DCAngelsFan

I think it's partly due to losing comp picks - after the middle of the first round, "hit rates" decline quickly. In '12 and '13, didn't have 1st round picks. And of course, it takes time - can't really expect much yet from a high schooler drafted in, say, 2017. But 2010 was a disastrous draft - we had 6 picks in the top 100 - and our best result? We got Cam and Kaleb. It was a pretty weak draft overall - but still - we could've drafted Yelich, Snydergaard, Aaron Sanchez, Andrelton Simmons, and Nick Castellanos. Think that might've changed our fortunes? What we should have been doing - rather than handing out money to GMJ, Wells, and Hamilton - that money should've been plowed into making our scouting and development programs (both domestic and international) the best in baseball. Hard to tell from the outside what the investment truly is - but from this distance, feels like those were shoestring operations, at least in those days.

Since 2010, the only pitchers we've drafted with a career bWAR of > 1.00: A.J Schugel - 1.2 (PIT) Mike Clevinger - 10.3 (CLE) (traded for Vinnie Pestano) Kenyan Middleton - 1.4 Sean Newcomb - 3.4 - traded for Simmons End of list. What makes that worse -- in that same period of time, our position player picks over bWAR of 1.0 have been: CJ Cron (5.9) Kole Calhoun (15.5) David Fletcher (4.3) End of list. Our drafting was terrible - we lacked trade currency to trade for high-end pitchers, and we couldn't draft them, either. And we dropped out of the international market. If we're to ever compete in Mike Trout's career span, we need to add quality starting pitching and fast. Cole plus one of Wheeler, Hamels, Ryu - would do the trick. Add in a foreign player, like Senga from the NPB, and we're there. But against that backdrop, we really, really, really need to be better at drafting. So far, Eppler looks "better" - but better than "crap" doesn't mean much.

At first I thought this about our season being wished into a cornfield ...

Look for other possible ways to upgrade our pitching, took a look at the NPB - don't see much, but maybe Eppler's NPB relationship can get the Hawks to relent: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/01/30/baseball/japanese-baseball/pitcher-kodai-senga-says-hawks-refuse-budge-posting/#.XUxgS-hKhPY No Cole, by any stretch - but wants to play here, and has the stuff - up to 96 mph fastball, and a nasty forkball - to be a mid-to-back-end starter or more likely, a closer? The other NPB pitching prospect doesn't sound like he's coming: https://calltothepen.com/2019/07/06/takahiro-norimoto-may-not-come-majors/ Great stuff, but undersized, and predictably, injured and coming off elbow surgery, I'm sure teams would be pretty skeptical ... We have such an overwhelming need for pitching - having to put all of our eggs on signing a Boras client definitely stings ...

It's not clear to me whether these rankings include promoted players like Thaiss and Canning - if a healthier organization, they'd still be in the minors. Whatever, I think we all knew what a wasteland our minor league system was post-DiPoto - it was barren. To remind you what Eppler walked into: https://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/4/2/11333890/minor-league-baseball-farm-system-rankings-for-2016 And probably the only way to get to, say, top 5 is to become really, really bad to gain top draft position, and to trade off every tradeable asset we have - including the unthinkable - trading Trout for a whole basket of top-end prospects. Then, after a couple of years, we'd have a AAA-class major league team, but with a top-tier farm system with a solid future - and also, no fans. Anyway, to the point, I doubt any but the most Pollyanna-ish fans don't see the talent deficit we face, especially in starting pitching, and the difficulty we face in filling it. Some part of me thinks we should get a comp pick for Skaggs.

There's a certain type of person who'll moan about how Trout is overpaid and in decline and is a boat anchor on the team - and someday, they'll be "right" and can gloat about how they "called it." That's really committing to a narrative but just wait ... I'm just glad running a baseball team isn't a democracy - can you imagine the team we'd have if the decisions were left to *us*?? Sort of the baseball equivalent of this:

