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LAA Road Tripper

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Posts posted by LAA Road Tripper

  1. 5 hours ago, LooneyPlatoons said:

    I don't remember how accurate this is but I read something a while ago stating that the Angels are the only team, or one of the few, to not lose 100 games in a season.

    Angels and Rockies, that's it. Of course, it helps to not have 115+ years under your belt as a franchise. But 55 is pretty good without hitting the century mark. 

  2. 1 hour ago, Randy Gradishar said:

    If someone told me the Angels would never win a WS in Trout's career and would win 2 in the same time span if they traded him, I'd still take Trout. 20 years of watching history vs 38 games of lucky bounces with boring players.

     

    Then again I just showed that that's a bit of an irrelevant comparison because WS titles are meaningless. The better comparison would be under .500 seasons with Trout vs. making the playoffs every year without him, but I find it hard to believe the trade would make that kind of difference. The Angels have already been the best team in baseball in 50% of Trout's seasons.

    Huh? I've re-read this a few times and maybe there's some context that I'm missing. Gotta be. WS titles are meaningless? Then why are we fans of a team? With that mentality there's nothing to worry about either way. Trout stays, Trout leaves. I can follow him to the Yankees, Phillies or wherever since I'm a Trout fan.

    Yeah, I'm not getting it.

     

  3. 8 hours ago, Mark68 said:

    Actually, Pittsburgh reinvented itself. It's now a hub of biotech and engineering, thanks in large part to Carnegie Mellon.

    Well, admittedly the analogy isn't perfect. On the other side you can point to the Cleveland Clinic's success in healthcare. Sports aside the cities are more similar than different. The focal point of my post was to illustrate how sports success translates into how a populace perceives itself. 

  4. 45 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

    As someone who suffers from depression, I know what feeling constant negativity is like. It's easier to be negative. You never get disappointed in anything.

    I'm not suggesting the people you are referring to are depressed. I'm just saying that it's far easier to go through life being negative. 

    I seriously doubt anyone here enjoys misery. It's just easier to expect the worst. As I mentioned, low-expectations = no disappointment. This may not seem like a good way to go through life but many people do. I do. 

    Negativity is just another perspective. People who express constant negativity even in the face of positivity aren't necessarily enjoying it, it's just how they deal with things. I don't think anyone here truly enjoys seeing the team lose. Some just expect it and act accordingly. 

    We are all fans here. It doesn't matter when you became a fan or how you act here. If you follow the team and post on their message board you are a fan. 

    I watched ESPN's 30 for 30 on Cleveland over the weekend. That's the only city in America with at least three major sports teams and no championships in the last 50 years. Somebody mentioned that it can be difficult to do business there since there's a prevailing sense of pessimism. It got me thinking. What's the real difference between Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Both are rust belt cities, losing jobs to the new economy, not too far apart. But the contrast in psyche of the residents is huge and as insignificant as the subject of pro sports really is it's not a stretch to map that back to how the Steelers, Penguins and to a lesser extent the Pirates have done over the years compared to the Browns, Cavs and Indians.

  5. 17 minutes ago, Blarg said:

    The moths,  so many here don't have any clue what you are referring to.

     

     

     

     

    Wow, the moths. Haven't thought about that in a few years. I can still remember the pool of cash growing from an entire section willing to observe some crazy college kid perform and whatever was going on down on the field being a total afterthought. I was thinking the guy got a little too eager and left too much money on the table before munching down, though. Could've made 50 bucks turn into 150 by selling it the right way. Fun times.  

  6. 1 hour ago, Scioscia4MVP said:

    If the Farm system wasn't so beyond bad it would be worth trying to improve cause they'd have the farm system to make trades to bring in high quality talent.

    but since the farm is so bad they might as well use this injury ruined season to get a good draft position and reload the farm with high picks in each round as well as moving Santiago, Escobar, Smith at the deadline for prospects.

    I, along with the rest of any breathing mammal, agree that the farm needs a complete overhaul. And even though I'd would love to be proven wrong, I  don't think this team has enough talent to compete this year. That said, Lincecum is a low risk, high upside deal. But even so, MLB isn't the NBA or NFL. Tanking to gain better draft position probably won't mean a whole lot anyway. The trick is to just draft well from whatever position they're in and augment that with good international signings all supported by good scouting and analytics. After they do that, hope really well.

  7. This franchise is in bad shape right now and a 6 game winning streak, which would be fun, isn't going to change the peripherals. Now here's the good news: Talent that is on the DL will get healthy however long that takes. And if Arte stays out of the way and the front office plays it well from here (certainly no guarantee on either although we have yet to see Eppler in action for any fair period of time) then the poor farm can be replenished in 2-4 years. After all, minor leaguers are either elevated, traded or discarded within that timeframe and everything is recycled over again. At that point, even if the Angels aren't consistent winners again, at least we'll all be armed with a little more hope.

  8. I mean, this swing is picture perfect.

     

    http://m.mlb.com/video/v621512383/sealaa-pujols-563rd-career-homer-ties-jackson/?player_id=405395

     

    Compare it to him falling out of his shoes swinging here. Obviously the same result but a completely different looking swing.

     

    http://m.mlb.com/video/v596223683/laamin-pujols-mashes-a-tworun-home-run/?player_id=405395

    Interesting. Combined with a much worse eye at the plate, my biggest concern with Pujols all along has been that he's been so off balance. I'm surprised I haven't heard more discussion about this point. I didn't see yesterday's game and I can't see the video since I'm on a plane but a good clue to Albert's challenges come by observing him after his swing. Right leg falling over the plate, left leg going another direction. Watch old footage of him in St. Louis. That didn't happen. Age takes way a lot but I would think general balance would be somewhat manageable for a super star. Maybe I'm wrong.

  9. I brought this up several times, I think it was a turning point for this organization. We never would have gone down the Wells rabbit hole.

    To be fair though, 6/90 seemed like a lot for him at the time, I don't think anyone expected him to be this good.

    I know as well that this subject has been discussed ad nauseum over the last number of years but it really was "the" difference in what this franchise is and what it could have been in the 2010s, way more that I envisioned when I had hoped that they were all in when Beltre was available. At the time, I believed that if the Angels were ever going to overspend, this was the time primarily due to the fact that 3B was a black hole since Glaus and that Beltre was an elite defender and very good hitter. And he's exceeded expectations in both areas.

    But worse was the fallout after he got away. The reactionary Wells move, of course, is most notable but it seemed like the tone swayed too far both ways shortly after. Too win-now right away and then too cautious later on combined with a less-than-stellar approach to the draft. Maybe it's unfair to tag that all to that non-move but not signing Beltre when he seemed quite attainable certainly was a mile marker.

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