You know as I watched last nights Angels vs. Red Sox game it really sunk in. The A's are gonna live in the shadow of the Angels for a long time. Now don't get me wrong...I am an A's fan. But more importantly I am a baseball fan. And today you are getting a post from the baseball fan inside me.
I mean I just look at all the free agents that the Angels have signed to stay on top of the AL West.
Well let's start off with ummmm I don't know....Tori Hunter. Hitting a 3 run bomb to deeeep center field. Nice. Bobby Abreau. Another guy who brings it. I mean their 9th place batter is better than anybody in our whole lineup.
Now let's talk about our '09 free agent pick ups. Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabbrera.
What do they all have in common ? Yeah that's right they are in the playoffs. Good one Beane.
Oh and let's not forget to give Carlos Gonzales an honorable mention. He only went 3/5 with a double and a stolen base.
One more thing about that Angels game last night, if that were the A's and we were in Oakland the stadium would have been half filled with Red Sox Nation. Oh and I hate that expression, cause I'm also A Raiders fan and they stole that from us.
I mean the Angels fans werte loud and all you could see was Red. They are a first class organization....and quite frankly I'm jealous. That owner Artie Moreno is gonna clown us for years and years and years to come. Remember this is the baseball fan talking !!!!

Now this is the A's fan: Woo Hoo we are gonna win the world Series next year !...... yeah right !
Oh BTW I dare any "Baseball fan" to prove otherwise.

The Angels do it the right way. Their entire infield last night came out of their farm system. Lackey, Weaver, Santana and Saunders came out of their farm system. Kazmir, Izturus, Rivera acquired through trades. When they need a key free agent, they go after them, but mostly their farm system provides the nucleus of their strength. They put a winner on the field so they sell out games. Selling out games mean revenue and revenue means having the money to resign key players when they are eligible to become free agents.

That's true. And remember they prewtty much share that market with the Dodgers and the Padres. And then the part that just makes me crazy is that some of their star players were hurt at the begining of the year. But it's like it didnt even matter. All they had to do was kinda stay around .500 and when Vlad got back and Santana got back....they were all good. So They could start off the season with a 10 game lead on us and still win the division.
They remind me of that big brother that can always throw better than you, catch better than you, hit better than you. And theres nothing you can do about it.

Moreno wants to win, is a first class owner, and has no doubt changed the playing field in the AL West. In the last 7 years only 3 teams have drawn over 3 million attendance each year, the Yanks, Dodgers and Angels. Those 7 years Moreno really has connected with the
Halo fans and they have responded with their support. He is not afraid to spend money.

Youre right glusv ! The unfortunate part is with attendance comes money. And that same money buys free agents. And then they keep those free agents for many years. We have the exact opposite problem we can't afford our raised farm system players and we are getting free agents for a half of a season now. Just terrible....I don't even know why I do it anymore. oh but wait there is good news the Raiders have to go play the NY Giants this weekend......crud !

Of course those guys are in the playoffs, teams in contention trade for/sign veteran players down the stretch from teams not doing so well so why do you say good one beane? You cant say anything until you see how the A's prospects from those trades turn out. The A's wouldnt be in the playoffs if they kept those guys. Also Im watching the red sox/angels game right now and the stadium erupted when the red sox scored the so called "red sox nation" is not just at A's games. The Angels are a good team this year but the A's will be competitive again soon, the Angels arent some amazing organization if they were not good they would not have great attendance. They spend so much more money than the A's that you can only expect them to have a better team more consistently yet the A's usually are competitve. Go kiss the Angels A@@ on their board

No doubt! And what the Angels got to show for all those amazing moves Sacto speaks of? Two playoff wins. Wow. The A's have traveled deeper in the playoffs than the Halos. So...nope. Their fans are loud as a result of taking orders from a scoreboard. They wear red, Wow. As if that's hard? No. Heck, they've changed color schemes half a dozen times, and at one point included POWDER BLUE. Seriously? Yes. And puffy clouds of joy.

Not ONE team put in a bid on Abreu. Great move as it turns out, but not some amazing feat by their ownership group or GM. He was there, they threw him a contract. And if you're (Sacto) going to lament ex-A's being on playoff teams, do the same for the Halos losing Teixiera as he hits a walk-off HR tonight. But no, go the route of so many whining fans on this board. The A's at the very least have always stated they were going with a youth movement. Accurately they felt the Halos might not be as strong this yr and acquired some additional talent. And to acquire some talent, you at times have to give up some talent.

