Hubs

Ok now I feel bad.

The Angels own his rights for I think Four more seasons. 21 doesn’t count. He’s on the restricted list. 

From a baseball standpoint this is a great addition to the pen. He struggled in 2020 but that season was weird. His 2019 was super solid. If he can return to form he’ll easily make the pen mix.

Like i said, he missed the money. 

Albert was older at the time he signed his 10 year deal with the halos than Rendon is right now even after spending two of his 7 year deal with the team.  The comparison is absurd.  

This is a ridiculous statement. Cole obviously would've helped, but characterizing Rendon as a flop after 1 abbreviated season in which he nearly led the league at his position for WAR, (2.2 bWAR, 7th overall in AL, Ramirez was 5th and 1st as a 3rd, with 2.4bWAR, but he also DH).. and then having one more season where he was hurt...
When he gets 6-7 WAR in 2022, we're not gonna complain, right?
Fangraphs has him tied for 2nd in 2020 at 3B with Manny Machado at 2.6, Jose Ramirez first with 3.5 so the difference is a bit more. Still, his 2020 was an overwhelming success, and his 2021 was an injury laden failure. I expect him to bounce back.

I asked Victor Rojas yesterday on Twitter if he'd be up to covering the remainder than Matt V didn't. He joked back that he'd have to ask himself for permission, and that he missed all of us.
Doubt it could happen, but...and it Would be weird for him to hold a job with another organization, but honestly, give him the 38 Texas and Houston games, and let him broadcast from Texas. Let him do the Miami and Atlanta Series, 7 more, and that's 45 games. Matt V should be able to do 100, and if It meant Victor was back, I'd be okay with Jose Mota or Terry Smith or whoever, on Sundays for the other ones that Matt V couldn't do, cuz he's booked up for national broadcasts.

I asked Victor Rojas yesterday on Twitter if he'd be up to covering the remainder than Matt V didn't. He joked back that he'd have to ask himself for permission, and that he missed all of us.
Doubt it could happen, but...and it Would be weird for him to hold a job with another organization, but honestly, give him the 38 Texas and Houston games, and let him broadcast from Texas. Let him do the Miami and Atlanta Series, 7 more, and that's 45 games. Matt V should be able to do 100, and if It meant Victor was back, I'd be okay with Jose Mota or Terry Smith or whoever, on Sundays for the other ones that Matt V couldn't do, cuz he's booked up for national broadcasts.

This is a ridiculous statement. Cole obviously would've helped, but characterizing Rendon as a flop after 1 abbreviated season in which he nearly led the league at his position for WAR, (2.2 bWAR, 7th overall in AL, Ramirez was 5th and 1st as a 3rd, with 2.4bWAR, but he also DH).. and then having one more season where he was hurt...
When he gets 6-7 WAR in 2022, we're not gonna complain, right?
Fangraphs has him tied for 2nd in 2020 at 3B with Manny Machado at 2.6, Jose Ramirez first with 3.5 so the difference is a bit more. Still, his 2020 was an overwhelming success, and his 2021 was an injury laden failure. I expect him to bounce back.

This is a ridiculous statement. Cole obviously would've helped, but characterizing Rendon as a flop after 1 abbreviated season in which he nearly led the league at his position for WAR, (2.2 bWAR, 7th overall in AL, Ramirez was 5th and 1st as a 3rd, with 2.4bWAR, but he also DH).. and then having one more season where he was hurt...
When he gets 6-7 WAR in 2022, we're not gonna complain, right?
Fangraphs has him tied for 2nd in 2020 at 3B with Manny Machado at 2.6, Jose Ramirez first with 3.5 so the difference is a bit more. Still, his 2020 was an overwhelming success, and his 2021 was an injury laden failure. I expect him to bounce back.

What would you all think of bringing back Garret Richards for the exact same role they are bringing Lorezen in for.  A guy that can start, and if that doesn’t work he works out of the pen?  Probably cost about the same.  Good teams have depth.  He would be a good depth piece/insurance policy piece.  

The OP and tweeter he took it from are massaging the stats to make them Look like similar players. Abreu had more power but Gwynn was a better player.
Gwynn averaged a hit number (209) that Abreu never even reached. Gwynn has 3141 hits, Abreu 2470.
I firmly believe the strike cost Gwynn his .400 season.
Abreu, like Tim Salmon and others in this same range belongs in the Hall of Very Good. And just because some players get in to the HOF who are really just HOVG, doesn’t mean the bar should be lowered.

