If Dipoto Doesn't Make Any More Moves...

[Butcher'd]

85-90 wins? really?

 

Remember they lost Hamilton and Calhoun for months and Ibanez and Freese were hitting below .200, also they have one of the worst bullpen in the league........................

 

If most of the core players are health for most of the season, they should win more than 95 game next year.

 

 

Uhh.. feel free to make your own prediction. I said 85-90 if they don't make any signings/trades to bolster pitching. That's taking into account an extra year of decline on Weaver, Wilson being terrible (likely), and Richards being out for a month. Shoemaker might regress. Santiago might regress. Their are some question marks in the SP rotation, so yeah I say 85-90 if no changes are made

[Sherlock31]

Uhh.. feel free to make your own prediction. I said 85-90 if they don't make any signings/trades to bolster pitching. That's taking into account an extra year of decline on Weaver, Wilson being terrible (likely), and Richards being out for a month. Shoemaker might regress. Santiago might regress. Their are some question marks in the SP rotation, so yeah I say 85-90 if no changes are made

Didn't people say the same thing about the SP rotation last year?

 

You don't really need a great SP rotation as long as you have a great bullpen to back them up.

[Docwaukee]

95 wins. But a bit dependent on Richards. He's a number 1. We go above .500 with bullpen smoke and mirrors till He is back and then we take off. If we add a legit starter then we are the the best team in baseball from day 1.

[Butcher'd]

Didn't people say the same thing about the SP rotation last year?

 

You don't really need a great SP rotation as long as you have a great bullpen to back them up.

 

I agree it's nice they have a good bullpen this year. I'm just saying there are some red flags as far as pitching goes. Last year down the stretch the bullpen got overused because our rotation could only go 5-6 innings every game (Wilson was going 3-4 which is ridiculous). You can't sustain that the whole year. The team needs at least 3 starters that can go 7-8 innings any given start. I love Weaver but he's a 5 and 2/3 quality innings type pitcher at this point in his career. Santiago we'll be lucky to get 5 2 run innings out of. Shoemaker has shown great potential to go deep into ballgames. Richards is an ace.

 

So I think they need one more pitcher that can help save the pen. Because Wilson, Santiago, and Weaver (as good as he is) ain't the answer to saving a bullpen

Edited December 1, 2014 by Butcher'd

[arch stanton]

We never had a decent lefty in the pen last season and at no time was the rotation firing on all cylinders.  At least going into this season Sosh knows who pitches in what role in the pen from day 1. The biggest weakness still looks like LH power, especially if Hamilton struggles. 

 

Still can win 90+ and probably the division.

[Mark68]

I expect Jepsen to return to form and suck and Hamilton and Pujols to be a major stumbling block to offensive production.

 

BUT, I think the team is strong enough to overcome both and make some form of the playoffs.

Don't forget that Weaver is another year older. I don't think we can have too much starting pitching depth, if last year taught us anything.

 

And I'm at the point where I expect absolutely nothing from Hamilton.

[Chuck]

Yup. If we can get any production out of Hamilton, maybe even 95 wins.

 

We got none out of Josh this year, outside of maybe 2 weeks. We won 98 last I checked. 

[nando714]

I don't mind anything except the sp.

Who knows what we have from 3-5.

[Angel Oracle]

Dreaming of Pujols getting back towards a mid .800s OPS, Nibs back to a high 3.00s ERA, and Hamilton back to at least a low .800s OPS

Edited December 1, 2014 by Angel Oracle

[Cdaniel]

We got none out of Josh this year, outside of maybe 2 weeks. We won 98 last I checked.

.

98 wins with a bullpen that blew a lot of leads in the beginning of the year.

[Tyler]

We got none out of Josh this year, outside of maybe 2 weeks. We won 98 last I checked.

If he is healthy, he'll play. We only got 89 games out of Hamilton last season so if plays more they'll need him to perform.

What are you thinking... 100+ wins as this team stands right now?

[stormngt]

They did it this year with all their injuries and problems, no reason they can't do it again.

Except maybe we had people over achieve last year and we won't this year.

 

Yea, I know I am the pessimist, but I really believe this team over achieved a great deal last year.  It is foolish to suggest they all provide the same production.

[stormngt]

I'd like to see us add Sheilds or Lester, though I know it won't happen.

I also wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Kendrys if the price is low enough (e.g., $4 mil, plus incentives).

I believe we need a middle order bat.  I don't trust Hamilton.  Kendry's would be fine at that spot.

I also would like to have insurance in case Wilson continue to suck.

[tdawg87]

Except maybe we had people over achieve last year and we won't this year.

Yea, I know I am the pessimist, but I really believe this team over achieved a great deal last year. It is foolish to suggest they all provide the same production.

I don't agree. Hamilton and Pujols didn't overachieve. Neither did Wilson. Hell even Trout had arguably his worst offensive year to date. Those are big time contributers. Then you have Frieri.

They had some guys who probably played above their heads for sure, but many played under their heads. It evens out.

