Wake up, Eppler

[TroutField]

3 minutes ago, Blarg said:

When you look at the quality and depth of the free agent market it is not surprising Eppler has a case of the slows.

There is only two free agent catchers left on the market in Grandall and Ramos. After Kuechel the pitchers fall off the over 30 cliff aweful fast. 

 

Ramos is gone, bro. 

[AngelsFaninGA]

2 minutes ago, Stradling said:

And if we didn’t have Trout, Simmons and Ohtani you’d be right.  But those three, really good players will still be in their prime or entering their prime in Ohtani’s case when those players arrive.  

They'd be the equivalent of prime Perry/Getzlaf, and the Ducks did have a pretty successful run with them. Hopefully we'll be able to say the same with the Angels. But in hockey you can get away with a handful of stars carrying the team, in baseball less so. 

[Angel Oracle]

I’m not pissed at Eppler.

I’m pissed though at Harper and Machado holding up any Trout extension by not signing anywhere yet.   Both are douches, with very questionable contract demands for their up and down natures.  Trout, they ain’t!

[WeatherWonk]

33 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Which closer type has signed so far?  

Familia. Joe Kelly. MLBTR predicted we would get him.

There are still a few left. Robertson, Herrera, Britton. Kimbrel doesnt fit the description of a short term contract you can overpay a few mil per year. He apparently want 4+ years. TOO long a contract.

Time is running out. This is not turning out like last year's FA signing period. Lots of clubs have money to spend. Including the Angels, supposedly.

[Stradling]

6 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Familia. Joe Kelly. MLBTR predicted we would get him.

There are still a few left. Robertson, Herrera, Britton. Kimbrel doesnt fit the description of a short term contract you can overpay a few mil per year. He apparently want 4+ years. TOO long a contract.

Time is running out. This is not turning out like last year's FA signing period. Lots of clubs have money to spend. Including the Angels, supposedly.

Ok so one, Familia.  Joe Kelly has basically been Cam in his bullpen career.  Also like I said in a previous post the dude we got for Alvarez is projected to have about the same numbers as Kelly.  

[WeatherWonk]

39 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Ok so one, Familia.  Joe Kelly has basically been Cam in his bullpen career.  Also like I said in a previous post the dude we got for Alvarez is projected to have about the same numbers as Kelly.  

I would say that's two. Kelly has closer stuff to me.

I guess you would not consider Robertson a closer-type, either, since he has done nothing but set up work? I consider him a closer-type, too. Especially given the staff we currently have.

But, really, of all the areas we still need to improve, the bullpen is probably my lowest priority. We have a greater CHANCE of success there, as opposed to RF, 3b, 1b, C, starter.

People are also forgetting that Ohtani has really not hit lefties at any point in his career. And that he is our FT DH once he gets back. But he will not have the luxury of getting lots of ABs in ST against lefties. If his learning curve suffers in the regular season, we suffer in the standings. The alternative is more Albert at DH. Fuggly options. Maybe Bour rides to the rescue. Maybe not.

So, I guess your PROJECTION for Garcia is based on one of his good years, eh? He has been so inconsistent throughout his whole career. Difficult to have much faith in a PROJECTION of his performance. 

Is it really asking too much of an owner sitting 70 mllion below the cap to sign someone that is not wishful thinking. Someone that is a PROBABLE, instead of a hopeful PROJECTION?

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

I would say that's two. Kelly has closer stuff to me.

I guess you would not consider Robertson a closer-type, either, since he has done nothing but set up work? I consider him a closer-type, too. Especially given the staff we currently have.

But, really, of all the areas we still need to improve, the bullpen is probably my lowest priority. We have a greater CHANCE of success there, as opposed to RF, 3b, 1b, C, starter.

People are also forgetting that Ohtani has really not hit lefties at any point in his career. And that he is our FT DH once he gets back. But he will not have the luxury of getting lots of ABs in ST against lefties. If his learning curve suffers in the regular season, we suffer in the standings. The alternative is more Albert at DH. Fuggly options. Maybe Bour rides to the rescue. Maybe not.

So, I guess your PROJECTION for Garcia is based on one of his good years, eh? He has been so inconsistent throughout his whole career. Difficult to have much faith in a PROJECTION of his performance. 

Is it really asking too much of an owner sitting 70 mllion below the cap to sign someone that is not wishful thinking. Someone that is a PROBABLE, instead of a hopeful PROJECTION?

Yes, I consider Robertson a closer type.  He has closed a ton in the past.  But Kelly may have closer stuff, but he also has a 4 ERA and a high WHIP.  

[Docwaukee]

4 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

I would say that's two. Kelly has closer stuff to me.

I guess you would not consider Robertson a closer-type, either, since he has done nothing but set up work? I consider him a closer-type, too. Especially give the staff we currently have.

But, really, of all the areas we still need to improve, the bullpen is probably my lowest priority. We have a greater CHANCE of success there, as opposed to RF, 3b, 1b, C, starter.

People are also forgetting that Ohtani has really not hit lefties at any point in his career. And that he is our FT DH once he gets back. But he will not have the luxury of getting lots of ABs in ST against lefties. If his learning curve suffers in the regular season, we suffer in the standings. The alternative is more Albert at DH. Fuggly options. Maybe Bour rides to the rescue. Maybe not.

