OT: Los Angeles Angels Talk

[TheGoodShepard1]

Well... they made history.

14 in a row. No wins 11 games into the 19 game gauntlet that seemed like it was make or break. Depressing times.

 

[Static]

Well... they made history.

14 in a row. No wins 11 games into the 19 game gauntlet that seemed like it was make or break. Depressing times.

It's fate at this point. Even the worst teams luck into a win or three during that same stretch.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

It's fate at this point. Even the worst teams luck into a win or three during that same stretch.

They are running into the same problems the Ducks have run into... injury problems and lack of quality MLB depth, especially at pitching. Injured are two of the Angels offensive machine in Ward and Rendon. Now, Trout is injured. The lack of quality pitching starters has overworked the backend to where they're blowing saves. Kinda like Fowler's effectiveness on offense and PP dwindled after the TDL b/c he's playing tougher minutes and on the PK.

Silver lining about the dismal losing streak is that the Mariners were flying high coming out of the start of the season and fell to last place in the division and are looking to take over 2nd in AL West, which is where the Angels are now. It's still early. I have hope, but it's dwindling with every consecutive loss.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

I'm not saying Joe Maddon was not an issue, but I've been leading the brigade to get Jeremy Reed and Paul Sorrento for about 6 weeks now and they should have been the first two sent packing. Bums.

Also, as someone who was very much pro-Rendon signing, looks like it's about time for me to eat crow on that as another mistake (yeah yeah, I know, just now?). Dude is broken, can't stay healthy for more than a couple weeks at a time.

 

[TheStuntman]

I'm not saying Joe Maddon was not an issue, but I've been leading the brigade to get Jeremy Reed and Paul Sorrento for about 6 weeks now and they should have been the first two sent packing. Bums.

Also, as someone who was very much pro-Rendon signing, looks like it's about time for me to eat crow on that as another mistake (yeah yeah, I know, just now?). Dude is broken, can't stay healthy for more than a couple weeks at a time.

My main issue with Maddon was that he managed every game like a playoff game. It sounds great on paper but it burns out the bullpen and probably messes with the starting pitchers' heads. Baseball is a very long season, you can't manage every single game like it's the last one. Sometimes you gotta let the starters go a little deeper to preserve the bullpen for the next few games.

I don't blame the Angels for signing Rendon at all. His last 3 seasons at Washington, he put up 5+ WAR with .900+ OPS in each season with a plus glove and had relatively great health missing around 18 games a season. Just seems like it's an Angels curse lately that they sign a free agent and they start getting injured and/or lose their effectiveness.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

My main issue with Maddon was that he managed every game like a playoff game. It sounds great on paper but it burns out the bullpen and probably messes with the starting pitchers' heads. Baseball is a very long season, you can't manage every single game like it's the last one. Sometimes you gotta let the starters go a little deeper to preserve the bullpen for the next few games.

I don't blame the Angels for signing Rendon at all. His last 3 seasons at Washington, he put up 5+ WAR with .900+ OPS in each season with a plus glove and had relatively great health missing around 18 games a season. Just seems like it's an Angels curse lately that they sign a free agent and they start getting injured and/or lose their effectiveness.

Rendon only reached 150 games played in a season twice in his career, that's not good because players don't get more durable with age.
His last 2 seasons in Washington he played 146 in 2019 and 136 in 2018.
Durability was never his strength.

I miss the days when guys like Vlad, Hunter etc played 150+ almost every year and played thru minor injuries like sore pinky fingers instead of DL trips.
I feel like baseball players have gotten more soft but I hardly even watch baseball anymore because the Angels suck and would never jump on the Dodgers bandwagon.

Even when the Ducks suck its far more entertaining than watching the Angels because the Angels are too good to draft top3 and too sucky to make the playoffs.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Rendon gone for the year. What a great Moreno signing.

 

[GreatBear]

Rendon gone for the year. What a great Moreno signing.

Arte sure knows how to pick 'em. Sign a slugger, watch them turn to sh*t.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Arte sure knows how to pick 'em. Sign a slugger, watch them turn to sh*t.

Pujols, Hambone, Upton, and Rendon. Was Wells under Arte?

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Pujols, Hambone, Upton, and Rendon. Was Wells under Arte?

Yes Wells wa acquired in 2011 for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera, worst trade of the Tony Reagins GM era. Arte bought the team in like 2003 after the WS year and went out and bought 2 quality FA pitchers in Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar but also big bat Vladimir Guerrero in the 2003 off-season.

