foremost, fills the the left-handed void in the bullpen in Anaheim. His 0.59 ERA against lefties last season is a more-than-welcome sight to the Angels’ beleaguered relief corps, and his experience both here and abroad should rub off on young guys like Jordan Walden and Kevin Jepsen.

But the Angels also have questions at both the closer and No. 5 starter slots. Or at least, they had questions.

After the departure of closer Brian Fuentes, the previous token lefty reliever, setup man Fernando Rodney struggled mightily to find saves and now seems to have fallen out of favor with the coaching staff.

Walden and Jepsen could be the heirs apparent to anchor the back end of the ‘pen, but both lack the experience and neither has shown enough consistency to be handed a closer or setup role outright.

Takahashi, meanwhile, thrived in both roles last season, making him the ideal candidate to step up if the Angels fail to sign a closer or if his new teammates falter.

On the other hand, if the Angels do manage to find a new closer or the youngsters prove trustworthy in the late innings, his experience starting games means he can comfortably take over as the long-reliever and spot-starter.

That kind of protection alone makes this deal worthwhile.

As much as the Angels don’t like to admit it publicly, they know Scott Kazmir was a serious liability in an otherwise formidable starting rotation last season.

Whether it was the arm strain he suffered early on or a simple lack of confidence, he rarely made it through six innings successfully and was frequently hit hard early in games.

His history as a strikeout king and former ace has kept him in the rotation for now, and there is still some hope for a rebound in 2011. But if Kazmir can’t return to his old form quickly, he’ll find himself the new lefty specialist in the bullpen while Takahashi takes over every fifth day.

Most importantly, however, the acquisition of Takahashi provides strong support to what Angels owner Arte Moreno said when his team entered the offseason earlier than expected: he will do what is necessary to make this a winning club again.

Their first losing season in seven years left a bitter taste in a lot of mouths, but none more than Moreno, and he’s not afraid to do something about it.

The Angels needed a lefty reliever. They got it.

The Angels needed options at the closer and starter position. They got it.

Next on the list, the Angels need speed in the outfield and power at third base. They will get those too.

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In 2002, the Anaheim Angels won a thrilling seven-game series against the San Francisco Giants to capture their first World Series Championship.

In 2010, the Giants beat the Angels. No, not in the World Series, but rather back to it. In doing so, they also won a championship for the first time since moving out of New York.

Meanwhile, the now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim finished the season with their first losing record in nearly a decade. Now they face a tumultuous offseason with plenty of work ahead of them.

General Manager Tony Reagins will have his hands and phone lines full trying to plug the holes of a ship on the verge of sinking into a sea of mediocrity. Most notably, he’ll be looking to patch up the leaks at closer, corner outfielder, and possibly third base.

Former Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Carl Crawford is rumored to be the favorite target of the Angels, though management has remained typically silent about any names floating around. And that’s fine, Crawford is a terrific player with game-changing speed, a great glove in the field, and a little pop in his bat.

But just because the Angels hail from Southern California doesn’t mean they should become starstruck with every big name that could potentially fill a need. Sometimes the lesser known players tossed in the bargain bin are really just struggling artists waiting for their big break.

Just look at the World Series champs.

The Giants managed to overcome giant opponents in both leagues, and with no true superstars in the lineup–save for a certain mop-topped pitcher.

Tim Lincecum mans a very important position, but only works once every five days. It was the rag-tag assembly of position players who shouldered the load and propelled their team to a championship.

Aubrey Huff suddenly lead the Giants in home runs and RBI. Juan Uribe was somehow sensational in place of Pablo Sandoval. Buster Posey didn’t even make the big club out of Spring Training.

At the trade deadline they failed to land a slugger like Dan Uggla, instead opting for aging veterans like Jose Guillen and Pat Burrell who couldn’t be traded away fast enough by their respective teams.

Not to mention, the transformation of Cody Ross from a no-name bench warmer for the Florida Marlins to a playoff monster and NLCS MVP.

Like the ’02 Angels who bested them before, the ’10 Giants put together a group of solid role-players with a little experience and a scrappy determination to never give up.

Now it’s the Angels’ turn to replace the halo that once donned that World Series trophy, and they don’t need Cliff Lee or Adrian Beltre to do it.

What about Pedro Feliciano? What about Uribe? What about players who don’t cost an arm and a draft pick to sign?

Don’t get me wrong, Crawford is on my wish list this holiday season, but his inclusion is unique. I’d also love Rafael Soriano and a 50-inch flat screen too, but it doesn’t mean I need them.

We’re in a recession, after all. The Angels should be looking at getting the best value for their money.

Throwing an exorbitant contract at an inconsistent run-producer like Beltre while surrendering two top-flight draft picks on both Crawford and Soriano is not smart holiday shopping.

Instead, let’s shop around a little and find those deals that richer consumers like the Yankees pass up and poorer souls like the Royals only dream about.

The Angels’ path to the promised land once ran through the Giants. Now, it runs parallel.  

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