AngelsFanSince86

All I know is yesterday Victorino laid down the best bunt I've seen by an Angels player in like 10 years. Having a player who can do the little things like that is huge. Power is unreliable and won't help you manufacture runs against great pitching. They don't need to hit .300/.370/.850 to help. Just not having a blackhole in the lineup is a significant improvement and should make the lineup solid enough for the playoffs. Angels are 11th in MLB in runs scored despite being around 18-20 most of the year until late June. They have been tops in runs scored in July and that is a largely in part to players finally hitting how they should and so although some regression is likely, they should remain a top 10 offense from here on out. The new additions will help insure that. What is really important is getting another bullpen arm. Being able to shorten games is huge in October. I think adding a solid arm in a addition to what they already got will be more effective then a power bat or leadoff guy would have been. Especially considering there was no guarantee those players would come through for us or sign in the offseason. This way they get what they need on the cheap and then still have the chance to grab whatever FA they want in the offseason. And also will have a more enticing team to FA's because they won't have traded away all their young arms.

^^^This. They save money by having to eat part of a lesser contract. To get the best return on Tulo they would have had to eat a lot more money. Plus they may end up maximizing their return because they might not have been able to get the full load of prospects they wanted from one team. This way they can pull prospects from 2 teams.

His power has been virtually nonexistent, but his .324 OBP this year is 3rd on the team behind Trout and Calhoun.

Yeah even yesterday when you watch that play in slow motion as soon as his wrist started to turn awkwardly and the second his glove barely touched the ground he was able to flip himself over so as not to put full weight on it. Pretty incredible he was able to change course that quickly. Yeah, but he's apparently making more outs than any other CFer and not making any errors. I mean fangrapghs has a negative value for their RngR which is, by their definition, "The number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by how the fielder is able to get to balls hit in his vicinity." So if Trout has one of the best ranges, the second best route efficiency, has gotten to more balls than any other CFer, and has made zero errors, how could he have a negative value for this? He is getting to more balls than anyone else. He should have the highest value of any CFer for this, but he doesn't. I bring up this stat because it seems to be correlated to their overall defensive value according to fangraphs.

Yeah and Trout hasn't made a single error all year despite having the most chances of any CFer. Makes no sense to have a negative dWAR.

Seth Smith did have pretty even splits the year before he left Colorado though so he had shown success. And his numbers have fallen off a little from what they were. I do see your point though. Yeah I never really thought about the fact that although Coors boosts home splits that it might also simultaneously decrease away splits. I just always looked at their away splits as their true offensive ceiling. It makes sense though that playing 81 games a year in a place where pitches don't do what they are supposed to can mess with hitters when they aren't there. Still. Its one thing to take a risk on a FA from the Rockies, but you are risking a lot when you trade for one. Especially if the Rockies value of him is based on his production that may or may not hold outside of Coors.

He's a product of the Coors effect.

and runs scored, OPS+,stolen bases, slugging %, total bases, sacrifice hits, defense...

Kershaw in his last 9 starts: 1.52 ERA with a 12.2 K/9 in 64.2 IP (averaging 7.1 innings per game). And he just threw a shutout. Seems like he's back on track.

Career: Late and Close: .289/.341/.347/.688 High Leverage: .313/.363/.433/.796 Still pretty impressive considering he is a career .250/.294/.343/.637 hitter. Plus prior to this year he never got consistent playing time.

Yeah it definitely was haha

No way, his away splits are terrible: .249/.289/.392 and his hit 35 less RBI, scored 31 less runs, hit 10 less HRs, walked less and stole less bases than he did in 26 less PA at home. Add to that he plays in the NL.

Are you sure? I distinctly remember reading they had tried to sign him for as long as possible, but that Trout wanted to have a shot at free agency while still in his prime. I could be wrong, but I definitely do not remember there being any talk of them intentionally shorting him on years.

Well not necessarily. Reddick isn't a free agent until 2017. That means they get the rest of the year with Zobrist plus a year and a half of Reddick. These guys combined are worth more then Howie alone. Plus Howie is a free agent at the end of the year. Theoretically if they traded Heaney and some others for Zobrist and Reddick, they could then resign Howie at the end of the year and they will have netted a year with Reddick by trading Howie to the Dodgers. That really depends on what else that trade would include though.

Solid points. Although I will point out that Cowgill was worth 2.2 WAR last year in 106 games. The Angels could potentially be getting at least 2 WAR if they weren't playing Joyce (which I guess yes was a bad comparison seeing as how he is currently worth -1.7 WAR so far this year, but I guess my point is that potentially Joyce was supposed to be much better). Theoretically though if Cowgill, an in-house option, were played there all year he would be worth at least 2 WAR. So they would essentially be trading for 2 WAR. But yes, I definitely agree with your assessment and that Reddick>Revere. Just don't like what they would likely have to give up for either player. I don't feel either would have a big enough impact to warrant trading away the future. I think its going to take another year or two for this team to round out anyways with Kubitza, Yarborough, and Baldoquin coming up. Bedrosian will hopefully be coming into his own and the rotation will be getting Skaggs back and will have a more practiced Heaney, Tropeano and in a couple years Newcomb. I think being patient is the way to go right now.