On the list of biggest blunders, the Angels are on that list far too often: Trading Napoli and Rivera for Vernon Wells - everyone but our front office knew Wells' numbers were a mirage, a product of home field - in the months before he was traded, someone wrote a column about how the Jays wanted desperately to get rid of him, but called him untradeable - the contract far too toxic for anyone else to take on. The author didn't count on the stupidity of the Angels, however. I forget the number, but I think I calc'd the Jays needed to send us like $42m to make that a fair trade. 5/$50m for GMJ - always thought that signing was made based on one ESPN highlight play - absurd. CJ Wilson Pujols (I know, I know - whatever you say about marketing value, there's no chance he was ever worth it on the field) Hamilton, of course - thought for sure we were talking to him only to drive the price up for Texas or Seattle, surely we weren't that stupid? Yes, we were. Baldoquin, and all the mistakes that surrounded that - being in the penalty and unable to sign Vlad Jr only part of the problem. Poor drafting - We had more 2010 drafts (where we had 5 high picks, with only Bedrosian to show for it, leaving Yelich, Snydergaard, Andrelton Simmons, Aaron Sanchez, and Realmuto for others to draft) than the singular 2009 draft. Starting pitching is a function of drafting - top tier pitchers rarely hit free agency. But losing 1st round comp picks, picking poorly, and never really being bad enough to draft in the top 5 like Houston hasn't helped us fill out a good rotation for a long, long time. The complete withdrawal from the international market for a number of years, and all-but ignoring the Cubans FA's and NPB postings (other than Morales.) Hints and rumors that the minor league / scouting / development operations were on a shoestring for years, even before DiPoto - who seemed to similarly neglect it - maybe b/c Arte needed to keep making a profit, so investors could get paid. The team has been hamstrung, repeatedly, by bad FA signings - no sooner would one expire than we'd run out and sign another. And a lot of bad luck (Adenhardt, Morales, now Skaggs) The problem isn't Arte. And yet, it is - like many teams that did poorly because their owners can't resist meddling ... There are 30 teams in baseball all competing for the same thing - you can't afford that many mistakes or misses - you can't afford to be outspent, outthought, out-hustled - mediocrity is easy - being the best is really hard.

I notice that Trout's homerun was 454 foot, with a 111 mph exit velocity. Same as the 7/12 game. Someone else probably already said that - but if not, th ought it was a small but cool coincidence to note.

The first 5 guys that come out the door:

Author should probably look up the actual meaning of "undeniably", as in "undeniably an accident." Dead horses and all - never thought he was a bad guy, he immediately regretted it, and he's been a gentlemen at every turn - but that last-second deviation in his path, the fact he launched himself *at* the catcher, not the plate, that he didn't "slide" as he claimed - he violated every part of the rule designed to prevent this incidents - so "accident" is very much "deniable." Calling it an accident absolves him of all of the above - all the things he did wrong that led up to the collision. Much like an angry drunk getting behind the wheel and killing several youngsters when he ran a red light and t-boned their car - that wasn't an "accident" either.

Get one of these: https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/ric/6881185958.html It turned out to be a hoax, but was pretty funny. The maine coon is a beautiful breed, as is the Siberian. Kind of want a Savannah myself, to terrorize the dogs in the neighborhood who poop on the grass ...

Taking a fastball in the earflap is a potentially career-ending - or life-ending escalation. Don't lose your sh*t if someone literally breaks Coles arm if he does this. Was never for retaliating - but if Cole deliberately hits a player in the head with a 95+ mph fastball, his career should be over.

Impressed with Marinsiak from the incident + 1 second. I faulted him hard for the collision - and still do - but he's been class ever since. If nothing else occurs, I think it's time the fans cut him a break - he took his payback like a man - (and it was definitely scary-high - which is why I dislike those paybacks) - hat tip to him for his behavior since.

If we're honest with ourselves, we know what's bringing all of these "refugees" north - they know they can make more money in the US, often to send home to their families. And they know if they claim asylum, they'll eventually be released into the country, legally - with no need to duck ICE all the time, at least until they miss their hearings. (THey know this because Americans are down in Central America telling them this - there are people deliberately encouraging this migration.) They're also told that if they bring a kid - *any* kid - with them, it's even easier. So, the simple way to turn off that "refugee" spigot is to make the policy you must apply at a consulate in the first country you cross into. If you fail to do so, if you enter the country illegally, you are ineligible for an asylum claim for 5 years. If you present yourself at a Port of Entry, you can make a claim, but must wait outside the country until your hearing. And we should hold such hearings in embassies or consulates in those countries - not here. And we need to staff up so those hearings can be held and determinations made in days or weeks, not months or years. Stemming the "economic refugee" flow won't solve the problem - they'll just revert to more illegal border crossings. There needs to be a security fence, and immediate deportations after capturing biometrics - so repeat offenders can be detected and charged. The detention facilities need to be all-but-closed. By expeditiously deporting those who enter the country illegally. And there needs to be enhanced punishments for those that exploit undocumenteds - charge employers that pay illegal workers $5 an hour with human trafficking violations - let those employers face actual prison time and fines that'll put them out of business. Enforce it, hard. Heck, offer work permits and cash to undocumenteds who provide information that result in the arrest and conviction of employers that knowingly exploit workers. The hypocrisy of those that talk about "compassion" for undocumented are often so eager to benefit from their cheap labor is nauseating. The list of fixes goes on and on - the magnitude of the problem is overwhelming - the elementary school across the street from me is filled to the brim - 75% are ESL, many of them here as UAC's (many undocumented make pretty good livings, paid to look after UAC's.) We spend over $100m a year in my county just building new school buildings, much of that attributable to the influx of undocumenteds and their children. Then, of course, you have to *staff* all of those schools - we spend over $1B a year on schools in my county, now - that's staggering. It's an astonishing dereliction of the Congress that they're happy with the status quo. For all the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching, they really don't seem to want to do *anything*. We can't import every economic refugee on the planet - a billion will come. If we need more workers, raise the quotas, vet them, let them come here legally, with legal rights and protections against exploitation. Which for many, defeats the purpose. They *like* their cheap, exploitable labor. It's disgusting.