Bitter bitter bitter. You know nothing about Angel baseball and their fans. No credit for signing Abreu? Heck even the A's could have shelled out that kind of money. Losing Tex? They offered the guy 8 years at 20 million. As it turns out, not re-signing him was the best thing that could have happened. It allowed Kendry Morales to play and gave the Angels the extra money to resign Rivera, bring in Abreu and Fuentes. I'm glad the Angels are competittive every year rather than breaking the hearts of their fans by trading off talent to get younger talent and promises in the future. The future is now. Wake up fairmo!

To the guys who totally missed my post....I am talking about the Angels era since Artie Moreno took ownership for them !!!! They are gonna be the best in this division for a long time. How can we expect to compete with them. As it is now they are going to the ALCS. I think they have a legit shot against the Yankees.
Again you missed my point....I was speaking as a baseball fan. If you can't see all this that you guys are just live with Rose colored glasses on. Maybe when we are in last place at the end of next year and the Angels win again you will see what is going on here between the Angels and A's organizations. We are the joke of th league and i'm sick of it. We are the farm system of the entire MLB. BTW Say goodbye to Rajai Davis. Word is out....he is a good player. You think teams don't have their eye on him already. Oh well, i guess we will just roll over like a submissive dog and let the bully's take our lunch money....again.

Rajai Davis is under club control for four more years having just completed his 2nd year of major league service. Beane will not trade him this winter if only because Rajai is not eligible for arb until his 4th year. Now, if Davis elects to go the arb route after next year then yes, there is a very good probability BB will trade him, but next year Beane for all practical purposes can pay him whatever he wants. I'm not saying Beane will not trade him, just not next year. Davis earned $410,000.00 09 on a one year contract, peanuts for a center fielder with his abilities. And since he has full control Beane will pay him peanuts for 2010.

Thanks glusv, Well the problem is guys like ERIC CHavez. So Rajai is hustling every day, making plays stealing bases. Then he sees Eric Chavez come and pick up his paycheck on payday with an armed gaurd and a safe for Chavez paycheck. Then Rajai is gonna be like heck naw "I needs to get paid !!" Then Billy says "well I can't pay you." Then Rajai says "Oh OK then trade me"
Then Billy says "ok" Then we have Joe Blow playing center field. It's a cycle that will never end.

No I don't give Angels fans like YOU credit at all. Especially when your reading comprehension is so painfully bad. No credit for signing Abreu? Re-read the post swifty. Credit was given. Whew. And props on the win today. Didn't see it at all a I had other things going on, but coming from behind to seal the series. However, you offer nothing. 2002 is your calling card. This singular season woke you up and it's painfully obvious in your assertions.

How did the A's win 102 games in 2001 and 103 games in 2002? Not by signing free agents. If they'd had a better manager, the A's would have won the World Series in one of those years.

What's with the revisionist history? The Angels have not been competitive every year, unless "every year" started in 2004. Based on your screen name, I'm sure you can verify that except for 2002, which was a one season fluke, the Halos' being competitive generally meant they'd finish 2nd or 3rd at best most seasons. They've had a nice little run under Moreno, but let's not forget all that money has only gotten the Halos out of the first round 2 times and they are, and always will be #2 in the LA market.

They've put together a nice offensive team but their pitching, while developed mostly internally, has been mediocre this season and is facing the loss of Lackey unless they pony up Sabathia type money. Joe Saunders and Weaver are #2 or 3 type good starters but neither is a #1. Abreu, if he returns, won't be cheap like he was this year and that OF is old and expensive and it won't get younger if they overpay to resign Abreu. 3 years and over $50 million owed Hunter alone. Figgins, now that he's established himself as a terrific lead off hitter (in a contract year) will also be very expensive.

Same old drivel from someone masquerading as an A's fan. Joke of the league? LOL. Farm system of MLB? Where do you get this stuff? This is just parroting the same misguided, unsupported whines so many "fans" do. I'm sure you thought of the A's as the joke of the league from 1999-2006 but what about the Halos from 1961-2001?

