Dave Saltzer

Once again another fine piece of writing by Rob Goldman. There is so much more to Scioscia than the cliches that people hear and throw around on the board. He is very intelligent about a great many things, but when he's in manager mode, he takes on a different persona. I haven't been around him enough to be able to engage him in that mode, but, I have seen others who have and have a different respect for Scioscia than I would just by seeing him from the cameras.

One of my favorite moments of Fanfest was when Mr. Moreno came to the event and we had all the players, including Matt Shoemaker there. They were just standing there behind the team owner for the longest time. They didn't know what to do, but they did a great job. And then they all spoke with the audience, signed autographs, taking pictures, etc. After the Fanfest, I drove Matt to a dinner where he met up with Mike Trout amongst others at a Japanese restaurant and got to talk to him quite a bit about things. I very much enjoyed getting to know him on a personal level. Having seen Matt pitch several times in the Minor Leagues, I knew he had the stuff. His numbers didn't always reflect his abilities (some poor team defense at times inflated his ERA). Adding the cutter a couple of years ago made Matt a better pitcher. I am very happy to see him having the success that he is having this year--it's always more fun rooting for someone who is a good person as well as a talented player. David--I would love it if Matt will come again to our Spring Training Fanfest next year. The fans would love to hear about his experiences from this year and would love to give him the cheers and honors that he richly deserves. I will reach out to him directly after the season, but, if you and he would like to come as our guests, I'm sure it will be a great experience.

Thanks for the report. I've been out of town and appreciate the update.

I thought that they did a pretty good job and would like to hear them do it again. It touched on nostalgia and some different player experience.

Family issue just popped up and I can't go. I have the preferred parking. These are great seats. Looking for my cost only ($130 each). Will consider best offers. Send me a message if interested.

And they just were the 1st half champs, giving them a berth in the playoffs. They have hitting, pitching, and defense. I really like this team and tune into as many of their games as I can.

Yep. It's the fight and comeback in them, hence the 1986 feel.

He is a good kid and a good talent. Have you seen his numbers this year? He's got a microscopic 0.73 WHIP and a 1.80 ERA in 15.0 IP. He's dominating guys 2-4 years older than him. Really impressed. I cannot stress this enough: fans need to tune in and listen to the Owlz games this year. The talent coming through there the last 2 years is very exciting to see!

What should this year's team nickname be? Team Gatorade? I do love how when I post something very positive about the team, well, they have to go out and lose. I think that's the second or third time it's happened this year.

I don't think we'll get Lee. If we do, it will totally be an Arte Moreno decision, in which case, I won't hold it against Dipoto. That's a LOT of money to take on long-term, and may hamper the team for several years. And it would still take several prospects and/or ML players. Probably not worth it in the end.

I always love these posts. Great job as usual. Here are some thoughts that I've had on the trade. This move was done because our best window to a WS is 2014-2015. Winning a WS in that time span (or even getting there) helps the organization across the board--including down to negotiations over a stadium lease. As I noted in my mid-season report card, the bullpen has been the weakest link on the team. Now it is a strength. We have that conveyor belt from the starters to a victory, and a chance to comeback if we are behind in a game. This season will come down to just a couple of games, particularly the head to head games versus Oakland. We can't let them have another walkoff on us--we needed to improve the pen. As one of the few on here who has seen all of the guys play that we traded, yes, we overpaid a bit. Again, we had to do it. The competition for bullpen arms was fierce (every scout I've talked to has talked about it). We weren't the only ones bidding here. We needed to make the deal now rather than get into a bidding war and risk coming away with nothing. I like the deal, just don't love it. Here's what we gave up: Lindsey--really enjoyed getting to know him over the years. Very happy he came out to Spring Training Fanfest this year. Has a very solid bat and improving glove. Would be ML average defensively over time. While his bat's ceiling is higher than Yarbrough (the next highest 2B in the system), Yarbrough is more consistent. I think Lindsey gets a good break going to the Padres, and I hope to see him in the Majors within a year or so for their team. Alvarez--good relief pitcher with plus potential. This is the one that I wish we didn't give up. We took back a reliever with a similar profile, so I don't like giving up one of our own to get back Gott. Unless there are more questions about his arm than I know, this is the piece that I think stung the most. Would have preferred to keep him and not get Gott, but, I can't change it. I haven't seen Gott to comment on how the two compare. Rondon--He's been a contact machine for the organization. His defense is good, not great. He can make some incredible plays and really mess up some routine ones. It could be a function of being very young. Some question whether he will stick long term at SS. The power hasn't shown itself as much as I thought it would (considering the Cal League), but the potential is still there. Same with the speed. He needs to get better reads and jumps. Morris--Putting together a good season. Needs to work on command and putting hitters away. Could be a back end of the rotation guy or could get moved to middle relief down the road. So, here's some more food for thought on the trade. After the deal, here's my preliminary Top-10 Angels Prospects 1. Newcomb 2. Bedrosian 3. Yarbrough 4. Sanchez 5. Delgado 6. Green 7. Nate Smith 8. Gott 9. Cowart 10. Alcantara That's a very rough sketch for the current Top-10. There are other names that I'm considering, but it gives everyone a flavor of what is still left on the farm.

Great report! And, by coincidence, I just got back from there with lots of interviews with players on the Owlz. I'm starting it off this week with Owlz manager Dave Stapleton, and will be publishing many more, one a day for the next few weeks. Here's a link to the interview with Stapleton. http://angelswinblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/orem-owlz-manager-dave-stapleton.html

So, what we're saying is that when it comes to the latest trade rumors, we've been down this street before?

Simple. As the articl pointed out, there is room for improvement in the offense, particularly from Pujols and Hamilton, and there are more than trivial questions about the starting pitching and the bullpen. At the end of the year, this team easily could be an A+ team, but to date, it has only been a solid A team.

This is only a mid-season report card. It's not the final grade. The bullpen was an F for so much of the season (costing us the best record in baseball) that the recent changes were just enough to lift it up to a D. Given more time like this, the grade can rise, but grades are based on performance to date. I am surprised that there hasn't been more debate about my mid-season rookie of the year pick. I could see strong arguments for Cron or Morin as well as Shoemaker.

I hope we get the last of our Newcombers signed and in the fold.

Great news! Let's wish him well.

Do we get credit for the headline since we came up with Troutstanding?

Good summary of the first half Christian.

Jerry should spend the ASB with his family. Taht guy puts in tremendously long hours for the team, and I think he's doing a good job. I hope he stays with the Angels for several more years.

It's a much more expedited process for signing, but the deadline hasn't past yet. They have until August 15th, I believe. The Angels have said that they don't plan on pitching him too much this year, so there's no rush. They are working towards an agreement. I hope, and think, that in the end he will sign.

What if less parity just resulted in more blowouts? That would hurt baseball more because people would turn off the game earlier and ratings would drop. Who wants to watch a 10 to 2 loss? I'd rather watch more close games, glued to my seat or in for t of the TV than more blowouts. I suspect more fans would as well. So, the concern about parity is a bit short sighted if you ask me. As for pitchers and hitters slowing the game down, the umps need to clamp down on that and enforce the rules designed to prevent it.

In honor of Trout's two Gatorade showers, I thought I'd take a look back at something I wrote nearly 2 months ago. It's good to see how much the Gatorade shower has become an integral part of this team's identity.

The Gettysburg Address may be the finest speech ever given in American history, but that one from Lou Gehrig's is right up there. Straight from the heart, so true then, so true today. Powerful, eloquent and human.