This team is not magical

[angelsnationtalk]

8 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

The only positives I'm finding in this 2022 version of the Angels are:

Trout and Rendon are healthy (so far)

Syndergaard could be a magical reclamation project after all.

There is an additional wild card to chase.

 

Other than that, I can't think offhand of anything.

This is the line that terrifies me with the Angels. They think they can make the playoffs but not by winning the division... it's by winning the wild card spot. 
Angels fans are in for one emotional year where they likely will come SUPER close to making it but still far short. 

Once that happens you'll get the routine excuse from management saying "we needed luck to go our way" "we had a great solid team".....

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

[Taylor]

8 hours ago, NrM said:

Adell gives me Brandon Wood/Dallas McPherson vibes tbh

McPherson's career was derailed by injuries.

[UndertheHalo]

Ya I don’t think the McPherson/Wood comp is right with Adell at all.  Adell had a relatively positive showing across what around 150 AB’s last year ?  Definitely a big improvement all around vs.  his first year.  We never saw any improvement with Wood.  Never.  Disaster end to end with him.  And McPherson just kept getting hurt. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by UndertheHalo

[UndertheHalo]

Perry looks fired up lol 

[Taylor]

19 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

Perry looks fired up lol 

[Tank]

9 hours ago, NrM said:

Adell gives me Brandon Wood/Dallas McPherson vibes tbh

mcpherson, for the billionth time, played well. injuries knocked him out.

[fan_since79]

2 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

This is the line that terrifies me with the Angels. They think they can make the playoffs but not by winning the division... it's by winning the wild card spot. 
Angels fans are in for one emotional year where they likely will come SUPER close to making it but still far short. 

Once that happens you'll get the routine excuse from management saying "we needed luck to go our way" "we had a great solid team".....

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

Yep. We might need a few additional wild card spots to get back into the postseason.

I won't be churned up inside this year as in so many previous seasons if we fall short of that THIRD wild card. I've got happy thoughts and meditation to help me now. I'll just laugh it off and turn my attention to the NFL.

 

[NrM]

2 hours ago, Taylor said:

McPherson's career was derailed by injuries.

Yeah my bad I think I remember him having serious back issues.

 

[Hubs]

After 2 games against Miami at home, then 4 games on the Road in Texas, I expect the Angels to have a winning record when they face off against the Cheating Astros again. Their starting pitching has been good, only on Friday was the bullpen bad. Yesterday was meh. 

If they can Take 2-3 against Houston on the road in that series, then we'll know they're better than we are feeling right now.

[DCAngelsFan]

7 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Biggest difference between Cheaters and Halos: developing international talent

Other than Ohtani (no minors time here) and maybe Suarez eventually, who has truly made it here?

Now contrast that to the Cheaters.   Altuve, Alvarez, Gurriel, Valdez, Javier, Urquidy, Siri, etc.

When will the Halos start seeing that? Can’t blame Clay Daniels anymore, he was let go a long time ago (12+ years back).

Tucker - drafted 1st / 5th pick overall

Pena - drafted 3rd round by the Astros 

Gurriel - Cuban defector, signed as a free agent

javier - International signing - 2015 (on the positive side, we signed Yan that same year, while in the post-Baldoquin penalty)

Urquidy - International signing - 2015 

Siri - international signed by the Reds, DFA'd, signed to a minor league contract by the Astros.

Altuve - international signing - I remember him telling the story of trying out for an Angels scout first but we blew him off 'cause he's too short

Alvarez - Cuban defector, signed by the Dodgers, who traded him to Houston for Josh Fields

Bregman - drafted 1st round/#2 overall by the Astros

Brantly - free agent signing

So, a couple of really early draft picks, some FA's, and some very solid returns on International signings and scouting (they made a very good trade for Alvarez and ripped off the Dodgers, which rarely happens)

No magic, really - we've sucked at International signings which we've all known for a long time.  And this is what feeds the "Arte doesn't pay attention to organization nuts-and-bolts" narrative - you can parse that and say "oh, but that's the GM's responsibility" or "That's the Director of Scouting" or whatever.  But from a talent perspective, this is a very poorly performing organization (if we hadn't drafted Trout, can you imagine how bad this franchise would be?) and has been since he got here.   It's his responsibility.  

