Finally, a solid MOTO (and why Next Year's Lineup Could be Good)

[Chuck]

Shohei Ohtani has been named the American League Player of the Week, Bryce Harper is the National League representative, here's a gif of them side-by-side where you should focus heavily on their hips pic.twitter.com/BTVn87pNBI

— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) September 10, 2018

[Barrett]

[Blarg]

12 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

He’s also walked 8 games in a row. 

Yes and in other threads I pointed to his inflated OBP but that is more on the quality of pitchers faced than Calhoun's at bats. 

[arch stanton]

11 hours ago, Tank said:

didn't cozart start off as our leadoff hitter this year? i don't know if the sample size was big enough or if he's done it in cincy with success, but my recollection is that he didn't do well at it here.

i'd be okay with calhoun continuing at leadoff or even trying fletcher there for the rest of the year and see what happens.

maybe i need to have (another) lunch with sosh to talk it over. man, can that guy put away some breadsticks!

He did it because Kinsler was on the DL to start the season. Moved back to 6th when he returned

[AngelStew43]

I like Calhoun, but I wouldn't count on him in 2019 for this reason:  his batting average has gone from .271 to .244 to .223 in the last 3 seasons, all of which with Mike Trout hitting in front of him most of the time.  

He's in Albert Pujols territory as far as his effect on the batting order.  I would like Calhoun more if his K's were cut down, along with some power, and his OBP and batting average were to improve.

[Lou]

On September 10, 2018 at 8:51 AM, Lou said:

I'll admit I rarely watch the NL, for the same reason I don't take Valium, but isn't Grandal a .230ish hitter that throws out a below average amount of base stealers? 

What am I missing?

the answer is nothing, Lou, 

nothing.

[Blarg]

You missed the passed balls, just like Grandal. 

[Second Base]

I'm re-reading this and am astounded that two very intelligent posters talked about Kole Calhoun being more consistent and a good fit to bat lead off. Have we relaxed our expectations so much that it's come to this.

The choice between batting Calhoun, Fletcher or Cozart at lead off is right up there with deciding whether Hillary, Trump or Kanye should be our next president.

There has to be a better option, right? 

If thats what this team is choosing from to be the table setter for Mike Trout,then I have little reason to believe this is more than an expensive .500 team.

[Angelsjunky]

Can Bernie Sanders lead-off?

[Lou]

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Can Bernie Sanders lead-off?

yes, but he'll quit in the 8th inning

[Jeff Fletcher]

9 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

I'm re-reading this and am astounded that two very intelligent posters talked about Kole Calhoun being more consistent and a good fit to bat lead off. Have we relaxed our expectations so much that it's come to this.

The choice between batting Calhoun, Fletcher or Cozart at lead off is right up there with deciding whether Hillary, Trump or Kanye should be our next president.

There has to be a better option, right? 

If thats what this team is choosing from to be the table setter for Mike Trout,then I have little reason to believe this is more than an expensive .500 team.

If you can find someone who can put up a .345 OBP or so, that’s the best most teams can manage as a leadiff hitter. 

Cozart 17 did it. Calhoun 2.0 did it. Fletcher and Rengifo in AAA did it. 

Am I confident that any of them can do it in 19? Meh. Maybe. I’d rather get Cesar Hernandez. 

But Billy Eppler clearly is confident that one of those guys can do it, or he just feels it’s not a big enough priority to take resources from things like getting pitching. 

He’s made it very clear he feels there’s a lot more internal upside among position players than pitchers. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

7 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

If you can find someone who can put up a .345 OBP or so, that’s the best most teams can manage as a leadiff hitter. 

Cozart 17 did it. Calhoun 2.0 did it. Fletcher and Rengifo in AAA did it. 

Am I confident that any of them can do it in 19? Meh. Maybe. I’d rather get Cesar Hernandez. 

But Billy Eppler clearly is confident that one of those guys can do it, or he just feels it’s not a big enough priority to take resources from things like getting pitching. 

He’s made it very clear he feels there’s a lot more internal upside among position players than pitchers. 

Ok I went and looked it up. 

The MLB average at leadoff was .333 OBP and .752 OPS

Calhoun 2.0 was .328 and .800.

Cozart 17 was .385, .933 (no way that guy is coming back but league average leadoff is certainly possible.)

