vladdy#27

Another former Dodgers catcher

I almost want to root for a giant meteor

Simmons has been about a 6 WAR player on average for the Angels.  There is a decent chance that Simmons ends his Angel career with more WAR than Newcomb accomplishes in his career.  

Questioning the Simmons trade would be like questioning the Trout extension because while he has been incredible we haven’t won with him and who knows maybe we could have signed better players with his money.  In other words it is pretty dumb.  

Would what Chatwood got last offseason (3 years/38M) be a good estimate for Eovaldi?
Similarish career numbers 
Eovaldi IP 850 H/9 9.4 K/9 6.8 BB/9 2.7 WHIP 1.35 ERA 4.16 FIP 3.82 ERA+ 96
Chatwood IP 647 H/9 9.2 K/9 6.1 BB/9 4.2 WHIP 1.49 ERA 4.31 FIP 4.58 ERA+ 106
Chatwood was a year younger and had 2 seasons post TJ's, while Eovaldi is 1 season removed from TJ's but having a better walk year
 
Gray will cost 9M and prospect(s)

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaderssplits.aspx?splitArr=42&strgroup=season&statgroup=1&startDate=2018-07-19&endDate=2018-11-01&filter=&position=P&statType=team&autoPt=false&players=&pg=0&pageItems=30&sort=2,1

28th behind the Rays and A's. A's starters had 2 less innings pitched than us in the second half. But the A's started copying the Rays. Liam Hendriks started 8 games for the A's in September, 7 of those he went 1 inning and the other he went 1.2.

Crazy trout hasn’t won player of the week twice in a season before. 

A lot of his future will be determined by things we can't see. How does he work with the pitchers? Maldy had vet presence, Briceno is still pretty much a kid, but if he can build those relationships and notice the little things, yeah, he may be a solution. 

Very happy with his work so far. Arcia went ice cold after his first two games, but he's coming around too. Kruger and even Hudson are doing well in the upper minors. I don't think catcher is quite the need - certainly room for an upgrade if the right player comes along, but I think we have the pieces in-house to get by if those resources are needed elsewhere.

I like the Angel's draft strategy. Pitchers are harder to project and get injured more. Neither the Cubs nor the Astros, the last two WS champions, built their rotation through the draft. The Braves spent a lot of draft capital on pitching and they are improving, but it's because of their position players coming through their system, not their young home grown pitchers. I think the Angels are much better off drafting the best players and then signing pitchers, or trading for them when they are needed. 

Yet both are better than the for whom they were traded

Hopefully our return is as good as the last time we traded a backup catcher to the Astros
Conger for Tropeano and Carlos Perez

Hopefully our return is as good as the last time we traded a backup catcher to the Astros
Conger for Tropeano and Carlos Perez

Hopefully our return is as good as the last time we traded a backup catcher to the Astros
Conger for Tropeano and Carlos Perez

One page in, and this has already become a "Let's trade [mediocre/2nd tier Angels prospects] for [stud young impact player]" thread.

The Angels won't pay Cozart $13 mil to be a utility player, no way!  They will put Fletcher as utility for the minimum salary.

So he's an idiot. 

I'd like to see the Angels get creative with a bobblehead or two.  The only moment they have ever somewhat recreated in bobblehead form is Trout's catch in Baltimore.
A Trout & Pujols arrow shooting bobblehead would have been great.
One with Trout and Ohtani on a golf cart still would be. 
So would anything to do with the 2002 championship celebration.  Molina and Percival, perhaps. 

I can't believe that Ward has progressed so far as a 3b,good for him. I'll never forget that draft room explosion, the whole room acting like they drafted the next Mike Trout. You have to give Ward a lot of credit for working hard and remaking himself into the player he has become.

It is time to trade Kinsler and Valnobuena in the next 2 weeks, and to see what they have with Fletcher and Ward for the rest of the season.

It’s almost at the point where you need to have a late inning defensive replacement for him

Marsh has raised his average from .234 to .259 in exactly 2 games
3-5 with 2 2B tonight

Marsh has raised his average from .234 to .259 in exactly 2 games
3-5 with 2 2B tonight

Marsh has raised his average from .234 to .259 in exactly 2 games
3-5 with 2 2B tonight

They're running out of time to trade Valnobuena.   And he isn't really putting any decent stretch of hitting together all season, so far. 
On GA vs Maitan and GA being perceived as lazy, all I know is that GA's diving catch preserved the Halos' win in game 3 of the 2002 ALCS.