California Cajun

What I don't like are the overuse of the A:
1. Cap- ok
2. Jersey - ok
3. Right sleeve- overkill
4. Left sleeve - overkill
5. Right red sock when pulled up- overkill
6. Left red sock when pulled up- overkill

At some point you have to stop chasing. If he chooses to play for Seattle or San Diego and not us it’s more about our organizational structure then anything else. We have a 50+ year old non-iconic stadium and spring training facilities. We’re still on his list so let’s see what happens. I just don’t want Eppler to ship off anymore prospects for an uncertain situation. 

Well I read numerous posts here suggesting crazy acquisition after crazy acquisition. Many post suggest that Arte can afford to spend on Trout, Stanton, Gordon, Moustakas and even a few more saying that Arte should have no problem going over the luxury tax threshold. Is Arte’s wealth your wealth? 
I’m not a name caller here but buffoon should be saved for all of the people who still believe in Santa Claus. I’m not buying that Arte is going to spend a lot more money on guys like Stanton, Mouse or Hosmer because the fans want him to. He has the best player in the world in his lineup and he’s going to run with that. The fans will still be there. 
Remember that this thread is about locking down Trout. That’s all the fans really care about.

And yet what the Angels really need, since they have no talent at all at the position, is a second baseman.  

No idea.
My only prediction is that Eppler makes enough moves to improve the team and increase their wildcard chances, but not enough to bankrupt the farm. I think he's looking at trying to make this an 85-90 win team next year, not a 90+ win team, hoping instead that a more prudent approach will return the Angels to a perennial contender (90+ wins) in two or three years.
My hope is that he manages a Cesar Hernandez deal - a player that kills two birds with one stone: high OBP leadoff and 2B. But that would require some serious talent loss, so I see it as unlikely. 
My second hope is that he doesn't sign any of Hosmer, Moustakas, Morrison, or any other over-priced non-stars. But I suspect he goes after one of those three, which is unfortunate. I'd rather see a better value signing like Santana, or a trade for Brandon Belt.
 
 

I think the Angels have the right hire in Eppler and his recommendations will give us the best possible team.

I think the Angels have the right hire in Eppler and his recommendations will give us the best possible team.

The killer is that Scott Boras is his agent and I have a strong feeling that SB is on Moreno's permanent shit list. Could be totally wrong but whatever Boras did it may be unforgivable.

For Lee and Charles:  
 

I used that board 15 years and there were definitely a few people who had an agenda, even if it was just their own sense of self-importance.  My only regret about it’s closing is that a few didn’t find their way here.
 

I used that board 15 years and there were definitely a few people who had an agenda, even if it was just their own sense of self-importance.  My only regret about it’s closing is that a few didn’t find their way here.
 

The problem with Arte is that he continues to count the same three million fans at the end of the season. Any additional revenue from new butts in the seats may not offset the cost for a Stanton plus a few more pieces. He’s already making bank.
Additionally Arte’s been down that path before and he probably doesn’t fully trust investing big in players anymore. Did he really turn down Trout on a more lucrative long term deal? 
If Arte has that kind of money and commitment to win then he can afford to send Pujols packing now.

I just came across this article, & remembered your post from last night...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/?utm_content=buffer74167&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#FR9Ad3jYdXECzfZR.97
Expansion Could Trigger Realignment, Longer Postseason
October 16, 2017 By Tracy Ringolsby
  Ever since the Expos moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005, there has been an ongoing movement in the Canadian city to regain a major league franchise. There has even been talk of support for building a ballpark downtown, which was one of the missing ingredients that led to the Expos' departure.
In September, the folks in Portland, Ore., were given hope that they, too, could be home to an expansion team when commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking in Seattle, for the second year in a row mentioned Portland as a potential site for a franchise, and was quoted as saying "a team in the West" would be a part of any expansion.
And there is a legitimate ownership group in Portland that has the necessary financing along with support for a stadium, which would be partially funded by a $150 million grant. Approved by the state of Oregon to help finance a stadium when efforts were underway in 2003 to be the site for the relocation of the Expos (who instead moved to Washington, D.C.), the grant is still available.
There seems to be a building consensus that baseball will soon be headed to a 32-team configuration. It will lead to major realignment and adjustments in schedule, which will allow MLB to address the growing concerns of the union about travel demands and off days.
One proposal would be to geographically restructure into four divisions, which would create a major reduction in travel, particularly for teams on the East Coast and West Coast, and add to the natural rivalries by not just having them as interleague attractions, but rather a part of the regular divisional battles.
  Consider four eight-team divisions with the addition of teams in Portland and Montreal:
East: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Washington.
North: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, both New York franchises and Toronto.
Midwest: Both Chicago franchises, Colorado, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas.
West: Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.
Key elements of this alignment:
A 156-game schedule would include 24 total games against the eight teams in each of the three other divisions—three games against each opponent. The schedule would include 12 games—six home and six road—against each of the seven divisional opponents.  The format would provide for an off day every week (such as every Monday or Thursday) and would fit into the same foot print for beginning and ending as the 2018 schedule. The season could start on a weekend, which would offset only one three-game series played the week of the All-Star Game. The 156-game schedule would reduce each team's slate by six games, but revenue could be made up by a major reduction in travel costs. Fan interest could be maintained by allowing for the four first-place teams in each division to advance to the postseason, and having play-in games against the eight remaining teams with the best records. The winners of the four wild card games would advance to the Division Series, which would feature a wild card team against each division champion. Those four winners would advance to the Championship Series, and the winners of that round would meet in the World Series. That would add postseason product to the broadcast packages and provide postseason hope for 12 of the 32 franchises, which could boost attendance in September, again offsetting any impact from the season being six games shorter. With a day off every week, there would be a regular rest routine, much like prior to expansion when teams would often play Sunday doubleheaders and Monday would be off. It could be used for travel so teams did not have to make long flights, arriving in cities at 3 a.m. or later. And the schedule would drastically reduce travel, while keeping teams in their time zones, except for the Rockies and Twins. They, however, would be playing teams in a time zone an hour earlier, which is less demanding than an hour later, and also provides increased TV ratings because of prime time viewing. The other intra-division teams would have to travel to Colorado or Minnesota just six games per year. All teams would open the season with an inter-division series, and all out-of-division road trips would be two-city trips.  
  #Montreal Expos #Washington Nationals

Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/#V7CIcTplOlHuzYwb.99

Astro fans wonder the same thing.    They didn’t want to leave the NL.   They also have a Dodger-type TV deal where more than half the hometown fans can’t get their games.  
They need to put the Astros and Rangers in the Central.

8 teams per division
West would be
SD
LAA
LAD
SF
OAK
POR
SEA
ARZ
All Pacific Time/AZ Timezone, certainly makes travel easier for west coast teams than it was
 

Since all of the Red Sox coaches are free to find other work, Chili Davis.

I think if Pete had any kind of PR skills or common sense he’d be able to get in the HOF, although probably never again work in a baseball capacity.  
But that’s not happening.  He always creates a distraction at HOF time, gambles, cheats on his wife, etc. 
All Pete cares about is Pete.

An Eppler-Girardi team makes since.  But it can’t happen until at least 2019 because Scioscia won’t walk away from his contract.
Scioscia gets the most out of his players.  But I think nearly 20 years with one team is excessive.  The game changes and you have to be able to change with it.  I don’t talk about it much but I also wonder if the years and broken dreams have sapped Arte as an owner.
i think the Angels will be better next year with luck on the injuries, but pressing on with the old guard, Albert’s quest for 3,000 hits, etc will pull the team performance down.  Will Arte do what it takes to get left field nailed down offensively and defensively?

I think after the Vernon Wells-Josh Hamilton fiascos, Arte lost heart, and retreated to his yacht.  He had the Angels run on the cheap and gave up on the stadium negotiations.

BubbleA$$ for Appier.  Worked once, if only to move Moo.
 

An Eppler-Girardi team makes since.  But it can’t happen until at least 2019 because Scioscia won’t walk away from his contract.
Scioscia gets the most out of his players.  But I think nearly 20 years with one team is excessive.  The game changes and you have to be able to change with it.  I don’t talk about it much but I also wonder if the years and broken dreams have sapped Arte as an owner.
i think the Angels will be better next year with luck on the injuries, but pressing on with the old guard, Albert’s quest for 3,000 hits, etc will pull the team performance down.  Will Arte do what it takes to get left field nailed down offensively and defensively?

I think after the Vernon Wells-Josh Hamilton fiascos, Arte lost heart, and retreated to his yacht.  He had the Angels run on the cheap and gave up on the stadium negotiations.

I think after the Vernon Wells-Josh Hamilton fiascos, Arte lost heart, and retreated to his yacht.  He had the Angels run on the cheap and gave up on the stadium negotiations.

I admit having a desire for baseball but no desire for metrics, which likely makes me a less knowledgeable fan.
What I can't get past is that if you can't run reasonably well on the bases, you can't play.  That is, hit a double and not be able get to second base without taking a big risk.
What I'm also concerned about is 2018 being put on hold until Albert gets 3,000 hits.  
Are Albert's shortcomings offset by a surprising HR or RBI total in terms of the team as a whole reaching its potential?  I don't see it.  The last few years I've seen instances where the offense has piled up runs one night then lose a close game the next.  

Kudos to Jeff for interviewing Albert about this subject.  Sounds like it got a bit contentious at one point.  
It's pretty interesting that he said he couldn't care less what the media thinks.  He's been around long enough to know that the media is supposed to be the link between the players and the fans.  The media doesn't necessarily think he sucks.  The fans do.  
He's happy driving in runs.  The team is happy with driving in runs.  At the end of the day it's irrelevant because we're stuck with him.  So whether anyone's happy with anything he does doesn't really matter.  The one think that bums me out a bit is that this tells me he's going to keep the same approach.  No regard for getting on base.