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Like all of you, I love the Angels. This year sucked. That said, if you lose your number one and two starter, you're going to have a troubling year, regardless of team. I don't agree with those who suggest that we are doomed. We require a left fielder. We need to decide if Jeff Bandy is our catcher of the future. We need to decide if Caleb Cowart is our third baseman. Can he hit? If yes, that's a big deal. We need to get a left fielder from within or from outside. The Astros don't worry me. For the Rangers, Darvish is 1 year older as is Hamels.

I want to know what others think. It's clear there is less stress on the arm/elbow relieving versus starting. Garett has filthy stuff and ideally, I think we'd all love him to be a starter. That said, if we had Garett and Cam in our bullpen that would be pretty strong. What do you think?

yes, there are positives to doing poorly that can help the team make decisions going forward. Given losing our top two pitchers within the first month of the season, we do have an opportunity to have a high draft pick. We made the correct decision to fire our scouting director. Lets be optomistic that Billy will make a good call on who will replace Rick Wilson.

As everyone knows, we missed the playoffs by one game last year. We had a terrible offense, the Josh Hamilton fiasco, we got ZERO production from anyone playing left field, we got zero offense for Iannetta , our projected ace (Jared Weaver) had a bad year, and Garret Richards was at less than full strength, one year post his leg injury. Going into this year, no one is picking us to win. The Astros and Rangers are projected to win. Of course, the Astros were projected to finish last in 2015, so that gives you some insight into the people who make these predictions. I enter the season totally believing the Angels will surprise EVERYONE. Our starting pitching will be deeper,better, and one of the better overall staffs in the American League. Having another off-season to rehab, Richards will be a stud. I like our over starting depth and ability with Heaney as our number 2 and Santiago who will show continued growth as our number 3. Scaggs will contribute as our number 4. That makes 4 young pitchers with Weaver as an excellent number 5 and the Shoe to fill in as needed. A much better starting rotation than 2015. Our bullpen, which was outstanding in 2015 will be deeper and stronger. We have significantly more team speed than in 2015. We have much better team defense in 2016 with Gentry, Nava, Simmons, and Escobar. We have 3 gold glove candidates in Simmons, Calhoun and trout. Albert, being an exclusive DH will be healthier, providing even better offensive numbers than in 2015, Cron will extend the lineup hitting at least 25 homers and driving in at least 75 runs over the season. Moving Calhoun down in the order only extends our lineup more. We have more depth in Triple A when injuries pop up and our back ups on the major league roster are significantly better than in 2015. Lastly, I sense a hunger and intensity from this team. A take no prisoners attitude. I think we are going to be an elite team in 2016. One of the best in baseball. Surprise.

Like 99 percent of you, I love our Angels and I enjoy reading the takes you have (whether or not I agree with them). I believe we are fortunate to have Billy Eppler as our GM. I think over time, we'll see him as an upgrade over Dipoto--who also did good things like upgrade our bullpen really fast. I like the Simmons deal. I recognize it was a risk. If Newcombe becomes a top of the rotation starter, we may regret the deal. That said, he must of believed we would lose Aybar after the season and that no good replacement was available in the minors. We saved money on Simmons, we have him under a reasonable contract for years to come, he is younger than Aybar, he is seen as the best defensive shortstop in the majors and his offense is okay and may improve over time. I like getting rid of Ramos. Yes, he was good last year. That said, I don"t believe he was worth what he would probably get via arbitration. He had, what I see view a career season and I don't want to pay overpay. I always liked Cowgill, but boy did he miss a golden opportunity this past year. With Hamilton gone, if he had produced any reasonable offensive numbers he might have secured the left filed job. Regrettbly, he didn't. He's a good clubhouse guy, but I applaud trading him given his overall, production to the club. I really liked what Eppler said in his press conference. He said he looks to bring in players that will reduce runs being scored against us and players that produce runs for us. That makes sense to me. He is making us younger at the sane time. I think too many of us are too easy to criticize . I know this forum has plenty of Mike Scoiscia haters. To me, he did an amazing job having us one game out of the playoffs given Weaver (our ace) had an off year and we lost our left fielder (Hamilton for the year) giving us zero production from that position. I think it says something that his players love the guy and play hard for him. If you have a crappy manager, the players typically go south. My hunch is we will pick up an upgrade for left field during the meetings. If that happens, I like our chances to compete. Again, I apprecaiate all the points of view from Angel fans.

