This should do it

[Chimi]

It's amazing how much Dipoto undervalues pitching when he's a former pitcher himself.

[Docwaukee]

It's not that I am pessimistic about the team.  I actually really like them. 

 

And I do agree that it's arrogant for us to think that we might know more than professional baseball executives.  At the same time, we all see a lot of this team and it's pretty easy to form an opinion based on our experience. 

 

If the team were mediocre pretty much everywhere else, then addressing one particular spot isn't that big of a deal. 

To me, this is an obvious gaping hole in an otherwise pretty solid team.  Maybe it turns out not to be an issue.  The problem is that historically it usually is.  One can't predict the future, but you try to prepare as best you can and to a reasonable level so that problems can be fixed along the way. 

 

Most of the time depth actually doesn't come from 4A players but guys in your minors who have talent and are up and coming.  Guys who will eventually be consistent major leaguers or at least they are anticipated to be.  The halos have none of those.  So in order to create depth you have to spend a little money and bring in a vet or two.  It may bump one of your younger starters down the depth chart for a portion of the season, but by the end of the year, that guy will get his chances.  If he doesn't because everyone else performed well and stayed injury free then that is a good thing. 

 

Guys like Capuano, Hammel, etal have a strong likelihood of being better than Jarret Grube and Wade Leblanc and for what turned out to be at fairly minimal expense. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I am much more excited to see Skaggs, Santiago, and Richards throw every fifth day than I would Chris Capuano.  I just think it's unrealistic that any of those three guys will do so over 162 games. 

[CaliAngel]

I don't give up on this team until it's obvious that they're not going to the playoffs.

 

That being said not addressing our most glaring problem the past 3 years and expecting better results just seems unrealistic.

[Docwaukee]

so now the halos have 2 spots on their 40 man according to the current broadcast. 

[Angel Oracle]

Is it just me, or did JeDi overcompensate for signing Blanton too early a year ago, and was thus too restrained this past winter in not signing any starting pitching FAs?

If that was indeed his strategy, why not just re-up Williams for a year?

Edited March 8, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Guest]

Or how about even giving Vargas a QO? Would it really have been the end of the world to have him for one year at 14 million? Hell if he turned it down then the angels might've gotten another draft pick.

To me that's been the biggest **** up of the off season.

I think the Angels wanted to keep Vargas, but he only wanted a multiyear contract—he ended up with 4yr/32m from the Royals—and surprise he's been doing well this spring. They should have ponied up the cash. 4yrs/$32 is not all that bad especially when Jerry gave Blanton $15m.

DiPoto's poor planning is mystifying. We lost ~5 pitchers this offseason, and rather than remedy the clear lack of pitching, Jerry traded for a 3rd baseman rather than address the pitching. And for ****'s sake has he still not learned his lesson with trading prospects?

Getting Skaggs and Santiago was excellent, but not enough.

It's becoming painfully clear that this organization doesn't have expectations to win anything this year. Otherwise, they would have been more aggressive with building the bullpen. They clearly aren't rebuilding, since Jerry traded yet another prospect (to StL) and the young Bourjos.

The Front Office doesn't know what it wants. There's dysfunction on every level at this point, and it's a shame because this team could win it all if we had a more forward thinking/rational front office.

Edited March 8, 2014 by failos

[Angel Oracle]

It's not like re-upping Williams would have put them over the luxury tax threshold.

[Inside Pitch]

Yep, and it's especially frustrating when he's made this same mistake every season he's been GM.

That's my issue with all of this -- even after all the picks spent on pitchers last year, and the talk about needing to add to our depth across the system it seems like the team has done little to address it beyond the top 5 starters.

 

Anyway -- Yusmiero Petit may be getting squeezed off the Giants roster and is out of options...  He's also got a history with the D-Backs, he may be a guy to keep an eye on as a potential ST pick up.   Not saying he's good but he's likely pretty much representative of the sort of guys that may become available.  Javy Guerra is looking like an outsider in the Dodgers pen after they signed 45 or so former closers to their pen.

 

We should probably be start making a list of guys who might fall off a roster.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[VariousCrap]

Yusmiero Petit (or someone like him ) doesn't have to be good.  He just has to be better than Blanton.

[Mark68]

Here's the silver lining:

Two of the homers Blanton gave up were to Tulowitzki. So there's that.

