WeatherWonk

I just dont see us doing that with Cozart signed for two more years, Fletch with options and Rengifo supposedly close to being MLB ready. He will get at least a two year deal. And Ward possibly being ready for 2020 alos figures in there. Moustakas on another one year deal is another thing, though. But I doubt that happens. All our signings point to this being a year we punt and work on 2020. Unless this is the calm before the .......................BIG SPLASH!!!

Fack! This football game is a barn burner! Later!!!

Do we even have a proven set up guy, much less a closer, at this point? Cam Fackin Bedrosian? Your items are high on my concern list, Strad. If the season started tomorrow, I think I would put Cozart at leadoff. He draws walks. And he will hit better than .219. Man, I wish we would sign someone who actually DESERVED more than a one year contract. This off season, so far, is like:

Actually, what matters is that one of the WC teams ahead of us just got stronger. Apparently at our expense.

Always the bridesmaid. Who's next? Piss on this offseason.

I think Trout going to the Yankees is the most likely outcome. I think he is an east coast guy, as well. I dont think he'll want to wait for an opt out when the Yankees will be willing to give him 40 mil/year in 2021. Hey, it's always been a right of passage in baseball. Good players put on the pinstripes, nearing the end of their career, to have the best chance at making the playoffs and getting a ring. Or adding to their total. Oh yeah, and then there's money. Catfish, Reggie, Rickie, Baylor, Winfield, A-Rod, Clemens, Giambi, Sabathia, Cone, Boggs. The list goes on and on. Not all signed FA contracts, of course, but most did. The list of players coming to Anaheim via free agency to pursue a ring seems a bit shorter........... The Yankees have only missed the playoffs four times since 1995, when Trout was 4 years old. Trout read all about that growing up, no doubt. The Angels have missed the playoffs SEVEN times in Trout's eight years as an Angel. Plus, the Yankees are going to have holes to fill in the outfield, soon. Gardner and Hicks are free agents after this year. Stanton is best suited as a DH. Judge is too tall and not mobile enough to cover CF. And the Yankees will become desperate as the Red Sox win yet another AL East title this year. It will be time for him to take his place with Dimagg, The Mick and The Babe, as the greatest outfielders in Yankee history. The greatest of all time, mebbe. The Kid. Jersey Boy on Broadway. Irrespective of any salary differential that might exist between a contract with the Yankees or the Angels, playing on the east coast in that sports media market.will mean beaucoup endorsement bucks for Trout. Suddenly, everyone in every time zone will be able to follow him "live". He will truly become the face of baseball with his smile, his performance and his exemplary demeanor, on and off the field. I would welcome him as the sports ambassador, wholeheartedly. It might be by trade (the Yankees still have lots of young players to deal) or it might be by free agency, but I bet Trout ends up being a Yankee by 2021. The siren call is strong from New York.

Ah, a red herring.

I think we have lots of serviceable starter options, especially when you consider the guys at AAA, but no legitimate lock-down closer. Spend money there. It would SUCK if we miss a playoff spot, simply because we couldn't hold leads.......at any time during the season. Been there, done that. Out of the gate,, late in the season, whenever. After all, you cant win a playoff spot in April and May, but you can lose one. Our two new hitters are from hitter-friendly NL parks. They may go through an AL adjustment period in a tougher park to hit in.. Ohtani will not be hitting for the first month or more. We need to limit runs until our offense reaches its potential peak. Albert will be "fresh" and they will give him ABs. Cozart will be facing big league pitching for the first time in eight months or so. Who knows which Calhoun shows up? Our offense could really suck, early on. We'd better be able to limit runs. There really isnt any closer options coming up through the ranks, are there? If we can get a legit closer for three years or less, why not? It's not so much money that it would prevent signing Trout to an extension.

So, Fangraphs predicts another team that is 29-30th in payroll, beats us out again. Great. Our only salvation at being a PROBABLE WC team is to sign a legit closer or a legit leadoff guy or both. I think Britton is going to have a great year, now that he is apparently healthy. And I think Lowrie is the best leadoff choice out there that this ownership would consider. Britton and Lowrie and we displace TB as the Fangraphs favorite. Oh yeah, what if we signed these guys?????????

Granted. But this is too many "what ifs" for a team that has been in the top ten in payroll for forever. Time for results, not wishin' and hopin'.

I'm tiring of the "what if" threads, that always point to a rosier next year than the one previous. This is the third off season in a row, with the same result. We have several "what if" threads going right now. And a dearth of "can't wait" or "now that" threads. Also plenty of "just missed out" threads, with the usual excuses of why a player didn't sign here or why we didnt need him, anyway. . IF my aunt had nads, she'd be my uncle. Hoping our IFs turn to WHENs, on AW, at some point.

No problem. I knew I was. You will also be correct that there are other reasons, if Trout turns down MONEY as a reason for staying with the Angels.

Is SF going to contend this year, or anytime soon? I think there is more than just the wife's desire, at this point in his career. It's probably his last chance at a ring. Some players just want to play for a winning team and make the playoffs, I've heard..........................

Also signed in a state with no income tax. Dont know if his salary would have qualified, but the highest tax rate in CA is 13.3%. Fack, that's a lot.

Great time to fire a coach.................right before league play begins. And we all thought UCLA was, AT LEAST, a basketball school. Not no mo'..........................

The reality is, as I've stated before, Kole has hit .255 or less in 8 of the past 12 months of play, including 5 months where he hit below .200. With his contract, he has to play (see Albert Pujols). I just hope that Ausmus doesnt stick with him for a whole month, like Sosh did, when he had one of "those months". I really dont see a good alternative to him in our llineup, at this point, if he falls into a funk. Peter Bourjos? Good D, but about the same O.

Scheduling a bunch of religious universities suddenly backfired on the Bruins. Belmont? Liberty? What, were the Sisters of the Precious Blood U. booked up? LOL! Just as well, they might have lost to them at Pauley. Stunning that Guerrero still has a job at UCLA. Of course, the liberal board is not about to fire a member of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics list.

I will be following them...............and 29 other teams, as usual. Including the Angels. Cant miss The Rapture.

Well, we'll have an interesting comparison in the upcoming season. How will Shoe do, on a dollar per WAR basis, compared to Cahill and Harvey. Assuming they use Shoe as a starter.

The Second Coming, man. Have a little faith. I dont think I read that. But if I did, that last line probably had me dismissing him as a last option...............which apparently he was.

They've stayed under the tax threshold for one year, for the reset. What's to prevent them from going back up to 220-250 mil again?

Hilarious. A guy that NOBODY on AW talked about all off season, and now people are piping up and saying, "I'm down with this". It went from Realmuto to Ramos to Grandal to a guy with a -0.7 WAR. It's pretty sad when the best you can say about most all of our FA signing this year is "....well, at least it's only one year" or "well, he has great upside". The Dollar Tree off season continues...................

Hey, I admit it, I've still got a we-have-no-leadoff-hitter-in-front-of-Trout, bug up my arse. Grandal has three seasons with an OBP over .350 and one at .349 (last year). His lifetime OBP is .341. He gets on base. If we sign him, shouldn't he leadoff, a la Brian Downing? Who else we got, really, that might play nearly every day? Ausmus wouldn't dare put Calhoun up there again, would he?

I think our starters are all on the 40 man roster, at this point. To be revisited at the July deadline, if necessary. A catcher is all we are going to move on, I expect. I guess I am hoping it is Grandal. He will probably hit better than any catcher we have had for several years now.

Despite recent outliers like Houston and Cleveland, there IS a correlation between payroll and wins, according to Fangraphs. https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-battle-between-payroll-and-parity/ I guess the Angels are an outlier, too. Arte is a top ten spender, but has so little to show for it. No other team, that has been in the top ten in payroll for the last ten years, has so few playoff appearances. Not that this has affected the OC sheeple, much. Arte's attendance is trending down, but it is still over 3 mil. A quote from PT Barnum seems appropriate here. It's difficult to call him cheap, though. He just hasnt been smart with his money. Hopefully, Eppler is changing that.