Pujols4MVP

1 minute ago, mymerlincat said:

 

 

Great a player with a -0.7 WAR in 2019.

13 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

The time the Angels would have tanked would have been after 2016, when they went 74-88. In 2014 they won 98 games; in 2015 they won 85 games, so there was the hope that they could bounce back and at least win 90. As AO pointed out, Eppler started with a big splash, trading for Simmons. 

But then they lost 74 games in 2016. If you remember, that was the year they lost Richards and Skaggs and Heaney and Shoemaker and Tropeano - their whole rotation, basically. Jered Weaver was in full gumby mode.

So let say Eppler looked into the future and realized that the team would be mediocre for the next three years. "Hey Arte, let's tank so that by 2021 or 22 we'll have a few amazing draft picks reaching the majors and be really good."

Arte would then remind him, "What about Trout? Will Mike wade through years of suckitude and then re-sign?"

Further more, what parts could be shed after 2016? I suppose they could have traded Calhoun, Cron, Shoemaker (they did trade Cron, but a year later). Maybe a reliever or two. But could they have really tanked? Replacing thosse guys with replacement players might drop them to a 75ish win team, so it still isn't quite tanking.

If I were to look back at Eppler's decisions in hindsight, aside from the obvious blunders--Cozart, Harvey, Cahill, Allen--I wish he had been more aggressive about trading at the deadline. Yusmeiro Petit, Blake Parker and Bud Norris all could have been traded for prospects in July of 2017. The Angels were 51-55 on July 31, 18 games out of 1st, 5.5 behind the 2nd wildcard with five teams ahead of them in the wildcard race.

Hmm...deja vu. Eppler didn't cut his losses then. I hope he does now, because we're in a similar situation. Of course the Angels don't have many good players to trade, or at least that they want to trade; Buttrey, Robles, Bedrosian, and Anderson are all young and worth keeping for next year and beyond. But Goodwin? Maybe Cole and/or Pena? If they can get anything for Lucroy or Cahill? At this point I think Kole has to be on the table.

Trade away, Billy. 

Kole seems like a guy playing hard to get a contract extension, if he doesn't get it and they pick up his option he'll probably have another great year so that when he becomes a FA he gets a 5 to 6 year deal from some team & then just plays on cruise control for the duration of the contract. Thats why i hope he does get traded, either this year or next year if his option is picked up.

23 hours ago, Second Base said:

I do think this is a dysfunctional organization, and that the v problem is multifaceted.

1. The Angels never tanked - The fastest way to rebuild an organization into a winner is simply to tank. Worked for the Cubs, Royals, Dodgers, Astros, White Sox, Padres, etc.... You simply cut payroll, and get high draft picks for about 3-5 years, to build up the farm and use the savings to invest in major free agents and create a competitive window of 5 years. The Angels meanwhile have kept payroll the same for about 5 years while trying to rebuild a farm without top draft picks and previously being under the Baldoquin restrictions on international spending. The result has been a long series of mediocrity and a farm system that has now been rebuilt but still lacks the upside of top systems.

2. Eppler has tried to creatively solve problems by not spending money but has instead wasted one of the only things more valuable than money.... Time. And the irony is that once his creative solutions failed, he spent the money anyway.

3. Eppler's free agent track record is absolute garbage.

4. This team can't keep a good pitcher healthy to save its life.

------------------------

But the good thing about all of this is that it can be fixed.

1. The Angels didn't tank which meant they kept Trout and landed Ohtani. But at the same time, have lacked the upside prospects they need. Their competitive window begins in 2020 though, because that's when Adell arrives, and Rengifo, Thaiss, Barria, Suarez and Canning will talk have the experience and worked out the kinks and are ready to compete. This youth movement began last year, has been in full swing this year and should begin producing results next year. And 2020 is only the beginning. 2021 should see Marsh, Sandoval, Ortega and Chris Rodriguez. 2022 is going to be big with Jordyn Adams, Will Wilson, Kevin Maitan, Adrian Rondon, Jose Soriano and Hector Yan. 2023 will likely include some upside plays like Kochanowicz, Deveaux, Knowles, Uceta and Rivas.

2. Part of the reason Eppler was being creative in the first place is because the competitive window hadn't yet begun. But in 2020 and beyond, that's the window, and the infusion of youth lowers payroll substantially. So any needs that aren't solved internally will then be solved by spending big enough in free agency to remove the risk of mid tier gambles like Cozart. They can spend on more proven assets.

3. Again, past of what has made Eppler so bad in free agency is that he's been limited to spending in a dollar range that makes these investments risky, like Cozart, Cahill and Harvey.

4. Health appears to not have a specific formula in pitchers. The Angels have been very unlucky. Regression to the mean likely means they will enjoy better health.

5. Eppler doesn't have to focus on rebuilding an empty farm anymore. All he has to do is not let spending get out of control and completely destroy the farm like Dipoto did.

