KevinStockerIsGod

Steve Dilbeck ‏@stevedilbeck 2m Zack Greinke removed with sore right calf. Dodgers calling it precautionary after taking him out of game following just four pitches.

Los Angeles Dodgers ‏@Dodgers 11m Zack Greinke will depart after a visit to the mound from Stan Conte -- Greinke made just three pitches. Jeff Joyce ‏@JeffJoyce19 9m Zack Greinke left start in first inning today with what looked like a right leg injury Mark Saxon ‏@markasaxon 6m Zack Greinke just walked into the clubhouse with trainer Stan Conte

Alden Gonzalez ‏@Alden_Gonzalez 1m #Angels will have six starters this spring: Weaver, Wilson, Richards, Santiago, Skaggs and, for split squads, Blanton.

Alden Gonzalez ‏@Alden_Gonzalez 1m Weaver (three innings), Frieri, Salas, Rasmus will pitch vs #Cubs.

Bill Shaikin ‏@BillShaikin 17s #Angels in Fri Cactus League opener vs #Cubs: Pujols 1B, Kendrick 2B, Aybar SS, Freese 3B,Trout/Calhoun/Shuck in OF, Iannetta C, Weaver P.

Mike Trout Always been about 1 goal… ‪#‎WORLDSERIES‬. Let's go to work !!! ‪#‎ANGELS‬

they should change the site to "Overreactionwin.com"

Trout's extension is being held up, they are still negotiating, and I'm sure will take a little bit to figure out because this will be a record-breaking deal. This isn't saying the Angels don't value Trout the same way the industry does, but this deal will be a benchmark. It sounds like they are in the neighborhood, though.

Sounds like as long as the Angels "set" the salary for Trout before an extension is agreed to, then the contract wouldn't start til the following year or being against the CBT.

keithlaw ‏@keithlaw 9s Part of why I don't like the Capuano signing: RHB hit .343/.382/.524 off his fastball, .367/.402/.598 if we add the SL and CB.

The strength of a farm system and its player development and scouting is replenishing the system when players are called up or traded. Of course when you graduate a lot of players one way or another, the farm system takes a hit. However, the best part about small market clubs like Oakland and Tampa Bay is once a player reaches later years of club control, they usually trade the player for prospects that replenish the farm to an extent. Trades of Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, James Shields, etc. added a lot of talent for their former teams. Big market clubs don't operate this way, b/c they tend to want to keep their players and can afford to do so. I think the best way to go about is a mix of player development and timely free agency. Teams like the Rangers and Red Sox have a 100 plus million dollar budget, but still maintain their farm systems in a way to bring up talent annually. The best team that mixes a decent budget and a consistent prospect mill is the Cardinals. They seem to develop their talent and bring them up, while making trades and free agent signings to fill areas of need or areas needed for depth. They can afford a Peralta contract because a majority of the pitching staff is pre-arbitration. The trades of Trumbo and Bourjos illustrated a couple of things. Obviously, Angels fans can see both players had skills and, especially in the case of Bourjos, had remaining upside. However, the Angels turned depth into two starting pitchers, a full time 3B, and a bullpen arm, all of which were areas of need. Their free agent and minor league signings filled gaps and provided depth in the upper levels we didn't have. Joe Smith at 3 yrs/15.5 mil was our largest expenditure. We still have a lot of work to do to build the organization, but I'm optimistic that good changes are being made.

I read it like he stretched out that far so early in the offseason, probably to see how he'd hold up.

http://aldengonzalez.mlblogs.com/2014/02/13/pujols-in-good-spirits-to-open-camp/

Alden Gonzalez ‏@Alden_Gonzalez 4m Albert Pujols looking as trim as he normally does in Spring Training. No restrictions to start camp. #Angels Alden Gonzalez ‏@Alden_Gonzalez 1m Pujols, on what his lower half felt like last year: "It's like playing with a flat tire and a broken rim." #Angels

He was joking about stealing bases.