Edited October 13, 2018 by Jeff Fletcher

[Angel Oracle]

Gotta love Rengifo’s 2018 numbers, granted he tailed off some in August.  Has to be a key future leadoff option, being only 22 in 2019.

[totdprods]

11 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

I'm re-reading this and am astounded that two very intelligent posters talked about Kole Calhoun being more consistent and a good fit to bat lead off. Have we relaxed our expectations so much that it's come to this.

The choice between batting Calhoun, Fletcher or Cozart at lead off is right up there with deciding whether Hillary, Trump or Kanye should be our next president.

There has to be a better option, right? 

If thats what this team is choosing from to be the table setter for Mike Trout,then I have little reason to believe this is more than an expensive .500 team.

It's not so much that I want him there...I just expect he will be given his summer surge. I've been barking about his inconsistencies and declining discipline for three years. 

I really can't see the Angels changing RF this offseason...Kole's trade value will be too weird, he's too expensive to be a 4th OF, and his glove is too good to relegate him to 1B. 

I think their best bet is nabbing another Ian Kinsler-type via trade or FA that can either play 2B/3B, has a track record of making good contact and getting OBP, and sliding Fletcher into the UT IF role. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

On 9/10/2018 at 8:51 AM, Lou said:

I'll admit I rarely watch the NL, for the same reason I don't take Valium, but isn't Grandal a .230ish hitter that throws out a below average amount of base stealers? 

What am I missing?

Also has a lot of passed balls to his credit. 2 last night one of which lead to a run. Oh they lost by a run. Realmuto via a trade would be a nice fit.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

On 9/10/2018 at 11:23 AM, Angel Oracle said:

The only would be that if Marsh isn't ready yet, come ST 2020, they could exercise the 2020 team option on Calhoun, which isn't for that much more than his 2019 salary.

Are you forgetting Jo Adell? He most certainly will be ready come 2020.

[hangin n wangin]

The way I see it, Calhoun cannot be trusted to do well. His offense has declined significantly over the past two years and at this point we are just waiting out his contract or a trade. 

And those are some ridiculous numbers for ohtani over a full year. I hope he can produce something like that.

[Dtwncbad]

Sometimes it is helpful to oversimplify.

There are two buckets, the "I am not worried about" and the "I am worried about" buckets.

I am not worried about Trout, Ohtani, Upton, and Simmons.

I am worried about the other five spots in the lineup.

It seems like the Angels need to reduce the number of spots in the "I am worried about" bucket.

No team has a beast at every position but five question marks is just too many.

The team should figure which positions are most likely to be solved internally and then aggressively address the other positions.

I can live with maybe two "I hope this works" spots in the lineup.  Not five.

 

[Blarg]

I'm not worried about Trout, Simmons, Upton, Ohtani, Fletcher, Calhoun and Cozart. You are not getting all Stars at every position but if you can fill holes with league average you're good. 

Catcher and 1st base are my concern. Improve those and the offense will be above league average. 

[Docwaukee]

34 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Sometimes it is helpful to oversimplify.

There are two buckets, the "I am not worried about" and the "I am worried about" buckets.

I am not worried about Trout, Ohtani, Upton, and Simmons.

I am worried about the other five spots in the lineup.

It seems like the Angels need to reduce the number of spots in the "I am worried about" bucket.

No team has a beast at every position but five question marks is just too many.

The team should figure which positions are most likely to be solved internally and then aggressively address the other positions.

I can live with maybe two "I hope this works" spots in the lineup.  Not five.

 

we're gonna have to live with more than two.  Cozart and Calhoun will be in the starting lineup for 2019.  So will Pujols, but he likely get's half a season worth of at bats.  I think Cozart will get the 2b job while we'll get a 3bman.  I also think we'll go the defensive route with C again.  I also think we'll grab a couple of bench guys who can increase production at 1b and cover 3b as needed and then another player than can platoon with Kole or even take over should he falter.  The key to lineup depth for 2019 will be the success of Kole and Cozart.  

I also think we'll see some auditions at 3b, 1b, and 2b during the season as well as some Adell in RF by mid season.   It's still a transitional year and we'll see that by the lack of aggression in terms of lineup upgrades.  We'll make one decent sized commitment on the SP side of things as well as at least one if not two 1yr deal.  

It may seem counter intuitive, but we might actually trade someone like Skaggs for a legit offensive upgrade at 3b.  That might be one of my 'bold move' predictions.   