The OP and tweeter he took it from are massaging the stats to make them Look like similar players. Abreu had more power but Gwynn was a better player.
Gwynn averaged a hit number (209) that Abreu never even reached. Gwynn has 3141 hits, Abreu 2470.
I firmly believe the strike cost Gwynn his .400 season.
Abreu, like Tim Salmon and others in this same range belongs in the Hall of Very Good. And just because some players get in to the HOF who are really just HOVG, doesn’t mean the bar should be lowered.

Chuck's moving to Nashville?
Also, to answer, no. I'm a firm believer of picking a favorite team when you're young and sticking with it. 
I was raised as both an Angels and Dodgers fan, growing up in the Valley, in LA...my parents having grown up in Orange County and Riverside County. But we live closer to Dodger Stadium. In my teenage years we would go to at least one Angels game if the team was in town the week we vacationed in Newport Beach. They gradually took over my fandom, with Percy and Salmon and Edmonds, Finley, and it culminated in the Scioscia hire who was always my favorite Dodger before and after Fox traded Piazza for a bunch of Marlins, I lost faith in that team. I already followed the Angels a bit more by that point in the mid 1990's, and that was the last disappearance of my childhood Dodger fandom.
I lost faith with the Lakers after Kareem and Magic retired. I started watching Utah Jazz with Stockton and Malone and they became my favorite Basketball team.
And the Rams were godawful in the 1980's so I always followed San Francisco 49ers. Those are my three teams.
If any of them moves, I would stay a fan. If they did what the Ravens/Browns did and left and were replaced by a new Angels team in say Tustin, I'd become a fan of the new Angels. But that's not gonna happen.
If they move, they're likely to move to LA or a different part of OC.
Las Vegas is not an option, no team is leaving a more populous market to go to a smaller one. Plus, its way too hot in Vegas in the summer.
 

While the family may be happy, I am not.
Certain things should stay how they are. The team unofficially didn't wear his number again, for over 10 seasons. It would have been one thing if someone like Weaver changed his number to 34, to honor Nick, but for a new Angel to come in wearing that number, because he didn't want to change it, is a bit much for me.
And I'm sure I'm not alone, but yeah, I thought he'd change his number. Makes me like Thor a little less.
 

While the family may be happy, I am not.
Certain things should stay how they are. The team unofficially didn't wear his number again, for over 10 seasons. It would have been one thing if someone like Weaver changed his number to 34, to honor Nick, but for a new Angel to come in wearing that number, because he didn't want to change it, is a bit much for me.
And I'm sure I'm not alone, but yeah, I thought he'd change his number. Makes me like Thor a little less.
 

I think if we add a decent SS we're definitely more than close. 
Then again, our defense is dealing with some retarded shifts, so that may cancel out anything they'd do otherwise.

What team doesn't have "if's"? Even the Dodgers teams of the past few years have ifs.
With the lockout now ending its second week, we know it's gonna last until at least January.
The Angels have three regular key offensive players and then two more regulars than need to repeat their success in 2020 and 2021, and then five that have question marks. They'll have an entirely new bench.
Pitching wise, 4 starters are gone from the 2021 team (Heaney, Bundy, Cobb, Quintana) and one other may start in AAA.
There are plenty of "if's" but plenty of reasons for optimism.
 

