What were your first reactions?

[Lou E Ville]

A lot of people on here are playing backseat GM, but be truthful what  were your first reactions after each of these moves?

 

Move: Signing Pujols. 

My first reaction: Oh hell yes. We're not going to play second fiddle to NY and Bos any more. We have that guy who will help us get number two and possibly number three now.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

My first reaction: Meh. Didn't like that he was going to make more than Weaver. Didn't see him as that special. Glad at the time to have five really good starters, though. Felt like it was ours to lose at that point. 

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

MFR: We are favorites again. No one can top Weaver, Greinke, and Haren/Wilson/Santans whoever's hottest.

 

Move: Trading Santana

MFR: Mixed emotions. He had won some big games. He had sucked in some big games. If nothing else, it cleared up some money.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

MFR: Ugh! That guy had one or two good years, tops. He's bottom third of the league among starters

 

Move: Dumping Haren

MFR: I hope he doesn't magically get it back. But we saved ourselves some more money

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

MFR: Good. He'll replace Haren.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

MFR: Ugh. That's all we could get for what we gave up?

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

MFR: I guess Arte's not kidding any more. Trout, Pujols, Hamilton....best trio in the league. Sigh.

[Angelsjunky]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

Excitement tinged with an underlying feeling of trepidation about the contract and his declined performance the two years previous. I remember thinking something to the effect of, "He'll be fine - he's Pujols" but underneath that having the nagging concern that he wasn't the same player he was a couple years ago.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

I liked the fact that it (supposedly) helped us and hurt Texas at the same time. Unfortunately it turned out that Texas knew what they were doing when they passed on Wilson and signed Darvish instead.

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Nice pickup, bummed about losing Segura as I was looking forward to the 1-2 combo of Trout and Segura.

 

Move: Trading Santana

Seemed a bit odd, but OK I guess.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

Huh? Why? I didn't get why it was Blanton over any number of available free agents.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

Didn't like it, worried he would re-capture his form. One of the few things Dipoto was actually right about.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Good trade. Wondered why Atlanta did it.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Solid. A wash.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

As with Pujols, I couldn't help but be excited but was worried about the size of the contract.

[Reveille1984]

The only move I thought was a massive mistake was Pujols honestly.  We didn't need another first baseman plus he was 32 years old at the time and already in decline.  And for ten years.... yeah.  He will likely go down as the biggest contract bust in baseball history outside of A-Rod if he doesn't end up opting out at some point.

 

And like everyone else, I never understood the Blanton deal and probably never will.  Bad signing when it happened, and it just keeps getting worse.

 

Hamilton I thought was a little desperate, but didn't really mind it when it happened. 

 

All the others I was neutral to positive on.

[stormngt]

A lot of people on here are playing backseat GM, but be truthful what  were your first reactions after each of these moves?

 

Move: Signing Pujols. 

My first reaction: Oh hell yes. We're not going to play second fiddle to NY and Bos any more. We have that guy who will help us get number two and possibly number three now.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

My first reaction: Meh. Didn't like that he was going to make more than Weaver. Didn't see him as that special. Glad at the time to have five really good starters, though. Felt like it was ours to lose at that point. 

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

MFR: We are favorites again. No one can top Weaver, Greinke, and Haren/Wilson/Santans whoever's hottest.

 

Move: Trading Santana

MFR: Mixed emotions. He had won some big games. He had sucked in some big games. If nothing else, it cleared up some money.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

MFR: Ugh! That guy had one or two good years, tops. He's bottom third of the league among starters

 

Move: Dumping Haren

MFR: I hope he doesn't magically get it back. But we saved ourselves some more money

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

MFR: Good. He'll replace Haren.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

MFR: Ugh. That's all we could get for what we gave up?

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

MFR: I guess Arte's not kidding any more. Trout, Pujols, Hamilton....best trio in the league. Sigh.

Signing Pujols:  My reaction was like yours...I thought he would have 5 good years and play like this the last five years.  I loved the move.

On signing Wilson:  Even more fired up as it seemed we would have the offensive threat we need and the best pitching staff in the league.  I never thought Wilson would be as bad as he has been.

