"Some of the Angels packed their belongings at Angel Stadium on Monday, none with their future more up in the air than Hideki Matsui.

The 36-year-old designated hitter is a free agent this offseason, and while it looks outwardly like Matsui will not fit into the Halos' 2011 plans, manager Mike Scioscia and general manager Tony Reagins said it was still possible he cold return.

Neither Scioscia nor Reagins indicated that chance was strong, though.

"That's all stuff we're going to be talking about over the next three months or so," Reagins said. "We're going to evaluate his free agent status as we will others that become available, and then make a decision. Would I say it's completely out of the likelihood that he'll be back? I can't say it at this point. You never know, this game is a strange game."

"Honestly, I don't know," Matsui said of next year, after jokingly asking a reporter where the reporter thought he would land. "I have no answer for that."

A couple dozen fans waited in rain in the center field parking lot Monday morning as some players, but not all, shuffled in. Bobby Wilson was the early arriver. Mark Trumbo, fresh off his first taste of the big leagues, was there too, as were Brandon Wood, Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli and Maicer Izturis.

A day after the Angels wrapped up a sub.-500 finish (80-82) for the first time since 2003 with a 6-2 win over the Rangers, the feeling was unanimous: 2010 was a disappointment. As he has done often, Scioscia said he wants only a tweaking.

"At times in the season where we were playing flat was really a reflection of our offensive struggles," Scioscia said. "I don't think the gap was that big for us to bridge to get back to being where we hope to be as an elite team in our league ... I think there's a lot of upside that's here for next year that isn't a wish and a prayer, you know what I mean?" "