redoctober

My argument though, is that the ROI on Tanaka is far higher than Garza. Sure, the cost may be $75m more, but the stadium will be filled when Tanaka pitches and it could open up more advertising and marketing deals with the Japanese community here and abroad.

My argument though, is that the ROI on Tanaka is far higher than Garza. Sure, the cost may be $75m more, but the stadium will be filled when Tanaka pitches and it could open up more advertising and marketing deals with the Japanese community here and abroad.

I think it is a bit short sighted to say that the Angels tried to buy a championship. Let me explain.
 
When Dipoto took over the team we had...
 
1. The worst lower farm system in baseball. Remember, at this time we had no overseas presence due to our mismanagement.
2. A higher farm system that was graduating one guaranteed stud (Trout), one promising stud (Trumbo), and one possible stud (Bourjos)
3. A few solid players (e.g. Aybar, Kendrick, Callaspo, Izturis)
4. A good aging player (Hunter) and a terrible aging player (Wells)
5. A semi-young stud pitcher, an aging stud pitcher, and an inconsistent pitcher - and no young depth (poor Dipoto has only his younger self to blame for that, ha) outside of Richards. (Chatwood doesn't count)
 
Now I have no experience in professional sports, but I would assume that they had two options:
 
1. Keep the team as is and start rebuilding the farm system, hoping that it will start providing depth in 3-4 years.
2. Bring in free agents to keep the team competitive while rebuilding the farm system.
 
Two additional observations that are important:
 
1. We had failed in free agency since Vlad and Bartolo. (ex. Crawford, Texeira, etc.)
2. The LA entertainment market was changing with the Dodgers looking to sell to someone with deep pockets and the baseball market was changing with huge TV contracts
 
Because this team is a business, Arte and Dipoto had to make a decision based not just on winning but running a successful business in a very competitive market.
 
1. So they signed Pujols and Wilson (Vlad and Bartolo 2.0), cementing their ability to sign a huge tv deal and exciting a region that has a lot of entertainment options and popularity contest issues.
2. They avoided other star pitchers because all but one have failed with their new teams (CC). Which is exactly why they wouldn't pay Greinke.
3. With no minor league depth to trade from, they had to sign older pitchers and trade for damaged goods, hoping that they would turn it around and keep producing.
(#2 and #3 are moneyball-like moves, market inefficiencies. Free agent star pitchers are overvalued, old and damaged pitchers are undervalued.)
 
Now, I understand that the Angels haven't been competitive outside of a few runs both years, but they had, and have, a better chance of being competitive with the team they have now than with the team they would have had. All the while they are rebuilding their farm system to restock once Weaver, Hamilton, Aybar, Kendrick, Wilson, etc. are starting to slide.
 
- Ultimately I think the current state of the team can be summed up as such:
 
1. Bad farm system Inherited by Dipoto
2. A bad free agent market with aging stars and nothing to build with.

Inside Pitch said it perfectly.
I thought this team just needed to possibly trade away some proven talent for young prospects in 2010 but the front office didn't have the same idea. The Haren trade clearly sent the idea that this team wasn't going to rebuild anytime soon and was going to retool the roster to stay competitive.
And I had no issues with it then and still don't now. Some rebuilding processes work but some teams never get out of that rebuilding time. Granted, we have more resources to go out and make the moves compared to teams like the Pirates and Royals who couldn't make high salary moves to help the team.
I can't disagree with what the front office did. Rebuilding would've meant less fans coming out to the games and I don't think Arte and company wanted to mess around with that.

I think they have to tender all of the pitchers for depths sake. Williams has struggled at times, but he has also come up big. I would trust him in a game in Arlington over Richards. Hanson had a bad season and if this was another team, would probably be gone. But who is going to start if one of our three (Weaver, Wilson, Richards) gets injured and another has to skip a start. We need pitchers who can come in and make spot starts when needed. We need 8 starters.
 
