Kuzul

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Intense. Driven. Competitor. Tough. Gritty. Clutch. Leader. Intelligent. World Champion.

These are all words that immediately come to mind when Angels fans think of Darin Erstad, but seem far removed from the vocabulary one would use to describe the current Angels club.

This young Angels team seems long on talent and short on competitive will.

Are the 2010 Angels less talented than the 2002 roster that won it all, or did Erstad and company simply want it more?

Angels fans have been hearing about the “upside” of their young talent for years. As many of these prospects have now made it to the majors and are rapidly approaching the age of 28, many have stopped thinking about upside and are now simply asking the question, “What is up?”

When is Howie Kendrick, 27, going to turn from a very average second baseman into the batting champion he was touted as being?

Will Kevin Jepsen, 26, ever mature into a dominant reliever, or is he the West Coast washout equivalent of Joba Chamberlain?

When is Erick Aybar, 26, going to develop into the leadoff hitter that everyone thought he would be?

Will Jeff Mathis, 27, ever be able to play well for longer than two weeks at a time?

When will this team start doing the little things championship teams need to do to win?

I don’t think there is anyone in the Angels lineup this season that would allow themselves to be hit by pitches 27 times like the 5-foot, 7-inch David Eckstein did in 2002. In fact, their entire team has been hit a grand total of 35 times.

The 2010-version of the Halos clearly lack focus and the hunger to win. So why not bring back the most focused, competitive and intense Angel of all time to help motivate them?

Erstad brought the football mentality he acquired while playing as a kicker for the University of Nebraska to the diamond every day. Even when he wasn’t hitting well, his very presence was invaluable to the Angels.

Erstad wasn’t interested in chatting it up with his opponent when they were standing on first base. He was too busy thinking up ways to destroy them.

How many times do the current Angels coaches have to watch Bobby Abreu stand on second base giggling with the shortstop—only to get picked off?

There is a fine line between being loose and just not caring, and the Angels have crossed it. Their coaching staff should be calling them out on it—veterans or not.

Today, Erstad is filling in as an assistant baseball coach for his alma mater, but it’s hard to believe he would turn down a chance to return to the majors—especially with the team where he had his finest years.

Although he never officially retired as a player from baseball, Erstad decided this winter he would rather spend time with his family than be relegated to a bench player role in the National League. He told the Orange Country Register he would have a tough time justifying being away from his family for eight days in a row for the sake of three at-bats per week.

Angels fans would not expect any less of a statement from a man of Erstad’s character. However, a man as competitive as Erstad can only stay static for so long before he needs another competitive challenge.

Challenging would be a great word to describe the job Erstad would have in front of him if he were offered a chance to help his old team as a coach.

Tweakers who have blown up their apartments cooking meth under their sink think the Angels have bad chemistry.

The Angels can have all the closed-door meetings they want for the rest of the summer, but clearly whatever is being said is falling on deaf ears. Manager Mike Scioscia’s riff might be wearing thin and new motivational voices may need to be heard.

In particular, Erstad would be an excellent candidate to replace Dino Ebel as the third base coach. Maybe Erstad, a former Gold Glove first baseman and great base runner in his own right, might be able to clue the young guys in on why it’s not a good idea to try to steal third with two outs or bunt with two strikes—looking at you, Erick Aybar.

One thing is certain. Erstad would be welcomed home with open arms by appreciative fans who remember how he sacrificed his body diving for balls and legging out singles on seemingly every play.

That mentality is contagious, and hopefully these Angels can catch it before they are permanently immune.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Like a kid finding socks beneath the brightly colored wrapping paper on Christmas morning, Angels fans once again felt short-changed on Saturday after baseball’s trade deadline passed.

Since 2005, it seems Los Angeles has been in the market for another big bat to bolster their lineup. Only once did they succeed.

In 2008, Tony Reagins made a splash in his first year as general manager when he landed the highly prized Mark Teixeira for first baseman Casey Kotchman and a minor league pitcher.

The move was seen as a bold step, not to make the playoffs, but to get deeper into them.

