OT: Los Angeles Angels Talk

[mightyquack]

Can't blame Pujols for having confidence, but if he thinks he's an everyday player he's out to lunch. He probably shouldn't have been an everyday player as far back as 2017.

It's about time Walsh becomes the everyday 1B.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Freaking Angels Bullpen sucks as usual!!!!

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Albert shouldn't really be celebrated, how many good seasons did he have in 10 years. As a cardinal he performed as an time great...as an angel mostly JAG.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

First few year Pujols was ok but not at the salary he was getting paid and then 2nd half of the contract he barely was above replacement level.
Just like in the NHL when goalies get Bobrovsky/Bryzgalov money they suck the rest of the contract. Could say that about skaters like Erik Karlsson, Briere, Gomez, Drury, Brad Richards and Vanek.

 

[OCSportsfan]

They need to trade Adell for a front line pitcher with a couple years left on the contract. I am sure there is a rebuilding team with a top starter that has no chance to compete during his contract. Add him to last years pick and you have potentially 2 of the top 3 pitchers on the team for next year.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

They need to trade Adell for a front line pitcher with a couple years left on the contract. I am sure there is a rebuilding team with a top starter that has no chance to compete during his contract. Add him to last years pick and you have potentially 2 of the top 3 pitchers on the team for next year.

And instead of selecting SS Will Wilson, the Angels could have drafted a pitcher. ::: sighs :::

 

[Hockey Duckie]

First few year Pujols was ok but not at the salary he was getting paid and then 2nd half of the contract he barely was above replacement level.
Just like in the NHL when goalies get Bobrovsky/Bryzgalov money they suck the rest of the contract. Could say that about skaters like Erik Karlsson, Briere, Gomez, Drury, Brad Richards and Vanek.

I accepted Pujols as Arte's way to bank roll Fox Sports West. Pujols has a 10-year, $240 mil contract leveraged for a 20 year, $3 billion tv contract with Fox Sports. Of course, in my mind, I thought Arte would have more than enough money to go over the tax threshold if necessary to acquire the correct pieces. Arte thought he could be Steinbrenner of the Yankees, but Arte's a fake. He values uber-profit over a productive team. He values the makeup of his team in his own mind than the makeup of his team in his GM's mind (Dipoto).

Before Pujols got DFA'd, the Angels ranked 2nd in positional team spending for batters, punching over $100 mil. The Dodgers rank #1 at over $101 mil. In positional spending for pitchers, the Angels ranked 12th at $47 mil. The Dodgers are ranked #1 at $110 mil for pitching expenditures this season.

In our division for pitching expenditures:

8. Houston: $51.6 mil
12. Angels: $47.o mil
18. Texas: $31.7 mil
19. Oakland: $28.9 mil
21. Seattle: $27.3 mil​

in our division for total 2021 payroll:

4. Houston: $191.5 mil
6. Angels: $182.4 mil
20. Texas: $92.7 mil
23. Oakland: $87.0 mil
25. Seattle: $75.7 mil​

I know it's early, but as of today, the Angels are in the bottom of the division. Seven years ago was the last time the Angels finished above .500, which was under Dipoto. Dipoto had the Angels reach above .500 three out of four years with a playoff appearance. That was under Arte's thumb, including overriding Dipoto wanting to keep P Greinke for slugger Hamilton, which cost the Angels a second consecutive 1st round selection for signing a premier FA. Pujols cost the Angels the first 1st round pick a year previous.

It's sad to have this reflection. Fletcher, Walsh, and Ward come from Dipoto's last draft in 2015. Dipoto didn't have a 2012 or 2013 first round pick due to Arte signing Pujols and Hamilton in consecutive off-seasons.

Just how good is Dipoto? Welp, he's been in charge of the Mariners since 2016. They started their rebuild two seasons ago, 2019. In his first three seasons with Seattle, his team finished above .500 twice. But he assessed the way things were with Seattle, they were maxed out in cap and talent, but still couldn't budge into the playoffs. That's when he told the owners of his plan. They're sitting pretty good after a tear down two years ago. They have two top-5 prospect in OF Kelenic and another OF Rodriguez, according to mlb.com. They have a total of six in the top-100 prospects for mlb.com's list, including two pitchers, both drafted by Dipoto.

