Fire Eppler

[Inside Pitch]

9 minutes ago, OregonLAA said:

Freese and Joyce look like different people compared to last year. Though I never considered Freese unproductive. That's not the point. No one comes here and plays better. Our scouting sucks. We always happen to choose the wrong free agents. It's not just luck. It's our organization. It's the leadership. And there are only two constants in the last 10 years. 

 

Im sick of people giving Scioscia a pass as if what is happening should be acceptable. 

Freese is pretty much exactly the same player he had been with the Angels -- his OBP is up but his overall OPS+ of 104 is identical to what he put up in his first year, and below what he put up in his second year.

Matt Joyce doesnt look like any version of Matt Joyce ever...    221 OPS+..  Matt Joyce thinks the NL is easy.

[Stradling]

28 minutes ago, OregonLAA said:

Freese and Joyce look like different people compared to last year. Though I never considered Freese unproductive. That's not the point. No one comes here and plays better. Our scouting sucks. We always happen to choose the wrong free agents. It's not just luck. It's our organization. It's the leadership. And there are only two constants in the last 10 years. 

 

Im sick of people giving Scioscia a pass as if what is happening should be acceptable. 

Scouting is awful but don't give Scioscia a free pass.  Ok.  

[OregonLAA]

Let me ask you this then. Why should Scioscia stay?

[Torridd]

3 hours ago, OregonLAA said:

One of the worst farms in baseball and one of the worst teams in baseball. It was never this bad with Dipoto

How could he be blamed for all the injuries? And is Arte behind the non-spending during the winter?

[beatlesrule]

Scioscia should havenot been signed to a 10 year deal.  The owner of the Angels loves him so he's not going anywhere.

[JoJo26]

Riddle me this:

Who is the GM for Seattle?

What team is in FIRST PLACE in the AL West?

I'll hang up and listen off the air...

[stormngt]

3 hours ago, OregonLAA said:

One of the worst farms in baseball and one of the worst teams in baseball. It was never this bad with Dipoto

There needs to be a sarcasm button somewhere

[Torridd]

I think Eppler needs to focus on offense. Even our piecemeal pitching has been enough to keep us in games. Like I said, if they're going to invest in Choi he should be playing regularly to see if he's worth keeping. There has to be a way to upgrade the offense. What are there, five solid spots - Trout, Pujols, Calhoun, Escobar, and Simmons? There are four spots to play with that can be improved. 

[stormngt]

3 hours ago, OregonLAA said:

One of the worst farms in baseball and one of the worst teams in baseball. It was never this bad with Dipoto

There needs to be a sarcasm button somewhere

[Stradling]

37 minutes ago, OregonLAA said:

Let me ask you this then. Why should Scioscia stay?

I don't care if he stays or goes but I guess I would go with a few reasons.  First he's under contract and he isn't the problem.  Second I would say 98 wins followed by helping the team win 85 games despite having below average pitching and hitting.  Lastly I would say the players like him.  They certainly chose him over Jerry.

[Stradling]

23 minutes ago, stormngt said:

There needs to be a sarcasm button somewhere

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, Torridd said:

And is Arte behind the non-spending during the winter?

The short answer would be yes. Without a go-ahead from the guy who writes the checks, you can't sign new talent.

[Torridd]

12 minutes ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

The short answer would be yes. Without a go-ahead from the guy who writes the checks, you can't sign new talent.

So therefore Eppler shouldn't be to blame. 

[Angel Oracle]

Yep, this is all on Arte Angelos.

Bright side is no more stupid big money to declining star contracts given out since Hackilton almost 3.5 years ago.

[Torridd]

I really don't fault Moreno for getting Hamilton, but it just didn't work out.

[Oz27]

12 minutes ago, Torridd said:

So therefore Eppler shouldn't be to blame. 

Eppler made the very strange decision to trade away our only prospects worth anything, seemingly with the knowledge there was no other money to spend. Given the money was so tight, you'd have to question some of the places we spent it ($4 million on Cliff Pennington?). Most of all though, the offseason was full of contradictions and indicative of a team with no plan and no coherent way forward.

[Troll Daddy]

The truth is none of you know much about       building a ball club or managing a team. Your opinions are loud and clear but come without much credibility. 

It's all good 

[ukyah]

50 minutes ago, elixir said:

ditto

 

you know, i like cezero.

[dimitrig]

7 hours ago, OregonLAA said:

One of the worst farms in baseball and one of the worst teams in baseball. It was never this bad with Dipoto

 

He should have never signed Hamilton and Pujols.