At the time of the acquisition, the Angels were already 10 games up in the AL West.

This year, they are eight games back of the Texas Rangers, perhaps the reason for their unwillingness to do what it takes to bring another Teixeira into the mix.

Because, although Tex himself was not on the block this year, there was certainly no shortage power-hitting, game-changing names out there, ripe for the plucking.

Before we examine the trades this team could have or should have made, it must be said that one guy is not all that’s missing from the Angels’ lineup.

Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, Juan Rivera, and Jeff Mathis all have to step up at the plate before the Angels can hope to make the playoffs.

Still, the threat of a little pop in the batting order couldn’t hurt.

It also should be noted that Reagins did come through with a big trade before the deadline, swapping Joe Saunders for Dan Haren. He’s a tremendous addition to the rotation and has a career batting average over .300.

Too bad pitchers in the American League don’t hit.

With that, I give you the top five trades the Angels failed to make at the 2010 MLB trade deadline.

Begin Slideshow

The Texas Rangers are going to the playoffs, and it is clear they are not going to be happy with just “being there.”

Texas’ nine-game lead in the AL West appears to be safe as the fledgling Angels search in vain for answers.

With the addition of Cliff Lee, most of baseball realizes the Rangers will be able to hang with any team in the playoffs, but Texas is clearly not interested in just “hanging.” They are out to win their first world championship.

This is what going for it looks like, Angels fans.

Not satisfied with winning the biggest pitching prize at the trade deadline, Texas has kept busy acquiring key playoff pieces like Bengie Molina—a World Series champion catcher and clutch veteran leader.

Still not done, the Rangers acquired Jorge Cantu and his 54 RBI to help out at first base.

Their All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler goes on the disabled list, and boom! The Rangers waste no time in picking up two-time All-Star middle infielder Christian Guzman today to fill in.

So now they’re done, right?

Wrong.

Today, the Rangers offered the Florida Marlins their top three prospects for pitching ace Josh Johnson and are still reportedly in the running for Adam Dunn.

Clearly Texas is making moves they feel they need to make in order to compete with the New York Yankees—not the Angels.

Granted, these players are no Alberto Callaspo, but something tells me baseball fans in the Lone Star State are willing to live with that.

Obviously, the Dan Haren move was nice for the Angels, but once again, it is too little, too late at the trade deadline.

It’s a good thing the Angels did not make any short-term moves to try to save this season because it wouldn’t have done any good. They would have hurt themselves long-term in the process.

In fact, Angels fans should be sending thank you cards to Derreck Lee right now for saving Angels GM Tony Reagins from himself.

However, it makes one wonder what the Angels could have done if they would have traded their prospects to supplement the key pieces they already had in place a few years ago—pieces that are now scattered across the baseball landscape.

Texas is doing what most Angels fans were screaming at the top of their lungs for then-Angels GM Bill Stoneman to do.

Stoneman balked at the idea—touting virtually every Angel prospect as an un-tradeable future Hall of Famer.

So, instead of having Alex Rodriguez and possibly a few more rings, the Angels instead retained the services of their “future Hall of Famers” Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, and Erick Aybar.

They also refused to trade baseball greats Casey Kotchman, Dallas McPherson, Joe Saunders and Kevin Jepsen.

When they finally did part with a few of these individuals, some acted as if they had parted with Mickey Mantle.

Ask yourself this, Angels fans. Is there any talent in that group of eight that you couldn’t acquire on any given year in free agency at a very reasonable price?

Then ask yourself, how often do you get the chance to make a trade for Babe Ruth? Because that is exactly who you passed on, Stoneman.

Texas understands that concept, despite having one of the top-ranked farm systems in baseball.

The Angels should have understood that, but they were too preoccupied falling in love with the fantasy of an impending dynasty that never materialized.

Instead, the Angels became to this decade what the Atlanta Braves were to the last—a very good team that never took the next step to greatness.

Now the Angels find themselves in a quagmire of underachieving, untradeable disappointments. They will now have to buy themselves out of this situation through free agent purchases during the offseason.