Just... damned Arte. okay... rant over. Still a die-hard Angels fan, but ... ::: sighs in defeat ::: My grandpa and I have been complaining about the lack of pitching for years. LoL

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Who is GM of this team doesn't change much if Arte thinks he's Al Davis in his prime.

Whats sad is Arte wanted to see his investment win a WS title and make money at the same time.
His 'all in' meddling into the teams direction with short term fixes with big contracts and expensive players when the team needed a rebuild.

Now its too late to rebuild because Arte is older and Trout probably only has 6 years left as an impact player as even HOF players can decline and i think it will happen eventually because Trout can't play 150 games anymore because he keeps getting hurt every year.
If they had started rebuilding in 2010 or even 2013 they would have completed the rebuild by now and had a massive pipeline of prospects to use trades to acquire top talent in their prime. Look at how the Astros/Dodgers have been able to do that.

 

[Deuce22]

I accepted Pujols as Arte's way to bank roll Fox Sports West. Pujols has a 10-year, $240 mil contract leveraged for a 20 year, $3 billion tv contract with Fox Sports. Of course, in my mind, I thought Arte would have more than enough money to go over the tax threshold if necessary to acquire the correct pieces. Arte thought he could be Steinbrenner of the Yankees, but Arte's a fake. He values uber-profit over a productive team. He values the makeup of his team in his own mind than the makeup of his team in his GM's mind (Dipoto).

Before Pujols got DFA'd, the Angels ranked 2nd in positional team spending for batters, punching over $100 mil. The Dodgers rank #1 at over $101 mil. In positional spending for pitchers, the Angels ranked 12th at $47 mil. The Dodgers are ranked #1 at $110 mil for pitching expenditures this season.

In our division for pitching expenditures:

8. Houston: $51.6 mil
12. Angels: $47.o mil
18. Texas: $31.7 mil
19. Oakland: $28.9 mil
21. Seattle: $27.3 mil​

in our division for total 2021 payroll:

4. Houston: $191.5 mil
6. Angels: $182.4 mil
20. Texas: $92.7 mil
23. Oakland: $87.0 mil
25. Seattle: $75.7 mil​

I know it's early, but as of today, the Angels are in the bottom of the division. Seven years ago was the last time the Angels finished above .500, which was under Dipoto. Dipoto had the Angels reach above .500 three out of four years with a playoff appearance. That was under Arte's thumb, including overriding Dipoto wanting to keep P Greinke for slugger Hamilton, which cost the Angels a second consecutive 1st round selection for signing a premier FA. Pujols cost the Angels the first 1st round pick a year previous.

It's sad to have this reflection. Fletcher, Walsh, and Ward come from Dipoto's last draft in 2015. Dipoto didn't have a 2012 or 2013 first round pick due to Arte signing Pujols and Hamilton in consecutive off-seasons.

Just how good is Dipoto? Welp, he's been in charge of the Mariners since 2016. They started their rebuild two seasons ago, 2019. In his first three seasons with Seattle, his team finished above .500 twice. But he assessed the way things were with Seattle, they were maxed out in cap and talent, but still couldn't budge into the playoffs. That's when he told the owners of his plan. They're sitting pretty good after a tear down two years ago. They have two top-5 prospect in OF Kelenic and another OF Rodriguez, according to mlb.com. They have a total of six in the top-100 prospects for mlb.com's list, including two pitchers, both drafted by Dipoto.

Just... damned Arte. okay... rant over. Still a die-hard Angels fan, but ... ::: sighs in defeat ::: My grandpa and I have been complaining about the lack of pitching for years. LoL

Agree with you about Moreno. However, there is hope for all you Angel fans, IMO. Arte being willing to dump Pujols shows a willingness to veer away from his PR first strategy to a win first one. Maybe Minasian has convinced him that the team needs to put the best talent on the field moving forward.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Agree with you about Moreno. However, there is hope for all you Angel fans, IMO. Arte being willing to dump Pujols shows a willingness to veer away from his PR first strategy to a win first one. Maybe Minasian has convinced him that the team needs to put the best talent on the field moving forward.