 

[Ohtaniland]

Fire Eppler??? How about firing the guy who's actually been here during all the failing. Mike Scioscia. I think it's time for the new GM to have an opportunity to hire his own manager. 

[zenmaster]

Eppler needs to have a firesale and get as many prospects as he can. Then we need to draft well the next few years. If all this happens then we might have a chance to be good in the last year before trouts contract is up. 

[DailyHalo]

Arte isn't this teams problem and neither is the GM. In the short term, we have been struck by staggering misfortune. No one could have foreseen having this many arm injuries, in this short amount of time. No amount of minor league depth could have helped and arguably no team has that amount to fix this big of a hole. Sean Newcomb wasn't the answer, especially not this year and Simmons, although starting out slow isn't the problem either. Every move hasn't been gold but the ones that were meant to carry real weight have have panned out quite nicely. Some of the more minor moves aren't paying dividend but thats why they are minor pieces with upside and not organization cripplers. This isn't about the moves we've made but rather the ones we didn't. We should have signed an arm or two in the off season and hadn't relied so heavily on players building off of their previous year for success. Instead of minor league depth per say, we could have had a bunch of major league ready arms forcefully stuffed in AAA, fighting their way to the rotation instead of just giving them the spots.

I know this thread is about the idea of getting rid of the GM and that this season may be shaping up to be a lost year but we should use this season as a spring board for getting a jump start on the next one. A season without the real issue, Mike at the helm. No not Trout, he most likely won't ever play in another uniform but rather Scioscia. We have had the same voice in the dugout for far to long now. The weight his name carries clearly out ways his managerial prowess. Today's lose might not have been on him but how many have been? The way this team operates and feels, is so predictable. There's no surprise or variation in his decisions. He ither makes the obvious move or the one that leaves us all scratching our heads. Mismanagement here and there is no big deal but why does it seem to be a daily occurrence? I seemed to always be questioning his moves and you shouldn't have to do that with your leader. I know you think the players are loyal to him but they are more loyal to winning. Sure if you have some asshole as your manager then people won't like him but why would you do that. Everyone has got to start somewhere. I'm not saying we give the job to some first time manager but a new voice is the next logical step. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by DailyHalo

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, dimitrig said:

 

He should have never signed Hamilton and Pujols.

 

Both looked like good signings when they happened. The Pujols signing in and of itself wasn't the problem. Giving a ten-year big money contract to a player already on the wrong side of 30 was.

[Docwaukee]

Every major problem with this franchise has Arte's fingerprints all over it.  

It started by creating a confused hierarchy of leadership.  From Arte's own influence is specific player personnel decisions to giving a manager enough power to where there is even an opportunity for the players to choose him over the general manager.  I consider Scioscia to be a good manager, but there is a reason you don't see GM's also being managers.  You just can't do both jobs at the same time.  Giving the manager as much say as the GM in how the team is run is just too confusing.  You need a single vision.  

That vision is also compromised when the owner's philosophy predetermines and limits how the franchise is constructed.  Again, all it does is create confusion about direction and leadership.  

A sports franchise is an organism.  You can't put a fancy hat and a nice pair of shoes on it yet disregard the internal organs.  Even if the leadership structure was appropriate, putting every last resource into what the fan can see right in front of them so they come to games and spend their money is a recipe for disaster as we can see.  Even if Arte isn't making specific decisions beyond bringing in 'star power', this philosophy forces you leadership onto a very narrow path.  Reagins, Dipoto and now Eppler have had very specific directives.  Keep fans in the seats.  Eventually (now) that leads to zero margin for error when making trades, drafting players, and signing free agents.  

So you ask a GM to come in and you tell them they have no international budget.  They have a limited scouting budget.  They have to use every asset they have to improve the major league club.  They have to clear their moves (for the most part) with the teams field manager they didn't choose who may also influence other aspects of what you'd like to do.  And sometimes the owner might step in and significantly influence how you spend your major league budget.  

On top of that, you are fortunate enough to have the best player in baseball on your team and you have to figure out how to navigate all of the above while not wasting the years you have that player on your team.  

There isn't a gm on the planet likely able to succeed while walking that tightrope.  Our only hope at this point is sheer dumb luck and this year, we've had the opposite.  We are now in a position going forward where exceptional things need to happen for us to succeed.  Luck favors the prepared and it's the night before the big final exam yet we haven't cracked a book.  

[Angel Oracle]

Running this franchise like Moreno's billboard business was a recipe for disaster.

It took a while, although the signs became crystal clear this decade.