Gary Gaetti (plus Von Hayes, and Spike Owen)

[ten ocho recon scout]

A few days ago, I saw that Simba was batting cleanup. I shook my head. (And I LOVE Simmons).

I for whatever reason thought back to a thousand years ago, when I was a kid. My buddy and I were walking to wherever we were, taking back streets because it was ghetto and we got robbed a lot.

I asked him what he was doing that weekend. He said he was going to the angel game. I was like "man, why the F would you do that? Youll see 2 home runs, but theyll lose 6-2"

He said "when gary gaetti is leading your team in home runs, you suck"

It hit me this week... were back in the von hayes days.

My point?

Theres been a ton of threads recently talking about how the next generation is a crap shoot. "What if they suck?"

Well, i was too young back then ( lying about banging chicks at magic mountain than actually doing it), but i bet in those luis polonia days, id have laughed that the angels could produce someone.

If you mentioned names like tim salmon, garret Anderson and jim edmonds were going to change the org, id have asked to borrow money from you.

I think thats where were at now.

@Inside Pitch, the co guru with Doc (and ettin and some others) made a great point the other day. He pointed out we dont need the next crop to be stars... just average. Anything above that (like good) is a bonus.

So what do we have? Adell should at worst be a salmon. Salmon was great....to us. League wide he was just GOOD. Adell should at least be that. Hopefully Thaiss, Renigfo and Marsh can be the same. 

Maybe they wont be as good as jim edmonds. Fine.

But theyll come up and play with trout. And ohtani. And upton.... not gaetti, and spike owen, and dick schofield (who was a dick, pun intended, when i met him as a kid).

So everyone relax. This year will have some looooooong funks. But the future looks bright. All we need is canning ans suarez to be washburns, not nolan ryans, and things will work out...

[Angelsjunky]

Nice (alcohol fueled?) riff, Scout. Let me add my own musings to the mix.

I well-remember the "Von Hayes Era" - it was truly depresssing, the worst micro-era in my fandom (starting early 80s). And yes, the homegrown team that gelled in 1995 was truly exciting and probably my favorite year in the first half of my fandom (80s-90s)...until mid-August, at least.

The Angels had actually had a previous wave of young talent--with homegrown prospects like Wally Joyner, Devon White, Jack Howell, Damion Easley, Dante Bichette, Dick Schofield, Chuck Finley, Jim Abbott, Bryan Harvey etc--but that group never really blossomed, which ushered in the Von Hayes Era of the early 90s when the Angels roster looked like a rotating Who's Who of former stars. For those who are too young to remember, go back and scour through the rosters of the early 90s...it is astonishing how many of the stars of the 80s you'll find.

But the group that started showing up when Tim Salmon got his cuppa in late '93 was different. It came together in 1995, when the Angels were 64-38 on August 15, led by the great young outfield of Anderson-Edmonds-Salmon, augmented by vets like Chili Davis and Tony Phillips, and a rookie Troy Percival. They then went on an 8-27 run, including two mega-losing streaks of 10 and 9 games. And of course that horrible, horrible one-game playoff against the Mariners (May Luis Sojo rot in hell).

That team never really recovered and the Shitty 90s resumed. A smaller promising group emerged, most especially Troy Glaus and Darin Erstad, both of whom were instrumental in the Year of Magic, 2002. But it wasn't until the mid-00s that we saw a truly great group of Angels prospects. For a few years there the farm was seen as the best, or one of the best in the biz. Ironically there were a lot of disappointments, most especially Casey Kotchman, Brandon Wood, Dallas McPherson, and Jeff Mathis.

We're hopefully at the end of another fallow era, although one highlighted by the presence of the Great One. The farm system looks, in my view, the best it has in about 15 years. 2019 will tell us whether it is merely a good crop of youngsters, or a potentially great one. The thing I like most about Eppler is that he rarely sacrifices the future for the present, with the intention of the farm churning out a continual stream of promising prospects to feed a perennial contender. Good times ahead, amigos.

[ten ocho recon scout]

First of all, AJ, yes.

