Billy, have you learned your lesson now?

[Angel Oracle]

Every contender HAS to have a solid bullpen!

[Angelfan79]

Yup This Pen ain't gonna get us to the playoffs!!

[JustATroutFan]

4 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Every contender HAS to have a solid bullpen!

I'm sure not every contending teams in the past had a good bullpen but it would be so much easier to shut down opponents. Herrera from the Royals should make a great fit.........if the Angels somehow find a way to get his azz here!

[Angel Oracle]

The great majority at least, going back over this decade

[JarsOfClay]

24 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Every contender HAS to have a solid bullpen!

The bullpen wasn't lights out, but there were underlying issues today. Mostly Malo's passed ball that allowed Profar to reach 3rd and then score. And then he calls an 0-2 pitch fastball that ended up being the game winning hit for the Rangers.

Malo is a bigger problem than you guys realize. I'm curious to see how this staff does with a different catcher because they honestly look like they have pretty good stuff to me, it's just an execution issue.

[YouthofToday]

5 minutes ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

Ohtani could have been warming up after the bottom of the 8th ended. After Parker faced his first batter about 8 minutes had passed. I still argue it is possible to DH Othani every night and have him close. One batter has to be faced by another pitcher though.

If no Othani in the pen, put Barria there. Try Canning/Suarez for 6th starter. Canning may also be a good reliever.

We desperately need Barria and Ohtani as starters. I have absolutely no idea why you are calling to change Ohtani’s role midseason. That is insane. Dude signed with the Angels based on their player development plan for him to start and hit. 

[greginpsca]

Just another halo blown save.

[Troll Daddy]

Middleton going down put a big hurt on the bullpen. 

[T.G.]

4 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Middleton going down put a big hurt on the bullpen. 

And Wood too.

[BackUpTheTruck]

5 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Middleton going down put a big hurt on the bullpen. 

Next year we can have Alex Meyer and JC Ramirez in the pen, among others

[laagamer]

1 hour ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

Ohtani could have been warming up after the bottom of the 8th ended. After Parker faced his first batter about 8 minutes had passed. I still argue it is possible to DH Othani every night and have him close. One batter has to be faced by another pitcher though.

If no Othani in the pen, put Barria there. Try Canning/Suarez for 6th starter. Canning may also be a good reliever.

I think we should DH Ohtani full-time and use him as our 8th inning shutdown guy that pitches every 2-3 days. It would add the most benefit to our team right now. 

There, I said it. 

[stormngt]

9 minutes ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

If we're out of the playoff run at the deadline, it may be good for us long term. We don't have to sell the farm to live in a fantasy world where we think we can represent the AL in the World Series, we can audition our minor league stars for next year, we can even trade players with expiring contracts if their trade value is high, such as Richards.

Two more months of this bullpen and I do think we are out of the playoff hunt, unfortunately.

One more month like this.  We are basically 6 back in the loss column.  We drop 10 back we need to be sellers.  

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, stormngt said:

One more month like this.  We are basically 6 back in the loss column.  We drop 10 back we need to be sellers.  

If Kinsler continues to heat up, could be a good young reliever prospect coming back for him in July, if the Halos continue to take on his salary through September. 

[Warfarin]

I do feel we should trade for a legitimate closer, one who is signed for a few more years and can be part of future playoff runs.

Brad Hand is the guy we should pursue.  We should ONLY pursue Herrera if we are close to the WC2 spot come the postseason, otherwise, no point.

If we had Hand, we could formulate a pen like this starting next year:

Hand, Anderson, Middleton, Alvarez, Ramirez, Parker, Meyer/JC Ramirez/Bedrosian/?

At least we'd have a very solid 4 at the back-end and two lefty relievers.  I trust Ramirez to anchor down the middle innings as well.  Parker goes back and forth, but I'd trust him enough in the middle innings too.  Meyer is a wild card in many ways, but he's out of options and with his power stuff, it'd be worth a shot to see how he pans out in the pen.  

[fan_since79]

8 hours ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Put Barria in the pen if you have to. Put Richards in the pen if you have to. Be open to having Suarez or Canning as a 6th starter. They are talented, and they may surprise us.

I can assure you we will be out of the playoff hunt at the deadline unless changes are made. 

We may appear to be out of it by the trading deadline, but with this team there's often the late-season tease that gives us hope. 

There's the 7-9 game winning streak in late August/early September that gets us back in the hunt, then some excruciating losses where we blow games we should have won. Team finishes three games back of the second wild card. Rinse, lather, repeat.

[Stradling]

It is too early to talk about this coming free agent class but I would love the next manager to have a great bullpen.  So my free agent wish list doesn’t need to have Machado or Harper as long as it has a closer or two on it.  As for the next manager, someone that Trout respects would be my first request.  My guess is the next manager will have Yankee ties, probably someone like Josh Paul, since he is already here.  

[Warfarin]

16 minutes ago, The Boogie Man said:

It is too early to talk about this coming free agent class but I would love the next manager to have a great bullpen.  So my free agent wish list doesn’t need to have Machado or Harper as long as it has a closer or two on it.  As for the next manager, someone that Trout respects would be my first request.  My guess is the next manager will have Yankee ties, probably someone like Josh Paul, since he is already here.  

I think Trout will ultimately respect anyone who can cultivate a winning team

That said, I do hope Billy finds an outside-the-box type candidate and avoids going for a re-tread, like Girardi, etc.  A lot of teams are hiring "new age" type managers, like Boone, Cora, Kapler, etc.  I trust Billy to follow suit and find someone who he can work cohesively with.  Not to suggest that he and Sosh don't, as I think they do, but I do think it's time to move on at this point.  I am assuming they'll offer Sosh a FO "honorary" type of position, where he can continue to serve as a figure-head of sorts for the Angels.  

