Mark Trumbo

The Angels fanbase loved him, though only times I really enjoyed his talent was when he would hit dingers - for whatever reasons, he was never a personal favorite and I was glad that he has since moved on.

I used to wonder what it was like to be a home grown talent and play for the MLB team 10-15 minutes away from where you grew up - I don't know if Trumbo was entirely comfortable with being that guy and it seemed like it was more of a burden.

I'm curious to see if Trumbo gets better and bounces back from a stress fracture in his foot - though he isn't the Angels problem anymore and general manager Jerry DiPoto may have made a shrewd move when he traded Trumbo in the offseason for couple of lefty starters [Tyler Skaggs/Hector Santiago] who look pretty decent so far.

Not a bad trade for the Angels

The Angels sent off Mark Trumbo in a three-way trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox - the Angels are going to miss Mark Trumbo's tremendous pop but not his streakiness with the bat.

There is a chance that Trumbo still has the ability to improve as a hitter - but the Angels were able to get a pitching prospect [though one that was originally in their system] and a serviceable pitcher for a guy whose power is constantly negated by the holes in his swing.

C.J. Cron is just about ready at 24 to figure into the Angels plans next season - the irony is he maybe a Trumbo clone who had a down year in AA in 2013, but the Angels should see what he can do at the MLB level sooner than never.

Speaking as strictly as a fan, I'm not going to miss Trumbo's occasional douchiness despite being a fan favorite - he's actually done the usual things normal ballplayers would do countless number of times such as signing autographs, taking pictures, make appearances at public events, making appearances on behalf of the team, et al.

Maybe he was just was never a warm and fuzzy guy and at times - he'd let you know in no uncertain terms that he'd rather be doing something else than signing another autograph.

Hector Santiago has actually been pretty good over the past two years as both a reliever and starting pitcher - he maybe the key that wins this trade early for the Angels because should be able to help the MLB team next season.

Santiago needs to walk less guys and hopefully he stays healthy, which is always a concern for any pitcher - but maybe it matters more for a guy that wasn't considered a top prospect and has sort of come out of nowhere to enjoy relative MLB success.

Tyler Skaggs hasn't been impressive in parts of two MLB seasons and he may not be better than a No. 3 starter - but he's young and gets to go back to the organization that drafted him 2009.

My wishlist of Angels off-season moves for 2014

Major League Baseball is over [congrats team from Boston] and it's time for teams to make moves for next season - I may not be accounting for the actual resources it would take to make these moves happen for my home team, but it's not like I'm saying the Angels should go out and acquire everybody.

Things always seem fairly reasonable when I'm looking for something to blog about and playing around with ideas - the obvious need for the Angels is plugging their leaks on the pitching staff and the team needs all the help they can get.

1.) Trade Erick Aybar and perhaps a 'prospect' to the St. Louis Cardinals for Carlos Martinez - the Cardinals need a shortstop with Pete Kozma overextended [he's more of a utility guy] and as decent of player as he has shown at times, maybe Aybar hasn't really gotten any better in the three years.

Martinez has a big arm and he's sort of been hyped up [Lil' Pedro anyone?], but because the Cardinals always seem to have a lot of pitching in-hand - Martinez maybe seen as someone that can be traded for talent as opposed to a pitcher that is deemed untouchable.

2.) Sign Stephen Drew or at least someone to replace Aybar at shortstop - he may just give some 'lucky' team three good seasons in his early 30's as a player with some pop and ability to play defense.

He looks like he has some idea of what he's doing at the plate - and may offer just a bit more than Aybar.

3.) Sign Masahiro Tanaka - the Angels needs to add a pitcher who may not be quite an ace, but certainly has the arm and pedigree through his pro career in Japan to be at least a No. 2 in the States.

I really think the Angels offseason would be a failure if they don't land Tanaka - but Tanaka maybe the most sought after free agent pitcher this off-season, so how much will the Angels really bid to even get to talk to him?

4.) Sign Ricky Nolasco - not exciting but someone who should pitch close to 200 innings per year and add stability to the Angels rotation; Nolasco would be making his home starts about an hour away from his hometown, so that can be a superficial bonus for the veteran pitcher.

5.) Trade Peter Bourjos to the New York Mets for Jeurys Familia - maybe I'm selling Bourjos short, but Mike Trout maybe the center fielder for the Angels for the next 15 seasons, Josh Hamilton will be around for four more years and Kole Calhoun looks like he might be more than just a fourth outfielder.

