Swept back to .500 reality check

[Angelsfan1984]

28 minutes ago, Calzone said:

I partially agree with some of the lackadaisical play but they did get hit by some serious injuries. I still think that Eppler hastily went after Maybin, Espinosa and Valbuena. I actually did say that Revere was a better fit than Maybin. Upton is an upgrade but let's be clear, it was a salary dump and we have no idea what Upton is going to do after this season. The team was pretty cash strapped last offseason so they had their limitations. That shouldn't be the case this offseason. They also have a poor farm system that is slowly coming together. As far as Stradling being a troll, that is the furthest from the truth. He's all Angels 24/7.

All teams have injuries. Ours seems to continuously be our pitching.  With that in mind they should have focused on that. I actually liked the Maybin signing and the Espinosa and valbuena signings were just meh. I agree with you in that I liked Revere more. The farm system is slowly improving and should upton opt in we should dump 1 of the prospect outfielders for pitching help.

 

Stradling is a troll in the sense that if anyone has a different opinion...well clearly they are wrong since he apparently lives in clubhouse with them. I cant stand when people defend mediocrity and that's where the angels are right now. Very clearly the club needs changes.

[HaloCory22]

Once again the Angels are in purgatory. 13th best record. 2.5 GB of a wild card spot. 5 games ahead of a protected draft pick. This is incredibly frustrating. Even if we committed to losing, the best (worst) we could probably finish is 12th in draft position and still not a protected pick. 2015 all over again.

[krAbs]

I can't wait until the Twins fall apart against the Tigers and we accidentally limp our way into the playoffs.

[GrittyVeterans]

The real reality check is that we have a broken down, unproductive designated hitter batting cleanup for the next 2 years at least and making 25 million a year. 

Scioscia/Moreno need to do something about that or we'll be right back at .500 next year with Pujols' OPS below .700

[UndertheHalo]

53 minutes ago, HaloCory22 said:

Once again the Angels are in purgatory. 13th best record. 2.5 GB of a wild card spot. 5 games ahead of a protected draft pick. This is incredibly frustrating. Even if we committed to losing, the best (worst) we could probably finish is 12th in draft position and still not a protected pick. 2015 all over again.

If we didn't get Upton I would be much more down on this season.  Acquiring him has been such a huge cherry on top for this team and if they get him to stick around (they must) I think the season with all of its challenges has been a resounding success for the teams soft rebuild efforts.  We had a nice draft, got guys like Richards and Skaggs back (finally) dug up Bridwell.  IMO, Cron has demonstrated again that he's our guy at 1b.  Even Heaney should be good to go next year. We can still get a great player at 13 in the draft.  As long as we keep Upton,  with some health the team could be pretty good next year.  Even if we don't go get a pitcher.  Though, hopefully we do.  I'm just gonna enjoy this last week.  If we can somehow stay within 1 or 2 of the Twins through the weekend, we'll have a shot at a fun wild card game.  If not, who gives a shit.  

[Angelsfan1984]

19 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

The real reality check is that we have a broken down, unproductive designated hitter batting cleanup for the next 2 years at least and making 25 million a year. 

Scioscia/Moreno need to do something about that or we'll be right back at .500 next year with Pujols' OPS below .700

bingo...you cannot wait out this contract and expect Trout to stick around.  If you can't trade him/release him/talk him into retirement...then you need to bench him and put players in who are capable of producing. I think a lot depends on whether Upton opts in. If he does you can go in on someone like Moustakas and Darvish then trade some outfield prospects for another quality starter.

Scioscia doesn't have the cahones to bench pujols. Its literally not in his DNA. He'd rather bench a youngster who goes 4 for 4 than bench Albert. Its beyond frustrating.

[UndertheHalo]

10 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

bingo...you cannot wait out this contract and expect Trout to stick around.  If you can't trade him/release him/talk him into retirement...then you need to bench him and put players in who are capable of producing. I think a lot depends on whether Upton opts in. If he does you can go in on someone like Moustakas and Darvish then trade some outfield prospects for another quality starter.

Scioscia doesn't have the cahones to bench pujols. Its literally not in his DNA. He'd rather bench a youngster who goes 4 for 4 than bench Albert. Its beyond frustrating.

We need to be really careful with Moustakas imo.  And Darvish, while I wouldn't mind having him.  Watching him barely get through 5 innings with the Doyers has really soured my enthusiasm for signing him.  

And it seems to me that Trout likes having Albert around.  Pretty silly to tie his stay here with the Angels to Albert Pujols. 

Also, please provide an example of this awesome 4-4 young player that Pujols is taking AB's from.  

