Billy Eppler front runner for GM job - Hal Morris a darkhorse candidate

[bloodbrother]

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 10m10 minutes ago

Hal Morris is worth watching as a "darkhorse candidate'' for #Angels GM job if Arte Moreno opts to stay in-house, sources say.

 

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 11m11 minutes ago

#Yankees Billy Eppler reportedly the frontrunner for #Angels GM post. But Morris has a lot of internal support in Anaheim.

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by bloodbrother

[beatlesrule]

Why does it even matter?

[Second Base]

Well, I think it matters because if Eppler is hired, you're probably going to look at the Front Office being completely gutted.  New scouts, scouting director, AGM's, minor league development coordinators and essentially a new vision.  If Morris is hired, it likely means almost everything Dipoto put in place will stay.  Morris can work with Scioscia better than Jerry did, and yet still keep the same infrastructure in place, most notably Scott Servais. 

 

Servais is one of the best in the business when it comes to building a minor league system.  He took over when Jerry hired him and started from scratch, having comes from Texas where he built one of the strongest in the business.  So far though, he's run into a lot of road blocks, most specifically Arte Moreno and Mike Scioscia.

 

He's been trying like heck to get the Angels to expand into Asia and Latin America and has met stiff resistance.  The fact that Jerry went to bat for him and insisted is one of the only reasons the Angels managed to get a new complex built in Boca Chica. 

 

Part of me thinks Servais is gone no matter what.  Not being on Arte or Scioscia's good side is a tough spot to be in, and without Jerry here, it's likely we'll see him to to whichever team hires Jerry or Matt Klentak.  

[bloodbrother]

Servais sounds too forward thinking for this org so he's gotta go

[Jobu]

He's been trying like heck to get the Angels to expand into Asia and Latin America and has met stiff resistance.

Why?

[Stradling]

I highly doubt Scioscia has any input on foreign scouting.

[Second Base]

It's all about how the organization chooses to spend.  Recognizing the weak state of the farm, lack of high draft picks (generally a good thing) and need for infusion of talent at the major league level, Servais fought hard for the necessary spending to place the right scouts in both Asia and Latin America, acquire the right prospects from both settings and build the proper infrastructure. 

 

Initially, the Angels were considering a complete overhaul of their scouting department in the Dominican Republic for the second time in five years.  Servais actually fought against that, wanting to keep the scouts in place, build the new site and integrate a branch of international scouting in the Far East.  That was too steep for Arte/Scioscia, who seems to feel the output from Asia wouldn't have justify the expenditure.

 

Dipoto got involved and agreed with Arte that the Asia part likely wasn't the best allocation of funds, because in special cases, Dipoto had no problem flying out himself to scout a player.  But he did feel that a new site and a greater international spending would help legitimize the scouts already in place in the DR.  The new site was given the "ok", but the allocation of funds wasn't.  Instead of spending higher on volume, Dipoto and Servais then compromised that spending for the one "right" player should be considered.

 

I suppose that was deemed to be Baldoquin.

[Angel Oracle]

And Baldoquin is a flop, at this point anyway.   

Of course

Edited September 20, 2015 by Angel Oracle

[Second Base]

And Baldoquin is a flop, at this point anyway.   

Of course

 

Way too early for that.  The way I'm looking at it, year one serves one basic purpose, acclimate oneself to the rigors of playing ball at this level and living in the U.S.  The language, rules, laws, customs and the millions of other things that come with being an adult can weight on a 21 year old kid.  I mean look at Yoan Moncada.  All the talent in the world, even he had a pretty considerable adjustment period this year. Yasiel Puig and Jorge Soler both went through it as well. 

 

Next year is going to tell us MUCH more about Roberto Baldoquin than this year did.  Will he be moved up to AA?  Will he refine his considerable defensive talent?  How will his approach at the plate look?  Will he tap into some of the power he has?  

 

I think Baldoquin will be fine. 

[DMVol]

Morris supposedly has a good relationship with Scioscia....Not that it matters.....

[tdawg87]

Why does it even matter?

Getting Sosh his coffee is one of the most important jobs in the organization. If he doesn't get his coffee or if it only has 12 packets of sugar as opposed to his usual 14, a young up-and-comer gets benched for a gritty vet.

It's a critical position.

[tomsred]

Getting Sosh his coffee is one of the most important jobs in the organization. If he doesn't get his coffee or if it only has 12 packets of sugar as opposed to his usual 14, a young up-and-comer gets benched for a gritty vet.

It's a critical position.

 

Good input.  

[tdawg87]

Thank you. It was also 100% serious.

[YouthofToday]

As long as Arte micromanages everything I doubt the GM really matters.

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Why are we so hesitant to scout in the DR? The talent is proven to be there.

[Puget Sound Angel]

All that matters is what Sosh wants.

[tomsred]

Thank you. It was also 100% serious.

 

I am quite sure you were 100% serious.

[Jay]

somehow I knew this whole thread would be based on a tweet.

[tomsred]

There's a tweet for everything.  

