Angels

And yet you are doing nothing to disprove that notion. All you can muster up is "WAR is the worst stat ever."
 
In other words, you got nothing.

Why? Dipoto hasn't even been given a fair chance.
 
I'm sure Dipoto is tired of Moreno's interference and the burden of Pujols and Hamilton's contracts that was forced upon him. That's over 1/3 of a billion dollars. Now, the Angels can't even afford to give Trout an extension or spend anything because they don't want to go over the luxury tax. Dipoto will now be forced to get creative and trade players from the current roster to improve the team. 
 
Dipoto's fault? I don't think so. Blame Arte. Dipoto's hands were and still are tied until he gets full autonomy (hiring his own manager, Arte staying the F away).

I don't think Scioscia is a good manager, but that's not the biggest reason why I want to see him replaced.
 
I want Scioscia replaced because he and Dipoto don't see eye to eye. You usually want to see your GM and manager share the same vision for the team. GMs usually get to pick their own managers. The front office has become more and more sabermetric-minded ever since Dipoto took over. Scioscia is the total opposite. He is not a good fit.
 
Let Dipoto hire his own guy.

I don't think Scioscia is a good manager, but that's not the biggest reason why I want to see him replaced.
 
I want Scioscia replaced because he and Dipoto don't see eye to eye. You usually want to see your GM and manager share the same vision for the team. GMs usually get to pick their own managers. The front office has become more and more sabermetric-minded ever since Dipoto took over. Scioscia is the total opposite. He is not a good fit.
 
Let Dipoto hire his own guy.

Time for Dipoto to show his worth...

If Trout is the best player in the game (which he is), then he's the most valuable player. Penalizing him because the players around him weren't good enough just shows what a farce the MVP award really is. The MVP award doesn't mean anything if the best player doesn't win it.

Trout would be stupid to wait until free agency. He would be pretty smart to actually sign a monster contract now, while also giving himself the chance to sign a second monster contract while he's still in his prime. Sign a big 7-8 year deal now, then a huge 10-year one afterwards.
 
Besides that, signing a contract now also guarantees him big, big money. A lot can happen in 4 years. Players can get injured (ask Grady Sizemore). Smart move for him would be to sign now.
 
If the Angels don't lock him up now or within a year, they're a bunch of idiots. 

Trout would be stupid to wait until free agency. He would be pretty smart to actually sign a monster contract now, while also giving himself the chance to sign a second monster contract while he's still in his prime. Sign a big 7-8 year deal now, then a huge 10-year one afterwards.
 
Besides that, signing a contract now also guarantees him big, big money. A lot can happen in 4 years. Players can get injured (ask Grady Sizemore). Smart move for him would be to sign now.
 
If the Angels don't lock him up now or within a year, they're a bunch of idiots. 

Trout would be stupid to wait until free agency. He would be pretty smart to actually sign a monster contract now, while also giving himself the chance to sign a second monster contract while he's still in his prime. Sign a big 7-8 year deal now, then a huge 10-year one afterwards.
 
Besides that, signing a contract now also guarantees him big, big money. A lot can happen in 4 years. Players can get injured (ask Grady Sizemore). Smart move for him would be to sign now.
 
If the Angels don't lock him up now or within a year, they're a bunch of idiots. 

Trout would be stupid to wait until free agency. He would be pretty smart to actually sign a monster contract now, while also giving himself the chance to sign a second monster contract while he's still in his prime. Sign a big 7-8 year deal now, then a huge 10-year one afterwards.
 
Besides that, signing a contract now also guarantees him big, big money. A lot can happen in 4 years. Players can get injured (ask Grady Sizemore). Smart move for him would be to sign now.
 
If the Angels don't lock him up now or within a year, they're a bunch of idiots. 

Pujols and Hamilton don't have to take PEDs anymore since they signed their last contracts they will ever get. Especially in the case of Albert Pujols. Why risk your health when you're going to get paid no matter what and the contract you've signed will take you to the end of your career? Time to sit back and enjoy. Pujols will continue to have a new excuse every year for why he sucks. Next year, it will probably be an elbow issue. Then the knee in 2015. And so on.
 
Never sign players to long-term contracts that will take them to the end of their careers. It usually never works out well. Build around young players.

Pujols and Hamilton don't have to take PEDs anymore since they signed their last contracts they will ever get. Especially in the case of Albert Pujols. Why risk your health when you're going to get paid no matter what and the contract you've signed will take you to the end of your career? Time to sit back and enjoy. Pujols will continue to have a new excuse every year for why he sucks. Next year, it will probably be an elbow issue. Then the knee in 2015. And so on.
 
Never sign players to long-term contracts that will take them to the end of their careers. It usually never works out well. Build around young players.

If you're a fan of this team and actually care about next season and beyond, then you should root for them to lose as many games as possible from here on out. The Angels don't have a chance to make the playoffs this season. This season is over. The focus should be on the future.
 
