Are the Los Angeles Angels the Yankees of the West?

A few years ago Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno was quoted as saying that he would like to make the Angels the “Yankees of the West.”  What did he really mean by that?  Was it to more financially like them or market the team like they do?  The Angels have one of the largest payrolls in baseball and have marketed themselves in the Los Angeles area.  The on-field product?  There is no doubt that the team has been successful on the field in winning the AL West five of the last six seasons.  The results?  The Angels have only advanced to the ALCS twice (2005 and 2009).  The Yankees only missed the playoffs once in the past decade (2008) yet appeared in four World Series winning twice (counting the 2000 win and 2009).

The Yankees have attracted top-tier free agents (CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira), and second tier players (AJ Burnett and Nick Swisher).  The Angels have gotten Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Tori Hunter, Bobby Abreu, and Hideki Matsui to name a few.    The only major trade in the past decade was getting Teixeira in 2008 who ended up just being a rental player as he would sign with the Yankees in 2009.  The Angels did trade for Scott Kazmir in 2009 that at the time looked to work but has so far proven to be a bust. Similar to the Teixeira trade was the acquisition of Dan Haren and that could prove be in huge in the future.  With a somewhat depleted talent pool in the minors, any chance for another big trade seems remote for the time being.

So what is Arte trying to do? Is it just a money grab? Is he being cautious with the current economic situation? Moreno was quoted in early October saying that he is “committed to winning” and would spend whatever it took to get the team back to the playoffs. I say that if you want to be the Yankees (and beat them) you have to spend like them. Only then can you call yourselves the “Yankees of the West.”