You know what also could be better? Moreno going over the luxury tax to get better pitching.

Releasing Pujols on his last year of his contract is meh. We're still paying him, but it does open up a roster spot. Like many have stated, Pujols should have been released years ago.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

You know what also could be better? Moreno going over the luxury tax to get better pitching.

Releasing Pujols on his last year of his contract is meh. We're still paying him, but it does open up a roster spot. Like many have stated, Pujols should have been released years ago.

LOL absolutely not. Arte likes names and position players, so you will get a $150M contract for Story/Correa at SS and like it while we make our GMs scrounge on starting pitching again. Peasants.

God, I hate him. The cynic in me tells me to stop watching baseball until he sells (which will never happen, so he'll have to die first), but the baseball fan in me can't turn away from Trout/Ohtani every night.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

LOL absolutely not. Arte likes names and position players, so you will get a $150M contract for Story/Correa at SS and like it while we make our GMs scrounge on starting pitching again. Peasants.

God, I hate him. The cynic in me tells me to stop watching baseball until he sells (which will never happen, so he'll have to die first), but the baseball fan in me can't turn away from Trout/Ohtani every night.

Hopefully Arte's heirs won't be meddling like him or they sell it back to Disney or sell it to the Samuelis.

Given how much more powerful Disney has become in the past 10 years they would be able to spend well past the luxury tax threshold and not meddle in the running of the team.

 

[mightyquack]

LOL absolutely not. Arte likes names and position players, so you will get a $150M contract for Story/Correa at SS and like it while we make our GMs scrounge on starting pitching again. Peasants.

God, I hate him. The cynic in me tells me to stop watching baseball until he sells (which will never happen, so he'll have to die first), but the baseball fan in me can't turn away from Trout/Ohtani every night.

Signing a known cheat like Correa to a big money contract would be an absolute low point for the Angels - so it will probably happen

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Bundy now with an ERA over 5.00

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Bundy now with an ERA over 5.00

Heard on the broadcast last night that the Angels team ERA is over 5, but their expected ERA is in the mid-3s due to all the soft contact that beats the Maddon shifts and the terrible defense being played behind them so far.

Massive win for the Angels last night, big kudos to Suarez for keeping it close while getting out of trouble and Mayers and Iglesias for grinding through their third straight day of work while Walsh remains beastly. Hope Ohtani has his command from jump street tonight because they need to get six innings from him at a minimum

 

[Bender66]

Lol infield shift =4 runs in. Thanks Madden for continuing to use the most stupid tactic in modern baseball. Every time a team does infield shift, a puppy gets put down somewhere. Stop killing puppies.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Bundy rocked in Fenway once again. But the big issue is this almighty lineup, which eats up at least 2/3 of the payroll, has rolled into the most hitter-friendly ballpark in baseball and has proceeded to score 3 runs in 15 innings (and counting) against a mediocre-at-best pitching staff after only scoring 2 runs in their last 2 games in Houston’s bandbox. This team better get it going or the season will effectively be over by the end of the month.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Bundy rocked in Fenway once again. But the big issue is this almighty lineup, which eats up at least 2/3 of the payroll, has rolled into the most hitter-friendly ballpark in baseball and has proceeded to score 3 runs in 15 innings (and counting) against a mediocre-at-best pitching staff after only scoring 2 runs in their last 2 games in Houston’s bandbox. This team better get it going or the season will effectively be over by the end of the month.

Bundy ERA now over 6.00 . Looking more like Bundy is a 1 hit wonder and they should have traded him at least years deadline.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I am just now reminded of how that despite how bad the Angels have been since 2012 that Trout has never requested a trade and has remained loyal to Anaheim.
Players really do love the area here and it seems no surprise that the Ducks Gibson and Rakell love it too.