Colon didn't live up to the hype for the Angels.....sucked in 04 and only got 05 CY award cause of Wins meanwhile his teammate Lackey had a superior ERA and K rate(199Ks). To make matters worse Colon got injured in the first round of playoffs in 05 and cost the Angels a return to WS as they probably get thru Chicago cheaterSox with Colon in there. Colon was never the same for the Angels next season and got booed out of Anaheim in 07 by the Fans with how bad he stunk it up.
Escobar however when Healthy was a #2 pitcher who had great seasons in 07 and 06 and solid 04.

Another bad Artie signing was Gary Mathews Jr. Just because of one highlight reel HR stealing catch in the OF and a career year offensively with the Rangers,, GM Bill Stoneman sold artie on him and they signed him to a 5 year deal.
That bust of a signing led to Stoneman stepping down but remaining with the team.

I stand by that Stoneman was the best Angels GM ever. He ran the team during the Disney era when they won a WS championship and had great player development, scouting and farm systems.
He put together a winning roster, an elite bullpen, pitchers drafted/latin ufa signed like John Lackey, Jarrod Washburn, Jared Weaver, Frankie Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Ervin Santana.

They drafted a local boy 3B named Troy Glaus who would go on to win a WS MVP. Whom averaged 38HRs a year in his prime.
Solid trades like bringing in Figgins, Spiezio. Eckstein, Kennedy etc

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Yes Wells wa acquired in 2011 for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera, worst trade of the Tony Reagins GM era. Arte bought the team in like 2003 after the WS year and went out and bought 2 quality FA pitchers in Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar but also big bat Vladimir Guerrero in the 2003 off-season.

Colon didn't live up to the hype for the Angels.....sucked in 04 and only got 05 CY award cause of Wins meanwhile his teammate Lackey had a superior ERA and K rate(199Ks). To make matters worse Colon got injured in the first round of playoffs in 05 and cost the Angels a return to WS as they probably get thru Chicago cheaterSox with Colon in there. Colon was never the same for the Angels next season and got booed out of Anaheim in 07 by the Fans with how bad he stunk it up.
Escobar however when Healthy was a #2 pitcher who had great seasons in 07 and 06 and solid 04.

Another bad Artie signing was Gary Mathews Jr. Just because of one highlight reel HR stealing catch in the OF and a career year offensively with the Rangers,, GM Bill Stoneman sold artie on him and they signed him to a 5 year deal.
That bust of a signing led to Stoneman stepping down but remaining with the team.

I stand by that Stoneman was the best Angels GM ever. He ran the team during the Disney era when they won a WS championship and had great player development, scouting and farm systems.
He put together a winning roster, an elite bullpen, pitchers drafted/latin ufa signed like John Lackey, Jarrod Washburn, Jared Weaver, Frankie Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Ervin Santana.

They drafted a local boy 3B named Troy Glaus who would go on to win a WS MVP. Whom averaged 38HRs a year in his prime.
Solid trades like bringing in Figgins, Spiezio. Eckstein, Kennedy etc

I like Stoneman. He was good at drafting. He found us Trout! I don't think Stoneman stepped down b/c of GMJ, but was pushed out. Reagins was "turrible!"

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I like Stoneman. He was good at drafting. He found us Trout! I don't think Stoneman stepped down b/c of GMJ, but was pushed out. Reagins was "turrible!"

Although Trout was drafted under Reagins he inherited the scouting director Eddie Bane from Stoneman.

I used to follow the Angels and it's prospects alot from 2005 to 2010 and it largely changed when scouting director Eddie Bane was fired after 2010 by Tony Reagins. Bane would do interviews with the Angels fansites and was a really nice guy.

I started losing interest In baseball after how I began to realize Arte controls the team too much and Scioscia had too much power as well. How they ran the farm system down the drain with horrible drafts.

What happened is Tony Reagins didn't get along with Eddie Bane and he wanted to get him fired so he told Eddie Bane to find him a bunch a toolsy small ball players with speed and defense in the 2010 draft and he did his job as he was instructed and thus it was a terrible draft class for the Angels netting only like Cam Bedrosian.

The 2009 Baneball draft is arguably the best in Angels history and it destroys Billy Beanes 2002 Moneyball draft.
Trout, Richards, Skaggs, Corbin, Grichuk.
To draft those three pitchers and OF Grichuk along with Mike Trout was huge.

Had Bane stayed after Reagins was fired they probably would have made the playoffs a few more times by now and better pitching staff.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Although Trout was drafted under Reagins he inherited the scouting director Eddie Bane from Stoneman.

I used to follow the Angels and it's prospects alot from 2005 to 2010 and it largely changed when scouting director Eddie Bane was fired after 2010 by Tony Reagins. Bane would do interviews with the Angels fansites and was a really nice guy.

I started losing interest In baseball after how I began to realize Arte controls the team too much and Scioscia had too much power as well. How they ran the farm system down the drain with horrible drafts.

