Angels fire Billy Eppler

[UndertheHalo]

Just now, zenmaster said:

Did I read it right that we silently extended him a year over the summer and now he’s a goner? Lol

Yes.  Apparently.  Incredible.  Like was Arte not familiar with how dog shit the team was in July or August or whenever ?  

[Angelsjunky]

I'm ambivalent until we know who his replacement is. I'd hate to see a GM come in, gut the farm system and not realize the positive development that has occurred this year. No to Dombo.

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

I'm ambivalent until we know who his replacement is. I'd hate to see a GM come in, gut the farm system and not realize the positive development that has occurred this year. No to Dombo.

In truth, given all the smoke surrounding it, I'd be shocked if it isn't Dombrowski.  The only way I envision it doesn't happen is if he decides he does not want to work for Moreno.

Otherwise, he'd be inheriting a pretty good situation compared to most others who take over a new club - he has several stars, including the best one in baseball.  He has a few albatross contracts, but they're about to expire (Pujols in 1 year, Upton in 2).  He has a decent farm system he's inheriting.  And he does have an owner who, despite his issues, does seem to badly want to win and will spend on players.

It'll be up to Dombrowski, or whomever it is, to convince Arte that he needs to invest in scouting, analytics, the minors, etc if he wants a sustainable winner.

[mmc]

Who cares about him getting a one year extension over the summer, all it shows is Arte was happy enough with his moves to not have him have to be a lame duck GM.  Clearly the end result wasn’t what he was expecting.

[Ariamus]

26 minutes ago, Stradling said:

33 minutes ago, Ariamus said:

Keith Law had us in the mid to high-teens in the Spring but I can't seem to find his post-draft rankings, if any. Also, I don't subscribe to Baseball America.

When Keith Law posts something positive about us I tend to listen.  The reason for that is he is the one that once called us the worst farm he had ever seen.  

Just read in Ken Rosenthal's The Athletic piece on the firing that Baseball America has us at 16th.

[T.G.]

Reading through this thread was more entertaining than the season.

[Chuck]

Good, let's starting winning some fucking ball games. EppLOLer sucked! 

[ukyah]

1 minute ago, Chuckster70 said:

Good, let's starting winning some fucking ball games. EppLOLer sucked! 

it's gonna be la russa as president and dombrowski as gm, then they're gonna go pure old school and this board is going to collectively shit on it's own face.

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, ukyah said:

it's gonna be la russa as president and dombrowski as gm, then they're gonna go pure old school and this board is going to collectively shit on it's own face.

I'll put my money on those two guys over Eppler any day when it comes to acquiring starting pitching. Something Eppler was atrocious at doing during his tenure here. 

I'm really glad he was fired. 

[angelsnationtalk]

1 minute ago, ukyah said:

it's gonna be la russa as president and dombrowski as gm, then they're gonna go pure old school and this board is going to collectively shit on it's own face.

if that means Trout gets a ring out of it then i'm 100% in.

Literally it's not like they can be any worse.

[failos]

Wow. Not sure if I like this

[ukyah]

1 minute ago, angelsnationtalk said:

if that means Trout gets a ring out of it then i'm 100% in.

Literally it's not like they can be any worse.

if you get a ring, then all roads lead to rome.

however, if can easily get worse. we could go round two of decimating the farm system.

[AngelsFaninGA]

35 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

Yes.  Apparently.  Incredible.  Like was Arte not familiar with how dog shit the team was in July or August or whenever ?  

Regardless of the end result, this sort of thing is a bad look and points to exactly the sort of organizational dysfunction that has been the cause of this team's downfall. 

As much as we try to dismiss it, toxic culture actually does seem to be the main issue here. 

[Warfarin]

24 minutes ago, Ariamus said:

Just read in Ken Rosenthal's The Athletic piece on the firing that Baseball America has us at 16th.

Whoever takes over will actually be in decent shape, so I have to imagine this is not a terrible job on the surface.

We have several star players signed to long-term deals (Trout, Rendon).  Our regrettable contracts (Pujols, Upton) are expiring soon.  Our farm system is "okay" - not great, but not terrible.  And we do have an owner who does appear to badly want to win, as opposed to just pinching nickels and dimes like a number of other owners.

That said, in a lot of ways, maybe it's best if Dombrowski is the one who takes over.  Arte likely won't really respect most options and will probably want to push for certain players and meddle.  Dombrowski, though, is a "proven winner," and perhaps he can get Arte to back off and just let the baseball people make the baseball decisions.

[Docwaukee]

5 minutes ago, ukyah said:

if you get a ring, then all roads lead to rome.

however, if can easily get worse. we could go round two of decimating the farm system.

the only way to truly ensure that the major league club is as good as it possibly could be is to either spend a shit ton of money or trade away every prospect that isn't ready for major league talent.  

Eppler tried to dance in the middle and it got him fired.  