The Angels have the worst farm system in baseball with a bunch of bloated contracts that aren't going anywhere. Then there's Mike Trout..who happens to be the best player in baseball and isn't yet signed long-term. He is about to get ridiculously expensive a few years from now. The Angels will need to rely heavily on their farm system given their situation. And without one, they will be screwed. Therefore, I want the Angels to get a protected draft pick. Not only that, I want the Angels to get the highest draft pick possible. Because the higher the draft pick, the higher the rate for success. The lower the draft pick, the lower the rate for success. It's pretty simple. The best (and only way) to accomplish that is to lose as many games from here on out. I want to see that happen because I care about the future of this organization.
 
I will never understand people who want to see a bunch of meaningless wins at the detriment of the greater good. What will a .500 record accomplish? Will that make you happy? An 81-81 record doesn't mean anything. Not this year, not next year, not ever. All it will do is put the Angels in a worse position to succeed next year and 2015 and 2016 and so on.

I care about the future more than meaningless wins. Win or lose, there won't be any Angels baseball in October. I'd rather have a potential ace like Rodon, Hoffman or Beede that can help the club within a few years than play spoiler in meaningless games

What team isn't based on theoretical performance? Nothing is absolute. Nothing is set in stone. Nobody can enter a season and for sure say that everything will go as expected or as planned. The Angels aren't alone here. Just because a team with the same cast of characters did good or bad last year doesn't mean that team will do good or bad this year. Just because a player did good or bad last year doesn't mean that player will do good or bad this year. I'm sure Dipoto looked at every potential risk involved here.
 
The truth is, this team did look good on paper. The truth is, projection systems (like ZiPS and PECOTA, for example) had the Angels winning their division. Even the most pessimistic outlooks couldn't have predicted this. With 25% of the season nearly over, the Angels have the third-worst record in ALL of baseball, just ahead of the Marlins and Astros. That's nothing something you could've predicted or expected.
 
In regards to the depth...Dipoto inherited an abysmal farm system. That is not something he can just magically fix overnight. That's going to take a lot of patience and time to go along with good scouting, drafting and willingness to spend money. Expecting some quick fix simply isn't realistic. And it's not like he has been just sitting around doing nothing. He has been looking for depth/help (signing AAAA'ers), but let's be realistic..in order to acquire impact, serviceable major league talent, you have to give up talent. The Angels have almost no farm system. They would have to trade some pieces from their roster (desirable pieces), which would be addition by subtraction and perhaps wouldn't make the Angels any better off than they are now.
 
For this year, their best bet is to just ride things out and hope for the best. What else can realistically be done? The Angels are stuck with what they have, and that's the truth. Unless the Angels plan to blow it up (can't happen since we're stuck with a bunch of these contracts...and a bunch of them have NTC's), nothing can be done.
 
I see what Dipoto's strategy was when he constructed the pitching staff. He was hoping the pitching staff would be tailor-made for Angel Stadium. And with the defense (particularly the OF), things would look good. It didn't seem like a bad strategy. And let's be honest, some of these guys are performing a lot worse than how they normally perform or how they were expected to perform. Blanton (for example) may not be a good pitcher, but he isn't THIS bad, either. 

What team isn't based on theoretical performance? Nothing is absolute. Nothing is set in stone. Nobody can enter a season and for sure say that everything will go as expected or as planned. The Angels aren't alone here. Just because a team with the same cast of characters did good or bad last year doesn't mean that team will do good or bad this year. Just because a player did good or bad last year doesn't mean that player will do good or bad this year. I'm sure Dipoto looked at every potential risk involved here.
 
The truth is, this team did look good on paper. The truth is, projection systems (like ZiPS and PECOTA, for example) had the Angels winning their division. Even the most pessimistic outlooks couldn't have predicted this. With 25% of the season nearly over, the Angels have the third-worst record in ALL of baseball, just ahead of the Marlins and Astros. That's nothing something you could've predicted or expected.
 
In regards to the depth...Dipoto inherited an abysmal farm system. That is not something he can just magically fix overnight. That's going to take a lot of patience and time to go along with good scouting, drafting and willingness to spend money. Expecting some quick fix simply isn't realistic. And it's not like he has been just sitting around doing nothing. He has been looking for depth/help (signing AAAA'ers), but let's be realistic..in order to acquire impact, serviceable major league talent, you have to give up talent. The Angels have almost no farm system. They would have to trade some pieces from their roster (desirable pieces), which would be addition by subtraction and perhaps wouldn't make the Angels any better off than they are now.
 
For this year, their best bet is to just ride things out and hope for the best. What else can realistically be done? The Angels are stuck with what they have, and that's the truth. Unless the Angels plan to blow it up (can't happen since we're stuck with a bunch of these contracts...and a bunch of them have NTC's), nothing can be done.
 
I see what Dipoto's strategy was when he constructed the pitching staff. He was hoping the pitching staff would be tailor-made for Angel Stadium. And with the defense (particularly the OF), things would look good. It didn't seem like a bad strategy. And let's be honest, some of these guys are performing a lot worse than how they normally perform or how they were expected to perform. Blanton (for example) may not be a good pitcher, but he isn't THIS bad, either.