Dear Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,

Congratulations on getting Pujols and C.J. Wilson while in Texas. You'll get a good four years out of Wilson, but I think you'll only going to get 2½ from Albert. But it's a good move. You're fifth fiddle in a town that was too fixated on Chris Paul III not going to the Lakers, and even the Dodgers debacle had more eyes than you. But more importantly, you were, what third in your division? You need to make a move, and you did so without trading players.

However, there is a lot that could go wrong with your deals. Pujols is old and while he did have some impact in the Cardinals' playoff run, one could argue that it was a sign that Pujols was closer to the end than the beginning. Wilson is also an older pitcher, and while he's only had two full seasons as a starter, the odometer has ticked passed the 330 games played mark. You had better reach the World Series, that's all I am saying.

Otherwise, you wouldn't want to see another Texas v. St. Louis tilt again, right?

Dear St. Louis,

Don't get Fielder. He's just Pujols with only 5,000 less miles on him. Not worth your time. It's like selling a 1999 Firebird to acquire a 1999 Monte Carlo. You might as well go younger. You won't get to the World Series this year, and frankly you were lucky to just get into the dance to start off with. So consider not having to pay for an aging ballplayer (see: Jeter) a bonus.

Yours,


Ampersand, who wonders what will Texas do now to replace Wilson?

ampersand wrote:You need to make a move, and you did so without trading players.

The Angels have been trying to do this for several years now, but they keep getting outbid for the players they wanted. Pujols fell right into their lap (because they were the richest team with a hole at first base) and they had to pull the trigger.

By the way, while everybody wants to find a reason to hate this deal, remember that nobody was going to be able to sign Pujols for less than ten years. Long-term security was his goal in this offseason, and someone was going to pay it. Miami almost did it (and by the way, when the Marlins are broke in two years yet again, don't be surprised), St. Louis was going to do it, but then Los Anaheim upped the offer.

Big opportunity for the Angels to gain some real footing, what with the Dodgers' situation being what it is right now.

ampersand wrote:You'll get a good four years out of Wilson

No way. They'll be lucky to get two. C.J. Wilson has been a starter for less than two full seasons, and an effective starter for maybe one and a half. Looks vaguely John Lackey-ish to me. Mark Buehrle is the better pitcher on the market.

ampersand wrote:Dear St. Louis,

Don't get Fielder.

Fielder and Buehrle are the two most significant free agents remaining by far. There's going to be a bidding war for both of them. Count the Cardinals thoroughly out of that, because if they wanted to win a bidding war they just missed their opportunity. They let the biggest name their franchise has seen in some forty years walk away.

Whoops. Forgot Buehrle signed with the Marlins. Which reminds me...

-What's the deal with Miami? They've signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell--three of the top free agents this year. They also changed their uniforms from an inoffensive teal and black thing to a neon...something or other. (I guess people wouldn't know they were from Miami if they didn't dress like tourists on South Beach?) Why don't other cities ever think about doing what Pittsburgh does with their teams, where all three of the professional sports franchises in Pittsburgh wear the same colors? That works, so why is Pittsburgh the only city that does it?

-The Red Sox kept David Ortiz, which was really the only option in that situation. Can't let a guy like that leave. The franchise has made a lot of personnel decisions that led up to Ortiz being the big star. With their resources, Boston would have had no excuse for letting Ortiz leave.

-So let me get this straight: Terry Francona helps the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles after an 86 year drought. But because he lost the team--and to be fair, he did lose the team--in 2011, they fire him. Okay, still following through that part. But we're talking best manager in franchise history or very close to it, and to fill those shoes they interview a bunch of also-rans and hire Bobby Valentine? ...I guess it could have been worse. If they'd somehow landed La Russa and become the most boring team in baseball like all of La Russa's teams are, that would have been pretty miserable.

I'm surprised no one has picked up Prince Fielder yet.

Makes some sense. Usually if there are multiple big name free agents, one of them waits until well into January to sign. Now that Fielder waited for Pujols to sign, he knows exactly where he can set his price.