Cdaniel

Peralta will be the worst deal in the offseason. He was CAUGHT using PEDs and is in his 30's. If he stops using and starts to get older, he will spend most of the contract on the DL and underperforming. Why the hell would anyone sign him?

If they're comfortable signing a known PED user on the wrong side of 30 that's already a poor defensive shortstop for 13 million a year then that's their curse.  For their sake they just have to hope Peralta's using something now that's more untraceable that way he can cheat without the risk of getting caught and they can reap the benefits. 

I'm just glad this blocks Texas from getting him.

Put it this way, Wells and Blanton will be off the books after this season. Hanson, Gutierrez, Jepsen, and Nelson should all be non-tendered. Sean Burnett if his option isn't picked up or vested but hopefully he's healthy and pitches well. Angels will get a decent amount of money of the books especially no that Wells contract will finally be off the books which is reason to celebrate! The worst trade in team history will be over! Then the Angels can focus on signing Trout long-term

Guys seriously..Where the hell is AO? This thread has no validation or gets to my 35 page prediction without him.

Callaspo has never hit 20 or more HR in the minors or majors, Freese has done it twice, while hitting for a high average.
 
Callaspo has never hit a meaningful home run in the clutch.
 
Callaspo has never won an World Series MVP.

I see you give the team shit all the time so it isn't like you supporting this trade is a big deal.
I'm actually kind of excited about Freese. I just can't for the life of me wrap my head around the other part of the deal. But honestly Salas could end up being the closer for all we know.
I think we as fans are naturally inclined to hate every trade when it happens because we don't like giving up talent. We all want to give up our crap to get another team's gold.
But yeah, I'm willing to wait a bit before freaking out on Dipoto. This offseason is off to a rough start but there's still a long way to go.

In reality, both of the main pieces of this trade were likely to be platoon or bench guys on their former teams in 2014.   
 
Both are injury prone.  Both have high upside.
 
They get a chance to start fresh in new enviornments.  I hope it works out for everyone.

At some point we have to stop saying this... 

We sure got creative with this one....gonna help out the pitching big time.

Off topic but I really do like the CA hats in Summits avatar.

Dude trades Callaspo for a guy who can't play defense anywhere and doesn't hit enough to be a DH...   If he now trades Bourjos for Vanillapso, while ignoring the pitching holes that have existed for two years  -- Sigh....

Off topic but I really do like the CA hats in Summits avatar.

It would've been HILARIOUS to see Vargas accept the QO and then rounding out the rotation with Blanton and Shoemaker.  Seriously people, good move to let him go.

i wasn't as gung-ho about re-signing Vargas as a lot of posters on here, but this hurts the Angels in that it reduces their options.  They pretty much have to pull off some major trades, which is never a good position to be in,

I can't believe we would offer Boujos for Freese straight up. This makes me nervous.

I agree or over spend on Garza.

Whatever Arte does or does not do, I certainly hope it's not in direct response to other teams' moves.  Regardless of what anyone else does, Angels need to get a whole lot better pitching-wise.

Kelly/Freese for Bourjos/Aybar is decently reasonable. I think I would probably consider that.

I can't believe we would offer Boujos for Freese straight up. This makes me nervous.

I look at Shuck as I looked at Willits. He is at very best a fourth outfielder. If someone goes down he can play for a couple weeks. He has no trade value at all.

Not even sure I'd want them to trade Bourjos for Freese.

Two major disagreements in a row. Cool ;-)
 
I woudn't trade Bourjos for Freese straight up. If we're taking Bourjos or Aybar, the Angels would need to be getting a Kelly or Lynn in return.

Now what gives you this optimism?
 
Let's see. We have the best player in baseball. Pujols is coming back 100% healthy. One logical mind has to think Hamilton will be much better than what he showed in 2013. I like our core in Kendrick, Trumbo, Bourjos, Conger, Weaver, Wilson, Richards and Calhoun besides Trout-Pujols-Hamilton and one has to think Arte/Dipoto get this team where it needs to be come the start of the season.
 
What have Dipoto and Moreno done in the past 2 seasons to give you this kind of hope?
 
They only signed the best player in baseball, signed the best FA on the market, went out and traded for a reliever (Frieri) and signed a catcher in Iannetta, traded Morales for Vargas, then followed that up with signing Josh Hamilton. All of these *major* moves were praised by not only the fans at the time, but also sports writers and everyone and their mom on the MLB Network. Dipoto gambled on Hanson and Blanton, it didn't work, but I agreed with his line of thinking in that they could give us innings and our offense would carry us to a potential 90+ win season behind a healthy Bourjos, Weaver and Vargas, yet that wasn't the case as each of those three were out for a significant time.
 
What makes you think we'll be coming out of Spring Training as a different team compared to the last 2 Spring Trainings?
 
Because I believe this team is 2-3 pieces away from being a championship caliber club. I believe Dipoto will right the shit with regards to both the bullpen and rotation, without hurting our offense. 
 
Let me ask you this? Were the Oakland A's fans stoked going into their last two spring trainings? Yet they won ball games. The Boston Red Sox were picked to finish 4th in the AL East after all the salary dumping they did in 2012. They won the ****ing World Series.
 
This is when optimism takes a turn for the worse.
 
No, this is when being a fan of a team supersedes the team we have on paper, or who had the better offseason. Hope springs eternal.

lol at me being a super fan. I'm as critical as the next guy of the team and its woes over the past four years. That said, I see no reason not be optimistic of where our team will be coming out of spring training with the type of owner we have, a GM who I really like and the core players we already have.
 
Call me a super fan, I see it as super excited to see our team on the field in 2014. I believe Dipoto will get this team where it needs to be this offseason, meanwhile I fail to see where the Rangers have upgraded.