bruin5

I would be happy just standing pat at SS. The combo of Fletcher/Soto is definitely serviceable and will provide a WAR increase over last year. However, I look at them both as placeholders because I can see Neto being called up next year. I think he has the ability and the mental make up to help the Angels next year. I don’t want us to trade pitching for a one or two year guy. We need that depth in the minors because you know we will need to tap into it at some point.

I did a random search of Angels top prospect lists where Jo Adell was listed. The descriptions talked about his power and speed, but none of them that I read talked about his defense. If it was average I’d understand but it had to have been even worse than it is now as he worked his way through the minors. One even talked about what a great outfield they’d have with Adell playing next to Trout. I may have been the only one surprised that he was so bad defensively…

With all the other moves I believe we can work around SS for part of the year with Fletcher and Soto. I think Neto will be a viable option after spending a few weeks at AAA. I also think Rengifo is a viable starter at 2B. I’ve always been a fan of his. We could even make do with Squid if he only hits RH. My priority is Shohei.

You mean that Syndegaard and Iglesias would be angry after getting shipped to playoff teams? In mid season trades it’s normally contenders looking for players to plug a hole. Players know this is always a possibility.

With every new excerpt from his book, my respect and faith in Minasian grows stronger. Maddon is so out of touch that he doesn’t realize his comments make him look like a bitter dinosaur in today’s baseball world.

Thus the need to ban the shift….

I’d let SS be a competition between Soto, Fletcher, Rengifo, and whatever utility guy they bring in. I think Neto will be a good one, and I don’t see us affording the top tier SS’s or the need to pay someone for 3 to 5 years. I would spend on a good corner OF, to give flexibility to Ward to play 1B against lefties if needed. With the removal of the shift, and better health, Walsh should have a much better year. A number 2 or 3 starter is badly needed, and I would sign a good relief pitcher. I wouldn’t pay for a closer because I think they are overvalued. These moves are all based on the owner wanting to stay within the salary cap and re-signing Ohtani.

Interesting. When he interviews for a GM job I wonder if he will frame it exactly like this.

It was sarcasm, probably bad sarcasm. On the topic of ownership, I would think that at some point prospective owners would want to reach out to the city regarding development of the parking lot. That’s an issue that probably doesn’t come up in most sales but it could be a very attractive opportunity for the right buyer. Of course, when you talk to a politician you are just asking for information to be leaked.

It’s not unusual in this type of sale involving billions that it doesn’t benefit anyone to leak any information until a deal is pretty much done. Of course, Lacheman’s son may have some update since he’s privy to all that goes on with the Angels.

Wait, is Alex Tamlin responsible for bad hitting as well as the bullpen? Apparently Marcel Lacheman doesn’t like Tamlin as well. It’s like watching the Matt Keogh character in Moneyball. Also feels like the baseball “veterans” are closing ranks….

Lyman Bostock

If Arte hasn’t talked to the media in 2 or 3 years why would he talk this year when he is in process of selling the team? What’s he going to say, something like, “yes, I’m disappointed with the performance of the team but it’s going to be someone else’s problem so all of you, especially Sam Blum, can F off”,

I was becoming a fan of Minasian before because of the way he’s really improved the farm in the last couple of years. This takes it to a whole different level. I am sure that one of the reason he was hired was to replicated the Braves approach to all things baseball. That seems like a good thing to me. The responsibility for overall team and organizational performance falls on him, not Maddon. Maddon’s problem is that he thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room and that he was hired for his coaching instincts. Kudos to Minasian for having to balls to can his ass.

Can you imagine any player today offering to give back money to make up for poor performance? That right there was enough to make me really admire him. They he started raking, and then he picked off Reggie Jackson at first after he made a wide turn. Just a natural hitter, good defensively, a really well loved teammate, and great person. It makes me sad that we didn’t get to see him play a lot longer.

Nevin’s contract isn’t the issue. He’s not going to be paid much to begin with and he won’t get multiple years. The issue is that you can’t recruit good coaches based on the uncertainty, especially a hitting coach. It’s better to let Minasian make a hire, which will probably not be a former manager but rather a good assistant coach on another team who is comfortable with using analytics. If an owner is paying 2 billion, buying out a manager’s contract wouldn’t be a stumbling block.

That was a joke made by Elon. It was in response to a question about him buying Man United.

I was excited about this until the very last sentence….

Arte is definitely going to squeeze more money out of Bally. It’s not the Angels fault that Bally could not secure a deal with Dish and most of the live streaming services. And, the numbers I saw, they will be charging much more than they get from those services.

Will Wilson, 2019. It wasn’t that he was a bad pick, it was more about the team needing pitching far more than a SS at that time. And, IIRC, it was thought that he was more a 2B than a SS. And then, he gets traded to SF along with Cozart. It was the actual trade that started turning me off on Eppler because he basically wasted a first round pick. I’ve always thought there had to be a backstory there, more than SF having to take over Cozart’s contract.

I’m on the optimistic side. Minasian, in two drafts, has added a great deal of needed depth and talent to the farm system. The Trash Pandas roster is better than anything DiPoto or Eppler ever put together. Minasian seems to have a much better feel for the longer term needs of the organization and has addressed the need to develop depth in pitching and catchers. The glaring hole right now is outfield talent and depth which is something that Eppler seemed to be focused on and which has not panned out as of yet. Of course, we’re talking about prospects but at least we’re seeing an upward trend in our ML talent. We have a potential SS in Neto, and Rengifo (and Eppler acquisition) has showed signs that he belongs. 1B, corner outfielders, and a league average SS on a short contract should be a big focus in the offseason. He also needs to cull the deadwood on the 40 man. I’m in the trade Shohei camp as the return in viable prospects should be good. Given Trout’s and Rendon’s health issues building and spending on a roster to compete for the playoffs next year seems to be a fools errand right now.

I totally agree. Get players used to being winners. Rocket City won the first half of the league and is one game behind the Cub’s affiliate in their division.

Got it. I read it wrong. It’s still very early, but I’m more confident in Minasian’s drafts than Eppler’s, mostly because there is the potential for more immediate help. And, at least Minasian had the balls to drop Albert and Upton which is hard to imagine Eppler doing. For whatever reason, I feel like Arte is a bit more hands off with Minasian.

Out of curiosity, why do you think he would have traded his prospects? And, I think the jury is definitely out that he was smarter.

I’m not sure that Eppler makes that trade, or one involving Adell. GM’s can become very invested in their draft picks.