I think Chuck is right on. The following is a part of post I left in November: Going into spring training/the 2015 season the questions I believe the organization will wrestle with include the following: CJ Wilson: CJ is entering the 4th year of his 5 year contract. I've never been a fan of CJ pitching-wise. That's documented in my prior posts. He can't consistently throw strikes and he taxes the bullpen. Barring injury, we know that our 2015 starting staff will probably consist of Weaver, Richards, Shoemaker, and maybe Santiago who had a better year than his won loss record would suggest. Rasmus is also in contention. Jerry has added some starting depth with the Conger trade and I suspect more starting depth will be coming from subsequent trades. We also may have a pitcher in the minor league pipeline who may earn a spot in Spring Training. CJ can be dealt a lot easier than Hamilton and we can get a return on CJ. I don't see CJ being on the team or if on the team, I don't see him in the rotation in 2015. Waht do you think? At the time, most that relied felt that was little to no chance of CJ being moved. Dec 16 addendum With the additional starting pitching depth Jerry has acquired, I'm more convinced that CJ will traded either prior to spring training or sometime during spring training. I believe the Angels can build on what they accomplished last year and will be stronger in 2015.

Going into spring training/the 2015 season the questions I believe the organization will wrestle with include the following: 1. Josh Hamilton. He will be beginning the 3rd year of his 5 year contract. Clearly, he has been a major offensive disapointment. He's always been a streaky hitter, but when you are 35, have the mileage his body has on it via his past substance abuse, and have not hit for two years, how likely is it that he'll start putting up good offensive numbers in 2015? It's not impossible, but it seems very unlikely. My prediction is when the 2015 begins one of the following will occur: (a) Josh won't be starting. Instead the Angels will start someone from the 2014 roster (e.g. Cowgill, Navarro), someone from Triple A, or they will add someone via a trade. I believe they will go the Vernon Wellls route and say enough is enough regarding Josh starting. If they are willing to eat a large percentage of his remaining contract, I can see the Angels trading Josh. Josh is not helping the Angels win and often, he's a drag on the offense. What do you think? 2. CJ Wilson: CJ is entering the 4th year of his 5 year contract. I've never been a fan of CJ pitching-wise. That's documented in my prior posts. He can't consistently throw strikes and he taxes the bullpen. Barring injury, we know that our 2015 starting staff will probably consist of Weaver, Richards, Shoemaker, and maybe Santiago who had a better year than his won loss record would suggest. Rasmus is also in contention. Jerry has added some starting depth with the Conger trade and I suspect more starting depth will be coming from subsequent trades. We also may have a pitcher in the minor league pipeline who may earn a spot in Spring Training. CJ can be dealt a lot easier than Hamilton and we can get a return on CJ. I don't see CJ being on the team or if on the team, I don't see him in the rotation in 2015. Waht do you think? 3 Howie Kendrick/Eric Aybar. Its typically better to trade someone a year early than a year late. At this time, their trade value is high. I see the Angels trading one or both (probaby just one) this off-season. It will depend on who they can get better players/prospects for. This would allow the Angels to get younger and reduce payroll. The Angels have internal people who could be slotted in as well (Green, Beckham). You can make an argument that the following teams could use an upgrade at second base: Minnesota, Cleveland, Yankees, Toronto, Padres, Miami, Phillies, Rockies, and Arizona, You can make an argument that the following teams could use an upgrade at shortstop: Reds, Oakland, Pirates, and the Rays. I believe the Angels can build on what they accomplished last year and will be stronger in 2015. What do you think?

Excellent article. Well written. I appreciate the article. Obviously, the Angels loss to the Royals was a gut-wrencher. Regrettbly the Royals got nuclear hot at the right time. Looking at what they did against Lester, then the Angels, then sweeping Baltimore. Yikes. Despite how scorching hot the Royals were, we could of won either of the first 2 games and as Pujols said, the Angles actually had more hard hits then the Royals in games one and two. Looking at how hot the Royals are, facing the A's might have been a better opponent for us in the first round. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.

