howie

We need this guy- a true #1 pitcher. There’s no one on the pitching staff that I would trust in a 1 game playoff. That may be happening in 2018. Yes, he’s older, but we don’t have any playoff proven veterans on the staff. In fact, the staff really lacks any veteran. Arrieta can show what it takes to get there. As far as the money- yes- he will be a big purchase, but in reality, Eppler hasn’t spent much this offseason despite all the moves that have been made. You not only have the savings from the Hamilton contract, but Arte will be getting the $50 million or so from the sale of the MLB media thing to Disney. It makes sense as we wouldn’t be giving up any prospects either. This is our window- 2018-2020. As much as we all want Mike Trout to stay, he’s earned his right to be a free agent and it’s possible he may leave. If we can win a WS before his contract is up, I believe that could be the most convincing way to keep him. At this point, pitching is our biggest question mark. If Arrieta is willing to do a 3 or 4 year deal, we have to take that chance to win now

I’m trying to figure out how Cozart is that much better than Cowart. Just wondering what Cowarts stats look like if he’s given 500 ABs. Maybe we don’t have the luxury of giving Cowart the ABs, but it seems that he could provide elite defense at 3rd. If we’re not going to play him much, maybe Ohtani can give him some tips on going 2 ways also- he has a great arm- maybe he can be a reliever/utility man.

How is Hernandez any better than Starlin Castro? They both are very similar defensively and offensively. Seems like Castro could be had for a cheaper return

Regardless of why he had 22 HR, his offensive stats are not better than Howie and I don’t think his defense is good enough to warrant trading for him as opposed to signing Howie to a short term inexpensive deal

I was using that as an example if you want to bring up HR totals. The 22 HR is really the only thing I see as being much better statistically that Kinsler has over Howie

I didn’t get a chance to watch Howie much this year, I know he was on the DL for a while this year. Howie has always been solid at 2B and Kinsler is older than Howie.

I don’t know why this hasn’t happened yet- I have to think Howie would love to come back. I don’t get why anyone would want Ian Kinsler over Howie- Kinsler’s stats last year are pretty mediocre when you consider the ball likely being juiced. Meanwhile, Howie had one of his best years to date and has the versatility this team needs.

As risky as it is, i’m leaning toward getting Arrieta. Yes, he’s 32- but he wasn’t just very good in 2015- he had one of the most dominant stretches in the history of baseball. He’s coming into the market at a good time for the Angels- he’s coming off a less dominant year, so there may be a slight discount over what he would have asked for if he were a free agent the past couple years. The main thing I like with him is the intangibles- experienced veteran that has overcome obstacles to have success and he sets a tone for the other pitchers. None of our current cast of pitchers has had sustained success or can really be considered a veteran. Arrieta has won a World Series and knows what it takes and will set the right tone for the rest of the staff. We need someone like that on the pitching staff. Even though it may take 5 years to get it done- it’s worth it- pay the man and get him here.

So who did we give up?

Not sure how BP expects to get another contract if he vetoes this trade. Braves obviously don't want him. Angels wouldn't want him at that point and what other team will sign him if he doesn't want to play in a pennant race for a month.

I wonder if his name is pronounced Blaaayyke or Buh-la-kay

Couldn't help but notice that the Twins lost 19-0- I had a sneaky suspicion that Hector Santiago might be involved. Sure enough, he started the game and gave up 5 runs in 1 inning of work.

I just noticed that Michael Pierson was released in July- anyone know why? He batted .395 last season- I realize he may have been a bit old for A ball (24), but seems like he could hit a little

The 2017 draft has some real potential- in the article I linked to- they say that the top 5 college pitchers available in 2017 would have been drafted ahead of any of the college pitchers picked in 2016. It may not look like any amazing, once in a generation type players are there, but you never know- while the draft is a crapshoot, at the very least, I'd hope we can get a Troy Glaus or Jered Weaver (when he had a fastball) with our first pick. It would be awesome if we can get a difference maker. http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/06/13/2017-mlb-draft-tanner-houck-jaren-kendall

It's officially time to get excited for what all this losing does for us. If I'm correct, there are only 5 teams with worse records than the Angels and we're only 3 games out of having the second worse record in the majors. That would give us the 2nd pick in the draft. As far as I'm concerned, not getting a top 10 pick next year would be utter failure for this team. There's a real possibility of getting a top 5 pick, with an outside chance of top 3. In this day and age, young, cost-controlled players is what it's all about. Not only would we get a higher pick in the first round, but every round thereafter. That can make a real difference. From what I've been reading, the 2017 draft appears to be better than 2016, and it's possible to pick up a stud college pitcher in the top 3 picks that may be ready in 2018. Couple that with top 10 picks being protected and it gives lots of flexibility if Eppler decides to go after a free agent. All is not lost friends- Just this season. So let's keep losing a lot and embrace the losing.