[tdawg87]

I am quite sure you were 100% serious.

 

Of course I was. I never make stupid jokes or post sarcasm.

[mulwin444]

Of course I was. I never make stupid jokes or post sarcasm.

The important thing is he wants you to be 100% serious

[Docwaukee]

I'm torn on this one.  

 

To me, there are two critical factors for any GM.  Balancing the present and the future.  

 

Usually, it's pretty clear to any incoming GM as to which takes precedence.  For the halos, the new GM is going to have to keep the big club competitive during the Trout window, but because the farm system is pretty thin, the resources to do so are pretty weak unless they choose to tap what little depth there is.  

 

The big club needs position players.  There are none in the farm system and it lacks depth to trade for them.  There is some pitching depth at the major league level so creativity is going to be important.  But that can only get you so far.  You have to give to get.  In all likelihood the FA market is going to be important next year in order to fill some gaps.  That is typically a short term gain but probably a necessary evil.  That decision, however, is on Arte.  Will he go over the cap?  Even if they go that route, making the right choice on who to pursue comes down to scouting and player eval.  Not so much the GM individually, but their philosophy and the people around them.  

 

The politics are unfortunate but important to acknowledge.  Regardless of Arte's meddling, we are pretty much burnt from foreign markets for a couple of years unless a high priced FA comes along.  This places the emphasis on the draft.  And in particular on obtaining potential major leaguers without the benefit of a top 10 pick.  

 

So the real question isn't about who that one guy with the title should be, but are they happy with their organizational philosophy?  Is the collection of scouts and talent evaluators and the direction they choose for them something that the org is satisfied with?  

 

Arte will still be here, so the politics from the top down will be similar with or without MS.  With that as a constant, are they happy with decisions like Freese and Salas for Bourjos and Grichuk or Skaggs and Santiago for Trumbo.  Do they like what Ric Wilson and his staff have done with the draft the last 5 years?  

 

With Hal Morris, it's gonna be more of the same.  With Eppler, we don't know what it's gonna be.  You are only as good as the people you put around you.

[tomsred]

The important thing is he wants you to be 100% serious

 

I'm only as serious as tdawg, which is to say neither of us is always serious.  

[tomsred]

I'm torn on this one.  

 

To me, there are two critical factors for any GM.  Balancing the present and the future.  

 

Usually, it's pretty clear to any incoming GM as to which takes precedence.  For the halos, the new GM is going to have to keep the big club competitive during the Trout window, but because the farm system is pretty thin, the resources to do so are pretty weak unless they choose to tap what little depth there is.  

 

The big club needs position players.  There are none in the farm system and it lacks depth to trade for them.  There is some pitching depth at the major league level so creativity is going to be important.  But that can only get you so far.  You have to give to get.  In all likelihood the FA market is going to be important next year in order to fill some gaps.  That is typically a short term gain but probably a necessary evil.  That decision, however, is on Arte.  Will he go over the cap?  Even if they go that route, making the right choice on who to pursue comes down to scouting and player eval.  Not so much the GM individually, but their philosophy and the people around them.  

 

The politics are unfortunate but important to acknowledge.  Regardless of Arte's meddling, we are pretty much burnt from foreign markets for a couple of years unless a high priced FA comes along.  This places the emphasis on the draft.  And in particular on obtaining potential major leaguers without the benefit of a top 10 pick.  

 

So the real question isn't about who that one guy with the title should be, but are they happy with their organizational philosophy?  Is the collection of scouts and talent evaluators and the direction they choose for them something that the org is satisfied with?  

 

Arte will still be here, so the politics from the top down will be similar with or without MS.  With that as a constant, are they happy with decisions like Freese and Salas for Bourjos and Grichuk or Skaggs and Santiago for Trumbo.  Do they like what Ric Wilson and his staff have done with the draft the last 5 years?  

 

With Hal Morris, it's gonna be more of the same.  With Eppler, we don't know what it's gonna be.  You are only as good as the people you put around you.

 

Good summary Doc, seriously.  That's a good 10,000 foot view, instead of analyzing the individual tress in the forest.

[NrM]

 

Do they like what Ric Wilson and his staff have done with the draft the last 5 years?  

 

 

 

 

Ric Wilson sure has underwhelmed. CJ Cron is the most notable player and he's basically a poor mans mark trumbo imo.

Sean Newcomb obviously stands out..

And there's a couple potential future 4th starters... that about sums it up.

 

I know they haven't had too many first round picks, but I still expect to see some results.

 

 

 

this angelswin interview didn't impress me at all....

http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/los-angeles-angels-live-chat-transcript.html

Reminds me more of a Scioscia type than Dipoto.

 

Hitters

Best Hitting Ability: Alex Yarbrough

Best Plate Discipline: Sherman Johnson

Best Speed: Bo Way

Best Defense: Jake Yacinich

Best Throwing Arm: Kaleb Cowart

Highest Offensive Upside: Roberto Baldoquin

Edited September 20, 2015 by Poozy