ScruffytheJanitor

A starters value is not only just the fact that they pitch more innings, they also pitch more meaningful innings. More ballgames are decided in innings 1-6 that could be decided on the last three. I think that the only reason closers are getting paid so much is because there are fewer ways to spend cash now. Can't spend much on the draft, can't throw crazy money at international free agents, and marquis free-agents cost a draft pick. Compared to singing a 4th starter, paying $60 Million for a closer seems a lot more palatable.

Some people get all the brains. 

These people aren't those people. 

On 8/20/2016 at 9:54 PM, Thomas said:

The getting chicks part is pretty accurate though.

My cousin who has herpes, is totally honest about it, and STILL gets action can confirm this. 

Julian Assange looks like the creepy guy who stares at you in the coffee shop and makes you change your order to "to go."

I have nothing substantive to add to this. 

7 hours ago, nate said:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35564-how-private-prison-companies-use-big-tax-breaks-and-low-wages-to-maximize-profit

I feel like the URL is a summary of the article. 

5 hours ago, ScottyA_MWAH said:

I preach aggressiveness while promoting prospects typically, but with Herm, I'd wait and see how he looks in ST next season, if he continues to tear it up then yeah promote him.

I agree whole heartedly. Case by case is different, but once I can see that a player is just BETTER than the people at his level, I move him up. The main reasons to hold someone back are:  1) if they are STUPID young; 2) If they are young and stupid; 3) they have one major hole in their game ("He's hitting .425 against fastballs...and .125 against sliders"), and 4) A player goes from being a  "Single-A burnout" to "The second coming of Mickey Mantle" for four months. 

2 hours ago, Lou said:

We've been near the top in payroll for a while now. Remember, our tv deal didn't kick in until last year. A lot of those small market teams that have people feeling sorry for them have the money to spend, they just choose not to. They are owned by billionaires or billion dollar corporations, many who have bank accounts that dwarf that of Arte Moreno. 

I agree that "spending money" isn't a great argument for why we suck; Arte has paid money time and time again. The issue is that we gambled on a series of players that have either not panned out in terms of production (Pujols, Hamilton) or have produced fine but drained the farm system in the process (Greinke, Haren). 

I like it. There is almost no downside and it is a great upside play.

It may be better to try Banuelos, Meyer, and someone like Deolis Guerra as a starter than it is to sign Rich Hill and think that would solve our issues (in the sense that Hill would make us a contender). Our path to competing next will will require hitting on a few lotto tickets and a few shrewd FA moves Given that approach, I really like the numbers Eppler is picking so far. 

I had a roommate that played baseball in College, and I was thisclose to getting him to play "99 Red Balloons" as his walk-up song during a home-stand with Vanderbilt (which involved not-a-few scouts).  

This may shock you, but-- in terms of Managerial duties-- Scioscia just does not have that much of an impact on outcomes of games. Not because he's good, bad or average, but because, by and large, Managers just don't impact the outcomes of games all that much. While he sometimes makes weird decisions, he's always been pretty good at managing a bullpen-- one of the most direct applications of in-game management. Further more,  I actually like Scioscia's strategy (aggressive approach and that whole deal) is great for the right team. 

Don't misunderstand me; I would like a new manager. I think his tactical approach is often wanting, and if half the stuff that came out with the DiPoto departure are true, he probably should have been fired on the spot. The fact that he will fall in love with certain player/ coaches that are CLEARLY inferior (Hatcher/ Mathis, come on down) is enough to give him the boot. What REALLY irks me is that he seems to have a lot of control over how the Angels run their franchise-- and, while that's probably common, it's just not something Scioscia does very well at all. 

I think the A's and Rays would qualify as two teams that may be more hopeless. No money, bad ownership, awful stadiums. I also think that both franchises get moved within a decade. 

It seem crazy to move the A's (I don't think Tampa/St. Petersburg deserves a team), but unless their owner puts up the money or Manfred can force a sale, I just think that's the end game. I also think that California has too many teams as it is. 

