WallyWorld

I've always assumed that Pujols was on the juice.  It would be nice, considering our financial obligations, if some facts could surface that would free us of the Albert Pujols contract.

I get that it's a pessimistic point of view, but in the other thread you stated that you have no faith in Arte and Dipoto's decision making ability, so don't you have to be a little pessimistic about them locking him up?  Look at how the team has treated Trout so far.  He has one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, and then:
 
1) they nickel and dime him on a raise, making him embarrassinngly underpaid.
2) he's moved from his preferred defensive position (where he excelled and made numerous highlight reel catches) to start the year and is only playing CF now because of injuries.
3) his lineup spot has changed often over the course of the season
4) his running game has been stifled somewhat in order to not take away RBI opportunities from guys who aren't driving him in anyway
 
Combine these things with the fact that he's on the other side of the country from his hometown/family, playing the majority of his games on the west coast where there is less national exposure, on a bad team with past their prime players and awful contracts and the worst farm system in baseball . . ..  I don't think it's a stretch to imagine Trout leaving in a few years.  To completely dismiss the idea is to bury your head in the sand somewhat, IMO.

re: "fault" - of course it's not Scioscia's fault that the team is playing poorly, just as it can never directly be the manager's fault - they aren't the ones playing.  But if you're trying to tell me that Scioscia as manager isn't part of the reason the team is where it is, then you're saying managers have zero effect on teams' performance, and that simply isn't true.  If for no other reason, doesn't everyone think it's time to try something new?  Clearly the current situation is broken.

You think he doesn't realize these points right now? He doesn't live under a rock.

I get that it's a pessimistic point of view, but in the other thread you stated that you have no faith in Arte and Dipoto's decision making ability, so don't you have to be a little pessimistic about them locking him up?  Look at how the team has treated Trout so far.  He has one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, and then:
 
1) they nickel and dime him on a raise, making him embarrassinngly underpaid.
2) he's moved from his preferred defensive position (where he excelled and made numerous highlight reel catches) to start the year and is only playing CF now because of injuries.
3) his lineup spot has changed often over the course of the season
4) his running game has been stifled somewhat in order to not take away RBI opportunities from guys who aren't driving him in anyway
 
Combine these things with the fact that he's on the other side of the country from his hometown/family, playing the majority of his games on the west coast where there is less national exposure, on a bad team with past their prime players and awful contracts and the worst farm system in baseball . . ..  I don't think it's a stretch to imagine Trout leaving in a few years.  To completely dismiss the idea is to bury your head in the sand somewhat, IMO.

I get that it's a pessimistic point of view, but in the other thread you stated that you have no faith in Arte and Dipoto's decision making ability, so don't you have to be a little pessimistic about them locking him up?  Look at how the team has treated Trout so far.  He has one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, and then:
 
1) they nickel and dime him on a raise, making him embarrassinngly underpaid.
2) he's moved from his preferred defensive position (where he excelled and made numerous highlight reel catches) to start the year and is only playing CF now because of injuries.
3) his lineup spot has changed often over the course of the season
4) his running game has been stifled somewhat in order to not take away RBI opportunities from guys who aren't driving him in anyway
 
Combine these things with the fact that he's on the other side of the country from his hometown/family, playing the majority of his games on the west coast where there is less national exposure, on a bad team with past their prime players and awful contracts and the worst farm system in baseball . . ..  I don't think it's a stretch to imagine Trout leaving in a few years.  To completely dismiss the idea is to bury your head in the sand somewhat, IMO.

That's fine by me, change a lot of the players and the manager. If Dipoto can't get it done next year he can go too. Playoffs or bust.

have they not paid attention to the Boston Red Sox the past 3 years?  Is it not painfully apparent that a new manager can inspire a group of players to play at their maximum potential?

to me it's not even about his in-game decisions, which have been questionable, but are at least arguable. It's about the team looking unprepared, uninspired, and sloppy for years now.

Sounds like it's just the pitchers doing the extra work, so not sure what it has to do with Shuck, Nelson, etc.
 
MS is basically admitting that his pitchers are lacking in basic fielding fundamentals.  That he's just figuring this out in August is an indictment of his management of this team, IMO.

I'm just wondering what you would thinking if you are Trout. Young, bonafide superstar, with all signs pointing towards playing your prime years playing for a franchise with literally the worst farm system at the very least bottom 5 and arguably the most incompetent owner/GM/manager combo. Sad, sad thought.

If Trout and Weaver were to get injured tomorrow and be out for the rest of the year, I seriously wouldn't even watch this team. 

for a variety of reasons - new regulations against PEDs, rising crop of young power arms, etc - batting averages have gone down across MLB in the past 5 years or so.

so it's come to this . . .

Let's not forget Toronto is essentially just playing out the string at this point.

Let's not forget Toronto is essentially just playing out the string at this point.

I'm tired of watching these players every night. Guys like Aybar, Trumbo and Kendrick are solid players but they haven't done anything for us in the last 4 years. I want to watch something else. They aren't winners and they aren't the solution. I was hoping to get some pitching so I have something to look forward to watching every night

...who is also a .249 hitter with a low OBP and on pace to strike out 173 times this year.
 
He doesn't seem to be getting better in these areas. What if he hits .239 next year with 25 HR, 80 RBI? Move him now when his value is highest. We have a desperate need for quality pitching.

seems likely, though it's not like Green is a full time ML player yet.  They could conceivably stash him in AAA until the offseason.

I am starting to believe that at this point Scioscia will step down.  Hold his head up high and go north on the 5. 

Don't knock Falcor, bro

plugging in a 2B with slightly worse offensive numbers than Howie but gaining a good SP would be a net gain for the club.  And that doesn't even take into account all the little things that Howie does to kill this team.

I think posters on this board are too high on Calhoun.  We're talking about a mid-level prospect who has proven nothing in the majors.  SP is at a premium.

He was good two years ago (although he outdid his peripherals a bit), then lost velocity and has been not good. However his velocity is up almost 1 mph this season and his peripherals, while still not great, are improving slightly. It is an inexpensive reclimation project for us Scott. I think the Angels see some improvements and possible mechanical changes that could be made to bring him back to being a better pitcher.

not sure if this has been posted:
 
Per Jerry Crasnick:
Arizona has been shopping Ian Kennedy to free up cash for a serious run at Jake Peavy, so a three-way trade would make things simple for them. Kennedy, a struggling 28-year-old with a couple of good seasons under his belt, makes for a nice reclamation project for the pitching-needy Halos. The White Sox would presumably get a big prospect (or two) from the Diamondbacks and a mid-level prospect (or two) from Anaheim. Right now it’s only “buzz.” If the rumor grows, we’ll pass along the updates.