Eppler Report Card

[QuinlansMinion]

Little league isn't a good gage.

Its only little league if its Yankee Stadium/AL East

[Ohtaniland]

Hired on October 4th, 2015, Eppler had four months with holidays in between to complete a roster with very little money to spend. I think he's done a terrific job without signing any ridicules contracts.

A+

[Stradling]

The results at the end of the season will let us know how he did.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Eppler gets an A. He addressed every problem on shoestring budget, he interacts well with Scioscia, and he improved the front office and coaching staffs. This team will contend until he can complete a rebuild of 2-4 years in length. The GM position is not a problem, the problem is fans who think all the team's problems brought on by ill fated signings and drafting of the last 6 years can be solved immediately. There is no way everything gets fixed immediately, it takes time, and Eppler is on the right track.

This is exactly why I don't want to start grading his performance after five games. While it is true (and I have stated so much) that the team's known shortcomings have been put on full display in the first week, it is pretty apparent that Eppler wasn't given a lot of resources with which to fix them. Moreno clearly feels burned by prior free agent signings, as evidenced by our complete inaction regarding the strongest free agent class in recent memory.

[Troll Daddy]

Eppler gets an A. He addressed every problem on shoestring budget, he interacts well with Scioscia, and he improved the front office and coaching staffs. This team will contend until he can complete a rebuild of 2-4 years in length. The GM position is not a problem, the problem is fans who think all the team's problems brought on by ill fated signings and drafting of the last 6 years can be solved immediately. There is no way everything gets fixed immediately, it takes time, and Eppler is on the right track.

Your one of the few that actually get it.

Good post

[arch stanton]

The roster isn't set in stone. Let's see how they adjust over the course of the season as they try to find the best pen combo and get the rotation set. Skaggs and Wilson will eventually push the weaker arms out. The offense is what it is, really. If Trout and Pujols start coming through more often then the scoring will be ok.

[Troll Daddy]

The roster isn't set in stone. Let's see how they adjust over the course of the season as they try to find the best pen combo and get the rotation set. Skaggs and Wilson will eventually push the weaker arms out. The offense is what it is, really. If Trout and Pujols start coming through more often then the scoring will be ok.

You're right ... the roster will be tweaked throughout the season. Possibly pick up help at the trade deadline if we're in contention. I expect this team to be in contention.

[tomsred]

The results at the end of the season will let us know how he did.

 

I'm not so sure, I think the results over the next four years combined will tell us how he has done.  This year should be the toughest, starting next year it's gets a little easier, and so on down the line.  I think it was probably good that he was heavily restrained by budget this year.  Too many big ticket decisions all at once may have led to more big time mistakes.  I would rather see him chip away steadily than gamble all on more free agents, and radical immediate transformations of the organization.  By year three he may not have all we wants to do in place, but he should have pretty completely changed organizational strategies, front office personnel and coaching, and player selection philosophies through the draft, internationally, and free agency.  Let's be patient and enjoy the ride. 

Edited April 11, 2016 by tomsred

[Docwaukee]

We have a rough draft of the outline of his thesis.  

 

He's saying the right things, keeping harmony with Mike, and making moves that he sees as helpful to the team now and in the future.  

 

There is no chance of him rebuilding this team in the next 2-4 years.  The best we can hope for is an infusion of talent via the draft and from international means that will eventually result in major league talent.  He's done what appears to be a solid job of tapping into the minor league free agent pool to create a AAA roster that is far more talented than what we would have had if we just graduated guys from AA.  If you look at the AA team we have, he's gonna have to do it again next year, the year after that and maybe one more.  

 

I will be very pleased with his efforts if 4 years from now we have a solid farm system and a competitive major league club.  But frankly, I am not expecting the farm to be all that great 5 years from now.  Yes, I think we will have some potential major league talent which we really don't currently, but he is going to have to continue to use minor league resources to subsidize the major league club.  

 

I don't think there is any intention to do any sort of rebuild at the major league level and that means two things.  We won't be using major league talent to bring in prospects.  And if we do move major league talent it will be to immediately help the major league club.  

 

I actually don't think we have much to go on as far as Eppler is concerned and we won't until the draft and then when he's got a little money to spend next year.  How he spends that money is going to be very important because it will be on the guys that will be critical to the teams future with Mike Trout.  

[Lou]

F

But it's for Arte, the one really pulling the strings and being cheap.

7th highest payroll in mlb is cheap?

[Lou]

Little league isn't a good gage.

Hey, that's no way to talk about the mighty Pensacola Blue Wahoos!

[Oz27]

Eppler gets an A. He addressed every problem on shoestring budget, he interacts well with Scioscia, and he improved the front office and coaching staffs. This team will contend until he can complete a rebuild of 2-4 years in length. The GM position is not a problem, the problem is fans who think all the team's problems brought on by ill fated signings and drafting of the last 6 years can be solved immediately. There is no way everything gets fixed immediately, it takes time, and Eppler is on the right track.

Blind optimism is a wonderful thing. Sometimes I genuinely wish it's something I possessed more of.

