QuinlansMinion

Can we give some of that secret HGH to Pujols? Id be more than okay with a World Series if it meant some cheating was going on. Hey the Red Sox did it and I dont see anyone complaining about it.

Perez hit .300 in September. I think he could have a pretty decent season.

From looking at most players stats that doesnt seem to be the case. Usually a good offensive player will have his numbers increase with runners on or in scoring position. I use ESPN's player profiles to look at stats and they have a thing where it shows player splits for the last 3 years. Alex Gordon is one that I just looked at the other day. Over the last 3 years with none on, his OPS is .710. With runners on, .874, RISP is .923. That made me really convinced that this is a guy the Angels should target. Calhoun over the last 3 years, OPS with none on is .725, runners on its .816, RISP its .819. He obviously performs a lot better with runners on base or in scoring position, this isnt a small sample size either. For Trout its the same thing, with runners on or in scoring position his OPS higher than it is with none on. Obviously they are facing pitchers from the stretch rather than their normal wind up, which always helps. But with runners on or in scoring position it puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher, and great offensive players get locked in when they have a chance to drive in runs. For some players you can notice just from watching them over the course of a season how their approach changes when there is someone on base. Calhoun is one of those players, and the numbers support that when theres a chance to drive in runs he usually succeeds. In order to maximize his value, we need guys on in front of him. Which is why for a long time ive wanted Calhoun batting behind Trout, and to put an OBP guy in front of Trout instead. Calhoun would benefit enormously from Trout's .400 OBP, and he might finally reach his all star potential.

If were going all in on defense why not put CowaKubi at 3rd and let Escobar take 2nd. So far the Angels front office has said Escobar will take 3rd, meaning Gia at 2nd. That means two below average defenders on the infield. With the CowaKubi method you get great d at 3rd and decent d at 2nd.

Check his numbers with RISP. Over a full season he will drive in 100 easily.

The force will awaken with this signing. Hopefully Artes check book will awaken.

Sign this guy and Upton for LF. Then trade for a 7th inning guy. If Arte is serious about winning, this would give the Angels a real shot.

Its pretty funny (and sad) to think what kind of numbers most of these Ducks will finish with this season. Perry might be good for his 30 goals or whatever. Getzlaf, probably a lot shorter point total than he normally gets but his assists will still give him a decent total considering his games missed. The rest of these guys though, youre looking at maybe a handful of guys with 5-6 goals on the season and just flat out abysmal point totals.

Thats easy for you to say. I think every org would like to build from within. If we plan on doing that, we better get used to rebuilding, and the suckage that comes along with it. We have 0 playoff wins and 1 playoff berth in 5 seasons, remind me again what exactly we have in our farm system to show for it?

Ok. But were still 100 % dependent on Trouts Ruth numbers to carry us. Think hes happy about that?

I dont think he really cares to be honest. He was pretty good friends with Aybar if I recall, and im not sure he thinks a defensive specialist coming in is going to change all that much, especially when Aybar was pretty good himself defensively. Had we gotten a guy who could get on base for him, im sure he would have been happy. As of right now, offensively we are 100 % reliant on Trout putting up Ruthian numbers. If he puts up anything short of Ruth numbers, this team has 0 chance of making the playoffs. Do you think hes happy about that?

Thats exactly why we cant look at them and say we need to follow that formula. Were not going to find a Cody Ross or a Bumgardner, and the one pitcher we had who could have potentially reached that level was dealt for a shortstop. Which brings me back to my original point, no OBP, no rings. Exclude the Giants and look at the Red Sox, Royals, Cardinals, and Yankees.

Not to mention, they dont have a retarded baserunning philosophy. I still remember Cowgill thrown out at 3rd and Sosh after the game saying "well i was hoping he would go." Stuff like that can cost you in the playoffs, when you lose 1 run games.

The Giants are a very strange coincidence. 2010 Lincecum was hot, 2012 they had a good OBP + good pitching, 2014 they rode Bumgardners arm to a title. I dont think you can look at the Giants and say its a formula to follow. They play in the NL in an extreme pitchers park, they have their own formula for winning. I think better examples would be the Royals, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Yankees. All of those World Series teams had great OBP iirc. Other than that the only other team to win was the Giants, who just get incredibly hot in October and have dominant pitching.

Baseball is easy to figure out. No OBP, no rings. Everything else is hog wash.

Arte is going to get his 3 million fans next season, im not sure what hes really worried about. If he wants to increase the Angels value, its in his own best interest to field a competitive team that can win a World Series. If hes not happy that the money hes already spending is not getting the results he wants, maybe he should start looking into the managing situation and holding guys accountable, and im not talking about the pitching/hitting coaches. Hes already on board with Eppler trading away top prospects that would be on cheap deals for years to come. It seems like at this point Arte is content with fielding an average team with Mike Trout on it, in hopes of riding his greatness to a miraculous division title. This way he gets his 3 million fans, and doesnt have to worry about his wallet.

I mean hey at this point do any of you really want home ice in a 7 game series?

Its simple. Get some OBP guys. No OBP, no rings.

Considering none of the major outfielders have signed yet I think there might be some strategy to Arte's comments. He said at the time he would "probably" be out of the bidding war for any of the top free agents. If the price comes down a little bit, maybe he changes his mind. I think Cespedes will go back to New York. Between Upton and Gordon, if we could get one on a 3 year deal, it might be realistic.

Im sure Arte has to know how furious the fan base is with his comments. I mean he cant be that ignorant can he?

Correct. Considering we have 0 playoff wins in 5 years. Another sad Angels statistic.

I predicted the Mets would spank the Cubs when everyone was slobbering over the Cubs baby faced power bats.

The Simmons deal makes perfect sense if you are trying to win now. With a LHP heavy rotation, having the best defensive SS in baseball will help quite a bit. Unfortunately, we have a revolving door in Left Field and an average to below average defensive 3rd basemen, assuming Escobar plays there. I dont know much about Newcomb but considering how highly rated he was, it would have been smarter to trade him for a LF or a 3B.

Pujols is a latino star. Its money well spent for, as you like to say "starry eyed Arte."

He got his latino star. Hes happy. Now he can just sit back and watch Trout pull in the money.