Angels Agree To Terms With Albert Pujols And C.J. Wilson

By: Tyler Ward

In a very, very surprising move Thursday, ESPN has announced that the Los Angeles Angels have signed first baseman Albert Pujols and starting left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson. Pujols will receive a ten-year deal worth $254 million, while Wilson will get a five-year deal worth approximately $77.5 million.

This comes as a humongous surprise, as the Angels really hadn't been in the Pujols sweepstakes until 48 hours ago. The Marlins seemed to be the front runners for Pujols' services until they backed out yesterday after signing pitcher Mark Buehrle to a contract. Pujols' former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, also had an offer on the table, somewhere in the range of a ten-year deal worth $220 million, but it wasn't good enough for Pujols to return to the team for a twelfth season.

Pujols' contract also includes a no-trade clause, which he had been seeking and it could have been the turning point for Pujols, as the Marlins were not offering him a no-trade clause.

Pujols' deal is the third-largest contract in MLB history, only behind Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $252 million deal he signed with the Rangers before the 2001 season and Rodriguez's ten-year, $275 million contract he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2008 season.

The Cardinals' staff was hoping that Pujols would return to the only team he has ever played for and they wanted to talk to Pujols' agent before they left to head back to St. Louis. Their last offer was a nine-year deal worth a little under $200 million, which would have made the three-time MVP the fourth-highest paid first baseman in baseball. But with the contract the Angels gave him, he is the highest-paid first baseman. And the Angels are glad they were able to come to an agreement.

According to a report, Pujols, who led the Cardinals to two World Series titles over his 11-year career, and the Cardinals were farther apart on the negotiations than originally announced.

Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., said of Pujols' departure, "We are disappointed that we were unable to reach an agreement to keep Albert Pujols in St. Louis. Albert is a great champion and we will always be thankful for his many achievements in a Cardinals uniform, as well as his contributions to the St. Louis community. I have the highest regard for Albert both personally and professionally, and appreciate his direct involvement in this process. I would like our fans to know that we tried our best to make Albert a lifetime Cardinal but unfortunately we were unable to make it happen."

Last season, Pujols batted .299, while blasting 37 home runs and driving in 99 runs -- it was also the only season in his 11-year career that he didn't have 100 runs batted in or have a .300 batting average. However, the 31-year-old did miss some time in the middle of the season because of an arm injury.

Pujols, arguably the best player over the last decade, is a career .328 hitter and has belted 445 home runs, while driving in 1,329 runs over his astounding career.

After the announcement of signing the three-time MVP, the Angels also announced that they had signed left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson, who has helped lead the Rangers to back-to-back American League titles.

The deal is for six years and is worth around $77.5 million. Wilson had been recently courted by the Miami Marlins, along with the Texas Rangers, now his former team.

Last year, Wilson posted a 16-7 record with a 2.94 ERA and was elected to his first All-Star team. He also made a league-high 34 starts, while just becoming a starting pitcher for a second season. He had spent the previous five seasons coming out of the bullpen.

Wilson had received a six-year deal from the Marlins and according to Wilson, his former team had no chance at re-signing him once the Marlins made their offer. He also said that he took less money to sign with the Angels, mainly because of their acquisition of Pujols.

In an interview with ESPN at the baseball winter meetings, Wilson said, "It's crazy, obviously, with Albert going over there. It's a big swing of the balance of power in the West. I thought I was going to make a little bit of difference and he's obviously going to make a huge one. I mean, nobody saw that coming."

The pitcher will go to perhaps the Rangers' main rival and it may just make the Angels the favorites in the AL West.

According to Wilson's agent, Bob Garber, they were surprised at the Rangers' offer, but apparently, it was less than half of what the Angels offered him. Wilson said of the meeting, "I was under the impression they were going to make a more serious run at me. The length of contract wasn't there. The money wasn't there."

Wilson also lives just 15 minutes away from the Angels' ballpark, which definitely factored in his decision to sign with the Angels.

"Being close to home in Anaheim, that was really the only factor that let me make an emotional decision instead of a financial decision," Wilson proclaimed.

Despite an ugly postseason, in which he became the first pitcher in history to lose a game in the division series, championship series and the World Series in the same postseason, Wilson is still a great pitcher and was the most coveted pitcher in this year's free agency class.

The Angels won the AL West from 2007-09, while the Rangers have been the division winner the past two seasons. With the signings of Pujols and Wilson, it could very well switch back to the Angels, who are now the favorites to win the 2012 World Series.

Angels Acquire Dan Haren From Diamondbacks

By: Tyler Ward

In a deal on Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded pitcher Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels for pitchers Joe Saunders, Rafael Rodriguez, and Patrick Corbin. Another player from the Angels is expected to be added to the five player swap.

Haren had drawn interest from the New York Yankees and now with him off the market, the Yankees are going to have to go elsewhere to acquire a starting pitcher. There have been rumors involving Joba Chamberlain, who has dropped out of Yankees fans' favor this season. Supposedly, the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers had been interested in Haren, but it is unclear what they would offer for Haren.

Haren has had an up-and-down season for Arizona, having a record of 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA. Not only is he tied for the National League in strikeouts with 141, he is also leading the NL in hits allowed with 161. Haren adds value to a pitching staff that already includes Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Joel Pineiro. The starters have pitched six innings or more in ten consecutive games. 

