wopphil

You have our permission to can Scioscia (I am not anti-Scioscia, but maybe a change is needed); to trade Trumbo, Kendrick, Aybar, and/or Bourjos for young pitching; and to sign as many pen arms as you wish.

Could have killed the Rangers' playoff chances with one win in four games, and couldn't even do that. Losers.

I hate this team. Bunch of pussies

Meanwhile our sorry excuse for a team is rolling over to give the rangers a playoff spot. **** them.

It is not surprising that he has been a bust. Rarely do guys with such horrific control ever improve. But I am a little surprised that Pena appears to have flopped as well.

Not to rain on the hate-Pujols parade, but he had the highest WAR of any AL first-baseman last year. And that was with 6 absolutely horrendous weeks to start the season. Yes, he was injured and ineffective this year, but there is a very good chance that he comes back and makes a very big impact the next few years.

Though I wish it would.

It is not possible to win out. With the number of games against good teams (A'th, Rangers), it just can't happen.

AJ, I agree regarding Green. Although I don't think he will do what Howie can do, he isn't that far off. And with his league minimum salary, along with Howie's trade value, I think Howie is the most likely to be traded.

Further proof that this team can compete next year if they make good moves this offseason. Simply replacing Blanton/Hanson with a league average arm would be a huge upgrade. Bring in two legit bullpen arms (Mujica and Benoit) and you have a vastly improved staff.

He seems to be going to the plate looking for a walk.

I don't think Bradley for Trumbo is an unreasonable demand. Trumbo, for all his faults, will hit 35+ homeruns this year and drive in 100+, while playing in a pitcher's park. He could easily hit 40 in Arizona. Bradley is a stud prospect, but he has done nothing at the big league level and has terrible walk rates (not unlike another high profile Arizona arm who fizzled out - Bauer). Skaggs for Trumbo isn't enough, IMO. Skaggs has taken a step back this year, and who knows if he will ever be a mid-rotation arm.

Home warranties are not worth the paper on which they are written.

Amazingly, Brimley isn't that old. I don't even think he is 80 yet. Thing is, he looked like he was 85 when he was popular, 30 years ago.

We have also met with Orange County Kitchens. Anyone have any experience with them? I like that they have limited overhead and their principals perform all their own work. The guy we met with seems like a good dude, too, and doesn't seem to want to waste our time upselling us on everything under the moon.

Regarding Reborn....good to hear the positive reviews, we are going to go check them out. We have read, however, that they are so persistent with their sales phone calls that they cross the line into being unprofessional about it.

Thanks man. They are actually on our list of contractors to call. I guess I am bit turned off by the word "gourmet" in their name, as my budget is more "fast food." The contractor we had out yesterday basically laughed at us when we said our budget was $30,000 (including appliances; we have a relatively small, galley kitchen). I think some of these places are so damn entrenched on providing every customer with top of the line, custom cabinets, that they are incapable of doing smaller scale jobs.

Can anyone recommend one? I am looking to gut my kitchen and one or two bathrooms and don't know of any good contractors who specialize in kitchens and bathrooms. I am not looking for a GC, but instead someone who specializes in kitchens and bathrooms. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I have actually heard a number of different people, outside of this message board, comment that Trout hates Scioscia and hates playing for him. Does anyone know if there is any truth whatsoever to that? I can't see why he would hate Scioscia - Scioscia plays him everyday, and I have never seen the two get into it with one another. But sometimes where there is smoke there is fire, and I can't help but wonder if there is some truth to that.

Couldn't agree more James. I am hard pressed to believe Trout would turn down $200,000,000 if it were actually offered to him.

They might be able to do this if they are willing to spend even more money on payroll, which I doubt Arte wants to do. I guess if you move Kendrick (whom I would also like to keep) then perhaps you can keep Trumbo and add a good arm without increasing payroll. It might come down to Kendrick or Trumbo, in which case I would be somewhat torn as to who should be kept (though I would lean toward Kendrick).

I know almost all of you will disagree, but I don't like to see guys like jeter break down. It reminds me how quickly life is passing and how fast glory days turn to "I remember when." I also don't understand the constant crying about "Jeter Day." I think it is a classy thing for an organization to honor an opposing player, and if I ever attended such a ceremony, I would give the guy a standing ovation. Then I would root for our pitcher to strike him out.

I don't think the market for cano will be as large as jay-z would like. I bet the Yankees get him re-signed for something like 6/140.

I got into a debate with a co-worker (a fellow poster on this board) about the Angels' future. He believes the team needs to rebuild. I think the team can compete next year if it re-tools instead. I think the 2012/2013 Red Sox are a good example of this. Anyway, I ran some stats and was encouraged by what I found. The Angels' team ERA is currently 4.29. Blanton and Hanson are responsible for 131 of the 614 earned runs given up. Remove them from the equation, and replace them with a guy who gives you a 4.00 ERA (like another Vargas), and the team ERA drops all the way down to 3.99 (Indian and Yankee territory, both of which have been competitive this year). There are plenty of big league pitchers capable of giving you 200 innings at 4.00 ERA, so I don't think it is unrealistic to believe that can happen. Now to the pen. If you replace the 69 innings that Jepsen, Gutierrez, and Coello have thrown (giving up 37 earned runs in the process) with a comparable number from a guy like Mujica (who has given up 13 earned runs in 59 innings), the team ERA drops further down to 3.84. And if the team ERA dropped down to 3.84, the run differential would go from -17 to +47. This year, the Rays have a differential of +38 and the Pirates of +40, and if the season ended today, both clubs would be in the playoffs. So assuming everyone else performs similarly next year, the addition of just one league average starter and one really good relief arm could have a huge impact on the team. Imagine what two or three good pen arms could do. I also happen to believe that the offense has under-performed this year, and that we can expect marginally better results from Hamilton going forward and much better output from Pujols. Even if that translates into only 20 or so more runs per year, the difference could have a big impact.

I would really like to see both Aybar and Kendrick retained, though I recognize both have value and are some of the few trade chips we actually have. My preference would be to trade Trumbo or Bourjos. Calhoun looks like at least an average major league player, so one of Bourjos/Trumbo is expendable. I have to believe Trumbo could net us a good pitching prospect or young 3/4 guy under similar club control (2 or 3 years left; a Bud Norris type).