What happened is Tony Reagins didn't get along with Eddie Bane and he wanted to get him fired so he told Eddie Bane to find him a bunch a toolsy small ball players with speed and defense in the 2010 draft and he did his job as he was instructed and thus it was a terrible draft class for the Angels netting only like Cam Bedrosian.

The 2009 Baneball draft is arguably the best in Angels history and it destroys Billy Beanes 2002 Moneyball draft.
Trout, Richards, Skaggs, Corbin, Grichuk.
To draft those three pitchers and OF Grichuk along with Mike Trout was huge.

Had Bane stayed after Reagins was fired they probably would have made the playoffs a few more times by now and better pitching staff.

Ahhh... I mixed up Stoneman for Bane! Yeah... things just went to hell after the honeymood period with Arte. Although, I did love me some Big Daddy Vladdy "His strike zone was from his nose to his toes!".

One of few things that irked me about Dipoto was he didn't go hard after Vlad Jr in the int'l market. I shudder at the thought of Roberto Baldoquin.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Ahhh... I mixed up Stoneman for Bane! Yeah... things just went to hell after the honeymood period with Arte. Although, I did love me some Big Daddy Vladdy "His strike zone was from his nose to his toes!".

One of few things that irked me about Dipoto was he didn't go hard after Vlad Jr in the int'l market. I shudder at the thought of Roberto Baldoquin.

Baldoquin that name alone makes it easy to remember that guy.
It wasn't just Arte no longer wanting to sign pricey pitchers but he also didn't like extending the ones he had like letting Lackey and Washburn walk, Lackey might never have gotten that Boston injury if he had stayed.
In the end Lackey finishes with an amazing post season career.
Btw did you know that Napoli has been coaching with some MLB teams ? Could become a future Angels manager, oh man that would be full circle for Naps.

Vlad was the best FA signing.
It's funny how his kid is the opposite approach to him at the plate.
I think it comes down to him wanting his kid to better than him and Vlad knows well that when his bad speed decline he couldn't get the sweet spot of the bat on balls outside the strike zone as well anymore. Plus I think Vlad Jr. Growing up seeing his dad swing at everything thrown it probably drove him bonkers lol.

If Vlad Sr. was a patient hitter like his son he'd probably be in the 600 HR club maybe.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I didn't know Nap was coaching. First base coach for the Cubs?! I don't know if I wanna wish that kinda of bad mojo onto Nap if Arte is still the owner.

As for Vlad Sr., he was just gifted at seeing the ball... until he couldn't. I thought he was just lucky when he would hit balls that bounce up in front of home plate, but he did it a few more times when it happened! Who is this machine?!

At least another great gets to wear 27.

 

[Static]

Edit: wrong thread

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Not sure what politics has to do with The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ?

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Angels took 4 out of 5 against the Mariners in a five-game set in Seattle over a few days ago. Now, they get to see them again. Maybe they can win 2 out of 3 or get the sweep. Right now, the Mariners are the only reason the Angels aren't doing worse.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Anyone else feel that Arte is the reason Maddon was fired ?
Arte seems to be firing people more now, last year it was the alternate play by play announcer who he fired for no reason because he didn't like him.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Shattenkirk’s one-way ticket to the sun can include a complimentary Jeremy Reed and Matt Unwise with him.

 

[MMC]

What a disgrace this team is. Holy shit.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

It is the most Angels thing ever that after years of bad-mediocre directionless blobs, the year this dumpster fire of a team looks like they're headed for a top-5 pick, there's a draft lottery instituted.

Currently looking to see if I can find any scandals of Arte's to force him to sell the team.

 

[terranraida]

This season is one of the worst ones I can remember. Holy hell what a nosedive.

 

[Deuce22]

This is the result of an owner basically ignoring scouting and development for years. It's going to get even worse when Ohtani prices himself out of the Angels' budget.

 

[TheStuntman]

It is the most Angels thing ever that after years of bad-mediocre directionless blobs, the year this dumpster fire of a team looks like they're headed for a top-5 pick, there's a draft lottery instituted.

Currently looking to see if I can find any scandals of Arte's to force him to sell the team.

There's already two.

1) Former Anaheim mayor's Harry Sidhu quid pro quo with the Angels' executives to donate 1+ million to his campaign in exchange for sensitive information in the stadium deal. Arte isn't implicated in this, but not a great look as the owner of the team.

2) Tyler Skaggs death by ODing on painkillers provided by an Angel employee, Eric Kay.

It's bad but not Daniel Snyder of the Washington Commanders bad.

Arte is a marketer and doesn't care about the nuts and bolts of running a team. As long 3 million+ comes to the games, he doesn't care if the team does well or not.