The Los Angeles Angels made a big splash in the free agent market by landing high profile players
By DAVID LEBLANC
Staff Writer
Late Tuesday night, the L.A. angels put a deal in to land the high profile free agent Albert Pujous. Yet with the look of Miami pulling out, it was sure that the St. Louis Cardinals were going to resign their beloved first baseman.
Yet early Wednesday morning, Pujous signed the deal that would send him to the west coast for approximately $250 million dollars. This was without a doubt the biggest signing of the winter meeting thus far.
Yet the Angels weren’t done. Around eleven o’clock they signed the second highest profile player in C.J. Wilson. This deal cost them $77.5 million for a five year deal. Without a question, the Angels are making waves at the winter meetings, but is it enough to bring them back to their first world series since 2002?
Albert Pujous is certainly a place to start. The 31 year old first baseman is continuing to turn heads year after year as he gradually works his way towards becoming one of baseball’s greatest first basemen’s. Yet was he worth a ten year deal?
Over the past three years, he has averaged a batting average of .330, with 42 homeruns and 12 steals. These numbers are ridiculous! When the new season and his contract kicks in, he’ll be 32 years old. Will Pujous be putting up these numbers when he is 42? Will he even be playing by then? But for now he is certainly a valued investment. Not only will he produce on the field, but he will be a marketing tool to the Latina community that exists in L.A.
One question that still lingers is how Pujous will perform in the American League. As we recapped on his three year averages, we must take in to consent that those were in fact in a National league. Will his number decrease seeing how the pitchers are used to power hitters? Or will his numbers somehow improve even more than they already are.
Will the pressure of pitchers having to throw to nine hitters instead of eight and a pitcher change the way they pitch to Pujous? As we look through the Angels lineup it is not a bunch of no named bums. With guys like Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick, and Eric Auybar, adding another bat could be a serious swing in their favor.
For anyone who lives in Vegas, not only did the sports world take a huge step when L.A. signed Pujous but so did Vegas. The odds of L.A. winning the World Series went from 22-1 down to 14-1. The odds also made Albert the favorite to win the American League MVP at the odds of 3-1.
With the signing of Pujous, the Angels weren’t quite done. They also signed the top pitching free agent in C.J. Wilson. Wilson has had exceptional years with the Angels inter-division rivals the Texas Rangers. But as it would appear they are tired of fight against him.
Adding Wilson to their already above average pitching staff with Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver, they begin to look like a team to be taken seriously. Another player that should be mentioned is relief pitcher La Troy Hawkins who also signed with L.A. late Wednesday night.
Not only has the power shifted to the west, so has the rivalry. For years upon years, the Yankee- Red Sox rivalry has excited fans and drove the desire to watch up. However many sports analysts are now saying that the era in baseball has came to a close, they feel a new rivalry has emerged.
Over the past few years, the division rivalry between the Texas Rangers and the L.A. Angels has been attracting more and more attention. Yet now with the move of C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujous, analysts believe they are the new faces of Rivalry. It no longer lies in the American League East, but rather in the West.
With the rivalry heating up, and the acquisition of two high end free agents, will the Angels be the team to beat, or will they turn out to be like the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL? One thing is for sure, it will be a very long and exciting season in 2012. But who will be holding the trophy at the end?
