Tweaks…no big changes.

[Hubs]

Overreacting to a playoff sweep is certainly par for the course. 

 

Yet a team that wins 98 games is not going to fire the manager, nor are they going to make major shakeups. They are going to try to position this team better for post season success, get healthy, and hope for better outcome in 2015.

 

Unlike in 2008 when the Angels had the best record in baseball at 100-62 and lost in the first round, the Angels don't have a lot of impending free agents or big decisions to make on prospects or even on arbitration eligible guys.

 

Where are the holes?

 

Trout needs to cut down on his strikeouts. That's certain. Hamilton needs to get healthy. If he can be the guy in April we saw, this lineup is deadly. Even if he does it in a streaky fashion. He's got 75+ on his contract, there's no way we eat or trade him. 

 

Freese hit much better after June 1 and is eligible for arbitration for the third time. Beckham is as well. They also have Grant Green and Luis Jimenez. What the 3B position looks like in ST is one question mark only because they have a lot of options.

 

They need to address the pen with Jason Grilli and Joe Thatcher as free agents. Is Mike Morin ready for a bigger role? Will Cam Bedrosian figure it out? Do they go after Free Agents left handed relievers like Duke or Miller? Not earth shattering opinions. I suppose they could swap Jepsen if they brought back one of their own free agents and signed a lefty. He's also eligible for arbitration for the third time.

 

At C, they could use a better defender. The Royals were able to steal at will. That's not okay in the playoffs. Iannetta is a serviceable catcher, but not a premium defender. Conger's offense never materialized and his defense is marginal, though he calls a good game. Is Russell Martin an upgrade that is worth pursuing? What is Iannetta worth in a trade? Another small question mark here. Martin had an excellent offensive season and is one of the best defenders even in his 30's. 

 

The Angels have five starters, something they couldn't say a year ago. And that's with Skaggs on the DL.

 

If Wilson gets back to form (clearly never right since his injury in June), Richards comes back on time, the Angels will again have a good rotation. If the Angels were to add a guy with solid but not elite numbers, would that be a bad thing? Remember that if they gave up their pick in the draft to sign an elite guy, it is the 30th pick in the first round, which is not like giving up a mid round pick. They could sign Lester without draft pick compensation, but that's not likely. Scherzer is pretty great, but is going to command high dollars. What about Santana or Liriano? There are others who could help stabilize the staff. Is this a good use of resources?

 

 

Finally the last position they need to address is DH. Scioscia likes veteran DH types, and with Pujols and Hamilton needing to get some "rest" at the DH spot, it would be better to have a veteran than a guy like Cron. Cron needs more time in the Minors. Navarro and Cowgill aren't long term solutions. Bringing back a guy like Torii Hunter would do wonders for the lineup and the clubhouse. 

 

Furthermore a guy like Hunter could help the batting order, by hitting 2nd, pushing Trout to 3rd and Pujols to 4th. 

 

RF Calhoun

DH/OF Hunter

CF Trout

1B/DH Pujols

 

2B Kendrick

3B Freese/Beckham

LF/DH Hamilton

C Iannetta/Martin/Conger

SS Aybar

 

Overall though, health, maybe a few lineup tweaks, a Veteran upgrade or two, another 162 games and the Angels should be looking at another playoff series.

 

And the Angels should have the budget to do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stormngt]

They need at least one more starter.  I am not counting on Richards until I see him on the mound.  And if you can't count on Wilson in the biggest game of his career as an Angel to get out the first inning, you can't count on him next year when he is a year older.  You make a good point about now is a good time to give up a first round pick.  Go after an elite pitcher.  Have Lester be our first choice.

 

A second back end rotation pitcher would  be nice for depth.  We don't have Skaggs, Richards is missing a month at least.  Do we rely on LeBlanc?  Rasmus might be a good guy to stretch into a starter.  However, keep in mind that one reason why he pitched so well just might be he didn't have to face the lineup three times through.

 

Offensively you are right we can't give up on Hamilton.  However, I believe it is time to forget about him being a middle of the lineup guy.  Hamilton is still good defensively.  Go after an excellent hitter for DH.  If Hamilton returns to form than great.  But at least its not like we are relying on him.

