That's more like it

Thank the freaking Lord for Jered Weaver. I think we've been waiting for Lil Weav to assume this role, but so far in three starts, he's been an ace. He's striking guys out. He's throwing strikes and working quickly. He's fun to watch, and he's easy to root for.

On the offensive side of the ball, things looked better tonight. Kendry hit #3. Every starter had a hit. Matsui and Hunter are off to good starts, and no one appears to be really struggling. Even Jeff Mathis is contributing.

I'm not off the ledge yet, but at least tonight was a nice surprise.

No Moral Victories in the Playoffs

1) The Vancouver Canucks aren't that fucking good.

2) Randy Jones really sucks.

As to point two, I saw the Kings play the Blackhawks at the United Center in March. I sat in the 300 level behind the net that the Hawks shot at twice, and if one thing was evident from that game, it was that Randy Jones is not an NHL caliber defenseman. His giveaway gave the game to the Hawks. His giveaway at center ice led to the exchange that cost the Kings tonight. He is worse than both Peter Harold and Davis Drewiske, both of whom were healthy scratches tonight.

The Kings played the Canucks tough, but they turned Saturday into a must win. Lose Saturday, and Dean Lombardi starts planning for next season. Very, very disappointing result tonight against a decidedly mediocre team.

And the Angels apparently still suck, but I'm losing interest real, real fast.

Two and Six

In two weeks, after the Kings flame out of the playoffs, I guess I'll have to look forward to college football.

This team sucks.

Titus Andronicus @ the Bottom Lounge - 4/7/10

Skipped the first opener, and stood around for the Saps, a local Chicago band that reminded me a fair amount of Team Band. I love Team Band, but they're kind of a hard band to emulate without making it really obvious. Maybe it's all coincidence and they there's no influence there, but it sure sounded like it to me.

TA took the stage around 10:45 or so, and played for a good 1:20, with no encores. But man, it was a really rollicking set. There's so much energy and passion in Patrick Stickles' screaming voice that it's hard not to get sucked in. And especially with the new material, with their slow, quiet intros that descend into a maelstrom of noise, they just have a way of sucking you in until you can't help but give in to noise. I'm not usually one for a lot of audience participation, but listen to the first song linked below and, well, if you see them live, try not to sing along with the Ooo Ooo - Na Na Na part at the 2:44 mark (note, this video is cut to only half the song - they cut out a great second half for the radio edit).



For as much energy as they put into their set, I'm a little surprised they played as long as they did. I was also curious to see how they would handle the new material. For those of you unfamiliar, 'The Monitor' is a sort of concept album about a kid who leaves New Jersey for Boston, and ends up returning to New Jersey after not quite finding what he was looking for. The kicker is that it's told through Civil War imagery. It's really quite impressive, but the album itself is a 10 song, 67 minute drama with each song segueing into the next. If you didn't know where the track breaks were, you could probably figure them out, but it would be tough, and you'd probably get some wrong. So the question was whether they could play some of those songs as stand alones, or whether they'd play the album from beginning to end. The played them as stand alones, out of order, mixing in songs from the first album, and it played great in my opinion. The incomplete and out of order setlist (actually, I think this is the right order, since I stole it from this guy - in my own defense, I had all the songs right):

• A More Perfect Union (opened with this)
• Joset of Nazareth Blues
• A Pot in Which to Piss
• Upon Viewing Breughle's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'
• Richard II
• Fear and Loathing in Mawhaw, NJ
• No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future
• Titus Andronicus
• My Time Outside the Womb
• The Battle of Hampton Roads
• Titus Andronicus Forever
• Four Score and Seven

The opener and closer are right, and the middle of that setlist is a rough estimate of where songs fit in. So many of the songs on the new album are of this epic length and structure that they could easily be closers, but Four Score and Seven did the trick nicely (Battle of Hampton Roads, all 14 minutes of it, closes the album).

