Dave Saltzer

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.

NP. I'm not at a place where I can use Twitter, so I got them out here on the website. Safe Travels!

LV will be one of two left-handed bats that we will have. Calhoun as a regular, and LV off the bench.

Okay folks, I'm excited. We have a great group of players. Getting Upton has been an incredible boon to us, as he's been reaching out to players and trying to recruit for him (both Kinsler and Cozart). The clubhouse chemistry should be great and that was a big influence for both Cozart and Kinsler. Offensively, our team is night and day better. With Kinsler and Cozart, we have GREATLY improved over last year. And defensively, our pitchers will relish playing with these guys behind them. As Eppler said, we do have the chance to be something special in run prevention. I still think that there will be some more work to be done on the pitching side--I still sense that they are trying hard to go to a 6-man rotation, and I won't be surprised if a bullpen arm or two comes here. But Angels fans, this has been one of our best offseasons--better than getting Pujols and Wilson.

Fletcher got a good question in at the end. I won 't steal his thunder on it, so I'll let him post that and you can read his article.

If we do go to a 6-man rotation, versatility and flexibility will be a huge part of this roster.

Cozart is "pretty excited to play on this team" after the moves that Eppler made this offseason. Upton has already texted him.

Not platoon type players. From run prevention, we have a special infield.

Eppler asked about logjam at 1B. Hopeful Albert can play a lot of 1B, but will let it all play out over the remainder of the offseason.