Is Dipoto to blame?

[tennischmp]

Chuck has indicated that Dipoto was in fact very much in the mix when it came to Hamilton and Pujols..... not that it matters, I never ripped him for those things but rather the things he did do..

Well that is pretty important because other deals don't happen in a vacuum. The Pujols and Hamilton deals may have hamstrung his budget and forced him to make signings and trades he wasn't comfortable making. Who knows, that's why I for one find it hard blaming him in most of the moves since I don't know the whole picture and all the constraints he was working with.

and in the case of the bullpen, the time it took him to actually address a problem that had existed prior to his even being hired.

He actually remade the bullpen pretty nicely. Signed Smith, traded for Gott and Street and then extended Street. Alvarez and Ramos have been decent. Problem is BP is always a work in progress, Morin was good last year, sucks this year. Smith had a great year last year, not so great this year. You never know what you have in the BP year in year out. But he got us a Closer we hadn't had since Frankie and a young arm in Gott who has the stuff to turn into Shields.

Edited August 31, 2015 by tennischmp

[VariousCrap]

Heyward and Kendrick are not going to make the Angels a top offense.

 

 

 

Heyward + Kendrick + Price or Cueto = Huge difference for this team.

[IEAngelsfan]

There are a lot of people to blame for this mess. Dipoto is absolutely one of them. As is Scioscia. As is Stoneman. As is Moreno. As are the players. Ultimately, this has been a collective effort of suck.

 

It's like an orgy of suckage. You get a beej from 20 different people throughout the night before blowing your wad. Obviously one person will ultimately be the one giving the beej when you explode but there were a multitude of people who contributed to it.

 

I'm drunk btw.

Arte is our version of Caligula.

[eaterfan]

IMO what it really boils down to is who was responsible for bringing in Hamilton and Pujols. If Arte was the one who wanted those moves then Dipoto did a freaking fantastic job. If Dipoto was the one who made them then he did a very poor job.

 

If Arte insisted on bringing those guys in he really hamstrung Dipoto with a shoe string budget and a weak farm system. Dipoto basically inherited a pitching staff with Wilson, Weaver, and Richards. We all know that Weaver and Wilson have very little time left. He was able to turn Trumbo, Kendrick and Conger into a staff that can lead this team for the next half a decade for a reasonable cost.

 

If Dipoto pushed for the signings then he hamstrung himself. He knew he would have to make riskier signings of fringe guys to help either the offense or pitching. 

[maximus p]

This is pretty much the only thing I disagree with your post.  His signing would cost our #1 draft pick and I do not think that be worth 3-4 years for 20-35+ million.  Rather have the draft pick.

2. Bring back Kendrick. His defense, bat and presence are all needed.

 

 

[Angel Oracle]

Dipoto knows as much about offense as I do about clothing design.

Starry Eyed Moreno has proven to be bad for Halos fans.

[Inside Pitch]

 

If Arte insisted on bringing those guys in he really hamstrung Dipoto with a shoe string budget and a weak farm system. Dipoto basically inherited a pitching staff with Wilson, Weaver, and Richards. We all know that Weaver and Wilson have very little time left. He was able to turn Trumbo, Kendrick and Conger into a staff that can lead this team for the next half a decade for a reasonable cost.

 

 

Wilson was acquired by JD... not inherited.

[Inside Pitch]

This is pretty much the only thing I disagree with your post.  His signing would cost our #1 draft pick and I do not think that be worth 3-4 years for 20-35+ million.  Rather have the draft pick.

 

He only costs a pick if the Dodgers make a QO.  

[Lou]

I believe the team for the most part has given up on scioscia and the season. I dont think its a coincidence that this team has gone into a nosedive since the dipoto incident.

I firmly believe this team wouldn't be so lifeless and directionless if dipoto were still around.

We won 13 of 15 following JD's resignation

[Jay]

I think if Dipoto was still GM he would have gotten Cespedes.

lol

[Lou]

and Price

[Lou]

and Kate Upton to coach 3rd base

[Guest]

He only costs a pick if the Dodgers make a QO.  

The Dodgers would be idiots not to make a QO for Kendrick. Making the QO lowers his value on the open market, making it easier for them to bid on a long term contract renewal. Even if he decides to accept the QO (rather than negotiate a longer term deal) 1 year for $14M is not bad at all.

[Inside Pitch]

The Dodgers would be idiots not to make a QO for Kendrick. Making the QO lowers his value on the open market, making it easier for them to bid on a long term contract renewal. Even if he decides to accept the QO (rather than negotiate a longer term deal) 1 year for $14M is not bad at all.

 

Where are you pulling 14 mil from?  It was 15.3 mil last year and figures to rise again this year given they use the average from the top 125 salaries in the previous year.  I don't think 17 mil for a year is too much risk for the Dodgers, nor do I have any idea if they have plans for Howie moving forward.  But reality is the QO is required for there to be draft pick compensation.   Many people still believe baseball still operates on the old Type A, B, etc etc guidelines.

[gotbeer]

The Dodgers would be idiots not to make a QO for Kendrick. Making the QO lowers his value on the open market, making it easier for them to bid on a long term contract renewal. Even if he decides to accept the QO (rather than negotiate a longer term deal) 1 year for $14M is not bad at all.

 

Considering this is the Doggies we are talking about.  They will make a QO, just to make a QO, and make some other team pay.  It's only paper to them.  For 9/10th of the reast of the league, it's money.

[Troll Daddy]

Wait a second ... Isn't Howie on the wrong side of 30? He'll be looking for a four year deal.