As for the concert experience, I was just outside the mosh pit, which was a perfect place to stand. I'm well past moshing age, and I was never much of a mosher to begin with. Still, I was close enough to feel like a part of the action. I don't love the Bottom Lounge, but it's growing on me a bit. I still wish they would publish the door time AND the show time so that I'm not tricked into getting there an hour early, but I've learned to work around that. Hopefully these guys get a good slot at Pitchfork, where there's a good crowd that can really get into the atmosphere of the music. Pics and another couple vids below.

Titus Andronicus (song)


Four Score and Seven

Opening Day

Finally, one of the greatest days of the year, and at least for today, one of the nicest days we've had in Chicago for a while. Opening day for the Sox and Indians should go off without a hitch.

But I'm not here to talk about the Sox. I said most of what I had to say about the Angels a couple months ago, and for what it's worth, I don't think any of my analysis has changed very much. I still really like their offense. They've got power potential at pretty much every spot in the order outside of the lead-off spot (and the catcher's spot when Mathis plays). The outfield is old, and that's always a concern, since none of us can tell when any of those guys are going to go into a serious decline phase. They lose Figgins' OBP, but they hopefully make up for that a bit in Brandon Wood's power. I just hope the organization is patient with him, and that they leave him in the lineup to take his lumps so long as he is providing good defense at third base.

The starting pitching staff is solid 1-5, but there's not a ton of depth behind them. Of course, there's almost no team in baseball that has a great deal of depth beyond their starting four, let alone five. In a way, it almost makes the Angels more vulnerable to injury. Most teams are already throwing out junk for a fifth starter. If the Angels lose their fifth starter, they lose a legit starter, as opposed to a team that just replaces junk with junk. Still, I'd rather be in the Angels' position.

The bullpen looks to be deep, but not lights out dominant at any role. Fuentes will still drive us crazy. Shields will still have his moments where he can't seem to find the strike zone. Who knows what Rodney is going to bring. But I'm looking forward to another year of (hopefully) growth from Jepsen and Bulger. And we'll just have to wait and see if Stokes can be any type of replacement for Darren Oliver, even though the decision to not offer arbitration to Oliver still baffles me.

The Rangers and Mariners are improved, and every season is, to some extent, a crapshoot, but I just don't see the rush to crown either of those franchises the best in the west this year. I think a lot of the media driven hype around those clubs is a desire to see something different. On paper, the Angels are still the best team in the AL West. You never know what's going to happen when it comes to injuries, and the Angels are just as vulnerable to those as anyone, but all things being equal, the Angels will win the AL West for the fourth straight time this year.

Time to play ball.

Miles Kurosky w/ Pancho San @ Schuba's - 4/1/10

After failing to reach commercial success to match their critical acclaim, San Francisco pop outfit Beulah broke up in the summer of 2005. Actually, they officially called it quits before their last tour, which made that sort of a farewell tour. They played two nights in Chicago at the Abbey on that tour, both of which I attended. I was pretty much up at the stage on the second night, and was able to grab an extra setlist (something I've only cared to do one other time). I popped the setlist up on my refrigerator and it's been there ever since.

Last night Miles Kurosky, Beulah's former front-man, was in town playing material from his new solo album 'the Desert of Shallow Effects'. Because it was at Schuba's, a venue where you can usually chat with the performers afterward, I figured I'd bring the setlist with me to possibly get it autographed. Little did I know that the opening act, Pancho San, would consist of former Beulans Patrick Abernathy and Eli Crews. Pancho San also made up 3/5 of Kurosky's backing band for his solo material. The upshot is I was able to get all three to sign the setlist.

As for the show itself, Pancho San were pretty good. I've seen Patrick play with Beulah and with Rogue Wave, but this was the first time I'd seen him sing. Perhaps it's because I knew they were from San Francisco before seeing them play, but they seemed to deliver what one would typically consider the San Francisco sound. Jangly guitars, up-tempo pop-songs, and more or less ear friendly. I need to spend a little time with their album, which I picked up from the merch table after the show.

