Dipoto Report Card Redux

[Angel Oracle]

Still think his intentions were good and if Pujols and Hamilton did their jobs this wouldn't be an issue. I don't blame him for that similarly to not being upset with Reagins for Wells.

 

There was no way in knowing these players wouldn't perform based on their history.

That's just it though.   When a lot of players underperform at once, who is it on?   The GM for not foreseeing declines?  The MLB scouts for not judging well enough?   The coaching staff for not preparing/motivating them?     Just bad luck?

[fan_since79]

Scioscia's fault for continuing to pencil in Hamilton and Trumbo 3 and 4 in the lineup.

[mtangelsfan]

Who would you put in the three and four spot?

[Angel Oracle]

Dipoto will be on Academic Probation for the next 2 years

I recommend double secret probation.

[fan_since79]

Who would you put in the three and four spot?

Calhoun and Trout at this point.

 

Shuck

Aybar

Calhoun

Trout

Trumbo

Nelson

Hamilton

Conger

Green

[Angel Oracle]

Good lineup, I'd even switch Conger and Hackilton.  

Guys who've hit .220 with a .270 OBP pretty much all season have no business hitting above 8th.

Plus the fact that he only has 51 rbis all season in over 400 at bats, speaks of his totally unclutch hitting.

 

Hackilton is the answer to the 2011 Mr. Pop-Up, and he should have been hitting 8th by this point in 2011.  

[Docwaukee]

This franchise is like a piñata.

Stoneman spent years putting together the skeleton albeit with some help from Scioscia, Bane, and Arte.

The four of them and a few others decorated it up all nice

Arte then thought it a good idea to fill it with candy and hang it from a tree for all to see

Soon, everyone was taking whacks at it including those that helped build it because hey 'free candy'

It was battered up a bit but functional until tony reagins came along with a crowbar beating it almost unrecognizable near to the point of splitting it open.

Then, after all the kids had a turn, Papa Dipoto came along to finally cave in the head and open the belly so all the goodies spilled out.

"CANDY FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!"

[Angelsjunky]

I'd like to know what the grades were the day of each transaction or signing. I bet the are drastically different. It's not DiPoto's fault that these guys aren't performing to their expectations under Scioscia. Everyone agreed that Hamilton would not be the MVP he had been while in Texas. But no one thought he would be this bad. Is that DiPoto's fault? The only way you were going to get the best hitter in baseball was to give him an outrageous contract. Everyone knew it was too much the day he signed, but most agreed that as long as it brought 1-2 WS titles, it would be worth it. We are not even through the 2nd year of that contract and that grade gets a D? Come on!

 

One or two, or even a good number of "this didn't work out as hoped" moves is fine and forgiveable, but the vast majority of Dipoto's moves are like that. At some point he has to be held accountable for the team he has assembled.

[Inside Pitch]

I recommend double secret probation.

 

 

Now i need to watch that this weekend.

[Angelsjunky]

I think the premise of the thread is incorrect given that we haven't judged Dipoto in the full scope of what a GM does, only of results at the Major League level.  GM's, or specifically Dipoto, have a huge hand in shaping the Front Office and the minor league structure as a whole.  In that respect, Dipoto's been both good and bad.

 

Good in that Dipoto has the right personnel in place and has had a huge hand in drafting some of the better talent in the system.  Dipoto and Ric Wilson put a much greater emphasis on collegiate level talent than Reagins and Bane ever did, and this has resulted in Alex Yarbrough, Mark Sappington, Eric Stamets, Michael Roth, Mike Morin, Reid Scoggins, Yency Almonte and Michael Snyder all in one draft.  Who knows how many players we just grabbed in this draft that'll turn into solid prospects.  Right now Middleton, Morris, McGowin and Swanson all look pretty good for college arms.  

 

But his arrival has been bad in that he depleted the system of players that didn't fit his mold.  Chatwood, Roach, Amarista, Segura, Pena, Hellweg...  These were all solid prospects and I think it's a reflection of extremely structured thinking that led to such moves.  Chatwood's going to be a solid #3/4 SP or good RP, Roach will be a good back-end SP, Amarista can play pretty much any position and provide better than average offense, Segura's a freakin' star, just because we had Aybar and Kendrick doesn't mean you trade him away, Pena and Hellweg are both projectable arms that could've helped the Angels beginning next year, at a time where their pitching has and will need it the most. 

 

I hear your point, Scotty, but a lot of those other factors fall into the "too soon to tell" category. None of the players drafted under Dipoto have made it to the major leagues yet, so we're going to have to wait and see.

 

And yes, I do think that, in the end, "results at the major league level" are all that matters.

[mtangelsfan]

Calhoun and Trout at this point.

 

Shuck

Aybar

Calhoun

Trout

Trumbo

Nelson

Hamilton

Conger

Green

 

So you are upset that Sosh didn't bring a player up from the minors and immediately plug him into the the 3 spot?  Plus with Trout's speed, he needs to be in one of the first three spots.

 

Aybar is a horrible number two hitter.

[fan_since79]

So you are upset that Sosh didn't bring a player up from the minors and immediately plug him into the the 3 spot?  Plus with Trout's speed, he needs to be in one of the first three spots.

 

Aybar is a horrible number two hitter.

Aybar has been hitting the ball better and getting on base lately.

 

I'll grant you the point that Trout should be higher than cleanup. Try Conger in that spot for a couple games. He's got legit power.