Angels were 75-87 in 2001- no huge rebuild and some pretty nice things happened the next year

I don't understand the premise of trading Trout to build up the farm system. The farm system is there to improve the major league team- not the other way around. You hold on to Trout at all costs unless you get a player of comparable skill. The only way I trade Trout at this point is if I get Bryce Harper in return. Just like I would never trade Ted Williams unless I get Joe DiMaggio in return. So Trout goes through some years without the playoffs... He'll be a big boy and deal with it like all the great ones do. If he wants to leave in 2020, he has that right, but as long as he's under contract, you keep him here.

While this offseason may seem like a disappointment on the surface, I think 2016 can be a surprisingly good season and I believe even the long term future is a bit more rosy than some think. Here's why: 1. Andrelton Simmons makes the pitching staff better and if he improved his hitting just a bit higher will add to the lineup too. He puts the ball in play and who knows how much Trout and Pujols will help with his hitting- there were no future HOF hitters on the Braves last year that I can see- I think it's hard to quantify how much Pujols may have helped Trout with the mental and emotional part of hitting. Also- maybe Simmons helps other players have more desire to improve defensively. 2. Pitching Depth- look at the 2002 Angels staff- Washburn, Ortiz, Appier, Lackey- none of them were really an ace- there were no 20 game winners and only Washburn, Ortiz and Appier won more than 10. I think Richards is better than all of them, Heaney improves, and if either Weaver or Wilson return to just their average seasons- then we mix and match the rest and have a healthy competition for the remaining slots on the staff. There's good reason to believe the rotation will be better than last year and you add Simmons defense to the equation and I think the pitching and defense will keep us in many more games. 3. The bullpen- I like the pickups this offseason. Assuming Street is healthy, there can be some real gems here- 2002 saw some trash heap pickups like Weber and Donnelly have career years- I think between Albuquerque, Friedrich, and both Guerras that one of them will be solid in 2016. Again, I think Simmons influence will be a big lift to the bullpen. 4. I believe in Eppler. It's hard not to be a bit jaded about the front office and Arte after the fiasco last year. But even though they didn't sign a big name- I don't see any area of the team that got worse over the offseason- the pitching staff should be healthier and deeper. The bench has been improved. The infield defense has improved overall and I believe infield hitting shouldn't be any worse than last year and has a good chance of being better. Trout and Calhoun should be just as good as last year and even though I'm not thrilled with Nava/Gentry, it will be better than last year as it can't get any worse than one of the worst LF performances ever. Catching will be improved with Perez and Soto and there's a possibility the hitting there may improve over last year. I understand not wanting to pay superstar $ for merely good players. They've made many low risk moves that may pay off in small dividends, but in areas that will solidify areas of weakness last year. 5. The farm system- ok- it's not great- but big deal- the purpose of the farm system is to make the big league club better. I believe it did that in the offseason with the Simmons trade. It would have been unlikely that either Newcomb or Ellis would contribute in 2016 with the starting pitching being such a strength. As far as the future- there are 3 players I'm keeping an eye on- Taylor Ward, Jahmai Jones and Michael Pierson. If you followed the draft last year, you probably know all about Ward and Jones, but who the heck is Michael Pierson? Well- I didn't know either until last night when I realized he led all the minors with a .395 BA. Granted it was rookie league in Orem with only 195 AB, but still- .395 is impressive. Oh, did I mention he plays 3B? I don't believe I've heard anything about him before yesterday, so it was a very nice surprise. All of these 3 are likely a couple years away, but Ward and Pierson were both college players, so maybe they'll contribute sooner than later. I may get ripped for some of the points here, but as I've thought about the offseason, I'm excited about 2016

I think we have an idea of how other teams valued Newcomb by virtue of our new GM. I'd imagine he had some idea how the Yankees viewed some of the Angels' top prospects and it's probably not too far off what most other teams thoughts were too. I also had a Simmons thought- he and Heyward are both about the same age and are thought of similarly in respect to their offensive and defensive ability and production: they're both elite defenders and pretty average offensively for their positions. Look at the numbers being thrown around Heyward- a good amount of his value is attributed to WAR, of which his defense plays a major role. So if Simmons were a free agent today, I'd expect him to get a similar contract to Heyward.

This is what I get on my iPhone

Interesting article- http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/atlanta-braves-los-angeles-angels-andrelton-simmons-trade-fifteen-teams-112715

Is it possible that Weaver has a minor injury and it has affected him this past season? He seems like the type that wouldn't tell anyone or get it checked out. If I were the Angels, I'd go get him a full physical now- see if there's something medically wrong. I don't remember him ever having any surgeries, clean-outs, etc- maybe I'm wrong...

Yeah- this group is just different- can't really put a finger on it- It seems like the team gets along just fine, but at some point you have to look at teams like the Royals and they have some enthusiasm and energy. Just unacceptable to be playing like this on the road against teams like the White Sox. There's no edge to these guys- they need a guy like Darin Erstad-

Nope- not me- there were quite a few angels fans there actually- I was surprised how well we were represented