Personally, I'd move the A's to Montreal and the Rays to Nashville (or, maybe, Charlotte). You can make the MLB more international and put a team in the southeast where, let's face it, it's the Braves or nothing-- which, considering how big Baseball is in the South, always seemed like a mistake. The biggest obstacle is Nashville's new AAA stadium, but hell: I'd rather watch a game there any day of the week. 

On 8/15/2016 at 8:26 PM, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Pure artwork, a true classic.

The ease of the lyric, the subtle yet unmistakable nod to the greats like Yeats, Shakespeare, and 2 Chainz, the hidden vacillation between Trimeter, Tetrameter, and the noise of a mongoose choking on buscuit-- when added to the raw emotion few poets have ever accessed, this truly is Art as few in history have ever made it. 

21 hours ago, mulwin444 said:

If he can even put up a .250 .320 .730 line while catching a great game and throwing out 45% of the runners, you have our starting catcher.  Still, Carlos Perez was putting up similar numbers in the minors and has slumped since coming up so I'm not holding my breath that this offensive pace continues. 

I'd take that all week and twice on Sundays. He's basically what Scioscia thought he saw in Mathis. 

6 hours ago, Billy_Ball said:

What is the team ERA again?

 

 

My eyes just rolled so hard, my eyeballs rolled out of my head. 

Guys: After feeding Trout's stats into my patented MATH-MO-TRON, I can conclude: We need to trade him now before everyone realizes the gig is up. Yankees: We need Judge, Bird, Sanchez, Sheffield. Clearly, these last eight at-bats signal a deep, historic decline of incredible proportions. 

Their plan?

Trade bad players, keep good ones. I am surprised by this AMAZINGLY BRILLIANT analysis. "Cut bait with Jared Weaver" you say? Quick! Someone contact Eppler pronto! Sign a FA pitcher, you say? Arte: WHY ISN'T THIS GUY THE GM?

5 hours ago, Angels N Skins said:

Trumbo's numbers seem to be headed in the right direction though

He had a very flukey first half this year. Was basically mashing everything. Basically, he had a small spike in fly ball percentage and a HUGE spike in HR-to-Fly ratio (especailly compared to his last two seasons. He's also pulling more than he has in the past. That means he was hittin' dem home runs at a crazy rate (even for him), which made everyone forget that he's been a SUCH a superfund site in the field that he's only cobbled together a WAR of just over 1. 

14 hours ago, ScottyA_MWAH said:

Don't you guys remember Drew Pomeranz? You take lefties with good stuff that havent succeeded in the majors (particularly because of unfavorable hitting parks), get them stretched out and roll the dice.

And BTW, if the Angels are really intending to compete in 2017, I wouldn't be targeting the Oberholtzers of the world. I think they're buying lottery tickets to compete in 2018 and beyond.

Exactly. We have enough (one-year, hopefully) slots open on next year's staff that this makes complete sense. 

1 minute ago, ELEVEN said:

What did we give up?

...for a waiver claim? It sounds like it was a simple waive-and-claim; no prospects reported.

Sure, why not. 

If you buy enough  raffle tickets, eventually you'll get to drive that sweet golf cart home. 

You get to pay for lots of free agents?

23 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Dude could talk -- the man poured honey water down our throats and make us believe in rainbows and unicorns.   I don't believe the Angels have ever had a better speaker, or more likeable person in the GM position.  That ability to connect with people bought him a lot of leeway, as did being the Anti-Soscia.

Additionally: He got Pujols and Wilson in one winter's meeting. Remember: Angels fans were DESPERATE to sign the big name that off-season after being repeatedly spurned. 

17 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

When I read the thread title, I thought it was going to be about this. He should become the all-time leader next year.

Holy statistics, Batman. There are some impressive names on that list.