Los Angeles lost first baseman Kendry Morales was lost for the season after tearing his ACL jumping on home plate after hitting a walk-off home run. They are in desperate need of a first baseman, with natural second baseman Howie Kendrick having to replace Morales in the lineup. Their reserves have hit a total of ten home runs this season. If the Angels want to catch the Texas Rangers in the division, they will have to trade for a replacement and pencil Kendrick back at his natural position. It is unknown if the Angels will acquire a first baseman at the trade deadline, but getting Dan Haren is not a bad deal.

Since coming to the Majors in 2003, Haren has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, and now, the Los Angeles Angels. In 2004, Haren, Kiko Calero, and Daric Barton were traded to the Oakland Athletics for Mark Mulder. In three seasons with the A's, Haren had a record 43-34. He also placed in the top 10 in strikeouts all three seasons in Oakland. Rumors swirled in 2008 involving Haren, and he was traded to Arizona in a massive eight player deal. As of Sunday, he had posted a 37-26 record with the Diamondbacks, but did not lead them to the postseason. In a little over eight seasons, he is 86-70 with a 3.71 ERA.

He is in the second year of a 4-year/$44.75 million contract that he signed with Arizona and is supposed to make approximately $12.75 million the next two seasons. There is a club option for the fifth year.

The main player, other than Haren, in the deal was pitcher Joe Saunders. He has had a rather lackluster 2010 campaign thus far, posting a 6-10 record with a 4.62 ERA. He and Scott Kazmir are the only starting pitchers for the Angels under .500 (Kazmir is 7-9). However, Saunders has had great back-to-back seasons, whie helping lead the Angels to division crowns in both seasons. He is a combined 33-14 with two complete games in those two seasons. Although he hasn't had a great season, Saunders will add a valuable left arm to the Diamondbacks pitching staff, which has been anything but phenomenal this season.

Rafael Rodriguez has spent most of his career in the minors and has only pitched two innings this year and has given up one run. He played in 18 games last season, posting an 0-1 record with a 5.58 ERA. Patrick Corbin, a 2009 2nd round draft pick, was in Class A and is expected to be fill the same position with the Angels' Class A team. So far this season, Corbin is 13-3 with a 3.87 ERA with Cedar Rapids and Rancho Cucamonga.

The Angels had expressed in hitters like Prince Fielder and Adam Dunn, but decided to go with a pitcher in the end. This is the second acquisition the Angels have made the last few days, after acquiring infielder Alberto Callaspo.

Arizona is currently the second worst team in the National League with a 37-62 record (the Pittsburgh Pirates are last at 34-64). The Angels are hoping that Haren can lead them to the top division, standing at a 52-49 record. They are seven games back of the Texas Rangers for the AL West lead and nine games behind Tampa Bay for the Wild Card.

A's Dominate Scott Kazmir In 15-1 Win

By: Tyler Ward

When Angels pitcher Scott Kazmir woke up Saturday morning, I'm sure he didn't envision a start like the one he had later that night. Kazmir had the worst outing of his career against the A's, giving up thirteen hits and eleven earned runs in five innings. Not only was this hios worst outing ever, but it was also the worst in Angels history. Speaking of history, Kazmir made it Saturday, becoming one of few pitchers to have that type of outing. If he had surrendered one more run, he would have tied Mike Oquist for the worst five inning performance in the last 50 years. In 1998, Oquist, an A's pitcher at the time, gave up 14 earned runs against the Yankees in five innings.

Kazmir allowed eight runs in the in the third inning and gave up five more in the fifth, including back-to-back home runs from Coco Crisp and Daric Barton.

In the third, Kazmir threw the first of his two wild pitches, which allowed Rajai Davis to score. Coco Crisp then drove in Cliff Pennington on an RBI single to give them a two-run lead. Rosales singled shortly after that, driving in Daric Barton. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Kazmir walked Ryan Sweeney to give him an RBI after Kevin Kouzmanoff scored. In his second at-bat of the inning, Davis hit a grand slam to cap the inning off and hit his first slam since 2008.

Two innings later, Davis came up to bat again and drove in Rosales to give him five RBI for the game. Crisp then hit a three-run homer and Barton followed that up with a solo shot to give the A's a 13-0 lead. After the inning, Kazmir was subbed out for relief pitcher, Scott Shields, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Kazmir finished the game with five innings pitched, thirteen hits, two strikeouts, three walks, and eleven earned runs. Rajai Davis, the stud of the game, finished 4-for-5 with one home run and five runs batted in.

The A's (42-46) have been struggling offensively in their last 19 games, scoring only 7 runs in that span. Their pitcher tonight, Ben Sheets, got his fourth win of the season after finally receiving some run support. Sheets has received the fourth-worst run support in the American League this year, while losing eight games in the process.

Entering the game, Sheets had given up a league-leading 54 extra base hits, but only gave up one in the 15-1 win. He pitched a solid six innings, while only giving up two hits and striking out four. He did not allow a run in the game.

The Angels' Cory Aldridge tripled to left in the 8th for his first MLB hit, while driving in Brandon Wood to give the Angels their lone run of the game.

Oakland's Gabe Gross hit a two-run double to left in the 8th, scoring Powell and Rosales to solidify their domination of the Angels.

The A's are now 42-46 and still stand 8.5 games back of the Rangers for the division lead. The Angels fell back down to 47-43, but are still 4 games ahead of the A's for second place in the AL West.