Not only have their prospects underperformed, they have managed to turn a team on the verge of greatness into nothing more than a .500 ball club.

As of now, and hopefully before the trade deadline, Reagins should consider nobody un-tradeable.

In the meantime, Angels fans will be gazing enviously toward Texas to see if their gamble pays off. If it does, Angels fans will continue to wonder about what might have been.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With Texas Rangers’ pitcher Rich Harden impressing in his last rehab start on Monday (10 K’s over six innings) in Triple-A, it has been speculated that Harden will take the struggling Scott Feldman’s spot in the rotation. It’s quite possible that Harden could start as early as this weekend for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I think the Rangers are making a mistake. I think the Rangers should use Harden out of the bullpen upon his return. Here are the reasons for my thinking.

1. The Rangers don’t need Harden in the rotation. If and when the Rangers make the playoffs, in a five or seven game series they will most likely have the following rotation:

• Cliff Lee

• CJ Wilson

• Tommy Hunter

• Colby Lewis

There is no room for a No. 5 starter in the playoffs.

Why not work Harden into a seventh inning guy, who can come into a game and blow hitters away now instead of in late-September? Feldman has no purpose on this team, so why not use him as the No. 5 starter to finish out the season. There’s a good chance Feldman won’t even make the post-season roster.

Harden on the other hand, has value coming out of the pen. October is all about power arms and Harden can be that power arm out of the pen in the sixth or seventh inning. That is not possible for Feldman.

2. Harden’s days as a starter are over.

Let’s face reality: The days of Harden being a dominant starter are over. He can’t go deep into games (not that he ever did) and his stuff isn’t as sharp as it was even two years ago.

Harden at this point in his career is a pitcher that may give a team five innings, strike out five or six, walk three or four, and give up three or four runs.

I think without having to pace himself, Harden would fare much better out of the pen.

Of course, there are some negatives to this move as well.

1. Can his shoulder hold up pitching without a set schedule? It might be easier for Harden’s shoulder knowing that it’s going to pitch every fifth day rather than every other day.

If you listen to a lot of doctors, they will say it’s better for a pitcher to throw 100 pitches on one day with a set schedule than throwing 100 pitches over the course of 10 days with no schedule.

2. Harden would have to start the inning he comes in. In order to use Harden in relief, the Rangers would have to allow him to warm up at his own pace. With his achy shoulder, I doubt Harden could warm up in five minutes and then come into the game throwing beebe’s.

Looking at the positives and negatives of a Harden move to the bullpen, I think the positives outweigh the negatives and Harden would have the most value to the Rangers out of the bullpen.

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

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

July is an early month to give up on a team like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Tuesday night’s lackluster performance may have been the final nail in this season’s coffin.

The Angels scored just two runs against John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox, the second consecutive game they failed to score less than three.

In fact, in July alone, the Angels have scored four runs or more only eight times in 23 contests, contributing to a miserable 8-15 record this month and an 8½ game deficit in the AL West.

Prior to that, the Angels had averaged close to six runs per game in the month of June and remained competitive after a slow start to the season. But after all the hard work it took to claw their way back to respectability, they now stand just one game over .500.

Now, every team goes through its peaks and valleys in a given season. It’s difficult for any player or squad to maintain a consistently high level of play over the course of 162 games.

But unfortunately, the Angels have timed their downfall rather poorly.

While they suffer in the midst of a prolonged slump made of spotty pitching, sluggish defense, and inconsistent offense, the division-leading Texas Rangers continue to surge forward, putting miles of ground between themselves and their divisional rivals.

What’s more, the inverse paths of these two teams have given the Angels a problem no outside force can solve.

Where once it looked like the addition of another heavy hitter in the lineup would make the Angels contenders again, it now looks like they are too far back for any bat acquired in a trade to make a significant impact.

This is because the problem is not the lack of one guy, but rather the missing production of several.

Despite Bobby Abreu’s two home runs against the Red Sox this week, he is still batting .210 in July and has only five RBI in his last 10 games.

