thoughts: Rodney, Yankees, and the M's (again!)

Just some tidbits:

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So the Angels signed Fernando Rodney today. I'm ambivalent about this signing. While yes, Rodney helps to bolster a very bad Angels bullpen (that's already lost 'Dondo and Oliver, but gains Shields back from injury), it's not even close to a slam dunk.

The side that hates this deal says:
First of all, Rodney isn't what you'd call a lights-out reliever. He closed for the Tigers last year to the tune of 37 saves (out of 38 tries) and 2-5 with a 4.40ERA. Not pretty numbers, especially if you notice the declining K/9 rates. Add in the reputation of being erratic, and well, the save percentage doesn't look as appealing. Most backers would argue that most of the damagae to his numbers came in non-save situations, but uh, isn't he coming to Anaheim to set-up??? I can't imagine that Sosh will rock the boat and displace Fuentes unless Fuentes is really bad. Add in the fact that they're spending another $5-6M for a reliever, and the Angels have one pricey bullpen (Fuentes = $9M, Shields = $5.35M, Spier = $5.25M). The Angels had a tradition of a lockdown bullpen earlier in the decade, but well, weren't those built on cheap young talent or reclaimation projects? Throwing so much money at a relief pitcher seems like such a waste of resources.

The optimistic side says:
Rodney is a power arm (which Sosh loves in the bullpen) and has closer experience. He'll push Fuentes for the closer gig, and if Fuentes really sucks, bumping him to the set-up role can prevent his 2011 option from vesting. He's an established closer with great stuff - a mid-90s fastball and a fantastic slider. And he was the best relief option on the FA market. Most other FA relievers have signed elsewhere (Soriano, Saito, Wagner, Capps), unless Valverde and his crazy contract demands sounded appealing. For a bullpen that was in shambles last season, Rodney gives it a good to great addition.

Rodney was the best option out there for the Angels and I guess doing something is better than doing nothing in this case. But I just can't like this signing. Its too many dollars for a relief pitcher that doesn't have a consistant track record. I just hope that I'm wrong.

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The Yankees traded for Vazquez. I'm a little bitter about this one. I know that Vazquez wouldn't have waived his NTC to play for the Angels, but he really was the best trade option to add a veteran starting pitcher. The fact that the Yankees got him makes me more bitter. The weakness of the Yanks last season was obviously its rotation. After the top three, it really fell off a cliff. But with Vazquez, Girardi doesn't have to do the 3-man rotation crap he did in the playoffs. And it gives them a rotation that at least can be compared to the BoSox (Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Dice-K). It'll be interesting to see if Vazquez can shake off the perception that he performs better with less media attention, but I (grudgingly) like the deal for the Yanks. The Yanks didn't see Cabrera as an everyday outfielder, so they didn't give up too much now. I guess if the prospect that they sent ends up golden, then I'd have to re-evaluate the "winner" of this deal. It's like the Granderson deal - the Yanks fill in their holes for spare parts and good-to-great prospects. They still held onto their prized catching prospect and Hughes/Joba. Like Granderson, Vazquez is a definite upgrade, though he fills a more glaring hole. Makes me feel like the rich are getting richer.. they can afford to constantly deplete their farm system to upgrade in the present.

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The other trade news was the M's trading Morrow to the Jays. Finally Jack Z makes a questionable move! No malice intended, but I agree that this is a puzzling move. Morrow has been their top "prospect" for a while, much like BWood is first mentioned in any trade rumors for the Angels. After they reportedly turned down a trade with Edwin Jackson that would have Morrow on as the centerpiece, I would have never guessed that they would send him to Toronto for a relief pitcher. The guess at USS Mariner is that the M's don't have a lot of confidence in his future. And that makes me feel bad for Morrow. I already have an interest in him since he's from Cal and I don't know any other Cal Alums in MLB. After the jerking around between starter and reliever, I don't like that the M's just dumped him like this. They screw up his development and then give him up saying that he won't live up to the promise he had when they drafted him. Silver lining is that now I can root for him to blossom without the fear that he'll hurt the Halos.