Glaus, not McPherson, valid model for Wood
Why is it Dallas McPherson is the name fans and insiders always seem to summon with respect to Brandon Wood and his attempt to replace Chone Figgins? It seems clear to your faithful correspondent that Troy Glaus is a more valid precedent to cite, if you really give it some thought.
Glaus was a tall, rangy shortstop who was moved to third base. He was more mature when he came to the Angels than Wood, signing out of UCLA, not Scottsdale Horizon High School, but there are a number of parallels.
Glaus could drive a ball out of any park known to man and brought the athleticism of a natural shortstop to the hot corner. That sums up Wood fairly well, I’d say.
Mike Scioscia doesn’t always agree with me, but the Angels’ manager did second my motion when I presented it this morning in our daily media get-together.
“There are probably more similarities with Troy than McPherson with Brandon,” Scioscia said. “Brandon’s taken a little different path, but they’re similar in ages. Brandon’s got a lot of power. One thing Troy brought was the ability to walk a lot. Troy was a special player.”
And Wood can be a special player…in time.
Glaus, in his first exposure to Major League pitching in 1998, struck out 51 times in 165 at-bats, batting .218 with one homer, 23 RBIs.
Breaking in as the full-time third baseman in ’99, Glaus hit .240 in 154 games with 29 homers, 79 RBIs. He struck out 143 times in 551 at-bats.
Those, it seems to me, are reasonably attainable numbers for Wood in what he plans to make his first full season in the big time.
Glaus, as we all know, went on to much bigger and better things, and McPherson, largely because of physical problems, fell short of fulfilling expectations as his replacement. Wood has no injury history to speak of, and appears to be in superb shape heading into camp.
The point is, this doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. Wood, a very smart young man, understands. All he wants is a chance with the hope that there is some patience shown.
Mike Schmidt’s early-career numbers weren’t much better than Glaus’, and neither were Brooks Robinson’s. A case can be made that those are the two greatest third basemen in history.
rallymonkeys 
Wood is a smart guy and will do a good job this year. Just don’t put too much pressure on the young guy. Let’s give him a chance. It’s his turn and he’s earned it. Be patient Angel fans. Don’t expect too much from him right away. The other guys on the team will pick up the slack if he falters a little. Go Angels and go Brandon Wood!
I agree. Wood will develop in our colors over time. with Abreu, Hunter and Napoli helping add a little seasoning. i cant wait to watch him develop over the next few years. next year will be his biggest challenge to date. i think he will shine. Go Wood!!!!!
Brandon Wood will have a break out year just like Kendry Morales did because the Angels know when to hold them and know when to fold them.
A case in point is Mr. G. Anderson. Garrett had to go. I see aging teams trying to decide what to do with older players that have lost a step and although a few left early (Nolan Ryan), most others never realized a better year away the Angels unless injuries healed.
I think that Figgins, like Gary Matthews, had a career year and got a great contract out of it. I dount Figgins will ever put up the numbers he put up in 2009 with Seattle during the next 5 years.
I think Mr. Wood will surprise a lot of people in 2010 and form the nucleus of the strongest infield in baseball before 2013 with Aybar, Kendrick, Morales and Mathis or one of the other catchers coming up this year or next.
Mark my words, our infield will be around for years to come!
Honestly, Wood is unproven, but Soccia is one of the smartest guys in baseball and his word is pretty much gold. I have a bet with an Dangels fan of mine about taking series, $5 a series, go A’s, from this humble fan of the perennial underdogs of baseball.
on an unrelated note why is your site interfaced better than ours?
Two thoughts:
1. This is what I absolutely love about Spring Training and think Yankee and Red Sux fans miss out on: the excitement and mystery of the young players. I love the excitement/apprehension and back again of seeing a young player get his chance. I can’t imagine going through Spring Training without a young player breaking in.
2. I went to college in Sacramento and saw that McPherson couldn’t hit a AAA breaking ball two years before he came up. I always wondered what all that hype was about.
after watching brandon wood for parts of 3 years i do not think he is going to make it.as always he looks completly lost at bat and now looks the same way in the field.i hope i am wrong but i do not think so.
You guys are retarded. Brandon Wood will never compare to Troy Glaus. And, it is definitely not fair to Dallas McPherson to compare Wood to him either. To sum it all up….BRANDON WOOD just plain SUCKS!!!! He will never amount to anything in the major leagues and anyone who thinks he will is fooling themselves.
Jonny Bravo
Knothole Club Bartender – Angels Fan!
You guys are retarded. Brandon Wood will never compare to Troy Glaus. And, it is definitely not fair to Dallas McPherson to compare Wood to him either. To sum it all up….BRANDON WOOD just plain SUCKS!!!! He will never amount to anything in the major leagues and anyone who thinks he will is fooling themselves.
Jonny Bravo
Knothole Club Bartender – Angels Fan!