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Well except I don't expect the bottom 2/3 of franchises to all have what I expect the Angels to have. And just to be clear, the minimum I expect is not to have two aces all the time, it is to be a team that could sometime soon. I dont see it any time soon. It is discouraging. Literally all my frustration would be gone if the team had a couple of guys in the minors developing that had high ceilings. Following guys like that in their development is almost as fun as having beasts in the major league rotation.

No argument. It's just a painful roster for me to try to be inspired watching. I'm not inspired.

I like the move as long as Damien Phenomeno wasn't available instead.

Oh I get the historical record. I am just being the honest fan saying this roster is not inspiring and I don't REALLY see the solution developing in any meaningful way. Is 2018 another throw away "maybe .500" year? How about 2019? It's pro sports. Fans wanting a high quality roster or the realistic soon hope of one is not out of bounds.

Hundreds and hundreds of players in the minors. Which names are the arms with they best chances of being #2 or better starters in the majors in the next 3 years? Not mid rotation or back of the rotation depth, but someone you would gladly hand the ball to in a critical start deep in a postseason series. Crickets. Am I a bad fan for seeing that and being willing to openly talk about it?

Look I know why you ask that question, but being disciplined to stick to the specigic point I am making, I dont need to answer that question. Is ownership and the front office accountable for the lack of high quality front line starting pitching or not? Is it acceptable in professional sports for fans to SEE the problem and be frustrated? This team wants to act like they are a premium franchise, so what comes with that is accountability. I expect better.

I don't disagree. Its just that this organization is a premium franchise in a premium market. I guess I just expect a better roster, and maybe its not any more complicated than that. I dont really want to accept that the Angels are "fine" if I just compare them to teams with fewer resources and in inferior markets.

The answer to address better frontline pitching is draft better, develop better, and pursue the right free agents. The reality is it is perfectly ok to sit here disappointed in the starting pitching without having a 20/20 hindsight plan or pretending to have a crystal ball. I am doing nothing more than just holding the organization accountable for the mess on the mound. Should they be accountable? Should I expect them to be accountable going forward? Is it OK to be frustrated if going into 2018 or 2019 the team doesnt have the arms? How many years in a row is it OK to be soft at the top of the rotation before it is natural to bitch about it?

I loved the Heaney trade. All my complaining might not be consuming me if he was out there dealing. It's just gross frustration. The one thing I can't stomach is a starting staff that is overmatched 4 out of 5 nights. And that's what I see right now with not much evidence of it changing.

Who and how is a fair question. Let me ask you a number of fair questions. Were the Angels foolish to (looks to me like) be overly optimistic on being able to count on Richards? How about what seemed like a plan that had Shoemaker beimg better than he is? How do you feel about using tradable pieces to acquire a Ricky Nolasco instead of patience or creativity to get a better player? I'm frustrated thus team had too many potential #4 starters that never had a chance in the real world of being the answer. It's a fair frustration.

Show me a roster recently where they were entering a season with two guys good enough to call top of the rotation guys. Respectfully, citing rosters with Weaver makes my point. Its been LONG time since Weaver was ace matetial. Or should we be feeling good since at one time we had Ryan and Tanana? Today matters.

Fair. I am in a mood so I plead guilty. I am tired of Angel rosters that never seem to focus on frontline starting pitching. I have never understood a pursuit for "depth" (where you have like 7 guys you could r7n out there all equal to #3 or worse ability) versus being hellbent on having two aces and build around that. So when I watch this current parade of bodies I would never even want to sniff the mound in a poatseason series, I am "down on the team" and "in a mood". I'm 100% guilty of that.

I'm talking about at the deadline, not now. I'm just saying that it is painfully obvious TODAY that this roster isn't good enough to contend and I don't want to pretend otherwise. That's all.

Either you get the point or you don't. It's a significant point. The Angels and Mike Scioscia lame comments on Nolasco going into the season were basically insulting to those living in reality. It's Ricky Nolasco. Are you or are you not going to keep eating meatloaf they try to sell you as prime steak?

Too early to tell? Not sure Yet? I'm dumbfounded. This team has zero chance of contending this year. Zero. They are not good enough. The top half of the rotation is barely equal to the bottom half of other teams rotations. That cannot be ignored. This team has got to live in reality and move some bodies to continue the project of building from within. Any other move at the deadline, or lack of moves, would be a mistake.

Hey this Ricky Nolasco, the guy the Angels have promoted as the anchor of the staff, with his 4.68 era very much reminds me of a guy I remember named Ricky Nolasco. Go figure. Shocker.

This would be a terrible time to try to sell him on being an Angel for life.

Looks like Moreno messed up Hamilton's knee again.

We all know this season is now over. We know it. We also understand they can't tear it down in April. But if they don't have the guts to make some headline making trades before the deadline, we'll, I am going to be pissed. And as fan in my fifties now, I will try my best to not let sports actually make me angry so the smarter reaction will be to just ignore the team entirely and check back in when the Winter Meetings come around. There is no excuse to sit on a mediocre roster and start 2018 just like 2017. Start making phone calls Billy.

Yes. I think you help make my point. 3465 is a pre-punched ricket. To me it seems like he has been treated like he was the best player in the game for a generation, and he wasn't even the best shortstop. There is an argument he wasn't in the top five SS over the last 25 yrs. ARod, Ripken, Ozzie, Yount, then take your pick among Trammell, Larkin and Jeter for the fifth spot. Is he treated like the fifth best player at his position in a generation? Jeters lifetime WAR is 71.8. Pretty much even with Bobby Grich at 70.9.

Further, what if he wins 25 games and also saves 40, and also hits 15 pinch hit homers?

I personally find Jeter to be an entirely over rated player who has always been smugly drunk on his own "greatness" and clearly wants to stay on the stage. Whatever. I am rooting for him to fail at buying the team OR get the team and have them absolutely sick. OVER RATED. Hall of Fame? yes. Top tier all time player? Nope. I'll call him third tier, just good enough to get into HOF. So much fawning and hype. . .

Braun can hit but this team right now needs a top tier starter far more than it needs a 34 yr old OF that hits 25 homers. Any resources available to get Braun should be reserved to be used to get a 200 inning #2 type starter.