 

I strongly agree with this.

While tanking in MLB is not the same like it is in NHL/NBA, you have to do at least 3 years of taking for it to be worth it if & a team can stockpile alot of high end prospects with a high chance they strike gold with some of them like the Astros, Cubs, Dodgers etc and its not even completely about the 1st round picks, about having earlier picks in every round of the draft.

Are the Angels the Edmonton Oilers of MLB ? Mike Trout = Connor McDavid.

Since 2006 the Oilers have made the playoffs only twice but one of those was to the finals & the other time they got out of the first round at least.

Since 2006 the Angels have made the playoffs 4 times including being swept twice in 2007 & 2014 and only in 2009 did they get to the 2nd round.

The Angels and Oilers have had alot of different GMs in that time. The Oilers ownership has meddled in how the team is run, Arte used to meddle into who the Angels sign (Pujols etc).

Kole Calhoun is the Jakob Silfverberg of RFers, elite defensively & above average offensively. Ducks locked up Silf to a contract extension but he's only 27 while Calhoun is nearly 32.

If Kinsler gets you a future closer, then Calhoun should return something decent.

Read an article before that mentioned Eakins is the one who wanted Sutter brought in, that he wants his expertise to bounce ideas off of etc. He will help Eakins develop a better defensive system.

Also have heard before that Dotchin has had off the ice issues that have been why he was sometimes scratched before for no reason, his off the ice issues likely why he is gone.

Also gotten vibe that the players knew Eakins was gonna eventually replace Carlyle but wanted Carlyle out sooner.

Hearing Hampus Lindholm describe Eakins and how much he likes the new systems of Eakins to play in, how he gets along with the players so well and stuff like that, it leaves the impression he thinks Carlyle was an idiot and was not well liked by the players. Sounds like Lindholm likes Eakins already, the players liked Coach Murray better too which only illustrated how outdated Carlyle was

14 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Now that they traded for Kadri the Avs forward lines look pretty good. And for comparison sake, MacKinnon and Kadri are both signed 3 more years for less combined than either Matthews or Tavares are making and just more than half of McDavid and Draisaitl combined. Kadri isn't quite what those other 2Cs are but I'll take it

Barrie was always maddening to me with how bad he could be in his own end but Toronto is going to like him QBing a PP with all those big guns.

Lee must have really wanted to stay with the Islanders because I'd be shocked if there wasn't a team out there willing to give him more that $7 mil per

Are the Sharks going to re-sign both Marleau and Thornton and pretend it's 2009?

The Avs are the darkhorse candidate to win it all in 2020. Adding Kadri, Burakovsky, Donskoi, Makar & Byram while only losing Barrie & some Soda Pop (Soderberg) is very nice.

They lost Barrie little & gained alot.

I believe Byram can go straight to the NHL and i expect him to become eventually Doughty like.

Its weird Zubov never won a Norris trophy, he had 89 points in 78 games in 93-94 season as well as 66 in 64 games in 95-96 season, in 2005-06 at age 35 he had 71 points in 78 games.

11 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

It’s too bad.  I like Dotchkin and think that in the right system/situation he’s a nice player. 

It’s weird how all of the sudden the Ducks feel loaded at forward but perilously thin at D.  At least prospects wise.  Too bad they couldn’t land Trouba.  

Jets wanted him out of the western conference, that said the Ducks could have given more than the bag of peanuts the Rangers gave them that they would consider it even if it keeps him in the west.

Get ready for July 1st when Murray will sign some old slow veteran Dman all while being asleep at the wheel when it comes to signing any good players.

22 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Dach is Getzlaf. Big guy who will have a ton of assists. Zegras should be the best of the three offensively but he has to show that he’s willing to do some dirty work

Turcotte should be the better goal scorer of the 3, at least from what i saw of his stats he scored alot of goals per game.

20 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Wow.  Some Zegras porn for you this morning.  

 

Ducks #1 prospect by a big margin. His ceiling is like something they haven't seen since Bobby Ryan in 2005.

Read that Murray didn't think Zegras would be available at #9. Heard he was grinning like in 2010.

This is the best forward they have drafted since Bobby Ryan imo.

Ducks needed a top line center for the future & they got that in this draft. Best case scenario happened.

Zegras, Steel, Lundestrom, Groulx, Morand. The prospect depth at C is great.

9 hours ago, nando714 said:

On the kings message board. They’re raving about the kid they picked in the 2nd round. High risk high reward. I guess he has a lights out shot. He’s plays on the wing. Arthur Keliyev 

Offensively he reminds me of a young Corey Perry, great goal scoring instincts but mediocre skating. Perfect guy for Turcotte to feed the puck to.

Turcotte & Zegras was best possible outcome for the Kings & Ducks. Chicago & Edmonton layed an egg. Edmonton should have taken Zegras or Boldy or Podkolzin, Zegras could always play on RNH's wing as some think Zegras becomes a winger anyways.