Right, but its not some significant improvement. I suppose if they can get him for very little then I'm for it. I just don't see the point in giving up future talent for a guy who likely won't have much of an impact. I mean Joyce has a career OPS+ of 114 compared to Reddick's 105. I'm not saying he wouldn't be an improvement especially given his glove, but what do you think the Angels would have to give up to get him? (honest question). I'd prefer they wait until the offseason to make moves unless they can swing some good deals for a legitimate impact player. I guess I just feel maybe this won't be their year. Or maybe the rotation will continue to be one of the best in the AL, Rasmus will come back and maybe Bedrosian comes up and they shore up the bullpen behind Smith and Street, and maybe the offense gets going a bit. Maybe they make the playoffs and do well with the guys they have. Maybe not. I really don't think Reddick is going to be the difference in all that and so why make the trade? Again, I'd be for it if we don't have to give up any significant pieces because I do think he would be an upgrade. I just don't see that happening.

Reddick?? You mean the guy with a career .250 BA and .310 OBP?? The guy who has hit more than 12 HRs once? The Angels are pulling at straws if they are willing to trade anyone for Reddick Edit: I'm fine with what we have. I agree with you our options are very limited. Trading for someone like Reddick means giving up future talent for no big improvement. He is a great defender, but that is not the Angels weak point. He is hitting well, but for how long?I wish the guys they have were panning out more, but they aren't. I think at this point they do what they can. If they can make a great trade that is truly beneficial without getting rid of crucial future talent then I am all for it. Chances of that are slim and so I'd prefer they wait until the offseason. Everyone is worried about wasting Trout, but if they really want this team to be solid in his prime then it will take time to build that team. So far its looking like the pitching staff is there. Give Dipoto time to work on the offensive side now and see what happens. Being hasty and expecting midseason trades/big contracts is what got the Angels in to the predicament they are now in.

Wrong. Top in 25 in the AL. Santiago is 23rd in the AL. So out of 75 pitchers Richards is 7th, Wilson 16th, Shoemaker and Weaver 18th and 19th, and Santiago 23rd. Until yesterday's game Angels team ERA was tops in the AL though. Those 10 runs knocked them to 4th though.

This is somewhat unrelated to this, but I looked at Trouts defensive numbers on fangraphs the other day. His defensive runs above replacement was 2.4 and his arm was rated -.08. Now this was a day before he made those two spectacular plays. Now his defense is 1.7 and his arm is -0.9. How could they possibly go down that much (or at all really) when he only played one more game and it had to be the best defensive game of any CFer that day?

Yeah there is also the fact he has the best win % of any manager with 10+ years and the Angels have only had a sub-.500 record 3 times in 15 years. Pretty solid. Edit: Active* manager

Yeah I agree. Its not really the pitching that is killing this team anyways.

Angels SP ERA is 3rd in the AL. And that is with Weaver and Shoemaker pitching terribly. If Weaver continues what we saw last night and they bring Tropeano or Heaney up until Shoe can figure it out, they will have one of the best rotations in the AL. Richards, Wilson, and Santiago have been great.

Right. Once every 3 or 4 games when its actually close enough they have to decide whether to leave the pitcher in or pinch hit for him. Meanwhile, multiple times every game the pitcher is an easy out and turns a rally into a dud. Wow, so much strategy...

Lets see. The Angels have won 9 AL West titles in their entirety of an organization. 6 of those have come while Moreno was owner. The Angels have won the division 50% of the time he has been owner. Not sure what your definition of underachieving is. And if it has to do with getting to the playoffs and then not making it happen I don't know how you could possibly put that on Moreno. Its not like he is out there playing with them. He can only put the team together that will make it to the playoffs. He's made the team more successful than it has ever been, put fans in the seats, hired management that drafted the best player that has ever put on an Angels uniform, and to top it all off made beer relatively cheap (which trust me is huge. I live in the bay area and going to a Giants game you get essentially 10 ounces for $11 with half the selection and twice the wait). He's had his short comings. I hated the Hamilton signing. Didn't particularly like the Pujols signing. But its his money, Angels games are still significantly cheaper then what I'm used to paying up here, and last I checked they won 98 games last year and we get to watch the best player in baseball on a daily basis.

Didn't like Hamilton before he was an Angel. Disliked Moreno for a bit specifically for signing Hamilton in the first place. Wouldn't have liked Hamilton even if he was producing, the fact he didn't made it that much worse. Now we may finally be rid of him. Liking Moreno more for it. Hamilton dislike is back to where it was before he signed with the Angels