Wake up, Eppler

[WeaverFever]

2 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

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.  

How many of us expected us to make the playoffs last season? We were considered by many as the “winners of the offseason” 

That wasn’t the case. But you know who were the Oakland Athletics. 

 

Time will tell guys. It’s baseball. It’s unpreditible. 

[jsnpritchett]

10 minutes ago, WeaverFever said:

Time will tell guys. It’s baseball. It’s unpreditible. 

Much like your spelling ability?

[T.G.]

Sometimes Angel fans in the off season are like five year olds in a long car drive who ask "are we there yet?" every five minutes.

There really is no pleasing this group.  You would think this group would be happy to see the team go in a different direction - different from the "big spalsh - no results" way of doing business. 

Spring training is still 2 months away and you'd think, opening day was next weekend based on this crowd. Some of you need to find new hobbies to take you through the winter - so that you can focus on something other than baseball.

This is a do or die year for Eppler since he's in the last year of his contract.  Just because he hasn't provided the intimate details of his plan for all our benefit - it doesn't mean he doesn't have one.  We know he wants to improve the team OBP, add pitching and a catcher.  That's all we know for sure.  Don't judge him until the off season is over and the opening day roster is set... 

[mtangelsfan]

17 minutes ago, WeaverFever said:

How many of us expected us to make the playoffs last season? We were considered by many as the “winners of the offseason” 

That wasn’t the case. But you know who were the Oakland Athletics. 

 

Time will tell guys. It’s baseball. It’s unpreditible. 

[GrittyVeterans]

3 minutes ago, True Grich said:

Sometimes Angel fans in the off season are like five year olds in a long car drive who ask "are we there yet?" every five minutes.

There really is no pleasing this group.  You would think this group would be happy to see the team go in a different direction - different from the "big spalsh - no results" way of doing business. 

Spring training is still 2 months away and you'd think, opening day was next weekend based on this crowd. Some of you need to find new hobbies to take you through the winter - so that you can focus on something other than baseball.

This is a do or die year for Eppler since he's in the last year of his contract.  Just because he hasn't provided the intimate details of his plan for all our benefit - it doesn't mean he doesn't have one.  We know he wants to improve the team OBP, add pitching and a catcher.  That's all we know for sure.  Don't judge him until the off season is over and the opening day roster is set... 

I disagree this is a do or die year for Eppler. I think he will be retained pretty much no matter what happens. I think Arte trusts him and the process he’s taking. I have nothing to back this up but I really doubt Arte is going to bring in another GM anytime soon. We’ve had enough change at that position

[WeatherWonk]

1 hour 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.

All I REALLY care about are teams that finished above the Angels in the playoff picture. Except, of course, when a player comes off the board that could have done us some good.

Boston has signed legit players. Cleveland has pulled off a big trade. The Rays have improved. The Yankees have stayed the same or improved. the Astros got their catcher and still have a club that is ten games better than us (at least). Not that any of those teams could have done nothing and still be better than us.

OAK has done nothing, like us, in terms of pitching. Seattle has fallen back. I guess those are the highlights of OUR off season, so far.

[WeatherWonk]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

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

 

2 hours 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.  

OH, so NOW ERA is important for a reliever????

Next excuse for the Angels doing nothing, please.............................

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

 

OH, so NOW ERA is important for a reliever????

Next excuse for the Angels doing nothing, please.............................

Please show me a single time that i have said it isn’t important.  I’ll wait.   

[Mark68]

47 minutes ago, mtangelsfan said:

But do you want everyone to get your fathe tattoo?

[Chuck]

Breaking News: Eppler woke up. 

Also, I cannot get enough Mike Tyson MEME's. 

[Docwaukee]

19 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

 

OH, so NOW ERA is important for a reliever????

Next excuse for the Angels doing nothing, please.............................

ok.  xFIP is 3.87 over the last 3 years which is 86th out of 189 qualified relievers.  

Honestly though, if he were still around I'd have been up for considering him and actually converting him back to a starter.  

[Homebrewer]

9 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Breaking News: Eppler woke up. 

Also, I cannot get enough Mike Tyson MEME's. 

Huh? What? Where?

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Homebrewer said:

So will Browns fans

Still amazed by their improvement from 1-31 in 2016/2017 to 6-7-1 so far in 2018, in spite of a head coaching change in season. 

[ettin]

32 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

All I REALLY care about are teams that finished above the Angels in the playoff picture. Except, of course, when a player comes off the board that could have done us some good.

Boston has signed legit players. Cleveland has pulled off a big trade. The Rays have improved. The Yankees have stayed the same or improved. the Astros got their catcher and still have a club that is ten games better than us (at least). Not that any of those teams could have done nothing and still be better than us.

