I'm more and more convinced . . .

[WallyWorld]

that Dipoto should be fired in addition to Scioscia.

 

This team has become an absolute joke.  Chris Nelson? Colin Cowgil?  JC Gutierrez?  Dane de la Rosa? Who the **** are these guys and why are they on the Angels?

[Angel Oracle]

Because Dipoto is a lazy a__ who only wants to look for rejects, especially from his former employers.

[kevinb]

Dipoto should definitely be fired this is his team he put together. It's awful. Fire him before it gets worse

[Bruce Nye]

I'm confused by your comments.  You think the parts and pieces are there for a competitive team?  You think the farm system has tradeable pieces for a good team?  

 

What could MS or JD do at this point of the season?

[WallyWorld]

I don't think it's that he's lazy, AO.  I just don't think he's a very good evaluator of talent, which it turns out is kind of a big part of the job.

[Jason]

Fire Hamilton, Pujols, Nelson, Blanton, Hanson, Williams, The whole bullpen, etc...

[WallyWorld]

I'm confused by your comments.  You think the parts and pieces are there for a competitive team?  You think the farm system has tradeable pieces for a good team?  

 

What could MS or JD do at this point of the season?

 

Bruce, I really want to live in your world.  Nobody can ever be blamed for anything.

It's not Scioscia's fault that the players aren't executing, right?  So by that logic he can't be credited when they do.  So the world series, the division titles, those all have nothing to do with Scioscia.  So what are you basing him being a good manager on?  Forget good manager even, what makes him right for this team?

As far as Dipoto, this is a team he is largely responsible for putting together.  That rotation at the start of the year is 4/5ths his.  Only one that isn't his guy is Weaver.  

[No One Of Consequence]

They're on the team becuase of injuries and because we're out of it. 

[gotbeer]

So let's see.  He got a lot of people for free after other teams released them.  But of course there is the option of trading MLB young players for semi decent players from other teams, or gutting the farm even further for semi decent players. 

 

But the geneouses on this board thinks it is really easy.  

[WallyWorld]

So let's see.  He got a lot of people for free after other teams released them.  But of course there is the option of trading MLB young players for semi decent players from other teams, or gutting the farm even further for semi decent players. 

 

But the geneouses on this board thinks it is really easy.  

 

you have to appreciate the fact that the dude calling out others for being stupid misspelled geniuses in his own post.

 

i really do love this place.

[tdawg87]

you have to appreciate the fact that the dude calling out others for being stupid misspelled geniuses in his own post.

 

i really do love this place.

 

That was the joke.

[WallyWorld]

That was the joke.

 

is it like a 'your and idiot' thing?

[Jason]

We really need the sarcasm icon back.

[tdawg87]

is it like a 'your and idiot' thing?

 

Yes.

[WallyWorld]

ok, i'm the geneous this time.

[WallyWorld]

but my point stands that I don't think Dipoto is very good at evaluating talent, or at least not as good as he needs to be.  We have a $150M team of cast-offs, has beens, and never weres.  It's not entirely his fault, but he does get some of the blame.

[2112]

The philosophy of this team for years was to develop up the middle - pitching and middle infielders. Now through trades all the middle infielders and pitching prospects are gone. A trade of Aybar or Kendrick would net some good talent, but at this point there is no one to replace them with.

We used to complain that Stoneman held on to prospects for dear life, but I would rather have that than a bunch of non performing, high priced free agents here.

The philosophy is extremely simple, build a strong core, trade or sign the other pieces you need. Play to your park, where half your games are played. For Angel Stadium that means more pitching and defense. A strong minor league system is essential.

So I see this as a fail on Dipoto's part.

[Tank]

the only fixes available right now are the small tinkering kind. they don't have very many tradeable assets on the bigs or in the minors. they'll once again this winter have to comb through the MLB dumpster to find some castoffs to try and make next year better.

 

best hope is that they can find some kind of serviceable pitching for next year for the pen, they dump blanton, claim headley off waivers, and hamilton rediscovers his offense. you also have to hope pujols comes back healthy next year and returns close to his career norms.

