TroutCron

Choi is taking up a roster spot that could go to Kubitza or Cowart. The way the starters go less than 6 innings they might need a 10 man pen.

Hard to believe this guy was 16-4 two seasons ago. What went wrong besides fastball location?

Not to mention the fact that the starters sans Santiago, can't get past 5-6 innings. If you combine the starters with a suspect bullpen and a below average offense you get a 72-75 win team at best. It will be a long season!

There are two big problems with the pen that stand out for me. 1. There are no power arms. When you need a K with runners on base there is no one in the pen who has strikeout stuff. 2. There is a starting staff of pitchers who go 5-6 innings. This is way too taxing on the pen. I hope that yhe new front office team puts an emphasis on power arms in the draft. The organization is desperate for them. Guys like Alvarez, Salas and the rest are a dime a dozen. Bring up Albuequerque and Cotts to replace Alvarez and Salas.

World Peace!!

Ortega has some promise. The next big problem is how long do you stick with Cron. Right now he is a huge hole in the lineup. Choi certainly isn't the answer. Let's see what Eppler and Sosh come up with. Cron seems to respond well to a demotion to AAA. Do it again.

It might be a little struggle for Trout if Pujols an Calhoun don't hit behind him.

Well you can but it would be areally shitty chicken salad.

Hope he tears a hammy the first time he tries to run to first base. He will probably be on the DL by opening day anyway.

If Pennington starts then you can't keep Gio on the bench. You can't have an infielder on the bench who can't play Ss or 3rd. Pennington will get plenty of work.

My favorite quote of Goose's was when he told Ray Croc that he was poisoning America with his hamburgers.

Like his brother Jeff, the end is coming quickly for Weave. Both have one thing in common, throwing across their bodies. Pitchers who throw across their bodies tend to lose the fastball quicker. This takes a lot out of the shoulder. Those old enough should remember Frank Tanana. He threw upper 90's until his shoulder gave out. He came back throwing in the low 80's. The difference between the two is Tanana was a lefty. I have never seen a soft tossing righty who was successful. There is no way thet Jered can get hitters out consistently with a low eighties fastball, especially a pitcher who works up in the zone.

The Dogs won't let Kershaw hit the market. Harper will demand 400-500 Mil. which pretty much leaves out most teams orther than the Yanks and Red Sux ( maybe the Phillies). Donaldson will probably be in the 200+ range. I don't see Arte pulling the trigger on these guys. Cheer up though, we will still have the 50 year old 1B/DH.

If he steals too much Albert won't be able to lead the league in GIDP.

My guess would be Nate Smith or some other low level prospect.

Maybe we can get President Trump to build a wall around the Big A and make Arte pay for it.

The money that he is giving to Trout is not a guarantee. No player signed guarantees a winner. After all these years has Arte finally decided that spending doesn't equal winning. Spending in the right places, especially in scouting and Developnent, gives you a better chance to win. Being involved in the foreign markets gives you a better chance to win. Paying huge sums to players who already peaked doesn't necessarily increase your chance of winning.

Let's face it we are stuck in limbo until Arte decides the direction he wants to go. Any possible FA signings and trades have no teeth if there is no money to spend. There is no worse place in professional sports than on the fringes of postseason. Houston built a great farm system by being utterly terrible for 15 years, same can be said for Tampa and KC. It will be hard to do drafting 17-22 in each round. There has got to be an emphasis on the foreign markets to supplement the draft to build the farm. It will take Arte's money to accomplish this.

The biggest problems with the farm system is the total lack of international scouting and signings. If you look at championship teams there are a plethora of international players who contribute big time. The US is not producing top talent in the kinds of numbers that Latin America does. Ignoring this market is suicide.

He's the Bill Cosby of PED use!

I would think a new owner would insist on Trout still being an Angel, without him the franchise is worth alot less.

Arte is obviously disillusioned with the business of baseball. If he is going to sell, after this season or 2017 would be the right time. If he can't come up with a stadium deal this year I predict he sells. The franchise is worth 1.2 billion according to Forbes, that would be a healthy profit for Arte.

Because of Pujols and Hamilton, Eppler is forced to shop the bargin bin. It will be very hard to judge the kind of job that he does with these small market restrictions. The caveat being that small market teams are usually drafting in the upoer part of each round, this can reload a farm system much faster. The Angels need to either win big or lose big, there are few rewards fir being average.

If you want to rebuild the farm asap then why completely ignore the international markets. Right now I only see a bad plan and an owner who is disillusioned with the game.