Detroit drafted what might be a Hampus Lindholm situation where the guy expected to go at around #15 goes 6th overall instead & may end up being way better than expected. I see Seider becoming the 2nd best Dman of the draft.

Kings won the draft. Drafted 3rd best forward of the draft, a good Swedish Dman, a Big RW that reminds me of a young Corey Perry without the pest qualitys, like him his skating is what held him back in the draft.

I believe Turcotte is better than Dach, i also think Zegras is better than Dach. Fast moving Centers are the future.

On 6/21/2019 at 10:23 AM, Angel Oracle said:

Elisha Cuthbert gets to stay here though.     

Yep, Elisha is definitely one of the hottest blondes of all time 2nd to only Maggie Grace.

#3 Turcotte - elite skating Center with very high skills & 2way play. He's like the next Brayden Point !

#4 Cozens - elite skating Center with an Elite shot & is 6'4 in height. Size/Speed/Shot all there in 1 package.

#5 Byram - fast skating (but not elite speed) Dman with great goal scoring ability with potential to be a 1D.

#6 Zegras great center prospect, good skater.

#7 Krebs another great center prospect, good skater too.

#8 Dach - Center with mediocre skating but has great vision & IQ. Sound familar ? Probably a liability in 3 on 3 OT where his mediocre speed is exposed.

#9 Boldy - LW

#10 Since the Ducks won't be drafting Podkolzin no matter what: Lavoie, Newhook, BroBerg is probably on their list at #10

Podkolzin has basicly stated he won't be coming to the USA anytime soon, will develop for a while in Russia. Pass. A guy who already says he doesn't want to be here = big risk.

My guess is Podkolzin falls to the Rangers who won't mind him developing in Russia while they tank next year.

Other 1st round talent: Kaliyev, Pelletier, Caufield, Soderstrom, Brink, Seider, Suzuki, Harley, Robertson, Heinola.

I agree give Trout his 400 million, the longer it goes the more it'll start to look like the John Tavares scenario.

MLB needs to change the rules so that "Superstar Tier players" return alot more draft picks if they leave as a FA. Like the 1st, 2nd, 3rd from the team that signs him in addition to compensation picks in the form of a 1st(fixed at #10 pick), a 2nd rounder, & 3rd rounder. This also makes it easier for teams to get more in a trade return as the offer would have to be greater than getting two 1sts, two 2nds & two 3rds.

The NHL & NBA should also do this for when Superstar level players leave as a FA.

On 3/7/2019 at 6:48 PM, Geoff said:

Not sure how this guy doesn't make the team
									I hope you all kept your shirts!

 

Those numbers mean that he will start the regular season in a slump !

Generation Z is losing interest in baseball(& no Generation Z is not millenials), the changes are needed.

However the mound distance & base size is bad idea. It'll cause the scoring to go up too fast. 15-10 games will become too common.

The best the late first pick can get is #20 pick if that picks spot finishes exactly at #20, thats a decent late 1st when considering that will be higher than any of the 1sts moved at the deadline.

However SJ pick could fall to #23 since Erik Karlsson appears to be shutdown right now & if they exit the playoffs within 2 rounds it should stay where it is.

Still nice insurance on the SJ pick if STL can finish at #20 to #23 as i think its most likely the SJ pick will be #25 to 27.

So the only games the Ducks should win is vs SJ & lose the rest of their games. Losing to STL was huge in both boosting the Ducks chances at moving back into #4 pick pre-lottery & helping STL get back towards #20, their now at #19 & another few wins they will be back at #20

Yes to Newport Beach. Its a nice city. I'd feel more safe to going to games there than Long Beach in cesspool LA County.

Besides that Dodger photo of those two gang members in bathtub would apply to the Angels if they moved to Long Beach as there would become the Angels version of it with gang members from Long Beach. Don't want to see the Angels turn into a 'gang' team like the Dodgers by moving to LB.

I'll pass, Long Beach is a ghetto hell hole. Everyone in LB is a Dodger Fan so the Angels wouldn't be gaining any new fans at all.

If it happens, i'll go join PadresWin.com. Arte giving OC the middle finger is unforgivable.

Another RHD that should be in the 20 to 25 range in the draft: Soderstrom.

Either Seider or Soderstrom could be part of why Murray made the trade with Buffalo vs other teams knowing that other teams would net them a later pick in the 26 to 31 range.

Either of those guys are BPA at 20-25. With a Center/Winger heavy draft, Murray may be confident those guys are there with the STL pick which sits at #21 right now.

1 hour ago, Thomas said:

The forward market was dead. The Kings really wanted to trade a few but weren't going to take fifty cents on the dollar in trade value. It's like Gamestop employees are running the teams in the league.

Thats why i stopped doing business with game stores. Amazon/Ebay/Steam/Origin only.