Mark Teixeira Traded to the Angels

They pulled the trigger.

Mark Teixeira was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Casey Kotchman and a pitching prospect.

Casey, you will be missed and we wish you all the best in the world. You were really among my favorite Halos and you were a class act. This is beyond bittersweet.

“I’m just excited to go to Atlanta and play for (manager) Bobby Cox,” Kotchman said before leaving Fenway Park for the airport. “At the same time, my teammates here, to leave them, I’ll be pulling for them. Other than that, there’s really not a whole lot I can say.” - Yahoo Sports.

The Hunt for a (Halo) Red October starts now and welcome to Anaheim, Mark.

Kotchman, you will be missed.

Coming to Anaheim doesn't seem too bad for Teixeira either. A free agent after this season, Teixeira wields the (formerly) mighty Scott Boras as his agent and rumors are that he'll seek a ten year contract deal in the $200M dollar range.

"We can talk about contracts after the season," Teixeira said on a conference call. "My No. 1 goal is to play great defense and drive in runs for the Angels. . . . I'm very excited to be in a pennant race. It gives you a little extra pep in your step."

Certainly, the Angels have moved away from former GM Bill Stoneman's days. Whether or not their current GM Tony Reagins is the man behind the curtain remains unclear: Many suspect it's more GM by committee of Reagins, owner Arte Moreno, and manager Mike Scioscia.

Whatever it is, the old system of "standing pat" at the trade deadline is gone.

Some are even calling Reagins the Ninja GM for his seemingly stealthy ways of acquiring talent at the last minute. He swooped in and took free agent Torii Hunter off the market in a signing nobody saw coming this past offseason and apparently yesterday's trade was no different, coming together after all the rumors had sort of died down.

Whatever happens, nobody can say the Angels aren't trying to win the whole thing this year, and have emerged as favorites for a World Series title.

Love it or hate it, all the writers, fans, and pundits clamoring for a big bat just got their wish.