Miles Kurosky has endured some physical ailments between the end of Beulah and the release of his solo album, but he hasn't let that affect him. Pitchfork likened the new album to a fifth Beulah record, and that's both accurate and quite alright with me. It's nice to hear a familiar voice again, and the music on the new album is excellent. Miles played most of it last night, as should have been expected.

He also finished out the evening with some Beulah classics. The full band got together for "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand", "Landslide Baby", and "Popular Mechanics for Lovers". Miles also filled the encore void (it is Schuba's after all) with a short medley of Beulah tunes featuring "If We Can Land a Man on the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart", "You're Only King Once", and "Gene Autry".

Particularly impressive was the full horn section that showed up to play. The band was backed by a couple trumpets, and couple saxophones, and a trombone. According to the guys in the band, they'd never met the horn players before, but they ran through the set at sound check and decided to give it a go. If you're familiar with Beulah, a lot of their stuff had some large trumpet parts, handled by co-founder Bill Swan. This band filled the void left by his absence quite nicely, and added a lot of texture to Miles' solo stuff, which is also heavy on horns. Pictures and some MK and Beulah vids below.



Dog in the Burning Building

Emma Blowgun's Last Stand

Vampire Weekend @ the Riviera - 4/26/10

First time I've seen them live, and they pretty much lived up to the hype. It might have been the few beers beforehand, but this was a really easy show to get into. A nice thing about Vampire Weekend is that they've only got two records, and most of their songs are short, so they can play a pretty full set that covers virtually all of their album material. They played the entire new album, except for Giving Up the Gun (surprising, since that's a new single), and and I Think Ur a Contra. They played the entire first album except The Kids Don't Stand a Chance. They also threw in Ladies of Cambridge, a b-side from the Oxford Comma single.

This was only the second time I've been to the show at the Riviera (first show was Spoon about two and a half years ago). It's a little bigger venue than I normally frequent. It's got a capacity of about 2,500 people, about 10-15 times the size of a place like Schuba's, which is a bit more up my alley. But the acoustics at the Riv are excellent, so it's hard to complain. We skipped Abe Vigoda, who opened (a band on my radar that I haven't gotten around to yet), and by the time we got in, the venue was fairly full, so visuals weren't easy to come by. But compared to my companion/date, who is about 5'3", I had it pretty easy.

Quick Recaps: Surfer Blood, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Ted Leo

Three concerts last week, bringing the 2010 total to five so far.

Surfer Blood @ Schuba's - 3/10/10

First up was Surfer Blood, a band out of Florida with a California sound. They played Schuba's, which is right around the corner of my apartment. That made this show very convenient, as I had spent the previous 2+ hours at the United Center watching the Kings lose to the Blackhawks in overtime. So I missed the opener (Turbo Fruits), but got into the club about 10 minutes before the headliners took the stage.

They've only got one album, so they unsurprisingly played pretty much that whole album, minus one or two (I don't think they played Slow Jabroni). It was a pretty short set, maybe 40-45 minutes or so, but they sounded great on their single "Swim". You can tell these guys are fairly new to the game, but they brought their good sound and put on a decent show.

We Were Promised Jetpacks @ Lincoln Hall - 3/11/10

Scottish kids out of Glasgow via Edinburgh in their early 20s. A friend told me, and wikipedia confirms, that their first gig was a battle of the bands at their high school, which they won. That was about seven years ago. Their first album was released last year and I'll crib from Pitchfork and call it sincere, anthemic rock, which it pretty much is. These guys actually had a really nice stage presence considering their youth, and it was a very entertaining set. They just released an EP last week, from which they took a couple songs, but mostly played tracks from their first album, including the album's penultimate track "Keeping Warm", an eight minute track that they turned into about 11-12 minutes thanks to a rollicking three minute introduction. I'll admit that part of the reason I went to this show was to hang out with the girl who turned me onto them, but the show was pretty good in its own right.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists @ the Bottom Lounge - 3/13/10

