ST. LOUIS -- Once he didn't win the online vote for the final AL roster spot in the All-Star Game, Chone Figgins figured he had three days off and decided not to answer his phone.
He had no idea that Evan Longoria had an infected finger and might not be able to play.
So when Longoria was scratched and Figgins was picked to replace him on the roster, it became a bit of an issue trying to track down the Angels third baseman.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Astros tonight will try to finish off an unlikely sweep of the Dodgers.
Los Angeles arrived in Houston with a 3.16 team ERA, while the Astros had averaged just three runs a game in their first 13 games.
Naturally, the Astros scored 14 runs in the first two games of the series, coming back from deficits of 3-0 in the first game and 4-2 and 5-4 last night.
Next Big Thing is MLB FanHouse's look at emerging teams, trends and stars in 2009.
The Detroit Tigers were easily the most disappointing team in the majors last year. A preseason favorite to win the American League Central and compete for the World Series, they opened the year with seven straight losses, setting the tone for a last-place finish, one game behind the lowly Royals.
With all of the talk surrounding the new Yankees, it's easy to forget there's still some old Yankees on the free agent market that are pretty good players. Currently, Bobby Abreu is still unemployed and looking for a job and it looks like there may be some work for him on the West Coast. As it stands, the Oakland A's need a bat and Abreu can hit, so it seems like it could be a pretty good match.
Actually, the A's are looking at a few of players right now; Abreu, Jason Giambi, and Garret Anderson. Abreu's a much better hitter than Anderson at this point and he can play the field, so he's probably the best option for the A's. Of course, best option is a fungible thing because he'll likely have the biggest price tag of the trio and thus, make it harder for Oakland to sign him.
In this market, though, it's hard to say. If there's not much of a market for Abreu, he might fall into Oakland's lap. Both he and Giambi could provide good offense from the DH spot to couple with Matt Holliday. Would that be enough to compete with the Angels in the AL West? The gap between the two teams wasn't that great before the A's shipped Rich Harden and Joe Blanton out last year and if the A's can't find some offense in the free agent market, the division might be closer than people think.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
The Angels led the majors with 100 wins, but in hindsight they were something of a paper tiger, quietly bowing out of the playoffs in four games against the Red Sox. What happened? For starters, their lineup was exposed.
This is a team that ranked 10th in the AL in runs scored, and with the exception of Mark Teixeira, who did most of his damage with the Braves, no one on this team topped 100 RBI. The heart of the lineup (Teixeira, Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter) did its job, but the supporting cast simply didn't support. Over the course of a long regular season, this team racked up wins thanks to a outstanding pitching staff, but in a short playoff series, cold bats killed this team's chances.
Arte Moreno is willing to spend big to keep his team in the hunt, but even his pockets have a limit ... right? Is he willing to break the bank to retain his own blue-chip free agents, Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez, and throw his hat in the CC Sabathia sweepstakes? We'll have to wait and see.
Garret Anderson and the Angels go back -- way back. He's been with the team for 15 seasons and is the franchise leader in, well, just about every important category there is, including games, runs, hits, RBI. He's been with the team through three name changes, debuting as a California Angel, winning a World Series as an Anaheim Angel and most recently playing as a Los Angeles Angel.
And now ... he's being cut loose. The Angels officially declined Anderson's option on Tuesday, deciding to buy out his final year for $3 million rather than giving him $12 million to play. From a strict, business sense, the move makes sense. Anderson is still productive (he hit .293-15-84 in 145 games) but at 36 years old, he's much closer to the league average (97 OPS+) than a superstar.
Before nostalgic Angels fans start sending hate mail to the front office, realize that Tuesday's announcement does not officially close the door: GM Tony Reagins admitted that the team may still try to sign Anderson to a smaller contract. But with guys like Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira (and who knows, maybe even CC Sabathia) hoping to break the bank, it makes sense to be frugal elsewhere when possible.
But in the meantime, the face of the franchise for the last decade and a half is on the outside looking in.
Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Here Andrew Johnson and Matt Watson discuss the ALDS between the Angels and Red Sox.
Andrew Johnson: Between the Brewers and Rays, the 2008 postseason has a pretty fresh feel. Not so much in this series. For the third time in five years the Angels will face the Red Sox in the first round. The last two meetings haven't gone well for Los Angeles -- both were sweeps in Boston's favor.
I don't anticipate a Red Sox sweep this time around, but it's hard for me to see the outcome being any different for the Halos. But why you ask? The Angels have 100 wins and the best record in baseball you say. They went 8-1 against Boston this season you add.
