The Rich Get Richer

On Tuesday, the Angels had the best record in baseball at 66-40. They were in Boston playing the Red Sox, who were recent victims of an Angels sweep in Anaheim. The Angels were running on all cylinders. They were scoring a ton of runs in July, the pitching was phenomenal, and Mike Scioscia was able to win while batting Maicier Izutris 3rd. It seemed like things couldn't get any better for the Halos. That is until their new General Manager Tony Reagins stepped in, and did something that Bill Stoneman could never do...GROW A PAIR.

Ever since their World Series win in 2002, former GM Bill Stoneman was very reluctant to make any big trades to put the Angels over the top, at the cost of prospects. The Angels were swept away in 2004 and 2007 by Boston teams that overpowered them at the plate. It's not like they couldn't have made a move to put themselves in a better position.

The Angels minor league farm system is one of the best in baseball. The guys that are playing right now in the majors prove that: Jared Weaver, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, and the now former Angel Casey Kotchman. Also don't forget about the Angels' highly prized prospects in flame-thrower Nick Adenhart, and shortstop slugger Brandon Wood, who both had a cup of coffee with the team this year.

Finally, Tony Reagins saw an opportunity to win a championship and he pulled the trigger. He dealt their good young baseman Casey Kotchman and a minor-leaguer (not one of their A talents) to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Mark Teixeira.

Now this is what I'm talking about! I don't care if he's just a rental player. Even if the Angels don't win it all, it's still a great move, because this GM did everything it took for the Angels to go out and get a brass ring. You go all-in when you have a chance to win a championship! Forget those ridiculous wild card and division winning pennants that hang next to that rock pile in center. It's world championships that people remember, and all 6'3 and 220 pounds of Mark Teixeira is going to give it to them.

With this move, the Angels have punched their ticket to the World Series. They should be the favorite to face who ever comes out of the weak National League.

Sure, the Angels have long-term problems with their option contracts and free agents, but the time is now! This is a move that no one saw coming because as early as Monday morning, Reagins was telling people not to expect anything major and that he was happy with the club. Then, a All-Star 1B comes in having more homers than anybody on the team (20), and puts them over the top.

The Angels have it all: Pitching, Defense, Relief, Hitting, Managing. This season is over everybody, light up another Halo championship.

Lakers Rage With The Machine!

The Lakers and Sasha have agreed to a 3-yr. $15 million contract. He was threatening to leave to Europe, if he didn't get the contract he wanted. Apparently, it came down to his agent Rob Pelinka asking for $1 million more per year than the previous offer of 3-yr. 12 million. It might've also came down to the no-hair cut clause Sasha insisted upon as well...

It was reported by various media outlets, that Sasha was going to leave to play in Europe if the Lakers didn't meet his contract demands. That noise Friday afternoon was a collective sigh of relief from Lakers fans across the world. Fans thought he would go the way of a guy who also played on the west coast for Stanford, in Josh Childress.

Don't worry about Childress though. He will be making $21 million over 3 years after taxes.

There has already been a number of players who have bolted the NBA to play in Europe already. Childress is the most well-known player on the list that includes Carlos Delfino and Bostjan Nachbar.

The Lakers already received a blow by losing 1/2 of their energy duo in Ronny Turiaf earlier this week to the Warriors.

It is now become clear that teams did not extend qualifying offers to Sasha because they believed the Lakers would match it.

Sasha started his career when he was a teenager. He played in Italy from 2001-2004 for Snaidero Udine.

He spent three shaky seasons in L.A. before finally getting it together and showing the world just what the Lakers knew he had. Vujacic was known as an "11 o'clock player," by Phil Jackson or a practice player who shriveled when the bright lights were on.

He turned it around this season, shooting a career high 45% from the field and was a spark plug off the bench. Jackson would often leave him in to end the game, allowing him to suffocate a defender with his annoying lock down D, while icing the cake with a killer shot from the corner.

Sasha earned the nickname of "The Machine," because of his ability to knock down shots. Instead of raging against The Machine, the Lakers decided to rage with him.

Vujacic already looks like a rock star, so let's hope he can Rock and/or Roll the Lakers to another championship.

Televised Appearances

Hey peoples, you can check my No Limits MMA story on KVMD "Southern California Life." It will air Friday at 5:30.

Also, I'm having fun and interviewing fans on "Talkin' Sports with Gary Carter," on KDOC Saturday at 7 a.m.

I hope you all can catch both shows, but if you miss my MMA story, I will post it on You Tube later this week!

Artest....a Laker? Pull The Trigger!

You people of my beloved "JAKked Up," blog have attracted my attention with a possible trade of Ron Artest going to the Lakers for Lamar Odom. I wanna shout out Drew specifically, for scouring the ESPN landscape and breaking it to the Massis (oops I mean MASSES!)

It is true. There have been talks that involved the once heated rivals of Sacramento and Los Angeles were in trade discussions revolving Lamar Odom and Ron Artest.

To be frank...PULL THE TRIGGER LAKERS!

To me, this trade will be a no-brainer for the Lakers. I know there are the nay-sayers out there who say that Ron Artest is a malcontent, who likes to be beat up his wife in his spare time after games where he jumps into the crowd and clocks some guy in the face.



