Dave Saltzer

Take away Texas vs. LAA and Hou (32-6), and Texas had a very pedestrian 59-65.  Take away the state of Texas vs. LAA (13-25) and the Halos had a 65-59 record.

Yep. We didn't beat the teams we should have beaten, and we didn't. I have strong hope for the 2014 season. If we can form a good team identity, we have the players to be a playoff bound team.

It was a difficult article to read because I kept trying to keep Spock's voice in my head

At least it wasn't on bigfoot or anything, and I didn't link in the music from the intro to the show . . . 

At some point, bloggers are going to have to be added to the BBWA just to keep it going. It would REALLY make things easier and better for everyone, including the sports teams. There will have to be a vetting process. Being a writer is NOT an easy job, and even I am amazed and impressed with the class, dignity, and dedication of all the main writers for the Angels and around the leagues. Try writing about another 5-1 loss every year. It isn't easy. 

Having said that, some changes need to be made. I don't think that every person with a keyboard should be allowed in, but some who have been around and shown consistent professionalism should be more accepted by the BBWA.

As one of those who has worked hard to try and get more and more access and availability, I do have to call these guys out for doing what they did. While they did expose the flaws in the system, they did so by exposing the flaws in the blogosphere by proving some of the concerns from the writers against bloggers. In the end, it may lead to less access for all of us who are trying to go about doing it the right way.

ELEVENSES

David Saltzer +1 possibly +2

This is a great program and I am very proud that we are partnering up with them. We will of course continue to work with the Orange County Miracle League to help them too! It's a testament to how great this community is that we can support two incredible baseball charities doing good things in our community. Great job AW!!!

Doing one myself based on video and two scouting trips made per year is a tremendous undertaking.  Going for a full 50 prospects, I just couldn't imagine the amount of leg work that goes into it. 

It is a MASSIVE undertaking . . . but the fans seem to appreciate it.

I sure hope one of last years draft picks, Mike Fish, makes the cut. Actually has some decent upside and some good bat speed

We got him covered.

This is truly a massive undertaking. Lots of work goes into this.

Great job looking deep into the numbers. My biggest take away is that 2014 should definitely be better than 2013!

Really good analysis Greg. Right now, on paper, this team is better both offensively and pitching wise. Subtracting all the starts from Blanton and Hanson and replacing them with Santiago and Skaggs makes this team substantially better. Throw in a Tanaka and a Garza, and we have done a major improvement without having to do a total overhaul. I'm getting excited for 2014!

Bane did an incredible job in 2009 as he did in all of his years. The 2010 draft just wasn't that strong a class as I recall it. Cowart is still a top-tiered prospect and I believe he will return to form this year. 

If you haven't been to one of these events, you REALLY should come. It is so much fun. The whole weekend is a blast. Since we are doing this early, players are eager to sign autographs before the games, it's a more relaxed atmosphere. There's fun to be had all weekend long. And the Fanfest Dinner is one of those truly special moments of the year for everyone. Our guest list keeps growing every year, and it's a chance to make a meaningful connection with many within the Angels organization. Having your questions asked and answered is one of those special things that we do for our fans. 

Get your tickets fast: You really won't want to miss this.

I am proud to be a part of all that has been built here and look forward to all that will be built over the next decade. It is truly an honor to be a part of the best website and best community for Angels fans.

Happy New Year AngelsWin.com! Looking forward to a great year of Angels baseball. May you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

Joe, this is a really good article. I don't think it will take that much money to lock up Trout for a decade. While Trout is poised to break every potential arbitration record, those years would be much cheaper. I'd bet the deal could be done for closer to $300 million (hey, it's only $100 million LESS!).

As for those who would argue against committing that much money to one player, two things:

1. Comparing the deal Trout would get versus the ones that Pujols and A-Rod got are different because Trout is so much younger (assuming we signed him to that deal this year) that we would be locking up his prime years.

2. Do we really want to go through another 50+ years arguing about how we failed to sign Trout just like we've spent the past 30 years cursing Bavasi for not signing Nolan Ryan?

The money is there to sign Trout, and we would be foolish not to do it.

May all who are celebrating the holiday tonight find peace, comfort, and joy in the true meaning of the holiday.

May all who are celebrating the holiday tonight find peace, comfort, and joy in the true meaning of the holiday.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the best #AngelsFamily on the internet!

Nice! Welcome Peter Gammons. We do a fine job covering/debating/discussing the Angels here.

“The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.”

When in doubt, blame the lawyers. It's a good policy. In this case, on this issue, blaming the lawyers is the reason why they so hastily made the rule change (and did so while not even thinking through the collisions at 2B). The league is absolutely afraid of any potential litigation. Worse yet, they don't want a rift to develop between MLB and Little League where Little League has to ban the wipeout collision while the pros do not. Joe is right on point here and wrote a great article.

Admiral akbar should net us a good haul. He did in fact lead the rebels against the death star. To victory I might add.

 

LMAO! He did indeed, but only after many Bothans died to bring us that information.

Doc, have to hand it to you for some original thinking. I will have to think about this some more. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure what Akbar can net us. And, I really think the whole hold up is on whether or not Tanaka gets posted. Once that is decided and we know more we stand in terms of signing him, decisions like this become more or less palatable.

Chuck,

I like your attempt to think "outside the box" and hope that the Angels have people and discussions like this to see what ways they can shake things up. Having talked with Dipoto, I know he likes original thinking like this. However, as others have pointed out, the defense would take too much of a hit to justify the move. Now if we could get a upper echelon pitcher by trading Aybar, I would consider it if we could get a legitimate DH to balance out the offensive drop to Romine.

Thanks gang for the kudos. Having children does give rise to many more good baseball stories.