The Offense

[totdprods]

11 minutes ago, Reveille1984 said:

We've sure had a lot of "gap years" over the past decade.  One playoff series in nine seasons (likely ten after 2019) and Trout/Ohtani/Simmons are the only bright spots to look at position player wise on the current roster, with Ohtani not even playing.  Upton is already out likely half of 2019 and will be 32 next year.  

Hopefully a lot of these kids in our minor league system pan out, because we desperately need an influx of talented youth both on the pitching and position player side.  I'm trying to be optimistic for both this year and next, but I'm not sure what is going to be majorly different in 2020.  Even if guys like Adell/Rengifo come up, there's still going to be a learning curve while they get acclimated to the bigs.  We already have $135M allocated for 2020 before arbitration, and I doubt Arte is going to balloon our payroll up towards the luxury tax anytime soon. 

I'll stop there, just being a negative nancy. 

Patience.  We also haven't really had anything resembling a farm system for a decade, and baseball is rapidly relying on a ground floor of youth for competitiveness and payroll flexibility. 

The Angels will spend soon, will have the money to do so, and the payroll flexibility, to go with a strong young core. We just need a few of these guys to stick. 

[T.G.]

8 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

...we really need to get moving on this championship quest sooner rather than later.

Will next week work for you?

[Second Base]

Basically, heading into this upcoming Winter, the main theme will be "Free Agent vs. Prospect".  Or at least that's the way I'm seeing it.  Matt Thaiss or Jared Walsh will be the starting 1B in July or August, and so the front office must decide whether to stick with them at 1B or to go with someone in free agency.  Luis Rengifo will likely be at 2B by the end of the year, and again, the question will be if they replace him with a veteran or not.  Likely the same with Ward at 3B.  Likely the same with Adell out in RF.  Likely the same with Canning, Suarez and Sandoval in the rotation...

 

[Angel Oracle]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

Patience.  We also haven't really had anything resembling a farm system for a decade, and baseball is rapidly relying on a ground floor of youth for competitiveness and payroll flexibility. 

The Angels will spend soon, will have the money to do so, and the payroll flexibility, to go with a strong young core. We just need a few of these guys to stick. 

Would be nice to FINALLY have solid team health for a freaking change!

Meanwhile, enjoy your false hopes start, Dumbpoto, you dumbest guy in the room a-hole!   Tim Beckham is NOT that good!

[totdprods]

11 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Basically, heading into this upcoming Winter, the main theme will be "Free Agent vs. Prospect".  Or at least that's the way I'm seeing it.  Matt Thaiss or Jared Walsh will be the starting 1B in July or August, and so the front office must decide whether to stick with them at 1B or to go with someone in free agency.  Luis Rengifo will likely be at 2B by the end of the year, and again, the question will be if they replace him with a veteran or not.  Likely the same with Ward at 3B.  Likely the same with Adell out in RF.  Likely the same with Canning, Suarez and Sandoval in the rotation...

And that gets back to the very realistic possibility that we could run out this Opening Day roster in '20 if we wanted to. 

Line-up: 2B Fletcher, RF Adell, CF Trout, LF Upton, DH Ohtani/Pujols, SS Simmons, 1B Thaiss, 3B Ward, C Lucroy/Briceno/Kruger/FA
Bench: Kruger/Briceno C, Rojas/Walsh CIF, Rengifo/Cozart UT IF, Hermosillo/Lund OF - with Jones and Marsh at the ready.
Rotation: Skaggs, Ohtani, Heaney, Stratton, Barria, Canning - with Suarez and Sandoval at the ready
Pen: Buttrey, Anderson, Bedrosian, Middleton, Cole, Bard, Robles, J./N. Ramirez, Jewell, Pena

Not to mention whatever Buttreys or Sandovals or Jerezes we may see Eppler obtain with those 'wasted FAs' we signed this offseason in Cahill, Harvey, Lucroy, or Allen.

That team as is might be competitive on it's own!

That's a super cheap team, a really young team, with a ton of control, a ton of depth, a ton of options and permutations. All it needs is a little but of time to get everyone lined up and worked in, and we'll have a fantastic ground floor to work with 2020-2025, until the next wave arrives. Billy can wheel and deal or spend as needed. 

Patience! Trout's here now. We can pump the brakes on all the crying and let the process unfold.

