Eppler comparisons

[mulwin444]

21 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Do you realize how many more games he could have won had the most basic of changes been made? I'm not saying he needs to win 100 games with AAA players, i'm saying when opportunities present themselves to win games you have no business winning in the first place, you better be doing the simple things correctly. It all comes down to lineup manipulation and pitching management for me. Baseball is 100% a game of rhythm and it is quite easy to see when pieces don't fit or need to be adjusted, but when you either over tinker or under tinker a lineup to the point where people are off balance and uncomfortable, you get exactly what happens to people like Cozart. Do you ever wonder to yourself why players go elsewhere and tear it up? The old adage, a change of scenery could do this guy wonders? That's not heresay. The reason behind that is the fact that either they are being given the proper coaching or they are given a consistent opportunity to prove themselves and with that comfort a rhythm is established.

He squeezed 85 wins from an offense that consisted of Trout, Pujols, mediocrity and two sock-puppets at SS and 2B.  The SP was "meh", the BP was "yeesh", the defense was basically a statue garden.

The Angels' run differential was -14, good for a Pythagorean projection of 79 - 83.

He got the most out of the roster he was given...very few managers, if any, could have accomplished more with what they had.  And that's not to say Scioscia doesn't annoy the F out of me with his seemingly endless line-up tinkering or his fascination with bunting in the AL or the contact play...but every, E-V-E-R-Y, manager has their blind spots.

[Blarg]

2 hours ago, Glen said:

When was the last time we had a GM that was as universally loved as Eppler? In retrospect Stoneman was good but he still got a lot of shit. I can't remember a GM for the Angels that reached Eppler's level of praise.

Since the popularity of message boards really didn't surface until Stoneman's tenure, I'm pretty sure there is little information about the previous GM's other than the bare basics.

We have complete bios along with archives of every interview and a statistical library of every player traded and who's career floundered or shined.

In retrospect Haney was pretty damn good assembling the initial Angels team out of pretty much nothing. No farm system, no sabetmetrics, a few guys working together for the first time in the front office with no money to speak of. He built the framework of a team from the ground up, far more responsibility than Eppler has heaped on his shoulders and all without a cell phone or email.

But since that was 1960 it's all just dusty old history. 

 

[Stradling]

37 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Do you realize how many more games he could have won had the most basic of changes been made? I'm not saying he needs to win 100 games with AAA players, i'm saying when opportunities present themselves to win games you have no business winning in the first place, you better be doing the simple things correctly. It all comes down to lineup manipulation and pitching management for me. Baseball is 100% a game of rhythm and it is quite easy to see when pieces don't fit or need to be adjusted, but when you either over tinker or under tinker a lineup to the point where people are off balance and uncomfortable, you get exactly what happens to people like Cozart. Do you ever wonder to yourself why players go elsewhere and tear it up? The old adage, a change of scenery could do this guy wonders? That's not heresay. The reason behind that is the fact that either they are being given the proper coaching or they are given a consistent opportunity to prove themselves and with that comfort a rhythm is established.

Could you imagine how many games the team would have lost if they had a manager as bad as you think he is when he has a below average offense and a below average staff?  Bottom line is you think something, but what you think isn’t what it is.  The team should have lost 85 not won 85.  But you see a guy bring in a pitcher, that pitcher gives up the lead and it is automatically the managers fault.  Despite the fact that the staff sucks.  There is probably no right choice.  

As far as players going elsewhere and tearing it up?  That is 100% bullshit.  Who has done that?  Napoli.  Well he was blowing it up here too.  Who else?  I will wait for your long list of players that left and went on to be successful.  

[Jason]

8 minutes ago, SuperTroopers said:

Could you imagine how many games the team would have lost if they had a manager as bad as you think he is when he has a below average offense and a below average staff?  Bottom line is you think something, but what you think isn’t what it is.  The team should have lost 85 not won 85.  But you see a guy bring in a pitcher, that pitcher gives up the lead and it is automatically the managers fault.  Despite the fact that the staff sucks.  There is probably no right choice.  

As far as players going elsewhere and tearing it up?  That is 100% bullshit.  Who has done that?  Napoli.  Well he was blowing it up here too.  Who else?  I will wait for your long list of players that left and went on to be successful.  

Exactly. Scioscia has made some questionable calls in how he's managed games but which manager hasn't? Scioscia has done a fairly good job with what he's been given and plenty of other teams have questionable talent too. A manager can only polish a turd so much. 

[Mark68]

1 hour ago, krAbs said:

Playing Blackjack and the dealer shows this, wut u do?

Stand. It's not likely he has a 9 underneath.

[Angelsfan1984]

8 minutes ago, Mark68 said:

Stand. It's not likely he has a 9 underneath.

How many number 12 cards have you seen in blackjack lol? Must be an indian casino....

[AngelsLakersFan]

3 hours ago, SuperTroopers said:

I have created threads about this, but everyone loves Eppler and a ton of people hate Scioscia.  If Eppler chooses to bring him back, it will create some real turmoil in the haters.  My guess is even if Eppler chooses Scioscia, Arte will get the blame if he comes back.  

If Scioscia wants to come back, then I see no reason why Eppler won't want to offer him an extension. The real issue though, is that Mike, I believe, is far and away the highest paid manager in baseball right now, coming off a crazy 10 year extension. It's an obvious place to save some money realistically... and yacht fuel is just so expensive these days.

[Jobu]

Billy seems like he's doing a heckuva job, but I'll wait until the Angels have a winning season under his leadership before I drop my drawers.

[Jobu]

Why can't I give my own post the Debbie Downer reaction.