 

[AngelDuck]

It’s time to rip it all down. Sad to say but I think you have to consider listening to offers on Ohtani. Another frustrating year

 

[405Entrance]

They get gifted another generational talent and they still manage to f*ck up by not getting any pitching

 

[Anaheim4ever]

It’s time to rip it all down. Sad to say but I think you have to consider listening to offers on Ohtani. Another frustrating year

Just imagine if they did a tear down in 2011 after the 2010 season. They would have made the playoffs a bunch of the times in the latter half of the previous decade.
A wealth of prospects would have allowed them to make bigger trades and acquire better pitching or they developed the pitching themselves.
If we go back in time the 2010 season was when the Angels window had closed and they needed to tear it down and start rebuilding but a year later Arte fell for Pujols 2011 WS performance.

The Astros did a tear down in like 2009 or 2010 or so & they were the team people made of fun of calling them The Lastros, they stockpiled a ton of prospects from trades, drafting in the top 3 every year.
Then they started to turn things around and became the powerhouse they are now.

I was born in the 80s and grew up always being disappointed by the Angels losing every time i saw them play at the stadium.
In 2002 when the Angels had their worst start to a season in april i wrote the season off as yet another losing Angels season.
Thankfully David Eckstein's Grand Slams in back to back games sparked their return to .500 and eventually 99 win season as the Wild Card team and eventual WS champions.
Tim Salmon was my favorite Angel player growing up and to see him win it all was special. I feel for Trout in that he likely goes down in history as a legend who never won it all.
This team is such a longshot to turn things around and become a playoff team that i can't see them winning a WS in the Trout era.

I feel like we'll have to wait until the owner Arte Moreno croaks of old age and his heirs takeover the team.

 

[mightyquack]

Astros turned it around because they spent a shit ton on player development, player development is a foreign concept to the Angels.

Astros busted on 2 of their 4 high picks in their rebuild period.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I am just now reminded of how that despite how bad the Angels have been since 2012 that Trout has never requested a trade and has remained loyal to Anaheim.
Players really do love the area here and it seems no surprise that the Ducks Gibson and Rakell love it too.

Playing in Anaheim suits Trout's personality to a T. Trout doesn't like the notoriety and glam like a Bryce Harper. Nobody bothers or pesters him in Anaheim. Even Arte's smart enough not to force Trout to do more public stuff as Trout is his cash cow.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Astros turned it around because they spent a shit ton on player development, player development is a foreign concept to the Angels.

Astros busted on 2 of their 4 high picks in their rebuild period.

In Eppler's 5 years of drafting, he only spent one draft on a pitcher in the first round. Yet, throughout his tenure, Eppler continued to trade away a lot of pitching that the previous GM, Dipoto, had traded for or drafted.

Angel's Fletcher, Walsh, and Ward all hail from the 2015 draft, which was Dipoto's last draft. What's astonishing is that in Dipoto's four seasons as GM, he only had two chances to draft in the first round due to old rules citing you lose a first round pick for a high priced FA that was qualified. Dipoto drafted a pitcher in one of his two first round picks.

Dipoto's been in Seattle after his departure from the Angels organization. Here's his first round picks for Seattle:

2016: OF Kyle Lewis (2020 AL RoY)
2017: 1B Evan White
2018: RHP Logan Gilbert
2019: RHP George Kirby (we could have had him instead of SS Will Wilson!)
2020: RHP Emerson Hancock​

In 2017-18, OF Julio Rodriguez was signed during the International signing period. Rodriguez is ranked 5th overall in the top-100 MLB prospects, behind fellow Mariner Kelenic, who was had via trade.

While Arte may be stingy with his monies to not go over the tax threshold, Eppler still had control on who to draft. I think Perry deserves some kudos for being able to release Pujols to open up a roster spot for the team. Granted, it was Pujols' last year on his contract, but it's a small gesture that Arte would eat the money (considering he made $3 bil in TV contract because of the Pujols signing). Too bad Arte couldn't eat up more money by going over the tax threshold this year to get a more prominent pitcher.