Eppler should push hard for a trade

[BackUpTheTruck]

2 minutes ago, Vladdylonglegs said:

They’re getting swept by the Orioles. Whether they play a lot of games against sub .500 teams or not doesn’t matter. This team sucks. 

I've moved on.

I thought after the Dodger series we would have extended the winning streak to 11 before the deadline. Now it looks like going 4-3 for the homestand is a pipe dream.

[Halokingfish]

Oh and I recall reading somewhere that the team leads the league in wild pitches. It certainly helps if we add some better arms, but they most likely have to get a catcher that can keep stuff in front of him if we want to go anywhere. 

[Halokingfish]

42 minutes ago, BackUpTheTruck said:

Sunday day game.

Over/under 4.5 Baltimore home runs?

At this rate from what we seen so far probably over. But I hope I am wrong 

[Docwaukee]

Gonna look back on this series as the backbreaker. 

[rottiesworld]

4 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

I think the Angels win tomorrow and get back on track and either sweep or win 2 of 3 against Detroit. After that we fly up to a Cleveland hopefully getting hot again and regain some ground against them in the WildCard race. 

That’s what we said about them sweeping Baltimore and it’s going to be the other way around, Baltimore sweeping the Angels. We just don’t have any pitching to count on.

[tdawg87]

6 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

We might have to start with Thaiss. But Ward, Jones, Barria, Yan and another prospect could get it started. 

If that other prospect is Marsh then yeah maybe.

[Sherlock31]

6 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

If you’ve got Tim Salmon saying on TV “they need starting pitching” then you should listen to the king fish. 

No shix Sherlock, even Stevie Wonder knows the Angels need pitching....

[angelsnationtalk]

9 hours ago, Halokingfish said:

Yeah I understand that Eppler wants arms with control this year and beyond. My concern was those type of arms would hurt the farm. But if he can get it done while keeping the farm’s core then I am all for it. Would you guys take a chance on Alex Wood if the price is cheap? He would be a 2019 rental only and will make his 2019 debut tomorrow because of back issues but he looked solid in rehab. It would be huge if he could pitch around his career averages down the stretch

If there’s a strong chance in re-signing him. But main strategy is to find arms that have control at least into 2020. 

[angelsnationtalk]

9 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Dude, Fantasyland is 5 miles west of Angel stadium.  No way.  After watching this team live the last 3 games I'm convinced of 1 thing for certain.  The Pitching is death by 1000 paper cuts.  I don't care if it's starting pitching or relief pitching.  This teams ENTIRE pitching staff is not playoff caliber.  It's simply not. 

The worst team in baseball completely out-schooled and out-coached this team.  Pure and simple.  The Orioles stole bases on our pitchers and catchers like nobody's business.  They hit and ran.  They sacrificed and moved runners around.  They hit the long ball.  This crappy Orioles team was like watching the 2002 Angel team, minus good starting pitching.  It was like watching Friday night beer league softball.

Anyone that bought into the 4 games the Angels played against the Dodgers as a potential wild card team was fooling themselves.  This team has to play a massively tough slate in the next 2 months, including many games against teams ahead of us in the standings.  If any of you watched the last 3 games and truly believe that this was some sort of mirage, I have news for you.  It wasn't.  This was a reality check, at the hands of the worst team in the American League.

2002 Angels ended up winning it all, this Baltimore team isn’t even close to the playoffs. Aside from the Yankees and Astros, the “good teams” left on our schedule are the ones directly ahead of us for the Wild Card race. That’s something we should be happy about. If the Angels make a deal before the deadline for a #2-#3 pitcher when that alone can help shape up the staff. Offense will keep doing what they’re doing, but if and when we put together another good stretch, it could get interesting. 

[angelsnationtalk]

3 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

If that other prospect is Marsh then yeah maybe.

I don’t think so. I think Eppler will look for the deal that doesn’t involve him. That may be a Greinke/Ray deal 

[tdawg87]

2 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

I don’t think so. I think Eppler will look for the deal that doesn’t involve him. That may be a Greinke/Ray deal 

In a deal like that, yeah you're probably right. 

[angelsnationtalk]

9 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

In a deal like that, yeah you're probably right. 

Only sacrifice would be payroll and probably taking us out of the Cole sweepstakes. But then again, every team would be going after him so we might not even get him and then we’d be stuck in the same place. So maybe a trade like this would be better. 

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Only sacrifice would be payroll and probably taking us out of the Cole sweepstakes. But then again, every team would be going after him so we might not even get him and then we’d be stuck in the same place. So maybe a trade like this would be better. 

Oh I agree completely. It's actually the perfect trade for the Angels, at least on paper.

And to your point about Cole: He's the youngest and best starter available next year. Pretty much everyone will be after him. Yet we kinda have started naively plugging him into our rotation next year almost like we assume we're gonna get him. That's a bad place to be in, especially because the market drops off quite a bit after Cole.

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Oh I agree completely. It's actually the perfect trade for the Angels, at least on paper.

And to your point about Cole: He's the youngest and best starter available next year. Pretty much everyone will be after him. Yet we kinda have started naively plugging him into our rotation next year almost like we assume we're gonna get him. That's a bad place to be in, especially because the market drops off quite a bit after Cole.