Tough call on whether to go to this show, since it was the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, which is practically a religious holiday in Chicago, provided your religion requires the consumption of a great deal of alcohol. I skipped the openers to drink with some friends, but I got into the club in time to hear TL/Rx play their first song. Their new album 'the Brutalist Bricks' just came out last week, and it's pure Ted Leo. Elements of punk, power-pop, and a tinge of traditional Irish music combine to make the TL/Rx formula, and it's worked well enough over the last decade that there isn't much reason to change things. Which isn't to say this is just a companion piece to their last album 'Living with the Living'. It's not. And as it's title suggests, it's a little more muscle bound. A little lighter on the hooks that sucked me in on 'Shake the Sheets', a little heavier on the pounding rhythms and desperate vocals (save for One Polaroid a Day).

He played at least eight or nine songs off the new album, and threw in some older tunes for fun, hitting a bit of each album (Timorous Me from 'Tyranny of Distance'; The High Party from 'Hearts of Oak'; Little Dawn from 'Shake the Sheets'; Bottle of Buckie from 'Living...'). A good solid 1:15 of content, which is good from a band that puts so much into each show.

Vampire Weekend is up next in two weeks.

Coming Attractions - Week of March 8th 2010

Three shows lined up for this week. First up is Surfer Blood @ Schubas's - 3/10/10



Second one is Thursday night - We Were Promised Jetpacks @ Lincoln Hall:



Last show of the week is Ted Leo on Saturday night @ the Bottom Lounge:

Foreign Born w/ Free Energy & Clovers @ the Empty Bottle - 3/5/10

Alright, so I missed Clovers, but my excuse was that I was pretty sick this weekend, so it's a minor miracle that I made it out for Free Energy and Foreign Born, but I'm glad I did. I'd heard mention of Free Energy here and there, but this post by Jim Kopeny (I went to law school with his brother) at Chicagoist sold me on getting there in time for their set. I read someone who compared them to Thin Lizzy style 70s guitar pop/rock, and I think that's a pretty good description. They had a bit of their own following, and the crowd in front of the stage was really digging their set. They were definitely worth my time, and a band I'd like to catch if they come back and headline somewhere.

At some point last year, I made a list of bands on my radar that I needed to check out, which includes stuff like the Thermals, Passion Pit, Cymbals Eat Guitars, etc. One of these bands was Dirty Projectors who, as it turns out, made my favorite album of 2009. Another one was Foreign Born, who made my third or fourth favorite album of 2009 (Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear are in the mix as well). I don't know how they got on the list. I literally cannot recall what made me want to listen to these guys, but whatever, it was a good decision.

I saw them live for the first time back in December. I was flying home for the holidays, and was able to push my flight up a day so that I could get home in time to catch them at Spaceland. They put on an excellent show that night, and it was a pretty good crowd. We even ran into Arianna Murray and Aaron Espinoza of Earlimart, a fellow Silverlake band. I had a chance to chat with Matt Popieluch, the front-man and one of the creative forces behind Foreign Born, and was able to tell him how much I enjoyed that last show.

They played an efficient 45-50 minutes or so, playing pretty much the entire first album, minus the final two tracks (See Us Home, and Wait in This Chair). They also played Into Your Dream for their first album, and a song off of their EP, released prior to their first album. Highlights were 'It Grew On You', which they didn't play in LA. They also opened with a great version of Early Warnings, into which they built about a one minute intro. I'm not usually one for audience participation, but I couldn't keep from clapping along at the appropriate point. Vacationing People is always a treat, and Blood Oranges also sounded really good.

You can check the previous post for a couple more vids, but here are live versions of Blood Oranges and Vacationing People. Pics from the show below the vids. First three pics are Foreign Born, last two are Free Energy.

