Jacob deGrom signs with the Rangers (5 years, $185 million)

[AngelsLakersFan]

58 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

One thing to consider is that while we still face our divisional rivals more than other teams, the schedule is less tilted towards that moving forward.  Instead of the 18-19 games against each divisional team, it's now 14.  So, around 20 games or so less against our division.

I was gona make this point. With the decline of the unbalanced schedule the individual moves other teams make don't matter much. The Angels aren't beating the Astros, so the question is can the Angels put themselves into one of the wildcard spots. Texas making a move doesn't change the calculus for the Angels much at all.

[wopphil]

1 hour ago, Trendon said:

They have an ace.

Their biggest need is bullpen.

They have an ace and then four guys who all profile as 3/4 guys. Personally, I think that in order to be truly competitive, they need another ace to go along with Ohtani. 

[BTH]

17 minutes ago, wopphil said:

They have an ace and then four guys who all profile as 3/4 guys. Personally, I think that in order to be truly competitive, they need another ace to go along with Ohtani. 

Sandoval isn’t a 3/4.

His 3.8 fWAR last season was 23rd in MLB among all pitchers.

[Swordsman78]

17 hours ago, T.G. said:

de Hell?

That's a lot of de Money for a guy who is getting de older.

LOL  I see what you did there.

[Swordsman78]

42 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I was gona make this point. With the decline of the unbalanced schedule the individual moves other teams make don't matter much. The Angels aren't beating the Astros, so the question is can the Angels put themselves into one of the wildcard spots. Texas making a move doesn't change the calculus for the Angels much at all.

Exactly my thoughts.   We get to feast on the AL Central teams more, and get hammered by the Astros less.

Thats probably worth +10 wins right there.

[Stradling]

37 minutes ago, wopphil said:

They have an ace and then four guys who all profile as 3/4 guys. Personally, I think that in order to be truly competitive, they need another ace to go along with Ohtani. 

They have 3 guys with sub 3 ERAs last year. If those are 3-4 guys then every team has a bunch of 6-7 guys. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

5 minutes ago, Swordsman78 said:

Exactly my thoughts.   We get to feast on the AL Central teams more, and get hammered by the Astros less.

Thats probably worth +10 wins right there.

I may be wrong but I thought the schedule change was entirely to add more interleague games. They added at least 10 series against NL teams, but of course everyone in the AL gets that bump.

[Swordsman78]

11 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I may be wrong but I thought the schedule change was entirely to add more interleague games. They added at least 10 series against NL teams, but of course everyone in the AL gets that bump.

I think you are correct.   Same difference though.  Less games vs the Astros.

[wopphil]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

They have 3 guys with sub 3 ERAs last year. If those are 3-4 guys then every team has a bunch of 6-7 guys. 

I like Sandoval a lot. But I want to see a bit more from him - both in terms of years of track record and ability to go deep into games - before anointing him more than a #3. 

Anderson is not better than a #3, despite his success last year. And I say that from the perspective of someone who likes the signing a whole lot. 

Ohtani is a legit #1. 

This rotation has the makings to be very good. Detmers made huge gains last year, and Suarez is under-rated. But the rotation is one injury and regression from one guy away from being forced to rely on Barria and Davidson as two-thirds of the rotation. 

[RallyMo]

6 hours ago, Lou said:

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[Docwaukee]

6 minutes ago, mypillow.com said:

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[Lou]

Rally has jumped the shark.

[Mark68]

20 hours ago, T.G. said:

de Hell?

That's a lot of de Money for a guy who is getting de older.

Yes, but he gets to count deMoney...

 

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, wopphil said:

I like Sandoval a lot. But I want to see a bit more from him - both in terms of years of track record and ability to go deep into games - before anointing him more than a #3. 

Anderson is not better than a #3, despite his success last year. And I say that from the perspective of someone who likes the signing a whole lot. 

Ohtani is a legit #1. 