 

On Trading Grienke:  I really didn't like it.  We were in a WC position already and didn't think he would help that much.  I was wrong on both ends.

 

On Trading Santana:  Ambivalent, his option was a lot of monehy

 

On Dumping Haren:  I was against it.  I thought Haren would bounce back.  It doesn't look like he is doing that.

 

On Signing Blanton:  I said what the F***

 

On Vargas Trade:  I like it.

 

On Signing Hamilton:  I thought it was a good move.

 

GOOD THING I AM NOT THE GM!

[Vegas Halo Fan]

 

Move: Signing Pujols. 

My first reaction: The contract is far too long and for too much money, given Pujols' age and the fact that his production has already begun to slide a bit (still great numbers for most any other player, but not up to the standard he had previously set). I would feel much better if this were a three- or four-year deal.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

My first reaction: Better than anyone we have in the rotation not named Jered Weaver. He just won 16 games and had an ERA below three pitching against AL hitters all season.  

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

MFR: Too little, too late, and we just traded more prospects for another short-term rental who won't stay.

 

Move: Trading Santana

MFR: Mixed emotions. His arm clearly isn't the problem. Perhaps with the right pitching coach he can become a solid #3 or #4 starter. We don't have the right pitching coach.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

MFR: With Greinke off the market and Haren and Santana gone, now we're trying to piece together a rotation out of what is left. I hope that he has something left.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

MFR: Good move. He is damaged goods, and he would not have been a solid piece of the rotation here.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

MFR: He was solid in Atlanta for the most part. Probably a good acquisition.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

MFR: Solid pickup. We need starting pitching, and Kendrys Morales will never be the player he was before he broke his ankle. Probably the best value we could get. Also got a pitcher familiar with the division who may benefit from not pitching for Seattle.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

MFR: Keeping up with the Dodgers. Concerned about his substance abuse history and his periodic tumbles off the wagon, but he did have over 40 HR and 120 RBI last year, in our division.

[gotbeer]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

Didn't like it.  Thought it was way too many years.  But thought we would at least get 3 years minimum of his St Louis production.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

Didn't like it.  His WHIP was all smoke and mirrors his final year in Texas.  But the contract wasn't horrible, and it kept him off Texas.

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Liked it.  It was a big splash trade.  While a bat might have been a better acquisition at the time, a dominating starting rotation was also nice.  Plus at the time, on paper, it didn't look like we gave up much.  

 

Move: Trading Santana

Liked it.  Saved us money, and Santana seemed to be hit or miss.  Looking back on it, it doesn't surprise me that the trade lit a fire under his ass, especially in a contract season.  

 

Move: Signing Blanton

Hated it.   He is actually doing much worse than the most haterade predictions, almost making it into a polyana prediction.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

Didn't like it.  Thought he would bounce back, and for one year was worth the chance.  

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Liked it.  We gave up a reliever that we really couldn't wait for any longer, for a club controlled starter.  He's been a little disappointing, but his mental state is probably still a bit off.  So hopefully he will finish the season off strong.  Could still be a good trade for us.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Liked it.  He broke his leg and was out for over a year.  We have someone playing first, and someone under control as a DH.  He had a limited trade possiblity because he was pretty much a DH.  So we got a starting pitcher out of it.  I didn't think he would pitch this well though.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

Didn't like it.  But only because of the amount and length.  I was hoping to offer him 4/$100, and make Texas go to 5.  Thought we jumped the gun just a bit and were a bit too aggressive in the signing.  Sometimes it's good to stir the pot.  And I thought it would turn into a bidding war, where we would make Texas overpay.  Instead, we got played by them.  But I thought he would have some production, so was way off on even the 4/$100.

[TooCool]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

I was stoked and really excited. My Dodger friends were pissed that the Angels were going to continue to be better than them. I thought this was a great move since the Yankees keep signing all these big names.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

Honestly, I think I was indifferent to this signing. That's all I can remember from the signing. Sure, we took someone from Texas but I didn't think he would help us that much.

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Loved the trade. Always wanted Greinke when he was with Kansas City. Was very upset that Arte didn't want to shell out the cash to keep him.

