The hand that Dipoto was dealt

[fan_since79]

Right now, a starter with a mid-4's ERA would be welcome.

 

The question of why players are not performing to their normal capabilities leads inevitably to the subject of coaching.

[AngelsLakersFan]

he is forced to he reliever scrap heap to find Tdwag clean peanut.

[Troll Daddy]

No need to feel sorry for Dipoto right now. It was his decision to sign Pujols and Hamilton ... not Arte's. He could of advised against it and went a different direction if he wanted too. He traded away a boatload of young prospects for the good of the team, I guess. He was trying to work within a budget and gambled on our pitching staff.

 

I think some of the problem is there's so much pressure to perform for the players and managers. Although, they're big boys and should be able to perform under this pressure I believe. If a player can't get motivated enough by putting on a Major League uniform and playing in front of millions of viewers ... then I don't see how MS putting on a cheerleaders uniform if going to help much.

[tj_]

No need to feel sorry for Dipoto right now. It was his decision to sign Pujols and Hamilton ... not Arte's. He could of advised against it and went a different direction if he wanted too. He traded away a boatload of young prospects for the good of the team, I guess. He was trying to work within a budget and gambled on our pitching staff.

 

I think some of the problem is there's so much pressure to perform for the players and managers. Although, they're big boys and should be able to perform under this pressure I believe. If a player can get motivated enough by putting on a Major League uniform and playing in front of millions of viewers ... then I don't see how MS putting on a cheerleaders uniform if going to help much.

 

 

I highly doubt that the Pujols and Hamilton signings weren't dictated by management.

[T.G.]

I will never understand the Joe Blanton signing.  The dude has priors.  He's coming off back to back high ERA seasons... and face it - if your best quality is being an "innings eater" - there's probably not a lot of upside to your game.

[Brandon]

Dipoto was dealt a bad hand. Every move he has made, whether it was possibly at Arte's insistence (Pujols/Hamilton) or not has been designed to improve this team, on paper. The problem is, paper doesn't account for subpar performances or nagging injuries.

Even the Blanton move makes sense when you consider that over his career, he's had a mid-4s ERA and pitched 175-200 innings per year. That's all we needed from him.

Blanton essentially replaces Santana at about 60% of the salary, and was expected to perform at a similar level. So far, that has not happened. Santana will not continue to have a mid-2s ERA in KC, and Blanton should not continue to give up an ER every inning, either.

Dipoto made the moves that the budget allowed him to make (after spending almost $400 million on Pujols and Hamilton, that is). Have they worked out? For the most part, no.

If the players that were brought in (and some that were already here) were performing to just their career averages, this wouldn't even be a discussion. But they are not, and here we are, 4-9.

The better question to ask is: Why are players who were brought in to just perform to their normal capabilities not doing so?

Preach on.

I really don't get calling for peoples heads when the players that are supposed to do what's expected are falling very short of expectation.

People should be looking at the players before others in the organization.

[Angel Oracle]

The players have underachieved, but it's so widespread that the question then begs to be asked.

Is it due to pressure, or it is due to Scioscia's and Butcher's messages being basically given the once over because they are getting stale here?

 

Look at what happened when Hacker was let go.   Almost immediately, the hitting took off.

 

Sometimes, especially when the same person has been here a long time and whose views clash with the GM, a change is beneficial.