The case against Dipoto

[mp170.6]

They're paying Blanton $15 million over TWO years, and if that isn't bad enough, they have to buy him out for the 2015 season!

 

I can understand the SP free agent market being slim, but why give a washed up pitcher like Blanton a two year deal with a third year option?  This was incredibly stupid on the Angels' part.  

[RePLAY]

Pujols, Hamilton, Hunter, Grienke, Weaver, Santana , Haren, Trout, Morales, Matsui,

Poor Scioscia.. GM's giving him horrible players.

[Nowani]

I dunno, I guess that the simple fact is that NOBODY here knows the answer and this rampant speculation only serves to cast negative lights upon everybody in the organization, completely devoid of facts or logic.  All of the negativity gets really tiring and I wonder about the ultimate purpose or benefit of this incessant collective negative narrative.

 

Maybe we shouldn't watch anymore. 

 

Most humans have a natural tendancy to want to vent frustration. You see it everywhere. It's healthy. It's a way to relieve stress. It's the few humans who don't vent and keep everything inside that can end up causing a lot of issues in society. Venting and complaining is also bonding.

[19HALO71]

If anything Aybar is underrated. Before this year three of his last four seasons had WARs of 3.6 to 3.9, which while not being a true star makes him a very good player. As Mark68 pointed out, he started slowly last year as well and had a very good season. That said...

 

 

Good point. I think the "Segura Situation" is another example of poor talent judgment on the part of the Angels. Segura has already started to cool off (a bit) and my guess is more of a .300/.850 player than the .340/.950 player he's been so far. But that's still very, very good - and better than Kendrick and Aybar. If you have a star prospect who is more talented than your regulars, why extend the regulars and trade the prospect? I know, I know - how could Dipoto have known Segura would be this good? But the problem, again, is that time and time again Dipoto seems to miss the mark.

Star Prospect? Really?You mean like Brandon Wood or Dallas McPherson. The only problem I have in the term "Star Prospect" is "Prospect". That is why you trade Segura, because aybar had just come off a Gold Glove and Kendrick, although not supertar, he is better than average.

[Torridd]

this

 

it's mind blowing to me.

Sometimes you sign a guy based on potential. I liked the Madson signing and still do. I think GMs should take risks which is why I was so frustrated with Stoneman. However, the Blanton acquisition across the board was deemed very questionable.

[Torridd]

Dipoto took a lot of risks and just about none of them have worked out. I like the fact that he tried but I think its now questionable how smart of a baseball man he is. But being a forgiving sort of guy, perhaps to a fault, I'd like to see what he can do to fix this mess and even as I'm no longer enamored of him, I'm also not convinced that he is NOT a smart guy and can't fix this. He deserves a chance. I think you don't consider firing him until May of next year, but if I were Arte I'd have Jerry on a short leash; I wouldn't settle for less than contention next year.

Like many have said, his legacy will depend on Hamilton and Pujols. I do think that Arte had his hand in these acquisitions though.

[Inside Pitch]

Like many have said, his legacy will depend on Hamilton and Pujols. I do think that Arte had his hand in these acquisitions though.

 

 

I think he's getting a free pass and a lot of BS is being pushed onto Arte, at least as it relates to Pujols.  

 

People seem to forget all the fawning in the press about how Dipoto used back elevators to keep his interaction with Pujols on the down low.   He was praised for spending hours in the hotel talking to the guy once they made contact with AP.   A lot was made of his having shown up with a force of like 40 people at the Winter meetings etc etc and even Wilson said that JD hinted something huge was going on as the Angels were trying to sign him.  So, was all that for show and in reality JD sat and watched cartoons while Arte did all the work?  If so, he should get fired for doing nothing.  

 

Now that things have gone tits up its seems it's all on Arte and JD is just some poor pawn.  Let's not forget the universal praise he got for going after Pujols and keeping MS completely out of the loop.  I still remember the snickering that seemed to bring out and how people were mocking MS for saying he was hoping the team might add more pitching only to be excluded from the AP conversations.

 

Throw Hamilton at Arte, that seems a bit more realistic but the AP deal had JD's fingerprints all over it.  Some of this is starting to remind me of how many Angels fans made excuses for Bill Bavasi, arguing his hands were tied by Disney and that if only they had let him run the team it would have gone right.  That theory went to crap the minute he went to Seattle, repeated every mistake and removed all doubt as to what a moron he truly was.

 

I think JD has the right plan overall, I think he's made some mistakes but whatever, if they lose and lose ugly for a season or two in order to right the ship I'm all for it.  I don't care if they haven't made the postseason the last three years, I want them to be a legit contender, not a team trying to make headlines and win the media war with their cross town rival.  My biggest issue with JD is that despite being soooooo freaking smart he made little to no effort to exploit the international market in the one season he could have.  Puig, Soler, were both known entities and the Angels made little effort to sign either guy.  Also, the win now to keep people in the stands BS needs to stop.  Long term, I think his plan works, but I do worry about his yapping about stuff like hitters than control the count and pitchers that limit base-runners when he turns around and signs a SP who struggles with the strike zone in Wilson.  He trades for a RP who at times makes Krod look like a control pitcher in Frieri, and then caps it by adding and a power hitter noted for being a hack with blind spots.  If Hamilton wasn't his guy they he should have been really loud about it to Arte. 

 

In short...  I can buy into what JD says is his plan.  I can't hack the BS he's actually assembling.  He says all the right things but I have a hard time looking at the actual moves and giving him credit for being true to his word.  And if he doesn't have the balls to stand up to the owner IMO he needs to be gone yesterday.