Many considered the Angels a lock to sign Carl Crawford this winter, but now that he is in Boston, all they have to show for themselves is a pair of left-handed relievers, Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs.
That might soon change, but not necessarily for the better.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Angels have shown interest in Scott Podsednik.
Podsednik, who turns 35 in March, batted .297/.342/.382 with six homers and 51 RBI between the Royals and Dodgers this past season. He did steal 35 bases, but getting caught 15 times sure isn’t what you want from a basestealer. And while he looks like a leadoff hitter -- in fact, Rosenthal writes that the Angels “are in need of a leadoff man” -- Podsednik walked just 6.6 percent of the time in 2009 and 6.7 percent of the time in 2010. And for what it’s worth, UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) wasn’t very kind to him last season, either.
I sure hope Arte Moreno isn’t forced to raise ticket prices if his club makes this blockbuster signing.