OAK has done nothing, like us, in terms of pitching. Seattle has fallen back. I guess those are the highlights of OUR off season, so far.

So this is really about tactics and strategy.

Within our Division we have a fighting chance as there are only two real opponents in the Astros and A's. That means we should be considering how well we can do by adding players with Mike Trout on our team. What the Yankees, Indians, Red Sox, etc. are doing is largely irrelevant to our ability to win our Division. We can worry about playoffs at the Trade Deadline and improve there if needed.

This is a Division and Wild Card question more so than a League-wide one for Eppler. Yes the Wild Card will be impacted by other teams but you have to consider the Divisions those other teams play in and whether or not they have any real competition that would impact the Wild Card spot. The only Division that might do that is the A.L. East and West, probably.

[Homebrewer]

1 minute ago, Angel Oracle said:

Still amazed by their improvement from 1-31 in 2016/2017 to 6-7-1 so far in 2018, in spite of a head coaching change in season. 

I've been watching their games all season. They're fun to watch and could easily have won a couple more games. They're still a possibility to sneak into the payoffs (I think.)

[Angel Oracle]

1 minute ago, Homebrewer said:

I've been watching their games all season. They're fun to watch and could easily have won a couple more games. They're still a possibility to sneak into the payoffs (I think.)

They get the free falling Bungles at home, and then a tough Ravens defense on the road.

[Homebrewer]

3 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

They get the free falling Bungles at home, and then a tough Ravens defense on the road.

Mayfield is the real deal...if he doesn't break a leg or something they should be able to win out.

[Torridd]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

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.  

What are you saying, Doc? How long are you willing to wait? What do you think management should do?

[WeatherWonk]

25 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

ok.  xFIP is 3.87 over the last 3 years which is 86th out of 189 qualified relievers.  

Honestly though, if he were still around I'd have been up for considering him and actually converting him back to a starter.  

I hadnt thought of that. That's not a bad idea. 

[Dick Enberg]

What does Eppler have to offer? Big bat guy RBI guy? "you can bat 5th, behind Albert". Winning environment? Not lately! and Trout is only signed up for 324 more games as an Angel. 

think Trout will sign an extension this off season? I don't.

[Inside Pitch]

56 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Please show me a single time that i have said it isn’t important.  I’ll wait.   

I'll say it -- ERA is pretty much meaningless for any sort of projection.  It's a measure of what happened that doesn't tell you anything about WHY it happened and does even less to tell you what could happen in the future.   When talking about RPs it's even less important. 

Joe Kelly is being overrated, not because of his ERA but because he had a great postseason and his stuff has always suggested he was better than his output.   I"ve always liked him ( I always liked Jeppy too).   I wouldn't have minded to see them chase him but Joe Kelly is basically the same exact pitcher that Kevin Jepsen was...  If you doubt that compare his numbers since 2014 til present day to those of Kevin Jepsen as an Angel.

Nobody shed any tears when Jeppy went bye bye -- pretending not getting Kelly was a massive blunder is comical.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[WeatherWonk]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

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.  

I think this is a great synopsis of where were are at.

But I just dont see how we could have ruined the next five years by signing guying like Ramos or Happ or Cutch or Familia, who only got 2-3 year contracts. This franchise can afford that. And no loss of a pick or intl pool money for any of them.

OAK still has work to do, with their pitching. Who knows if all the Rays who had career years will regress? I think the bar for the second WC spot is not that high, but out of our reach, with our current configuration.

 

[Tank]

reading through this threads reminds me why "big splash" and "TRAAAAADES!" were such successful threads in this forum for a few years.

seems there are an awful lot of people clamoring for action - any action - like a freshman on his first dance of the year after loading up on his dad's aqua velva and a bow tie and wondering how soon the magic is supposed to happen.

[Docwaukee]

17 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

I think this is a great synopsis of where were are at.

But I just dont see how we could have ruined the next five years by signing guying like Ramos or Happ or Cutch or Familia, who only got 2-3 year contracts. This franchise can afford that. And no loss of a pick or intl pool money for any of them.

OAK still has work to do, with their pitching. Who knows if all the Rays who had career years will regress? I think the bar for the second WC spot is not that high, but out of our reach, with our current configuration.

 

I don't think we would have.  They just didn't want to sign with us.  And to convince them, then you start having to push years and money to the extent where it could have a negative impact on the next 5 years.  

I agree that with what's left we could still get to a spot where that 2nd WC spot is attainable.  What I don't want to see is giving 4 year contracts to guys like Keuchel and Grandal in order to make that so.  

[Mark68]

1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

Still amazed by their improvement from 1-31 in 2016/2017 to 6-7-1 so far in 2018, in spite of a head coaching change in season. 

They've played some patsies.

 

Like the Broncos.

 

Signed, 

Angry Bronco Fan