A couple of seasons have passed since the Los Angeles Angels made two of the worst moves in recent history. They let the heart (David Eckstein) and soul (Troy Glaus) of their championship team go to other teams.

Eckstein, who many, including me, think is one of the hardest working and toughest playing shortstops in the game today. Not only is he one of the best leadoff men in baseball, but his all-out hustle all the time is an example of how this game is meant to be played.

Last year, when he went to St Louis, he helped propel the Cardinals to the best record in baseball and is now a fan favorite, second only to Albert Pujols. At present time, he is leading the Cards in hits with 69, has scored 34 runs and is hitting .330 with a .402 OBP. He has four errors in 52 games, and the Cardinals are in first place by five games and have a record of 34-19.

The soul of that championship team, Troy Glaus, one of the best power hitters in the game, was also let go. All he did in Arizona was hit 37 HRs and drive in 97. This year after being traded to Toronto, Troy has 17 HRs and 44 RBIs through 50 games, and the Blue Jays are right in the thick of things in the AL East, just 2.5 games behind Boston and NY. If you compare the five players that have tried to fill his shoes at third base in Los Angeles, it's almost sad. OK, it is sad. Those five players have hit .198 with four HRs and 15 RBI while committing 10 errors to Troy's four.

Those are just some numbers, but if you really measure the two men, it's not just the play but their leadership qualities which can't be measured. The Angels are 23-30 through 53 games and have no other power threat other then Vlad Guerrero. I know many teams think it's all about the money and all about the future prospects, but if you look back on just these two moves, I think they speak for themselves. You never know what you have until it's gone. Sometimes players like Glaus and Eckstein deserve more respect then just money.