John Stellman

Chacin should be followed by Lincecum and Weaver. That would give the Angels a good, solid 75-man bullpen!

I hope he's also leaning towards retirement.

I hope he's also leaning towards retirement.

I hope he's also leaning towards retirement.

I hope he's also leaning towards retirement.

I'm coming to believe that Napoli might have been the biggest loss for the Angels, after seeing how much better Texas, Boston, and Cleveland got after he joined the team.  Kind of like Dave Henderson and Don Baylor made the teams better they joined in the 80s.

ANAHEIM – Although his team is languishing far out of contention, Angels general manager Billy Eppler is saying all the right things.
Or, depending on your perspective, all the wrong things.
Eppler held court with reporters before Tuesday night’s game against the Houston Astros and said he doesn’t see a scenario in which the team would go into an all-out rebuilding phase.
“With the position of this organization and the financial strengths of this organization, it’s not in the DNA here to rebuild,” Eppler said. “We’ll continue to invest. We’ll continue to invest throughout this season, with a mind for this season, with a mind for the future and this winter with a mind towards competing and contending year in and year out.”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/contention-720869-right-depending.html

I don't care what his average is as long as he hits his usual 40 something home runs and drives in somewhere around 100 runs.

5 RBI tonight, hitting .251 now.
Onwards and upwards motherfuckers.

According to MLB.com is hitting .552 with a 1.652 OPS and 10 runs scored over his last 7 games.(29 at bats) 
 
holy crap!! 

The rate our Halos going -- I think headed for an 87 to 88 game loss season -- we're bound to be sellers and not buyers at trade deadline time -- which is creeping up on us.
We could consider this a 're-building' year but I don't see much 'building' for the future going on and it looks like we're stuck on a treadmill of being a mediocre also ran for the foreseeable future (which in MLB is about three years these days).
Who's gone come deadline time?  Street, Smith, Shoemaker, Calhoun (gotta give up something to get pitching prospects), Can we even unload CJ Wilson (doubtful), Other than those listed we don't have much to give and Santiago -- once our rising value trade guy -- seems to be dropping in value with each start now........
I don't know folks -- my crystal ball sees a lot of empty seats in the hot Anaheim sun come July, August and September.
Trout -- the best player in MLB - albeit one without a supporting cast -- and Pujols' slow march to 600 HRs is about the only excitement going to be generated at the Big A this summer.
 

Since April 18th
Avg .297 HR 6 2B 13 OBP .343 SLG .478 (200 PA)
Since April 26th
Avg .301 HR 5 2B 13 OBP .345 SLG .485 (179 PA)
 
His strikeout/walk rates are trending in the right direction as well. 
2014 24.1%/4.0%
2015 20.3%/4.2%
2016 15.1%/6.5%
 
Not the biggest sample size but a potential bright spot in this dreadful season. 

Have the ESPN Giants/Rockies game on and Grant Green made a nifty defensive play to get Trevor Story out at first and, after the challenge call, they began heading to commercial and one of the ESPN commentators said, regarding his defense, "that is why he's in the lineup today".

He makes sure everyone can see that he is unhappy with his catcher, who allowed a passed ball.
And then Billy Hamilton sees that Lackey didn't move off the mound, and scores from second.
 
http://deadspin.com/bill-hamilton-scored-from-second-on-a-passed-ball-1783142786
 

The amount of errors they make on the bases is mindboggling. 

http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/inside-baseball-with-jon-heyman/yankee-intrigue-trade-gap-arod/
Story heard about the Albert Pujols deal: The Angels were at $160 million, when Arte Moreno went to $200 million on a phone call with agent Dan Lozano. And when Lozano told him he couldn’t have an answer for him at this time because he hadn’t spoken to Pujols, Moreno abruptly bumped it to $240 million. Then Lozano gave him his answer: Yes
Guess that's one way to get someone to sign.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20160704&content_id=187841674&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb
Nate Smith made his Pacific Coast League debut with Salt Lake late last season.
It did not go well as Smith went 2-4 with a 7.75 ERA in seven starts. But he said it did impart some valuable lessons.
"I learned a lot from it, took that into the offseason and then obviously into this season," Smith said. "Working with pitching coach Pat Rice, who's filling in for Erik Bennett, he's been my pitching coach for the past two years, so it's nice to have him a third year. You just kind of pick up where you left off, just working on keeping the ball down and just reading hitters better."
Using what he learned, the Angels' third-ranked prospect is 5-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 14 starts this year, numbers good enough to earn a spot at the All-Star Futures Game.
"Obviously, it's an honor," Smith said. "I'm proud to represent the Angels. I'm humbled that they gave me an opportunity. I found out a couple days ago. The hard part was keeping it a secret; they told me not to tell anybody. It's exciting."
Smith said he expects his parents to make it out to the game in San Diego on July 10 but otherwise is looking forward to the experience of going up against some of the best prospects in the game.
"Definitely, I look forward to facing them, and not just that but hanging out with them, too," Smith said. "I know a handful of people, but I look forward to meeting some new guys and making some new relationships."
Lately, Smith has had a good relationship with the hitter-friendly PCL.
"Like I said, [the key is] keeping the ball down," he said. "The ball flies in a lot of these parks. Learning how to read hitters better, their swings, what their approaches are. Learning how to pitch with what I have, [pitch] sequences, things like that."
A 2013 13th-round pick out of Furman, Smith has moved steadily up the ladder, learning more and more at each stop. One of the biggest lessons has been in coming up with a good plan for each hitter he faces.
"It's been interesting," Smith said. "It's kind of like playing chess, almost. You've got to think, 'What's his strengths, what are my strengths, what are his weaknesses?' Sometimes you've got to do your best and hope for the best."
One thing Smith hasn't worried about is how many analysts have pegged the Angels as having the Majors' worst farm system.
"That's out of our control, it's just another person's opinion," he said. "Everyone in this locker room is confident in their abilities. When you're out on the field, it doesn't matter what someone ranks someone else. You're trying to put bread on your table. You're trying to win. You've got to do whatever you can."

Also be amazed at the great shape Pujols is in!

It doesn't happen often
MLB 4-2
AAA 17-6
AA 12-2
A+ 5-2
A 2-1
Rookie Orem 7-6
Rookie AZL 7-5
DSL 27-1
 
The dominican team almost pulled it out in a nail biter.  
Overall, 81-25.  Tough day.  

Mike Trout (OBVIOUSLY!), Kole Calhoun (Gold Glover), Andrelton Simmons (dWAR leader last 3 years), Albert Pujols ($24M/year contract?), Garrett Richards (top of the rotation starter), Andrew Heaney (top of the rotation potential) and Huston Street (closer deluxe).

Mike Trout (OBVIOUSLY!), Kole Calhoun (Gold Glover), Andrelton Simmons (dWAR leader last 3 years), Albert Pujols ($24M/year contract?), Garrett Richards (top of the rotation starter), Andrew Heaney (top of the rotation potential) and Huston Street (closer deluxe).

The "Arson Squads" of the early '70's would give this collection a run for their money.

The "Arson Squads" of the early '70's would give this collection a run for their money.

Panic can't set in.  The Angels still have some pieces on which to build a solid foundation. They should do some tweaking at the trade deadline but no "Fire Sale".