His last name isn't actually "Smith", his parents couldn't spell his real last name .... "Jones"

The basis of the question seems unlikely - there probably aren't really any trades we can make that would do both of: a) Make us significantly less competitive this year, (meaning we trade a significant piece from the current roster), and b) make us significantly *more* competitive next year and beyond. But if there were such a trade available to us - I'd be reluctant to trade someone like Calhoun today, b/c we're still too close to losing Skaggs - I feel like it'd make the club look pretty heartless to trade someone right now. I don't know what it's worth - but I'd rather potential FA's look at the Angels and think "That's a tight-knit organization that cares about their players" rather than "That's a cold-hearted bunch". But a couple of weeks from now? Today, and every day, I'd expect Eppler to be working to find ways to improve the team - and I'd rather it be with a goal of long-term improvement rather than gearing up for a very unlikely stretch run that leaves us weaker next year.

Cant' read the article - but I think the place this approach and tools may make the most impact is to start it in Rookie ball, and to consistently apply it through the player's development. I'd think a high school kid is far more teachable than some 30-year-old pitcher who made the majors doing what he's doing - old dogs and all that. More time to train them, and more time to enjoy any improvement - they have thousands of pitches left in their arm - some of our pitchers look like they have "dozens." And hat's the point of spending money to fix Matt Harvey if the results won't happen until next year? (you know he'll win the Cy Young pitching for Oakland next year on a league-minimum contract.)

Seems obvious - but if on the first pitch, it goes to the backstop, and the runner tries for first but is thrown out. They're "out", right? I mean, they don't get to go back to a 1-0 count? The author asks a reasonable question - who asked for this?

Curious why you think his arm isn't (or won't be) sound enough to pitch next year? At any given time, 1/4 to 1/3 of pitchers in the league have had TJ. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN680Hq-FDVsCwvN-3AazykOBON0/edit#gid=1109879914

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player? Here's the commentary on the rule: Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him. To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy. He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy, one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous. In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder." The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.

Ah, thought "carpet" was the choice - agreed, LVP has come a long way, it's straightforward, looks pretty good, and as you say, easy install, waterproof and kinda indestructible. Much better than engineered floors, imo (which have high installation costs and not much of a wear layer.)

This - they subcontract - but HD *tends* to have a larger inventory on-hand. Since they use multiple subs, might be easier to find an installation time that works. What I'd do - if you have a service rating service around you, (I live near DC, so checkbook.org for me, but maybe something like Angie's list?), get the names of a few reputable stores. Then do a quick measure, and estimate how much material you need - then call HD, and a few local flooring stores, and just tell them the deal - first question, see if they have an opening in their installation calendar they need to fill that works for you. If they do, then go see what they have in-stock - if it's a small job, probably could just use a remnant they have on-hand. They'll all want to come out and measure - a locally-owned store could do that same-day, Home Depot, it might be a week. I got a whole floor and stairway of hardwood installed in 4 days from the time I put the deposit down to it being done - so, can be done. (Local stores usually have much better prices than any chains.)

Well, not having released the results of the autopsy doesn't imply "drugs" - b/c there's no autopsy finding - at least not officially - because they were asked to withhold the *autopsy* finding - but when the toxicology tests are completed, and the report goes final, cause/manner of death will be public information. (there may be leaks earlier, of course.) And if, say, opioids were found in his room, likely the police would already have said that. But someone dying at his age, in this manner, statistically drugs are the usual culprit, but could be an undiagnosed congenital heart condition, like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and often, something as "simple" as sleep apnea. I'd say let's not do the "dead pool" with this, and not speculate to try to be "right."

Running up the score was (somewhat) defensible - I've heard many times among those in the soccer community that's it's more humiliating to take it easy on an opponent. But the excessive celebrations in a slaughter were embarrassing and juvenile. And I was embarrassed by Alex Morgan's "tea-drinking" mockery after scoring against England, thought it lacked class - in what sport is mocking your opponent ok? And we're surprised when England played so roughly in the 2nd half? They're supposed to be the best in the world - ambassadors for the Women's game, and role models. They should act like it.

She's been taking a knee during anthem sine 2016, and has nothing to do with Trump or Fox news, it was done in support of Kaepernick, or rather injustice and inequality in America. https://sports.yahoo.com/news/rapinoe-kneels-for-anthem-again-ahead-of-u-s-national-team-game-003056979.html Personally, I think she's a good player, and don't think she's a terrible person - but if you're going to represent your country on a national team, and take their money, then perhaps don't go overseas and disrespect your country's national anthem or traditions - but honor everyone elses'.