Inside Pitch

The Falsest!

Example number infinity of why raw ERA is fools gold.

It's real and sometimes it's ridiculous... http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23781702/the-cleveland-indians-bullpen-proves-baseball-gods-cruel So let's just recap: Cleveland had one of the best bullpens ever last season. The Indians brought most of it back. They have one of the worst bullpens ever this season.

Nobody wants to be stabbed....

Yep, I get your point, but I think you can see where I'm coming from too with Fontana .vs Fletcher -- as you well know I don't really subscribe to the MS hates all young players narrative. I never got into the Blash talk, not because I think he sucks or shouldn't at least be given a chance to show something - -he's just not someone I would pin my hopes on. For the most part the only guy's I'd want to see them call up are guys who they will actually play. I'm cool with Cowart being called up to ride the pine, ditto Fontana. Herm coming up was probably too soon, but he too wasn't brought up to start everyday which IMO doesnt help him or the team. Anyway -- I'd like to see Fletcher play because he actually has a chance to be more than a scub or defensive replacement.. I don't believe Fontana does.

Whats the rule for Minor league rehab games? 20 games? I know he went oppo taco in his fist at bat but .. since then it's been a repeat of his MLB season .. minus the strikeouts.

Matt Moore is the epitome of the worst case scenario while coming back from TJS. His stuff just isn't where it used to be. Dude used to pump 93-95, the average velocity on his FB his rookie season was 96.5. Post TJS the best he's managed is 93.7. He's throwing the ball with more effort than ever and not getting the same pop, even worse it's flattening out the harder he tries to throw it. Dude needs a reset -- he made it back from TJS sooner than most, and I think in rushing back he may have developed bad habits or just causes further damage. When it's all said and done he just doesn't have the movement he did previously -- maybe a move to the pen can reinvigorate him but he's as badly in need of a reset as Kole Calhoun was. Sometimes you can't do that at the MLB level...

FWIW -- I get your point but I don't think the two players are really comparable, nor are their situations. Due to injury there is a void at SS.... So it's not Fontana or Fletcher .vs Simmons or Cozart.. it's Fontana .vs Fletcher... Fontana has a nice track record of getting on base, so he's not useless and I think he would be my choice over Fletcher if the team intended to use him simply as a defensive replacement and back up.. but there seems to be a small window to play everyday .. that's the source of my frustration. They should get a look at Fletcher while they can.

That's just it -- it wasn't about sticking with vets... it was about sitting Fletcher in favor of Fontana. Fontana hasn't done anything to merit playing over Fletcher -- maybe he's the better glove, I have no idea, but given Fletcher came up and raked and he is likely a part of the future in some capacity it's nuts that Fontana got a start over him. This shouldn't be a situation where they are auditioning both players -- Fontanta isn't a starter, will never be a starter, shouldnt be groomed to be a starter. Fletcher wasn't supposed to be either but something clicked this year and it's in the best interest of the team to ride that shit out and see if he CAN be a starter at the highest level. In conclusion. Dear MS...

Pure greatness!

Bail money.... Have it ready

Angel fans have it pretty easy compared to the rest of MLB -- particularly when you consider what people earn elsewhere... https://www.statista.com/statistics/202611/fan-cost-index-of-the-major-league-baseball/

LOL -- to be fair -- that info is at the top of the MISC info stat link I posted...

Toronto is the biggest offender -- their attendance is down over 11K per game from last year -- Marlins are next at 10K fewer than last year. KC, Baltimore, Pitt and Detroit are all down 5K or more per game. Pitt sold off Cutch. KC made no real effort to retain it's FAs. Detroit started their sell off last year... So yeah -- people won't go watch tank jobs.. But Derek Jeter knows best...

Lots of games early in the season took place under awful weather and had horrid attendance. A couple weeks ago there were only like 4 teams with better year over year attendance.. Now it's up to 11 teams and the bandwagon in Seattle will do what they always do when one of their teams does well. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2018-misc.shtml School is out -- summer is coming... attendance will inch back up.

Some weird shit going on early in the season there -- the league average ERA is over 4.50.... The average runs scored per game is at 5.98...

Lol.... The Mariner fan would rather Dipoto was still the Angels GM....

I Loled

I tried to find a more absolute answer and couldnt. But that's what I'm thinking too.

I just read a piece the other day that said undrafted players who have exhausted all college eligibility are considered regular FAs... I've always wondered how this works and not sure what the definitive answer is.

Wasn't trying to misquote you. Sorry if I misunderstood what you wrote LOL.. The Cubs plan took 7 years, and five 87+ loss seasons to get them back to the postseason. The Astros plan took 10 years and seven 86+ loss seasons to get there. Please enlighten me -- why is that a better plan than what Eppler is doing? Does being a bigger loser for longer make you a better winner? Beyond that -- the Cubs and Astros model can't really be replicated anymore, the draft and international game has been completely redone IMO as much to deter teams from doing the full tank job as it was to create better balance. The fact is you're ignorant of the plan and not a case of there not being one. Right now it's looking like the team is well of ahead of where ANYONE could have hoped for at this point -- they have gotten incredibly lucky with some picks, seen some guys rise that NOBODY saw coming and have restored organizational depth at the lower levels. David Fletcher and Luis Rengifo alone have made for a rapid organizational improvement and neither one of them is really thought of as one of our best prospects. You're looking at the MLB team and doing your usual kneejerk reaction then applying it to the franchise as a whole.. there is nothing new in your take. But the situation is a lot better off than they were last year and that would be true even if they had a worse record than last years (they don't). As hard as it for some to believe the window is opening, not closing... What is it you care more about -- the team building a winner with Mike Trout or the team not looking stupid? I have no clue what Trout is thinking, nobody here does. But Im willing to bet he is more clued in to where this team is going than anyone on this board. Gutting the long term health of the franchise to try "pretend" they are trying is easily the worst thing this team could do. The "non plan" is coming together.. Trust the process.

Angels have had success with guys from Grand Canyon University... Chad Curtis and Tim Salmon.

Matt Shoemaker off the top of my head. Check this list from last year of the ALL TIME undrafteds... https://www.mlb.com/news/all-undrafted-team-includes-many-star-players/c-236581256

More talking -- but still no vote. Meow.... It's hilarious that you talk about them going Cubs and Astros -- you're the same guy that said he couldn't get into the Angels when you were a kid because why bother (they were bad). You couldn't handle a full rebuild.. I mean, you are having a meltdown in June.

They got caught ripping off kids and lost the faith of everyone on the Island... The handlers and everyone else just wanted no part of the Angels because they felt they were dirty and couldn't be trusted. The carryover from the Daniels fiasco was pretty ugly.