Are the Angels better than they were yesterday?  Absolutely, just like they were better after they switched Chris Iannetta for Jeff Mathis.  That's the problem with all the, "Wait 3 years for our turn", people said it 3 years ago, and even last year, every one wrote off the Angels, "There time is done, now we have to wait on Texas".  Here they come again, and the Mariners just have to be a little better, maybe be a little luckier.  After the Rays, no one has an excuse to say, "We just can't compete".

Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter both had subpar years. Granted neither is young any more, but Wells is only 32 (oops, he's on MLB network's Hot Stove as I type this, today's his birthday, he's 33!) and a good candidate to do a lot better in 2012.
Also, the addition of Wilson moves Santana back to the #4 spot in their rotation. I agree with G that we have the kind of pitching coming through the pipeline soon that I would match up against anybody once it gets established.
Finally, the Halos have created a pretty doggone good trade chip in either Kendry Morales or Mike Trumbo, a chip that can be used to upgrade a less-strong position or strengthen the bullpen.
We definitley need encouragement not to lose heart, and so often a supposed super-team disappoints for a variety of reasons.

CJ also a very bad timing problem in his mechanics. I would not go near that guy in a long-term deal.
Angels will likely regret that long-term deal in the near future.

I'm starting to root for signing Fielder again. The reality of the situation is that the Ms simply need to raise their payroll to even have a fighting chance.
Still concerned a bit about Toronto.. They have a need and tons of payroll flexibility.
It feels like the Ms made the first serious offer and Boras is shopping it around. If ownership isn't willing to go further, Z is going to need to time his 'take it or leave call' masterfully.

if you and your rival (LAA) each gain 10 WAR, that's the same as 28 other teams losing 10 WAR

CJ already pitched for a rival, he just switched teams.  I would have preferred he go outside the division, but really, it's not much different than him re-signing with Texas.
CJ = non-factor for me today in the "Ms now have no chance" meme.
Pujols is different, but can be compensated for.
I still think we're in the lead for Fielder...and I still don't believe the Ms have the stones to close the deal.  If the Committee gives Jack free rein and he can get Fielder to sign on the dotted line...
Then I'll be impressed - and we can make our own statement with a prime-years crusher.
~G

The Marlins obviously want to win now, and I think they probably do insist on Pineda which makes this a real tough call.
Pineda for Ramirez could be a tremendous win or a tremendous loss, with very little room for middle ground. Ramirez is still young and has consistently performed at a high level from a premium position, but he's got so many risks - injuries, the poor 2011, transitions to the AL, whining personality.
I do think the most likely scenario is something like .300 Avg, 25 HR's, 35 SB's with only slightly below average SS defense - which would be worth Pineda. However, it is not too hard to picture Ramirez pulling a mini-Figgins and turning into a disgruntled, .700 OPS player making $15 million and insisting on playing SS when he belongs in LF. Either he'll be untouchable or untradeable.
Adding Ramirez at the cost of Pineda fixes the offense but creates a short-term hole in the rotation, and I don't see Hultzen/Walker/Paxton stepping up big until Ramirez only has a year or two left on his contract.
All things considered, not too thrilled with the prospect of a Ramirez trade unless the Marlins are shopping him at a discount.
The M's would probably be better off trying to package non-elite prospects for Wright, acquiring Jones+Reynolds from Baltimore, kicking the tires on Ethier, or ideally seeing if Arizona is willing to shop Justin Upton again. No shortage of options out there....

FWIW, I wouldn't be surprised to see Franklin discussed if the M's do end up trying to trade for a bat. Doesn't sound like he's going to stick at SS, and 2B might be out of the question now with Ackley playing better than expected there.
Get the impression that Walker would be the most likely to go of the three arms, don't see many deals where Top 50 prospects are traded as PTBNL's.
Walker+Franklin should get the M's their pick of the litter, no?

If it's Fielder plus Pineda plus Franklin plus whomever else it takes to get Hanley moved to our team...or Hanley Ramirez plus a couple bucks, oh yeah, and 3 years from now we're still looking for a MOTO hitter when Hanley moves on...
Sheesh.  Give me the first option.
Especially since Prince is the better hitter.
I'm with taro at this point - sign Fielder, trade for Span, dump Guti and Figgins, and get this party started.
~G

So yeah, if we're trading and they need a blue-chip bat back, then it needs to be Franklin. If Nick can't stick at SS (and I still believe he can) then he'd have to play 3B for us, and there we have Seager, Liddi, F-Mart and possibly Catricala if he can improve his D as Liddi did his this past year, as well as Proscia AND Brad Miller from the last draft.
Third base had BETTER be able to be filled internally - another reason I have little interest in adding a 3B free agent.
But at SS it's Brad Miller (stone glove), Franklin (slightly better) and, um, maybe a foreign kid in rookie ball.
If it's not Franklin then IMO we don't have an internal solution that doesn't rely on Brendan Ryan continue to not-suck for a while, unless Brad Miller can get a lot better at defense than he was for most of his college career.
That could always change in the next draft, but I need to know Franklin is gonna be a 2B before I make the call to trade him.
If a lesser MIF will do then I would be trying to include Seager as a plus offensive 2B, which I think he can be.  It's not his fault he's behind Ackley on the depth chart.
And I would think Campos would go before Walker, though Walker is a monster prospect.  He's better than the #1 pitching prospect (Nestor Molina) the Jays traded for Sergio Santos, who is more like Jose Campos if Jose stays 90-94 and loses those extra ticks up to 96 or 97 that he flashed this year.
It's nice to know that our 4th best pitching prospect is better than the #1 of other good orgs. :)
We could afford to spend Walker for the right player, but I think we'll try to avoid it.  I have Paxton and Campos on the trade list before Walker, and both are great prospects in their own right.  Though as you say, Paxton would have to be the PTBNL, and that's not common for a trade centerpiece.
We HAVE the pieces to make whatever trades we feel like making.  I still think we're trading Trayvon Robinson if we can solidify CF with a Denard-Span-like player.  I could see him and Campos vanishing before ST - hopefully with a much-needed lineup boost appearing in their place.
Hope we can lock down Fielder first.
~G