If you're so convinced the Halos are the future of the majors and that the A's realistically stand no chance, perhaps it's time to position yourself firmly on the Angels' bandwagon. And what will become of your praise if the Halos don't win it all? You hedged pretty strongly when you say they have a "legit shot" against the Yankees.

what the heck are you talking about? the Angels are obviously on the down hill. how much longer do you think vladimir guerrero has?? once he go, so do the angels. i wouldn't be surprise if this is the angels last hoorah. look at us in 2006. alcs, then nothing. baseball is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get. you never really know how much longer it will take for you to start winning. everything can just click together the next year and you can be champions. go ask the rays, the marlins, the rockies, the 2002 angels. baseball is almost a game of luck. don't get all hyped up over the angels beating the redsox. the redsox are also on the downslope and the angels were due to beat them in the playoffs. the only bad thing for the angels is that the yankees are overdue to beat them in the playoffs. what goes around, comes around. lastly, there's nothing more important than being an A's fan! it's the A's, niners, warriors, raiders, then baseball!

I think your dislike for the Angels has clouded your thinking. The Angels are not on a downhill slide. They haven't counted on Vlad at all this year. Unless he's willing to sign a 1 year contract at a steep discount, he won't be back next year. The Angels have a great nucleus of young starting pitching in Kazmir, Weaver, Santana and Saunders. Morales, Kendrick, Aybar and Napoli will continue to improve. Hunter, Rivera and Izturus show no sign of slowing down. The Angels have been one of the top 3 or 4 teams of this decade. As a fan, that's all you can ask for. Winning it all is nice, but only the Red Sox have done it twice this decade. To be in the playoffs with a chance to win is what it's all about. The Angels finally have an owner and manager who get it, and they will be competitive as long as they are around.

just having a name like vladimir guerrero on your roster makes a world of a difference because it changes the opposing team's mindset. more importantly, it changes your own player's attitude. you take away guerrero, hunter would be compelled to play beyond his abilities, then the player after him would feel the same way, then after him. it's a chain reaction. it's kinda like driving without insurance so you better pray vlad signs that 1 year contract or moreno replaces him. just being in the playoffs is NOT what it's all about. your generations of losing must have clouded your thinking. i'd rather not get into the playoffs if you're at least not gonna get deep in it. you know how many televisions i almost broke by watching the A's in the playoffs from 2001 to 2004? you play to win it all. it can get anymore simple than that.

Yes, the Angels will be competitive for a while to come. Cool Thanks for stopping by and letting us know. You're honestly surprised to see an A's fan discount the Halos? Wow. Good stuff. But I gotta tip the cap to how they've played. I predicted much different from both the A's and Halos this season than their current outcomes. Just how it goes when you're a fan. You live and die with your club.

Kendrick is a bit more hype than anything else though. He's been touted as the next batting champ and the guy isn't close.

Napoli is soo good, he can't even earn the starting spot. And you can run on the guy without much issue. Like Bengie Molina could run on him with little issue. And you're club still leads with bunting. See how little that gets ya. Scoscia will revert back to this and it will cost them yet again. My prediction.

What's the point of your post? That the Angels are better than the A's? Tell us something we don't know. The Angels played very well this year and deserves the championship. But you make it sound like every move the Angels make is dead on while every move the A's make are failure. Give me break… Three letters: GMJ. If that was such a great move why did they go after Hunter the following year? There aren’t too many teams that are willing to pay their 4th OF 10 million a year (maybe besides D’Back paying Byrnes). Also what did ½ season of Texiera get them? Another great move.

And then your comment “Now let's talk about our '09 free agent pick ups. Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabbrera. What do they all have in common ? Yeah that's right they are in the playoffs. Good one Beane.”

I can’t believe you actually made that statement. I would like you to look through any baseball almanac and find a case where a team that is out of the playoff picture trades away prospects for a couple months of a star players who will be free agents. Of course they are now on playoff teams. You think there’s a GM nutty enough to trade away some prized prospects for a couple months of a veteran just so they can continue to finish in the basement? Any fifth grader could figure that one out…

The A's finished in the cellar. But as a fan who don't just see what's right in front of his nose we can also see the building of a foundation for the future. The A's are in rebuild mode. The farm is pretty loaded now. Of course there’s no certaintly for success. Sometimes the best laid plans don’t work out. Let's see in the next five years and see how BB's plan pans out. Until the A's move there's little chance they can compete for free agents with the likes of the Angels, Yanks, Mets.

Since you’re a Raider fan then you know what a team in a real downward spiral looks like. Now that’s a team that is poorly run from top to bottom with no vision or hope of regaining the glory of years past anytime soon.