So, I guess your PROJECTION for Garcia is based on one of his good years, eh? He has been so inconsistent throughout his whole career. Difficult to have much faith in a PROJECTION of his performance. 

Is it really asking too much of an owner sitting 70 mllion below the cap to sign someone that is not wishful thinking. Someone that is a PROBABLE, instead of a hopeful PROJECTION?

how is Kelly not projection?  He's 31 and in 3 years as a reliever, he's got an ERA of 4.00.  

[Taylor]

At this point in the off-season, how many teams have made big moves? Two? Three?

I wonder if 27 teams are currently shouting at their GMs to wake up.

[mtangelsfan]

11 minutes ago, Taylor said:

At this point in the off-season, how many teams have made big moves? Two? Three?

I wonder if 27 teams are currently shouting at their GMs to wake up.

Of course the fans are.  We be crazy.

[Stradling]

9 minutes ago, Taylor said:

At this point in the off-season, how many teams have made big moves? Two? Three?

I wonder if 27 teams are currently shouting at their GMs to wake up.

What I am about to say is not comparing the Angels to the Astros, so I hope it doesn’t turn into that by the usuals on here.

Imagine being an Astros fan right now.  That is a team that is really good, that could have been in the World Series last year.  They have lost 3 starting pitchers and possibly Marwin Gonzales.  With all of the pitchers on the market they haven’t signed any.  They also have a farm that could acquire most of the arms on the trade market.  Lastly they have a payroll that could easily increase.  As of right now their payroll is $125 million for next year.  Boston brought back their pitching.  Yankees are looking to upgrade.  It seems as though Cleveland is upgrading after their 3 team trade.  Just curious what Houston is waiting for.  

[Torridd]

11 hours ago, Dochalo said:

the last thing I'd want them to do is spend money just because they have it.  Stash it away and use it later when it makes more sense.  

 

 

11 hours ago, Dochalo said:

I guess that's where our opinions differ.  I just don't see us being that close.  If we're talking about risk, I see a shit ton investing in the current team.  Granted, I don't want to see them sit on their hands.  I'm all for some solid upgrades that at least give the team a shot.  But beyond that, I hope they don't make any drastic moves like Machado, Harper, Keuchel or big time trades.  

The best teams are the ones that wait out the farm system.  Sometimes it doesn't work out and there's always that risk.  But it's the one way we know works.  We've got the resources to supplement that if need be.  That's what I'd save my big bullets for.  

My patience is running out. It's been several years since we've made the playoffs and it's not a given if we wait longer that things will pan out. If we don't want to get a Machado or Harper then they need a really good plan to get the team playoff-competitive soon. I just can't figure what that plan entails. 

[Torridd]

4 hours ago, GrittyVeterans said:

I just don’t get the Maldonado thing around here. The Angels need to do better than that if we want to contend and there were/are opportunities to. 

I know, I know, he’s a good defender but he hovered around replacement level last year and is probably going to want 6-8 million per year. It’ll be really disappointing to pay him that

And Maldonado, although I like him, doesn't solve the offensive problem on the team.

[floplag]

11 minutes ago, Stradling said:

What I am about to say is not comparing the Angels to the Astros, so I hope it doesn’t turn into that by the usuals on here.

Imagine being an Astros fan right now.  That is a team that is really good, that could have been in the World Series last year.  They have lost 3 starting pitchers and possibly Marwin Gonzales.  With all of the pitchers on the market they haven’t signed any.  They also have a farm that could acquire most of the arms on the trade market.  Lastly they have a payroll that could easily increase.  As of right now their payroll is $125 million for next year.  Boston brought back their pitching.  Yankees are looking to upgrade.  It seems as though Cleveland is upgrading after their 3 team trade.  Just curious what Houston is waiting for.  

Actually a very good question.  
Perhaps they are concerned about extending payroll with upcoming issues in that regard, we all know they have a core thats going to get paid, big, and sooner rather than later.  This could limit them financially if they are assuming costs for that factored in.   Right now they have some of the best bargains on the planet contract wise (Altuve for example).  Their only guaranteed deal right now over 13M is Verlander per sportrac.  
If they think they could win the west without doing much and dont want to get into a money war with Bos/NY... maybe they are content to ride it out.  Who is pressing them right now?  Sea is tearing down Oak is always the same and with one of the luckiest years in recent memory wasnt good enough to catch them.. unless we do something drastic they really have no threat even if they did nothing.

But i think all that is also tempered by the fact that they won a WS and the division in the last couple years so theres certainly no way to look at them as failing. 

[VariousCrap]

21 minutes ago, Stradling said:

What I am about to say is not comparing the Angels to the Astros, so I hope it doesn’t turn into that by the usuals on here.

Imagine being an Astros fan right now.  That is a team that is really good, that could have been in the World Series last year.  They have lost 3 starting pitchers and possibly Marwin Gonzales.  With all of the pitchers on the market they haven’t signed any.  They also have a farm that could acquire most of the arms on the trade market.  Lastly they have a payroll that could easily increase.  As of right now their payroll is $125 million for next year.  Boston brought back their pitching.  Yankees are looking to upgrade.  It seems as though Cleveland is upgrading after their 3 team trade.  Just curious what Houston is waiting for.  

