Blog Archives
How All Of The Angels Pitchers Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree Shows A Nice Year Revamp!
How All Of The Angels Pitchers Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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The Angels management had to look back on the 2013 Relief Core – and worry about their long term future. This was because not one guy had a decent year, and most guys were well north of 4 ERA’s.
Jerry DiPoto has rapid fired a bunch of trades and signings since then, to solidify a great Bullpen it was once a late inning disaster waiting to happen on a nightly basis.
So how did he accomplish this? What assets did he give out in order to make it happen?
The 1st domino to fall was signing Joe Smith to a 3 year deal as the team’s primary set up man for Ernesto Frieri.
After that it was the David Freese deal – in which Reliever Fernando Salas came with him from the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals for Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos. Read the rest of this entry
ALL – Time Tommy John Surgery Tracker, Updated For Tyler Chatwood
For all the talk of baseball players (pitchers mostly) that will be undergoing Tommy John Surgery, we will be keeping a running list! E-mail us at mlbreports@gmail.com if you have any names to add to our totals.
How many players are having or had TJ in history? You are about to find out: Read the rest of this entry
Angels State Of The Union For 2014: A Hot Start Is Paramount For Success

The Angels have spent almost a half of a billion in Free Agency over the last 3 years, and all they have to show for it, is back to back 3rd place finishes in the AL West. The team also featured an anemic Bullpen in the 2013 campaign. But with AL West rivals all having significant injuries both to start the year and long-term for 2014, this has opened up the door for the start of the 2014 campaign at least. It is incumbent that their top guys stay injury free, and spend exactly no days on the DL, because they don’t have suitable replacements to step in. With poor starts to both of the last 2 years, this squad looks to break this trend this seasom.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Hunter Stokes (Our chief writer) wrote a piece that was picked up by MLB Trade Rumors blogroll, stating that Jerry DiPoto has done a poor job in constructing the current team based on the roster tree here.
I agree with him 100% on this, especially on the moves, the Bullpen not being 100% finished yet, the Starting Rotation too reliant on their top 2 pitchers – and we have had several of their fans take some jabs at us for going with these notions.
The club’s brass has had a better winter in 2013 going into 2014, then they had last year, however it still doesn’t alleviate the fact, this team can’t sustain one injury to any of their top players because of said moves to deplete their depth.
The Starting Staff is composed of 60% of youth that is not used to toting long innings in Garrett Richards, Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs.
The team has a lot of players that will strikeout a lot, so it is also important to receive key HRs at crucial times in the game.
The club will also lose 34 HRs worth of power they received from Mark Trumbo in 2013, but it was the right time to move him. Whether they received enough of a return is yet to be determined, but it also cut down the whiffs for 2014.
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo: January Man
By David Huzzard (Nationals Correspondent via Citizens of Natstown.com – view website here): Follow @davidhuzzard
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It was an innocent enough radio interview. The standard with Mike Rizzo late in the off-season with nothing happening.
He was asked if everything on the checklist had been marked off and answered in the affirmative and then was asked if there were still moves left to be made.
To this question Mike Rizzo gave the standard and cliched GM answer of anytime we can do anything to improve the club that makes sense for blah blah blah. You get the idea.
There was nothing special at all about this interview. It was a time filler between Redskins talk on a local Washington DC radio station, but there was something in Mike Rizzo’s voice.
He sounded ecstatic while talking about improving the team. Reading between the lines it was as if he was smirking into the phone and really saying watch what I’m about to do. Read the rest of this entry
Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim State Of The Union: Is It Time For Jerry DiPoto To Be Fired?

Mike Trout must feel like he will receive some better help from a full season of Pujols coming. Heading into the 2013 campaign, they looked to have almost a historic 1 – 4 lineup. Instead. it was a disaster. Maybe the 2014 year will be different. With players like Vernon Wells and Joe Blanton still collecting money on the payroll – to the tune of $26 MIL in 2014, their teams salary structure is a disaster. Those two guys are really horrible – or not even playing for LA anymore.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
“Stoking The Fire” – Week 10
As someone who follows the Angels from a distance, I have had it with Jerry DiPoto.
Whether it is the direction of the team’s brass that has been affected, or Arte Moreno himself, this team is heading on a one way ticket to salary hell.
So how does the GM respond this winter?
He trades his 2nd, 4th and possibly 5th best OF on the Roster Depth away – without yielding a OF back in return.
He has added on a couple of players (David Freese and Raul Ibanez) that Strikeout as much as the rest of the clan. Good work man!
Am I missing something? Does he not see this is the recipe for disaster?
Angels 2013 preview – 2014 wont be as optimistic:
The LA Angels Have Got To String Together A Big Stretch Of Wins – And Quick!
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Follow @mlbreportsWednesday, June.26th, 2013

