Spending this off-season

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, WeatherWonk said:

Well, 80 mil only gets you so much.

Imagine what you could do with 180-200 mil?

Uh, never mind...............

Then they should spend more money, the owners have the money.  They shouldn’t be applauded for what they do with a limited budget.  

[Stradling]

We might be seeing an IN N OUT on Pico in the next couple years. 

[kevinb]

12 minutes ago, Stradling said:

We might be seeing an IN N OUT on Pico in the next couple years. 

Yay! I know one is opening up pretty soon down the street from me on Ortega. Where's the one on Pico supposed to be? By the Outlet mall or?

[Blarg]

1 hour ago, WeatherWonk said:

Still miss Gengkai in DP, too. Still my fav sushi place. 

Vomited into a napkin there. It involved too much beer and a bet I couldn't eat uni. Ended up sneezing uni eggs out my nose for about an hour. Good times. 

[Blarg]

23 minutes ago, Stradling said:

We might be seeing an IN N OUT on Pico in the next couple years. 

You didn't happen to buy the lot where the Norms burned down? 

[Stradling]

I think I heard it’s where a California Bank is currently located. 

[Stradling]

37 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

Yay! I know one is opening up pretty soon down the street from me on Ortega. Where's the one on Pico supposed to be? By the Outlet mall or?

Both of those stores were slated to be mine until they transferred me closer to home. 

[UndertheHalo]

This thread got awesome.  And now it sucks.  

RIP

[kevinb]

59 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

This thread got awesome.  And now it sucks.  

RIP

Sorry to disappoint 

[Angelsjunky]

The current team as is, without any changes at all, has a solid chance at 85 wins; the Pythagorean Record bears that out. The question is: how to make that 85+ wins closer to a certainty with a chance to win 90?

Well, the WAR thread pointed out what we already know, that the team this year is like so:

Weaknesses: C, 1B, 3B, RF, SP

Neutral: RP, 2B

Strengths: SS, CF, LF, DH

My $30 million solutions:

Obviously DH, SS, CF, and LF are OK. I'd let Calhoun keep his job, assuming that he'll be more consistent and at least league average. I also don't want to clog up a spot for Adell, who could be ready as soon as late next year.

Furthermore, I'd solve 2B and 3B from within, with some combination of Fletcher, Cozart, Rengifo, and Ward; maybe a dash of Fernandez. 2B was pretty good between Kinsler and Fletcher and I think should be at least average next year. 3B was a real weakness, but either Cozart comes back and is solid, Ward takes a step forward, Fernandez is adequate, and even Rengifo takes over 2B and Fletcher moves to 3B. Either way, 2B and 3B can be filled internally--and for cheap--at about league average level.

That least C, 1B, SP and RP for possible external upgrades.

Catcher: I do not feel good about Briceno/Arcia. I'd go after Grandal, and if not him Ramos or some else, perhaps a clever trade.

1B: Hard to imagine Pujols not getting the job, but the door will open for Walsh, Fernandez, and Thaiss. I'd probably keep this internal, at least for 2019. I feel confident that between the four of them, decent production will emerge - and again, for internal (cheap) money.

SP: I'd go after Corbin ($20+ million a year, nine figures) but not go completely overboard. If not him, look for someone like Eovaldi.

RP: Familia is the guy - he's really good and will be a lot cheaper than Kimbrel, and better than Herrera. I'd also consider going after someone like Robertson.

I figure with those changes--signing a catcher, a starter, and a reliever or two, with internal solutions at 2B, SS, 3B, DH, and the outfield--will convert the above to:

Weaknesses: None.

Neutral: SP, 2B, 3B, 1B, C.

Strengths: SS, CF, LF, DH, RP, maybe SP, maybe C.

[Mark68]

Me reading this thread:

[Mark68]

13 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

God dammit Chuck. "Facking" is the worst thing you've ever done to this forum. 

Yeah, you farging icehole.

[Mark68]

12 hours ago, calscuf said:

Wait, did tdawg show his wiener and I missed it?

Yes. It happens often.

[Mark68]

9 hours ago, Stradling said:

We might be seeing an IN N OUT on Pico in the next couple years. 

How's the distro center in Colo Springs coming along?

[Stradling]

17 minutes ago, Mark68 said:

How's the distro center in Colo Springs coming along?

Slowly, at least 3 years away.  

[Lou]

why would the Dodgers, who have proven they will outspend other teams to keep their pending free agents, let Grandal walk away? 

[WeatherWonk]

10 hours ago, Blarg said:

Vomited into a napkin there. It involved too much beer and a bet I couldn't eat uni. Ended up sneezing uni eggs out my nose for about an hour. Good times. 

Let that be a lesson............NEVER EAT UNI!!!

It's the only thing on a sushi menu I wont touch. I'll eat mackerel and shrimp boats with the raw quail egg, but not UNI. 

UNI is like completely soggy Wheaties with a fishiness. 

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

why would the Dodgers, who have proven they will outspend other teams to keep their pending free agents, let Grandal walk away? 

Did they stay under the tax this year?  I know that was the goal, but not sure if they were able to with their additions.  They want to reset the tax as did the Yankees.  

[UndertheHalo]

4 minutes ago, Lou said:

why would the Dodgers, who have proven they will outspend other teams to keep their pending free agents, let Grandal walk away? 

I think the idea here is that they have 2 top 100 prospects that are catchers.  Including their best one.  So, the presumption is that they won’t commit long term to Grandal. 

Edited September 19, 2018 by UndertheHalo

[UndertheHalo]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Did they stay under the tax this year?  I know that was the goal, but not sure if they were able to with their additions.  They want to reset the tax as did the Yankees.  

They did stay under the tax. 

[Lou]

1 minute ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think the idea here is that they have 2 top 100 prospects that are catchers.  Including their best one. 

gracias

[stormngt]

15 hours ago, Kevinb said:

Do you know how much better this team has to be just to be in the conversation of 2nd wild card? We are 16 games out of the second wild card spot.16!!!! 

How far were the A's out if the playoffs 12 months ago?

[kevinb]

2 hours ago, stormngt said:

How far were the A's out if the playoffs 12 months ago?

How far were the Angels out of the playoffs 12 months ago?

[Jeff Fletcher]

Man, I leave you guys for a while and look what happens. 

To answer from way earlier...

The Angels have about $30-33M to spend on players who are not here now. That means it doesn’t count raises and arb salaries for guys who are here. 

As I’ve said before, don’t look at the luxury tax number. That uses the average salaries and some players have actual salaries much higher than their average. Trout, Pujols, Simmons, Calhoun are at the back end of multiyear deals. 

The good news there is that any free agents they sign now to 3-plus year deals, they can backload to have less of a hit in 2019. It’s also a pretty good motivation to extend Trout, so they can reduce his 2019 salary (as they did with Upton).

Also, you can trade away or nontender guys to make some space. JC Ramírez $2-3M, Bedrosian 2-3M, Parker 2-3M, Shoemaker 4-5M.

Carry on....

[stormngt]

29 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

How far were the Angels out of the playoffs 12 months ago?

What does that have to do with how much a team can improve in a year?