Dave Saltzer

Here are some of my notes from today's press conference with Joe Smith and Jerry Dipoto: Joe Smith is happy to be here. His girlfriend works out here. The biggest factor for him signing with the Angels was the inclusion of a third year and the chance to play near his girlfriend. Jerry Dipoto targeted him early and made an early offer. Other teams were interested, but the Angels were made solid offers early on that made the decision easier. For Dipoto, getting Smith, who throws side-arm was an important factor to give the bullpen a different look. Smith throws 89-92, which Dipoto believes will pair up well with the young power arms in the pen. Dipoto is not done. Third base and the bullpen were two areas that the Angels identified as needing improvement at the outset of Spring Training. He knows about the starting pitching, and believes that there are many days left to get the starting pitching worked out. He did not see the moves made for Freese and Smith as limiting the moves for starting pitching. The Angels have not finalized all non-tenders yet. Expect more later today. The Angels still expect Burnett to be fully healthy by the start of Spring Training. They will know more in January after he starts throwing. The Angels are now focusing more on starting pitching. They do not appear to be looking to make another major improvement in the bullpen (they see Burnett as that other improvement), but will consider any opportunity to improve the club. Smith started throwing sidearm in college at the advice of his coach at the time. Smith really improved once they started letting him pitch complete innings. At first low risk situations, but now is capable against righties and lefties equally and in high leverage situations. Smith sees the Angels as a perpetually contending team, and the chance to play with a team that is contending, where the expectation was to win every game was important for him. Smith came across as a decent person. He handled himself well in the interview, gave thorough and long answers, and should play a big part in restoring the bullpen to a source of strength. All-in-all, I'm very happy that the Angels signed Smith. There were several other teams interested, so, I see this signing as a being well within the going market rate for a pitcher of his caliber who can generate ground balls and strikeouts, gives the bullpen a different look, and can pitch an inning in high leverage situations.

Amen. I was literally going to sit down and write something very much the same as what Chuck wrote, but he beat me to it. His eloquence is better than mine. Happy Thanksgiving AngelsWin.com. We all have a lot to be thankful for, and may you all have a happy holiday filled with family, friends, good food and merriment. And, for those who are Jewish, Happy Hanukkah.

This is my thinking. One thing Chuck said is that the Rockies are targeting one of our players. So, we're going to push hard for pitching and could be a match. One ML one and one on the doorstep would be a great haul.

Bump since tickets go on sale for season ticketholders today and to the general public on the 29th.

BTW, where the hell is Cental Okanagan?

Doc, did you see my interview with Jonathan Van Eaton? Another great story like this. And, Van Eaton is a reliever who could move quickly in the system. Keep him on your radar too. I'm excited to see Monster in action.

Chuck is right. I have talked with several scouts from other clubs and none of them saw Bourjos as equal to the value of a starting pitcher of the caliber that we would want/need. It's unfortunate, but, a reality. So, filling what would have been a terrible void at 3B into a serviceable solution (with a potential upside depending on the return to health) was a good use for Bourjos. I'm a bit more upset about losing Grichuk, but, I understand why an opposing GM would want him in the deal as insurance against the perceived injury status of Bourjos. Ettin, three things for you to consider: 1) In your analysis of the trade you didn't include the WAR from Calhoun. By trading Bourjos, we gain the value of Calhoun. Factor that into the trade and the value of the trade becomes better. 2) If we had kept Bourjos, he would not have played much, meaning that we could not have built up his trade value. We can't field a team with 4 OFers, a DH, and no 3B. The Angels would have started Calhoun over him at this point. So, the longer we waited, the less value Bourjos would have, making a trade even less likely. And, any playing time he would have would come at the expense of Calhoun, reducing his contributions to the team. 3) There is value in spreading the contributions to the team around the entire lineup, not just bunching it up in areas. That's because all players will go through slumps and streaks. By spreading the offense around, it makes it less likely that they all go through slumps and streaks at the same time. Prior to the trade, 3B would have been pretty much been a lost cause for the team. Our solutions at the time were far below replacement level. Now we are more likely to get production from that area, which will improve the team overall. I'm not out jumping up and down calling this a great deal for the team. But, I'm not upset as a fan about it (although as I have said before, I'm more personally upset with losing two of the guys I liked the most in the organization). I recognize why it had to be done and believe we got about as much as we could for Bourjos based on what the trade market would bring. I think the team after the trade is better than the team was before the trade.

We should be, but too many on here aren't.

So is the consensus around here that Dipoto should be fired? Or are we back to liking him as the GM?

Here's something else to consider when evaluating this trade. The 3B market is very thin, especially in the FA arena (were we seriously thinking of paying Chavez about $3 million to platoon and hope that he was healthy????). With Afraud acting like Afraud in his appeal, the Yankees are starting to really look into the 3B market as well. The only two 3B that I am aware of via trade were Middlebrooks and Freese. I'd much rather have Freese over Middlebrooks and I'd much rather deal with STL than Boston. I'm betting some of the increase and need to get this deal done now may have been to edge out the Yankees so that they have to delve into the FA market since Boston most likely won't trade with them at all. The timing of this deal and the inclusion of Grichuk seems to indicate we had to edge out another club. I still see this as a move that stabilizes a position. I was not sold on Jimenez at 3B. His defense is there, but the bat is too streaky and a bit too exposed for the Majors. Sure, it doesn't solve our pitching needs, but it does improve a position that's been a hole for us for a while. Freese is better than Callaspo (even last year), costs less, and has the potential for a bounce-back to be much better than whatever we otherwise could have put at the position.