Coming Attractions - Foreign Born

Foreign Born is the next show on tap for 2010. They'll be playing the Empty Bottle for a mere $5, plus some small service charges. 'Person to Person' was one of my favorite albums of 2009, and their show at Spaceland in December was excellent. Really looking forward to this one.

The first song is "Into Your Dream" from the previous album 'On the Wing Now' (and apparently it was on the Chuck soundtrack. The next two are "Winter Games" and "Early Warnings" from 'Person to Person'. They played all three at Spaceland. Anybody who has been to Catalina Island should like the video for "Early Warnings". You can also check out a live version of my favorite FB song, "Vacationing People" here at Song of the Day.

St. Vincent @ the Metro - 2/18/10

I said I was going to do this more often, so here it is. First show of the year for 2010 was the lovely Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, at the Metro last week. Really an excellent show. She played almost all of her most recent album "Actor". I think she only left out "Neigbors". She also played many of the highlights from "Marry Me".

Best moments of the show for me were Marrow, which actually stuck pretty closely to the album version, and Save Me From What I Want. I'm pretty sure she played a solo version of Paris is Burning, but I'll admit that the whole night isn't crystal clear, and I may remember that from reading about her playing it at another show. It was almost a week ago, and I met someone out for a couple drinks before the show (also why we missed the opener), so things are a bit fuzzy. She finished the night off with a tremendous version of Your Lips Are Red, which descended into a cacophony of angular fuzz guitars, piano, and horns before flowing into the laid back major key ending. Kind of reminds me of a river flowing through a very rocky rapids before emptying into a wide, calm valley. Really a great way to end the show. Pictures and a vid below (vid not from the show, obviously).

Getting back into baseball

The Olympics are in full swing, and after last night's epic victory over Canada, I'm pretty pumped for the medal round, but Spring Training is underway, and it's time to start thinking about baseball. The other day a friend asked me the following question:

Are you seeing tough times for the Angels this year? Seems like everyone else is improving and you guys are getting worse. I think you're potentially in the best division in baseball. Even better than the AL East.

And here's my response:

Health is the one thing I can’t account for. But if they’re healthy, their starting pitching is better, their relief is better, their offense should be better or just as good at every position except third base, where it actually may end up being better if Wood can settle into an everyday role instead of being jerked around. So no, I don’t see tough times. Now they may not win it, because the division is better, but I still think they’ll be very good.

They have Kazmir for a full season, and he was nails down the stretch last year. Weaver had an excellent year. Saunders was great other than the month and a half he tried to pitch though injury. When he finally went on the DL and came back healthy, he was lights out. Ervin Santana got messed up, got sent down, got his head together, and had a 3.09 ERA in the last two months. And Piniero is their fifth, which isn’t too bad for a fifth starter. They get Shields back in the pen, and add Rodney, who isn’t great, but should help.

Morales and Aybar had breakthrough years. I figure much of the same for Hunter, Rivera, and Abreu. Kendrick went the Ervin Santana route, came back up and put up a 351/387/532 line over the last three months, and had a solid post-season.

Figgins is a loss, but they might make that up. Lackey had an OK year, but it was nothing special. 118 ERA+, which doesn’t factor in the 60 or so innings that were replaced by guys like Shane Loux when he spent the first month and a half on the DL. I love his BR sponsor, by the way.

So I think rumors of their demise are a little pre-mature. PECOTA now has them at 80 wins (after they fixed all the things they screwed up). Based on how accurate PECOTA usually ends up in projecting the Angels, I figure that makes them good for about 135 wins.

Obviously the last comment is in jest, but I really have a quiet confidence about the Angels this season. I think they'll surprise people, and there's no reason a successful season should come as a surprise. This is a good baseball team.

State of the Blog

Whoa. Little dusty in here. Just thought I'd post something about what's coming up in the newish year. I fully intend to resume some modicum of Angels blogging once the season starts, but geez, it's been kind of a boring off-season for the last couple months. I don't think I'll take on any big projects, but I'll still write as things hit me, and I may do some game recaps when I think I can say something insightful.

