Inside Pitch

Third base.. If this team believes Giovatella can hold down 2B then they may want to consider whether or not HK can play third. Look at the available FAs and the in house options -- hard to argue HK isn't better.

Jim Bowden.. former GM Reds..... and Nationals.

I don't know that he had a track record on his own to merit a big bat -- but he's a guy that a smart team would insist on being a throw in knowing full well he may end up the best player moved in the deal -- ala Grichuk.

It's probably a safe bet that if the Angels do make a trade, Bill Stoneman will have very little to do with it. Good question.

I think I went permanently limp....

To be clear -- I think he's good at putting together people who are good at doing their jobs. Seems like JD did a lot of things right, had a lot of good people in place -- Fletcher has pretty much confirmed that Stoney is just keeping the seat warm. All is well.

So much win and narrative destruction ....

must.... undo...... the.... jinx..... thread......

I've heard some crappy stuff about Servais -- but mostly from people outside of the Angels org, and no idea if its based on professional envy or personality clashes. In both cases the people actually praised him baseball smarts wise.

Dvol I responded to your post -- but was aiming at the greater narrative.. Not saying you made any pointed criticisms or the sort. More often than not I'd get frustrated when we didn't get a deal done only to be happy we didn't after the season ended. I'm actually struggling to think of a non trade deadline deal from that era that hurt us.. Alfonseca plus for K-Rod would have robbed the team of one of its best pieces that postseason. You look at those 2004-07 teams and while in most cases they could have used some extra pop -- they were pretty solid teams top to bottom...

Do you even remember some of the deadline deals people wanted? You know.. like Alfonseca for Krod and others? People were all over him for refusing to trade off a kid in AA ball for a "proven closer". His lack of trades at the deadline wasn't a bad thing, in most cases he simply believed the better player was already in the system. I'd sooner fault him for failing to make offseason trades that would have helped the team long term than refusal to do rentals. That's a legit criticism albeit mostly because of the one super-trade that didn't happen. Everyone talks about his failure to make the trade for Cabrera while at the same time completely forgetting how he passed on trading for Tejada, a guy that Arte Moreno was openly fond of.... That non-trade was a pure win. But yeah -- he's a pawn now...

You realize you are basically describing a young Bill Stoneman... Right? People have this idea that Bill Stoneman is this antiquated GM with nary an idea of how to integrate numbers... The dude was a finance guy. Math was his life post baseball and numbers were an integral part of his chosen profession. The fact that he took that education and combined it with his first career shouldn't be lost on people. He's openly admitted to not being up to speed on the newest metrics -- but do you really expect a guy with a degree in finance to struggle with or scoff at metrics? More importantly -- Bill Stoneman's greatest attribute while he was GM of the Angels was his willingness to trust the people he surrounded himself with. As I mentioned previously, he is the guy that hand picked Dave Dombrowski, Jim Beattie, and Dan Duquette to GM the Expos... His ability to spot ability in others may be the single most important thing he brings to the process currently. If Klentak has the goods, I trust Stoneman to see it and be willing to hand him the reigns...

The issue is his walk rate and his unwillingness to take pitches... Considering his batting average fuels his OBP he's just a poor choice for a leadoff hitter. Dangerous as some feel it is to jump too deeply into the stats, it's completely ignorant to gloss over predictive rates/stats in favor of gut feel and personal feelings. As a bottom of the order hitter he's fine.. As a AL leadoff hitter he's a weak fit. (But that's where they would use him if they get him). It's funny because some of the people bemoaning the loss of Dipoto are the ones pushing hardest for Revere. A move that spits in the face of sabermetric analysis and screams old school.

Nothing says true leadoff hitter like a guy with a career walk percentage of 4.4%. Looking at the bright side, he's currently enjoying a career high in that department -- a robust 5.4% Meanwhile, a guy who many here feel doesn't walk enough to even be an everyday player (Randal Grichuk), is sporting a walk rate of 5.0%. Revere doesn't take pitches either.... Career P/PA of 3.58. Revere is someone you bat at the bottom of the order, not the top.

LOL... Bill Stoneman has gone on record as saying it's a temporary job for him -- nothing else. He doesn't want the full time job, he's turned down the GM gig many many times in the course of his baseball career before finally taking the job in Anaheim.. My guess is he's here to help the team decide who the next GM is among the two in house candidates.

So for those keeping track... Skaggs, Richards, Santiago, and now Heaney are all Butcher success stories.... Long live the Kazmir narrative.

Mr. Babip showed up.... asked if the team missed him.

I LOLed.....

I think you nailed it -- whats more, I think the psuedo saber types are more inclined to argue what's a clutch hitter and lineup protection than the people deep into it.

Your contrarian is showing.

The best part is the data is collected from the same exact source -- Statcorner.

So your umpiring is based on subjective information, not a strike zone that should be constant. That's why pitchfx has led to the pitch framing "revolution" and why the head coach at one of college's most successful programs just shrugs his shoulders

There is nothing suspect about it -- players can and do improve their games. Pitch framing is something that's become more relevant since the advent of pitchfx. When I asked Mark Marquess of Stanford if it was something they were working on at the college level he said that as much as they would love to, they lack the data to grade out the framing. He states that while they do work at positioning and their placement, the eye test does little to help in this case because there is greater variance in how the strike zone is called at the collegiate level. Lineup protection like the myth of the clutch hitter are things the saber community fought way too hard at it -- in some ways the two theories are connected. Both arguments are built on the idea that players will perform to their established levels of performance regardless of the variables.

You always have to look at the neutral park numbers when talking about anyone from an extreme ballpark. Dickerson looks like a Coors creation.

Even if a trade happens now, it won't be because of Stoneman, I don't think he's running the show so much as keeping the office warm. I think Stoneman may be here to get a look at the two guys they are looking to as potential candidates to replace Dipoto.. If the Angels make a trade it will be because Servais or Klentak worked the deal IMO.