Well, here is the next team in the queue for the 2013 SEGA Card-Gen set, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That team name is ridiculous and makes me tired. I guess that's why most trading card sets just list them as the Angels without a city name. This is one night out of the week when I have a chance to get to bed early, so I am probably going to blow through this post pretty fast.
The same seller I bought my set from has another one up on eBay right now. It didn't sell at the price I paid for it the last time he listed it, so he actually has it listed a bit lower, at around $0.51/card.
The Angels get 14 cards in their team set, one over the average of 13 cards per team overall. They start off, as usual, with the catcher position. Chris Iannetta gets the nod here. For 2014 it looks like he is in a pretty even timeshare for playing time with Hank Conger.
At first base, we have Albert Pujols and his 8-star rating. I haven't heard much about him this year, and was actually surprised to see him ranked in the Yahoo! fantasy baseball rankings as the 6th-ranked first baseman and 15th-ranked batter in the league. I thought he would be ranked lower than that, but even being ranked in the second tier of first basemen and just outside the first round of the fantasy draft is a pretty big drop from his peak years as a perennial first or second pick overall.
It would appear that I am completely out of touch with the Angels this year. As with Pujols, I thought Kendrick would be ranked much lower than he is. I avoided him in drafts this season because he has burned me many times before, but this season so far he is the 8th-ranked second baseman in the game. I guess this just isn't my year for fantasy baseball.
Alberto Callaspo is with the Athletics this year, but he is out on the DL with a hamstring injury right now. He hasn't been all that great anyhow, but he's had some serviceable years in his career.
Aybar is one Angel that has made it onto one of my fantasy rosters this year. He is the 5th-ranked shortstop in the game this season (effectively tied for 4th with 'Sexy' Alexei Ramirez, as there is a big gap between number 3 Hanley Ramirez and number 6 Jimmy Rollins with Erick Aybar and Alexei Ramirez right in the middle with very similar statlines).
Here is the guy who is being hailed as the current face of baseball, Mike Trout. He is also the current #1 player in fantasy baseball. Trout seems like a pretty personable guy. As with all of the Angels, though, I don't keep very good track of him.
Josh Hamilton had a nice strong run with Texas from 2008-2012, with 5 straight All-Star Game appearances and an MVP award in 2010. He didn't leave the Rangers on the best of terms, and he had a pretty lousy year in 2013 compared to the numbers he'd been putting up previously. This year he is playing better, but still probably not $17 million better, especially with a long DL stint due to an injured thumb ligament.
Mark Trumbo had three pretty good years with the Angels as a power-hitting kind of guy and then got traded to the Diamondbacks, where he broke his foot. He hit a buttload of home runs during his rehab stint, so he might have a strong close to 2014.
And now we get to the pitching part of the team set. Jered Weaver is certainly letting someone know something in this picture, or maybe he's merely getting a good look at a booger he'd just picked. He's been a very good pitcher for quite a while, although maybe this year he hasn't been quite as good as in the past.
I am going to paint Wilson with the same brush as I did Weaver. Like the back of his card says, he is a 'Quality Starter.' He is also on the DL with a sprained ankle.
I don't know why I like Tommy Hanson, but I do. He played for the Braves for a few years, regressing each season, continued that trend with the Angels in 2013, and signed with the Rangers in 2014. That didn't work out, so now he is with the Chicago White Sox minor league system.
Scott Downs was a pretty good reliever for quite a while, acting as the replacement closer for a couple of teams during his career. Halfway through 2013 he was traded to the Braves. This season he has spent time with the White Sox and the Royals, not pitching very effectively for either team. He's 38 years old, so I would imagine he's about done with his career at this point.
Burnett was a pretty good reliever for the Nationals, and signed with the Angels in 2013. He played a little bit in 2013 and injured his arm, taking him out for the season. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in 2014 and aggravated the injury again, ending another season.
Ernesto Frieri was acquired in a trade with the Padres and became the closer, a role he held down pretty well through 2012 and 2013. His high strikeout rate made him a good closer to own in fantasy baseball, even if his ratios were a little high at times. In 2014 he has been a mess, and the Angels traded him to the Pirates, where he has continued to be a mess.
And that does it for the Angels.
2013 SEGA Card-Gen Directory
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