I'm probably going to keep up the music stuff, too. I'd like to post some stripped down comments about shows, if nothing else then to keep some sort of journal about shows I've seen. The numbers have gone way in the last year or two, and I'm starting to forget who I've seen, so this will serve as a nice contemporaneous reminder. Expect to see some pictures as well.

And in that vein, here's another edition of Coming Attractions:

St. Vincent @ Metro - 2/18/10 (I can't get over how beautiful Annie Clark's eyes are in the second video, or all of them for that matter.


St. Vincent - "Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood"

st. vincent | MySpace Music Videos

Halleluja!

There is a God!

Sometimes I hate to be proven right, but I think it's safe to say that Gary Matthews Jr. will go down as one of the worst free agent signings, not just in Angels history, but in baseball history. Funny thing is, it still didn't keep the Angels out of the playoffs in those three years. Oh well, thank God there's a team as dumb as the Mets.

Burned By the Hot Stove?

Let's take stock of what we've seen from the Angels so far this off-season, both positive and negative:

1. Matt Brown, Jose Arredondo, and Dustin Mosely were non-tendered.
2. Kelvim Escobar signed a minor league deal elsewhere.
   
3. Chone Figgins signed with the Mariners.
4. John Lackey signed with the Red Sox.
5. The Angels re-upped with Bobby Abreu for two more seasons.
6. The Angels signed Hideki Matsui for one year at a decent number.

The Non-Tenders

The only one that surprised me somewhat was Dustin Mosely, especially with the impending loss of Lackey at the time. He was capable, when healthy, of providing league average innings, and I figured that would make him at least a candidate in spring training for a fifth starter job, now that one appears available. But there may be more to his injury than we know, and with Matt Palmer, Trevor Bell, Sean O'Sullivan, and possibly Trevor Reckling in the mix, I'm assuming the Angels were comfortable with their options.

Matt Brown looked like a AAAA type that could take over the Robb Quinlan role, but those guys aren't particularly hard to come by. Not a back-breaking loss.

Jose Arredondo looked like he had figured things out in 2008 when he tossed 61 innings with an ERA of 1.62. Arm problems held him back in 2009, and he was set to undergo Tommy John surgery in the off-season. But his real problem was that he never got his head screwed on straight. Asked to go to Arizona to stay fresh in case he was needed as a post-season replacement, he defied the organization and went home to the Dominican, effectively punching his ticket out of Anaheim. All in all, these non-tenders, as well as the loss of Escobar, will have a negligible effect on the 2010 Angels.


Chone Figgins

I can't say I'm surprised by Figgins decision to sign elsewhere, and Seattle is a logical destination, what with the loss of Adrian Beltre. It will be difficult to see Figgins in another uniform, especially one within the division, but this was the right move by both teams. From Figgins' standpoint, he needed to take the best deal he could get, and while the Angels would have taken him back at their price, he did better than he would have done in Anaheim. When he was a pinch runner in 2002, I doubt too many of us thought that we'd get production from him that we saw over his Angels career. But he's not getting any younger, his stolen base success was down last year, and honestly, he's probably more valuable as a guy who plays every day, but plays three positions per week. The Mariners won't use him that way (the Angels wouldn't either). We'll have to wait and see if his 2009 was a case of a guy exploding in a contract year. I don't think it was, actually. I think he'll have a couple really good seasons in Seattle, then decline. I think it's a good deal for both player and team.

But the Angels have got to do something with Brandon Wood, and they appear ready to give him the shot that he's earned in AAA. Wood hasn't shown much at the major league level, but he's never been in a sink or swim situation. He was either up for the purpose of giving guys random days off, or because injuries necessitated it. His major league power numbers through his age aren't all that different from Kendry Morales, and if he continues to improve his discipline, even a little bit, he can be a productive power hitter who plays very good defense at third base. I think he got screwed by the organization in some ways last year, and it took him a while to get it rolling, but if he puts up another spring like he did in 2009, there will be no question that the job is his, and we'll finally see if he's been worth waiting for. It will be worth it for the closure alone.