J.B. Shuck and Peter Bourjos have done their job, Howie Kendrick is Batting .321, Mark Trumbo is on pace for a 35 HR – 100+ RBI campaign, Errick Aybar is solid, and Callaspo is okay for a Third Baseman. The team has suffered from the #3 and #4 hitters, and inadequate Starting Pitching – other than C.J. Wilson and Jason Vargas. The Bullpen has also been abysmal with the exception of Sean Burnett. The club has gone 9 -14 since their big 8 game winning streak last month.
By Josh Jones (Angels Correspondent): Follow @joshjones4
Gut-check time
The 2013 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are at a crossroads. Seventy-six games into the season and the team has not had the ability to find prolonged success in order to climb back into the AL West standings.
The club is currently 34 – 43 after being swept over the weekend by the Pittsburgh Pirates before trouncing the Tigers for the 4th straight time this , yet they still find themselves considering the unthinkable: being sellers at the deadline. They are 10 Games behind both of the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers – while they are 8.5 Games out of the last playoff spot holder.
LA Angels Preview – They haven’t lived up to the Hype yet:
Pittsburgh Pirates Roster Tree Part 1: The Pitchers
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What 3 current Pirates players can be traced back to Ricardo Rincon? Read this article and you will find out how all of the players have arrived in a Bucs uniform – and we dissected the Pirates brass for each move.
By Brad Cuprik (Pirates Correspondent) Follow @bradcuprik and Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Owner/Lead Analyst Follow @chuckbooth3024
Neil Huntington has done a great job assembling this Pirates team – and has spun some great trades in order to see his club actually be competitive over the last few years.
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Bucs – and how they assembled their current rosters. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted.
Vargas/Morales Trade Fills Needs For Both Teams
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Kendrys Morales had a breakout year with the Angels in 2009, where he he hit .306 with 34 HRs and 108 RBI. He also clubbed 43 Doubles and carried an OPS of .924 for the year which propelled him to a top 5 AL MVP Finish. In 2010, he suffered an ankle injury celebrating a Walk-Off Grand Slam in Angels Stadium. His OPS was .778 in 2012, can he regain his previous form in Seattle?
Nicholas Rossoletti (MLB Trade Correspondent): Follow @NRoss56
It is rare in baseball that division rivals complete trades. Most of the time when it does happen, it is a lower end deal involving pieces that neither team is particularly worried will come back to haunt them. This is what makes the Jason Vargas for Kendrys Morales trade so interesting. It is a trade that makes incredible sense for all parties involved, but there is at least some likelihood that either or both players could make their former club regret the move in the short term. Let’s take a closer look at the players involved in the deal and why each club wanted to make this move.
On the Angels side, the team was in dire need of innings they could count on. After acquiring Tommy Hanson and his questionable shoulder as well as losing Zack Greinke to their cross-town rivals, the Dodgers, the Angels needed to find a starter who could give them guaranteed innings. Enter Jason Vargas. Vargas has been good for 190 plus innings over the last three season including over 200 Innings Pitched in 2011 and 2012. Vargas is a back-end of the rotation starter who has one terrific pitch in his arsenal, which is his change-up. Vargas’ change-up is an elite pitch. To help characterize how elite a pitch it can be, we can look to some statistical measures. Per 100 pitches, Vargas saved 2.25 runs over the course of 2012 with his change-up. To understand in comparison, Justin Verlander‘s curveball, what many would consider his “put-away” pitch saved 2.04 runs per 100 pitches in 2012. Now clearly, no one in their right mind is going to positively compare Vargas to Verlander, but in terms of Vargas’ change-up, I think it is important for everyone to understand that he does do something as well if not better than any other pitcher in the Major Leagues.
The Brutal Kendrys Morales injury after a Grand Slam Walk-Off HR:
Washington Nationals-The Pitchers and Hitters: 2005-2012 Best 25 Man Roster (Part 5 of Expos/Nats Series)
Wednesday July 25, 2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Team’s Payroll going into in 2013 and 5. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) To follow all of the updates, be sure to check my author page with a list of all archived articles here.

Livan Hernandez leads the 2005-2012 version of the franchise in ALL-Time wins and innings pitched.
Chuck Booth (Lead baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- I think it safe to say that the best days of the Washington Nationals are purely ahead of them. They have a great nucleus of young talent with Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Drew Storen, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Mike Morse and Gio Gonzalez. These guys are so good that they all made the ALL-Time 25 man roster for the 2005-2012 Washington Nationals. I am a firm believer that these guys will be the best team in the National League within 2 or 3 years. I like Ted Lerner’s attitude on spending for now. This will ensure the money will be spent on the team to keep competing for the city of Washington’s 1st World Series Title since 1924. I would venture to say that not many living fans of the old Washington Senators saw the club hoisting the trophy 88 years ago.
The Nationals Park went soaring up my ranks as a baseball venue to see in the 30 stadium circuit. This place is now electric. I was so elated when I was able to see Strasburg pitch and win for the Nationals back in April. Next year I hope to see Bryce Harper play ball when I go on another 30 park tour. Next year is when I will have the official rankings of all of the ballparks posted here. I can assure you that the President’s Race will probably be voted the most popular race of any in the Majors at the parks. My humblest of apologies to the sausage race fans in Milwaukee and racing legend heads in Arizona. I still follow the campaign to ‘Let Teddy Win’, however that may take all of the fun out of it if Teddy does win one of those races.
As a fan of the old Expos franchise, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Washington Nationals. Playing meaningful baseball in September and October this year would be incredible to witness. So without further speak, let us start with our 25 man roster for the best players in the last 8 years. I picked the roster based on longevity or utter greatness for a couple of players. If this team was to play an alumni game right now, all of the positions would be filled. I don’t think I excluded anyone entirely crucial here. Please feel free to let me know if I did on any social platform. If you make a solid case for someone for whom I may have omitted, I could always add them later.
For Part 1 of the Article Series, The Expos Hitters: click here
For Part 2 of the Article Series, The Expos Pitchers: click here
For Part 3 of the Article Series, The Demise of the Montreal Expos: click here
For Part 4 of the Article Series, The Washington Nationals Franchise 2005-2012: click here
For Part 6 of the Article Series, The Nationals 2013 Payroll and Contract Statuses click here
Here is the highlight reel from Stephen Strasburg’s debut at Nationals Park. 14 Strikeouts is amazing!
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