Even if you are right and the team overachieved last year, they still won 98 games. Even with guys reverting to norms in 2015 I can't see that making a difference of more than maybe 5 games. Then you factor in them having Street for a full year and that makes up a bit of the difference.

In my opinion, if this team can stay healthy, they can win 95 games easily.

[KevinStockerIsGod]

I think it depends more on the AL West landscape than our team.  Our team will resemble the team from last year for the most part, and I expect them to be the frontrunner or one of two top AL West teams.  You can assume that the Rangers will be at least somewhat better than last year just by regulars returning for injury and depending on what they do this off season.  I believe the Mariners will be as good if not better than last year and represent our biggest challenge.  The A's should regress just based off talent they've traded or lost via FA, however I can't count them out.  The Astros probably won't be very good, but may be a tick better by young players improving.  If the health of our team (Richards especially) and our depth (which has already improved) hold up, we should be in good shape.

[NrM]

They did it this year with all their injuries and problems, no reason they can't do it again.

 

The Angels didn't have any more serious injuries than most teams.

Hell this was probably a good year for them.

[tdawg87]

They lost their ace for the final month and a half of the season. Hamilton missed half the year. Skaggs missed most of the year. Wilson may as well have missed the entire second half. Burnett didn't pitch. Freese and Calhoun both spent time on the DL. You get the picture.

It wasn't a bad year health wise, at least in terms of how many players were injured. But losing Richards for 7 starts and Skaggs for most of the year was killer. Thankfully Shoe and Rasmus stepped up.

[nikkachez]

Pen starts out the year better than it was last season, a little more depth in the rotation. But there's gonna be some more moves. Wouldn't surprise me to see another starter added to stash in AAA, a lefty relief prospect, a utility infielder, and maybe a backstop. 

[Troll Daddy]

A 100+ wins is fantasy ... anything over 90 wins will be great. Rangers were disseminated with injuries last season. Look for them to rebound next season. Mariners will be contenders next season. I'm not sure what's going on in Oakland but they're not in rebuilding mode like many think. Bottom line is that there will be many teams in the AL who are getting stronger.

[NrM]

They lost their ace for the final month and a half of the season. Hamilton missed half the year. Skaggs missed most of the year. Wilson may as well have missed the entire second half. Burnett didn't pitch. Freese and Calhoun both spent time on the DL. You get the picture.

It wasn't a bad year health wise, at least in terms of how many players were injured. But losing Richards for 7 starts and Skaggs for most of the year was killer. Thankfully Shoe and Rasmus stepped up.

 

Not saying they didn't have any significant injuries.

It just wasn't a higher than normal amount. 

 

It was a fantastic year health wise imo and I don't think you can go into the season expecting it to be the same.

Especially since this a veteran heavy team.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Poozy

[floplag]

I wonder what deal he is going to make that people here would actually like

 

He's signed big names, we boitch when they do have all world years...

He's signed role players, and we get endless posts of "the piece"
Hes made sold trades and we bitch about what we gave up...

I mean aside from getting an ace for a bench guy.. whats he gonna do what most here wont bag on?

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

Lol

[stormngt]

You make it sound like Pujols and Hamilton had down years. Pujols is not getting better. Best we can hope is that he maintains the same. Hamilton may improve but it is just as likely he is done. Remember it wasn't on bad year for him but back to back years that were poor. It is wishful thinking that Wilson would be any more than a backend starter.

I agree that this was Trout's worse year but his first two were historical. Are you suggesting we are going to continue to get historical years?

Iannetta, Aybar, Kendrick, Calhoun, Cowgil and Shoemaker are more likely to regress instead of improve.

You are right about the improved bullpen .

like I said I a pessimistic. Not saying I am right. Just pessimistic. I would like a middle order bat in order to move Hamilton down. I would like a starter pitcher to hedge on Wilson imploding.

Like I said I am pessimistic.

I don't agree. Hamilton and Pujols didn't overachieve. Neither did Wilson. Hell even Trout had arguably his worst offensive year to date. Those are big time contributers. Then you have Frieri.

They had some guys who probably played above their heads for sure, but many played under their heads. It evens out.

Even if you are right and the team overachieved last year, they still won 98 games. Even with guys reverting to norms in 2015 I can't see that making a difference of more than maybe 5 games. Then you factor in them having Street for a full year and that makes up a bit of the difference.

In my opinion, if this team can stay healthy, they can win 95 games easily.

[NrM]

tdawg seems to be ignoring the fact that the other teams in our division aren't the same.

Texas and Houston are obviously going to be better. Seattle is looking better. 

And for some ****ing reason, I'm sure the A's will be as good as they were last year.

 

The Angels are just looking older.

 

Still a lot of offseason left to go. I'm pretty certain Jerry will be adding a starter at least.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Poozy

[tdawg87]

Of course the other teams aren't the same. Still doesn't change the fact that I think this is a very good team that can win 95+ games if they stay healthy.

 

The division was pretty tough this year too, probably the toughest in the majors. It will probably be tougher next year for sure. The Angels just need to worry about staying afloat against the good teams while pounding the crappy ones.