Hideki Matsui’s magical playoff run for the New York Yankees last season that culminated in a World Series MVP may have been the last violent flicker of a candle that’s all but burned out. His .253 average is not what the Angels had in mind with they gave him a one-year deal this offseason.

Juan Rivera is starting to emerge from his season-long slump and heat up here in the second half, as is his MO. Still, he is far from the consistent power threat this team needs him to be.

In the infield, Alberto Callaspo has yet to adjust to his new old surroundings, while Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar are swinging well below their capabilities.

As a whole, the Angels struggle like mad to find hits with men in scoring position, produce extra-base hits, get runners in motion with stolen bases and hit-and-run plays, or show any confidence whatsoever at the plate when trailing late in games.

Only Torii Hunter continues to be a reliable source of offense, and even he is starting to show signs of frustration at the plate, arguing with umps as he watches called strike threes go by.

Surely, his knees are buckling under the full weight of the team he carries on his back.

Meanwhile, Manager Mike Scioscia stubbornly clings to the notion that the run-on-contact play—where the runner on third with less than two outs breaks for the plate when the batter makes contact with the ball—is still a good idea with the infield pulled in.

Ridiculous. Because if the ball gets through the defense for a base hit, the runner can practically walk home. But if the ball is hit at an infielder, the runner is a dead duck at the plate, just as Rivera was on Tuesday.

And now it seems the Angels’ disturbing lack of offense is finally starting to affect their defense. There is simply no other excuse for talented veterans and brilliant youngsters to play as poorly as this.

Abreu and Rivera, age aside, have no business stumbling around the outfield like rookies playing out of position. The infielders aren’t immune either, making spectacular grabs but still faltering where teamwork is involved.

Even Kendrick, who has improved his defense by leaps and bounds at second base, still manages to commit mental errors like the one on Tuesday, when he threw a ball to no one in particular and resulted in a run for Boston.

These kinds of weak errors, this frightened and anemic offense, not to mention the unaccountable bullpen—they aren’t just costing the Angels games, they’re costing the season.

And they’re not the kind of issues that a Ty Wigginton, a Jorge Cantu, or even an Adam Dunn can help this team address.

At this point, the Angels are a sinking ship and one more bucket, no matter the size, just isn’t going to do much to bail them out.

General Manager Tony Reagins has already pulled off his annual big-time trade and he may well have a few more calls to make before Saturday’s trade deadline.

But if he hopes to save his team from the nightmare of a lost season in July, the call must come from inside the house.

Scioscia lit a fire under his team last season when the Angels were scuffling at the .500 mark in mid-June, threatening to send each and every man down to the minors if something didn’t change.

The Angels finished the season with 97 wins and a franchise record for runs scored.

This year, the motivation might be too little too late, but it must come all the same.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After a roller coaster of rumors flying around, the Angels swooped in to bring in starting pitcher Dan Haren. The deal was likely an answer to the division rival Rangers’ deal for Cliff Lee, but the Angels also brought in one of the most accomplished pitchers in Major League Baseball.

Haren, 29, is coming off one of the best seasons in his career, in which he had a WAR of 6.0 (almost MVP worthy) and was fifth in Cy Young voting. He led the league in WHIP and SO/BB.

Overall, a team that gets Haren is looking at the following: he strikes out a lot of batters, walks virtually none, is extremely durable and gives up a lot of hits. How do those things mesh together? It’s hard to tell; like any pitcher pitching on a bad team, you can never really uncover how he influences the outcome of the game.

Haren is a very good pitcher, but he has had limited time in a competitive city like Anaheim. Besides 2004 and 2006, Haren has not only not pitched in the playoffs, but has been on a team that was out of the race for the majority of the season. Anaheim is looking to take over the A.L. West and win a World Series. Can Haren take that?

One of the most popular excuses for Haren — if he needs one — is that he is surrounded by a lot of bad luck. Not only is that false, but he has actually had a lot of good luck. He has won three games in which he pitched less than six innings and gave up more than three runs, tying him for third most in the Majors. Conversely, he has only lost two games in which he pitched a quality start, the same as Freddy Garcia of the first place White Sox.

