Breaking the Seal

I used to own a bar and we were always looking for promotions or "gimmicks" to bring people in.  A couple of other bars in our area had a weekly event where for $5 you had all the beer you can drink...until you had to go to the bathroom.  Once you broke the seal on your bladder, the all-you-can-drink beer was over.  I always pictured people standing around doing the "pee-pee" dance until their bladders were about to exploded, trying to get that last glass of beer down, and then making a mad dash to the restroom.  I imagine that's what last weeks GM meeting was like as teams' GM's stood around doing the dance looking for potential deals, trying to get the last bit of information or leads on prospective trades before the seal breaks and the mad dash for deals start flowing.  Well, the seal has been broken as two trades went down yesterday.  The Washington Nationals stole Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Florida Marlins, giving up a projected utility infielder and two minor league prospects with just average potential.  I don't get this deal from the Marlins side except it frees up some payroll, but Washington got two good players for relatively nothing.  Where was Angel's GM Tony Reagins when Florida was looking to deal?  If that's all the Marlins were looking for to deal Olsen and Willingham, two players who would fit nicely on the the Halo's roster, were the Angels involved in talks?  I haven't heard anything about the Angels involvement in acquiring Olsen and/or Willingham, but I'm disappointed that those two players aren't moving to Anaheim, especially at such a low cost.  The other deal has an impact on the 2009 Angels season as division rival Oakland A's traded for Matt Holliday.  I've always respected Oakland's GM Billy Beane for the bold moves he's not afraid to make for either immediate improvement or set his team up for future strengths. The deal has Holliday going to Oakland for pitchers Greg Smith and Huston Street, and OF Carlos Gonzalez.  It's rumored the Rockies will flip Street in another deal.  I'm not sure I believe Street will be traded again as he fills a need the Rockies have in their bullpen with the departure of Brian Fuentes, but if that's true hopefully the Angels could look into Street's availability.  With the addition of Holliday to the Oakland line-up, the A's may be putting themselves in a position to compete in 2009.  They were on the edge of competing in 2008 prior to their July trade of Rich Harden to the Cubs, basically giving up on the season and looking towards the future.  Apparently Beane thinks the future is now.  There were rumors Holliday might have been coming to Anaheim to play leftfield for the Angels, a move I wasn't too excited about because of Holliday's numbers away from Coors Field.  With Holliday moving from hitter-friend Colorado to the pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum, and the switch from the NL to the AL, one could expect to see a drop in his production.  But the deal is still a decent one for Oakland as they get a player who can put up respectable numbers, something Oakland's outfield has been missing for a couple seasons.  If the A's are truly making a play to compete in 2009, expect to see Beane make another deal or two to improve their pitching.  Here are some links regarding the two deals:  ESPN - Nats/Marlins, Fox Sports - Nat/Marlins, CBSSports - Colorado/Oakland, and Athletics Nation's take on the deal.  Now that the first significant off-season deals have been made, and the end of teams' exclusive rights to their free agents, we should see the Hot Stove start to heat up.

Daily Notes:

• Apparently I was wrong about the cost of Randy Johnson.  I was projecting Johnson as a possible addition to the Angles pitching staff at a reasonable salary.  What I was expecting as reasonable was a deal in the $5M - $7M range.  While my expectations were probably on the low side, I felt spending more than that on a #5 starter would be a mistake.  According to this article, Johnson could expect more on the free agent market than the Diamondbacks can afford to offer.  Arizona figures to spend $10M on Johnson and a second baseman.  In other words they're offering about $8M to Johnson to stay.
• In this LA Times article by Mike DiGiovanna, the Angels aren't expected to make Mark Teixeira an offer before he hits the free agent market.  The Angels have exclusive negotiation rights with Teixeira until midnight Thursday, but it appears they'll wait until he can hear offers from other teams before making their own sales pitch.  "All parties understand how we're going to move forward in this process," Angels GM Tony Reagins said. "At an appropriate time, we'll make an offer to try to bring him back. We both understand when that time will be. The communication among the parties has been good."
• Trevor Hoffman's days in San Diego are probably over.  Within this article by Ken Rosenthal, the Padres refused to meet with Hoffman to discuss his future with the team.  Hoffman made $7M last season and the Padres were not interested in going over $4M to have their closer return in 2009.  Although his abilities have declined, the 41 year old reliever could be an option to the Angels bullpen...if the price is right. 
  
     "Hoffman's 3.77 ERA last season was his highest since 1995, but he still converted 30 of 34 saves, striking out 46 and walking nine in 45 1/3 innings."
  
  If 2009 is to be the last year of his career, Hoffman might be interested in playing for a team with play-off potential at a discounted rate.
• Another former closer is interested in joining the Angels, and the feeling may be mutual.  According to this article on MLB.com, Chad Cordero could be in the Angel's plans:
  
  "Another possibility has emerged in veteran right-hander Chad Cordero, who became a free agent after having shoulder surgery while in the employ of the Nationals.  According to a baseball source, the Angels, Mets, Rangers and Tigers are interested in Cordero, and each club has asked to look at his medical records.  Cordero missed most of the 2008 season because of a labrum tear in his right shoulder. He had surgery on July 8 and is expected to be ready for Spring Training. Cordero visited Dr. Lewis Yocum for a checkup last week and is expected to start throwing in a week.  Cordero's first choice reportedly would be the Angels. He is from Anaheim and grew up an Angels fan. Cordero also wouldn't be averse to a reunion with Mets general manager Omar Minaya, who drafted him in the first round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft when he was with the Expos."