John Lackey

Tony Granato played six seasons for the Los Angels Kings. He went to a Stanley Cup finals with the Kings. His gritty style and attitude made him a fan favorite of Kings fans for his entire tenure in L.A. Kings fans stuck by him when he took a two handed slash to the head of Neil Wilkinson. We stuck by him when he missed a lot of time due to a brain tumor. To this day, I remember being at a Kings game while he was recovering, and when they flashed his picture on the jumbotron, everyone in the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Then, in 1996, he turned down a comparable offer from the Kings to sign with the San Jose Sharks, arguably my most hated franchise at the time (still is, really, tied with the Ducks). To this day, I hate Tony Granato. That's how I feel about John Lackey.

My feelings regarding Lackey are almost completely opposite to those of Figgins. Granted, he took a lot more money than the Angels were probably willing to offer, and more money than he's worth, but I have nothing but antipathy for players who leave as free agents and sign with their longtime fanbase's most hated franchise (which I think the Red Sox are for Angels fans). I may be rationalizing, but over the last couple years, I don't think Lackey was an Angels warrior. I think he was a warrior who happened to pitch for the Angels, but I don't think he had much, if any, loyalty towards the franchise. He badmouthed his teammates at times, he had issues with his manager, and I think we all knew that when he blew up at Scioscia in the ALCS, he had thrown his last pitch as an Angel.

I will not root for John Lackey the way I rooted for Garret Anderson in Atlanta. I will not crack a tiny smile when I see that he's had a good performance, like I will for Chone Figgins. I will not celebrate a John Lackey day at Anaheim Stadium like I did for Chuck Finley. I won't wish him any physical harm (then again, I won't shed any tears if he shreds his elbow), but I will root for him to get lit up every single time he takes the mound, and I would love to see "Red Sox Nation" turn on him 10 starts into his Red Sox career. His is this decade's Jim Edmonds in terms of how much I'll root for him to fail (and hopefully he won't still succeed like Edmonds did).


Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu

The Abreu deal is a month old, and we already know what he bring to the table. I don't have much to disagree with there, and all I would say is that I hope he takes Erick Aybar under his wing and teaches him to be patient and the advantages that come from it. I think Aybar matured a lot this season, and I think with another year studying under Abreu, if he can learn to take a few more walks, he could replace Chone Figgins as a quality lead-off hitter.

I like the Matsui deal as well, though it likely means that Vladimir Guerrero is done as an Angel. It's only one year, and it's not for very much money. When it comes to free agent deals gone bad, it's almost never the dollars that kill a team, it's the years. Gary Matthews would have been palatable (though still overpaid) at $10MM per for two years. It's the third, fourth, and fifth years that made that deal awful. Even if Matsui blows up in the Angels' faces, it's just a minor blemish. He only missed 20 games last year, and had OPS+ of 131 with 28 homers. Those number are almost identical to Vlad's 2008. I'll gladly take that for $6.5MM for one year.


The Future

So where do the Angels go from here? They'll likely make some sort of play for another pitcher, or Jason Bay, or both. Hopefully the rumored deal of Juan Rivera for Derek Lowe is not close to reality, as it would be a horrible deal for the Angels. Lowe had a very subpar season last year, with his peripherals down across the board. You could expect a bounce back year from a 31 or 32 year old, but I wouldn't expect one from a 37 year old. Worse yet, he's got three years at $15MM per left on his deal. That's not the type of acquisition we've seen Tony Reagins go in for (see Abreu and Matsui). Reagins' only big splash has been for Torii Hunter, younger and more productive than Lowe. Honestly, I'm more confident handing the fifth starter job over to Matt Palmer than I am giving it to Derek Lowe.

