Pause and Acknowledge

[Angels 1961]

People get upset with my take but it's time to tear it down and rebuild. 6 losing seasons with a bleak outlook for 2022. Build around Walsh, Ohtani, Fletcher, Chris Rod, Adell,  Marsh, Sandoval and Detmers. Fire sale at deadline. Do not worry about top free agent pitchers because they are not coming here. Need to build from within and any trades get as many young pitchers as you can.  Will this fix problem I do not know but status quo and losing will continue. I truly believe Minasian and Moreno will think of major changes for this organization. Band-aids over pitching problems not working.

[tdawg87]

6 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

People get upset with my take but it's time to tear it down and rebuild. 6 losing seasons with a bleak outlook for 2022. Build around Walsh, Ohtani, Fletcher, Chris Rod, Adell,  Marsh, Sandoval and Detmers. Fire sale at deadline. Do not worry about top free agent pitchers because they are not coming here. Need to build from within and any trades get as many young pitchers as you can.  Will this fix problem I do not know but status quo and losing will continue. I truly believe Minasian and Moreno will think of major changes for this organization. Band-aids over pitching problems not working.

I like that you didn't mention Trout as one of the players to build around.

Not bad. Subtle.

[Stradling]

7 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

I like that you didn't mention Trout as one of the players to build around.

Not bad. Subtle.

He’s a piece. 

[Angels 1961]

As an Angel fan since December 1960, I'm sick of losing. I would like to know what the M and M men are thinking (Minasian and Moreno). Do they have a plan going forward? I wonder how much of Upton's contract they will eat? Adell and Marsh going to be at SLC all year? After trade deadline will we have a rotation of Ohtani, Canning, Barria, Sandoval, Suarez, Peters, Detmers? Who will be left in bullpen? Will Maddon be here next year and who will halo pitching coach be? How does Tampa win year after year? 

[Stradling]

You should write them a letter.  

[Duren, Duren]

Baseball as a sport is as unwatchable as it arguably ever has been. Even Don Mattingly said so in a story on ESPN. It's become so dull, static, robotic. Not much more energy than a game of chess.

Analytics, swing coaches, spin rates, shifts, lack of complete games, launch angles, prioritizing the strikeout/homerun philosophy, lack of stealing/hit and runs, strikezone graphics that expose bad calls and so on. Not that there isn't merit underlying these things in isolation, but collectively they make baseball so boring to watch. 

Rarely there are compelling games where every pitch keeps your attention, but few and far between. 

Ohtani is such a unique story that he compels attention. Trout is a throwback to classic baseball tradition. Nice to actually see a young homegrown player like Walsh in the process of becoming a star. To me, those are the key factors of watching this team. But the pitching has been bad for years, and the big contract additions have never lived up to expectations. 

I watch because I always have watched the main sports since I was a kid. But baseball now is mostly background ambiance as I do other things. Sometimes I pay attention from start of finish, but if the game isn't close my attention drifts elsewhere. 

As well, I had a major health scare last year that really helped put things in perspective. And currently have a pet in a life threatening situation. Escapism can be a blessing sometimes, but the entertainment value of baseball has diminished greatly.

 

[Jay]

I'm not as "die-hard" as I used to be. The Angels have become something of a joke in recent years and I have fun with it on this message board.

I still want them to win but let's face it.

 

[Angelsjunky]

Of course everything in the OP is true and I can relate with. When all is said and done, the simple fact is that the Angels have put a mediocre product on the field for seven years in a row, which is unacceptable for a team that is consistently one of the top 10 in payroll. There's simply no way around the fact that this team has been poorly run for over a decade now, with bad decisions compounded by further bad decisions, and no real movement towards fixing the underlying problems.

The success of a team can be judged by comparing payroll to results. I would consider a "good result" to be a 90-win season and/or a playoff berth. 90 wins means you're at least competing for the playoffs into September. A playoff berth is a success, regardless of outcome. 

The Angels haven't had a 90-win season or made the playoffs since 2014. That is simply unacceptable for a team in the top 10 of payroll (#5 this year).

So while I'm still a fan and will likely always be a fan, I'm also not happy with their performance. As many have said, it is the same shit, year after year.

I also write similar posts each year: "If you look at it this way, the team is better than it looks and there's reason for optimism." I've been saying stuff like that, year after year. And each year, well, here we are. Again.

So to be honest, not feeling very appreciative of this organization at the moment, nor am I feeling optimistic. I've put my optimism over the last few years in Eppler's farm system, but I'm feeling a bit more bearish now than I did six months ago. When the minor league rosters came out, to be honest I was a bit taken aback by how dearth of talent it is. I was one of those who thought the farm was underrated by the pundits who didn't see the good amount of high-upside talent that we serious fans did. But now I'm not so sure. There is some good talent, but it isn't very deep and I think the analysts who rank us around #20 or worse are probably right.

So, yeah. Not feeling very optimistic right now. Things could change, but it is getting harder to see it, and it is starting to feeling rationalizing apologism to do so.

[Vlad27Trout27]

We've sucked for the past several years, but this year has been really unwatchable at time.

we finally got a Closer! but dude fucken sucks ass.

this Bullpen fucked blows.

our fucken manager doesnt care about number nor wins? like what the fuck. I will admit it, Maddon has been a big part of making this season unwatchable. so many stupid mistakes after mistake.

[Angelsjunky]

Arte either doesn't care or is just stupid. Or worse yet, both. Nothing Minasian has done has made me think he's an improvement over Eppler.

[T.G.]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

Not feeling very optimistic right now. Things could change

Can't wait for when it does, so you can call them magical again

[HanfordGuy]

13 hours ago, Lou said:

In that case, I have a great idea.

Develop a recipe for awesome french fries.

 

(I was going to say this initially, but thought I'd be nice)

How about French Fries that taste like donuts...or donuts that taste like French Fries. (Patent Pending)