 

Anyone but Hamilton and Trumbo, who himself is slumping horribly, once again like last year.

[Docwaukee]

Btw AJ, nice job here

I agree with the D grade although I fight the idea that some of his moves didn't work because of a player that should have performed better and not because the thought process behind the move was faulty.

I actually give the pujols move a b-. Don't mind the money and I like the move from a franchise standpoint

Deducting points for injuries is a tough call unless the player was at very high risk.

Still though, I give his collection of moves to improve the pen an F and moves to improve sp a D along with an F for Hamilton. I bump him to a max overall of C-

[Scott34]

Hamilton:

 

4 years/ 106M left on his deal.

 

good lord.

[bloodbrother]

Hamilton:

 

4 years/ 106M left on his deal.

 

good lord.

 

It's like Vernon Wells never left.

[yk9001]

I actually give the pujols move a b-. Don't mind the money and I like the move from a franchise standpoint

Pujols has done zero for this franchise.

[Angel Oracle]

Now i need to watch that this weekend.

The part where the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor is the bomb.

[Angel Oracle]

So you are upset that Sosh didn't bring a player up from the minors and immediately plug him into the the 3 spot?  Plus with Trout's speed, he needs to be in one of the first three spots.

 

Aybar is a horrible number two hitter.

Except that when Aybar is going well, he isn't a horrible #2 hitter and next to other choices in the lineup is probably the best bet. 

The problem is, until Bourjos returns, we don't have a good #2 hitter.

Calhoun's and Trout's OPS' need to be utilized in the 2 most prominent spots in the order, 3 and 4. 

[monkeywithahalo]

Good points, but I kind of have a problem with grading moves based on the results alone, especially the trades. I'm of the opinion that we can only really grade the moves based on what we knew at the time. For example, the Madson signing is an F but that is because we know now that he never got healthy. At the time there was no reason to believe he wouldn't come back at all. The recovery rate is so good on TJ surgery now that hardly seemed like a major risk. If you want to give someone an F, give it to the medical staff that reviewed Madson's records and gave Dipoto the thumbs up. Similarly, I suspect that the grade on the Frieri trade would've been much higher had you done this 30 days ago when his ERA was under 3.00.

 

Mind you, I'm not defending Dipoto necessarily. He has clearly made a lot of risk-laden moves and they have almost uniformly blown up in his face. But what if they went the other way? We'd be giving him 'A' grades across the board for doing the same exact things.

[xboom28x]

Good points, but I kind of have a problem with grading moves based on the results alone, especially the trades. I'm of the opinion that we can only really grade the moves based on what we knew at the time. For example, the Madson signing is an F but that is because we know now that he never got healthy. At the time there was no reason to believe he wouldn't come back at all. The recovery rate is so good on TJ surgery now that hardly seemed like a major risk. If you want to give someone an F, give it to the medical staff that reviewed Madson's records and gave Dipoto the thumbs up. Similarly, I suspect that the grade on the Frieri trade would've been much higher had you done this 30 days ago when his ERA was under 3.00.

 

Mind you, I'm not defending Dipoto necessarily. He has clearly made a lot of risk-laden moves and they have almost uniformly blown up in his face. But what if they went the other way? We'd be giving him 'A' grades across the board for doing the same exact things.

 

This is exactly my point. If the players acquired (mainly Hamilton and Pujols) performed to their abilities this season alone, his "grade" would be a B- at worst.

 

I am not saying every DiPoto move was a good move. But at the time, this board was more than pleased with Pujols and Hamilton coming to the team. In fact, I'd bet there are quite a few "We Love You DiPoto" and "Thank you Jerry" threads each of the past two off-seasons.

[Chuck]

Good points, but I kind of have a problem with grading moves based on the results alone, especially the trades. I'm of the opinion that we can only really grade the moves based on what we knew at the time. For example, the Madson signing is an F but that is because we know now that he never got healthy. At the time there was no reason to believe he wouldn't come back at all. The recovery rate is so good on TJ surgery now that hardly seemed like a major risk. If you want to give someone an F, give it to the medical staff that reviewed Madson's records and gave Dipoto the thumbs up. Similarly, I suspect that the grade on the Frieri trade would've been much higher had you done this 30 days ago when his ERA was under 3.00.

Mind you, I'm not defending Dipoto necessarily. He has clearly made a lot of risk-laden moves and they have almost uniformly blown up in his face. But what if they went the other way? We'd be giving him 'A' grades across the board for doing the same exact things.

Good points Monkey.

I think that most fans gave Dipoto an A for his first offseason and a B- for this season's roster he put together.

I think the man is bright and I'm glad we have him as our GM. Too bad Hamilton had to suck, Burnett/Madson had health issues along with Pujols this season, and Hanson/Blanton have had their worst seasons to date over the course of their careers.

[ScottT]

Results will ultimately get you an extension or get your fired, but like with players, you should consider sample size. 

 

This is a game played by human beings against other human beings. They age, get injured, and slump. It is quite a bit different than your average job.   Process should count for more.  Nobody thought Dipoto's moves would've resulted in a W/L record like this.   Also, I still believe that it was Arte (mostly) that pushed for Pujols and Hamilton.   Just listen to Dipoto.  You know, candidly, he probably would be concerned with such deals.... and Hamilton's sudden lack of plate discipline that begun before they signed him.