bruin5

15 hours ago, Trendon said:

Perhaps more important than the $1.2M, it'd be a horrible look to agents/players if the Angels told a guy he was gonna be the 4th outfielder and then cut him before the season starts.

That's the kind of thing that'd give you a bad rep among agents/players around the league and make players not want to sign here in the future.

So, you’re saying the Angels should live with this situation (assuming he hits like Velasquez) so that they can attract a 4th outfielder next year? 

The NBA re-upped their agreement with Diamond sports. However, it was just a re-up of their existing agreement that has to be approved year by year. There are also 15 clauses in the contract which can cause termination. 2 of them are filing bankruptcy, and missing a payment. 

Sinclair is looking to retain a 5% state and sell the debt of $9 billion to a new ownership group. 

NBA and Diamond Sports renew agreement

10 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Makes me wonder if Diamond is hoping the MLB walks away.  I mean, just out of three teams.  I  think from past things I've read, Ducks $25 million, Clippers $60 million, Angels $150 million.  That's a lot of savings for Diamond.  Almost a 2/3 cut.  They could probably fill the summer with Soccer for a lot less than they are paying the Angels, and probably get more viewers.  

They could do that, but then they have changed the terms of their contract with the providers, so I’m sure they would be dropped by the few remaining operators (at least in LA) that carry them.

I think the 2021 draft class is undervalued but that’s just me. Law mentions Silseth, but there is also Bush, Bachman, and Joyce. Unfortunately, Minasian couldn’t follow the “best available talent without regard to position” guidelines because Eppler left the farm system pretty barren in terms of pitching depth. 

I’d be interested to see how the Dodgers and Giants compare to the Angels in results to date for that draft. 

15 hours ago, Hubs said:

And once again, from the fangraphs article:

 

I don’t mean to say that the sports media rights bubble will never burst. That question seems unanswerable to me today; it’s certainly a possibility, but that was going to be the case whether or not the Diamond Sports Group transaction fell apart. That doesn’t make what happened any less objectionable, or the use of leveraged buyouts to arbitrarily add default risk to any random business less annoying. Fox Sports Network was a completely fine business before Disney was forced to sell it for regulatory reasons; the big problem here was the debt. I think it’s likely that broadcasting sports on regional networks is less lucrative now than it was in 2019, but well, duh. That doesn’t mean it’s suddenly unprofitable; it just means that the particular structure that Sinclair used to spend $10 billion when they only had $2 billion on hand didn’t work out.

Debt was the majority of the problem. At the time of sale there were many criticisms that Sinclair overpaid. 

However, once they purchased the assets, Sinclair/Diamond overvalued their service and immediately increased the rates they charged the carriers. Someone mentioned Frontier not carrying, Dish dropped them, and I don’t think any streamer picked them up. Spectrum and Direct are the only ones that still carry (for now). That’s a lot of revenue left behind.

15 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

 

I just looked at the googles, and realized that pretty much the entire area around Sofi is parking.  They could easily fit a baseball stadium there.  

And again, the Chargers didn't care, and I would think they had as big of a fan base as the Angels have, and made up for the lost fanbase.  Let's not forget the Rams moving or the Raiders moving.   As long as they get eyes on the TV and butts in the seats, they don't care about loyalty.  And judging by the tv ratings, and the number of people that I see in the stadium currently in Anaheim.  A denser population would probably make up for it.

Cool. Looking forward to paying $100 to park the car. And also to traveling on the 405 at 6pm to get to the game…

Yes. Always need depth. And, if our pitching comes through and our minor leaguers are effective at the major league level you can always trade that extra pitcher at the deadline for a prospect(s) because pretty much all teams end up having some type of pitching need. 

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. 

8 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

disagree on this.  Why would you sign a guy to a multi year contract and make that level of commitment only to switch gears 6 months later?  This speaks of discord in the front office of what the plan is/should be and tells us that Minasian wasn't on board with it.  If they routinely treat recently signed free agents as such, it's not a good optic for future people who may have interest.  

 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.  

38 minutes ago, Rollinghard said:

 Here is the thing with analytics. Lets say the analytics indicate a player takes strike one 79% of the time or cant hit high heat. Both the sides know this and players can make adjustments. So analytics are driving the players to make adjustments. Like Ward did. I think       

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. 

1 minute ago, Blarg said:

Lacheman's son used his father as his source. Marcel left the Angels in the beginning of August. That well is probably dry. 

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. 

2 hours ago, OttoDog said:

He was interested in a soccer team.

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

4 hours ago, Hubs said:

It will likely be an ownership group, and one name to watch is Theo Epstein. He's been rumored to want a Stan Kasten type deal, and though many fault Moreno for the many issues he has, it's not that he's a bad owner, he's a bad baseball guy and hasn't understood team organization and baseball decisions. Scioscia was the baseball guy in the clubhouse for 19 years, 15 under Moreno. While there were GM problems and bad decisions, not having a baseball mind in charge of the organization is the real problem, and its been exposed under the DiPoto and Eppler GM.

Stoneman also was a huge guiding influence on Moreno's early years.

But, if Epstein is interested, you have to talk to him if you're a big money guy, like Ballmer or Cuban, or others.

From wikipedia....Stan Kasten

Stan Kasten (born February 1, 1952, in Lakewood Township, New Jersey) is the former president of the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, and the current president and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Long involved in Atlanta professional sports, he also served as general manager of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and president of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.

A native of New Jersey, Mr. Kasten became the youngest NBA general manager in 1979 when he joined the Atlanta Hawks at age 27. In 1986 he took over as president of both the Hawks and Ted Turner 's other franchise, the Atlanta Braves, where he stayed until 2003. He landed in Washington in 2006 as president of the Nationals franchise, stepping down after the 2010 season.^[25]

He has won two NBA Executive of the Year awards, three NBA division titles, and, with the Braves, 12 baseball division titles, five National League pennants and one World Series Championship.^[25]

 

This is what the Angels need. And Epstein is perfect for the job. He knows what an organization needs to be successful. Perry can stay as GM, Epstein president. He can hire scouts and improve the farm, and build a new ballpark, and Perry can handle the day to day with someone like Epstein to guide him.

I heard this on 710, from John Ireland, who said this is something Epstein has been after and if that's true, then it needs to happen.

 

 

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