[Docwaukee]

we will never know how much of the roster was courtesy of Dipoto.  How much of that was restricted because of other moves.  How much of it was pushed and prodded by Scioscia.  How much of it was Moreno and his love for shiny things.  

 

the bottom line is that Dipoto didn't have the control typically implied by being the general manager so he bolted in unprecedented fashion.  The industry will give us clues as to who was at fault.  

 

the team's recent schizophrenia has a lot to do with their superstar playing really well and then playing poorly.  But their epic collapse transcends what their superstar has done.  No team is so devoid of talent that they should go 11-25.  That's a 112 loss pace over 20% of the season.  When an 85 win team does that in the midst of a playoff race, you have to look at how it's being run on the field.  

[Angel Oracle]

It's probably time for Scioscia to move elsewhere.   And if he does well elsewhere, I will realize that the chance of him replicating that here was smaller because a person needs a change of scenery sometimes when in one place for a long time.

 

It's no accident that he is now already tied for 4th amongst all managers, going back 40 years, in consecutive years managing one team.

 

Start from scratch.

New director of operations

New GM

New manager and staff

Bigger scouting/development budget  

 

And get everyone on the same page from the beginning!

And Starry-Eyed Arte, feel free to continue to refrain from big contracts for aging and declining superstars as you have since signing Hackilton almost 3 years ago. 

And ONLY sign bigger money FA(s) who won't cost a draft pick, aren't over 30 in 2016, and aren't declining.   Cespedes, Price, and Cueto each satisfy that.

 

Someone needs to tell Arte that paying some $2-4 million luxury tax each of the next 2 seasons isn't a problem whatsoever.

Because he would clear some $70 million from the 2015 payroll by the close of 2017, those should be the ONLY two seasons where he pays the tax if signing Cespedes and either Price or Cueto, and then packaging Santiago with 2B prospect Daniel, Giovatella, and one other pitching prospect (DeLoach?) to get a true leadoff guy like Dee Gordon to also eliminate the 2B question mark.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Angel Oracle

[Chuck]

No.

 

I'm almost positive that Dipoto would have improved the team at the deadline.. This team went on an incredible run after Dipoto left, the team he built. The team we have now is just struggling. It's NOT Dipoto's fault that:

 

1. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols have stunk the past 30+ days.

2. Our ace, Garrett Richards has been less than stellar. 

3. Heaney, Shoemaker, Weaver & Santiago have had rough patches of late.

4. C.J. Wilson's arm blew up.

5. Our bullpen, especially Joe Smith has been awful in crucial situations.

6. Stoneman decided to call in trades for aging vets while playing XBox One, rather than get us a legit hitter to pair up with Trout, Pujols & Calhoun.

7. We've gotten almost zero production from our LF spot. Joyce was NOT supposed to be this bad.

8. Our catchers offensively have been shit. 

9. He did not see eye to eye with the owner and manager as the season progressed and didn't have full control in the clubhouse and manager's decisions.

 

He did NOT jump ship because he thought the team was dogshit. This was a 98 win team last year. A team that could have won well over 100 games if they didn't have the injuries that they sustained toward the end of the season. 

 

While I believe every GM should take the blame for a losing season, and that includes Dipoto, I do not agree with most of the claims in this thread. The other part of the blame should be directed at the players performances, the owner and the manager. 

[Blarg]

This team, even disregarding slumps, is not as talented as 2014. That is on Dipoto and the moves he orchestrated.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I didn't see it mentioned, but I really believe the current state of this team is Arte's fault. Arte forcing Jerry to sign Pujols and Hamilton hurt this team in many ways. Signing those two guys limited a lot of things Jerry could do the last few years. I think Jerry did the best he possibly could do given the limitations Arte put on him after those two signings.

I think we'd see a completely different team on the field if it wasn't for those two signings and the team would be much better.

the only reason it hurts us is the imposed salary cap. So its not those deals as much as the refuasal to spend after.

And its more hamilton than cj wilson.

[Guest]

Where are you pulling 14 mil from? It was 15.3 mil last year and figures to rise again this year given they use the average from the top 125 salaries in the previous year. I don't think 17 mil for a year is too much risk for the Dodgers, nor do I have any idea if they have plans for Howie moving forward. But reality is the QO is required for there to be draft pick compensation. Many people still believe baseball still operates on the old Type A, B, etc etc guidelines.

I thought QO was closer to 14 , turns out that's what it was before the 2014 season but it's been increasing fast. 16-17 it's not a no brainer but considering Dodgers strategy of trading for albatross contacts packaged with draft picks, they will be making a QO as I'm sure they'd be fine with either overpaying Howie for a year, or getting a draft pick.

[gotbeer]

This team, even disregarding slumps, is not as talented as 2014. That is on Dipoto and the moves he orchestrated.

 

But the argument can be made that it was impossible for Dipoto to succeed this year.  And that is because of Hamilton.  His issue came out just as spring training started.  Which is too late to sign a quality FA.  And when you lose your #4 hitter and replace him with pretty much a platoon player, the offense will not be as good.  

[Chuck]

This team, even disregarding slumps, is not as talented as 2014. That is on Dipoto and the moves he orchestrated.

]

Disagree.

 

I'm betting that Heaney's performance has been on par with Kendrick's if we had kept him over Heaney. Giavotella has won a ton of games for us late too. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The blame game can go all over the place. Arte is at the top and I blame him for not empowering his General Manager. I also blame Arte for giving Scioscia a 10 year contract. It is not unlike giving a player a 10 year contract.... You get a handful of good years and at the end of the contract you get some bad ones.

 

Excessive job security leads to complacency.