What do you guys want to read about in spring training?

[kevinb]

I'd be curious to know how they are meshing as a team. Different personalities a lot of guys on one year contracts or that are new to this team. 

Mike being here for so long is his message getting stale or is it keeping up with the times.

Are they doing anything different to get off to a better start than last year? 

New training techniques on and off the field? 

After last years disaster of people getting injured have they tried any new training techniques or diets?

With basketball and football using a lot of wearable tech is baseball using any of this technology as well to better understand their athletes?

[nando714]

I Mike Trout and trade rumors/California loop hole in contract 

[Blarg]

7 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

I'd be curious to know how they are meshing as a team. Different personalities a lot of guys on one year contracts or that are new to this team. 

Mike being here for so long is his message getting stale or is it keeping up with the times.

Are they doing anything different to get off to a better start than last year? 

New training techniques on and off the field? 

After last years disaster of people getting injured have they tried any new training techniques or diets?

With basketball and football using a lot of wearable tech is baseball using any of this technology as well to better understand their athletes?

Again,  in response to the stale message question, you have to have more than four players on the team for 5 years for the message to become repetitive. 

Think for a moment, just who has been on the team for four complete seasons?

Well, there is Pujols, Trout, Calhoun... Uh... Cron part time, Richards in and out of PT and then, nobody that I can think of. 

The question that should be raised is, does Scioscia's managing stay in sync with both the times and solidify the team. 

We do have a bunch of one year contracts and that could lead to competition but also friction if a player or two don't believe their role is bench and that is where Scioscia's managing of people will have to prevail. 

[eligrba]

I would like stories that will make it easy to root for players for reasons other than strictly performance.

[Blarg]

How about a comparison of stadium dimensions as they relate to the hometown venue,  are they similar and does the Oakland spring training facilities have raw sewage in their clubhouse well. 

[Troll Daddy]

On the subject of pitching ... I'm still curious to know if Ramirez is going to be in the mix as,a starter.

[katrinab]

i think someone already mentioned this, but i would like to know more about the players on a personal level, things they like other than baseball

[Brent Maguire]

I think I'm most curious to hear about Billy Eppler's approach to this pitching staff. He might not openly admit that the starting rotation and bullpen might be a little thin at the MLB level but he has acquired a ton of AAA guys/former highly touted prospects. With guys like Banuelos, Campos, Lamb, Pounders, Meyer, etc brought on board, is there any unique way in which these guys will be used? Do any of those guys have clear "bullpen guy" written all over them or is it possible these guys are used in a swingman role at the MLB level? I know the pitching doesn't look pretty on paper but there seems to be a very interesting collection of arms who may fill various roles in the majors.

My next question is geared towards Eppler as well. While I believe he has done a superb job this offseason making a more competitive MLB team without using too many resources, there will be a lot of turnover next offseason with all the pending free agents. Is this something Eppler plans to do every offseason until the farm system can supplement the MLB team more consistently or does Eppler believe in acquiring short term guys to support the rest of the core players? It's probably not easy to have to have to fill 2B, LF, the rotation, bullpen and bench all in one offseason.

Other general questions:

-Andrew Bailey has an elite spin rate on his fastball. Is that something he's aware of or is it just a byproduct of his mechanics?

-How does Espinosa feel about playing 2B full time going into 2017 and is he excited to form an incredible double play duo with Andrelton Simmons?

-Curious to hear about Maybin's weird career trajectory. He revamped his swing a few years back and in turn saw his offense boost. Does he believe he unlocked his true talent level with this swing? Also, does he believe moving to LF will boost his defensive levels up to an elite level? 

-How much did the injury affect Huston Street last year? Does he believe that the injury is full behind him and he'll bounce back in a big way?

-What clicked for Cam Bedrosian in 2016? Was it just a matter of finally getting comfortable in the majors or did he have a mechanical tweak that made his numbers video game like? 

[Dugout]

The youngsters on the backfields, the kids we were excited about last draft. Are they bigger, stronger? are they playing a new position? Its really hard getting info on these guys, and some video would really be nice.

[Brian Ilten]

Find out if Scioscia is intending on retiring, taking a year off, or immediately managing another team in 2018.

[Erstad Grit]

For me spring is all about the fringe players.  I want to know their stories and their chances on making the team.  If a player is reinventing themselves  (new batting stance, new position,  new pitch,  etc)  I love updates on their journey.  

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Brian Ilten said:

Find out if Scioscia is intending on retiring, taking a year off, or immediately managing another team in 2018.

I can already answer that for you. "Right now we're focused on today's game and getting guys were they need to be and play the game the way we know they can".

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, Brian Ilten said:

Find out if Scioscia is intending on retiring, taking a year off, or immediately managing another team in 2018.

Reading posts like this from @Brian Ilten makes me wish Scioscia gets another long term deal.  At this point I'm indifferent on Scioscia, But the butt hurt he provides to some of the radicals is totally worth it. 

[Ohtaniland]

38 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Reading posts like this from @Brian Ilten makes me wish Scioscia gets another long term deal.  At this point I'm indifferent on Scioscia, But the butt hurt he provides to some of the radicals is totally worth it. 

Why is it so difficult for the Angels to fire Mike Scioscia? Because of 2002? 

[Stradling]

The simple answer, it hasn't been his fault and money.  I'll relate it to your job and my job.  I believe your a civil engineer.  If you had a talented group of engineers working under your direction and one by one they retired or left to pursue other aspirations.  Your bosses replace them with less qualified engineers and you can no longer get the same amount of work done in the same amount of time nor could you get it done with the same budget, should you be fired?  Or should your company fire you because of mistakes you made 6 years ago?  Should my company fire me after giving me a new division with less talented managers that I didn't choose that don't perform as well as the managers I used to lead?  