I'm a bit more optimistic, although not by much. Your 85 wins is +8 over 2021, when their two best position players missed a total of 230 games, or averaged 47 games each - less than one-third of a season. Healthier seasons from Trout and Rendon alone can make up that difference.
Now consider how the team will be different in 2022:
1. Syndergaard and Lorenzen instead of Cobb and Heaney. As you say, this might not be as much of an improvement as people hope it will be, but I think it could be. +0-2 wins.
2. Presumably more starts from Sandoval and Suarez. I think both established a baseline level of performance, and thus them pitching more will only improve the rotation. +1-3 wins.
3. An improved bullpen. Not by a huge amount, as Raisel was here last yeare, but Loup gives them a second elite reliever, a luxury they haven't had in quite some time. Plus, the Angels have a better sense of their in-house options, so won't be rotating through them as much. +1-2 wins.
4. A healthy(er) Trout and Rendon. I mean, it can't be worse, right? Even if both get hurt at some point, chances are it won't be nearly as extreme as last year. While Trout seems injury prone, it is only two of the last five seasons in which he lost a substantial amount of time, and only one of the last four. +6-10 wins.
5. Likely improvement from Adell and Marsh. We don't know by how much, but there's really no reason to think that they won't continue to improve. +2-4 wins.
6. An improved defense. Shortstop is still a problem as of this writing, but more consistent performers in the outfield should go a long way to improve the defense. I mean, last year the Angels had 18 guys play the outfield, compared to 10 in 2019, their previous full season. +1-3 wins.
Those are just wild estimations, as far as wins added, but yields a range of +11-24, or 81-101 wins. Of course I don't actually think the Angels will win 100+ games, although the point is that in the very unlikely chance that they max out every area of improvement, they're talented enough to be a very good team.
More likely, I think the team as currently configured wins somewhere between 85-90 games, with 87-88 being my over/under. Or to be a bit more granular:
- Catastrophic injuries (akin to 2021): 78-80 wins
- Significant injuries (more than the norm): 81-84 wins
- Moderate injuries (the norm): 85-88 wins
- Few injuries (better than the norm): 89-92 wins
And then adjust accordingly, depending upon player development and performance.
And of course, there are still small to moderate moves that the Angels can make to improve the team. Like: Acquire a strong defensive shortstop, a defense-first back-up catcher, maybe add one more veteran reliever.
I do agree that predicting more than 85 wins is fraught with questions, but I think the reality is that the Angels have a wide range of outcomes, and there's reason to be hopeful that they can surpass that number.

Rodon, Cishek, Watson, Duffy.
But honestly at this point I pivot and try to sign Trevor Story to a 21-22M deal for 2 seasons.
See if he wants to re-enter the market in two years after establishing he can hit outside Coors.
 
 

We can get any of the guys from either level, our system is not that barren, we just may not like the price for the Sixto-Castillo-Marquez level.
 

I feel better about the Ohtani, Syndergaard, Sandoval, Suarez, Lorenzen, Barria, Detmers, Canning, Junk, Naughton, Daniel group
and the Iglesias, Loup, Mayers, Warren, Cishek, Quijada, Ortega, Wantz, Tyler, Herget group
than I do the Fletcher, Wade, Rengifo, Mayfield, Davis, Velazquez, Stefanic group.

What is a #1 versus a #2? 
What is a #3 vs #4?
Basically You have three categories for rotations, maybe four. You have front of the rotation, middle rotation types, back of rotation types and AAAA fill In guys.
Front of the Rotation Guys like Scherzer, Ray, Gausman, Buehler, Urias, Cole, Verlander, Syndergaard, Stroman, DeGrom, Glasgow, Snell, Darvish, Castillo, Ohtani, all in this group. Gausman is a fringe guy here.
Sandoval can get here. Detmers can get here.
Middle of the Rotation next up: Lynn, E. Rodriguez, Odorozzi, Sonny Gray, Kluber, Cobb, DeScafalini, etc.
Suarez can get here, Canning and Barria can get here.
back of the Rotation are guys like Bundy, Heaney, Quintana, Duffy, etc. 
Naughton, Junk, can get here. 

I feel better about the Ohtani, Syndergaard, Sandoval, Suarez, Lorenzen, Barria, Detmers, Canning, Junk, Naughton, Daniel group
and the Iglesias, Loup, Mayers, Warren, Cishek, Quijada, Ortega, Wantz, Tyler, Herget group
than I do the Fletcher, Wade, Rengifo, Mayfield, Davis, Velazquez, Stefanic group.

Yes if they can find a taker. We got rid of 500k of Pujols' contract some of Heaney's and Quintana's this way. 
They had 46,663,119 in retained salaries in 2021, meaning players who didn't finish the season with the organization and weren't on injured reserve according to Spotrac.
We paid Pujols 29,573,687 of his $30M contract. Quintana $6,537,626 of his $8M figure, Heaney 4,391,150 of his 6,750,000, and there were others too.
The total value of these salaries was around $50M, and we paid $46.6M.
So the opening day payroll of $181 ish, went to 177, and the luxury tax was similarly affected.