Do the Angels have scouts?

[mtangelsfan]

I agree, I just was saying we wasn't fired as a scout, which is what this thead was about.

 

What strikes me as funny is that a few years ago, many on this forum were complaining about the scouting and the minor league system that it wasn't developing any moto bats.  That all the system was producing was light hitting middle infielders.

 

Now most posters long for the good old days.

[Angel Oracle]

I just hope Dipoto put someone in Orem who understands how to work with players, like Kotchman did for so long. 

 

JeDi, it's not ALL about the Stratomatic baseball.    You need good coaching, good scouting, and focused players too. 

[Erick McClendon]

I am so tired of the of the Yu Darvish argument. The Rangers paid up front, with no guarantees, over $50 million cash to negotiate with him. If he failed to sign the Rangers still pay the money and it is not deffered cash. Unlike contracts with MLB experience players you can taylor the contract to defer some of the up front cost.

So wtf do expect the Angels to do, overbid on a blind auction? How much was reasonable to gamble, because that what all of the player auctions are.

It's not about scouting, it's about being robbed twice at the same ATM.

WRONG. They posting fee is only payable if the player signs with the team

[Erick McClendon]

Whew......    I can't see even this org firing someone who found a needle in a haystack, which finding a superstar in NJ basically amounts to.

 

What was the holdup, on his side, to signing Darvish at 17/18?

Japanese pitchers hardly ever sign out with ML teams right after high school because there is tremendous pressure in Japan to play in the NP8 before even thinking about going to American baseball

[Toby Ziegler]

Angels scouting has been horrendous for years.  One thing Dipoto has been doing is revamping the entire scouting department.  It will take time.  Our international scouting has been absolutely awful.

 

The Angels have actually produced some incredible home-grown talent in recent years. Obviously, Trout and Weaver top the list. But you've also got Santana, Kendrick, Trumbo, Bourjos, and Calhoun (I think he's going to be solid). 

 

Unfortunately, a handful of guys who would have been huge assets for the organization were traded away (Segura and Corbin have a 3.5 and 3.4 WAR). The jury is still out on Skaggs and Chatwood.

 

The Bolden and Clarke first round picks were inexcusable, though. That is just an unmitigated disaster.

 

The biggest problem I see with the organization is the win-now mentality; it comes at the expense of building a young nucleus of cost-controlled players, which would make competing yearly a viable goal. True, big market teams can get away with this, but only for so long before it comes back to bite you in the ass. The White Sox have been doing this for years, and it's led to the crisis they're currently in. In sharp contrast on the Northside of Chicago, Theo and Hoyer are going about it the right way. They should yield results in a year or so. The Pujols and Hamilton acquisitions were very short-sighted. So were the trades for Greinke and Haren.

 

I would imagine it's got to be frustrating for Angels fans who can envision what their team should be like right now. In an alternate reality, the outlook would be very bright moving forward.

 

If the Angels have a shift in philosophy, they can right the ship. Dipoto needs to change his tactics, and the Sciosica mystique has run its course. In the meantime, I would hope that Hamilton and Pujols bounce back next year so you can unload them on the Yankees or another big market team willing to eat some of the money. Easier said than done, but that should be the plan at this point. Accept the sunk cost and move on.

[full circle]

It's always funny when someone goes on a rant and he's completely wrong about whatever the hell he's ranting about.  

[Toby Ziegler]

It's always funny when someone goes on a rant and he's completely wrong about whatever the hell he's ranting about.  

 

Care to actually address the content of my post?

[full circle]

Wasn't talking about you Toby, was talking about Eric Notti a ways back.  I'd quote you if I was talking about you.  I agree with a lot of your post.  

[austin724]

This is such a great year to criticize this team. Nothing like kicking a team when it is down.  One bad season and now we are all Ranger and Dodger fans. Can't wait for these steroid ****ing teams to fall apart.

[Second Base]

The holdup in signing Darvish when he was coming out of high school was that it was considered a dishonor to skip Japanese Baseball altogether and go to the U.S.  The Angels wined and dined Darvish, made home visits and offered him an out of this world signing bonus that would've brought him to the U.S.  He even wanted to come to the U.S.  But I think his parents, culture and JPPL swayed his opinion in a different direction.  It also didn't hurt that he was given word that he'd enter the top level of Japanese Baseball straight out of high school, whereas if he came back stateside, he'd have started off in Rookie Ball like any other prospect.  Plus his support system was probably different at the time.  Coming out to the states at age 18 when all you've known is Japanese culture your whole life would've been a completely different battle.  By the time Darvish actually did come over, he'd been all around the world, was a celebrity, knew how to handle all the pressure and expectations and was in general, just more mature than he would've been straight out of high school.  

