California Cajun

9 hours ago, CALZONE said:

Dude, did the bear trap snap on your wig-wag?

I guess I could have expressed the point in more delicate fashion.

On Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 5:24 AM, Billy_Ball said:

Time to re-assert your dedication and persistence because your team is out of the conversation in terms of a signature team and relevance.   Let's get back in the conversation. 

31 minutes ago, stormngt said:

You can speculate that if you want.  Fact is you don't know what Trout is thinking.  He says he is happy with the Angels and he seems happy by his attitude so I am "guessing " he isn't saying "what was I thinking of asking for 13 years.

 

It is true Trout may want to play for a team that has a better chance of winning a World Series or may want to play for an easy coast team.  We don't know.  However that is more the reason to not wait to long to get the negotiations started again.  The Angels have an advantage right now.  You don't want to wait until the last year because anything (including  career ending injury) can happen during the next for years and only the Angels can guarantee him a big payday until age 40.  No other team can do that because he could get injured during the next four years.  

Do it. Get it done. Put the Angels on the map. Devote all time, talent, and treasures to get it done. This is your tIme Angels.  Make your mark. Get a ring for the best player in baseball surrounded by the best team in baseball. It's our time, our legacy. Don't pass this up for the sake of a spreadsheet! Do it Buttercup!  No excuses!

8 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Maybe Trout's fiance really likes living in Newport Beach.

My point exactly.  The Angels can do a lot to cultivate his love for Southern California long before it's time to renew the contract.  I trust they will.

3 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Anyone that defends his defense hasn't watched a single game. His throws are awful. I mean, there's many that are even dug out of the dirt as well. 

That's what I mean when I say that recent Angel teams have been piecemealed together.  Better production than the last guy who played the position but improvement still needed.

4 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

The Angels fans that say they will no longer be Angels fans if Trout leaves are failos. If Trout ever leaves it will be a personal decision that we shouldn't take personal. When Gretzky was traded to the Kings the Oilers owner received death threats. That's how stupid some fans can be about their favorite players. We have no idea about what's going on internally. Maybe nothing!

I've been a fan for over 50 years and I agonized over losing Bobby Knoop, so it will kill me to lose Trout.  Lots of superstars are obnoxious and the fact Trout is a great ambassador to the game and certainly the greatest Halo I've ever seen will make me pretty upset if the Angels don't retain his services.  I think they will because he's our Ted Williams,  Mickey Mantle, George Brett, you know the franchise player every team had but ours before he came along.

My first game at the Big A was against the Yankees and Mickey Mantle got more ovation than any of the Angels.

Wayne Gretzky wasn't a baseball player.  Phil Silvers named his character "Bilko" after the PCL Angels Steve Bilko.

If Arte Moreno can't handle Mike Trout with the same reverence Silvers showed for Bilko, he might as well have a bear trap snap on his wig-wag while Angel Stadium entertains the crowd to another rendition of Buttercup. 

I've had two heroes in all those years of devotion to the Angels.  First was Jim Fregosi.  Second is the greatest Angel of them all, Mike Trout.  Get this one right Arte.

1 hour ago, zenmaster said:

We last won a playoff game nearly EIGHT years ago. We have the 11th highest payroll (last I checked), the best player in the game and quite possibly one of the best players to ever take the field and we just stagnate, like a filthy swimming pool that hasn't been cleaned in more than a decade. I'm frankly tired of this team and I usually am very patient in general. I say blow this team up. Nothing, no one is safe. Not even Trout. But mainly only because I almost feel bad for him that he’s stuck in such a crappy situation with very little hope for winning in the near future. A part of me wants to see him go elsewhere and shine, and win, as painful as it would be to see. I don’t like feeling like this but this team is just a disaster. I don’t care if getting rid of our skipper isn’t what the stats tell us we should do or whatever. This team needs big changes and I am perfectly fine at this point of making changes just for the sake of mixing things up, because this team is boring and stagnant. I'm going to go have coffee now.

I had two cups.  It's pretty obvious to me that the Angels don't want to lose Trout, so they piecemeal a team together every year and are waiting for some salaries to clear the books before they do anything drastic.  

The pitching injuries aren't the Angels fault and it's the main reason they're marginal.  You improve LF and 2B, then Richards and Street go on the 60 day DL.

I don't ever want to lose Trout and Simmons.   But having said that I'm in favor of hitting the reset button because I dont think we have a World Series team.  Certainly not the team we had in 2002-2009.

My guess is that the Angels will let Scioscia's contract expire and they will rebuild as quietly as possible, and do what it takes to keep Trout.  At least I think they need to rebuild and field a team that consists of more than spare parts.

Regardless how the Angels have performed to this point, they have better ability among the position players.  The pitching will make or break the season, largely due to injuries.   Look at any major league team with the equivalent of Richards, Heaney, and Tropeano unavailable for possibly the whole season and there would be a problem. 

I am not oblivious to the Angels being in the crosshairs between being World Series caliber and winning a WS for Trout, but what can anybody do about it?  I think Eppler is doing a yeoman's job acquiring talent and trying to get talent other organizations have given up on.  He's also hiring people who are trying to figure out how to avoid Tommy John surgeries.   I really don't know what more we can do with the cards we have now.

What I sense is that this group here consists of a lot of Angel lifers and we'll eventually figure something out. 

Look at the bobble heads I posted from the antique store and I don't think people will wonder why we aren't as good than in earlier years.   We need to develop a better team.

No not a bobble head fan

Saw it at a local trading post. The guy didn't remember where he got it.

If he turns out to be out for the season, he might need to get Tommy John surgery rather than suffering other injuries in trying to avoid it.

¡Este tipo de Hamilton era un fiasco grande y grande!

(This Hamilton dude was a big, big fiasco!)

First time I have seen a picture of Jeff Mathis used in reminiscing about the good old days.

Maybe the Angels should go back to black belts and black shoes.  Make the manager wear a uniform like the players.  

Pitchers are fragile, particularly those that avoid surgery after UCL tears.  We can't feel comfortable with this.  I'm hopeful that the offense is improved enough so we don't need a masterpiece every outing.  The pitchers have had to be too careful.

Pujols goes for homers to avoid running the Angels into outs.  

Give me a postseason win Oct. 8

If the Angels pitching comes through we've apparently got the offense this year.  A pitcher needs to be able to have a few bad nights and still have a shot to win.  

The last couple of years you may have 2-3 guys get hits all night.

4 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Hope you have a great day, @Lou.

 

How great it is to have an offense!

Slightly off the subject, but the all-white unis look so much better.

Great play at 1st by Cron.

Why can't they wear white and gray tops at least most of the time?  Tired of the red tops!

11 hours ago, martinpa25 said:

I've noticed more teams have made the move to use matt finished helmets, wondering if the Angels will switch from the gloss finished helmets...?

Like the gloss better.

8 hours ago, CALZONE said:

Yes because our Angels medical staff is known to be the best in the business. That and the dugout MRI machine provided a solid diagnosis. 

Experience is the best teacher.  The Angel doctors have seen more than their share of hurt pitchers.