 

Move: Trading Santana

Didn't like this even though Santana was constantly hot and cold. He seemed like a good starter for us regardless.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

Dumb move.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

Another dumb move. Did he struggle with us in his last year? Absolutely, but he is still a great pitcher.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Didn't care for it.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

I don't hate Vargas, but we should have gotten SO much more for Morales.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

Same reaction with Pujols. Didn't expect him to suck at the time of the signing. My Dodger friends once again congratulated me ahead of time on the World Series win. But look how that turned out...

[Homebrewer]

I have been hopeful and optimistic about EVERY trade or acquisition, including Wells and Kazmir.

The only one I hated from the get-go was GMJ.

That one stunk from the moment it was announced. It was a last ditch effort to do something, and it was obvious.

Little did anyone know that it was to become an overriding theme for this org.

Been steadily downhill sliding since GMJ, and that was how many years ago?. 

[tomahawksu]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

My first reaction: Ecstatic. Finally landed a top player.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

My first reaction: Awesome, he was good in Texas

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

MFR: We are favorites again. No one can top Weaver, Greinke, and Haren/Wilson/Santans whoever's hottest.

 

Move: Trading Santana

MFR: Very good, hopeful he would get us to the postseason.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

MFR: WHY!

 

Move: Dumping Haren

MFR: Very very bad move. I loved Haren, he never did anything horribly.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

MFR: Loved it, wished we could have kept Walden though

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

MFR: Why couldn't they have tried Trumbo at third again and kept Kendrys, Callapsor sucks.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

MFR: Finally the big bat won't hurt.

[Angel Oracle]

This is a good thread, and I guess I just about mimic AJ's thoughts. I did have big time concern about the 2nd half of Pujols' contract and what would happen to Hackilton after the 3rd season.

Why are too many big money acquisitions busting for the Halos? Arte too anxious to make the tv deal work? Scouts not understanding how the players are progressing when deciding whether to sign them? Something is going on.

[OneLove22]

This thread:

 

Pure gold!

[Docwaukee]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

pumped.  very excited.  knew that he last 3-4 years would suck but didn't care.  HOFer.  Felt he would contribute an 850-950ops for 6 years at least.  Felt he brought a lot to the franchise. 

 

Move: Signing Wilson

Happy.  Nice to get a 200ip starter who should be a 3-3.5 era guy.  Solid move.  Felt he was a douche in Texas, but now he was our Douche.  Happy to have him. 

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Bold move.  Risky.  Wasn't totally sold at the time unless we made the playoffs and we didn't.  Was ok with it if we re signed him.  Not overly thrilled if neither of those happened.  Thought Helleweg and Pena were overrated.  Thought Segura was a nice player.  Not close to what he is doing.  Don't think he will continue. 

 

Move: Trading Santana

Fine by me.  Good to get rid of this guy as nothing more than a source of frustration.  He was in the top three of worst SP in baseball last year. 

 

Move: Signing Blanton

totally puzzling move.  thought JD knew something about him that no one else saw.  Felt that if we were going to sign a guy like that then you do it in the 25th hr.  Shouldn't have been the first move. Could have signed any number of stragglers for less money, one year and they'd be out of the rotation or performing by now.  The one move in particular that erodes my faith in JD. 

 

Move: Dumping Haren

Totally fine with it.  He was done.  Velo was dropping like a rock.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Good trade.  Walden was a guy that always left you wanting.  Closer potential.  Mental midget.  Santana of the pen

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Nice move.  Thought keeping Trumbo was the right move at the time until spring started.  Then thought Trumbo would end up in the minors before the season was over. 

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

Very happy with it.  Thought he'd replace Torii's production and then some for at least 3 years.  Maybe more.  Now he's my least favorite halo. 

Thought hamiton + vargas was a better route than morales + Anibel Sanchez. 

[Ohtaniland]

I remember the old @ngelsWin board...... "Thank you Arte"........."Thank you Jerry" 

 

 

All the thank you's are gone now.

