WeatherWonk

Just looked back. Still as lucid as ever. The craft never abandons me. Others resort to memes...............

Our road to the playoffs, of course. Keep your eye on the ball!

In before outrage from people who know that Brantley makes the Astros better, and our road more difficult. That's a lotta savvy people, I would think.

And Arte will give him the First Annual Adam Smith award, for ballplayers increasing the profits of owners by increasing productivity.

No terms yet, that I have seen. They now have a platoon option for Springer and possibly for Guriel at first. He could also get ABs at DH. A lot of versatility there. Average fielder, but still has speed and puts the ball in play. High OBP. HOU is loaded with good OFers. The youngster Kyle Tucker is supposed to make the club, too, after terrorizing AAA. Springer, Kemp, Brantley, Tucker, Reddick. I wonder if we could get Tony Kemp from them as our leadoff guy? Has he got the arm for RF?

It makes a lot of sense. Young arms, cost-controlled, throwing hard, working short stints. TBR had some success with it, of course. So did other clubs. Could Epps be watching for the right kind of starter/relievers to coalesce out of the post-meeting miasma? The openers strategy has its merits............not sure if that's what you were alluding to.

Their ownership is another partnership. Agreement in a direction is never easy in those cases, unless you have a domineering force like a George Steinbrenner. And they have the building of a stadium to worry about. Arte's situation is much better, IMO. Arte has proven to be penny wise and pound foolish in his ownership, IMO. It's understandable he feels burned. But there is a middle ground that could have improved our chances considerably, over the last three years.

And I arrived about 15 minutes ago, from a Xmas party, where drinking might have been involved. I wasn't revisiting the whole thread.............especially when I see opportunities with Strad and LOU in such proximity.

The difference between us is I recognize good baseball quicker than you. The A's became more entertaining by mid-June and improved themselves at the trading deadline. That's a smart organization, at less than half the cost with half the attendance and probably a third of the media revenues. You were clinging to the Angels chances all season, Still are, as their off season goes down the toilet, while other teams improve. Three straight years of this. Oh, but the PROJECTIONS are so promising................when you have an income like Arte, you should be able to insulate yourself from PROJECTIONS that fail. We are wealthy enough to have a Plan B every year. Instead, our Plan A has failed for three straight years and our Plan B is the following off season. How about a Plan B that we can invoke during the season? We have had no depth for eons, now.

Roots run deep. Mine are probably deeper than yours, with respect to baseball AND the Angels. It's not easy giving up on them, despite an owner who has turned miserly, while making MILLIONS EACH YEAR. In a market this lucrative, we should have more wins than teams from OAK or TBR or BAL. I get that you still tow the party line. This site is the only game in town, with respect to a message board for the Angels. Fletch posts here. Links to the LA Times are regular here. Some of us are more objective, than former party members ........... We're here, we veer, get used to it!!!!

Dont think I havent. If you are a fan of good baseball, it hasnt been happening here, for the last three years. And I am a fan of good baseball. Not just good players. It's a team sport, more than most.

Yeah, well, FED F U C K I N EX IS A BUSINESS, and it's been about as interesting to watch, with respect to making the playoffs. If I wanted to watch a visual business, it wouldnt be the Angels. Even your dreaded A's are more interesting. At half the carrying charges.

You think our payroll is HIGH right now?

I am worried that what we are experiencing is a Reverse Arte Factor, based on these horrible signings. He's become gun shy, even with regards to mid-level signings that wont hamstring us; the way the aforementioned signings did. And, based on what ratings services have written about our farm system, he is navigating the waters of ownership in new territory. It is an enticing Siren; the song of cost-controlled talent from within.

I think this is a great synopsis of where were are at. But I just dont see how we could have ruined the next five years by signing guying like Ramos or Happ or Cutch or Familia, who only got 2-3 year contracts. This franchise can afford that. And no loss of a pick or intl pool money for any of them. OAK still has work to do, with their pitching. Who knows if all the Rays who had career years will regress? I think the bar for the second WC spot is not that high, but out of our reach, with our current configuration.

I hadnt thought of that. That's not a bad idea.

Wouldn't that be the equivalent of dumpster diving in bins outside of a Salvation Army store? Or using something from a compost heap? I guess it would fit Arte's budget, though..............hmmmmmm.

OH, so NOW ERA is important for a reliever???? Next excuse for the Angels doing nothing, please.............................

All I REALLY care about are teams that finished above the Angels in the playoff picture. Except, of course, when a player comes off the board that could have done us some good. Boston has signed legit players. Cleveland has pulled off a big trade. The Rays have improved. The Yankees have stayed the same or improved. the Astros got their catcher and still have a club that is ten games better than us (at least). Not that any of those teams could have done nothing and still be better than us. OAK has done nothing, like us, in terms of pitching. Seattle has fallen back. I guess those are the highlights of OUR off season, so far.

I would say that's two. Kelly has closer stuff to me. I guess you would not consider Robertson a closer-type, either, since he has done nothing but set up work? I consider him a closer-type, too. Especially given the staff we currently have. But, really, of all the areas we still need to improve, the bullpen is probably my lowest priority. We have a greater CHANCE of success there, as opposed to RF, 3b, 1b, C, starter. People are also forgetting that Ohtani has really not hit lefties at any point in his career. And that he is our FT DH once he gets back. But he will not have the luxury of getting lots of ABs in ST against lefties. If his learning curve suffers in the regular season, we suffer in the standings. The alternative is more Albert at DH. Fuggly options. Maybe Bour rides to the rescue. Maybe not. So, I guess your PROJECTION for Garcia is based on one of his good years, eh? He has been so inconsistent throughout his whole career. Difficult to have much faith in a PROJECTION of his performance. Is it really asking too much of an owner sitting 70 mllion below the cap to sign someone that is not wishful thinking. Someone that is a PROBABLE, instead of a hopeful PROJECTION?

Familia. Joe Kelly. MLBTR predicted we would get him. There are still a few left. Robertson, Herrera, Britton. Kimbrel doesnt fit the description of a short term contract you can overpay a few mil per year. He apparently want 4+ years. TOO long a contract. Time is running out. This is not turning out like last year's FA signing period. Lots of clubs have money to spend. Including the Angels, supposedly.

:You're getting your wish. It's SOOOO easy to just lay the blame for our lack of improvements on other teams. My comment about a vacuum was meant as a condition that should be an INCENTIVE to being proactive, not an unavoidable condition of nature that should just be accepted. Which is what it seems the Angels are doing. Seriously, overpaying by a couple mil per season for a short term contract, especially at a position like catcher or closer-type where we have nothing on the farm, is not going to hurt our FUTURE one bit. Arte can afford that. But it can have serious repercussions on the PRESENT. Tick........tick............tick.

BINGO!! Except that it was ARTE's plan, all along. Not Eppler's. What GM wouldn't want to spend up to the tax threshold? Arte's put overbearing restraints on Epps, in the interest of maximizing profits. . Honestly, an overpay of a few million a year, if the contract is three years or less, is not going to hurt us going forward much. And it could have helped us greatly, in the cases of Ramos, McCutcheon, Happ. As limited as Bour is on where he can play, I would rather have had Matt Adams at first. Just as limited, but a better hitter. Arte has the means to afford it. I have to conclude, if this season ISNT truly a profit gambit by Arte, then we are going to offer Trout an extension that will have an AAV of 50+ mil. He's the only player that's worth that. Hence, the seemingly miserly start to the Angel's offseason. Sprinkle in a little hope for the AAA prospects to produce THIS year, add a dash of possibly extending Simmons and maybe this is the Angel recipe. It is a recipe for 3rd place in the AL West. Tampa Bay has improved. The Yankees have held their own, or improved. OAK still has lots of pitching to replace, but so do we. I cant see the Angel's doing anything for Harper or Machado. Certainly, Arte has learned from the Pujols contract, hasn't he? Eppler would certainly recommend against this, right? Unless you could bring their contracts down to 7 years. I guess Machado could be looked at as a replacement for Simmons, if you let him walk. I guess Harper becomes your Calhoun replacement and your star power, if Trout cant be extended. So many puzzle pieces.

And I would take it, at this point. Our choices are frittering away, at every turn. OH, BUT IT'S ONLY DECEMBER 16TH !!!!! Yeah, tell that to the clubs that made the playoffs in the AL last year.

Not sure what Maldonado is asking, but the Astros reportedly moved on from him because he was asking too much. Years or dollars, who knows? So, they signed Chirinos.