 

Personally, I think Yu made the right decision.  He established himself back at home and succeeded at that level, met his career goals and then came out here.  By the time he came to the U.S. he didn't need money, he didn't need fame or status or to prove anything to anyone.  He simply came to play ball and when you can simplify the game to that measure, you're more likely to meet success. 

[Homebrewer]

The holdup in signing Darvish when he was coming out of high school was that it was considered a dishonor to skip Japanese Baseball altogether and go to the U.S.  The Angels wined and dined Darvish, made home visits and offered him an out of this world signing bonus that would've brought him to the U.S.  He even wanted to come to the U.S.  But I think his parents, culture and JPPL swayed his opinion in a different direction.  It also didn't hurt that he was given word that he'd enter the top level of Japanese Baseball straight out of high school, whereas if he came back stateside, he'd have started off in Rookie Ball like any other prospect.  Plus his support system was probably different at the time.  Coming out to the states at age 18 when all you've known is Japanese culture your whole life would've been a completely different battle.  By the time Darvish actually did come over, he'd been all around the world, was a celebrity, knew how to handle all the pressure and expectations and was in general, just more mature than he would've been straight out of high school.  

 

Personally, I think Yu made the right decision.  He established himself back at home and succeeded at that level, met his career goals and then came out here.  By the time he came to the U.S. he didn't need money, he didn't need fame or status or to prove anything to anyone.  He simply came to play ball and when you can simplify the game to that measure, you're more likely to meet success. 

he didn't need money, he didn't need fame or status or to prove anything to anyone.  He simply came to play ball and when you can simplify the game to that measure, you're more likely to meet success.

 

 

Too bad that didn't translate with Pujols or Hamilton

[thebloob]

They sent out a guy to hire some scouts and he came back with a bunch of kids in blue and brown uniforms...

[YouthofToday]

So the Angels scouted him in high school but not afterwards? Change in organizational philosophy? Reagins incompetence?

[Second Base]

They most certainly scouted him afterwards.  But when Darvish was coming stateside the whole world was under the impression the Angels had the best pitching in baseball.  Weaver was an ace, Haren was an ace, Wilson had ace numbers, Santana, was a solid #2 SP and Jerome Williams couldn't be the worst 5th starter in the league.  The Angels were golden, they didn't need to drop 120 million on Darvish when they basically already have 3 and half aces.  

 

Then reality hit.  Weaver was and is still pretty awesome, but Haren fell off a cliff, Wilson had bone spurs, Santana turned into an awful pitcher for a year and Williams remained an awful pitcher.  

[Brandon]

But you just further my point. Texas realized that Darvish was different because they had the scouts to do so, while you and I are only stuck with the statistical record of "other Japanese signed players." So you're basically saying that Dipoto and the Angels are more like you and I, armchair GMs, rather than an actual major league caliber scouting group like the Rangers have. We should expect more from the chief executive of a major league baseball team, which is why all the "hindsight is 20-20" arguments don't fly.

what?

[YouthofToday]

Umm, our scouts picked CJ Wilson over Darvish. They changed teams in the same offseason.

While Wilson has been a solid FA signing Darvish has become one of the 3 most dominant pitchers in baseball.

[Angel Oracle]

Makes you all wish you had kept Squiggy around, right?

Maybe Lenny would be more pitching oriented.

[KingJustinian]

Umm, our scouts picked CJ Wilson over Darvish. They changed teams in the same offseason.

While Wilson has been a solid FA signing Darvish has become one of the 3 most dominant pitchers in baseball.

They picked CJ because they were dropping 240 mil on Pujols and Darvish was 50 million more than CJ

[WallyWorld]

My mistake, I thought it was Eddie Bane that found Trout.

The fact remains though that Bane is responsible for scouting a lot of great players and was fired, and then quickly snatched up by Detroit.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

My mistake, I thought it was Eddie Bane that found Trout.

The fact remains though that Bane is responsible for scouting a lot of great players and was fired, and then quickly snatched up by Detroit.

He has a lower position with the Red Sox (special assistant). His five 2010 first round draft picks were terrible. 

[Angel Oracle]

He has a lower position with the Red Sox (special assistant). His five 2010 first round draft picks were terrible. 

Two of them were putrid (Clarke and Bolden), and seemingly still have the baseball maturity of teens.

One is a maybe as a reliever only (Bedrosian).

One has regressed in 2013 (Cowart).

One is emerging (Lindsey).

 

Still, point is taken given that they had FIVE picks in the top 40!