AngelsFanSince86

Exactly. They did go get whoever they think is the best pitcher/whichever trade they can actually get done. 
The whole in the same division thing doesn't matter if the alternative is to continue to be mediocre because they don't have enough quality starting pitchers.

So let’s walk this out to see if it makes sense.
The As trade Montas to the Yankees and load up with Yankee prospects.
The Angels trade prospects to the Marlins for a pitcher.
In a couple years, the As have good young players to use against the Angels and the Angels don’t have the prospects they traded away to the Marlins.
How exactly are the Angels better off in this scenario rather than trading prospects to the As for Montas?

Literally Mike Hawk.
Amazing.

My feeling the whole time has been that the players are awful at negotiating and that the owners are being dicks.  As I understand it, the owners had proposed at one point a salary floor and "cap" of $100M/$180M.  Had they used that as a starting point for the negotiations the players could have really bettered their position.  Hardly any teams go over $180M, but almost half were under $100M.  In. 2021 it would have netted the players $250M or something like that. If they could agree to a floor/cap then I guarantee the owners would be happy to raise the minimum, give them earlier arbitration, bonus pools, etc. because they would have to spend a certain amount anyways and at the same time know all teams are limited.  At the end of the day that likely takes away from some of the monster contracts though (10+ years at $30M+) and thats why it was a non-starter for the players.  As a whole it would have really benefited them and I'm sure they could have negotiated the $100M/$180M up, but they just really don't want a cap and seem stuck on it.

Yeah I saw someone make the point that they shouldn't be too stuck on getting the amount they want because that can always be a big point on the next agreement.  The big thing with the bonus pool is bringing it into existence.

Wow. That's the biggest cop out I've heard from an Angels GM. 
Yes Perry, if you ask the playoff contenders with some of the best pitching staffs in the game, they want to improve. Yet you, with one of the worst, who has been criticized for needing to vastly improve the staff, has chosen to marginally improve. Cool.

Trying so hard to be patient, but it's pretty obvious the Angels are not going to be competitive until after trout is long gone. They'll refuse to trade Ohtani while not competing, he'll leave, they'll sign more aging position players, continue to be around .500 and thus not get a top pick in the draft. 
Speaking of draft, why the fuck do you give up your draft pick for Syndergaard if you aren't going to just go for it? Angels continue to be the most half assed franchise in baseball. Never committed to any particular goal other than the arbitrary payroll max that's been set.

Wow. That's the biggest cop out I've heard from an Angels GM. 
Yes Perry, if you ask the playoff contenders with some of the best pitching staffs in the game, they want to improve. Yet you, with one of the worst, who has been criticized for needing to vastly improve the staff, has chosen to marginally improve. Cool.

Wow. That's the biggest cop out I've heard from an Angels GM. 
Yes Perry, if you ask the playoff contenders with some of the best pitching staffs in the game, they want to improve. Yet you, with one of the worst, who has been criticized for needing to vastly improve the staff, has chosen to marginally improve. Cool.

Haha true... Meant to add that you can't do that... And create a winning team.

Trying so hard to be patient, but it's pretty obvious the Angels are not going to be competitive until after trout is long gone. They'll refuse to trade Ohtani while not competing, he'll leave, they'll sign more aging position players, continue to be around .500 and thus not get a top pick in the draft. 
Speaking of draft, why the fuck do you give up your draft pick for Syndergaard if you aren't going to just go for it? Angels continue to be the most half assed franchise in baseball. Never committed to any particular goal other than the arbitrary payroll max that's been set.

The problem is non committal. People laugh when you say "Arte is cheap" because they have one of the higher payrolls in MLB. But that's all due to a few players making huge amounts of money and you know it's justified only because the ends justify the means from a marketing perspective.
You can't pay Trout and Rendon a combined $75M and not also be willing to spend in other areas and stretch the budget. Unless of course you have an great farm system, which they don't because Arte saves cash there also. You either have to be like rays and A's and trade your top guys away before free agency to keep a low payroll and keep the farm filled with talent. OR you have to be willing to spend to fill your needs. The Angels haven't committed to either approach and that's why they have sucked and will continue to suck until it changes. 
And yes, this is a direct result of Arte Moreno. We've had 2 GMs that have been hired elsewhere despite their lack of success with the Angels. That's because it's known being under Arte is a handicap.

100% 
Anything left to do now that will really impact the team will damage the farm. It's so hard to believe they didn't sign Ray, Gausman, or Stroman given what they signed for. And it doesn't seem like they really tried very hard. I can't believe after all the talk about impact pitchers being added, they didn't add a single TOR arm that's pitched in the last 2 years. Honestly unbelievable even given the Angels history under Arte.