Pitching on a bad team has not effected Haren’s results at all. In fact, he has seen a lot of good luck. Although he has great numbers, it is questionable how he has affected his team, and how his team has affected him. This year, his team has a .381 winning percentage in games he started, only .003 points higher than the teams’ overall percentage. If Haren is such a good pitcher and luck hasn’t hurt his results, why isn’t the team better in games he starts?

It can all be attributed to the fact that Haren is not a game-changer. Even when he was fifth in Cy Young voting last year, his WPA (win probability added) was only 2.8 (28th in the Majors), and this year it is only 0.2.

I mentioned earlier that Haren is not used to pitching on contending teams, and thus does not usually pitch under pressure. After all, his average leverage index this year is the 61st lowest in the Majors. However, when he does pitch under pressure, he usually doesn’t shine. His clutch stat (a stat that measures how well a pitcher performs in high leverage situations) is 35th in the Majors. Not too bad, but also not remotely representative of some of the raw strikeout and walk numbers he puts up.

Haren has been one of the best pitchers in the game for the last couple of years. But it is difficult to pinpoint how much pitching on a low-stress, non-contending team has affected his results. The Angels need Haren to be a game-changer if they want to make the playoffs. And at this point, his ability to do that is unknown.

You can e-mail me at  jess@jesskcoleman.com   or follow me on Twitter @jesskcoleman .

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Over the past week, the prospect of the Arizona Diamondbacks trading staff ace Dan Haren went from being highly unlikely to becoming imminent. A good indication of the likelihood of a trade occurred from a rather unconventional source.

As I entered the Team Shops in Chase Field, several employees welcomed me with news of a new sale they were having. For the remainder of this home stand, the Team Shop was offering anyone who purchased either a Dan Haren or Brandon Webb jersey and a T-Shirt with either of these two players’ names imprinted on them would receive a game-used baseball bat from Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, or all-star Chris Young.

Clearly the team shop was sitting on a lot of inventory of merchandise for these two players that would have to be substantially marked down if either of these players were traded. Given that Webb is still on the disabled list, it seemed likely that Haren would be traded relatively soon.

At the conclusion of the game against the San Francisco Giants, the Diamondbacks announced they had reached a deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that sends Dan Haren to Anaheim in exchange for three pitchers and the proverbial “player to be named later”.

The known names in this trade are left-handed starter Joe Saunders along with minor league reliever Rafael Rodriguez and starter Patrick Corbin. The rumor mill has identified the player to be named later will be Tyler Skaggs.

Skaggs who is currently playing for the Cedar Rapids Kernals of the Midwestern League is not eligible to be traded until August 7, since he has not yet been under contract for the necessary one year.

Saunders gives the Diamondbacks a left-handed starter who will take Haren’s place in the Diamondbacks starting rotation for the remainder of the season.

Rodriguez, a right-handed reliever in the Angels organization is currently with the Salt Lake Buzz and will likely be sent to Triple-A Reno for the remainder of the minor league season. Chances are, he will be among the September call-ups for Arizona.

The two most important pieces of this trade are probably Corbin and Skaggs, both of whom were identified among the top prospects for the Angels farm system. Corbin projects into a number two or three starter at the Major League Level, as does Skaggs.

This sets the Diamondbacks up with the bridge between the major leagues and minor leagues that interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto described during the Season Ticket Holder town hall meeting.

It gives the Diamondbacks some payroll relief and sets them up to begin building the next wave of pitchers to come through the farm system. Initial assessments by media outlets suggest Los Angeles got the better end of this deal.

From a short-term perspective, it would tend to favor the Angels. Should Corbin and Skaggs develop into the players they are capable of becoming, this trade may favor Arizona in the long run.

