DoubleOffTheWall

It may sound familiar but its also something that was forgotten along the way.

I think the approach I've proposed here is markedly different than what is being discussed in other threads, with people going back and forth on adding offense vs. adding a frontline starter. I myself was on the frontline starter bandwagon for some time but am changing my tune slowly. The approach here is to spend resources on the pen first and foremost, and second, add players at the weak positions (LF, 2b, 3b) who are multidimensional if possible, but to actually work backwards - ensure they are solid defenders first and if that checks out, pick the guys who also have solid bats. I think most people would propose working the other way - find the big bats who also happen to be good defenders (i.e. Cespedes). I think my approach would then hone in on a guy like Heyward (known as a solid defender) who also brings a solid bat, OBP and speed on the basepaths.

This was an excellent postseason, full of some pretty talented teams. I didn't get to watch as much as usual as I was traveling internationally for work but it was great to see teams like the Royals, Mets, Cubs, Blue Jays and even the Astros do so well. The game has changed significantly in recent years and due to this, I think we all know the Angels need to implement some changes in the way they approach team building going forward, and I think this postseason informs on that effort greatly. Here are some of my takeaways from this postseason: - Hitting and starting pitching? No, more like bullpen and great defense - I think the mantra for awhile has been - you need great hitters and starting pitchers, and that is true no doubt. But I think what we saw from the Royals is that a lockdown pen and great defense are just as important. The Mets had a somewhat soft underbelly within their bullpen ranks, and it got exposed, while the Royals pen was so strong, that it allowed the starters to just concentrate on going 5-6 innings and keeping the damage to a minimum (hmmm, sounds familiar angel fans...) We also saw the ranks of other pens exposed such as the Doyers and Astros. What is good here is that you can always build a pen. It takes forever to develop top notch starters, and not everyone pans out. But every offseason, you have a chance to build a strong pen. The other thing here is defense. The royals have incredible defense. They are not error-free (see hosmer in game 1 of the WS), but in general, you simply cannot have defense lapses in the playoffs. Our Angels committed a plethora of errors in the 09 and 05 ALCS, and you see from the Giants and ROyals' recent runs - you don't have to hit amazingly well or even have three Aces, but you simply cannot make fielding mistakes. What this means for the Angels: The pen - Our pen needs work. I am still confident in Street and in Gott, but aside from that, we probably need 2 more arms, preferably that throw heat. I think we need to see what we have in Rasmus as a 6th or 7th inning guy, and probably need to sign one established flamethrower out of the pen. In the minors, it seems we have not produced a legit reliever in years, with Jepsen being the closest thing. Its a shame that our system produced Percival, Donnelly, Krod and then has not produced a single noteworthy reliever since. Defense - In my opinion, our defense is lacking in three key areas: Left field, third base and 2nd base. I think we're all aware of the fact that we need offense from those positions as well, but I don't think we can afford to have a one-dimensional player in any of those spaces - As we attempt to fill those holes, we need players that can hit and field. I think of Freese. he can hit, but his defense leaves something to be desired. I think of Gia - he is a decent clutch hitter with some offensive upside, but I highly doubt he becomes a stalwart defensive player. - Offensively, you need a blend of power, contact, and speed: When we think of the Royals, we say yeah they are great contact hitters, and this is true. They put the ball in play, and when that happens, you constantly test the other team. However, let's be real here - that offense was actually very balanced with legit power hitters, contact, and speed. The lineup was incredibly deep, with guys like Gordon and Rios hitting 8th and 9th, and the middle supported by solid hitters like Hosmer, Morales, Cain, Moustakous. Speed was present at the top of the order for KC and off the bench in spades. What this means for the Angels: When I think about offense (compared to pitching, defense and the pen), I realize this team is really in some trouble. We have some decent power hitters, but lack significantly in contact, speed and depth. We have too many players striking out including Calhoun and Trout, and the contact hitters are almost non-existent, as well as speed. But most of all, the lineup simply has no depth, especially at the top and the very bottom. While I wouldn't call Alcides Escobar a great hitter, he had the ability to simply cause chaos, as we saw in the ALCS. For the mets, Granderson has always been a dangerous force that can put up crooked numbers to start off any game. We pretty much have none of that. At the bottom, players like Ianetta, Featherston, and even Giavotella just aren't good enough. The offensive side of things is going to be difficult to fix. Based on all the above, I think we need to focus first on things in this order: - The pen (easiest area to build up in one offseason) - Defense (too important to ignore) - Offense (with the focus on contact and speed more than on power. With such glaring holes, this area will take longer than this offseason to shore up and thus, I think if we want to remain competitive, we support the pen and defense first and plug in offense where possible) - Starting pitching (with our available resources, I'm not sure we even touch this area this offseason)

Having a great player like cain bunt in the 8th with no outs was scioscia-esque

What about Price? I feel the best is yet to come with him.

That will happen to weaver too

Chris davis a dumb player. Type of guy who will come here and start tryin to run aggresively and get thrown out at 2nd. We need to make moves the way the giants do.

You know its bad when The only posters to add coherent rational value in the last 20-30 posts were me and AO, cuz I don't know shit about baseball and that dude is crazy.

KC has a sick offense this year. Hosmer, Gordon, Cain, Morales is a pretty good core.

the AL east is gonna suck so bad next year, but ESPN will still be on that jock

Lol your post went way off topic. I have no special love for friedman and agree he totally failed to build a bullpen. The dodgers are a joke and should have known how important a pen is after watching kc last year.

To me, the mets are going to be the successors of the giants and have followed their blueprint. Their 3 aces remind me of a young lincecum, cain and bumgarner. Both teams utilized and concentrated their resources on building up the rotation - the way it should be. On offense, while they dont boast incredible hitters, they have soild veterans who deliver timely hits. The blueprint isn't really that hard, GMs and teams have really made this more complicated than it has to be.

Is there any difference between how they approach the game sabremetrically though? Maddon worked under Friedman for years and from all accounts that was a happy marriage, unlike the scioscia and dipoto fling.

Damn these young met aces are horses. Can we please spend our first round picks on stud pitchers instead of catchers

Wouldn't go near grienke. I would consider a look at zimmerman or the shark.

Upton is a safer bet than cespedes. But damn, cespedes has that star shine where he just makes huge plays in the clutch.

This is an excellent breakdown. However, I am leaning towards cowart/kubitza. Would rather put the dollars towards LF.

joe maddon is better than mike. cubs players are better than angels. it doesn't have to be exclusive.

just another example of how so many of these new teams go in and win playoff games. especially from our division. the angels are one of the few that just lay over and play dead when they get to the postseason with all the sweeps.

Lol doyyyyyyyeerrrr

Mets followed the giants blueprint. Spend your first round picks on stud pitchers. The rest will fall in place.

Lol y'all hatin in lackey. Dude is a postseason stud, the slayer of verlander. Maddon couldn't do shit about the monster he created.

usually our AL west counterparts do way better than the angels when they get to the playoffs. we're just sorry as hell

Figgins was way better than all these players mentioned except Trout obviously. and people complained about him. He went from a pinch runner to a legit .390 OBP with a nice glove who could play 5 positions. Sad how far we've fallen.

i agree with canadianhalo. this board has gone full retard. no way we trade that guy. who do we replace him with, santiago? that sounds laughable at best. Even if he never turns into a #1 and his ceiling is a #2, you can still win with a staff full of #2s. We should know best. Us and our buddies the Astros got steamrolled by a staff full of #2s in 2005. Those guys were trading CGs against both the angels and stros. Guess yall forgot already. 10 years is a long time I guess.