The Latest From AngelsWin.com: "Age Disparity" - Jerry Dipoto's Intelligent Design

[AngelsWin.com]

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer 

This year, AngelsWin.com has been very fortunate to have two opportunities to learn from Jerry “JeDi” Dipoto, the General Manager for the Los Angeles Angels. As I wrote in the introduction to the interview conducted in January, listening to Jerry Dipoto is as educational an experience as it is an entertaining one. The man knows baseball. He loves talking baseball. And, whenever one gets the opportunity to hear him talk about baseball, s/he will learn a lot.

 

One of the questions that I asked during the interview in January was about how he planned to layer the contracts for star players such as Pujols, Hamilton and Weaver and mix in less expensive salaries from emerging stars such as Trout, Trumbo, and Bourjos. I thought I would get a better understanding of how he planned payroll going forward and tried to balance the needs of the present against the needs for the future.

 

Instead, what I got was an answer about how the Angels were trying to create “age disparity” to “balance the age of the club and the cost of the club to sustain a winning window.” What ensued was a great discussion about maintaining an entire roster of players at their peak years of performance regardless of cost in order to maintain a winning ball club.

 

Later in the interview, Jerry and I spoke about the future of the Angels, and in particular about the prospects. In describing the prospects, he talked about having waves of talent, and that the next wave was mostly about a year and a half away from emerging on the parent club (although he did note several players who could emerge before then). We talked about the importance of those core players developing together and emerging at a time with strong veterans on the roster to help them transition to the Major Leagues.

 

This Spring, baseball fans, and particularly Angels fans, have had an interesting vantage point to see why Jerry’s words were so prophetic. Watching the Yankees this Spring has given us a direct look at what happens when a ball club all becomes old at once. Getting old before our eyes  is exactly what has happened to the Yankees, and it has dramatically affected their ability to field a team.

 

At the start of Spring Training, it seemed very unlikely that the Angels would have been able to trade Vernon Wells. Although it was clear that the Angels were trying to trade him, the amount of money that they would have to absorb would make such a trade impractical.

 

That seemed to be the storyline even with A-Rod out for a good chunk of the season. But then Granderson got hurt. Then Teixeira. And all of a sudden, the Yankees lost the thump in their lineup. Many of their remaining players were on the wrong side of 30. The Yankees became desperate and their options became limited. Worse yet, because of surpassing the luxury tax level so many times, the continued costs to do so became rather prohibitive.

 

Suddenly the Angels had a partner to trade Vernon Wells. The Yankees, desperate for power in their lineup were willing to overpay for Wells and the Angels were able to gain some salary relief so as not to go over the luxury cap. Although both sides benefitted from the trade, it’s pretty clear that the Yankees acted out of desperation and overpaid. They could have had better, younger players during the offseason for far less money than what they will end up paying to Vernon Wells.

 

What happened to the Yankees should be a cautionary tale to all Angels fans. That is what can happen when a ball club does not maintain the “age disparity” that Jerry talked about. As an Angels fan, I never want to see the team get old before my eyes. Once it happens, it creates a death spiral that can set a club back for years.

 

When a team gets old, it only has a few options on what to do. It can engage in an entire fire sale and rebuild through free agency. But, that is problematic because more and more clubs are signing key players to long-term deals during their younger years and buying out their first few years of free agency. The current trend does not bode well for the large market clubs who are under more pressure to “win now” from their fan base.

 

For an aging small market team, it can try to rebuild from within. But this method is also problematic because it can take years as prospects to develop, and there’s no guarantee that all the prospects will pan out at the same time (if at all). Plus, it would require fans to endure several years of losing seasons for the small hope that they will all mature together for one or two seasons before they leave as free agents.

 

Finally, an aging club can get caught in limbo where they have to continually overpay for aging free agents or take on bad contracts from clubs to maintain the appearance of fielding a winning team, but which may be just one or two injuries or substandard seasons away from failure. Worse yet, they  may have to trade off their few key prospects to maintain the “win-now” philosophy, which will only further their death spiral. This is what may happen to the Yankees before they make the truly grand overhaul that they appear to need.

 

As I reflected on the Vernon Wells trade I was once again amazed at Jerry Dipoto’s wisdom. Not only were his words prophetic, they demonstrated just how savvy a GM he is. I am again amazed at how deep his understanding of the game is and how he has used that to make the Angels a better team.

 

Even if you were at the 

, you really should go back and listen to his previous interview with AngelsWin.com. With some hindsight, it’s an even better experience.

 

Click below to watch our Jerry Dipoto interview with AngelsWin.com back in January, 2012.