[EDinTUSTIN]

No comments on Madson? I'll make some. He was nothing special before his surgery, so what was the attraction? Granted, it was an incentive laden deal, but the Angels still got screwed out of what they are paying him up front.

[Homebrewer]

Let's not talk about Napoli and the offensive numbers he is putting up in Boston, either.

That would be almost as painful as talking about what we think of guys we paid big money for.

[Homebrewer]

Was it Richter that coined the term clusterfack?

[ukyah]

i'll tell you something about pujols. do you know how many homeruns he hit in the two years prior to signing him? 79. do you know who hit more over that time? only jose bautista.

 

he was a monster, and he's disappeared mostly.

[Agalloch]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

YES!! OH MY GOD! We got the best hitter of our generation in an Angels uniform! I can't wait for the season to start!

 

Move: Signing Wilson

Finally! I've been waiting for them to sign him since the beginning of the offseason! We have a great rotation now!

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

YEAH!! We got Greinke! But I was upset we gave up Segura.

 

Move: Trading Santana

Stupid! I wanted to keep him since our rotation was so empty and he's been so good in the past. If anything I wanted to keep him unless we could find someone better, if we did that then no Blanton.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

(Me upon waking up from a nap) WHAT!?! WHY WOULD WE SIGN JOE BLANTON? OH MY GOD!! *punches wall*

 

Move: Dumping Haren

I was mad and felt the same way about him as I did Santana. I'd rather have him over Blanton as well.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Nice! I've always liked him and happy we got him for such a bargain, if anything he could be a good #4 or #5

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Hated giving up Kendrys, but it was a solid trade for both teams and I'm happy with it.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

(Me walking down the hallway at school) YES!!! WE WEAKENED THE ENEMY!!! Watch out AL! *runs to random guy and high fives him*

[vlad27]

im not gonna lie - i was thrilled with every move except us getting Hanson and Blanton. I still dont understand how a major league GM would give that kind of money to someone who has never been good! Even Hanson had a few good years and could possibly reclaim past glory but Blanton has never been good!  

[Torridd]

I really liked all the moves except Blanton and losing Santana. I was upset with losing Morales at the beginning, but hoped that Vargas could shore up the staff, realizing we did need pitching more than offense especially with Hamilton in the fold.

[Torridd]

I have been hopeful and optimistic about EVERY trade or acquisition, including Wells and Kazmir.

The only one I hated from the get-go was GMJ.

That one stunk from the moment it was announced. It was a last ditch effort to do something, and it was obvious.

Little did anyone know that it was to become an overriding theme for this org.

Been steadily downhill sliding since GMJ, and that was how many years ago?. 

I'm generally this way with but a very few acquisitions/trades.

[Torridd]

No comments on Madson? I'll make some. He was nothing special before his surgery, so what was the attraction? Granted, it was an incentive laden deal, but the Angels still got screwed out of what they are paying him up front.

I thought Madson was a good pickup. Still may be.

[Inside Pitch]

Move: Signing Pujols. 

Disbelief.  Didn't see it coming, didn't think it was possible, then I wondered why not the younger fatter option that would have likely cost the team less.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

Liked him as a number three.  His control issues made him a bit of a wild card.  But, I thought given the prices being talked about it was a decent buy.

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Sad to see Segura go, didn't care about either of the two stiffs people considered pitching prospects.   Was actually very impressed that given the state of the farm that JD was able to obtain the best arm available at the deadline.  Segura has broken out, now he's being tabbed a star by many and really my opinion hasn't changed.  Was a great move that seemed impossible given the lack of talent.  IMO, JD got absolute best value possible.

 

Move: Trading Santana

Was worried about dropping him and Haren without replacements in place.  

 

Move: Signing Blanton

Wanted to see if he would actually live up to his peripherals.  Last year's defense maybe.  This years defense, not even close.  Was a risky move, but I wasn't against it.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

See Santana comment.  I would have been more likely to bring back Haren because he wasn't a fruit fly mentally -- but seeing him throw in ST was alarming and his performance in the NL to date this year has IMO validated JD's decision.   Now, when he tried to trade him for MarmolMeh....   Well, I thought JD was a moron.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Guy with a hurt arm who was trending as a 5 inning pitcher on a team with a weak bullpen.  Didn't like it, but saw value in moving a RP for a SP.  Made me worry about the pitching staff. 

