la_faker_81

The Angels missed on two of their offseason targets but remain on course to add offense and possibly pitching to the ballclub.

Aramis Ramirez re-signed with the Cubs while the Red Sox won the right to exclusively negotiate with Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka. But the Angels don't view either development as failures.

"Two of them are off the board, but you deal with that. That is the way sports works," general manager Bill Stoneman said. "We still have ideas and we're going to try and accomplish that. You can't be disappointed every time you don't sign a guy. That happens a lot in this business."

Stoneman has been spending the week in Naples, Fla., at Major League Baseball's annual general managers meetings.

Their two prime offensive targets now appear to be Alfonso Soriano and Gary Matthews Jr., two players they've sought since the close of business on the regular season. The Angels are also expected to make a run at Barry Zito, the leading free-agent pitcher on the market and one that is certain to attract tremendous attention of a number of clubs. Mike Piazza has also surfaced as a possible candidate.

"We'll see how things work out," Stoneman said. "Our goal is always to make the club better in any way. We won't limit ourselves."

Full Story