If the Royals win at home today, then CJ Wilson is much more of a gamble to have starting for us game 2 of the ALDS. Given the Royals overall team speed and Wilson's penchant for walking batters (he had the most walks per nine innings of any AL starter), that's a potential disaster waiting to happen. If the Royals do win and if CJ does pitch game 2, I suspect his leash will be VERY short. With the Royals excellent bullpen, you don't want to fall to far behind early and ideally you want to have a lead after 5. I'd feel more comfortable pitching Rasmus in game 2 who, with his relievers mentality, does an excellent job making batters earn their way on or going with a bulldog lefty like Santiago who other than 2 miserable starts in the second half has been lights-out since the All Star Break. To me both are better options than CJ the train wreck. I know CJ has great stuff and I recognize he can go out and pitch a good game, but that has not happened on anything close to a consistent basis for a long time. What do you think?

Going into the playoffs, I'm interested to see what Scioscia decides to do concerning CJ Wilson and Hamilton (assuming Hamilton is healthy). Wilson, when good, can be a solid number 2 behind Weaver. Regrettably, CJ's not good that often. Based on numbers, you can make an argument that CJ has been their 4th best pitcher this year behind Weaver, Shoemaker, and Santiago. I'm basing that on ERA and walks per nine innings. You can make an argument that CJ should not get a start in the playoffs. That probably won't happen. If Scioscia decides to slot CJ in the number 2 hole, I suspect (or hope) he'll have a VERY short leash, because when he's bad, he's very bad. Is it just me, or is the Angels offense more potent with Hamilton out of the lineup and Cowgill in? This isn't the MVP Hamilton we're seeing. With Cowgill, we have better defense and more speed. Clearly Cowgill doesn't have Hamilton's power potential, but until Hamilton begins to resemble the player we saw in Texas, we may be better off offensively and defensively with Cowgill in the fiield and someone like Navarro in the DH. At least, that's what I think. What do you guys and gals think?

I'm not a reactive person--if you view my prior posts, I've never been a fan of CJ Wilson. Regardless of how much he's getting paid, I do not believe the Angels will keep running him out if he continues to get the snot beaten out of him. He's been awful for at least the past 6 starts. I can't recall the last start he had when he lasted more then 4 innings. That puts a terrible burden on the relief corp. My thinking is, unless his next start is good (i.e. 6 plus innings with 3 or less runs), he's out of the rotation--whether or not Skaggs is back. The Angels will go to plan B--whatever that is. You just can't keep sending CJ out there if he is only giving 4 or 5 innings. Not when you are are trying to win the division.

Of course, it would be marvelous to have Price. You can never have too much starting pitching. As you know, it's not that easy. To get Price, the Ray's would of probably asked for Richards, Cron, and another prospect or draft pick. I don't believe they would of accepted the bullpen pieces (although they are good talent) and Cron. They might have accepted a package of Calhoun, Green, Bedrosian, and Skaggs, but I don't make that deal if I'm Dipoto.

I agree with Chuck. Kudo's to Dipoto for his moves and we have still Cam B waiting in the wings which will only make our bullpen stronger in the future. I'd say Butcher, who gets his share of grief on this site, is due some credit as well. 6 of the 8 regularly contributing members of our 2014 bullpen were not on our 2013 roster. It's a pretty impressive job by the front office. 2013 Bullpen 2014 Bullpen (blue indicates new additions in 2014) Blanton Street De la Rosa Smith Frieri Grilli Jepsen Jepsen Kohn Morin Lowe Rasmus Williams Salas Downs Thatcher

Hi All: Thank you for welcoming me aboard Angels Win. This is my second post. My first was in spring training, sharing my optimism for the year to come. Some observations (some of which I know have been shared by others in past posts): Oakland's extended hot streak reminds me of 2002. That was the year that Oakland finished with 103 wins, winning the West. Beyond us winning the series in 2002, what I most remember was that despite how scorchingly hot Oakland was, they could not separate from us in a significant way. The A's won 20 consecutive games in a stretch from August to September, but we stayed nearly as hot all the way. This years Angels team reminds me of that.I love the way the back end of our rotation (Skaggs and Shoemaker) are contributing. Who knew--we now have a bullpen that is lights-out and reliable. Sciocisa and Dipoto deserves props for this. Scisocia uses the first half of the season to sort things out roster-wise. I don't think her gets enough credit for that. He now has people in roles that they can succeed in. The American League is weak this year. The only formidable opponents the Angels are contending with are the A's, Seattle (because of their pitching), Detroit (who are weaker then last year) and Baltimore (who I think will win the East). World series caliber teams show an ability to come from behind. Unlike like year, the 2014 Angels fight to the last out and have the most come from behind victories as any in the majors. Very cool. World Series caliber teams have a string bench. The 1988 Dodgers has the Stunt Men. This Angels team has that kind of bench, with people like McDonald, Cowgill, Green, etc, who are all making contributions. World Series caliber teams have we versus I mentality which leads to a strong club house/chemistry. We have that in 2014. You can tell that everyone is on the same page and different people contribute on a daily basis. I love the fact we beat Texas' brains out on Thursday and Mike Trout had no hits. Other people contributed. World series caliber teams have leaders. This team does with Poujols, Weaver, Freeze, and Trout (who in earlier years was probably too green to take on a laedership role. I don't know if the Angels will win the series this year. I do believe the direction they have taken will lead to a world series in the near future. PS: I am concerned about CJ Wilson. Never have been a fan. He seems like a nice guy with no balls and no ability to pitch well in meaningful games. He's got great stuff but he thinks too much. I don't know why he doesn't throw more strikes.

