Posted 9:41 AM by Sean
This year, the annual Hall of Fame Game won't be played on induction weekend (it's actually usually on a Monday, I think, but that still counts as the "weekend" for our purposes) due to a scheduling conflict. The game is normally played at Cooperstown's Doubleday Field, a gorgeous, well-maintained park with a capacity of just shy of 10,000 that sits just down the street from the Hall itself. Ordinarily the game is a pretty big draw, even though it takes place a day after the inductions (meaning that a lot of folks have already left town), but I can't see many people making the pilgrimage to Cooperstown just to see the Phillies take on Tampa Bay in an exhibition game. Granted, the new date this year is July 16, which is the Monday after Father's Day, but even so...

Doubleday Field also hosts a New York-Penn League game every induction weekend that takes place before the induction ceremonies; that's still on for this year. If you ever find yourself in Cooperstown while that's going on, I highly recommend it.

Posted 10:20 AM by Sean
The Angels' 2003 spring training schedule is available. Their first spring training game: February 28 vs. Seattle. So far, it's looking like the major stories to follow will be which of the promising Triple-A prospects (Robb Quinlan, Nathan Haynes, and Barry Wesson) will make the big club as off-the-bench guys, and whether or not last year's pitching surprises (Frankie Rodriguez, Brendan Donnelly, and John Lackey) prove out. Kevin Appier will also be watched closely, at least by me: he had a solid year for the Angels in 2002, but was getting lit up like a pinball machine by the end of the playoffs.

Anyway, pitchers and catchers should be reporting within six weeks or so.

Posted 4:50 PM by Sean
Here's a useful curative for those tired of hearing people yap about how much better baseball was in bygone times.

Posted 9:12 AM by Sean
The Angels sign Eric Owens to a one-year deal. Owens is basically a journeyman outfielder, who will partially fill the backup role that Orlando Palmiero had last year. The major differences are that Owens is right-handed, is used to playing close to full-time, has a moderately worse average and OPS, and much better speed.

Terms of the deal weren't indicated in the story. Owens made $2,000,000 last year and Palmiero made $1,000,000, but of course the Angels may very well have signed Owens for less than Palmiero would have been awarded if he'd been offered arbitration. Owens should be a decent addition - he won't be death at the plate, and his speed (in addition to 26 steals, he also had 25 infield hits last year) will fit in nicely with the small-ball ethic of Mike Scioscia. He'll be a good option as a late-inning baserunner, particularly if Alfredo Almezega isn't ready for the big club yet.

Before he's completely forgotten, though, I want to say one thing about Orlando Palmiero. After the games of August 13, 2002, the Angels were 71-48. The A's were 69-51, and had just won the first of what would turn out to be twenty consecutive victories. The Mariners were 73-46 and in first place. August 13, 2002 was also the last game Tim Salmon would play for the Angels until September 5 - an off day for the A's, but their streak would end on September 6.

In previous years, losing a key player like Salmon in the heat of a three-way pennant race would have been a disaster. Such things have happened with frightening regularity to the Angels; if you're reading these words I probably don't have to remind you of the specifics. But this year, Orlando Palmiero calmly stepped in for Salmon and went 19-for-50 (.380) over that stretch. On the morning of September 5, the A's were 88-51. The Mariners were 81-58. And the Angels were 84-54. Now, of course everyone on the team deserves credit for playing through Salmon's injury. But if one person can be said to have broken the "Angel curse," Orlando Palmiero has as good a case as anyone. So long, O-Pal: I wish you luck, I wish you fortune, and I wish you in the National League.