howie

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

sorry but,
people that pretend that fans of one team are genetically different from fans of another team are delusional. everyone's the same, maybe if lgbt rights and dinosaurs came up a lot in sports you'd have a point, but otherwise it's poopypants.

I'm usually only able to get to one Angels game a year and tonight was the night- my 2 boys were way excited- they wanted some autographs, so I forked over the cash for close seats and we got to the stadium when the gates opened.
Looking at the Angels players- they just have no energy. Mike Trout was the only player that signed autographs and interacted with fans at all. My boys were yelling out all the players names pregame as they just walked right by. I understand that it's their workplace and they're on the road, but I just can't understand how players just walk right by all these kids that would be thrilled if they just came over and signed a few autographs.
Anyways- their body language is not a winning team. I didn't want to believe it about the Angels, but most of them act like the entitled millionaires that they are.
It's just really hard to explain to a 10 and 8 year old that are trying hard to choke back the tears why no players will come over. I'm glad Mike Trout took some time and I realize that he's the face of baseball, but I would expect him to sign fewer autographs than everyone, not be the only guy on the team signing.
Anyways, just venting about the whole situation, but this team, except for Trout just seems very plastic and content and insulated. Maybe it's different at home, but I just really have a hard time with the body language and attitude of most of this team.

This is bull sh!t. We went to an Angels - Twins game at the Metrodome in 2004. My 2 girls - 11 at the time - got a ton of autographs. One yelled at Adam Kennedy - who was standing by the batting cage - while we were on the far end of the dugout. AK put his hand up...like "Okay I'll be there".
 
Five minutes later - he came over to sign.
Salmon, Shields, Jose Molina, Figgy, Eckstein, Quinlan....even Hatcher and Solis came by.
 
So maybe it's just this group...who really are AAA players: Gia, Feather, Gillaspie, Cron all are terrible. 
 
And the Albert Albatross that is that contract...a joke. It's not an OC thing...it's a team chemistry thing...and it appears to be horrible.

The only thing I don't like about Giavotella is that big was of chew he's been sporting lately. After seeing what it did to Tony Gwynn, I just cringe when I see these guys with mouths full of tobacco.

The only thing I don't like about Giavotella is that big was of chew he's been sporting lately. After seeing what it did to Tony Gwynn, I just cringe when I see these guys with mouths full of tobacco.