This rotation has the makings to be very good. Detmers made huge gains last year, and Suarez is under-rated. But the rotation is one injury and regression from one guy away from being forced to rely on Barria and Davidson as two-thirds of the rotation. 

You mean Silseth and Ky Bush. And maybe Canning. 

Seriously, the pitching depth, at least as far as the rotation goes, is a strength.

[ten ocho recon scout]

15 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

the A's might lose 200 games next year.  

But still sweep us in June, after we go 6-4 against 2 good teams.

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

And still beat the Angels 8 times.

Shit

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

You mean Silseth and Ky Bush. And maybe Canning. 

Seriously, the pitching depth, at least as far as the rotation goes, is a strength.

It's hard for all to get over what's been normal for the past 10 years.  Where there was swingman upside at best to anyone beyond like 6th or 7th on the depth chart.  When Trevor Cahill and Matt Harvey are in your rotation with Heaney and Skaggs as your 1-2 and the early 20's versions of Canning, Suarez, Barria and Sandoval as your depth.  None of whom were ready.  

Now we have 5 starters who are arguably better than the first four guys I mentioned.  And while the rest are there to fill things out and give you occasional innings if needed, guys like Rodriguez, Silseth, and Bush all have actual talent.  AND you'll likely have Davidson and Barria in the pen to make some spot starts if needed.  They aren't great, but three years ago, they'd be in the rotation.  

Our AAA rotation is Silseth, Rodriguez, Canning, Davis Daniel and probably Bush

Our AA rotation is Probably Bachman, Crow, Soriano, Pina, Erla, and a bunch of others with potential like Dana, Costeiu, Madden, Kochanowicz, Von Scoyoc and watch out for Victor Mederos.  

You can go pretty far down and still find guys that are gonna get outs at the major league level.  

[AngelStew43]

The Mets are now probably desperate for a front line starter.  If we are ever going to take advantage of someone in trade, the time may be now.  

How about:  Ohtani, Walsh, and Velazquez to the Mets.

Angels get:  Alonso, Alvarez, Baty, Vientos, Peterson, Tidwell, and Reimer.  

We get to load up, the Mets get baseball's poster boy, we add Alonso to replace Walsh, and add a starter in Peterson, a top prospect in Tidwell, and a power hitting corner infielder that is probably 3 seasons out in Reimer, who is a So Cal kid, from Yucaipa.  

We could use the freed up cash on a SS, like Turner or Boegarts.  

I know, not trading Ohtani, but if we did, that would be a pretty good haul.

[Warfarin]

7 minutes ago, AngelStew43 said:

The Mets are now probably desperate for a front line starter.  If we are ever going to take advantage of someone in trade, the time may be now.  

How about:  Ohtani, Walsh, and Velazquez to the Mets.

Angels get:  Alonso, Alvarez, Baty, Vientos, Peterson, Tidwell, and Reimer.  

We get to load up, the Mets get baseball's poster boy, we add Alonso to replace Walsh, and add a starter in Peterson, a top prospect in Tidwell, and a power hitting corner infielder that is probably 3 seasons out in Reimer, who is a So Cal kid, from Yucaipa.  

We could use the freed up cash on a SS, like Turner or Boegarts.  

I know, not trading Ohtani, but if we did, that would be a pretty good haul.

Per BTV, this is the trade you have proposed, and it won't let me even include Tidwell because it says it is unrealistic to have that many players.

So, perhaps, in the interest of generating a more "fair" trade, you can remove Alvarez from that trade.

But FWIW, the Mets have tons of money and I imagine they would just pivot and sign either Verlander or Rodon.

[Pancake Bear]

6 hours ago, wopphil said:

They have an ace and then four guys who all profile as 3/4 guys. Personally, I think that in order to be truly competitive, they need another ace to go along with Ohtani. 

Do you actually watch the games? Sandoval was a top pitcher last year and has been trending that way for a while. That isn't fan talk, it is reality. 