[Dtwncbad]

17 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I'm not worried about Trout, Simmons, Upton, Ohtani, Fletcher, Calhoun and Cozart. You are not getting all Stars at every position but if you can fill holes with league average you're good. 

Catcher and 1st base are my concern. Improve those and the offense will be above league average. 

This is a sincere question. Do you think it is an acceptable plan to have an offense that is "above league average"?

Personally, I don't.  This team should aim higher than that.

This isn't the Twins or the Royals.

How about the Angels try to execute a plan to be in the top five offensively?  Isn't that a more appropriate goal for a huge market team with money to spend and Mike Trout in his prime?

I honestly don't understand the acceptance of a plan to be "above league average."

I don't get it.

[CDiaz27?]

3 hours ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

Are you forgetting Jo Adell? He most certainly will be ready come 2020.

Or even 2019

[Docwaukee]

2 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

This is a sincere question. Do you think it is an acceptable plan to have an offense that is "above league average"?

Personally, I don't.  This team should aim higher than that.

This isn't the Twins or the Royals.

How about the Angels try to execute a plan to be in the top five offensively?  Isn't that a more appropriate goal for a huge market team with money to spend and Mike Trout in his prime?

I honestly don't understand the acceptance of a plan to be "above league average."

I don't get it.

There are a fair amount of pre-existing financial commitments that they aren't likely to find replacements for.   Pujols is going to get a crack at playing a decent number of games at 1b.  maybe half a seasons worth.  So they aren't going to make a long term commitment to another player unless it's to platoon which they probably will do but it's not going to be for a moto bat.  Cozart is going to occupy one of 2b or 3b.  They're not going to make him a $12.67mil utility player.  Calhoun is owed $10.5m for 2019 and a 1m buyout for 2020. After his awful 2018, he's got very little trade value.  They've also got uber prospect Adell less than a year away to take his place.  

Could they sign Machado and trade for Realmuto?  Sure, but that Machado money pretty much negates any opportunity to extend Simmons or Realmuto beyond 2020 and may even make a Trout extension less likely.  It also means fewer resources to take care of a somewhat sub par rotation.  

Do you think it's an acceptable plan to have a rotation that is about league average? 

We don't have unlimited financial and prospect resources to turn a team that won 80 games  into one with a top 5 offense, bullpen and rotation.  

Even with many of the holes in our lineup, the team still managed to be 12th in WAR and a about half a win from being 9th.  If Kole rebounds some, Ohtani DH's almost everyday, Cozart is better, and we get some better options for 2b/3b, C as well as off the bench, we could easily be in the 5-7 range.  So twins/royals comp is unfair and frankly, it's not even close.  At worst, they'll end up in the top 10 health permitting.  

You want more bang for your buck?  Our starters were 19th and would need a 60% increase in production to get into the top 10 and 100% increase in production to hit the top 5.  

Our pen was ranked 20th and would need to double their production to get into the top 10.  A much more doable feat however, considering the improvement we saw in September. 

So by all means, let's improve the lineup but even marginal improvement still makes it very good. 

But the focus should absolutely be on the rotation.  

This team is still in recovery from being horribly mismanaged through 2015.  Yet they still rolled out the 7th highest payroll and are likely to do he same next year.  The appropriate goal for the large market Halos is to continue to develop a strong core of young players from their farm system and supplement that with free agency.  They're finally on the right track again.  How you derail that is by going all in too soon when those prospects aren't ready and you still have holes you can't do anything about because of financial commitments ie, trying to force it.  

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

This is a sincere question. Do you think it is an acceptable plan to have an offense that is "above league average"?

Personally, I don't.  This team should aim higher than that.

This isn't the Twins or the Royals.

How about the Angels try to execute a plan to be in the top five offensively?  Isn't that a more appropriate goal for a huge market team with money to spend and Mike Trout in his prime?

I honestly don't understand the acceptance of a plan to be "above league average."

I don't get it.

They’re average right now. 

They have 4 spots that are above average, some of them significantly. If they get to average at the other ones, that makes the team above average.

Its unrealistic to try to have above average players at every position. That’s called the All-Star Game 

[Dtwncbad]

10 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

They’re average right now. 

They have 4 spots that are above average, some of them significantly. If they get to average at the other ones, that makes the team above average.

Its unrealistic to try to have above average players at every position. That’s called the All-Star Game 

For the record I explicitly said it isn't realistic to have beasts at every position.

I said I am not comfortable with what I view as five spots I am worried about.