On the same day that the Angels might be watching John Lackey bolt for Boston, the Angels could be introducing a brand new slugger to their line-up. ESPN is reporting that the Angels are in “serious” discussions with Hideki Matsui to become LAA’s new designated hitter. The report says that the Angels are talking about giving Matsui a one-year, $6.5 million contract. In other words, he is this year’s Bobby Abreu… only Japanese and with the most impressive porn collection in the Western Hemisphere. We’ll be keeping an eye on this story as well today, so stick with this post for the latest updates.
- 12:30 PM – Quite obviously a Matsui signing means the Angels won’t be bringing Vladimir Guerrero back. But could it also spell the end of Juan Rivera’s Angel career? The Halos had been talking about moving Rivera to DH this season because of his poor outfield defense. That isn’t an option anymore and I can’t help but think the Angels aren’t going to tolerate having both Rivera and Abreu in the outfield on a permanent basis this season.
- 4:35 PM – The NY Times is confirming that the Matsui contract with the Angels is a done deal. Well, at least the day wasn’t a total loss. For the record, this is actually a pretty good move by Tony Reagins and deserves some accolades, but that will all have to wait until the Angels get themselves out from under the devastation of today’s losses on the pitching side.