Chronicles of the Lads

MORALES
As you know, the Angels have signed "21-year-old" Cuban switch-hitting "slugger" Kendry Morales.

I mentioned this a bit last week ... Morales is a powerful hitter, and projects as a first baseman or left fielder (or DH, of course). What does this mean for the Angels?

I believe it makes Casey Kotchman expendable.

Morales will take over the Angel 1B future, meaning Kotchman is free to be included in a deal for Randy Johnson. I'm not sure this is really the best thing -- if Morales is for real and can play LF -- two big "if"'s -- a future of Kotch at 1B, Erstad in CF, Morales in LF, and Garret DHing sounds pretty appealing.

But there are so many unknowns in all of this that it's really hard to comment. We don't know that he's really 21, we don't know that he can really hit in the majors, and we don't know what positions he can play well, if any. Eddie Bane is convinced that the paper documentation of the age is legit, and he would know better than me ...

... there is speculation that this might spell doom for signing Jered Weaver, which would be an unfortunate side effect. Might his contract (financials are undisclosed as I write this) cut into the possibility of signing Carlos Beltran? I don't know these answers ... I feel pretty useless because I literally know nothing you don't on this subject. We could be looking at something very exciting for the Lads -- or a instance of momentous folly.