So the starting staff, assuming no major injuries, looks to be Weaver, Saunders, Kazmir, Santana, and one of Palmer, O'Sullivan, Reckling, or Bell. I'd expect Saunders to put together a better overall season. Weaver may regress a bit, but not much. Kazmir will be an upgrade over what they got from the third spot last year, and Santana looks like he has regained his form. I honestly don't see a major drop off. If Shields can come back healthy, the bullpen won't be any worse (not a very high bar).

I see the offense as probably being down a bit. The projectors will say that Kendry Morales will regress, but I see him as just as likely to improve on last season, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet on similar production to what he did in 2009. I have pretty high hopes for Kendrick. I see Aybar dropping the average a bit, but hopefully picking up a few walks to balance out the OBP. Wood, obviously, is a question mark. Angel fans have reason to be optimistic after seeing what Morales could do with a full season of at bats, but I wouldn't pencil the kid in for a .300 average and 30 homers. I'll be happy if he just holds down the starting job for the whole year. In the outfield, I think we can expect similar production to what we saw last year, with maybe more from Matsui at the DH than we got out of Vlad.

If the Angels make no more moves right now, I think they'll be picked second by most of the media, with the Mariners looking like the trendy pick. And as always, it's baseball, so anything can happen. Guys blow up, guys fall off cliffs, and guys get hurt. So I think it's safe to say that the division is wide open, but I still expect (however irrationally) the Angels to win it.

It's a long way to April, though, and what happens between now and then could make this entire analysis moot.

Morning Mix 12/3/09

Pre Holiday-Party:

• Cheerleader - Grizzly Bear
• Spit it Out - Brendan Benson
• Les Yper-Sound - Stereolab
• One to Another - Charlatans UK
• Splash #One (Now I'm Home) - Mighty Lemon Drops
• Hypnotized - Spacemen 3
• Bright Yellow Gun - Throwing Muses
• Soma - the Strokes

Here's the first single from the first CD I ever bought.

Morning Mix 12/2/2009

Sausage Fest today:

• Billy Liar - the Decemberists
• Come Together - Spiritualized
• Jackass - Beck
• Morning Bell (version from Kid A) - Radiohead
• Planet of Sound - the Pixies
• Something So Strong - Crowded House
• Slash N' Burn - Manic Street Preachers
• Juicebox - the Strokes
• Begin the Begin - R.E.M.

The Pixies/Crowded House back to back was an interesting change of pace. I think the Spiritualized song is the best song on this list, but Slash N' Burn is what got me interested in Manic Street. See the video below.

Morning Mix 12/1/09

First one of December.

• Quick Canal (w/ Leatitia Sadier of Stereolab) - Atlas Sound
• All of the Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth - New Pornographers
• The One Who Got Us Out - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• Futures and Folly - Blitzen Trapper
• Cracking Up - the Jesus and Mary Chain
• High and Dry - Radiohead
• Let the Serpent Sleep - Elf Power
• Run - Spiritualized
• In the Flowers - Animal Collective

The last song serves as a good reminder that year end lists are coming up. Animal Collective will likely be featured prominently. Here's Run, from Spiritualized. Originally released as the first song of the second movement of Laser Guided Melodies, it has also been released as a single in its own right.

Morning Mix 11/30/09

Post-Thanksgiving and ready for three weeks of work before I go home for Christmas:

• Fall On Me - R.E.M.
• Lovecats - the Cure
• On and On - the Longpigs
• Four Sticks - Led Zeppelin
• Sons of Cain - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• So Much - the Sundays
• The Piccolo Snare - Super Furry Animals
• Big Red - Frank Black
• You're Not Very Well - Charlatans U.K.
• Squint - Grant Lee Phillips

Maybe the largest concentration of "acts I've seen live" today. All but Zeppelin, if you give me credit for Frank Black, who I've seen with the Pixies. And not one song released this year. Which reminds me, year end lists start soon. Here are the Longpigs and Frank Black.