Edited April 2, 2019 by totdprods

[totdprods]

2 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

I sure hope we get this team set up for the playoffs by the time Trout turns 30, because we know what generally happens to ballplayers after that. He'll have ten full seasons behind him at that point. I'm not saying he'll decline, but we really need to get moving on this championship quest sooner rather than later.

Please don't let this become the next narrative. We just got over the 'we have to win before Trout leaves' scenario. 
We're in a great spot and we all should be immensely relieved with Trout here for another 12 years. We're in great shape.

[GrittyVeterans]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Please don't let this become the next narrative. We just got over the 'we have to win before Trout leaves' scenario. 
We're in a great spot and we all should be immensely relieved with Trout here for another 12 years. We're in great shape.

I hate to be this guy but in what way are we in great shape? I think we’re fine..but great? That sounds like an awful lot of counting chickens before they hatch to me. Trout and Ohtani are the only sure things we have under 30 moving forward. Adell is the only guy in the minors that projects to be a star. The pitching prospects are pretty underwhelming.

im not trying to be a negative Nancy I just don’t really see the greatness about our situation. Please don’t confuse this with me saying that we’re hopeless 

[T.G.]

[totdprods]

33 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

I hate to be this guy but in what way are we in great shape? I think we’re fine..but great? That sounds like an awful lot of counting chickens before they hatch to me. Trout and Ohtani are the only sure things we have under 30 moving forward. Adell is the only guy in the minors that projects to be a star. The pitching prospects are pretty underwhelming.

im not trying to be a negative Nancy I just don’t really see the greatness about our situation. Please don’t confuse this with me saying that we’re hopeless 

If you can’t get excited about what Eppler has done to the farm in three years - and in his ability to secure Trout long-term and woo Ohtani - than I don’t know what would do the trick. 

The only reason we weren’t the 50th worst farm system in 2016 is because there were only 30 teams. We’re around top 10 now, have another draft in months, and a handful of vets to sell, a couple premier players to sell in Simmons, Skaggs, and Heaney if we really need to help the farm, and the ability to spend heavily via free agency or by trade in the near-future, as well as having perhaps the best baseball player of all time under contract for 12 more years.

Everything going on at the major league level the last couple of seasons has been a distraction, a placebo to keep casual fans interested, while the real action Eppler has been focused on has been beneath the surface, building the farm, infusing analytics, replacing the antiquated coaching staff, and establishing a foreign presence. That is abundantly obvious by now but also explicitly binary and tangible. 

Patience! We’re in better shape to compete the next decade, year in and year out, than all but maybe 5-7 clubs....Houston, NYY, Atlanta, Boston, the Dodgers, Padres...and then maybe one of Philly, CWS, Toronto, or St. Louis manage to have it all break right. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by totdprods

[Angel Oracle]

54 minutes ago, True Grich said:

If this offense keeps being offensive to me, I'm going to need a certain stage five clinger to commiserate with.

[Jay]

30 minutes ago, totdprods said:

If you can’t get excited about what Eppler has done to the farm in three years

then you must be dead...!

 

[floplag]

When your DH is Kevan Smith, your offense is offensive.  

[floplag]

35 minutes ago, totdprods said:

If you can’t get excited about what Eppler has done to the farm in three years - and in his ability to secure Trout long-term and woo Ohtani - than I don’t know what would do the trick. 

The only reason we weren’t the 50th worst farm system in 2016 is because there were only 30 teams. We’re around top 10 now, have another draft in months, and a handful of vets to sell, a couple premier players to sell in Simmons, Skaggs, and Heaney if we really need to help the farm, and the ability to spend heavily via free agency or by trade in the near-future, as well as having perhaps the best baseball player of all time under contract for 12 more years.

Everything going on at the major league level the last couple of seasons has been a distraction, a placebo to keep casual fans interested, while the real action Eppler has been focused on has been beneath the surface, building the farm, infusing analytics, replacing the antiquated coaching staff, and establishing a foreign presence. That is abundantly obvious by now but also explicitly binary and tangible. 

Patience! We’re in better shape to compete the next decade, year in and year out, than all but maybe 5-7 clubs....Houston, NYY, Atlanta, Boston, the Dodgers, Padres...and then maybe one of Philly, CWS, Toronto, or St. Louis manage to have it all break right. 

