TroutAdell

Anyone think the Umpire’s Union will just roll over and accept some kind of digital strike zone? Who calls the check swings, catcher’s interference, balks and out/safe at the plate? Stick with the human element and persuade Joe West to retire and take Angel Hernandez with him.

Nolan Ryan was very much an Angels type guy. He pitched all out every four days and if it wasn’t for Buzzi Bavasi he probably would have been an Angel for a long time.

That is why he tears up the Angels staff, they all throw 91 with little movement. I am referring to the starters. This is a failure by Eppler and the scouting staff. The Angels need some big arms who they can mold into legit starters. The draft will be critical.

What has Justin Anderson done to piss off the club? Why call up Curtiss instead?

Never sign a player who has his best season in his walk year. Cozart looks lost at the plate. He should be a utility guy at this point. It was a bad signing by Eppler. Ward, on the other hand, is awful defensively. Bring up Rojas and let him play third for awhile and see what he brings.

With Calhoun channeling 2018 first half and Upton out until June, having Bourjos is a real negative. The Angels need a bat on the bench not a defensive replacement. Dump Petey and bring up a bat.

In the history of the franchise only two legitimate 3B have been produced by the system, Carney Lansford and Troy Glaus. This is pretty pathetic.

Eppler really screwed up with this signing. There were so many options available way better than LaStella. Trade him or release him and bring up Rojas or Rengifo.

Don’t sign a player who has his best season at the same time he becomes eligible for FA (assuming the Angels don’t pickup his option). This team needs to get younger. There is no reason to believe that Adell will have a bad season in the minors. Marsh is probably two years away.

I think this is a bargain. I didn’t think the Angels could have signed him to an extension for less than 40 mil. per.

The fact that the starters have not stretched out is a major concern. The bullpen is going to be taxed early on. It is hard to believe that the Angels will go into too many games with the edge in starting pitching.

Have you watched him play defense this spring? He has made 6 errors mostly because his throws are all over the place. Third base has been a black hole in this organization since Glaus. I don’t think Ward is the answer.

I hope they can keep the team above water the first month without Ohtani and the rest of the starters not being stretched out enough.

Kruger looks like a potential big bat hopefully the defense follows fairly soon. The Angels need a catcher for next season! Watching Lucroy throw is painfull and Smith is an awful catcher.

Talk about marine layer. Long Beach would come with several fog-outs per year.

I don’t think Trout will be playing at 42. I think more along the lines of 10/350 or 8/320 with one opt out after year five.

This all leads back to the awful Pujols contract. Other than Trout the Angels will not sign another large contract until the awful contract is off the books. Developing a strong system is, and will always be, the best way to build a successful franchise. The huge contracts should only be a factor if the play can put the team over the top. Harper is not one of those guys.

Jeff, don’t you think that AP reached that tipping point years ago? He is at best replacement level. That to me suggests he tipped over already.

The Orioles will only win about 55.

Pujols and Hamilton are Arte’s legacies! Albert has been almost a complete waste of 240 million while Hamilton was a conplete waste of 125 million. The 80-90 million that Pujols is still owed is the difference between being a non contender and a perennial challenger. You have the best player of this generation holding up a cripple. The Angels’ future totally depends on Arte and the club’s attournies buying out the remainder of Pujols’ contract. This will be the difference between signing Trout to an extension and pursuing top free agent talent and staying at 75-80 wins every year.

Keuchel would be a way better investment than Kimbrel. Buttrey looks like he has the stuff to be a future closer. Don’t spend that much on the pen unless that is the missing piece to be a WS possibility. I agree with those who say sign Machado. The Halos haven’t produced a legit third baseman since Troy Glaus almost two decades ago. Ward should be moved back to catcher, another position the Angels have failed to produce since Benji Molina.

I would still like to see Eppler acquire a platoon partner for Calhoun. There are a lot of question marks in the lineup. How soon does Ohtani come back. Without him there is a huge hole in the lineup. Can Cozart rebound? If he leads off he needs to get onbase in front of 27. Can Ohtani and Upton produce enough to force teams to pitch to Trout. Who knows what Bour brings. No worries with Simmons. Calhoun must strictly be a platoon player. Lucroy will be steady and handle the staff well. The bench is up in the air. You have LaStella and the backup catcher along with the platoon partner. A lot has to go right for the Angels to compete. Oakland won’t win 97 games again, But TB could win over 90. Houston could drop back a little but will probably still win at least 95 games. It is tough to win enough to play for the second WC. What is needed most of all is HEALTH.

The Angels have to wait until after the 2020 season before they decide on An extension for Simmons. First they can see what Bogaerts gets after this season. They can also check the progress of Jackson after two full seasons in the minors.

Hitting in the Yankee Little League park isn’t much different than hitting in Colorado. The AL East is littered with hitters parks unlike the NL West. Arenado doesn’t strike me as a Yankee type. I think the Red Sox would be more of a fit than the Yankees. Let’s hope he wants to come home.

I am curious why Arte has kept the payroll at the same level for the last 3 years. Having to pay three players 9o million really facilitates the need for the plethoa of 1 year deal. Until Pujols is off the books this will continue to be a problem especially if Trout signs a huge extension. Unless Arte is willing to add to the payroll Eppler will be hamstrung. The yearly increase for Trout, if he signs an extension could be 10 million. Signing Simmons could add another 5-10 million. Given this the only way they could sign a Cole or Arenado would be to increase the payroll by 20-30 million. Arte hasn’t shown an incling to do that. I hope Iam wrong.