The problem is non committal. People laugh when you say "Arte is cheap" because they have one of the higher payrolls in MLB. But that's all due to a few players making huge amounts of money and you know it's justified only because the ends justify the means from a marketing perspective.
You can't pay Trout and Rendon a combined $75M and not also be willing to spend in other areas and stretch the budget. Unless of course you have an great farm system, which they don't because Arte saves cash there also. You either have to be like rays and A's and trade your top guys away before free agency to keep a low payroll and keep the farm filled with talent. OR you have to be willing to spend to fill your needs. The Angels haven't committed to either approach and that's why they have sucked and will continue to suck until it changes. 
And yes, this is a direct result of Arte Moreno. We've had 2 GMs that have been hired elsewhere despite their lack of success with the Angels. That's because it's known being under Arte is a handicap.

100% 
Anything left to do now that will really impact the team will damage the farm. It's so hard to believe they didn't sign Ray, Gausman, or Stroman given what they signed for. And it doesn't seem like they really tried very hard. I can't believe after all the talk about impact pitchers being added, they didn't add a single TOR arm that's pitched in the last 2 years. Honestly unbelievable even given the Angels history under Arte.

Is it just me or does it feel like there was so major missed opportunity this off season.  I know it's not over but I can't help but feel like there was so much more that could have been done and that this was the year to spend a bit extra.  

You lost me right there.

Trying so hard to be patient, but it's pretty obvious the Angels are not going to be competitive until after trout is long gone. They'll refuse to trade Ohtani while not competing, he'll leave, they'll sign more aging position players, continue to be around .500 and thus not get a top pick in the draft. 
Speaking of draft, why the fuck do you give up your draft pick for Syndergaard if you aren't going to just go for it? Angels continue to be the most half assed franchise in baseball. Never committed to any particular goal other than the arbitrary payroll max that's been set.

Ray was their guy and they should have paid to get him. In a sense, Arte is cheap and there's no way around it. The only reason Angels payroll is as high as it is, is due to certain players that Arte knew he could market and it would be financially worth it. It's clear the bottom line is more important than winning. 
Literally everything that front office says is total bullshit because they still have failed to address pitching as a whole. As it stands, they are marginally better off than last year IF Syndergaard is healthy and pitches well. 
I'm still waiting to completely judge them because they can still make a trade. However, they shouldn't have had to.. Arte is forcing them to mortgage the future because he refuses to go over.

Haha I convinced they go for guys like him they know someone will outbid them on just so they can say, "see! We are willing to spend on the right guy, but we just got outbid!" All while never intending to spend that money.
 
 
 
 
I'm being facetious... Kinda...

Ray was their guy and they should have paid to get him. In a sense, Arte is cheap and there's no way around it. The only reason Angels payroll is as high as it is, is due to certain players that Arte knew he could market and it would be financially worth it. It's clear the bottom line is more important than winning. 
Literally everything that front office says is total bullshit because they still have failed to address pitching as a whole. As it stands, they are marginally better off than last year IF Syndergaard is healthy and pitches well. 
I'm still waiting to completely judge them because they can still make a trade. However, they shouldn't have had to.. Arte is forcing them to mortgage the future because he refuses to go over.

Haha I convinced they go for guys like him they know someone will outbid them on just so they can say, "see! We are willing to spend on the right guy, but we just got outbid!" All while never intending to spend that money.
 
 
 
 
I'm being facetious... Kinda...

Haha I convinced they go for guys like him they know someone will outbid them on just so they can say, "see! We are willing to spend on the right guy, but we just got outbid!" All while never intending to spend that money.
 
 
 
 
I'm being facetious... Kinda...

Ray was their guy and they should have paid to get him. In a sense, Arte is cheap and there's no way around it. The only reason Angels payroll is as high as it is, is due to certain players that Arte knew he could market and it would be financially worth it. It's clear the bottom line is more important than winning. 
Literally everything that front office says is total bullshit because they still have failed to address pitching as a whole. As it stands, they are marginally better off than last year IF Syndergaard is healthy and pitches well. 
I'm still waiting to completely judge them because they can still make a trade. However, they shouldn't have had to.. Arte is forcing them to mortgage the future because he refuses to go over.

Really hoping they get Stroman or trade for a #1/#2 starter. After signing Rasiel, my faith has been temporarily restored that they will get something done. If we ended today without Rasiel OR a top starter I'd have figured they were just going to blow it again. With Rasiel, Loup, and Syndergaard signed in willing to wait the offseason without overreacting. Really hope they get Stroman though.