The sad part is I'd have thought Arte would have a bit of a leg up as a Mexican owner in recruiting internationals, but doesn't seem to have helped

 

[Blarg]

Arte needs to scout harder.

[Angel Oracle]

16 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Arte needs to scout spend harder on nuts and bolts.

FIFY 

[Angel Oracle]

44 minutes ago, Hubs said:

After 2 games against Miami at home, then 4 games on the Road in Texas, I expect the Angels to have a winning record when they face off against the Cheating Astros again. Their starting pitching has been good, only on Friday was the bullpen bad. Yesterday was meh. 

If they can Take 2-3 against Houston on the road in that series, then we'll know they're better than we are feeling right now.

Rangers are improved with Seager/Semien up the middle.  Winning 3 of 4 there will be no slam dunk.

[Justin]

30 minutes ago, DCAngelsFan said:

if we hadn't drafted Trout, can you imagine how bad this franchise would be?

On the other hand, maybe without Trout, the organization would not have been averse to a complete rebuild. 

[Hubs]

Just now, Angel Oracle said:

Rangers are improved with Seager/Semien up the middle.  Winning 3 of 4 there will be no slam dunk.

Semien didn't have a good series, but they only played 3. Seager did.

They have offensive talent, but they also gave up 13 ER in three games and have a 7.20 ERA. Their best starter is on the DL...He'll be eligible to come off on the 19th, after we visit.

The bats should wake up facing Texas and Miami.

 

[Hubs]

Miami's first three starters did well, but we face their 4th and 5th starters. Elisier Hernandez and Jesus Luzardo.

[Justin]

3 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Jesus Luzardo.

I forgot that he was part of the Starling Marte trade. 

God, I hate the A's.

[Hubs]

2 minutes ago, Justin said:

I forgot that he was part of the Starling Marte trade. 

God, I hate the A's.

He had 6 something ERA last year with the Marlins.

[Justin]

6 minutes ago, Hubs said:

He had 6 something ERA last year with the Marlins.

Yep. He was one of the top prospects in baseball but the A's did not hesitate to unload him after he struggled for a few months. 

[Tank]

2 hours ago, Hubs said:

Miami's first three starters did well, but we face their 4th and 5th starters. Elisier Hernandez and Jesus Luzardo.

if either of them is a soft-tossing lefty, we're doomed.

[ten ocho recon scout]

21 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Too much dead weight in the lineup. We rely on the top of the order to do everything. 

Feels like this has been the case forever. 

"Well, Trout didnt hit a grand slam, hope the pitching holds up for his next at bat in 3 innings".

Foe this team to succeed (here comes brilliant strategy), the back half of the order needs to hit. Period. 

Not all star level. Merely just contribute every 3rd game or so to a win. 

[rottiesworld]

2 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Feels like this has been the case forever. 

"Well, Trout didnt hit a grand slam, hope the pitching holds up for his next at bat in 3 innings".

Foe this team to succeed (here comes brilliant strategy), the back half of the order needs to hit. Period. 

Not all star level. Merely just contribute every 3rd game or so to a win. 

I agree a lot of dead weight which put a lot of pressure on the top of the lineup which is not good.

[Angel Oracle]

7 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

Perry looks fired up lol 

Joe Maddon, you’re got some ‘’splaining to do.

[Duren, Duren]

 Only the bare beginnings of the season, but a winning streak already is necessary to get back to .500. And a lot of preseason optimism has been slapped with a reality check. Not that most expected magical things anyway, but hope is eternal. 

in my opinion the roster is not balanced enough. This is the type of roster you see in a salary capped sports world. A small core of mega high priced players and a larger quantity of low end fringe and young players on entry level and minimal type salaries. Some of the youth are projected into future impact players but at present they aren't contributing enough on the field.  Missing are enough good, mid level, youngish veterans at reasonable contracts.

Quasi Laker like, but with three times as many players on a roster.

Maybe sacrificing a Rendon, for instance for a couple of proven mid level/salaried starters would help the team more. 

And when Ohtani graduates into possibly the most elite salary scale Arte and management will face all sorts of roster questions. 

 

[Taylor]

5 hours ago, Hubs said:

He had 6 something ERA last year with the Marlins.

Which means he'll pitch the best game of his career against the Angels. 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches thrown.