I had a casual chat with Gerrit Cole at the All-Star Game. 

Based on that, I think the Angels will definitely be on the short list if they have interest, which I assume they do. 

[angelsnationtalk]

3 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I had a casual chat with Gerrit Cole at the All-Star Game. 

Based on that, I think the Angels will definitely be on the short list if they have interest, which I assume they do. 

I know he likes the Angels and he lives here, but given how Harper and Trout like to have work away from the home distractions it levels the playing field in my book. At the end of the day I think the Angels will try and push for a #2 or #3 before the deadline since they’ve been rumored to check in on some key names. I also think that Arte doesn’t want the pitching to be this embarrassing anymore and will splurge for someone like Cole. Deep down I feel like the Angels’ rotation will be MUCH better next year. Hence the beginning of a playoff push for consecutive years. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

5 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

I know he likes the Angels and he lives here, but given how Harper and Trout like to have work away from the home distractions it levels the playing field in my book.

You talked to him too?

[angelsnationtalk]

Just now, Jeff Fletcher said:

You talked to him too?

Yes..

come on, Jeff. We can agree he grew up here so obviously he likes it here. But what I’m saying is that Trout said he likes work out here without the home distractions. That’s why I’m saying it level the playing field cuz maybe Cole would like the same thing. That’s why maybe we wouldn’t have an upper hand because “it’s his hometown”

but yes, I talked to him...

[Duren, Duren]

The worst time to trade is when you are desperate. Had the trade deadline been after the Dodger series, the urgency wouldn't be there, even if the pitching needs are still a top priority.

But the three embarrassing losses to the Orioles shine a spotlight on this problem. And provoke impatience from fans about Eppler doing something immediately. 

Probably any move made will be minor, and not dramatically solve the big pitching problem for this season. It will take multiple moves over at least this off season to begin to address it, let alone solve it.

You also have to wonder about pitching philosophy. Are the starters so utterly devoid of ability that they rarely last through four innings? 

Have they been conditioned by the pitching coach to expect the hook early? Is the bullpen over rated and/or already fatigued? Is the almost daily reshuffling of the pitching roster affecting confidence and morale? 

Stability is needed. Let some of the starters work out their problems by pitching through and not being yanked. Tough innings build character and resilience. Sacrifice a bad start and give the bullpen more rest. 

Changes are needed, but so is the philosophy.

[jsnpritchett]

6 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You talked to him 

You're snarky today, huh? 

[angelsnationtalk]

10 minutes ago, Duren, Duren said:

The worst time to trade is when you are desperate. Had the trade deadline been after the Dodger series, the urgency wouldn't be there, even if the pitching needs are still a top priority.

But the three embarrassing losses to the Orioles shine a spotlight on this problem. And provoke impatience from fans about Eppler doing something immediately. 

Probably any move made will be minor, and not dramatically solve the big pitching problem for this season. It will take multiple moves over at least this off season to begin to address it, let alone solve it.

You also have to wonder about pitching philosophy. Are the starters so utterly devoid of ability that they rarely last through four innings? 

Have they been conditioned by the pitching coach to expect the hook early? Is the bullpen over rated and/or already fatigued? Is the almost daily reshuffling of the pitching roster affecting confidence and morale? 

Stability is needed. Let some of the starters work out their problems by pitching through and not being yanked. Tough innings build character and resilience. Sacrifice a bad start and give the bullpen more rest. 

Changes are needed, but so is the philosophy.

The rumors picked up saying the more they win the more likely they are to win. I wouldn’t say they’re desperate, but they still believe they have a shot at the WC. I think the idea of that and seeing how poorly pitching has been over the years has finally become the main factor. Prospects are ready and it’s an overflow so we can make a move. 

[floplag]

14 hours ago, mulwin444 said:

Any move should be for 2020/2021.  No rentals unless it's off waivers and league minimum.

This was my fear... the window moving back, again... and this season has done everything to make that a reality. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

46 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I had a casual chat with Gerrit Cole at the All-Star Game. 

Based on that, I think the Angels will definitely be on the short list if they have interest, which I assume they do. 

You mentioned something similar a few weeks back and it stood out. That more than anything else makes him a lot more of someone to chase than in years past, where all of us just wanted player X because he was good.

[UndertheHalo]

If the Angels decline to go hard after Garritt Cole this offseason Arte should just sell the team.  I am 100% serious.  You guys that have seen me post here for years know I’m not an “Arte sucks” guy.  

If he’s not about building a champion here then there are better and easier ways for billionaire to make money.  There are other hobbies.  They must throw everything that they can into getting a guy like Cole.  He’s exactly what the team needs.  

I believe that they will.  

[UndertheHalo]

You know what else is great about getting Cole ?? You take him away from the Astros. 

[angelsnationtalk]

6 minutes ago, floplag said:

This was my fear... the window moving back, again... and this season has done everything to make that a reality. 

Nope. We’ve had the worst pitching and we’re only 5 games out. Yes, it’s a mountain to climb, I get it, but acquiring a solid #2 or even #3 can help make a small push this year and set it up well next year. Our window is not being pushed back at all. 2020 rotation could be: Cole, Ohtani, pitcher from trade, Heaney, Canning, Suarez/Barria/Pena.