Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Don't Blame Stoneman

A lot of Angels fans are griping over the fact that Bill Stoneman didn't pull the trigger and make a boffo deal before the non-waiver deadline. But I think he's getting a bad rap. The Angels really don't have much wiggle room. Their pitching staff is among the best in AL, and Stoneman doesn't want to give any starter away, especially given the parlous nature of Colon's arm.

Stoneman and Arte Moreno are absolutely correct about holding on to their minor league prospects - they've got some of the highest-rated players in the country just bubbling under the Bigs. So, what to do? As it stands now, I think they have a solid shot to win the division, but a very distant shot at anything beyond that. For now, I guess I'm OK with that; they can maneuver in the off-season, tweak the offense, and come back strong in '07. For the time being, we must pray that:

Juan Rivera continues to play like Stan Musial
Garret Anderson can somehow play at something like 60 percent capacity
Vlad has a monster second half
The middle relief figures out how to get outs

Play on, friends, play on...

1 comment:

Joyce said...

I love you not for who you are, but for who I am before you.

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