As in yes, alcohol fueled.(as we speak im making a mega omelette out of string cheese and sandwich ham. Because when youre drinking, and out of bread, but have eggs, you make eg, er, omelettes).

But yeah, whereas those 90s teams may have overextended, then fell short, break them down as individuals. As separate players they were good. The team sucked in the second half of the decade  because disney wanted yacht fuel.

But that core was really good. Jt snow had a long career... we hope thaiss will, too. Id take easley at 2B right now over (who the hell plays 2B again?) Etc etc. Neither snow or easley were stars. But players like that would be a huge step up for us.

I think theres a mix of dudes in the minors right now who can give us a very, very solid core.

Think KC a few years ago. Im not saying we will be lucky enough to get that team, but just pointing out they had no real superstars. Just home grown guys who were solid. Which just being solid (like IP pointed out) will round out the trout/ohtani show.

It was like 6 years or so (?) Between tony phillips getting hooked for rock,  and a the 02 ring. Josh hamilton was 4 years ago...the stars are aligning...

This omelette is better than it sounded! (Im just saying that to save face. I finished it and now im making a cup noodles to get rid of the taste)

[Tank]

Hubie Brooks is offended that you both left him off your lists of former stars who came here and turned to crap.

[Lou]

I banged a chick at Magic Mountain. 

I like omelettes.

[Erstad Grit]

Watching Phil Nevin go crazy in San Diego sucked. I think I saw Ken Hill pitch 10 games one season.  I liked Mike Holtz slow curve ball.  If disarcina stayed healthy Mariners wouldn't have caught us.  Aaaaaah the 90s.

[Dtwncbad]

1 hour ago, Erstad Grit said:

Watching Phil Nevin go crazy in San Diego sucked. I think I saw Ken Hill pitch 10 games one season.  I liked Mike Holtz slow curve ball.  If disarcina stayed healthy Mariners wouldn't have caught us.  Aaaaaah the 90s.

Phil Nevin went crazy in San Diego because he roided.  Not losing sleep over that.

[T.G.]

This team has a strange feel to it.  Maybe its because Scioscia and his staff are gone?  I look around and I don't recognize many of the guys.  I'm not used to that.  Even the coaches... I can't even tell you who coaches first and third base.  When they flash players faces on the scoreboard, I often find myself wondering who in the heck they are.  Lots of journeymen type players - who came from other organizations... It's just different.  This doesn't feel like "our" team... or "my" team just yet.  Maybe that will change when Ohtani and Upton come back.  It's hard to explain.  It reminds me of the old days when players seem to shuffle in and out of the organization all the time or what seemed like all the time.

[Second Base]

Luis Polonia was a dick-bag, I remember that.  He'd throw the ball up in the stands just to watch a bunch of us kids go chasing after it.  We'd get the ball and he'd want it back.  Just let the kids keep the ball.  But Rod Carew and Tim Salmon ignored the autograph seeking adults and spent literally their whole time with the kids, and most of them (us) weren't even trying to get an autograph.  They just wanted to talk and joke around with the young ones.  Wally Joyner legitimately made conversation with fans which was a rarity.  Actually asking questions and listening.  This is something you see a lot of prospects doing these days.  I stopped going to ST 3-4 years ago, but in the seasons before that, I'd be a regular on the back fields for a week or two and the prospects would typically walk up and make conversation while operating the radar gun or keeping score. 

As for those teams....you're absolutely right.  Particularly during batting practice, the best power hitter for the Angels was probably Dave Winfield and even then, his HR's weren't the majestic sort as much as they were line drives.  Similar to what you see now in guys like Yandy Diaz.  But Wally, he'd place the ball in the gaps, that was his game.  Gaetti was a hack, at least that's what I thought anyway. 

