Dave Saltzer

Yeah, our farm system has come a long way. It's good to see. Re: Thaiss I like the player, but comparing him and Cron is rather faulty. Thaiss is 6'0" and the interesting line with him in the writeup is "some scouts are bothered by the undersized target he presents for infielders." Cron, by comparison is listed at 6'4"--a noticeable difference. While Cron is taller than Thaiss, Cron has far more power than Thaiss. Cron, I believe was scouted as a 70 power, and Thaiss is not that. However, if plate discipline were scouted, Thaiss would be far superior. Look at their age 22 seasons at IE. Thaiss had a 40:59 BB:K ratio in 84 games, whereas Cron had a 17:72 ratio in 129 games. Cron will put up more power over a season, but with more feast and famine stretches, whereas Thaiss appears to be more steady and consistent, albeit with far fewer homers, but probably more doubles.

With all of the other prospect lists coming out now, here is our list for comparison. I don't recall if we ever officially ranked Bard in our list. I would place him at 20 if we did and would drop everyone else down 1 slot.

Did you read the date of the injury in that article? Now look at this and pay attention to the date https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mlb.com/159233076-mlb-issues-recommendations-on-netting.amp.html Having a recommendation by MLB to extend the netting, and having many clubs agree and follow the recommendations makes all the difference in the legal world for teams that don't follow the recommendation. That guideline by MLB established what is reasonable, and any club not following it is being unreasonable. Any half-witted 1L (well, they all are half-witted, so, should I say quarter-witted?) could win a verdict after that recommendation came out.

That would be an interesting thread of players whom we, as fans coveted. I use that word specifically to mean more than just really wanting or hoping that we would get. I'd be interested in seeing whom others on here coveted.

What a great signing and addition he was. He was always one of the few players I coveted from another team, and I'm so glad we got to see him play. Can you imagine how much he would get in today's market? With this slow offseason, it is an interesting comparison for players like Hosmer and JDM.

Martínez deserves to be in the HoF and should be the first primary DH to do so. There is little doubt that he was one of the premier hitters in his generation, which to me makes him worthy.

Um, no. It's not PR at all. It's liability issues and the right thing to do. MLB already came out with a recommendation to extend netting all the way to the end of the dugout. The next person who got hurt by a fall ball in an area that was recommended to be protected by a net, and wasn't, would have an incredible and financially rewarding lawsuit against that stadium and team. Any lawyer who couldn't get large money out of that situation should be disbarred. And, really, it is the right thing to do. It doesn't mar your view. If you are that upset about the netting, do you avoid going to movie theaters because people on the cell phones will disrupt the experience? Do you avoid Angels games because of people standing up at times or because of beach balls? I'm not advocating for everyone living in bubble wrap. However, not doing obvious safety features, especially when minimally obtrusive is equally foolish.

Hermosillo really stood out on that team in Orem. His athleticism was quite pronounced compared to many of the others I saw there. Yes, there was some rawness to his play, but, he has struggled and improved as his risen through the organization. It will be very tough for him to break into our starting OF, but, he is a very capable player and athlete.

I very much enjoy stories about the Minor Leaguers, what skills they are working on, their background, etc. Also, I think it would be interesting to read some stories about how the players, coaches, managers, and even reporters prepare for the grind that is the baseball season. Any interesting offseason stories about what players did would also be appealing.

I honestly do notice or pay attention to the netting from my seats, and am very thankful that it is there for protection. It has been long overdue to extend it out past the dugouts. Aside from the liability, who really wants to see another person, especially a child, hurt by a batted ball?

We, as fans, are very lucky to have Trout on our team. What does it say about him that over 50 reporters wanted to interview him about an entirely different sport than he plays, and, he took the time to do a conference call to talk with all of us? I was very lucky to get my questions in on behalf of AngelsWin.com.