This is where I am today, although I am a little bit more upset about losing Grichuk.

Ettin, The Grichuk for Salas part had me a bit bothered too. That's why I'm not totally in favor of it. However, from the STL side, I can see them thinking that they are taking on more risk in Borjous because he has had more seasons with injuries. So, they wanted to get more from a prospect who would give them OF depth. Bourjos and Grichuk is way too much for Freese alone, so, we got back a RP to balance it all out.

Ettin, Thank you for the reasoned response. My point about the whole Trout in CF vs. LF thing is that people's opinions here aren't necessarily consistent. If playing Trout in CF makes him happier or more willing to stay here, that's an issue. Some of the people radically criticizing this trade have in the past been very opposed to playing Bourjos in CF over Trout. This trade ends that debate. Trumbo may still be traded, but should net a better haul in a trade. I wouldn't necessarily trade him unless it gets us a solution to our pitching needs because he still is our insurance on Pujols at 1B. Freese had back issues. Bourjos has hamstring issues and is coming off of wrist surgery. Both have been shown to be as problematic to a career as the back issues are. Freese is not a long-term solution at 3B. I still see Cowart as that solution. Freese is better than what he have currently for 3B and better than what we had last year. If he is healthy, then it could be a better deal for us. The same risk issues are a concern for STL as they are for us, which is why Bourjos alone wouldn't net us too much. I want to wait until the whole offseason is over until judging the whole thing. I'm not greatly in favor of this trade, but am not overwhelmingly opposed to it either. I see it as a first step. Personally, I am unhappy to see both Bourjos and Grichuk go, as both are great guys, but that's baseball.

So, just wondering again from all those who think that we should have kept Bourjos to "increase his value", how exactly would that happen? With Calhoun and Shuck here, both would cut into Borjous's playing time, making it even more clear that he was a 4th OFer. Again, not necessarily a great deal, but could be the first step in several trades. Give it time to see how the whole thing plays out.

I have a question for all those who are opposed to this deal: Can I find a post from you talking about playing Trout in CF instead of Bourjos? Remember the whole controversy about displacing Trout from CF, his preferred position? If you think/thought Trout should go back to CF, most of your rage on this deal is deflated because the best part of Bourjos' value was tied to his defense in CF. If he's not in CF, then his value is diminished. I am a big fan of both Peter Bourjos and Grichuk. Really like both guys, and have known them since they first came into our system. I had a sneaky suspicion that Grichuk would be included in this deal. On a personal note, I will be sad to see them playing elsewhere, although I am happy that they are going to a good organization. However, I am a bigger fan of the ANGELS. I want to see the Angels win over any one player. I will hold off on evaluating this trade until I see all the moves that Dipoto makes. As Chuck has argued, this move frees up a potential Aybar/Kendrick/Trumbo move to get pitching. I hope Freese bounces back, but also see him as a placeholder until Cowart develops. Unlike some, I am not going to go into a fullblown panic over the move until I see the whole picture. I see this as the first step in a sequence of moves. Give it some time and have patience.

I really enjoyed this article Jess. Good job! We definitely need more articles like this around here just to keep the mood up. I would actually be torn to see Trumbo go in a trade. I think he still has more that he can do with the bat and would like to see him show it locally. He signed my eldest son's first autograph, so my boys will miss him. And, we went to the same high school (although years apart) so, he has some significance to me. For me, it would all depend on the haul we got for him. Unlike many, I do not underestimate his value (never did, going back all the way when we ranked him highly as a prospect when so many did not). But, winning cures everything g and if we get some of the pitching that we desperately need to make the post season, I would reluctantly do the trade.

Thanks guys. It was really nice eyeing how involved the Angels players got and how much fun they made it for the players.

In +1.

I did find the very specific numbers interesting, which is why I included the whole series in my summary. Remember, in Baylor's MVP season, he had more walks than KS.

You can see a lot of the direct quotes that I referenced in my summary of thoughts n Baylor in this article. It's interesting to see how different people can hear the same press conference and summarize it differently. However, I think Digi and I got the same points across.

I just had another thought: Baylor was asked if he had had much contact with Dipoto since Dipoto played for him or since they were together in AZ. Baylor said no, they hadn't except when Dipoto called him for about something concerning his church. That would lead me to believe that faith is important to Baylor. Knowing that Hamilton is a man of faith, as is Albert Pujols, I think that this will further help him connect with those two players, inspire them, and get them going offensively.

I attended the telephone conference. I just didn't have he time to get something out and be accurate with the quotes. The beat writers will all do that, but I wanted to give our fans some quick takes on it with my thoughts.

See my notes in the other thread for more thoughts and comments on the press conference today.

I would disagree with that. I think that Dipoto was able to get his guy and it worked well because Scioscia and Baylor have a good relationship from working together for 8 years on raising money for cystic fibrosis (which is a very worthwhile activity--a truly horrid disease that I wish were cured as a good friend has a son with it). I think the more interesting thing will be how Baylor works with Trumbo and Hamilton to retain their power AND cut down on their strikeouts.