[Stradling]

8 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

I think Trout will ultimately respect anyone who can cultivate a winning team

That said, I do hope Billy finds an outside-the-box type candidate and avoids going for a re-tread, like Girardi, etc.  A lot of teams are hiring "new age" type managers, like Boone, Cora, Kapler, etc.  I trust Billy to follow suit and find someone who he can work cohesively with.  Not to suggest that he and Sosh don't, as I think they do, but I do think it's time to move on at this point.  I am assuming they'll offer Sosh a FO "honorary" type of position, where he can continue to serve as a figure-head of sorts for the Angels.  

I am sure Trout will respect someone that wins as well.  As for cultivating a winning team, does that really happen in two years?  This coming off season will be Eppler’s most important one yet.  He has to get talent, period.  

[Warfarin]

12 minutes ago, The Boogie Man said:

I am sure Trout will respect someone that wins as well.  As for cultivating a winning team, does that really happen in two years?  This coming off season will be Eppler’s most important one yet.  He has to get talent, period.  

I think Billy has done an excellent job of re-shaping the minor league team in short order.  A lot of his draft picks are looking good, and he's even squeezing some productivity out of Dipoto's picks, too.  Billy's FA moves have been mixed, but I think that's rather typical for most FA signings, which is why you see so many teams avoid it now.

I would say 2 years is enough time to cultivate a winning team, because the new manager should take over a team with several stars (Trout, Ohtani, Simmons), a pretty good starting staff, and some minor leaguers who will be ready for their shot at regular playing time.  

We might not yet be a legitimate WS contenders, but I do think next year is the year we can take a big leap forward.  The growth of the minor league system is the major factor of this equation, IMO.  Barria, Canning, Suarez, Ward, Thaiss, JMF, Fletcher... all of these guys will be key.  It'd be foolish to think they will all pan out, but I have strong hopes that a good amount of them will.  Cheap players performing well is the key to our ability to formulate a long-term contender moving forward.

[Angel Oracle]

9 hours ago, True Grich said:

And Wood too.

Middleton hurt, but is one guy and we still don’t know his true forecast as his heat tends to be too straight.

Wood was AT BEST a middle of the road reliever, with his inconsistent command.

[Warfarin]

7 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Middleton hurt, but is one guy and we still don’t know his true forecast as his heat tends to be too straight.

Wood was AT BEST a middle of the road reliever, with his inconsistent command.

Yeah, losing out on Wood is no big deal IMO.  I feel bad for him as a player, but he wasn't going to make much of a difference for us.

[Angel Oracle]

Middleton won’t be ready until about the 2019 ASB.

Familia/Kimbrel/Miller, one of them would solve the closer issue.  Allen seems to be starting his decline already.

Herrera would actually be a perfect 8th inning option.

Can Anderson or Parker be trusted as the 3rd guy?

And I don’t care that the closer + Herrera would cost about $30 million/year for 2-3 years.

They free up $25 million alone from Kinsler, Valbuena, and Johnson.

Imagine how many more close games the Halos would win.

And in the meantime, that gives them 2-3 years to develop their own GOOD relievers.

Remember that good pitching and defense are required for success.  They have good defense and starting pitching. Now they need a good bullpen.

[Warfarin]

21 minutes ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

I believe the upcoming free agent class, with all of the talent in the bullpen and the outfield, can help us compete for a title next year.

Allen, Britton, Familia, Herrera, Kimbrel, and Miller are on the top of my list for the bullpen. Signing another lefty like Justin Wilson would also be good.

For the outfield, I would look at Adam Jones, Michael Brantley, Yasiel Puig, and A.J Pollock.

I think Fletcher and JMF can compete for a spot on the team in the infield next year and play well for us.

Next year our bullpen could look something like this: Herrera, Justin Anderson, Keynan Middleton, Jose Alvarez, Justin Wilson, Noe Ramirez, Alex Meyer, Blake Wood

For the OF, I would only go after Harper and no one else.  Puig isn't a free agent (he's a free agent the year after), and Pollock's value is maximized as a CFer, NOT as a corner OF, and we appear to have CF covered right now

[Warfarin]

16 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Middleton won’t be ready until about the 2019 ASB.

Familia/Kimbrel/Miller, one of them would solve the closer issue.  Allen seems to be starting his decline already.

Herrera would actually be a perfect 8th inning option.

Can Anderson or Parker be trusted as the 3rd guy?

And I don’t care that the closer + Herrera would cost about $30 million/year for 2-3 years.

They free up $25 million alone from Kinsler, Valbuena, and Johnson.

Imagine how many more close games the Halos would win.

And in the meantime, that gives them 2-3 years to develop their own GOOD relievers.

Remember that good pitching and defense are required for success.  They have good defense and starting pitching. Now they need a good bullpen.

I think Middleton could be back sooner than that.  He had his surgery in May.  It takes starters longer to recover, because they need to slowly ramp up and build to pitching 5-6 innings before coming back, which probably adds an additional 4-6 weeks to their recovery timeline.  Middleton will just need to show he can pitch a max of 2 innings before coming back, so I think it's reasonable to assume we could see him back by next May/early June.

[Angel Oracle]

That would be encouraging.   But, Middleton is not ready to be anything over a #3-#5 reliever yet for a true post-season team, as long as his heat is still too straight.