But once Salmon, and eventually Anderson, Edmonds, and Erstad came up, they were just so much better than anything from the early part of the 90's.  They were a breath of fresh air for the team and inevitably made up the core that would eventually be the most successful run in Angels history, particularly when augmented with guys like Eckstein, Kennedy, Kendrick, Figgins...  But that's what you're seeing again here.  Trout, Ohtani, Simmons, Adell, Marsh, Jones, Thaiss, Rengifo, Fletcher in the short run.  Long run, Adams, Maitan, Jackson....  They'll be a heck of a group in 2020-2030. 

[Lou]

2 hours ago, Second Base said:

Luis Polonia was a dick-bag, I remember that.  He'd throw the ball up in the stands just to watch a bunch of us kids go chasing after it.

that's pretty funny 

[Tank]

2 hours ago, Second Base said:

Wally Joyner legitimately made conversation with fans which was a rarity.  Actually asking questions and listening.  This is something you see a lot of prospects doing these days. 

I was a volunteer for the 2010 all star game. The Sunday before the game I was working at the MLB hotel, escorting all stars and HOF players to the transportation vehicles that took them over to the fanfest so they could sign autographs. I was getting a bottle of water in the players lounge area and kind of joined a conversation between a few old timers. One of the players there was a bald guy who asked me a question and called me by name. I didn't recognize him at first because of the bald thing (no frankenstein scar like la stella). Turned out to be Wally Joyner. Just as pleasant as could be. We chatted for a little bit, far shorter than I would have liked, but I really wasn't supposed to hang out in the lounge. I think I enjoyed those few stolen moments of my all star experience almost more than any other part of it. Wally was a good guy who deserved better from the Halos.

#jackiesucked

[DCAngelsFan]

9 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

as we speak im making a mega omelette out of string cheese and sandwich ham.

....

This omelette is better than it sounded! (Im just saying that to save face. I finished it and now im making a cup noodles to get rid of the taste)

 

5

That's why they invented El Yucateca habanero sauce - a little bit will put a nice zing on your dish - for a string cheese omelet, I'd just drink it right out of the bottle until your taste buds have been vaporized. 

Then throw the omelet away, and see if you have any dog biscuits in the cupboard.  

Should probably throw the string cheese away, to preclude the possibility of ever eating it again.  

 

[T.G.]

There was a long, long stretch of time when all the best players on the Angels seemed to have come from other teams...  That all changed with Salmon, Garrett, Erstad, Bengie, etc.  We need to see THAT again.

[Angelsjunky]

6 hours ago, Tank said:

Hubie Brooks is offended that you both left him off your lists of former stars who came here and turned to crap.

There's a lot more that we didn't mention. In 1990-92 alone, you had:

Claudell Washington, Lance Parrish, Dave Winfield, Gary Gaetti, Dave Parker, Hubie Brooks, Von Hayes, Alvin Davis, Kelly Gruber.

And in the late 80s, guys like Bill Buckner, George Hendrick, Ruppert Jones, Johnny Ray, Tony Armas.

I thought Eddie Murray was in the same era, but he didn't play for the Angels until 1997, same year as Rickey Henderson.

[ten ocho recon scout]

2 hours ago, DCAngelsFan said:

That's why they invented El Yucateca habanero sauce - a little bit will put a nice zing on your dish - for a string cheese omelet, I'd just drink it right out of the bottle until your taste buds have been vaporized. 

Then throw the omelet away, and see if you have any dog biscuits in the cupboard.  

Should probably throw the string cheese away, to preclude the possibility of ever eating it again.  

 

It was either that or the goober peanut butter / jelly combo

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

There's a lot more that we didn't mention. In 1990-92 alone, you had:

Claudell Washington, Lance Parrish, Dave Winfield, Gary Gaetti, Dave Parker, Hubie Brooks, Von Hayes, Alvin Davis, Kelly Gruber.

And in the late 80s, guys like Bill Buckner, George Hendrick, Ruppert Jones, Johnny Ray, Tony Armas.

I thought Eddie Murray was in the same era, but he didn't play for the Angels until 1997, same year as Rickey Henderson.

Yeah, murray was later. And henderson... after Bo... annnd fernando.

Back when cecil fielder and blackjack mcdowell were our big gets.

