DCAngelsFan

We finally get a pitcher to make it past the sixth inning and we've got whining? 

Hmm, pretty sure "Global Thermonuclear War" happens in that timeline ...
You know, maybe if we win a World Series, he'll decide he wants to go out "on top" (ahem), and may retire for 80% of his remaining salary.   But even that's unlikely - he'll probably want to play as long as there are milestones within reach.  
 

Not to mention, if you subtract his impact on the A's, they're going to look incrementally even better relative to other teams.  Khris Davis, for example, has an overall .338 OBP - but his OBP is .368 if you remove his 6 AB's against Ohtani.
 

Aren't like 6 of their top 20 prospects still playing in Little League?  
Effin' Dipoto ...
 

In a sense, it was the same for me - I mean, I didn't know Nick, had followed him with a little extra interest, since he was from this part of the country, drafted by "my" team, but there was no personal connection.
And when I watched him pitch that night, I celebrated a bit - a kid with so much promise,  who *everyone* said was a great kid, overcoming that early surgery, and finally touching that dream we all had as kids, and showing the promise we all hoped was there - was a great night to be an Angels fan.
And when I heard the first rumor - of a car accident involving an young Angels player, and that it looked really bad, I somehow knew it was Nick.  As details leaked out, I hoped for awhile that he'd survived, though it was clear from the description his career would be over - but turned out, the severely injured survivor was his friend, and that Nick and the others had already passed.  I don't know why it hit me so hard, but it did, imagining his father seeing him start - then hours later, getting that early-morning call that's every parents secret nightmare.  That's what really hurt - imagining his parents, seeing their son realize his dream, the ultimate joy of a parent,  then experiencing the unimaginable cruelty of having it all ripped away just hours later in a senseless act. It was devastating.
Weaver keeping Nick's memory alive the way he has is one of the most touching and respectful things I've seen in baseball.
They say a person dies twice - once, when they draw their last breath.  And once when their name is spoken for the last time.  
Safe to say Nick's memory will remain alive for many years to come.
 

Aren't like 6 of their top 20 prospects still playing in Little League?  
Effin' Dipoto ...
 

The worst day I have ever experienced as an Angels fan.

Didn't like the trade at the time, 'cause  didn't think we really were ready to compete - I think I used some metaphor at the time, like we're getting shiny new rims for a car whose engine had blown up.  
And I loved Saunders - his reaction to the trade was a bit heart-breaking - but he wasn't that great, and Corbin and Skaggs have taken a long time to get anywhere (I was really high on Skaggs from when he was drafted - only now is he showing signs of what I thought he could be.)
Absent the Wells trade, and making a better move instead -  which would have included doing "nothing" - Napoli had real trade value, and we just gave him away in what I still think was the worst trade in baseball history.  So, maybe Haren could've put us over the top after that first half-season - with a better move other than Wells.   
So, maybe not as terrible a trade as I thought at the time.  Still pointless, though.  
 

Not as good as amadeus simmons, though.

I see what you did there ... 

I see what you did there ... 

The context of the statement was pitcher "health""
So, to me, he's saying if we (continue to) have health issues from our starters, and have to dig deeper into the barrel, the defense will help them.  Not a slight on our front 5 or 6.
 

Cron is hitting .357 and

I'll be in my unggjhhhhh oops I couldn't make it

Eh, I get what he's saying, and I agree, I think there's a bit of benefit to the Arte and Scioscia approach, a little more familial and personable - I think Mike runs a pretty good clubhouse, keeps players loose and even-keeled - that's all goodness.
But, I mean, it's a business - does he really think the rest of us can go into, say, Google, and tell them "yeah, my coding skills are for crap - but I'm a people person, people like me, so yeah, I expect top dollar?"
You can't expect to be paid in a way that puts you in the top 0.001% of the population, and not expect teams to try to understand your potential value to their bottom line and to do their best to limit your costs and risks to them.    
But as a negotiating tactic, not sure a GM calling up a FA and telling them they suck is very effective ...
 

Don't really understand the idea of releasing him - what you suggest is the only way this can play out. 
It's not like we have Lou Gehrig stuck in the minors, blocked by Pujols.  So, the only reason I see to release him is if we're trying to save some back-end money, and outrighting him pretty much guarantees he'll collect his money - all of it.   
If he does poorly, then that conversation you mention will give him an opportunity to go out on his own terms, without suffering the indignity of sitting on the bench for 2 or 3 years.  Do that farewell tour, then retire, or work out a release settlement that saves us some money.
Which he won't have to accept - but to save him the humiliation of riding the bench 162, or being "cut", there may be some room there.  I don't think he'd ever actually retire without a settlement - there's way too much money on the table for that. 
The escalating pay was an obvious mistake from day 1 - he was already in decline when we signed him, everyone knew he'd be a disaster in the out years, and back-loading the contract encourages him to bitter-end it.  
 

Relievers are such a volatile commodity - I wouldn't invest much in any but the elite.  The penalties (2d pick and intl money) are enough to say "pass"  at most any realistic contract amount.  
His disastrous August might mean he's out of work until the draft - at which point, I'm back in.

Relievers are such a volatile commodity - I wouldn't invest much in any but the elite.  The penalties (2d pick and intl money) are enough to say "pass"  at most any realistic contract amount.  
His disastrous August might mean he's out of work until the draft - at which point, I'm back in.

Cron will have better numbers than Pujols this year.

Not "huge" and not terrible - but these trend and age says his best years are behind him.  

And as Dochalo said, he's turned down the concept of the Darvish deal - he wants *more*. 
And, really, the Cubs didn't appear to have one bit of interest in him the entire offseason - that check-in story doesn't seem "right" to me - maybe a Boras planted story?  
Most GM's seem really skeptical, and staying away.  What do *they* know (or suspect) that we don't?  
 

Not "huge" and not terrible - but these trend and age says his best years are behind him.  

And as Dochalo said, he's turned down the concept of the Darvish deal - he wants *more*. 
And, really, the Cubs didn't appear to have one bit of interest in him the entire offseason - that check-in story doesn't seem "right" to me - maybe a Boras planted story?  
Most GM's seem really skeptical, and staying away.  What do *they* know (or suspect) that we don't?  
 

That expressions on those faces remind me of the Iraqi National Soccer team when they returned from losing a match, and Uday gave them a "Welcome home, losers  - now, which fingers will you miss least?" speech.  

That expressions on those faces remind me of the Iraqi National Soccer team when they returned from losing a match, and Uday gave them a "Welcome home, losers  - now, which fingers will you miss least?" speech.  

Not "huge" and not terrible - but these trend and age says his best years are behind him.  

And as Dochalo said, he's turned down the concept of the Darvish deal - he wants *more*. 
And, really, the Cubs didn't appear to have one bit of interest in him the entire offseason - that check-in story doesn't seem "right" to me - maybe a Boras planted story?  
Most GM's seem really skeptical, and staying away.  What do *they* know (or suspect) that we don't?