These cynics will talk about how Ron Artest will ruin the great Lakers team chemistry. They will go on to say that now with the ultimate cheerleader Ronny gone, (let's face it Lakers fans) Artest will become a lethal poison to a young team hungry to get back to the Finals.

I say, that's a bunch of Chicago BULLSH-UT YO MOUTH!

Speaking of those Chicago Bulls, is anyone old enough to remember the malcontent crazy Newport Beach dwellin' resident Dennis Rodman. This dude was the craziest cat to ever grace a basketball court. I mean the guy married himself, kicked a cameraman in the go-nads, and sported a new hair color every time he went out on the court.

Yeah um, that's a recent picture of Rodman...words just can't do it justice, I'm sorry! Anywho, back to my point. Phil Jackson has a history with crazy malcontents like Dennis Rodman, and to a lesser extent the quitter Scottie Pippen. The Zen Master was able to balance Rodman's craziness off the court and turn him into a focused mad man by the time the ball was tipped into the air.

Phil Jackson will be able to handle Ron Artest and make sure that he plays like his all-star caliber self on the court. Hopefully, he won't have a mid-life crisis like Rod"man" and end up like him.

Ron Artest also provides a shooter that Phil Jackson desperately covets. Vladimir Radmanovich is too much of an inconsistent threat, and if the Lakers are unable to sign Sasha Vujacic, the Artest deal will become even sexier for the Lakers. He shot 38% from 3-pt. land last season, which was even better than Kobe.

Artest also provides a defensive stopper. Kobe won't have to guard the team's best player, which tires him down the stretch when he's at his most valuable. Not to mention that Ron Artest is very good friends with Kobe Bryant, and Lamar Odom by the way. Both sides can facilitate a trade.

That's JAKked Up: If the Lakers don't push and make this trade. Bringing Ron Artest to the Lakers will pratically guarantee L.A. many more championship banners hanging above Staples.

Turiaf Agrees To Offer Sheet With Warriors

BREAKING NEWS:

Ronny Turiaf has agreed to an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors that will pay him $17 million over four years. He can't travel up north just yet, because he is a restricted free agent. The Lakers have seven days to match the offer. If they don't, Ronny Turiaf be a Warrior alongside former Clipper Corey Maggette.

So do they or don't they? Let's look at Ronny Turiaf's statistics:

18.7 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 1.4 BPG, and he started 21 games.

The stats are nice, but Ronny's true value lies in his intangibles. He is a hustler in every sense of the word. He plays every possession like it's his last. Turiaf is a physical player who puts team play above his own priorities. Ronny is a phenomenal role player that any team would love to have, but should the Lakers take on this contract?

I believe that the Lakers No. 1 priority this off-season was to take care of their players. The most important one being Andrew Bynum, but that's another story.

In a perfect world, the Lakers would re-sign Ronny, but there are salary cap issues that prohibit that, with the Lakers having a payroll of over $75 million. The Lakers will have to pay a hefty luxury tax for going over the salary cap of $58.68 million, so the Buss family will be careful how they spend their money. After all, the fans are taking a hit too: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers9-2008jul09,0,3927413.story

If the Lakers have to make a choice between Sasha and Ronny, I've always believed that the Slovenian Sharpshooter is more valuable. The man who went to Gonzaga U can be replaced by DJ Mbenga, Chris Mihm, or even :gasp: Kwame Brown.

JAKked Up: Ronny leaving the Lakers! The guy is a better freakin' cheerleader than the Laker Girls!

Mr. (Almost) Perfect

The stage was set. The docile and usually uninterested Dodgers fans were into it. The faces of the Dodgers infielders and outfielders had determination written all over them. Everyone in the ball park from the vendors to the announcers could feel it. The pride of Japan, Hiroki Kuroda, was going to throw a perfect game.

It made all the sense in the world. It would have been against the Atlanta Braves, who have a recent history with perfectos. Randy Johnson threw one against them in 2004, which was the last time a perfect game was registered in the majors.

What a way it would have been for Hiroki Kuroda to break into his first year in the bigs. He would've stood alongside with all-time great Dodger lefty Sandy Koufax as the only Dodger to have thrown a perfect game.

Hiroki was efficient, needing only 91 pitches to shut out the Braves. Kuroda threw a perfect seven innings of baseball before Mark Teixeira ruined all the fun with a double to left. Kuroda's final line was 9 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K.

That's JAKked Up: Gregor Blanco.
I can't believe this guy tried to ruin the perfect game in the top of the seventh by laying down a bunt. It took an incredible play from Blake DeWitt to save the 100% completion attempt. I don't care what people say, as far as Blanco trying to make plays and win the game. That was bush. Anytime a pitcher in a position in the seventh inning to throw a perfect game or no-hitter, you gotta earn it. Why didn't the Braves do that to Randy Johnson in 2004 you ask? Well, it's because Randy would've clocked the next guy harder than his "bird ball" in Spring Training.



Luis Gonzales' flair single to beat the Yankees in 2001 thinks that's unfair.