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Meh...  Vargas was and is an innings eater.   I thought, great, we have a 1, a 3 and three number 5 starters.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

 

More shock, and wonderment.   Didn't get the move then, didn't get the move now, likely won't ever get the move.  But I never expected him to flounder like this.   At worst I felt he would at least be equal to what Torri would have given us.

 

[notalpujols]

Move: Signing Pujols
Thought it was going to lead to great things. Shit.

Move: Dumping Santana
It was time for him to go. It was just too frustrating seeing him blow up in key innings.

Move: Signing Blanton
Hated it. I didn't see him as being an improvement over Santana in any way.

Move: Acquiring Hanson
I like it; I thought Hanson would have a bit of a career renaissance being back close to home.

Move: Vargas for Morales
Didn't like giving up Morales so soon after losing Hunter, but acknowledged that we needed to pitching help.

Move: Signing Hamilton
After the experience with Pujols in 2012, the last thing we needed was another potential letdown with a 30-something player. I was worried he would only hit .250; didn't imagine it would be this bad, though.

[ettin]

A lot of people on here are playing backseat GM, but be truthful what  were your first reactions after each of these moves?

 

Move: Signing Pujols. 

I was excited we "went big" and got a legitimate middle of the order bat. I had a slight concern about his age (mainly compared to Fielder who was also a FA at the time and someone else that I had hoped we would consider signing) but beyond that I was super-hyped as were most here.

 

Move: Signing Wilson

I had a positive reaction to this signing as I thought it not only gave us a legitimate #2 behind Weaver but it looked like it weakened the Rangers as well. Liked that he didn't have to much wear and tear on his arm and that he was a groundball pitcher. Felt the deal, based on the shortage of starting pitchers, was relatively fair and it still might turn out to be a decent one for the Angels but he has disappointed this season.

 

Move: Trading for Greinke

Thought it was a bold move and it needed to happen. Didn't like giving up Segura but you have to give to get. This one clearly imploded but at the time we were trying to win now and if you don't take chances you'll never get anywhere in baseball or life.

 

Move: Trading Santana

I think Jerry was worried about the wear and tear on Santana's arm, especially his propensity to throw so many sliders and he saw a velocity drop which was giving a strong indication that Ervin might get injured in the near future. I liked Ervin but I thought the move was sound.

 

Move: Signing Blanton

Surprised when I first heard the news, then checked a little deeper to understand why Dipoto made that choice. Ended up writing an article for AW.com on why Dipoto signed Blanton from a statistical perspective which, obviously, has failed in so many ways. In Joe's defense he has walked very few batters but he has given up a lot of hits and a LOT of those have found holes in the infield and outfield and has basically made Blanton a hot mess.

 

Move: Dumping Haren

I think the Angels knew he had a back injury and just didn't want to take the risk. I liked it when we traded for Haren and he did well that first year but you can't keep all of your favorite players forever and in this case I agreed with Jerry in releasing him.

 

Move: Trading for Hanson

Hanson was once a top prospect so I was a bit excited in that regard. However we were taking on an injury risk type player and I think we were basing our trade on Hanson last handful of starts in 2012 to determine his recovery was complete (his velocity and K/9 were high in those last 5-6 starts). I didn't lose any sleep over Walden leaving, I just felt like his jump step led to command issues and he didn't seem to have that "killer" mentality that a closer needs. Was perfectly fine in getting an arbitration controlled starter with possible upside in return.

 

Move: Trading for Vargas

Didn't really have a problem with this one although I am a big Kendrys Morales fan. Morales was going to be a FA next season and our offense wasn't the problem our pitching was. Always though Vargas was a tough competitor so adding another lefty arm seemed logical. and I agreed with this move.

 

Move: Signing Hamilton

To be honest I was shocked when this move happened but after it wore off I was pleasantly surprised. Again we seemed to have added a big bat and weakened our opponent in the AL West. Oops.