 

i'd give dipoto one more year.

[Docwaukee]

If JD get one more year, it means that Arte was more responsible for the large contracts to Pujols and Hamilton.  Maybe not entirely, but to the point that Arte recognized that bringing those guys in has limited JD in what he was able to do in other areas.  Granted, even with those limitations, JD should have done much much better.  But enough to warrant a little grace.

 

As it stands, this team was constructed without any balance.  Relying solely on offense to carry the squad.  The offense performed below expectations exposing everything else as a significant weakness.  They put all their eggs in one basket and that basket broke and left no margin for error. 

 

When you are that unbalanced, the whole has a much less chance of equaling the sum of the parts.  While they don't have many spare parts to equal things out, they do have some parts that could bring value in other aspects of the game whose replacements or potential replacements are enough to offset losses in order to upgrade in other areas. 

 

The end result may not be a great team but a more stable model with an increased over total value. 

[Tank]

If JD get one more year, it means that Arte was more responsible for the large contracts to Pujols and Hamilton.  Maybe not entirely, but to the point that Arte recognized that bringing those guys in has limited JD in what he was able to do in other areas.  Granted, even with those limitations, JD should have done much much better.  But enough to warrant a little grace.

 

As it stands, this team was constructed without any balance.  Relying solely on offense to carry the squad.  The offense performed below expectations exposing everything else as a significant weakness.  They put all their eggs in one basket and that basket broke and left no margin for error. 

 

When you are that unbalanced, the whole has a much less chance of equaling the sum of the parts.  While they don't have many spare parts to equal things out, they do have some parts that could bring value in other aspects of the game whose replacements or potential replacements are enough to offset losses in order to upgrade in other areas. 

 

The end result may not be a great team but a more stable model with an increased over total value.

Well said, especially the part about balance.

Remember all those years when so many of us were clamoring for the team to go out and get Clyde McBigBat to help offset the dozen r so little slappy MIFs we had? Well, here we are, top heavy with underperforming power bats and severely lacking in the small ball play that this team did very well. We need a balance of both.

[Ray McKigney]

Arte should fire MS, JD and then fire himself.

[Hollyw00d]

small ball isn't the problem.  Signing/developing pitchers who don't throw batting practice is the biggest issue.   The offense is fine, for the most part.

[Tyler]

Dipoto should be fired, not because the team out there today, but the team he assembled heading into the season.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Bruce, I really want to live in your world. Nobody can ever be blamed for anything.

It's not Scioscia's fault that the players aren't executing, right? So by that logic he can't be credited when they do. So the world series, the division titles, those all have nothing to do with Scioscia. So what are you basing him being a good manager on? Forget good manager even, what makes him right for this team?

As far as Dipoto, this is a team he is largely responsible for putting together. That rotation at the start of the year is 4/5ths his. Only one that isn't his guy is Weaver.

Dipoto deserves a hand in this, absolutely.

That being said, consider a few things. He came to a team with a weak farm system, and when the 'big bang' 2012 team didn't work out, he was almost forced to trade what little we had left. Pujols and cj left little wiggle room...he had a small budget after, and very few frade pieces.

He then had to fix a bullpen (flawed when he got here) and replace a previously dependable haren and santana (again with little to trade). He HAD to do that because of how heavilly the boss invested into 'win it now'.

He's made some foreseable bad decisions, like blanton. Hes made some 'you'll regret it but enjoy it now...oh it sucks now' choices like hamilton (but that was arte).

All the while he's har to manage a superstar payroll while staying under a spending cap...

And that doesn't include pujols' foot...weavers broken arm..vargas' blood clot....burnetts season ending injury...bourjos...sybar missing a month....etc etc.

The prob is, this season we gambled, and the dealer won. Plain and simple.

[nate]

Trout, Kendrick, Pujols, Burnett, and Madson injured.  Callaspo traded during the Angels sale event...  Who do you think they could have?  

 

The farm system is a mess, you have to fill it with near replacement level guys when you don't have any home grown guys.

 

Of course Reagins and Dipoto both share some blame for the farm system trading away all our young talent for rentals.