A healthy Bourjos' talents plays infinitely better in the National League - free the guy and at least get back an arm that maybe molded into a Major League commodity, even though Familia was out for much of 2013 and maybe more of a project at this point.

6.) Sign a 'proven' bullpen arm - the Angels gambled on Ryan Madson and Sean Burnett last off-season and got bupkis from neither one, with Madson being cut before throwing an actual pitch for the Angels and Burnett ending his season after pitching in only 13 games.

It may take at least a two year commitment to sign Grant Balfour - but he might be someone to look at as far as giving the Angels perhaps a better option to close out games.

Ernesto Frieri slides over to be the set-up man with pitchers like Dane De La Rosa/ Kevin Jepsen / Michael Kohn being more seventh inning guys - Balfour's age is a concern, but he's had a rubber arm and maybe a guy who leads by example.

When was the last time the Angels had a 'personality' coming out of the bullpen to close out games [?] - Balfour just might be the guy to bring some swagger when things are sort of aimless.

7.) Trade for Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez - I don't want to be the guy saying the Angels should go out and pick up an older [past 35 years old] player, but Ramirez maybe worth the gamble; not a long term solution, he maybe sort of a veteran a potential contender can coax a couple of good years out of before he is put out to pasture.

8.) Trade Mark Trumbo to the St. Louis Cardinals for Allen Craig or David Freese - trading Craig might not be a priority for the Cardinals but they would be freeing up some money and allowing their younger players to get an opportunity at the Major League level.

Though Craig maybe damaged goods at this point and is locked up to a long term contract - he has shown to be quality hitter the Angels can be put at first base to spell Albert Pujols or slot at DH.

I have my own reservations about Freese and getting injured, driving into trees and all - but he maybe a younger alternative to Ramirez and maybe he can be the answer at third base, for at least two or three seasons.

Trumbo maybe too much of a swing and miss slugger - but has legit power and may not be such a stiff that he can't play the field [either at first base or in the outfield] for a National League team.

The Angels have me wondering why I even bother

As an Angels fan, at times I feel like I'm made to suffer through lackluster performances as the team limps towards the end of April with a sub-.500 record - the Angels roster construction is rigid and while fans were happy when owner Arte Moreno throws money around in the off-season on supposed franchise players, the results are not there when those main big money guys struggle so far during the regular season.

The Josh Hamilton signing has been an early albatross - the Angels could have used the money spent on him on a good starting pitcher or two and instead of going cheap on has-beens like Joe Blanton and Tommy Hanson.

More imagination should have been used to patch up faults of the team in the past several years - the corpses of Albert Pujols and Hamilton aren't hitting the ball with authority and maybe both will round into form though Pujols' plantar fasciitis and his general well-being in particular scares the crap out of me.

A bright spot may actually be Mark Trumbo, who is off to good start - after his second half crash in 2012, I didn't expect him to recover but it looks like he's actually a better hitter so far.

Can it be possible that Trumbo is really becoming more of a guy who can hit the ball to all parts of the field - he's going to hit share of  home runs but I'm sort of excited by the fact that maybe he's aiming to be a better all-around hitter instead of a one-dimensional, all-or-nothing power guy.

Featured autograph - Mark Trumbo

I would have never guessed Mark Trumbo would have better numbers than teammate Albert Pujols at this point of the season - Angels fans love this guy and in just his second full MLB season, he's producing just right at his prime.

Featured autograph - Mark Trumbo

I was able to get this 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter signed in-person by Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo recently - it maybe the best looking autograph I've gotten from him, though it is still sort of rushed, since he had to sign for a scrum of people.

Featured autograph - my misadventure with Mark Trumbo

This isn't another in-person autograph failure like what happened with Dodgers' ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw - but probably a story about getting a couple of autographs at a public appearance that turned out not to be one of my better in-person autograph experiences.

Rising Angel star Mark Trumbo did a signing at a Dave and Buster's restaurant in Orange, California a couple of weeks ago - I think I waited about five hours to get through the line from when I got there and since there were a couple of signings going on, it wasn't too congested.

I think groups of about 15 people were led inside the restaurant and to the banquet hall - where Trumbo was sitting by himself at a table with an Angels handler standing at the 'stage area.'

I was really hoping I'd get a nicer autograph as Trumbo has done a bunch of signings in 2011 - perhaps he has had some opportunity to 'refine' his penmanship.

I finally was able to approach him on stage to get my 8x10 print signed and perhaps his autograph would have been fine - if I'd just let him sign the white border that I still needed to cut off the print, but I tried telling him to sign it "big" and across the image.

