As the offseason looms large, and the Angels look to acquire a solid
offensive presence in their lineup, one name will most certainly still be on
the minds of potential deal makers. Brandon Wood. So my question to the
group is this:

Do the Angels consider trading Brandon Wood or should he be untouchable?

Personally, I would be pissed if we included him in any trade for anything
short of a marquee player in the prime of their career. But we won't get
such a player for Wood alone. I listened to a talk radio show a couple days
ago where they started an Angels to Arod discussion. You can bet the Yankees
will want a top line pitcher (Lackey or Weaver) and a player like Wood to
make any deal involving Arod. That idea doesn't appeal to me very much
either. Plus, we are going to need to replace Cabrera in a couple years. So
I say NO, don't trade him, he is untouchable.

"LACountyRefugee" <LACORefugee@spamsux.net> wrote in message
news:P2aTg.6485$e66.2447@newssvr13.news.prodigy.co m...

Hmmm...tough one...on Wood that is. No way for A-Rod. I don't think he's
worth it...I actually think he's a curse. As far as Wood goes. How long do
you wait? Vlad isn't getting any younger. What good is waiting to see if
Wood is even going to do well in the majors much less Triple A ball and that
whole time wasting the fact that we've got Vladdy in the lineup being
pitched around. And even if he does come around to play well in the majors
that is probably 3-4 years down the road. Will Vlad still be Vlad? Or will
Vlad be gone by then? The mentality of only one big bat, and as I've stated
before...Vlad is more a consistent hitter than a homerun hitter, isn't going
to do it. Say we bring Wood up because he's awesome and Vlad is gone or
just older and not as good and then they pitch around Wood? There is
something to living in the now as it would be quite a waste, in my opinion,
to have Vlad and paid all that money and never even have made it to the
World Series with him because we wouldn't trade away a prospect who has
proven nothing. Remember...we could have another Wood come around just as
fast as we had Jered Weaver come up. You never know and that is a gamble
worth making if it means taking advantage of your current investment in
Vlad. Do we want to be talking about what Vlad could have been 10 years
down the road because we never got him any protection and never made it to
the World Series with him? To me it is a no brainer...that would be a waste
of Vlad's talent...but once again...just my opinion.

As for our pitching staff...I don't think ANY of our starters are touchable.
We've got nothing really going in the minors as far as pitching goes, Mosley
and Bootcheck are mediocre...Bootcheck more than Mosley. I think Bartolo is
done so we need Saunders, Weaver, Lackey, Santana and Escobar. We also have
questionable health in Escobar. We also can't lose Frankie or Shields in
the bullpen because everyone else is nowhere near as reliable.

Without pitching...what good is our offense? I actually think we need to
get some more starting pitching depth and maybe a bullpen arm.

Just my opinion all...I'm not trying to start a fight

Nathan Miller wrote:

I was arguing with some guy at work that -- depending on his health in
the off-season -- Bartolo would be a decent trade for a marquee name.

Escobar's 2005 goes a long way with me -- people who put the team
first over themselves earn my loyalty as a fan. If only he could get
some [CENSORED] RUN SUPPORT!!!!!!

Nathan Miller wrote:

I didn't see too many teams pitching around him after Rivera and
Anderson got hot.


Nick Adenhart still needs at least another year or two in the minors.
Adenhart was the best high school pitching prospect in 2004 before he
had Tommy John surgery, but he appears headed back and could arrive in
the bigs as early as 2008. Arredondo jumped from A to AAA this year. He
struggled at SLC, but he's still only 22 years old. But both Adenhart
and Arredondo are fireballers. There are one or two aother pitchers
down in A that might raise some eyebrows too.

"Ironside" <old_ironside@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159564161.351523.30580@b28g2000cwb.googlegro ups.com...

Rivera also grounded into double plays multiple times down the stretch when
they did walk Vlad in front of him. He did that with a man on 1st and 3rd
with only one out. I think it happened a few times in A's series. I know
that all players have those times but they still walked Vlad and it worked
most of the time. I don't believe that Rivera is the answer. I believe
that Rivera is a supplement to the lack of output GA has due to injuries.

<redfloyd@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159563659.740427.118860@i3g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...

I don't think Bartolo is going to be worth anything after being injured all
last season, his age, and his current physical shape.

As far as Escobar goes...I was by no means knocking him. He is awesome. I
do feel bad for the lack of run support he gets, and maybe some run support
would put less stress on him and cause less injury. But since he's come to
the Angels, they haven't given him anything. He's just had a lot of minor
little dings over the last few seasons. So there is a chance he'll miss a
start or two.

"Nathan Miller" <nate.miller1@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:VSgTg.271$Pk2.111@trnddc08...

But he could serve as salary ballast. For example, let's say the
Angels-Yankees enter into Arod negotiations. The Yankees might insist on a
young arm like Santana or Lackey. The Angels might them insiste that the
Yankees take him to absorb his salary. If you're going to take on a huge
salary, it helps to unload a huge salary. Same thing fro Garrett Anderson.
If the Angels do acquire Manny Ramirez (I hope not), then they might insist
that in addition to a prospect the Red Sox take on GAs salary.