Alan watson. Steve sparks...the aussie 2B, justin harbaugh(?). Omar oliveras...

[Lou]

I miss Raul Mondesi 

[T.G.]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

I miss Raul Mondesi 

and he misses you too.

[Tank]

2 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

There's a lot more that we didn't mention. In 1990-92 alone, you had:

Claudell Washington, Lance Parrish, Dave Winfield, Gary Gaetti, Dave Parker, Hubie Brooks, Von Hayes, Alvin Davis, Kelly Gruber.

And in the late 80s, guys like Bill Buckner, George Hendrick, Ruppert Jones, Johnny Ray, Tony Armas.

I thought Eddie Murray was in the same era, but he didn't play for the Angels until 1997, same year as Rickey Henderson.

oh man, forgot about a couple of those guys.

we also had mike marshall and fernando valenzuela for a few weeks.

[Tank]

50 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Alan watson. Steve sparks...the aussie 2B, justin harbaugh(?). Omar oliveras...

Justin Baughman. I was at the game where he tried to catch a line drive with his grill. He chose . . . poorly. They were playing Colorado.

[Angel Oracle]

Another name from that time in the late 1990s:  Randy Velarde

And of course, can't forget that stellar pitcher from 2000, Kent Bottomfield.    That 2000 team though only used 25 pitchers, chicken feed next to 2018's 35 pitchers used.

[Kevin]

16 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Nice (alcohol fueled?) riff, Scout. Let me add my own musings to the mix.

I well-remember the "Von Hayes Era" - it was truly depresssing, the worst micro-era in my fandom (starting early 80s). And yes, the homegrown team that gelled in 1995 was truly exciting and probably my favorite year in the first half of my fandom (80s-90s)...until mid-August, at least.

The Angels had actually had a previous wave of young talent--with homegrown prospects like Wally Joyner, Devon White, Jack Howell, Damion Easley, Dante Bichette, Dick Schofield, Chuck Finley, Jim Abbott, Bryan Harvey etc--but that group never really blossomed, which ushered in the Von Hayes Era of the early 90s when the Angels roster looked like a rotating Who's Who of former stars. For those who are too young to remember, go back and scour through the rosters of the early 90s...it is astonishing how many of the stars of the 80s you'll find.

But the group that started showing up when Tim Salmon got his cuppa in late '93 was different. It came together in 1995, when the Angels were 64-38 on August 15, led by the great young outfield of Anderson-Edmonds-Salmon, augmented by vets like Chili Davis and Tony Phillips, and a rookie Troy Percival. They then went on an 8-27 run, including two mega-losing streaks of 10 and 9 games. And of course that horrible, horrible one-game playoff against the Mariners (May Luis Sojo rot in hell).

That team never really recovered and the Shitty 90s resumed. A smaller promising group emerged, most especially Troy Glaus and Darin Erstad, both of whom were instrumental in the Year of Magic, 2002. But it wasn't until the mid-00s that we saw a truly great group of Angels prospects. For a few years there the farm was seen as the best, or one of the best in the biz. Ironically there were a lot of disappointments, most especially Casey Kotchman, Brandon Wood, Dallas McPherson, and Jeff Mathis.

We're hopefully at the end of another fallow era, although one highlighted by the presence of the Great One. The farm system looks, in my view, the best it has in about 15 years. 2019 will tell us whether it is merely a good crop of youngsters, or a potentially great one. The thing I like most about Eppler is that he rarely sacrifices the future for the present, with the intention of the farm churning out a continual stream of promising prospects to feed a perennial contender. Good times ahead, amigos.

To this day, I just can’t figure out how Snow didn’t get that ball.

I loved that ‘95 team.

Phillips, Salmon, Andersen , Edmonds, Snow, Davis, Disar. Probably could have beaten the Yankees (Finley was a Yankee killer which is why the Indians wanted him in the latter part of the 90’s) and maybe pushed the Indians to six or seven like the Mariners did.

As a side note, it was disappointing not hearing Joe Morgan refer to them as the California Angels when it actually applied.