1. Weaver
2. Wilson
3. Richards
4. Williams
5. Blanton
6. Hanson
7. Trade/FA
8. Trade/FA

Ok, I'll answer them:
 
1. Yes, I deeply care about the farm system. The fact is that the state of the farm system is due to terrible drafting 3-5 years ago and a mutual love affair between players who swing at everything and don't walk and coaches who teach the same.
2. I like David Freese because he plays 3B, has a good OBP, and has a history, albeit short, of coming up with key hits.
3. Not sure. That is the big question. The problem is that pitching is scarce, highly valuable, and no one is willing to trade it. The only guys you can get who are still young are the ones who are going to start losing it. Jason Vargas got a 4 year deal for $32 million! Bartolo Colon is still a "wanted" asset even though he is on roids! That is how valuable pitching is right now. There is no way Grichuck was going to get us any pitching prospect worth a lick.
4. No, our defense was terrible. Part of that was luck, part of that was terrible effort. We need new bodies on this team.

This is probably the most sane review of the trade: http://mlb.si.com/2013/11/22/david-freese-peter-bourjos-angels-cardinals-trade/?eref=sihp

Ok, I'll answer them:
 
1. Yes, I deeply care about the farm system. The fact is that the state of the farm system is due to terrible drafting 3-5 years ago and a mutual love affair between players who swing at everything and don't walk and coaches who teach the same.
2. I like David Freese because he plays 3B, has a good OBP, and has a history, albeit short, of coming up with key hits.
3. Not sure. That is the big question. The problem is that pitching is scarce, highly valuable, and no one is willing to trade it. The only guys you can get who are still young are the ones who are going to start losing it. Jason Vargas got a 4 year deal for $32 million! Bartolo Colon is still a "wanted" asset even though he is on roids! That is how valuable pitching is right now. There is no way Grichuck was going to get us any pitching prospect worth a lick.
4. No, our defense was terrible. Part of that was luck, part of that was terrible effort. We need new bodies on this team.

I am not a stat guy, so I don't even know what that means. What I can tell you is if there is a stat out there that says Callaspo has more power than Freese then there is one of two things wrong. One, Callaspo isn't living up to his power, two the stat is bullshit.

This is the part that baffles my mind. Angels fans ASSume that that since Bourjos was dealt for a much needed 3B, that Dipoto mic dropped that bitch on the offseason. That he's done. Far from it, Dipoto has a ton more work to do, especially in light of Vargas signing with the Royals.

Ok let's go through this point by point.
 
First off A is not an appropriate questions and is childish in it's presentation. MLB teams have farm systems to benefit the parent club, no other reason. All of the nurturing of talent is meaningless unless that talent can be realized. If it can't then the talent needs to be moved to bring in something the parent club can use. Every team uses their minor league as trading chips during the course of the season and offseason that slip under the radar. There is no feelings involved in these transactions any more than trading stock.
 
As for B, the Angels had a problem generating offense from the middle and back end of their lineup. Callaspo was a poor defender (-0.8 dWAR) and did not compensate for that with his bat (.714 career OPS). Although Freese is no upgrade defensively (-1.5 dWAR) his bat certainly is (.783 career OPS) . The difference between the two last season in salary is $1 million dollars more for Callaspo. Freese is cheaper/better. The Angels did not have a viable in house solution so they improved their lineup by trading devalued spare parts. This is what the GM is supposed to do.
 
C is another question that has nothing to do with this trade. The Angels have more than a Plan A in the works and they have obviously set aside resources to address plan A but that does not mean they put off their other roster changes until plan A is realized. They still have better trading chips than oft injured Peter Bourjos to use to lure a team into trading starting pitching. They even have better minor league talent than Grichuk to use as filler for the right trade. Even more realistic there are pitchers on the free agent market available.
 
D again is one of those questions that really pertains to 9 guys on the field not one. Making a lateral move defensively but an improvement offensively is not a negative when the option is to remain defensively weak at a given position and get no compensation offensively.
 
Your last plea is on deaf ears. I really don't care what minor leaguer's parent is complaining their kid is not getting playing time. If they were so good they would be in the outfield with Trout. If they were so good they would have been in the infield with Aybar, Trumbo and Kendrick. But they are not good enough to hold down a MLB position so your tweet holds about as much water as a sieve.
 
I am on board with the trade because it improves a position by utilizing players the Angels no longer are dependent on for every day play. And yes, Grichuck was disposable.

Its called shuffling around players in order to get better. We didn't have a third baseman, we had too many outfielders, and most of our lineup (particularly Trumbo) is inept at timely hitting. From a 2 for 2 standpoint, it isn't that good of a trade. But when you look at the actual situation, it does make sense. We didn't need Bourjos and Grichuck. We needed a 3rd baseman and pitching depth.