 

It maybe nice to have a defensive minded catcher.  Where is Mathis when we need him.

 

 

Ok....sarcasm intended on that one.

[Hollyw00d]

Huge holes in management, leadership, accountability

[jsnpritchett]

 There are others who could help stabilize the staff. Is this a good use of resources?

 

 

 

Um, yes.    To me, this is far and away the most important thing to take care of this off-season.

[fan_since79]

Huge holes in management, leadership, accountability

 

Placid manager, lackadaisical attitude, guys coming back to the dugout smiling after making critical outs, tipping caps, turning pages, manager praising players after jaw-dropping baserunning blunders, etc.

 

Pujols basically said we weren't meant to win, things happen, meh....

 

Fire in the belly? Nope, not these guys.

[Torridd]

I don't think we need Hunter nor should we get older.  I look forward to another year with Cron. He could be a big addition to the club.

 

I think we just need another viable starter just in case Richards needs more time to heal.

 

Like you said, some tweaking toward the bench and bullpen.

[Torridd]

Placid manager, lackadaisical attitude, guys coming back to the dugout smiling after making critical outs, tipping caps, turning pages, manager praising players after jaw-dropping baserunning blunders, etc.

 

Pujols basically said we weren't meant to win, things happen, meh....

 

Fire in the belly? Nope, not these guys.

What should they do, fan? What do you expect to see?

[Hollyw00d]

Placid manager, lackadaisical attitude, guys coming back to the dugout smiling after making critical outs, tipping caps, turning pages, manager praising players after jaw-dropping baserunning blunders, etc.

 

Pujols basically said we weren't meant to win, things happen, meh....

 

Fire in the belly? Nope, not these guys.

Ignore Pujols, he's cashing checks at this point.

Someone else in that clubhouse is going to have to step up

[WallyWorld]

They need at least one more starter.  I am not counting on Richards until I see him on the mound.  And if you can't count on Wilson in the biggest game of his career as an Angel to get out the first inning, you can't count on him next year when he is a year older.  You make a good point about now is a good time to give up a first round pick.  Go after an elite pitcher.  Have Lester be our first choice.

 

A second back end rotation pitcher would  be nice for depth.  We don't have Skaggs, Richards is missing a month at least.  Do we rely on LeBlanc?  Rasmus might be a good guy to stretch into a starter.  However, keep in mind that one reason why he pitched so well just might be he didn't have to face the lineup three times through.

 

Offensively you are right we can't give up on Hamilton.  However, I believe it is time to forget about him being a middle of the lineup guy.  Hamilton is still good defensively.  Go after an excellent hitter for DH.  If Hamilton returns to form than great.  But at least its not like we are relying on him.

 

It maybe nice to have a defensive minded catcher.  Where is Mathis when we need him.

 

 

Ok....sarcasm intended on that one.

 

Agree with just about everything here. 

 

I think you have to go in to next season assuming Wilson is toast. You watch him in spring and if he looks like he's regained whatever it is he lost, then you keep him in the rotation and see what he does once the season starts. But if he looks the same way he did for the past 4 months, he needs to be out of the rotation. Either stick him in the pen or release him. They are going to have to get at least one more starter this offseason, and I don't think they should go after one of the big names. Richards and Shoemaker are your young guns you build around. Right now Weaver and Santiago will slot into 2 spots, and so you'd like to see them go and get out a reliable veteran or 2 on short term deals. Rasmus will be in the mix as well, and then a year later they hopefully get Skaggs back.

 

The underrated problem IMO is the middle of the order. Just as with Wilson, I think you have to assume Hamilton is toast, or at the very least only a serviceable 6/7 hitter. Howie did well in the clean-up spot at the end of the year, but would we really want a full season of a clean-up hitter who hits 8-12 HRs a year? Freese, even if he's second half Freese, probably shouldn't bat higher than 5th at any time.

 

One option is definitely to slide Trout and Pujols down into the 3/4 spots, but to me that exacerbates Trout's problems of trying to do too much and hit for power all the time. 