[NrM]

I think the Angels wanted to keep Vargas, but he only wanted a multiyear contract—he ended up with 4yr/32m from the Royals—and surprise he's been doing well this spring. They should have ponied up the cash. 4yrs/$32 is not all that bad especially when Jerry gave Blanton $15m.

DiPoto's poor planning is mystifying. We lost ~5 pitchers this offseason, and rather than remedy the clear lack of pitching, Jerry traded for a 3rd baseman rather than address the pitching. And for ****'s sake has he still not learned his lesson with trading prospects?

Getting Skaggs and Santiago was excellent, but not enough.

It's becoming painfully clear that this organization doesn't have expectations to win anything this year. Otherwise, they would have been more aggressive with building the bullpen. They clearly aren't rebuilding, since Jerry traded yet another prospect (to StL) and the young Bourjos.

The Front Office doesn't know what it wants. There's dysfunction on every level at this point, and it's a shame because this team could win it all if we had a more forward thinking/rational front office.

My point is, even if he turned down a QO, the angels would still get a draft pick out of it.

It was a win win situation for the angels.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Poozy

[Mark68]

Yeah, not giving Vargas a QO was a mistake. Letting Williams walk was a mistake. In the relative scheme of things, they were minor errors. They pale in comparison to what could have been major malfunctions in signing much of this year's crop if free agents. Most of them were less than inspiring. The more glaring error was not trying to sign Tanaka, who has looked good so far (small sample size, of course).

Edited March 9, 2014 by Mark68

[Guest]

My point is, even if he turned down a QO, the angels would still get a draft pick out of it.

It was a win win situation for the angels.

Hmm, that's a good point. It's very upsetting how they managed to overlook this...was Jerry not aware of the possible draft pick? Embarrassing.

[Angel Oracle]

This org has hated making those offers for whatever reason.

How many draft picks have we lost over the years since the early 2000s, because of not making those offers?

[fan_since79]

That is fine, he wasn't really a key part of anything. They knew going in he may be done but the hysterics you guys go through is pretty sad.

 

After missing the playoffs four straight years when we were supposed to be there, hysterics come pretty easy for many of us.

[ukyah]

After missing the playoffs four straight years when we were supposed to be there, hysterics come pretty easy for many of us.

 

you shouldn't agree with the characterization that holding the viewpoint that the angels have failed to address any lack of pitching depth as "hysterics."

 

few people are hysterical about this, most are simply aware that we have a too thin pitching staff and that is usually not a recipe for a good season. we've got a better starting five than last year for sure, but after shoemaker there is nobody of any good consequence.

Edited March 9, 2014 by ukyah

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Back to the original topic - I wonder how many more times Blanton will have to be lit up before we stop hearing about his "deception" and his "progress", how the ball is coming out of his hand, or any other cliché to try to distract us from the fact that he flat out sucks and has no business wearing a major league uniform. The Angels just need to end this badly failed experiment. Call up some kid from AA. He can't be any worse.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Angel Oracle]

I will give Blanton TWO more appearances tops. This continues, and then release him!

[ten ocho recon scout]

As the one who coined the nickname blantana, seeing as that he doesnt appear likely to have good even numbered years either, I hereby recommend he be known as blantdone from this day forward.

[Blarg]

I was unable to make the AW Fanfest this weekend but from a source at the event one of the guests asked Dipoto about Blanton and his response was Blanton had to earn a spot on the pitching staff this Spring.

This is second hand so we will have to wait for the interview to be posted but that response says the Angels went into Spring training with no expectations that Blanton would make the staff.

[AzHaloFan]

I'm waiting for us to dump Blanton, the A's to pick him up, and for us to get swept in a series that Kazmir & Blanton throw shut outs against us.

[jshep]

I was unable to make the AW Fanfest this weekend but from a source at the event one of the guests asked Dipoto about Blanton and his response was Blanton had to earn a spot on the pitching staff this Spring.

This is second hand so we will have to wait for the interview to be posted but that response says the Angels went into Spring training with no expectations that Blanton would make the staff.

Okay neat, so maybe they went into Spring Training with no expectations that Blanton would make the staff, and still failed to acquire appropriate depth to cover themselves in the event he didn't earn that spot.

 

Neat.

[tdawg87]

Neat.

[HaloMagic]

Neat.

[mtangelsfan]

Swell