Do the Astros have SP in their farm system that could be ready to come up?

[VariousCrap]

1 minute ago, Torridd said:

And Maldonado, although I like him, doesn't solve the offensive problem on the team.

You only sign Maldonado if you are going to spend big somewhere else.

[floplag]

1 minute ago, Torridd said:

And Maldonado, although I like him, doesn't solve the offensive problem on the team.

Maldonado or really any defensive minded C would be just fine IF we went big elsewhere to minimize the need for offense at C.  But we would need to go seriously ham to make that happen.

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, VariousCrap said:

Do the Astros have SP in their farm system that could be ready to come up?

Josh James will be in their rotation and Forrest Whitley (I think that is his name) is one of the top prospects, and probably the top pitching prospect in baseball.  Not sure if he is ready, not because I doubt him, it is because I don’t know much about him other than he is a top pitching prospect.  

[Mark68]

Eppler is choosing to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 at the 6, with 4:39 left in the game while down by 4. 

 

That was a very specific football analogy. Broncos fans will get it. 

[VariousCrap]

We now know Eppler has made offers to (I believe) three different SP and they have signed elsewhere.  It is clear he wants starting pitching.  I think he needs to go all in on Kikuchi.

[Angel Oracle]

48 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Yes, I consider Robertson a closer type.  He has closed a ton in the past.  But Kelly may have closer stuff, but he also has a 4 ERA and a high WHIP.  

I see Robertson as a solid mentor for a younger pen, since he's done it all (middle innings, set up, closing) and is still a rock solid reliever. 

Offer him 2 years/$16 million with a team option 3rd season?

[HaloNArizona]

13 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Your football analogies suck and you've been asleep at the wheel here dude. 

Ok.... I had to channel my inner @Angel Oracle. 

That said, I started a thread 3-4 weeks ago asking if anyone knew what Eppler's plan was. Obviously nobody could answer, nobody really knows, but at this point it seems like his plan A, B, C, D, EN, F , G and maybe facking Z have been exercised. So what gives? 

The chances of signing the Japanese lefty are probably slim, CAKE-el is an over pay and Grandal's defense blows and he disappears in crucial games. Harvey is a roll of the dice, high risk/reward guy.

Honest question? Does Trout look at this weak offseason and think to himself, another shitty losing season, I cannot wait to bounce? Will Eppler redeem himself in trades and FA signings?

Just blowing off steam, don't judge me.

[Homebrewer]

14 minutes ago, Mark68 said:

Eppler is choosing to kick a field goal on 4th and 1 at the 6, with 4:39 left in the game while down by 4. 

 

That was a very specific football analogy. Broncos fans will get it. 

So will Browns fans

[WeaverFever]

2 hours ago, TroutField said:

Haven’t the ducks been pretty successful ? 

Somewhat yes. The Ducks do a really good job of drafting. They have great goaltending (Maybe the best in the league) and a solid young d core. (Could the Angels are following a more hockey model than Billy’s love of football one built on defence?) Both are similar in terms of prospects (Steel, Terry etc) vs the Angels (Adell, Canning etc.) 

 

The only difference is in hockey prospects and development are more of a sure thing. There is a salary cap. So it easier for “smaller markets” to compete. 

 

But I wouldn’t mind the Ducks and Angels being similar in that they are a near shoe-in to make the playoffs every year that is for sure. 

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, Torridd said:

My patience is running out. It's been several years since we've made the playoffs and it's not a given if we wait longer that things will pan out. If we don't want to get a Machado or Harper then they need a really good plan to get the team playoff-competitive soon. I just can't figure what that plan entails. 

it's not a given things will pan out if we wait.  it's far from a given if we throw a bunch of resources at the current team.  

playoff droughts and impatience and Trout uncertainty has caused a lot of people to convince themselves that we just need a couple of moves to make us legit playoff contenders.  

We want to make the playoffs so lets just do this and this and everything will work out fine.  

The reality is that we're coming off an 80 win season with our best pitcher needing TJ surg and out for the year.  Our second best pitcher is gone and wouldn't be available for 2019 even if we had kept him. 

We have question marks in RF, 3b, 1b, 2b, and C.  Not just, concerns about some guy producing 2 WAR instead of 3 WAR, but concerns that all five of those positions could be replacement level.  That's 5 of the 9 positions. 

And on top of that, our primary DH won't be ready to start the season. 

Our three main returning starters threw 435 ip combined with an era around 4.00.   The next guy is entering his age 29 season after we picked him up off the scrap heap and gave him 17 starts.  

Our pen is filled with young, unproven talent.  Some of which seems pretty good but 3 of our top 5 pen innings guys have been replaced.  The other two were pretty terrible last year.  

I try to be realistic and even somewhat optimistic, but the above is our true reality.  

So put yourself in a position where if thing go right, you've got an outside shot.  

Don't put yourself in a position where if things go wrong you are screwed for the next 5 years.