Detmers is profiling like a top of the rotation arm. Keith Law projected him before the season as that and he took the steps in that direction last year. He was already a top 60 pitcher last year, and he was better in the second half than he was in the first. 

3/4 guys? That's one of the most ignorant statements I've ever seen on this site, and I've seen a lot of dumb ones. 

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, Pancake Bear said:

Do you actually watch the games? Sandoval was a top pitcher last year and has been trending that way for a while. That isn't fan talk, it is reality. 

Detmers is profiling like a top of the rotation arm. Keith Law projected him before the season as that and he took the steps in that direction last year. He was already a top 60 pitcher last year, and he was better in the second half than he was in the first. 

3/4 guys? That's one of the most ignorant statements I've ever seen on this site, and I've seen a lot of dumb ones. 

Like Doc said, it's been ingrained in our minds for over a decade that "we need pitching!" and we absolutely did. 

I wouldn't call it an ignorant statement, just misguided. 

Now that we actually have pitching, it's hard for people to process. It's like being in an abusive relationship for 10 years, then dating someone who actually treats you well. It's easy to be skeptical that it's real and they aren't just going to start hurting you.

[wopphil]

22 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Do you actually watch the games? Sandoval was a top pitcher last year and has been trending that way for a while. That isn't fan talk, it is reality. 

Detmers is profiling like a top of the rotation arm. Keith Law projected him before the season as that and he took the steps in that direction last year. He was already a top 60 pitcher last year, and he was better in the second half than he was in the first. 

3/4 guys? That's one of the most ignorant statements I've ever seen on this site, and I've seen a lot of dumb ones. 

This is the kind of thinking that over-estimates a team’s success and then causes one to scratch their head when the team goes 70-92 for yet another losing season. 

Sandoval was great last year. Prior to last year though, he had a career ERA+ of 103. Detmers was very good last year, especially for his age. But still managed only a 106 ERA+ and was bad enough to get demoted mid-season. And you think these two qualify as 2 or better starters? Who is the one being ignorant here? 

[wopphil]

17 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Like Doc said, it's been ingrained in our minds for over a decade that "we need pitching!" and we absolutely did. 

I wouldn't call it an ignorant statement, just misguided. 

Now that we actually have pitching, it's hard for people to process. It's like being in an abusive relationship for 10 years, then dating someone who actually treats you well. It's easy to be skeptical that it's real and they aren't just going to start hurting you.

This is very true. It certainly applies to my thinking. But that being said, while we have much better depth than in years’ past, it is almost all unproven. 

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, wopphil said:

This is the kind of thinking that over-estimates a team’s success and then causes one to scratch their head when the team goes 70-92 for yet another losing season. 

Sandoval was great last year. Prior to last year though, he had a career ERA+ of 103. Detmers was very good last year, especially for his age. But still managed only a 106 ERA+ and was bad enough to get demoted mid-season. And you think these two qualify as 2 or better starters? Who is the one being ignorant here? 

Ok why do you choose to ignore that Sandoval has been trending positively. You give him credit for 2022, but then you pump his previous three seasons together. In 2021 his ERA+ was 124.  He’s absolutely trending the right way. Two straight years of considerably better than league average pitching. 

[Pancake Bear]

8 minutes ago, wopphil said:

This is the kind of thinking that over-estimates a team’s success and then causes one to scratch their head when the team goes 70-92 for yet another losing season. 

Sandoval was great last year. Prior to last year though, he had a career ERA+ of 103. Detmers was very good last year, especially for his age. But still managed only a 106 ERA+ and was bad enough to get demoted mid-season. And you think these two qualify as 2 or better starters? Who is the one being ignorant here? 

You said they profile as 3/4's. Not, they are that now (still wrong), but they profile as that. That's the opposite of cup-half-full thinking. It's not only wrong, it's ridiculously wrong. Suarez sure; Anderson, okay, whatever; Sandoval and Detmers? Nah. That's so pessimistic it ignores what experts who aren't fans of the team think because you're so committed to a pen outdated narrative.