Billy_Ball

Eppler wasn't allowed to spend any money because Arte said it was about economics from his yacht. Really tied his hands on what he could do to improve a team that had a lot of holes. He obviously couldnt' pull off any big trades considering they didn't have much to trade. It wasn't just LF that was a problem - it was the biggest problem - but they also had holes at 2B, 3B, and bullpen. You could even say the rotation, despite its depth, could use another arm.
 
 
I have no opinion on Eppler since this is his first year on the job, but I will say that the dude has a pretty damn hard hill to climb. He's inheriting an MLB team with a high payroll and very little impact talent to show for it, all the while having the worst farm system in MLB. Pretty rough thing to try and fix when you only have a certain number of years under contract

But JG's .308 OPS needs to be lauded because he's a hustlin' little white guy
JG has 2 more hits than I do. But in all fairness to well, me, I have as many 2B, 3B, HRs, RBI and SB as he does ...
and 1 less error!

Gentry plays good defense
Simmons plays good defense
Escobar plays terrible defense
 
2/3

Angel fans talk about 2002 the way Republican candidates talk about Ronald Reagan.

Jeff Fletcher @JeffFletcherOCR The Angels have started off 1-4 in 7 previous seasons and never finished with a winning record.
 

Our biggest problem was LF.
Gentry and Nava are 5-16 (.313)

Eppler brought in Nava, Pennington, Gentry, Simmons, Escobar
Combined BA =.270
The Quitter's leftovers are Pujols, Trout, Cron, JG, Calhoun
Combined BA = .177

It started when they fired Eddie Bane.  The guy who drafted Trout, Grichuk, Skaggs and Richards in 2009.

If Cowart continues to hit, I like the idea of giving the 3B job to him.
Can Escobar learn 1B on a part-time basis?
He definately would bring a positive when DHing.
Nowhere does it say a DH has to mash 30 HRs.

Why do you hate the Bees?

A - bees - win 3-2
Gatto 5ip, 1h, 1er, 3bb, 4k
A+ - loss 10-5
Houchins 1-4, hr, 3 rbi
Ward 1-3, 2bb
Baldoquin 2-4
Briceno 2-4
AA - loss 7-2
Aguilera 2-3, 2hr 2rbi
Sherm 1-3, bb
Deloach 4ip, 3h, 1er, 1bb, 6k
Busenitz 2ip, 2k
AAA - win 5-2
petit 2-3, 2b, rbi
bandy 1-2, rbi
Cowart 1-3, rbi, bb
Smith 5.2ip, 1er, 3h, 2bb, 5k
Javy Guerra 1.1ip 1bb, 2k
Mahle 1.2ip, 1h, 0 er

Doc handled much of it, but I'll add in a few things, with a bit of a timeline.
 
As you said, Stoneman was notorious for holding onto his prospects. The problem was, the "great" Angels farm of the early to mid 00s ended up being quite disappointing. Think of all of the top prospects who ended up failing or being disappointing: Brandon Wood, Dallas McPherson, Jeff Mathis, Casey Kotchman. Even some of the "successes" were a bit disappointing, like Howie Kendrick--the perennial "future batting champion" (.360 minor league BA).
 
So the so-called great Angels farm wasn't that great to begin with. Pretty good, but not great.
 
So then we have the problem of drafting. The 2009 was great, the 2010 was terrible. Smart teams are able to leverage losing their players to free agency for draft pick compensation. The Angels did this after losing Lackey, Figgins, etc, after 2009, then squandered five first round picks on: Kaleb Cowart, Cam Bedrosian, Chevy Clarke, Taylor Lindsey, and Ryan Bolden (RIP). People love Bane for the 2009 draft that saw the Angels pick Trout, Grichuk, Skaggs, Richards, and Corbin, but he was also responsible for the doozy that was 2010.
 
Anyhow, after several years of shitty drafting, the drafting strategy changed from high upside high school players to low-ceiling, high-floor college players. That hasn't worked out well either. As Doc said, it looks like the problem is that the Angels just aren't that good at scouting, and maybe not at development either.
 
And then there's international scouting, or the lack thereof. After Kendrys Morales the Angels have done basically nothing until...Roberto Baldoquin? Also, Dipoto wasn't afraid to trade prospects.
 
The bottom line is that they just haven't drafted well from 2010 on. OK, they had Calhoun in 2010. 2011 saw Cron and Bandy, who should help the team sometime soon. Not much has come from 2012 (Mike Morin, RJ Alvarez) and 2013 looks like a total dud...Hunter Green, anyone? 2014 was a tad better (Sean Newcomb) but also looks weak, and 2015 is way too soon to tell, but there's some promising signs (Taylor Ward, Jahmai Jones, maybe one or two others).
 
I personally don't know why why Ric Wilson still has his job. He's had five drafts and not a lot to show for it. I'm guessing he's on Eppler's radar for a short-leash. Maybe one more draft? I personally wouldn't wait - the proof is in the pudding, and Wilson's tenure has seen the Angels farm go from mediocre to worse. Time to move on.

It started when they fired Eddie Bane.  The guy who drafted Trout, Grichuk, Skaggs and Richards in 2009.

Arte Moreno for years seemingly ran the team like his billboard business, immediate bang for the buck with NO eye towards a long term future.

Cubbies now have a run differential of +22.

You know, CJ's been jerking it with that injured arm. Probably wipes his ass after taking a dump with that arm too
Might even brush his teeth and hold a glass in that hand. My point is that this madness needs to end.

You know what makes a great manager?
Good players.
I fail to see how our lack of talent is Sciosca's problem.
You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit.

Yes, then fire the next manager after a two game losing streak, then fire the next one after losing back to back games, and so on and so on and so on.

Weren't we out scored 15-1 in 2 games?
Not that far off

You twits are grossly over reacting.

If only the Angels had a center fielder and right fielder that could hit.

Imagine if the Cubbies threw Henry Rowengartner out there.