23 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

Angels are going to lean on the offense in 2017. Doubtful that Cowart gets a opportunity to play. 

The offense works with Escobar leading off ... hopes of him getting traded, playing second,  or platoon roles are just hopeful thinking. 

We are just one impact bat away from being a top 5 offense in baseball for 2017.

This is %100 true. We really are pretty good on offense. There are a surprising number of good options for left field (Reddick, Saunders, Fowler, heck even John Jay) and Justin Turner might be a good option as well. Hell, even Steve Pierce could have a good role on this club. The only turd in this punch bowl is that the Angels need about 4-6 pitchers (2-3 starters, at least 1 good bullpen option) and I just don't know that we can get the caliber of pitchers we need. Makes me wonder if someone like Cron could be on the move;there is more power in the market than there are arms, and we NEEED arms. 

14 hours ago, Oz27 said:

Funny, I was planning to start a thread exactly along these lines today. There are a few things I want to see, for different reasons.

1. Dramatic reform to the international amateur signing system. I think the best solution is the creation of an international amateur draft, or simply the addition of international players to the existing draft. This does pose a significant problem with countries like Japan and Korea - my suggestion would be those players are made exempt from that system and a continuation of the existing bidding system. Part of this is selfish, we have been terrible in the international market and a draft would make it a bit harder to continue to be terrible. But I also think the current system is shady and hard to police and that needs to change.

2. Teams should be able to trade draft picks. There is no reason to protect teams from their own stupidity or to prevent rebuilding teams from choosing the players they want by acquiring draft picks. This scenario would be terrible for the Angels, because if we haven't protected our minor leaguers we sure as hell wouldn't protect hypothetical minor leaguers. But it's what's best for baseball.

3. The draft slot system should be eliminated. Players should be paid what they are deemed to be worth.

4. The luxury tax threshold needs to be increased. Obviously that would be good for the Angels too.

5. Free agent compensation needs major changes. I hate that teams are punished for trying to make themselves better. I understand the requirement for compensation for teams losing players but punishing teams is silly. It's also a ridiculous restriction on the value of guys like Howie Kendrick. My suggestion is the qualifying offer remains, at a somewhat similar value, but there is no punishment for teams who sign players who turn down a QO. Teams who lose a player, who turned down a QO, continue to receive a sandwich pick as compensation. If this is too drastic, the punishment should at least be reduced (you could protect all first round picks and have the punishment only begin in the second round.

6. The wildcard playoff should be best-of-three.

7. Some form of roster expansion would be good. My suggestion is a 26-man or 27-man roster with either one or two inactive players selected for each game. I don't think it's good that teams practically don't have a bench anymore. This would need to be factored into the aforementioned increase in the luxury tax.

8. Holding the draft after the College World Series (I like the All Star Game week suggestion).

Some of these will happen, some might and some won't. But I'd love to see all these things. A change to the DL system (I've always thought 15 days is too long) also seems like a good idea to me.

I agree.  My only tweaks/ suggestions:  

1. DOUBLE the bonus pool for each team, if the "slotting" system has to remain.

2. If they really want teams to benefit from losing a free agent, they could just have a comp round after the 1st, where the 10 teams that have lost the most net production from the year before due to free agency get a pick. That's it. I get that this rule was more about protecting smaller clubs from getting raided by the Yankees, but that's a joke these days. Local networks, internet money: If any team really wants a player in free agency, they can get them. 

3. Make picks in the 1st and 2nd round tradeable; would have to include a "Stepien" rule about having to make a first round pick at least every-other year. After that, I am OK with No trades after the first round (the draft is long enough not to have to include windows between picks to allow for trading).

4. I'd like for them to design a way for the draft to eventually just include all amateur players. I sort of see why there has to be an international draft, but I don't know if that will be true in 10 years.

5. Abolish the freaking competitive balance picks. It's just dumb. Does anyone REALLY think the Reds or the Cardinals need extra early round picks?