Does anyone belive Scoscia may send Conger down and keep Toreallba on the roster? Conger is hitting below the Mendoza line. Torrealba is much better defensively, is hitting better than anyone would have expected, and seems hungrier Conger . Any thoughts?

Just wondering if anyone believes that Hank Conger may not make the team. Toreallba is better defensively and, right now, is hitting better than Conger. We know Scoscia likes defensive minded catchers and that is Toreallba's strength. Any thoughts?

I don't believe in absolutes (i.e. the angels will never win, the sun will never shine, etc.) If you know baseball, you know teams often under-perform for a year or for multiple years and then turn things around. For example: 2013: The Red Sox this year 2010: Texas after years of futility went to the Series 2008: Tampa Bay Rays went to the Series 2007: Colorado went to the series 2005: The White Sox won the series Of course, we're still wating on the Cubs. According to Tommy Lasorda, God told the Cubs not to anything until he gets back. Your hypothesis shows emotion ruling over reason. To suggest we have no chance of winning next year is ridiculous. It's true--we may not win, but to say we have no chnace, seems extreme. We have an owner willing to spend money (sometimes making questionalble decsions). We have quality players who probably will have improved numbers in 2014 (Trout, Calhoun, Conger, Pujols, Hamilton, etc.). We will have at least 1 new starting pither who will join a formidible staff of Weaver and Vargas (who probably won't each miss 8 weeks this year, CJ and a maturing Richards. If you have that little confidence in the Angels with 4 motnhs to go before opening day, what's your motivation for being on this web site?

Thank you.

I apprecaite reading everyone's take on the state of Angels Baseball. Like you, the past year's have been disapointing, however I remain an Angels fan. I beleive in the following, going into next season: 1) For fans, this is a key year to see what Albert P does. He gave us nothing in years 1 and 2. We suspect given his age, his numbers at the back end of his contract won;t be anyhting to write home about. If he can;t produce STRONG overall numbers this year, we can't expect anything from him for his reamining years. This is the off season he has had the opportunity to get healthy. You's think he has extra motivation, given how poorly he's produced to date. I expect him to have a bouce back season in 2014. Losing about 20 pounds would help. 2) Starting pitching. We lost our number 1 (Weaver) and and number 3 (Vargas) for about 8 weeks each. That devestated us as it would most teams. For example, if Detroit had lost Verlander and sancehz each for 8 weeks, I doubt they would of won the central and they may not have qualfied for a wild card. That said, we all know the Angels could use more depth with their starters and via the trade market I expect we will. 3) We have too many outfileders and I expect Bourjos and Trumbo to be dealt for starting pitch that can help us now or qaulity minor leage pitching talent. 4) I think we'll start next season without Kendrick (who isnl;t a grinder and has always under performed..to me), Trumbo, Bourjos, Blanton (what a waste of space), Hanson (wasn't worth giving up Waldon for) and Jepsen (I like him, but he's too inconsistent). 5) Hamilton: Should have a good bounce back season. If not, the death march is 3 more years long. 6) If Hamilton and Pulos have good years, and I think they will, the Anegels will have a terrific offense in 2014. With the addtion of Moran from the minors and another relife pitcher pick-up moving Ernesto to an 8th inning role, the bullpen will be better. Having Weaver and Vargas not missing 8 weeks in 2014 will help a lot as will the continued maturation of Garrett Richards. With that, I see the Angels via the trade adding at least 2 pitchers who can compete to start. Finally, I think it's liely that Conger will continue to grow as a hitter. Overall, I expect the Angels to win the west in 2014.