I think some of you are making assumptions not in evidence.  What Epp has done with the farm i dont think ive heard anyone post that hes done anything less but stellar in that regard.  
What many people, including myself, are not happy with is the fact that the big club has floundered.
Yes we will be better eventually, but after already having the drought we have had asking us to continue to simply be patient is salt in the would after the significant drought we have already had. 
Trust me, we get it, were improving on the farm, but until that translates into major league success its a difficult leap of faith.   We are legitimately getting worse, not better, in Anaheim, and thats frustrating when all we hear is limited budget and patience.   

[totdprods]

58 minutes ago, floplag said:

What many people, including myself, are not happy with is the fact that the big club has floundered been injured. 

Fixed. 

So what was he supposed to do? Trade the future away to make the big league club work? They spent every last dollar they could every year, so it’s not like a lack of spending is an excuse.

Eppler’s big league club has been an intentional placebo to date. It’s been a distraction for casual fans. A deliberate ploy. They’d bring in some names, spent some dough without tying up payroll long term, and hoped they’d get lucky enough to compete, catch a WC, and get hot in October, all while fronting a team that had recognizable names and a hint of potential in hopes. In doing so, it kept people tuned in and kept 3m+ attending, rather than fireselling and tanking for three years - and although that may have helped build the farm, it also might have rubbed Trout the wrong way.

They kept all their prospects, brought in an analytics department, gradually replaced the old guard coaching and development system, and brought life back to the international department. When you accept that making the big league club a winner wasn’t the main goal, it becomes pretty evident to see what’s been happening for the org positively.

[tdawg87]

2 hours ago, cvdog said:

Cozart   Bour.  Bourjos

2/41.......048

Embarrassing 

 

That's like a Napoli slump.

[Tank]

they just need to try harder.

[wopphil]

I agree with the OP.

[Glen]

When a pitcher goes down we always seem to have at least a replacement-level player to take his spot. When we lose a position player we have Peter fucking Bourjos, who literally cannot hit. It's ridiculous.

[ScottT]

The Yankees replaced Miguel Andujar with Tyler Wade. 

The Yankees replaced Giancarlo Stanton with Mike Tauchman.

[Glen]

27 minutes ago, ScottT said:

The Yankees replaced Miguel Andujar with Tyler Wade. 

The Yankees replaced Giancarlo Stanton with Mike Tauchman.

Both of whom are much better than Bourjos.

[Lou]

8 hours ago, floplag said:

When your DH is Kevan Smith, your offense is offensive.  

as a professional baseball player, he's a good college QB 

[ScottT]

6 minutes ago, Glen said:

Both of whom are much better than Bourjos.

Lol

Try again

[Docwaukee]

5 minutes ago, ScottT said:

Lol

Try again

ok.  they're just as bad?  

[Lou]

14 minutes ago, Glen said:

Both of whom are much better than Bourjos.

they had as many hits today as Petey, Bour and Cozart have had all season. 

[floplag]

15 hours ago, totdprods said:

Fixed. 

So what was he supposed to do? Trade the future away to make the big league club work? They spent every last dollar they could every year, so it’s not like a lack of spending is an excuse.

Eppler’s big league club has been an intentional placebo to date. It’s been a distraction for casual fans. A deliberate ploy. They’d bring in some names, spent some dough without tying up payroll long term, and hoped they’d get lucky enough to compete, catch a WC, and get hot in October, all while fronting a team that had recognizable names and a hint of potential in hopes. In doing so, it kept people tuned in and kept 3m+ attending, rather than fireselling and tanking for three years - and although that may have helped build the farm, it also might have rubbed Trout the wrong way.

They kept all their prospects, brought in an analytics department, gradually replaced the old guard coaching and development system, and brought life back to the international department. When you accept that making the big league club a winner wasn’t the main goal, it becomes pretty evident to see what’s been happening for the org positively.

Im not talking about this week, im talking about the last couple years and basically since Epp took over.  He came in with a very clear plan, to build up the farm above all else which is fine and necessary for a consistent winning franchise, im not now nor have i ever condemned that idea.   

However, as you say, the big club has been a placebo, This is find disappointing.  I for one am not particularly pleased with that even though i see the long term vision, one doesnt exclude the other.