The Angels held a press conference call for the media with Mike Trout. Jeff Fletcher wrote a good article, and it has it's own thread. I was able to participate and represent the fans, and got some questions in. Because there were so many members of the press on the conference line, and there was so much feedback at times, getting exact quotes was rather difficult. Consequently, i can only paraphrase his answers. These aren't direct quotes, but close to them. Question: If you [Trout] could have an Angels suite with any Eagles players, whom would he invite? Answer: Carson Wentz, Donovan McNabb, Ron Jaworski. (There was a 4th player that he mentioned, but due to all the noise on the line, I didn't catch it. He did ask me if that was enough players, and I replied it's your suite, you're the host, whom do you want?). Question: Every team has to deal with adversity and challenges like the Eagles. What could the Angels learn from the Eagles win last week? Answer: The Eagles lost most of their captains. They had the next guy up mentality. They kept their eye on the goal and they want to win. Question: For Angels fans, watching you as the star in the World Series would be a dream. What's it like for you to have the role reversed and you be the fan watching the stars on the field? Answer: It's great. It just makes me want to win a World Series more. Winning the World Series in baseball would be the greatest thing. In case you didn't know it, Trout is an incredibly good guy: Question: What do you do with all of the footballs you've been collecting: Answer: I kept one, but have given the rest away to kids. Some other questions and things that came out in the interview from other reporters: Question: What will you do to celebrate if the Eagles win? Answer: Walk around Center City and high-five everybody with his friends Question: What are your earliest memories of going to an Eagles game? Answer: Going to a game with his dad, but I can't remember the game, and watching games on TV ever since. Question: Were you watching the game in 2005? Answer: That 2005 game was tought to watch. This year, it looks like they really want to win. Question: What is your favorite video of Eagles fans celebrating? Answer: There's a lot of them out there. Probably my favorite video is the guy hit by the pole running by the train. And, if you haven't seen it, here's the video he's talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrqTVFuHxkQ If you want an even better angle on it, try this: Who says Eagles fans aren't passionate?

I decided to make my response a thread of its own. But, you should definitely read Fletcher's article for a general summary.

Many of these high-priced FAs won't have a choice if they want to try and maximize their earnings. Most FAs want to avoid next year's class, figuring the money will get sucked up by a few key players. After that, the market should thin out a bit in subsequent years. If Darvish and others want to have high yearly salaries, they may need to accept shorter term deals with fronloaded contracts and opt outs.

Not sure Arte would want to do this, because he is shelling out a lot more cash this year than what the AAV says he's paying (remember, Ohtani had an additional $20 million posting fee), but this is what I've thought we should do in order to land Darvish. Sign him to a front-loaded 5 year/$110 million contract with an opt-out after the second year. Let's say we pay out $55 million in the first two years, his AAV would be $22 million, but he'd get $27.5 million in years 1 and 2. He can then opt-out after next year's FA class passes and try and get a better, longer deal. That still keeps us focused on the current window for Trout (although I believe that we will re-sign him). Darvish would do this to maximize his earnings now and having another bite at the market in two years. We greatly bolster our rotation now, and have a much better chance, at least on paper, of making the postseason. If Darvish wants a longer contract, it should be team options only for years 6 or 7, with a $1 million buyout for those years and for only $20 million/year. I don't see him going for less than $20/year, and most likely, if we want to get him on a 5-year deal, instead of a longer deal, we'd have to offer more, and, and opt-out. I'd be okay with that.

For Hermosillo, winning in St is not getting the 4th Of job. He won't get the experience he needs to keep developing. It's a case of winning by losing. Get him regular work in AAA to continue to improve and force his way onto a roster,either ours, or in a trade.

Thank you. I'm honored.

I'd say that this is a much lesser concern than adding another solid rotation piece and another bullpen arm that I'd let it ride as is until those holes are fixed.

And this is why Angelswin is the best site on the net. Where else can you go to read a thread on the Christmas spirit written by a Jewish guy and walk away with advice on tequila while staring at dolphin porn) bot animated and live action)? I tell you, we have it all here!

I'm saying a bit more than that, but in a larger scheme of things, yes. Unlike the past, where owners spent ridiculously, and payrolls skyrocketed way past beyond what inflation did, it appears that the spending spikes have peaked, and won't be like the rate of increase we saw in the past. So, yes, they appear to finally be acting like business owners rather than as fans.

The Astros are such a strong team that it would be hard to predict us as the divisional favorites, regardless of what moves we may make. But, as your article points out, we definitely are Wild Card contenders, and could give the Astros a run for their money in the division. Go Halos!

Agreed. I only wish I had the kind of money to donate on that scale.

Shhhhh. This hasn't been officially announced! Worst kept secret of the off season.

My bet is a starting pitcher and another bullpen arm. They are very committed to a 6-man rotation, and that would help us the most.

The Royals built some championship teams based on elite defense and good hitting. We seem to be building that exact type of team.