Angels Sign Jerk for $50 million

The Angels have signed Gary Matthews Jr., at least according to Fox Sports. Here's a little exchange I had with the lesser Matthews about 5 years ago, right in front of the Big A.

(Matthews walks up to the stadium, with a cell phone in his left hand. This was before the days of Blue Tooth, ear buds, etc. I am the only one within 100 feet of the guy.)

WaE: Mr. Matthews, do you have time to sign an autograph?

GMJ: $hit, man, I'm on the phone.

WaE: Uhhh....

There you have it, folks. Seven seconds of interaction is enough for me to know that I don't like the guy personally.

As for the signing, RotoWorld says it best...

So many contracts already with the potential to be the biggest busts of the offseason and the starting pitchers haven't even begun to sign yet. Matthews' huge deal is almost entirely the result of his 2006 performance. Entering the year, the 32-year-old had never batted 500 times in a season, and his only other year with an 800 OPS also came for the Rangers, who play in one of the game's best parks for hitters. Matthews will play quality defense for the Angels, but it's doubtful that he'll be a solid regular by the end of the deal. He could easily lose 50 points off his 2006 average of .313 next year.