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

On 2/12/2017 at 8:02 PM, Jeff Fletcher said:

Haha well that actually doesn't help at all Chuck. That's just news. I have no choice but to write that. 

Let me give you an idea: What's the deal with Danny Espinosa? I know he grew up in OC but I don't know much about him. And how does he feel about playing 2B after all this time at SS? Is he really that good defensively? Do the Angels think he can do better in terms of average and OBP? Or is he just a HR/SO guy?

Why don't you go inside and interview each player (or new guys on the team get to know them. personally....Bring their back story to the young fans that follow the team) ("Who, What, Where, When and How" old school reporting and what beat writers did back in the day) and do a background piece on the new HALOS.... So, you GET to know the team you are writing about! Might be fun for kids as well and bringing in more youthful readers across social media as well.......(Find out if they played travel ball what teams, did it help in their development, when did they know they had the ability to play at the next level. etc etc etc) (what did they do differently training wise than others that they knew of coming up through college ball or the minors) What they like what they hate? Allow the reader to get to know the Man, Dad, Son etc. favorite foods, music, extras what do they do to get away from the game? 

Mater Dei, Long Beach State (Mike Weathers), he played for some good coaches........ Do a Facebook search and see if they would talk to you for a few moments?????? etc etc etc.. I'm sure Steve Fryer can help you in getting them to call you back (on the high school side).....

Hell, call it "Adopt an Angel" follow them them around for a week actually talk to them "fan to player".......

 

The Angel Magazine used to do these articles and that chick on Fox had a show that did that....Why can't you if you are the beat writer that covers the team?

[Angels#1Fan]

Jeff, you might ask Scioscia what he and his staff are doing differently this season to try and get off to a better start that doesn't bury the team after just a month and a half of play. I'm not at all a Scioscia basher, but this is one area I believe that falls squarely on the manager and coaching staff. It's their responsibility to have the team ready to play when the season starts and its been pretty obvious that the manager and staff haven't had much success preparing the team to start the season recently.

I'd like to hear some real specifics about what Scioscia and company are doing in this area to prevent another year of constantly playing catch up..

[Stradling]

12 minutes ago, Angels#1Fan said:

Jeff, you might ask Scioscia what he and his staff are doing differently this season to try and get off to a better start that doesn't bury the team after just a month and a half of play. I'm not at all a Scioscia basher, but this is one area I believe that falls squarely on the manager and coaching staff. It's their responsibility to have the team ready to play when the season starts and its been pretty obvious that the manager and staff haven't had much success preparing the team to start the season recently.

I'd like to hear some real specifics about what Scioscia and company are doing in this area to prevent another year of constantly playing catch up..

Unfortunately with the health of the starting rotation being a huge question mark and the fact we didn't solve the bullpen, we are more than likely looking at another slow start.  If Scioscia gets the blame, it will be dumb, but it will happen.  In years past, when health wasn't a question, then Mike should shoulder some of the blame, this year, not so much.  

[gotbeer]

Position by position breakdown of the Angels at all levels.  Kind of like what Ettin does, but for a much wider audience.

Maybe get together with other beat writers, and have a stories you need to know from other teams.  Of players or prospects of other teams that have inspirational stories. 

[Junkballer]

How do players relate to the newer metrics like tunneling, spin rate, exit speed etc.?  How does this data impact their approach or coaches approach, if at all?  It seems to me that they are primarily evaluation tools for the GM's staff but how does it change the way things are done on the field?

[Homebrewer]

There are 3 things that serious Angels fans will need to know about this spring.

Pitching Pitching and Pitching.

And, while you are doing all that, if you could give us some updates on the pitching that would be great.

Personally, I'd like a lengthy, in depth, interview with future HOF'r and greatest manager of all time, Joe Maddon..if you get the chance to sit down with him when the Cubs are in Tempe.  Maybe you could ask him if he has any advice for Mike S on how to improve the Angels performace this season.

Thanks.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

21 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Position by position breakdown of the Angels at all levels.  Kind of like what Ettin does, but for a much wider audience.

Maybe get together with other beat writers, and have a stories you need to know from other teams.  Of players or prospects of other teams that have inspirational stories. 

See, stuff like that is cool.....Yes, baseball related but also human interest..... Player Brand within the Team Brand.... Information, Education and Brand Awareness.

[Blarg]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Reading posts like this from @Brian Ilten makes me wish Scioscia gets another long term deal.  At this point I'm indifferent on Scioscia, But the butt hurt he provides to some of the radicals is totally worth it. 

Yeah,  because Brian,  with his whole 524 posts, is just dominating the conversation in every thread. I mean,  if you banned Brian there would be, like, 80 less posts each season. F'n radicals spamming the board. 

 

@Brian Ilten 

[Stradling]

43 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Yeah,  because Brian,  with his whole 524 posts, is just dominating the conversation in every thread. I mean,  if you banned Brian there would be, like, 80 less posts each season. F'n radicals spamming the board. 

 

@Brian Ilten 

I appreciate you having his back, but he is a guy that allowed Mike Scioscia to take away his love of the game, somehow a grown man had his love of the game taken away by Mike Scioscia.  That may not be the exact way he put it in some threads over the years, but that is the gist of it.  

[Blarg]

I appreciate you giving him shit after he hadn't posted anything for a long time. Nice welcome home.

Hi, Brian and fuck off dude!