None of these facts faze me. Why? The Red Sox are simply a better baseball team. Their run differential of plus-151 is a staggering 83 runs better than the Angels. And it's all the more impressive considering Boston played 54 games -- roughly one-third of its schedule -- against the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees. All three clubs won at least 86 games.
The Angels disabled list is filling up rather quickly this spring. It seems like everyday they're having to place another player on it. So far, it's been an affliction that's only affecting their pitching staff as the Angels have four pitchers on the disabled list in John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Scot Shields, and Chris Bootcheck. Luckily for the Angels, if there's an area of the team where they have enough depth to shoulder such losses, it's the pitching staff.
The other area where the Angels are extremely deep is in the outfield where they currently have six players they can plug in. Actually, make that five at the moment, because Gary Matthews Jr. may soon be joining all those pitchers on the shelf.
Outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. left Monday's game against the San Diego Padres in the first inning after rolling his right ankle while running the bases. Matthews was helped to the clubhouse by Angels trainer Ned Bergert and then taken for X-rays. The X-rays were negative and the preliminary diagnosis is a sprained right ankle.
His status will be re-evaluated today but even before the injury he was not scheduled to play again until Thursday's one-game Freeway Series in Anaheim.
You never want to have injuries in the spring, but if you're going to have them, you don't want them to be during the final week before the season starts. As I already said, though, with Torii Hunter, Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Juan Rivera, and Reggie Willits, there are plenty of Angels in the outfield to keep the team afloat if Matthews has to miss any times.
Garret Anderson sits quietly in front of his locker most days, aware that he could be going through his final spring training with the Angels after 18 years in the organization.
"It has crossed my mind," Anderson said. "I've seen so many guys leave and I'm a realist. I know one day it's going to be me. I'm not going to be here forever. I understand that.
"An organization kind of has to do that. You can't let your team get old. Seattle went through that. They waited a little too long with too many guys, and they paid for it for a couple years."
Seeing as how Anderson is entering the final year of the four-year $48 million deal he signed with the Angels back in 2004, he should probably trust his instincts. The Angels have a club option on Anderson for next season that would pay him $14 million. Or they can buy him out for $3 million.
Considering that Vladimir Guerrero isn't going anywhere, and that the team has invested $140 million in Gary Matthews Jr. and Torii Hunter the last two seasons, I just don't see the Angels bringing Garret back for another season in 2009. At least, not at that price.
What a boring postseason so far. As Will at Deadspin points out, outside of the Yankees first win of the series yesterday we haven't seen an ounce of competitiveness. The Cubs being swept by the Diamondbacks is one of the saddest blowouts I've seen in a while. I sure am glad the Rockies swept so I can continue to read "ROLLING STONES KEEP ON ROLLING" headlines for another week.
The worst part about all of these sweeps is that we all have to root for the Yankees so we have something to watch all week. I can deal with rooting for the Yankees as long as Alex Rodriguez continues to strike out 1/3 of the time.
ST. LOUIS -- Once he didn't win the online vote for the final AL roster spot in the All-Star Game, Chone Figgins figured he had three days off and decided not to answer his phone.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Next Big Thing is MLB FanHouse's look at emerging teams, trends and stars in 2009.
With all of the talk surrounding the new Yankees, it's easy to forget there's still some old Yankees on the free agent market that are pretty good players. Currently, Bobby Abreu is still unemployed and looking for a job and it looks like there may be some work for him on the West Coast. As it stands, the Oakland A's need a bat and Abreu can hit, so it seems like it could be a pretty good match. 
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
Garret Anderson and the Angels go back -- way back. He's been with the team for 15 seasons and is the franchise leader in, well, just about every important category there is, including games, runs, hits, RBI. He's been with the team through three name changes, debuting as a California Angel, winning a World Series as an Anaheim Angel and most recently playing as a Los Angeles Angel. 
The Angels disabled list is filling up rather quickly this spring. It seems like everyday they're having to place another player on it. So far, it's been an affliction that's only affecting their pitching staff as the Angels have four pitchers on the disabled list in John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Scot Shields, and Chris Bootcheck. Luckily for the Angels, if there's an area of the team where they have enough depth to shoulder such losses, it's the pitching staff.
Last week it was Francisco Rodriguez admitting that 2008 would probably be his last season in an Angels uniform. K-Rod isn't alone though, as another member of the Angels 2002 World Series team, Garret Anderson, realizes that this spring training will probably be his last one as an Angel as well.
What a boring postseason so far. As Will at Deadspin points out, outside of the Yankees first win of the series yesterday we haven't seen an ounce of competitiveness. The Cubs being swept by the Diamondbacks is one of the saddest blowouts I've seen in a while. I sure am glad the Rockies swept so I can continue to read "ROLLING STONES KEEP ON ROLLING" headlines for another week.