Edit: much obliged.

[DCAngelsFan]

1 hour ago, mulwin444 said:

He squeezed 85 wins from an offense that consisted of Trout, Pujols, mediocrity and two sock-puppets at SS and 2B.  The SP was "meh", the BP was "yeesh", the defense was basically a statue garden.

The Angels' run differential was -14, good for a Pythagorean projection of 79 - 83.

He got the most out of the roster he was given...very few managers, if any, could have accomplished more with what they had.  And that's not to say Scioscia doesn't annoy the F out of me with his seemingly endless line-up tinkering or his fascination with bunting in the AL or the contact play...but every, E-V-E-R-Y, manager has their blind spots.

Mikes teams typically outperform their Pythagorean expectation - I mean, that's hardly definitive - but if he consistently underperformed, I'm sure people would be quick to bring it up ad nauseum. 

His in-game management used to be rigid and old-school and drove everyone crazy sometimes.  Now, I find his decision-making to be pretty sensible - for example, his use of the bullpen, he seems to be better at using relievers at high-leverage points in the game, and not simply some formulaic approach like "setup guy in the 9th, closer in the 9th".  

The thing I've always given him credit for is keeping a clubhouse loose and functioning throughout the season - if there's clubhouse turmoil, we don't see it on the field.  

There are probably some managers that would do better with this club's talent - but a *lot* more managers who'd do worse.  And we don't always know in advance which is which.  Who are you certain will get more out of this team than Mike?   A

Mike deserves to go out on his own terms - if he's forced out, especially if this is a good season, can't help but think the players would rebel. 

[m0nkey]

The thread of death

[RallyMo]

3 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Theres a massive difference between Eppler and Scioscia. It has nothing to do with analytics vs old school. It has nothing to do with how players perform. Scioscia has proven time and time again that his decision making is god awful. He is fundamentally flawed in his ability to see a situation and adapt to it in a timely manner. He is the antithesis of what Eppler has shown himself to be.

Sure Scioscia has done things and they have worked out in his favor, but its the times that he should have clearly done something differently and they have not worked that irritate me as a fan. The moves he makes I can only compare to blackjack. Scioscia is the person who hits on 19. Sure every once in a while hes going to hit that 2 and be praised but in all reality the smart play is to stay. He's incapable of understanding why he should be staying.

Yes scioscia has been around the game a very long time and is a much smarter baseball mind than anyone on this forum. However, at the end of the day he's never proven to me to be a good manager. He wins when all the cards fall in line like they are supposed to but in the small instances when theres an actual decision to be made like staying on 16 when the dealer is showing 12, that he's just not able to make the right call.

That is how I view scioscia and why I cannot stand his bs anymore.

Can I sit by you when we all get together to watch his HOF induction for managing? It's going to happen and I'd really like to be there for you.

[Lou]

3 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

He wins when all the cards fall in line like they are supposed

like last year? 

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, RallyMo said:

Can I sit by you when we all get together to watch his HOF induction for managing? It's going to happen and I'd really like to be there for you.

He and Bob will be drinking cool aid while wearing black Nikes.

[Lou]

1 hour ago, SuperTroopers said:

As far as players going elsewhere and tearing it up?  That is 100% bullshit.  Who has done that?  Napoli.  Well he was blowing it up here too.  Who else?  I will wait for your long list of players that left and went on to be successful.  

 

 

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

 

 

 

[Dick B Back]

[Stradling]

[Dick B Back]

[HaloNArizona]

2 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Do you realize how many more games he could have won had the most basic of changes been made? I'm not saying he needs to win 100 games with AAA players, i'm saying when opportunities present themselves to win games you have no business winning in the first place, you better be doing the simple things correctly. It all comes down to lineup manipulation and pitching management for me. Baseball is 100% a game of rhythm and it is quite easy to see when pieces don't fit or need to be adjusted, but when you either over tinker or under tinker a lineup to the point where people are off balance and uncomfortable, you get exactly what happens to people like Cozart. Do you ever wonder to yourself why players go elsewhere and tear it up? The old adage, a change of scenery could do this guy wonders? That's not heresay. The reason behind that is the fact that either they are being given the proper coaching or they are given a consistent opportunity to prove themselves and with that comfort a rhythm is established.

Look back at the overview of the 2015 team...

ONe game out of the wild card with a run differential of -14

Some stats: (all AL standings only)

#12 in runs scored, #15 in BA, #13 in OBP, #13 in Slg, #14 in OPS

ERA: #6, Runs Allowed #10, BAA #4

Here is the roster:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Los_Angeles_Angels_season#Roster

 

And tell any of us how Scioscia did not help to guide this team to 85 wins.  Looking at the roster now, not sure how he accomplished it.

[Glen]

37 minutes ago, Lou said:

 

 

I still miss his personality.

[Warfarin]

Since this is an Eppler thread, I will comment on him alone.

The greatest difficulty, IMO, of being a GM is to try to win now AND build for the future at the same time.  It's incredibly difficult - you either see teams tearing things down / tanking or going for it all.  What has been so great about Eppler is he is doing BOTH at the same time.  That is remarkable.

[OregonLAA]

A. I would love to have Aybar is a utility guy if we ever needed one for cheap

 

B. I’ve had more than my share of anti-Scioscia moments, but I’ll be very sad when he’s gone. And after seeing Boone and Kapler I hope that isn’t anytime soon

[IEAngelsfan]

27 minutes ago, Glen said:

I still miss his personality.

Yeah, he's like that zoo monkey who throws his crap at you, but you still think he's cute little booger.

[ten ocho recon scout]

For when Sosh leaves