ScruffytheJanitor

Overrated: Damn it, you all took Calhoun. I'll say... Jeffry Marte. I don't see more than a AAAA bat that can get hot for a week or two. 

Underrated: Nolasco? Seems like he could be a solid #4. 

Not super excited by Drew. I feel like he has stolen a lot of money from some teams over the years. 

8 hours ago, Homebrewer said:

Re-watching Ken Burns' Baseball. Finished disk one this evening.

Last winter I read about a dozen baseball books of all kinds...some are reviewed in the 'What are you reading" thread (hangout) Have a few others to read this off season.

Amazing stuff. Just remember: There is a bunch of evidence that Ty Cobb wasn't a virulent racist. He was a troubled man to be sure, and certainly no role model, but the narrative on him was probably really slanted. 

Many Moons ago, I was Long Reliever. Then I left the site for a while, then I came back as Bearringer. I quickly forgot my login info, and now I am ScruffyTheJanitor. 

I'd sign him to a two year deal with an eye towards moving him to the bullpen. His Fastball/Splitter combo could be lethal in a late-inning role.

I know a little about him, since he played college ball at Michigan. He kind of reminds me of Drew Stubbs in terms of production, though with a little less power and a little more on-base skill. I was excited to see this signing, though I will admit that I am surprised he got a Major League deal. Here's hoping that he really is putting it together, because he's a collection of tools that never really showed them all at the same time until last year in AAA. 

Is there a 4th Molina brother?

Here's one way to put it: What moves have each teams made, and under what constraints?

Eppler has been scouring the lower end of the $ spectrum because he was hamstrung by a high payroll. However, this approach of rooting through everyone's garbage has revealed a couple of treasures (Deolis Guerra, JC Ramirez, Et al.), so kudos there. A number of his moved were made in response to the Pitching injuries from last season, so it is a little unfair to give him TOO much (dis)credit for Lincicome and the other emergency additions.  Additionally, he has traded some high-variance relievers for a couple of decent-value veterans that filled big holes (Escobar and Maybin).  His other big move thus far was trading two pitching prospects for a Andrelton Simmons. Right now, that looks like a win for the Angels-- but if Newcomb finds his control (and Chris Ellis fixes whatever the hell happened last year), this may start looking better and better for Atlanta. It's important to mention that Eppler was able to trade Newcomb and STILL have a net improvement in the farm system.  

Dipoto has been much, much more active than Eppler has been-- so active that it would take 3 posts to go through his moves. The highlights include adding:  Danny Valencia, Steve Cishek, Nate Karns, Ariel Miranda, Adam Lind, Wade Miley (later traded), Chris Ianetta, Ben Gamel, Dan Vogelbach Nori Aoki.... you get the idea. The man likes to make moves. While on the whole these moves have been positive, that's a whole lot of shit to go down to improve by 10 wins (though, it should be noted, Felix Herandez's injuries played a part in tamping down the improvement here). It should be noted that while their farm system wasn't particularly highly regarded, they have managed to promote a few kids to the big leagues, make 1.34 billion trades, and still managed to have some intriguing prospects and an OK-ish farm system. 

On the face of it, DiPoto has performed better for LAST season because his team made a more noticeable improvement last year.  But it is important to note that Eppler had some pretty significant challenges... most of which were, to some degree or another, DiPoto's fault. The Mariner's future looks a little brighter, but the Angels just feel like they are making a much more important course correction. Additionally, Eppler's approach has been encouraging for the long term future of the club. 

So while I'd rate their performances in the short term as a slight win for DiPoto, Eppler's approach in the face of a depleted farm system and some unfortunate payroll restrictions (and DiPoto's culpability in creating those challenges) means that he is probably a better GM for the Angels. And DiPoto has, so far, been a decent upgrade for Seattle too. But given their CAREER performance, I'd place a bet that Eppler's track record will look better in 5 years than will DiPoto's. 

23 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

So, no power, no speed, no batting average, and only enough glove to fill in for backup duties......At least he gets on base. There's no reason any professional should be hitting a .195 in AAA. 

Personally, I'd rather stick with Pennington or Petit.

And as for the recent Cowart trade/DFA speculation, I don't think that'll happen.  The Angels are low on 3B options beyond Cowart and Escobar.  Yunel is in the final year of his contract, and there's no guarantee he'll be coming back or that the Angels would even want him back.  Cowart is such a spectacular defender at 3B that I figure they'll keep him as insurance.  The only way I envision Cowart being dealt is if the Angels claimed Trevor Plouffe. 

I mean, he did slash .241/.369/.357 in 2015, and his BABIP went from being consistently around .320 all the way to .266. But, yeah: I doubt there are any great plans to make him our starting 2nd baseman or anything. Probably just our plan c or plan d at that spot. 

This is the weirdest form of hazing I have ever heard of. 

The Best cabinet Trump could put together isn't ever going to happen.

State: Marco Rubio (Corker is probably the best option among those being considered )

Treasury: Jeb Hensarling or  Tim Pawlenty

Defense: Tom Cotton or Kelly Ayotte

Homeland: Mike McCaul

Commerce: Ben Sasse

Labor: Victoria Lipinic

Energy: Keep Moniz around (He may not stay... but he's a really good Energy Sec.) Otherwise... Rob Portman.

