Why a winning record matters (this year)

[jsnpritchett]

1 minute ago, arch stanton said:

What's the point? Doing nothing wasn't an option

I'm saying the specific collection of guys they acquired wasn't ever likely to make much of an impact.  If those are the best guys you can get for the 8 prospects you had to give up, you're probably better off just holding.

[arch stanton]

5 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

I'm saying the specific collection of guys they acquired wasn't ever likely to make much of an impact.  If those are the best guys you can get for the 8 prospects you had to give up, you're probably better off just holding.

20/20 hindsight. They're all established players with a track record

[Angels 1961]

No, the streak will reach 8 years.

[jsnpritchett]

[Jay]

12 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

BWAR so far for the 7 guys the Angels have traded for since June:  .9, .3, .3, -.3, -.4, -.5, -.5. Total of -.2.  

Perry has a plan!

[jsnpritchett]

9 minutes ago, Jay said:

Perry has a plan!

[RenoHalo]

I don’t think they’ll see .500 again this year. But since it’s the fkn Angels, I’m guessing they’ll win like their last 6 or so to finish 80-82. It’ll be reminiscent of Tim Salmon’s 299 HR. 

[notherhalo]

This is all that matters now

[Docwaukee]

This is actually the biggest failure of a season in the Moreno era.  (not saying it's all his fault btw).  Highest payroll in franchise history by a large margin.  Gut the farm for a bunch of mediocre players who have added nothing.  Pretty much every resource they could reasonably consider was thrown at this season.  

And we're thinking whether having a 'winning' season would be a positive?  

11 games ago they were 5 games over .500 and now they're two below.  When they were tasked with having to play their best in order to have a legitimate shot, they've played their worst.  

Don't get me wrong.  I'm still hoping for a miracle like the rest of us.  But 82 wins isn't the guy getting the girl at the end of this shitty movie.  

[gurn67]

They'll win a bunch of meaningless games the last week of the season to move down in the draft several picks, but still finish under .500. It's the Angels' way.

[NrM]

1 hour ago, Docwaukee said:

This is actually the biggest failure of a season in the Moreno era.  (not saying it's all his fault btw).  Highest payroll in franchise history by a large margin.  Gut the farm for a bunch of mediocre players who have added nothing.  Pretty much every resource they could reasonably consider was thrown at this season.  

And we're thinking whether having a 'winning' season would be a positive?  

11 games ago they were 5 games over .500 and now they're two below.  When they were tasked with having to play their best in order to have a legitimate shot, they've played their worst.  

Don't get me wrong.  I'm still hoping for a miracle like the rest of us.  But 82 wins isn't the guy getting the girl at the end of this shitty movie.  

Don't worry mate. We had injuries and bad luck. You can't explain that! We'll get em next year.

[Angels 1961]

7 hours ago, notherhalo said:

This is all that matters now

Angels 75-87

[Chico]

The acquisition of Cron and Grichuk, two former pre-Perry Minasian Angels, to me had Moreno's stamp on it. I can't verify it because I'm not on the inside, but it seems to me that Moreno has an outsize influence on player acquisition. All along. I get the feeling that he renders any GM as a eunuch and labels each Angels team by his expensive superstars who end up being the teams' only good players. And some like Hamilton and Rendon are wastes of hundreds of millions of dollars, further unbalancing the lineup. Seems Arte doesn't think that pitching is too important either. 

Until Arte sells the team (anyone into funding a plane to buzz the stadium with the Sell the Team Arte Banner? It's surprisingly affordable) the Angels are going to suck. Arte is the gorilla in the room.

[Angelsjunky]

On 8/12/2023 at 2:07 PM, jsnpritchett said:

I'm saying the specific collection of guys they acquired wasn't ever likely to make much of an impact.  If those are the best guys you can get for the 8 prospects you had to give up, you're probably better off just holding.

Bingo. This was my issue all along, and why I wrote various posts on the topic. Minasian's moves were the type that very good teams make to patch holes - but even then, they tend not to do as many, losing as many prospects. 

Of course if they had continued and built upon their hot streak of a few weeks ago, we'd all be screaming GENIOUS!!! I would have much rather been wrong about his moves, in that regard. 

[Angelsjunky]

On 8/13/2023 at 3:40 AM, Docwaukee said:

This is actually the biggest failure of a season in the Moreno era.  (not saying it's all his fault btw).  Highest payroll in franchise history by a large margin.  Gut the farm for a bunch of mediocre players who have added nothing.  Pretty much every resource they could reasonably consider was thrown at this season.  

And we're thinking whether having a 'winning' season would be a positive?  

11 games ago they were 5 games over .500 and now they're two below.  When they were tasked with having to play their best in order to have a legitimate shot, they've played their worst.  

Don't get me wrong.  I'm still hoping for a miracle like the rest of us.  But 82 wins isn't the guy getting the girl at the end of this shitty movie.  

Hear me out. Finishing below .500 and it is just another shitty year, and perhaps even shittier because of the prospects lost and the impending departure of Ohtani. Finishing over .500 and it signals that at least the team pulled above water level, despite all of the challenges they faced (mainly, injuries).

Meaning, it is a subtle but marked difference in narrative, and narratives are the "myths we live by." Humans are myth-making creatures, and part of the uphill battle for this franchise is changing its narrative, which somewhat acts as a kind of magnetic attractor.

I've never meant to suggest that finishing 82-80 would be some super profound accomplishment. What I mean to suggest is that it matters this year more than in previous years.

It isn't getting the girl at the end of the movie, but it is the girl saying she'd go out with you if she wasn't moving back to Scotland, so you have a taste of some success, even if it is ultimately "blue balled."

[Tank]

On 8/13/2023 at 12:40 AM, Docwaukee said:

Don't get me wrong.  I'm still hoping for a miracle like the rest of us.  But 82 wins isn't the guy getting the girl at the end of this shitty movie. 

that's sandra bernhard waiting on the front porch, not jessica alba.

[Angelsjunky]

13 hours ago, Tank said:

that's sandra bernhard waiting on the front porch, not jessica alba.

I wonder what percentage of forumites know who Sandra Bernhard is?

[LaPalma]

On 8/12/2023 at 2:14 PM, arch stanton said:

20/20 hindsight. They're all established players with a track record

Plenty of people on this board and elsewhere thought it was a bad idea.  Many said as much.

[T.G.]

14 hours ago, Tank said:

that's sandra bernhard waiting on the front porch, not jessica alba.

This deserved much more love!

[T.G.]

21 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

I wonder what percentage of forumites know who Sandra Bernhard is?

The lucky ones have no idea.

[Angelsjunky]

21 minutes ago, T.G. said:

The lucky ones have no idea.

This isn't false.

[AngelFanInTheATL]

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I wonder what percentage of forumites know who Sandra Bernhard is?

Hint: she's not the one from Speed 

[Angelsjunky]

4 minutes ago, AngelFanInTheATL said:

Hint: she's not the one from Speed 

Ha, that is true. I do remember her, though like most celebrities, can't remember when she fell off the radar. Maybe 20 years ago? 25?

[PattyD22]

59 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Ha, that is true. I do remember her, though like most celebrities, can't remember when she fell off the radar. Maybe 20 years ago? 25?

I would tell the younger guys to YouTube old David Letterman interviews with her, but hell…they don’t know who David Letterman is either.

[70runner]

For the youngins, here's Sandra on a good day...