 

[JAHV]

Love this interview.  I'm seriously excited about the upcoming years under the helm of the JeDi.

[Ohtaniland]

Love this interview.  I'm seriously excited about the upcoming years under the helm of the JeDi.

 

Nice work Dave, I also loved the interview and I like Jerry's approach but I will hold my JeDi applause until we can beat out the 

$60 million MONEYBALLERS.

[Angelsjunky]

Good job, Dave. I like how you school him on Lincoln. LOL.

[Angelsjunky]

To be honest I'm still a bit mixed on Jerry's work. I think the Pujols contract is going to be really ugly for at least half of it, and the Hamilton one is questionable and a huge over-pay. I'd also have preferred to give Haren one more year, at least over the three starters he brought in.

 

But I think its a bit soon to say. This year is rather huge in terms of whether Dipoto's various gambles have paid off: Can Pujols come back strong? Can Hamilton re-find his superstar stroke? Was letting Haren and/or Santana go a mistake? What about Hanson? Etc. In other words, the jury is still out either way.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Great read.

Agreed on the yanks. That's one of the reasons I'm so big on sticking with our younger guys.

And I don't care how big the dodgers media deal is, that team will get old all at once as well. Besides kershaw, none of their core guys are that young, and all are locked up for years.

[Docwaukee]

To be honest I'm still a bit mixed on Jerry's work. I think the Pujols contract is going to be really ugly for at least half of it, and the Hamilton one is questionable and a huge over-pay. I'd also have preferred to give Haren one more year, at least over the three starters he brought in.

 

But I think its a bit soon to say. This year is rather huge in terms of whether Dipoto's various gambles have paid off: Can Pujols come back strong? Can Hamilton re-find his superstar stroke? Was letting Haren and/or Santana go a mistake? What about Hanson? Etc. In other words, the jury is still out either way.

I think there was a pretty significant amount of influence from Arte in the pujols and hamilton deals so I am not going to totally hang those on Jerry.  I agree on the way he has assembled the staff although I will say that he had to do such within the confines of payroll after adding the two above.  If the staff comes through, I think it's even more impressive on JDs part juggling Arte's wishes and balancing that with obtaining players that suit his managers tendencies.  

[Inside Pitch]

To be honest I'm still a bit mixed on Jerry's work. I think the Pujols contract is going to be really ugly for at least half of it, and the Hamilton one is questionable and a huge over-pay. I'd also have preferred to give Haren one more year, at least over the three starters he brought in.

 

 

I was really big on Haren last winter and really disappointed he was allowed to move on, so much so I made an effort to catch a few of his ST games.  It's ST and all that but... he's looked awful, at least when compared to the pitcher I had grown accustomed to seeing.  The one pitch he did throw well was his cutter, but it seemed like everything else was getting torched.

[Glen]

"Finally, an aging club can get caught in limbo where they have to continually overpay for aging free agents or take on bad contracts from clubs to maintain the appearance of fielding a winning team, but which may be just one or two injuries or substandard seasons away from failure. Worse yet, they  may have to trade off their few key prospects to maintain the “win-now” philosophy, which will only further their death spiral."

 

 

There is a lot of hubris in that statement.  In the last two years we've Yankee'd Hamilton, Pujols, and Wilson and the last few years have been substandard seasons.  We've traded off quite a few key prospects in those years as well.  This article is like trying to poke the Yankees with a stick that has poop on the end of it, without realizing the end we're holding also has poop on it.  

 

I like some of the things Dipoto has done but let's not pretend we're a lot better than the Yankees right now, at least until this season plays out.

[Chuck]

"Finally, an aging club can get caught in limbo where they have to continually overpay for aging free agents or take on bad contracts from clubs to maintain the appearance of fielding a winning team, but which may be just one or two injuries or substandard seasons away from failure. Worse yet, they may have to trade off their few key prospects to maintain the “win-now” philosophy, which will only further their death spiral."

There is a lot of hubris in that statement. In the last two years we've Yankee'd Hamilton, Pujols, and Wilson and the last few years have been substandard seasons. We've traded off quite a few key prospects in those years as well. This article is like trying to poke the Yankees with a stick that has poop on the end of it, without realizing the end we're holding also has poop on it.

I like some of the things Dipoto has done but let's not pretend we're a lot better than the Yankees right now, at least until this season plays out.

Totally disagree.

Dipoto has created a roster for the present and future that will have a good blend of "Age Disparity".

The focus on the article was to highlight this goal from the interview. Did you watch the entire video?