Mike DiGiovanna ‏@MikeDiGiovanna 5m Good news for #Angels out of chute: Albert Pujols down 7 lbs, looking very lean and muscular, said L foot and R knee are 100 percent. Jeff Fletcher ‏@JeffFletcherOCR 4m Albert Pujols is here. Says he feels great. Jokes he may steal "five or six" bases this year. #Angels Mike DiGiovanna ‏@MikeDiGiovanna 4m Said Pujols: "You're gonna see it when I run and move around. I might steal 6 or 7 bags this year." #Angels

Again, this is the system in place between MLB and the MLBPA on pre-arb players. Pay increases for players between 0-3 years service time is on a sliding scale. The Angels follow the scale that was approved between both parties. I totally agree that Trout deserves more, but that is the system. The Angels aren't being cheap with Trout. Trout's salary for 2014 is not figured like arbitration cases.

Moreno offered Garza a contract that would have taken us over the luxury tax...he didn't accept, it was pulled. Santana and Jimenez would cost draft picks, so I agree they aren't a fit, plus who knows if they'd be worth it. Tanaka spending went too crazy for an unknown. Dipoto got creative with trades to fill needs, it was a pretty good offseason.

We have the 4th most runs allowed in the AL West, but by far, the best offensive output per the projection. In fact, we are projected to score the 2nd most runs in 2014, only behind Boston.

Yes, we are projected to have a plus 66 run differential, 774-708. Not only do they project us a game out in the AL West, we have the 2nd wild card.

PECOTA has the Angels in 2nd place in the division at 87-75, 1 game behind the A's at 88-74.

If you're curious about former Angels: Trumbo: .253/30/90/.307/.476 Bourjos: .251/11/49.302/.391 Tommy Hanson: 3.83/1.27/90Ks

Angels Position Players: Player: AVG/R/HR/RBI/OBP/SLG Conger: .224/39/9/40/.309/.381 Pujols: .287/79/28/87/.369/.521 Kendrick: .281/53/9/50/9/.324/.414 Aybar: .275/72/7/50/.314/.383 Freese: .270/65/16/70/.340/.412 Hamilton: .272/67/22/76/.330/.473 Trout: .305/110/24/84/.393/.515 Kalhoun: .262/62/15/62/.332/.431 Ibanez: .240/56/17/65/.300/.408 Bench: Iannetta: .222/31/8/29/.338/.381 Shuck: .275/34/1/21/.330/.346 Green: .263/22/4/22/.302/.386 Pena: .206/16/5/17/.328/.394 It looks like the big winner is David Freese, where PECOTA sees him having a nice bounce back year. They show some regression with Trout. They show Hamilton with a projected BA of .272, but only 22 homers and 76 RBIs. I believe if he is hitting .272, he'd have more than 22/76. They haven't updated with our recent barrage of minor league signings. They also don't project Green or Pena to have substantial ABs. Angels Pitchers: IP/ERA/WHIP/BB/K/W/L Weaver: 194/3.13/1.15/51/167/13/10 Wilson: 186/3.68/1.31/74/165/13/11 Richards: 154/4.71/1.47/57/104/10/12 Santiago: 148/4.90/1.51/68/126/9/11 Skaggs: 130/4.10/1.36/46/114/9/9 Frieri: 67/3.55/1.27/31/79/30SV Burnett: 41/3.44/1.26/14/36 Smith: 67/3.53/1.30/26/54 Jepsen: 52/4.04/1.42/21/48 De La Rosa: 52/3.51/1.33/22/51 Kohn: 62/3.91/1.38/32/68 Salas: 41/3.33/1.21/13/40 Moran: 31/3.74/1.3110/31 Some of the pitching projections outside of Weaver and Wilson are a little scary, with Skaggs showing as our 3rd best SP. It also shows none of our SP going over 200 IP, which would be a problem.