Education: Michelle Rhee (unless you aren't a fan of charter schools or voucher programs). Otherwise... Tim Scott? 

AG: Mike Lee

This will never, ever, ever happen though. 

There is one way: If Trout tells Moreno that, with 100 percent certainty, he will not be back with the Angels when his contract is up. Trout doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would do that. 

Interesting move. When Eppler started hinting at moving a reliever, I thought they were going to try to move Guerra. 

Makes me think they have some FA plans in the bullpen: Feliz? Holland? Lower-tier guys like Brad Ziegler or Boone Logan? Interesting, even though I think he's a pen guy all the way. 

Guys, I think we are 4 acquisitions away from competing in the AL west. 

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I like that we already have five different guys slotted into the 5th SP competition: Meyer, Banuelos, Campos, Smith, and Wright. 

A couple of those could slot into the bullpen as well.

Yep. Adding Meyers and Banuelos help me feel a *little* bit better about our pitching depth next year. You always need 8 starters to get through the year; I think Meyer will definitely be one, and if Banuelos stays healthy he could be another.

Literally nothing to complain about here. Significant upside at a chump-change price. I wonder if a 2B trade isn't in the offing; would basically leave C/Bench bat, another reliever, and starting pitching as the only (if very significant) needs.

I don't know. Eppler's comments about looking outside the organization for pitching help makes me think at least one FA pitcher is in the offing. MLBTR is giving us Nova, Utley, and... Nick Hundley? I could see that happening, with "Nick Hundley" being replaced with "Bench-Bat Du Jour" (Steve Pearce?) and a reliever (Cecil? Feliz?). 

Also: Why are people putting Maybin as the #2 hitter? I'd bet a dollar he's batting #9 most of the season. His OBP from last year ain't happening again.

Just now, totdprods said:

Yeah, it's the only explanation as to why it hasn't been exercised yet.

With our luck, the Giants are holding up a huge "MATT CAIN AIN'T BROKE HE'S SANDBAGGING" sign outside of Eppler's office. 

We pick it up, regardless, but it's interesting that we haven't. We have to be shaking the bushes, hoping a mid-level starter falls out. 

Potentially decent move. Alcantra  is electric and erratic. He's the kind of high-variance, (relatively) low-probability prospect teams should trade; dollars-to-donuts,he's fools gold.  Maybin is, at worst, a really good 4th outfeilder- which makes him the best LF we've had in a while.

There is a chance we just traded the next Aroldis for the next Melvin Upton, but those odds are exceedingly low. Decent gamble for a front office that is going to have to take a few chances to improve this roster as much as it needs to improve. 2nd Base, RP, and SP are next on the checklist.

Also, Nate: you know, it's ok to OCCASIONALLY like a move from this front office; we promise we won't start thinking you like Eppler or Arte, scouts honor. 

Not really a fan of this at all-- though if it were up to me, the current draft would go away (each team would be given a draft cap and allowed to sign whomever they could afford).

It would force teams to invest heavily in international scouting, though, so it might be a benefit in the long run. I just hope that it isn't longer than 3 rounds. 

I'd rather have Justin Turner, though I think Turner gets a ridiculous contract. Still, the difference between Turner and rest of our 2B options is  greater than the difference between Reddick and a 2nd tier LF option (like John Jay). 

5 hours ago, Oz27 said:

I strongly agree with this summary. I'm a big believer in Bedrosian. I hope to see Chacin back in a relief role, I could see him becoming really good at that actually. But I don't buy Guerra or Ramirez as anything other than decent middle relievers and, as you say, it would be silly to expect anything useful from Street or Morin. We're extremely short on talented relievers and, while there are a couple of guys in the minors who we could see in the 'pen for part or all of next year, we're going to need to look at established external options to have any hope of having a decent bullpen.

I expect Jansen will end up signing a pretty insane contract and I would probably prefer the Angels stay away from that. Greg Holland is an intriguing option, but it is painful just imagining the amount of 'Madson/Burnett 2.0' posts his signing would lead to.

Jansen will get a crazy contract. For me, the best path forward for this team is pretty simple:

1) Significant upgrade either in LF or 2B, with a "moderate" upgrade at the other position. (Please note: "above average" is a significant upgrade) 

2) One more, according-to-hoyle Mid-Rotation starter or better (this is the hardest thing on the list, obviously)

3) Bullpen: We need to sign/add a couple of pieces here. Bullpens have so much variation that I'd love to see us sign a solid veteran along with a couple of flyers. Guerra and Ramierez need to repeat what they did last year before they can be counted on.  

4) Bench: I don't hate our bench options (Marte and Bandy are a decent start) but I'd love one more piece.

17 hours ago, Blarg said:

Dunkin donuts are shit. Not the shit, just dry shitty donuts. 

I agree with you generally, but their blueberry cake donuts are a revelation. 

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

Think his replacement was Matt(?) Swanson, the cross-checker they hired away from the Cardinals. 

I thought Swanson was Ric Wilson's replacement. Hal Morris was Pro Scouting, Swanson is the overall Scouting Director. 

Have the Angels replaced Hal Morris yet? If so, I completely missed this.