[tennischmp]

Changing managers is not a big change, just a minor tweak

[Hollyw00d]

That's true. This team won 98 games, the talent is there. The body is strong, they need a new head

[Jay]

Talent wise the team is fine I think most of the problems are mental.  Trout, Pujols, Wilson, Hamilton, Kendrick all those guys were healthy in the division series and underperformed badly. Somehow you have to get their heads right.  There should be plenty of power in the lineup.

 

I can see adding SP and improving the defense at the Catcher position but I think we don't need any more aging veterans like Hunter.

[fan_since79]

Changing managers is not a big change, just a minor tweak

 

It's not like they would be making a huge change, the guy's been there for 15 years.

[Angel Oracle]

Sign Russell Martin, and trade Iannetta; unless someone else throws mad money at Martin.

I'd go as high as 4 years/$50 million, or even 5 years/$60 million.

He could be to this team's pitching staff what Boonie was to the 1982-1986 pitching staffs.

Both would be around 32 when joining the team. 

 

Sign a lefty reliever (bye Margaret).

 

Find 1-2 starters for AAA depth ala LeBlanc.

Rucinski could be a decent April option, if GRich is still not back but close.

 

Focus on making Rasmus a lights out set up guy ala O'Day, Smith, etc.

Bullpen = Street, Smith, Rasmus, Morin, new lefty, Pestano, and Jepsen (if not traded, otherwise Diaz or Bedrock Jr.) 

 

Offer arb to Freese.

 

Consider trading Kendrick, but only if right enough offer comes along, and insert Beckham at 2B if so.

 

Give Nibs one more season.   If he's still pitching like this by June/July, dump him and find a temp 4th/5th starter until Skaggs is ready in 2016.

 

Platoon Roger Dorn Hackilton (at most 110-120 games).

 

Give the DH job to Cron.   He actually hit the ball somewhat well in the ALDS, unlike most of them.

 

Above all, DO NOT sign ANY of the big money pitching FAs, all of whom are already on the wrong side of 30 in 2015! 

A key trio of GRich, Weave, and Shoemaker is a solid base already, with Santiago already being a good enough #4/#5 starter.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Torridd]

I don't understand why anyone would want to break up the Kendrick/Aybar tandem. Look at the year they've had.  

[mulwin444]

Yeah, we need a manager with fire his belly and pissing lightning like Kirk Gibson...or Larry Bowa...Or Bobby Valentine. Sounds like a recipe for success to me...

[Hollyw00d]

Listing the worst managers in the league is not a valid argument to keep scioscia around.

[Chuck]

Huge holes in management, leadership, accountability

 

Disagree completely. 

[mulwin444]

No, just stating a "new voice" with "passion" is not a valid enough reason to replace a HOF manager.  Surely, people already have someone in mind, right?  Some hot choice that no one has thought of but is a diamond in the rough waiting to take this team to the promised land.

[mulwin444]

Actually, what the Angels really need is someone with Moxie...I wonder if Foghorn Leghorn is available

[fan_since79]

Yeah, we need a manager with fire his belly and pissing lightning like Kirk Gibson...or Larry Bowa...Or Bobby Valentine. Sounds like a recipe for success to me...

 

Sparky Anderson, Earl Weaver, Tony LaRussa...just off the top of my head. Historically intense, and successful, managers. There are many others. And I'm sure someone living could be found that can fire up these players, who seem far too relaxed for the team's good.

Edited October 7, 2014 by fan_since79

[Hollyw00d]

Disagree completely.

That's fine, I understand. The team had a good season, there was a lot of success.

But the regular season is not the issue.

[Hollyw00d]

No, just stating a "new voice" with "passion" is not a valid enough reason to replace a HOF manager.  Surely, people already have someone in mind, right?  Some hot choice that no one has thought of but is a diamond in the rough waiting to take this team to the promised land.

I'm not even talking about passion, that should come from the players.

[Jay]

Nonsensical to think that Scioscia is going anywhere.  I don't understand why people keep harping on it.

[mulwin444]

Sparky Anderson, Earl Weaver, Tony LaRussa...just off the top of my head. Historically intense, and successful, managers. There are many others.

If either of those three are available, I say "Go for it!"