He ends up signing my 8x10 print to the side and the autograph is literally 'MT 44' and it wasn't like I expected a 'letter for letter' autograph - but I felt like he didn't want to deal with me and gave me a chicken scratch autograph on purpose.

More awkwardness ensues when I get back in line for a second autograph - I overhead a conversation Trumbo and the Angels handler were having about rubbing down the 2011 Bowman cards people having them signed because they were too glossy.

The handler then grabs my 2011 Bowman gold parallel, rubs it against his shirt furtively and accidently drops it - as Trumbo grabs for my card, he says something like, "back again, two for today huh..."

The Angels handler mumbles something towards me, but Trumbo does sign another 'MT' autograph on my card - as I thank him and walk away he responds, "yeah, I'll see that on eBay."

As he said that, I wanted to go crawl under a rock somewhere - I kept thinking I probably should have started up at one of the other Angels signings that morning.

Russell Branyan - the newest Angel

Russell Branyan was a super prospect with the Cleveland Indians about a decade ago and while not quite fulfilling his potential - he has carved out a journeyman career in the Major Leagues as an all-or-nothing power hitter with some ability to take a walk.

I don't know if a 36-year old is the answer but given the lack of pop in the Angels' lineup - the Angels have given Branyan a chance to show that he isn't completely done as a big leaguer.

Branyan has been a castoff, a role player, a bat off the bench - he's a Matt Stairs type who probably doesn't need to be played every day and is ultimately expendable if he doesn't produce.

If Branyan does split time with Mark Trumbo at first base - it might go against the grain of letting Trumbo figure things out as a relatively young guy playing regularly.

Having Branyan around however may give the Angels an opportunity to put Trumbo in situations where he is going to have success - Trumbo does look like a guy who can hit 25-30 home runs a year, but maybe the expectations of him being the next great slugger may not be realistic when his on-base percentage is sitting at .290 as of May 28.

32 card rookie lot purchase recap - some highlights

2011 Topps Mark Trumbo #57

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Mark Trumbo #57

2011 Topps Hank Conger #285

2011 Topps Kyle Drabek #70

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Kyle Drabek #70

I picked up a 32 card lot of 2011 Topps / 2011 Topps Heritage rookies [$4 shipped] - I didn't know what I was getting, but it wasn't a bad lot with five Angels cards and several other 'rookie stars' included.

2011 Topps Platinum Diamond parallel Brian Bogusevic #88
2011 Topps Greg Halman #83
2011 Topps Brian Bogusevic #87 x2
2011 Topps Lucas May #91
2011 Topps Ben Revere #99
2011 Topps Aroldis Chapman #110
2011 Topps Brett Sinkbeil #117
2011 Topps Lucas Duda #129
2011 Topps Jeremy Jeffress #143
2011 Topps Freddie Freeman #145
2011 Topps Jeremy Hellickson #165
2011 Topps Jose Ceda #196
2011 Topps Brandon Snyder #213
2011 Topps Lars Anderson #254
2011 Topps Jake McGee #268
2011 Topps Scott Cousins #287
2011 Topps Darren Ford #292
2011 Topps Brent Morel #322
2011 Topps Heritage Corey Luebke #69
2011 Topps Heritage Sinkbeil #131
2011 Topps Heritage Jordan Walden #194
2011 Topps Heritage Bogusevic #204
2011 Topps Heritage Ceda #266
2011 Topps Heritage Eric Sogard #348
2011 Topps Heritage Trumbo #404
2011 Topps Heritage Jarrod Dyson #414

Featured autograph - Mark Trumbo

I thought Mark Trumbo was more of a suspect than a top prospect since he was signed out of high school and he didn't get to the Major Leagues for a cup of coffee until he was 24 - however, maybe the Angels patience in Trumbo is finally going to payoff as the 25 year old has enjoyed a fine spring and is looking to play in his first full season in the Major Leagues.

Featured autograph - Mark Trumbo

With the Angels' high profile draft pick Kaleb Cowart signed up, it maybe time to look back at another high school bonus baby the Angels signed back in 2004 - Mark Trumbo was touted like Cowart was, a potential future star in the Angels' system.

While Trumbo has steadily climbed the minor league ranks, he is currently a 24-year old who may or may not get a cup of coffee with the Angels in 2010 - it might not be inconceivable to think Cowart may spend as much as five years in the minors and still not get to the Major Leagues.

I picked up his first certified autograph four years ago - while not letter-for-letter, the autograph is more legible on the certified autograph card from 2004, compared to the in-person autograph I got in-person this past year in spring training.