wopphil

The White Sox have two good young arms in Hector Santiago and Jose Quintana.  And they desperately need offense.  Although Trumbo alone definitely wouldn't get it done for either of those guys, perhaps Trumbo and/or Kendrick could form the centerpiece of a deal. 

Arte sounds like a wonderful boss. Totally unwilling to look in the mirror. He should be happy Scioscia and Dipoto are willing to keep working for him.

wow.  quite a few folks around here seem to know a lot about what was going on behind the scenes in the clubhouse and front office.  It would have been interesting to hear the specifics of what actually happened as it was happening. 
 
 
No one here thought the offense massively underachieved this year?  Just because they were good doesn't mean they were as good as they should have been.  I think it's pretty clear that eppard has taken the fall for Hamilton being a wreck, Trumbo taking a step back etc. 
 
All here thought the pitching staff should have performed better than they did?  I didn't see a bunch of guys underachieving, I saw a bunch of guys that lacked talent. 
 
Also, do we even know the responsibilities of the bench coach?  Maybe it was his job to give the manager information about matchups, or to process info regarding potential defensive alignments or to recommend an approach relative to info provided by advanced scouts.   It's funny how Maddon was a god and MS is worthless without him by his side yet Piccolo provided nothing.
 
Don't get me wrong, I have no freaking clue if these are the right moves, but neither does anyone else.   

Linx is a massive disappointment considering how long it took them to open that place.
Taco Adobe is my #2 favorite Mexican restaurant. Their seafood blows me away.
Going to Felix's today for breakfast.

50 percent of those players are just as dumb as the sportswriters for vote for MVP.

Yup.  Before they attack anyone, if you pay close attention, you'll hear them bark "allah arf arf."

You're generally pretty astute when it comes to actual baseball stuff, which makes it pretty baffling that you exhibit such relative silliness when talking about this.
 
A lot can change in 4 years. For instance, 4 years ago...
 
-the Angels were in the ALCS. 
-the A's finished 22 games behind the Angels
-the MARINERS won 85 games
-the Twins won 86 games and the Royals won 65
-the Pirates won 32 fewer games than they did this year
 
The ONLY guy that's on the books past 4 years is Pujols. Why can't some of you seem to realize that when evaluating whether or not we can afford to sign Trout? If this organization makes moves that make it more competitive and treats Trout with respect as time goes on, if it offers him a fat check that kicks in four years from now, there's a damn good chance he sticks with the Angels.
 
Stop being such babies.

This inning is the epitome of this Angels season:  Pitcher walks a batter after being a ahead in the count, error opens doors for opponent, and opponent cashes in.  
 
This season can't be over fast enough.

if it were, he'd be drinking a 40 of king cobra. 

Well it's not like you'll have to worry about getting him pregnant.

Archer. Because he stands out in an otherwise weak field, with some who just haven't played enough (Myers and Calhoun).

I think the biggest advantage to trading him is that we have potential replacements that are ready for a shot.  Green and Lindsey with more depths waiting below them.  Dipoto wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't at least see what was available in return.
 
That being said I think Howie is undervalued on this board and the return would have to be significant to actually make a move.

I show us at an AAV of $158 million for 2013, $152 million for 2014, 126 million for 2015, and $106 million for 2016.  If it shows the salary for the year, the AAV is on tab 2.
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AprnDWGvbY9ZdHZ4RDc2Z0tDT2Q4S19tR3pWNVRqaGc&usp=sharing
 
Also, one very important thing to note.  The CBA runs through 2016.  With the way the Doggies, Yanks, and even the Red Sox and Angels are spending, and considering that teams are getting huge sums from tv both locally and nationally, I can see a huge jump in the Competitive Balance Tax.  

Yep, the B&H experiment did not work.   I give Dipoto a pass on this, however.  Arte Moreno said he was the one who spent all the available money and hamstrung Dipoto.  So JD had to go to the swap meet to find pitching.  If that is a true statement - and we have no reason not to believe it - I am in favor of bringing back the Dipoto/Scioscia team and keeping Arte away from baseball decisions.

Yes they are idiots if they turn it down.  If he is likely 40 million for his three years of arbitration that means all Trout can count on is a four year 40.5 million dollars non guaranteed contract for the next four years.  And a lot can happen in those four years.  I am willing to bet that Kendrys Morales felt he was going to make a ton of money on arbitration and break the bank in FA too.  
 
250 million guaranteed for ten years regardless of regression or injury is too much to pass up.
 
Even if he got those 40 million you say he will get in arb. that means the last SIX years of the contract would be worth 210 million dollars.  That is averaging 35 million a season.  Trout wouldn't be offered 35 million a season if he was a FA at the end of this year.  So waiting would be stupid.  
 
Personally I think 180 million would get it done.

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 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.

The last couple of weeks is a good indicator of how this team was supposed to play.  Albeit still with holes, they were certainly capable of playing a little better than .500 baseball with an actual rotation.  Even with Albert and Howie out, and Trumbo being pretty bad as well as piecemeal 3b guys, the offense has been solid to good.  The rotation, however, has been the obvious key.  Getting solid starts from 3 guys each time thru gives the team a much better chance to win. 
 
The bullpen is still a problem but I think that can be addressed. 
 
If Josh plays next year like he is now, and Albert gives us something similar to 2012, the offense will be really good.
If they get Vargas back and add one more guy, I would bet the rotation would be better than league average.
They really need three pen pieces to bring that part of the team up to par.  One of Mujica or Benoit, One of Janssen, Joe Smith, or a number of other, and one of Javy Lopez, Downs, or JP howell.  You could fill one of those spots with trade as well. 
Frieri needs to be the 3rd/4th option along with Burnett, and the two non-closer new guys.  DDLR then would be 5th or a shade below the others, and Kohn/Coello/Rasmus/Morin/Alvarez/Berg can fight it out for the last spot with Williams as the long man.  The rest of the guys that don't make it are depth. 
 
Two solid rotation guys (one of which could be Vargas) and Bullpen Bullpen Bullpen.  I'm fine with piecemeal at 3b for a season. 

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). 

It's laughable to think that Calhoun is platooning with Cowgill while Shuck plays every day.

Calhoun makes Trumbo even more expendable, IMO.

If you accidently mistyped "Trumbo" when you meant "Trout" then yes we could center a package around Trumbo and Bourjos to get Price and Hellickson. Otherwise there isn't much chance.

Apparently they don't grow in Anaheim either because Mark Trumbo has as many 40 HR seasons as I do. 

Non tender