Do you really think Pujols batting 6th or 7th instead of 4th makes that big of a difference ? Who would be sliding into the 4th spot ? Kole ? Simmons ? Come on man. I love both those guys but they aren't 4 hitters.  At least Pujols has the pedigree.  And objectively he's been one of our more productive guys during these last couple of disappointing weeks. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by UndertheHalo

[Angelsfan1984]

17 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

We need to be really careful with Moustakas imo.  And Darvish, while I wouldn't mind having him.  Watching him barely get through 5 innings with the Doyers has really soured my enthusiasm for signing him.  

And it seems to me that Trout likes having Albert around.  Pretty silly to tie his stay here with the Angels to Albert Pujols. 

Also, please provide an example of this awesome 4-4 young player that Pujols is taking AB's from.  

Do you really think Pujols batting 6th or 7th instead of 4th makes that big of a difference ? Who would be sliding into the 4th spot ? Kole ? Simmons ? Come on man. I love both those guys but they aren't 4 hitters.  At least Pujols has the pedigree.  And objectively he's been one of our more productive guys during these last couple of disappointing weeks. 

I tie Pujols to being ok with putting a mediocre lineup together. I doubt if given the opportunity to make a ton of money and win a world series Trout would bail. Sure bat him 6,7,8 I don't care but he is no longer the hitter he once was.

I've seen plenty of examples of players having killer nights at the plate only to be sat down the next day.

The point of all of this is to win a championship, if you aren't trying to compete for a championship you might as well sell it all off because you are now just the A's. There are no excuses anymore.

[UndertheHalo]

1 minute ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

I tie Pujols to being ok with putting a mediocre lineup together. I doubt if given the opportunity to make a ton of money and win a world series Trout would bail. Sure bat him 6,7,8 I don't care but he is no longer the hitter he once was.

I've seen plenty of examples of players having killer nights at the plate only to be sat down the next day.

The point of all of this is to win a championship, if you aren't trying to compete for a championship you might as well sell it all off because you are now just the A's. There are no excuses anymore.

Jesus Christ.  This is an awful take.  Calm down man. Honestly no point in even attempting to refute this .

[HaloCory22]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

If we didn't get Upton I would be much more down on this season.  Acquiring him has been such a huge cherry on top for this team and if they get him to stick around (they must) I think the season with all of its challenges has been a resounding success for the teams soft rebuild efforts.  We had a nice draft, got guys like Richards and Skaggs back (finally) dug up Bridwell.  IMO, Cron has demonstrated again that he's our guy at 1b.  Even Heaney should be good to go next year. We can still get a great player at 13 in the draft.  As long as we keep Upton,  with some health the team could be pretty good next year.  Even if we don't go get a pitcher.  Though, hopefully we do.  I'm just gonna enjoy this last week.  If we can somehow stay within 1 or 2 of the Twins through the weekend, we'll have a shot at a fun wild card game.  If not, who gives a shit.  

I definitely agree that there are some bright spots to the season. Hell, I thought we'd lose 90+ again for sure. Seeing this team take a much needed leap forward from their initial projections is great to see. Keeping Upton is a must. Getting a proven arm is a must as well. This current crop of pitchers are so unreliable and unproven. I'm still not 100% sold on Cron. Unfortunately we don't have many better options. When he's hitting it's great but when he's not.. Yikes. I'd love to have that protected pick that allows us to spend in FA and also have that pick to further bolster this farm system. Can't have it all though hah.

[fan_since79]

1 hour ago, GrittyVeterans said:

The real reality check is that we have a broken down, unproductive designated hitter batting cleanup for the next 2 years at least and making 25 million a year. 

Scioscia/Moreno need to do something about that or we'll be right back at .500 next year with Pujols' OPS below .700

When Scioscia is gone (hopefully after next season) he won't be batting cleanup anymore. A reasonable man will be at the helm and the lineup will be adjusted.

 

[GrittyVeterans]

9 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

When Scioscia is gone (hopefully after next season) he won't be batting cleanup anymore. A reasonable man will be at the helm and the lineup will be adjusted.