Of course a lot could change in that time, so it’s anyone’s guess. Does this trade signal the end to any deals the Diamondbacks might make? That is doubtful. There are other pieces of the current roster that should interest teams making a play-off run, so this is most likely just the first of many changes the Diamondbacks will make before the end of this season and next.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Despite being seven games behind the first place Texas Rangers in the American League West, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are not going down without a fight. Earlier in the week, they acquired Alberto Callaspo from the Kansas City Royals and now they have perhaps acquired the best pitcher left on the trade market.

The Angels have acquired RHP Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for LHP Joe Saunders and minor leaguers Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs.

When I first saw this trade I thought two things: First, the Angels came out of nowhere on this one and 2. I had the same reaction that George’s girlfriend had when he came out of the pool in the Hamptons. There had to be more.

Unfortunately, for the Diamondbacks there wasn’t anymore to this trade. What a steal for the Angels. Maybe the Diamondbacks had better offers, maybe they didn’t. But it looks like the Diamondbacks didn’t get nearly enough for a pitcher who is signed for another two seasons after 2010 and has a club option for 2013.

Here is a breakdown of the trade…

What the Angels get

When you looked at the Angels starting rotation prior to this trade, outside of Jered Weaver it was very mediocre. Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Joel Piniero are nice pitchers, but they are all No. 3 or 4 starters on a World Series caliber ball club.

Now with Haren and Weaver at the top of the Angels rotation, Anaheim has a one-two punch just as good as any team in the American League. Haren is a legit No.1 starter and will be for the Angels for the next two and maybe three years.

Haren is signed through the next two years at a very reasonable $12.75 million. He has a club option for 2013 for $15.5 million with a $3.5 million buyout.

Now some will point to Haren’s 7-8 record with a 4.60 ERA this season and at the age of 29, think he is on the decline. Well, he is not.

His 9.00 K/9 and 40.8 percent groundball rate in 2010 are the best of his career and he hasn’t lost anything on his fastball (velocity on his fastball is where it was last season). I would say Haren’s season can attributed to him pitching on a terrible team.

I expect with a trade to Anaheim, Haren will get a shot of adrenaline and pitch very well.

What the Diamondbacks get

Joe Saunders is your classic left-handed finesse pitcher. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and is at best a No. 3 or 4 starter on a good team.

When the Angels had to start Saunders in Game 6 of the ALCS last season against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, I knew the Angels had no shot. There was no way Saunders was walking into Yankee Stadium and winning that game.

Saunders was 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA for the Angels this season. His 38.4 flyball percentage was the highest of Saunders’ career. I am not sure how that is going to fare in hitter’s ballpark in Arizona.

The Diamondbacks will have Saunders under team control through 2011. My guess is the Diamondbacks will try to re-establish his value and then trade him again at some point. I can’t see him being in their long-term plans.

Patrick Corbin is a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher who is currently 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA for High Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He has made 11 starts this year and his 9.5 K/9 is the highest of his minor league career so far.

Rafael Rodriguez has been up with the Angels twice over the last two years and things didn’t fare so well for the 25-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. In 32.2 IP, Rodriguez has given up 48 hits, 11 walks and only has struck out 11.

He has a 3.04 ERA in 50.1 relief innings this season for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Tyler Skaggs was the No. 8 ranked prospect in the Angels’ organization prior to the season according to Baseball America. He has impressed this season in Single-A going 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA 9.0 K’s/9.

The Diamondbacks had the trade chip of all trade chips at the deadline — an ace pitcher, who has a reasonable contract for the next two years and didn’t get nearly enough in return.

Good trade for the Angels.

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

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The trade deadline has finally arrived and the rumors are swirling everywhere. Dan Haren landed with the Angels on Sunday, but the main prize is still there for the taking.

Roy Oswalt has been discussed by just about every contending team. The three leaders look to be Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the Dodgers.

Plenty of other players will be on the move. The Tigers will need to make multiple trades to supplement all of their recent injuries.

The Padres need to add a bat to their glaring weakness (offense). Having a slugger like Adam Dunn would do wonders for the White Sox offense.

Yet this is also a time for teams 21-30 to rebuild their respective franchises. Plenty of superstars started off as just another prospect in a trade. This is a big week for every team in baseball…enjoy!

Begin Slideshow