And if Arte were truly going to open up the checkbook, he would have just let Eppler do it starting a couple years ago.  So I just don't see that happening.  

It doesn't matter who the next guy is.  He's gonna be asked to open a window within a year and keep it open for at least 2-3 years.  

If the team does end up winning during that time, most of it will be based on what Eppler built.  

[rafibomb]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think that congrats are in order for @rafibombvictory in posting this first.  Thank you. 

 

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

BTW -- @rafibomb deserves a trophy or something.  He beat @mymerlincatto a Twitter post.

Thats like Buster Douglas taking down Tyson.

 

[Angelsjunky]

41 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

In truth, given all the smoke surrounding it, I'd be shocked if it isn't Dombrowski.  The only way I envision it doesn't happen is if he decides he does not want to work for Moreno.

Otherwise, he'd be inheriting a pretty good situation compared to most others who take over a new club - he has several stars, including the best one in baseball.  He has a few albatross contracts, but they're about to expire (Pujols in 1 year, Upton in 2).  He has a decent farm system he's inheriting.  And he does have an owner who, despite his issues, does seem to badly want to win and will spend on players.

It'll be up to Dombrowski, or whomever it is, to convince Arte that he needs to invest in scouting, analytics, the minors, etc if he wants a sustainable winner.

Dombrowski is like a corporate raider. He might be successful in the long-term, but at what cost? His ill-conceived David Price signing led to the Red Sox trading away Mookie Betts. Chris Sale might be a bust. Etc, etc. The Red Sox have some good players, but lots of problems. I just hope he doesn't trade Brandon Marsh for Matthew Boyd, and shit like that.

[ScottT]

1 hour ago, James said:

I would like to see Dombrowski as president and Billy Owens put in as GM. 

LaRussa and Dombrowski have a pretty close relationship. Pretty obvious a birdie is likely in the ear of Arte

Billy Owens was awesome at Syracuse

[James]

29 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I'll put my money on those two guys over Eppler any day when it comes to acquiring starting pitching. Something Eppler was atrocious at doing during his tenure here. 

I'm really glad he was fired. 

Um, thats my seat sir......

[Warfarin]

8 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Dombrowski is like a corporate raider. He might be successful in the long-term, but at what cost? His ill-conceived David Price signing led to the Red Sox trading away Mookie Betts. Chris Sale might be a bust. Etc, etc. The Red Sox have some good players, but lots of problems. I just hope he doesn't trade Brandon Marsh for Matthew Boyd, and shit like that.

I know.  He wouldn't be my pick, but I am resigned to the writing on the wall here.

I would pick anyone who is currently a Director or GM with the Dodgers or Rays.  The Dodgers and Rays have a ton of talent in both the MLB AND MILB.  They've built sustainable winners, with no end in sight to contention.  That is what I want to see with our team.

But anyway, dreams aside, I realize that Arte will go after a proven winner like Dombrowski, so I just hope he picks a GM from those organizations.

[Lou]

10 minutes ago, ScottT said:

Billy Owens was awesome at Syracuse

Not a white guy.

[Stradling]

11 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Dombrowski is like a corporate raider. He might be successful in the long-term, but at what cost? His ill-conceived David Price signing led to the Red Sox trading away Mookie Betts. Chris Sale might be a bust. Etc, etc. The Red Sox have some good players, but lots of problems. I just hope he doesn't trade Brandon Marsh for Matthew Boyd, and shit like that.

I disagree with the Price signing leading to trading Betts.  After signing Price they then signed Sale and JD to big contracts.  What lead to Betts being traded is Betts not saying yes to a new $300 million contract.

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

I just want the new GM to be someone who doesn't look for a miracle needle in the haystack refound my groove starting pitcher. Go acquire some actual fucking pitching talent. 

[UndertheHalo]

26 minutes ago, AngelsFaninGA said:

Regardless of the end result, this sort of thing is a bad look and points to exactly the sort of organizational dysfunction that has been the cause of this team's downfall. 

As much as we try to dismiss it, toxic culture actually does seem to be the main issue here. 

It’s more and more clear that Arte Moreno is disaster.  He spends.  That’s fine.  But he’s a fuck up as far as baseball otherwise.  

Edited September 28, 2020 by UndertheHalo

[Duren, Duren]

Not the best of times for Trout. Other than fatherhood and lifetime job security/wealth.  Which really transcend all else. 

But in the world of lower priorities, maybe one of his most unsettling off-seasons ever. A disappointing season stats wise and team wise. Friend and neighbor Eppler fired. Even his Eagles winless. 

Quite possibly this is going to be a turning point for his mindset going forward. More cynical, more impatient for better team results. Even with a lifetime contract, most players think of the immediate present and near future. And want success as soon as possible. No one has a clue what will happen in five or more years. Thinking that far ahead is an exercise in guesswork.