 

There's been absolutely no indication that Scioscia is going anywhere when his contract is up. I would not be surprised if they gave him an extension this offseason

[Lou]

1 hour ago, GrittyVeterans said:

There's been absolutely no indication that Scioscia is going anywhere when his contract is up. I would not be surprised if they gave him an extension this offseason

What indication are you looking for? Arte is sure as hell not going to make a statement

[Angel Oracle]

2 hours ago, HaloCory22 said:

I definitely agree that there are some bright spots to the season. Hell, I thought we'd lose 90+ again for sure. Seeing this team take a much needed leap forward from their initial projections is great to see. Keeping Upton is a must. Getting a proven arm is a must as well. This current crop of pitchers are so unreliable and unproven. I'm still not 100% sold on Cron. Unfortunately we don't have many better options. When he's hitting it's great but when he's not.. Yikes. I'd love to have that protected pick that allows us to spend in FA and also have that pick to further bolster this farm system. Can't have it all though hah.

The 1st round picks are no longer lost when signing a premium FA, per the newest CBA.   It's the subsequent round(s) that are impacted.

[HaloCory22]

Didn't realize that. Sweet!

[GrittyVeterans]

45 minutes ago, Lou said:

What indication are you looking for? Arte is sure as hell not going to make a statement

I don't need an indication. I'm just saying it's weird to talk like Scioscia isn't going to be here after 2018

[Angel Oracle]

15 minutes ago, HaloCory22 said:

Didn't realize that. Sweet!

If only it was in place going back even to the beginning of the decade.    Michael Wacha could have been drafted in 2012, instead of Pujols' signing costing them that pick.    And who knows who they could have drafted in round 1 in 2013. 

[HaloNArizona]

8 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

Also hoping that there will be NO extension of the manager's contract and that under a new manager Pujols will finally be dropped in the batting order and made a part-time player starting in 2019, because this is too much.

Some changes are way overdue.

 

While I agree that changes are needed....I have to give credit to the manager and the GM.  This team should not be playing meaningful ball in September and yet we have been.  When you lose Richards on day 1, Shoe has been out, as pointed out Skaggs, Heaney and the aforementioned Richards has been trying to figure it out, when you lose Trout for a month, have no real production from your LF and 2Bman, have a bullpen put together on wing and a prayer, and yet here we are (or were) still competing 2-1/2 games out of the wild card race.  

Who would have thought back in March and April we would be playing meaningful ball in September.  

A lot of that success falls at the feet of both Eppler and Scioscia.

[HaloNArizona]

4 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

bingo...you cannot wait out this contract and expect Trout to stick around.  If you can't trade him/release him/talk him into retirement...then you need to bench him and put players in who are capable of producing. I think a lot depends on whether Upton opts in. If he does you can go in on someone like Moustakas and Darvish then trade some outfield prospects for another quality starter.

Scioscia doesn't have the cahones to bench pujols. Its literally not in his DNA. He'd rather bench a youngster who goes 4 for 4 than bench Albert. Its beyond frustrating.

While I dont disagree that Pujols should be retiring, I just find it funny that we are dogging on the only guy (with 60+ABs) to be hitting over .300 during the month of September.  I know BA is not the end all, but the dude is actually hitting so far this month.

The rest of the year...ugh.

Hate to say it, but Dave Roberts gets some mad props from benching an under performing Adrian Gonzalez.

[Lou]

1 hour ago, GrittyVeterans said:

I don't need an indication. I'm just saying it's weird to talk like Scioscia isn't going to be here after 2018

Oh ok, I guess your comment:"There's been absolutely no indication that Scioscia is going anywhere when his contract is up" made me believe you were.

[UndertheHalo]

1 hour ago, ThomasSutpen said:

Lol pujols and his pedigree. Good god. You should be ashamed of yourself. 

I'm not.  Explain who else should clearly be in that spot.  You're one of the geniuses that thought nobody would move him out of the 3 hole.  Unsurprisingly, when we got a bat that fit there he was moved. 

Pujols is a declining player, that doesn't mean he's not the best fit for the role of knocking in runs.  Congrats on being brilliant and identifying that he's less then ideal in the role. 

[Orangel]

Opposing pitchers have finally figured out how to neutralize Trout: just throw everything above the waist and inside. Surprised it took them so long. Frankly I'd rather see Revere in CF right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fan_since79]

Bench Trout!

Now we're getting somewhere.

/sarcasm

[Stradling]

10 minutes ago, Orangel said:

Opposing pitchers have finally figured out how to neutralize Trout: just throw everything above the waist and inside. Surprised it took them so long. Frankly I'd rather see Revere in CF right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey hero. 

[UndertheHalo]

45 minutes ago, Orangel said:

Opposing pitchers have finally figured out how to neutralize Trout: just throw everything above the waist and inside. Surprised it took them so long. Frankly I'd rather see Revere in CF right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

agreed.  Now that they've "finally figured our how to neutralize Trout"  Trout is basically Danny Espinosa with the bat.  Maybe shittier.