[eaterfan]

It's absurd to even think about grading Eppler at this point. First it's one week into the season so it's too early to grade any player's performance. Second even if we were able to grade the season already that means nothing to what he has done to improve or diminish the long term health of the organization.

 

Things I don't like so far:

1. Team isn't competitive so far

 

Things I like so far:

1. Team hasn't dug itself into a deeper long term hole

 

Let's wait and see how Eppler handles the draft, trade deadline, and a FA period where he has a bit of money to spend before evaluating him.

[Angel Oracle]

Eppler wasn't allowed to spend any money because Arte said it was about economics from his yacht. Really tied his hands on what he could do to improve a team that had a lot of holes. He obviously couldnt' pull off any big trades considering they didn't have much to trade. It wasn't just LF that was a problem - it was the biggest problem - but they also had holes at 2B, 3B, and bullpen. You could even say the rotation, despite its depth, could use another arm.

I have no opinion on Eppler since this is his first year on the job, but I will say that the dude has a pretty damn hard hill to climb. He's inheriting an MLB team with a high payroll and very little impact talent to show for it, all the while having the worst farm system in MLB. Pretty rough thing to try and fix when you only have a certain number of years under contract

I hope that the indications are true that investment in scouting and development are increasing. It was desperately needed.

The real proof that Arte will eventually be all in comes after 2017, when removing some $60 million AAV from payroll. Will we see the necessary improvements then?

[Lou]

Blind optimism is a wonderful thing. Sometimes I genuinely wish it's something I possessed more of.

 

any semblance of optimism would be a good start 

[Oz27]

any semblance of optimism would be a good start

I'm pretty optimistic about most of my other sporting teams. I always thought the Ducks would make the playoffs even after they won one of their first 10 games. I think my thoughts on the Angels have more to do with them than me.

[Erstad Grit]

I'm pretty optimistic about most of my other sporting teams. I always thought the Ducks would make the playoffs even after they won one of their first 10 games. I think my thoughts on the Angels have more to do with them than me.

 

You strike me as a dude during a wedding who whispers during the vows "you know statistically they will get a divorce" 

 

I'll admit I'm a homer, Angels are my main hobby and I needed optimism to even be a fan throughout the 90's. You are 100% correct that I'm often blinded by my fandom. 

 

I seriously don't think I've ever read an optimistic post from you. 

[Oz27]

You strike me as a dude during a wedding who whispers during the vows "you know statistically they will get a divorce"

I'll admit I'm a homer, Angels are my main hobby and I needed optimism to even be a fan throughout the 90's. You are 100% correct that I'm often blinded by my fandom.

I seriously don't think I've ever read an optimistic post from you.

And you strike me as one of those people who would say "this is fine" as the house burned down around them.

I was optimistic about lots of things last year, including thinking for much of the season that we would make the playoffs. Sadly I was wrong about the playoffs and a lot of the other things I was optimistic about have since been undone.

[Billy_Ball]

Lets see....

 

Team is currently in 1st Place (5-4)

 

His acquisitions

 

Escobar .306/.390

Nava .308/.357

Soto .300/.364

Gentry .235/.350 plus good defense

Pennington .333/.500

Simmons .235/.235 plus spectacular defense

 

A?

[NrM]

Lets see....

 

Team is currently in 1st Place (5-4)

 

His acquisitions

 

Escobar .306/.390

Nava .308/.357

Soto .300/.364

Gentry .235/.350 plus good defense

Pennington .333/.500

Simmons .235/.235 plus spectacular defense

 

A?

 

Went from an F to an A. Way to go Eppler! Now can we face the A's for every game going forward?

[Billy_Ball]

Yes! 

[Blarg]

And you strike me as one of those people who would say "this is fine" as the house burned down around them.

I was optimistic about lots of things last year, including thinking for much of the season that we would make the playoffs. Sadly I was wrong about the playoffs and a lot of the other things I was optimistic about have since been undone.

 

Maybe that is what fuels your pessimism, knowing that you can't get it right.

[Second Base]

9 games in, it's hard to judge so far. But there are some promising returns...

1. Nava-Gentry look good enough to be depended upon for defense and OBP. It isn't GREAT, but it matches our need and fits the most convenient price possible.

2. Simmons makes contact and plays amazing defense. But we knew that.

3. Giavotella's defense is right where it needs to be, which is delightfully surprising.

4. We have speed coming off the bench. Haven't had that in years.

5. The starting pitchers are getting by so far, and relievers like Morin and Mahle are bridging the middle innings.

6. Our AAA team is stocked with talent to provide the major league team with depth. Guerra, Bedrock, Achter, Skaggs, Tropeano (now with the team), Smith, Cowart, Kubitza, Navarro, Marte, Yarbrough, Ortega, Buss... Lots of options.

[totdprods]

And we are in decent position to have the flexibility to trade off an arm and maybe a redundant prospect mid-season if needed, or can eat some salary. Benefits of not signing a big FA this offseason.

[Angel Oracle]

Having done solid depth in the higher levels helps out, while the lower levels get rebuilt.