Angels Sign Gary Mathews Jr

by SwisherSweet33 on Nov 22, 2006 11:31 AM PST Comment 25 comments

for 5 years for an enormous $50 million price tag.

Is anyone else here as excited about this signing as I am? Gary Mathews Jr., a 32 year old one year wonder for 5 years and $50 million. Or is this some sort of pre-cursor for the Angels unloading some of their young talent to get another power bat? They talked all of last season about needing a power bat and I don't see Mathews as shoring up this 'hole' in their ball club. At the very least this signing will improve their horrible defense, but I see it in reality as the Angels pissing away $50 million on a player who had his 'breakout' season last year after having played for 7 teams in the previous 6 seasons. Holy Toledo. As a side note, the folks over at HH (or at least the Rev) were praying last night that someone swoop in and steal Mathews Jr from Stoneman. Looks as if their Thanksgiving prayers were NOT answered!

Poll

Was this a good signing for the Angels?

Who Cares, we have huge holes to fill ourselves

33 votes

Yes

14 votes

No

87 votes

134 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 25 comments

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Comments

I agree with those who think

signing a guy who had his best year at age 32, and will drop back to his norm after his "contract" year. Will baseball guys ever learn, never sign a guy coming off a career year in a contract year.
That is why I hope the A's don't sign Payton, same scenario.

by china bob on Nov 22, 2006 12:06 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

i agree, but...

this was not just a breakout year offensively, but he had a monster year defensively as well. I have no facts to share about this but maybe they feel a breakout year in both categories cancels out it being contract year.

by OAKobsession on Nov 22, 2006 12:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I voted that it was a good signing for the Angels

From My Perspective.... HAHAHAHAHA... I love it.

How long before the vitriol over at HH boils over for GM Jr? One season?

by SD Erik on Nov 22, 2006 12:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Already comparing him to

Steve Finley over there.. that was before he signed!

by SwisherSweet33 on Nov 22, 2006 1:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

New Erstad

He's the new erstad, best parallel ever for the Angels. Erstad's been one of the ultimate hacking mass players. I think matthews losing 50 points of batting average would become similar.

by tomoyo on Nov 22, 2006 1:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

i was at lunch

and i saw espn from afar and i was like crap they signed gary matthews jr.

but then i came online and saw how much/how long and i'm totally ok with it now. i still think he has potential to really help them (both with offense and defense) and that worries me, but even if he does well i don't think he's going to be enough protection for vlad in their lineup. whatever that means haha

bottom line of my thinking: he's DEFINITELY an improvement on defense in their outfield. he could be help with offense if last year wasn't just a fluke. but the contract is huge and i like that.

"I never saw a hooligan I did like. They're like left-handed pitchers, they all have a screw loose somewhere." - The Asphalt Jungle

by drmmerchk on Nov 22, 2006 1:22 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

potential to really help them ?

maybe if he dies in a plane crash tomorrow.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Nov 22, 2006 1:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

well...

if you think about it... ANY player has potential to really help a team haha

I'm just thinking of all the possible scenarios I guess. I think he could help them, but they still have holes to fill.

"I never saw a hooligan I did like. They're like left-handed pitchers, they all have a screw loose somewhere." - The Asphalt Jungle

by drmmerchk on Nov 22, 2006 1:31 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

For 2007 ...

he's like to be an asset. If his O falls off somewhat, but his D holds, they should be fine with it. Of course, if that's how a five year deal starts, you're in trouble.

Another project of Devo's

by devo on Nov 22, 2006 1:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

especially

When the 5 year deal starts of a 32 year old player with a bad steal percentage and little power...

"E-Lo pitched a whale of a ballgame," A's manager Ken Macha said.

by niallmack on Nov 22, 2006 1:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

is his D really that good?

according to this it wasn't so great:

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/rosenthal_claims_angels_give_up_on_ne xt_five_seasons/

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Nov 22, 2006 2:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

good point ... never mind.

Another project of Devo's

by devo on Nov 22, 2006 2:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hilarious

by RLangford on Nov 22, 2006 5:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Me likey.

The Angels spending a fortune on a guy who played all last season (his only good season) in Texas, a veritable hitters paradise, is kind of like when the Rangers spend big money on a flyball pitcher from a huge NL park.

You just have to grab the popcorn, sit back and watch with a smile.

"It's time to blow this team up." - Oaktoon, July 2006

by Ozzz on Nov 22, 2006 2:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I just talked to a few Angels' fans,

and they're actually HAPPY about him coming to LAA.

I find that HILARIOUS.

"You're just jealous. You wish you had a rally animal..." -CardinalWraith

by Boonee on Nov 22, 2006 2:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

This Angels fan doesnt like the deal

From Rev Halo Fan over at Halo's Heaven (for those of you who don't know, he is a HUGE Angels' homer/myopian)

"Posted on Wed Nov 22, 2006 at 05:48:05 PM EST

GMJ2 4 5 YRS @ 10/Y

(sux 2 b us)

(UPDATE: plus a no trade clause over the first three seasons of the deal... Congratulations to the Oakland Athletics on their 2007, 2008 and 2009 Western Division Championships)"

by SwisherSweet33 on Nov 22, 2006 3:03 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

It makes you wonder how much

Zito is going to end up making in this market ...

Could he end up with the largest contract ever given to a pitcher? Hammpton's 8/121 doesn't seem unreasonable in this market. (the amount of money, obviously it's unreasonable to give that much to Hampton)

Another project of Devo's

by devo on Nov 22, 2006 3:15 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

that eric chavez 66/6 deal

looked like a steal at first, questionable over the last year or two, but looks like highway robbery now.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Nov 22, 2006 3:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Chavy's deal

You're right about it being highway robbery. To be honest, his defense alone almost validates his contract. Without his defense, who knows how we would've done this year?

by swisherroks33 on Nov 22, 2006 4:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

his defense wasn't that great

06 was a total disaster for him, but i think he'll be back, and at GMJ-level money, who can complain.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Nov 22, 2006 4:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, lets see ...

there are about 4k ANers ...

Another project of Devo's

by devo on Nov 23, 2006 9:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

On the other hand...

Signing Matthews frees up Chone Figgins. The Angels have already said that they were going to go hard after one of the top tiered FA SP (maybe even Zito) and would then use their SP bounty to trade for a bat.

Consider this: If Matthews is worth $10 million in this market than someone like Tejada or Manny would be an absolute bargain at a few million more. Drop one of those two bats into the Angels line-up and you're looking at the favorite to win the AL West in 2007.

Why yes. I am a ray of warm and fuzzy sunshine.

by grover on Nov 22, 2006 6:00 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

That is exactly what I am worried about.

The Angels have stated many times that they want a power bat and this is not that power bat. I see this as just the first move addressing their offensive needs this offseason and not their last.

Standing alone, I really like this deal from an A's perspective, but I cannot believe that the Angels are done.

by SwisherSweet33 on Nov 23, 2006 1:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

How "bad" depends on Angels budget

If the Angels budget is over $100 million or they intend to have a team salary as high as the Red Sox, then overpaying for Matthews probably doesn't prevent them from doing other things they want to do. To use an extreme example, if me and Bill Gates each pay $10,000 too much for a new car, we both made a bad deal but the bad deal really hurts me and doesn't hurt Gates very much at all. Teams with higher payrolls than the A's can probably afford to pay "too much" for a player they want.

Incidentally, based on last year at least, Matthews is better than Kotsay.

by SA on Nov 22, 2006 8:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs