DCAngelsFan

Hey, don't misunderstand, I'm just talking - I'm way too old to get upset over "baseball." But you say the only thing you care about is them making baseball decisions for baseball reasons. In other words,you want them to put the best team on the field possible, right? The most competitive? Maybe with a chance at winning the World Series? So... How has this team - this very rich team - done on that score in recent years, objectively speaking? WIth that backdrop - as a fan, it would hearten me to think the team is taking *every* opportunity to get better, out-working, out-innovating, out-thinking, out-competing every other team that's *also* trying to get better. Also - in an entertainment business that's almost *entirely* based on "optics" - looking miserly and uncaring isn't a great business plan. After all, someone recently said this: (of course,he never would have said that had there not been a $245m contract attached): Arte has carefully cultivated that image - and I think it was foolish to be the only team (other than dead-broke Oakland) to try to save a few bucks on the backs of people who can least afford it - sure, pay Trout and Hamilton and Rendon and Pujols hundreds of millions of dollars - but screw you if you're just a lowly parking lot attendant or minor-league player. And in case you didn't notice, Glass sold the team last year - what the team did in the past is irrelevant, KC is doing those things under new ownership. My point remains - Arte probably cost himself more in "goodwill" than he would have saved had he not tried to layoff everyone (but then partially backed off because of blowback - those "optics", again.) Just my not-remotely-upset $0.02.

Which are the same rules and situation that every other team faced. Yet 27 other teams managed to find at least one player worth signing. Like I said - will it matter? Are we missing out some talent that could make a difference 5 years from now? Probably not. But why does this club keep doing things that feed the narrative that they're heartless and cheap with every move they make lately?

Obscure team employee? Or all of their minor leaguers? In the end,will it matter? Will any of these guys ever play in the majors? Not the point - as I already said when I said they should sign someone just to at least pretend they're trying. It's about perception. And the perception this suspended season is that the Angels are cheap, the first to furlough their employees and minor league players (before backing down) - when everyone's asking businesses to sacrifice a bit and try to keep people on payroll, what did the Angels do? None of this is a good look, and Arte has done more PR damage to himself than the dollars he's saved. And that's my point.

Of course not - but we did get quite a bit of bad press over it, and our "aggressively furloughing employees" stories. Do you think baseball players can't read? https://www.12up.com/posts/angels-furloughing-employees-more-aggressively-than-small-market-teams-is-shameful-01e91cwynydp

Of course, all 30 face the same math - yet, Boston signed 12, Houston, Philly,and St Louis 8 each, etc. Apparently Detroit, Tampa Bay,and the Angels are the only teams that get the math. I suspect if we *did* try to talk to anyone, they said "Hey, aren't you the team that just cut 39 minor leaguers and were going to furlough the rest?" I think this quote from the KC signee says it well:

I guess what I wonder is, last year, we found 40 rounds worth of draftable players, and even signed our 39th round pick - pick 1,171 - for $50k. This year, everyone after the 5th round is just festering garbage? If that's the case, why do we ever draft past the 5th round? Why does *anyone*? I think the Angels needed to sign someone, *anyone*, just so the fans know they're at least trying.

Of course, left out of these negotiations are "the fans". With no baseball, fans are learning to do without, to find other things to do with their time and money. And many of them won't be back. I think most of us "get" safety and financial issues - but this is probably the time we need things like baseball the most. While some musicians stream on-line concerts, and museums and universities stream programs - for free - we're treated to rich owners and rich players giving nothing back, spitefully arguing about money. Those with long contracts don't care - but every day that goes by, they're losing fans and potential fans. I'd be shocked if - even with an effective vaccine - attendance and tv ratings don't drop at least 25% next season. (And Arte really didn't do himself any favors by the furloughs and cutting players - the PR equivalent of, instead of cutting, having doubled the price of beer.)

Gross.

Actually, I think he's proposing a kind of extended rookie / instructional training camp. I think players that have other options will pass on $20k and take those options - a college scholarship, for example. Those that don't will probably look to whoever offers the best prospect for them going forward. And if you can promise them that instructional-league coaching plan that's more thought out, and offers them a better opportunity than other teams are offering, then that's where many would sign. The $20k isn't a motivator - the chance to get focused coaching, better opponents, and exposure would mean more than the paltry money. (if you could setup a training camp in SoCal, so much the better - let the guys live at home or rent a college dorm for the summer.) But, sadly, I think it's more likely Arte "punts" than he goes all in - he's never shown he cares that much about scouting, drafting,and development.

Definitely a wildcard notion - but Hancock now has a bit of risk attached to him - arm soreness last year, and didn't pitch well this year. Teams drafting in the top 10 are a risk-averse bunch ... could he slip to us? Not sold on Detmers, and unlikely Meyer slips to us, and high school pitchers rarely succeed, so Abel might be too much risk - so, while it's certainly not a need, I wouldn't be too disappointed to see us draft Kjerstad.

Kind of tough for someone on the low-end to go from league minimum of $563500 to $200k - but not as tough as going to "zero." Of course, the owners and players will come to some agreement - and then the umpires will hold out... They're probably going to do daily temp checks, and frequent (if not "daily") point-of-care tests - for the high-earners and older players at increased risk of complications from an infection, there has to be a temptation to just sit out 'til next year rather than take *any* risk playing.

You should write Hallmark cards.

I don't recall the details too much - but I remember feeling like he was being kinda arrogant and isolated from the team, and in general, seemed like he couldn't wait to leave. He was *really* looking forward to free agency. So, I think everyone expected him to leave and maybe wasn't too emotionally invested in it. I remember after the season ended, he *finally* said something that sounded a little sentimental, and that he'd like to stay. I remember thinking "Why'd you wait until now to say that? A lot of people wanted him to stay, but fewer at the price he'd probably cost - I figured Mike had destroyed his arm getting to the saves records.

I think you're right - his best years were during the steroid era, and counting stats was what still made everyone moist. But from 98-2010, he put 59 oWAR during that span - and it that OBP that really stuck out.. Similarly valued in WAR, etc. Abreu's and Vlad's offensive values came in different ways - coarsely, Vlad hit his way on-base, Abreu walked - a lot. Walks are boring to most - Vlad was a more exciting player to watch. A solid, useful player - he didn't have the outlandish, visible talents that Vlad had - but when you look at runs scored, they were both right at 100 runs a year for their career. I'd love to have someone like him hitting in front of Trout.

According to Sportrac, we paid $67m for two years of him.

A lot of people overlooked his home/away splits that prior year, and his age and injury history. I thought a .700 OPS in the AL West was where he'd be. Turns out, that was a bit optimistic. Of course, the true outrage was the contract. I remember an article earlier that year on Anthopolous taking over, and one of the challenges he faced was Wells and the "most toxic contract in baseball today" ... that made him "untradeable." I can't remember the exact details now, but I worked out that to make that trade "fair", Toronto needed to send us, iirc, $45m and we send them *nothing* - not Rivera, not Napoli, just a bag of use batting practice balls. From a pure value perspective, that trade had to be one of the top 10 worst trades ever made - and the tragedy is that most people knew it the day it was made.

So, are we sure we know the full parameters of the deal? That the Dodgers didn't start some incremental demands for more? Llike "oh, and throw in Marsh while you're at it." 'cause the trade looked kind of imbalanced to me - and Arte detonating that trade for no good reason is still kind of hard to fathom.

Well, it seems we all agree that Wells and Hamilton were probably bad deals .... But since this is about contradicting the conventional wisdom, I think it would have to be the Haren trade - I loved Haren, but I thought we'd pretty much left the competitive window - I think I said something like "By the time we're ready to compete for the World Series, Haren will be retired to the golf course" - I wanted to keep Skaggs and Corbin (and Saunders) while we reloaded (and Saunders' reaction was so painful.) But neither Skaggs nor Corbin developed as quickly as I'd hoped, and you know, if we had a decent LF'er not named Wells, we might've done something those two years. I still think I was right - but don't think it's as cut-and-dried as I thought then. As someone mentioned, didn't like throwing Grichuk into the Freese trade, and kind of opposed the Simmons trade at first - like many, thought Newcomb was gonna be big. But quickly got over that. (Still kills me we drafted Lindsey - and 4 other guys - over SImmons in 2010.)

I have to say, much of what makes many baseball stadiums attractive is the sightlines *outside* of the park - what makes SF's stadium special is the spectacular sightlines to SF Bay, Camdem Yards has the B&O Warehouse and while the Ballmer skyline isn't all that, the park feels organic. Even Nats park nearly has a view of the Capitol building. If you could just move Anaheim to a bluff overlooking the Pacific, you might have something If I were Arte, I'd solicit for some new architectural ideas. In the end, I'm sure it'll be the same old cookie-cookie modern stadium, but who knows? Also better seats, better sightlines, and try to bring more seats closer to the field. Maybe think about some environmental controls (not such a problem in SoCal, but an August Day game in DC or Baltimore, with the temp and the humidity in the high 90's, and the field temp in the 100's is miserable - and there are almost no places to go to cool off.) Maybe light-filtering retractable awnings, etc. Obviously, technology would play central part (order and automated food delivery, for example) But there has to be some local cultural touchstones, too, in the area of food. Whether a Ben's half-smoke, or Boogs BBQ, or a Primanti Brothers sandwich, or garlic fries or jerk chicken nachos, or federal donuts chicken - a stadium these days needs spectacular, signature food offerings. Angels stadium needs to step up its game, there, a lot. Dump the Aramarks and Sodexo and get legit local legends. A legit in-house microbrewery wouldn't be the worst thing, either.

So, the Angels overpaying for players who find unique ways to fail to live up to their contracts isn't a recent phenomenon? That makes me feel ... not better ...

Well, that's not really the question - it's who did *you* think would be a star but failed. I mean, did you think Borenstein was gonna be the next Mickey Mantle? 'cause I know at least 1 person was certain of it ...

Hmm, "perennial all-star" is kind of a high bar ... Start with the heart-breakers - Lyman Bostock and Nick Adenhart Howie Kendrick - not sure how he ranks as a disappointment, averaging a 3+ WAR for us - yet, ppl still think he fell short Dmac I was skeptical when I saw his actual at-bats, so wouldn't count him as a disappointment. Wood - I think I did manage to convince myself that Wood was legit despite warning signs. Kendrys - I felt like he was on the cusp of becoming a star - after his (some word other than "break-out" 2009 season) Escobar and Santana always teased, and before the injury, GRich seemed like to on the verge of becoming something really good - (I never had high hopes for him - his college #s were sick, and not in the good way...) (There were times I would watch Santiago pitch and go "damn! He could be a great pit.. oh, oops, never mind...") edit: I forgot Kotchman - I looked forward to a guy who'd play good defense, and seemed like a contact hitter/doubles-machine - like maybe .280/350/.460 40 2b/15 hr - ok, no "star" but I'd take those numbers - but he just never quite put it together

So, basically, a glorified exhibition season. Nothing wrong with that, but baseball is about history and tradition - this wouldn't be any kind of a season. Records, stats, etc - basically, meaningless. (As an exhibition season, there's no reason to pack a bunch of double-headers together - in the heat of the summer in Arizona outdoor stadiums - doesn't make any kind of sense.) Right now, I'd just say plan to re-start the season normally on / around June 15th. Who knows what kind of attendance may be allowed by then - everything from no restrictions to no admittance to a whole spectrum in-between (imagine the promo night give-aways - "Trout n95 mask night!".) But at least player safety can be managed, if not entire stadiums of people. If we're still in total lock-down by then, then we may as well cancel baseball forever - b/c the whole country will be an insane asylum.

A list of players drafted during the Dipoto tenure who've posted positive WAR's 2012 (1st pick in 3rd round) Austin Adams RHP 0.7 WAR 8th round/267th pick Yency Almonte RHP 0.5 17/537 2013 (our 1st pick, in the 2nd round was the legendary Hunter Green) Keynan Middleton RHP 1.8 3/95 2014 Sean Newcomb LHP 3.6 1/15 Justin Anderson RHP 0.1 14/419 2015 David Fletcher SS 6.8 11/345 Pretty mediocre, overall, but he did get a lottery hit on Fletcher. And to be fair, his first two drafts didn't have a 1st rounder. So, at best, a mediocre drafter, and no impactful international signings save the ridiculous overpay for Baldoquin - I guess a face-plant into a pile of shit can be considered "impactful" And if he didn't know that it would cost us a chance at Vlad Jr, he should have - that was his job to know that.

God bless, say safe. Yeah, anarchy is far away for the moment - supply chains are working, and too many ex-mil and 3-letter agency folks around here, armed to the teeth - there are few random vics here. Overall, been weird - the usual low-level property crimes like residential burglaries, car break-ins, etc, are down to nothing. There was a lot of DUI's and wrecks at first as people assumed LEO wasn't enforcing traffic very hard - some one-car wrecks from show-off's who saw something in a movie once .... That *seems* to have mostly stopped - I kid you not, one day's blotter the other day were two reports of graffiti. But lately there've been a number of acquaintance fights where guns and knives came out - some people are getting pretty frustrated - one homicide.