ANGELS: GM, OWNER DEFEND MOVES.Byline: BEN VILLA Staff Writer ANAHEIM -- Angels officials defended their offseason moves at the team's Fan Fest on Saturday. Many of their fans were disappointed the team's they didn't acquire a big bat in the offseason to protect Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero (born February 9, 1976 in Don Gregorio, Nizao, Dominican Republic), and known in his native Dominican Republic as Miquéas (Spanish for Micah), is a Major League Baseball right fielder who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. . "We set out to strengthen the club this offseason and while we did it differently than we originally planned, the bottom line is winning games and we think we're going to win a lot of them," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman
For the son, see Gary Matthews Jr. "People always talk about us not getting that big bat but this is my eighth year and I remember not too long ago, we had fourguys hit 30 or more home runs in the same season and we had an awful year. It really does take 25 guys to work together and a strong pitching staff to win." Last season, the Angels had trouble scoring runs on their way to a second-place finish Noun 1. second-place finish - a finish in second place (as in a race) runner-up finish finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the in the American League West The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. behind the Oakland A's. But before the 2006 season ended, owner Arte Moreno guaranteed the Angels would do something big this offseason. While the Angels did not get that big bat the fans expected, they weren't inactive, either. In addition to Speier and Matthews Jr., who batted .313 lastseason with 19 home runs and 79RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in , the Angels also signed Shea Hillenbrand, who batted .277 with 21 home runs while splitting last season between the Toronto Blue Jays "Blue Jays" redirects here. For other uses, see Blue Jay (disambiguation).. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. and SanFrancisco Giants. Matthews (Granada Hills High/Mission College) is expected to bat leadoff. Hillenbrand can play first and third base or be the designated hitter. "We offered Alfonso Soriano $118 million to come here but it didn't work out," Moreno said. "And after I made that guarantee last year, I learned that maybe I shouldn't put my foot in my mouth anymore. But I told Bill, if you want to make a move during the season that will improve the club, don't worry about the budget. Money won't be a problem." After taking a year off, the Angels held their third Fan Fest in the past four years in the Angel Stadium parking lot. Between 25,000 and 30,000 fans came out to meet and greet their favorite players before they leave for spring training. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Wednesday to Tempe, Ariz. ben.villa@presstelegram.com (562) 499-1338 |
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