ScruffytheJanitor

Seattle deserves what's coming to them and their economy. Sucks for the small mom and pop business though

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'd kind of like to see Hermosillo, Jones, and Marsh wind up playing together in the minors at some point. Marsh may be a little too far behind to catch up. But keeping those guys together as a unit may bode well down the line.

Seeing Ward's power come on is encouraging.

People aren't giving this statement as much attention as it deserves but I wholeheartedly agree -- Given the situation the Angels are in, having a guy capable of reliably doing that would be a godsend.

International signing...check
Tommy John surgery completed...check
Former Yankees top prospect...check
Left handed power pitcher...check
Young and cost controlled...check
No Butcher around to F him up...check
That's how it's done son!
This is Eppler and this is a terrific signing. 
 

Some of us are getting caught up with the belief that they're bringing in all these guys expecting them to contribute in the rotation - even if any form (poorly, just to eat innings, minor league depth).
What I am taking away from it, is Eppler is hoping one of these guys actually catches their potential, and we suddenly have an Arrieta situation on our hands. It's not so much about piling on arms to pitch next season, it's the hope/expectation that one of them realizes their potential and we will have acquired that for nothing. 

I think the lack of international scouting and bad drafts - be it lack of first round picks or just plain bad amateur scouting - hurt us more than the Greinke/Haren trades. We really haven't been fleeced on trades that badly. We could have sold better on Napoli, and losing Segura hurts based off what he did in his first year and this year, but we really haven't been hurt too badly in that department.

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 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. 

Obscure Prospects to Keep an Eye On - http://monkeywithahalo.com/uncategorized/obscure-prospects-you-need-to-know.html
Most of us here know these kids, but for the non-regular thread visitors, these are the prospects that may end up helping the Angels someday that don't appear on many top prospect lists yet. 

Yes, that's exactly why he's all "puigy" (Can we make that a thing?  Good one tDawg).  He never had the chance to actually go to the DSL, and learn the language and the culture and mature.  Furthermore, he never had an influential on the field leader take him under his wing and protect him.  He also never had that rock of teammate that he could relate to, that came up through the minors with him that he could lean on.  On top of all of that, Puig never learned what it was like to struggle at baseball until he reached the major leagues.
Basically, he was doomed from the start.  
I mean Trout grew up in this society, struggled in the majors but made the adjustments, was roommates with Richards coming up and has had guys like Torii Hunter and Pujols take him under their wing and show him the way.  
I feel that Puig could be a superstar again if he were an Angel.  I think Pujols and Trout would keep him in his place.  Having a Spanish speaking manager could help make him a lot more relatable than Mattingly and Roberts.  If you can more or less assign him someone like Simmons or Carlos Perez, someone his age to be his "go-to", I think Puig could rediscover what made him so great before. 

I would be surprised if Giavotella gets claimed. I assume he'll be playing in SLC in 3 days.

I've learned in this thread if you buy beer for fans you're a good manager.  Makes since considering Arte lowered prices on beer and he's such a good owner.  

Scioscia is not an idiot liquoring up fans to get them to like him. It's not a popularity contest,  it is a job where the fans are only there to be entertained by the team play not the manager playing the big spender at a bar. 
 

Make Nolasco your Ace. 

If Jones finishes strongly at Burlington, will we see him crack the top 100? Plenty of people follow it more closely than me but he excites me. His upside makes me much more of a believer in him than anyone else in the system, including Thaiss.

Arte is saving his money for Bryce Harper.

I think this would have been more valid a year or two ago. I don't think Sosh has really been the problem, but the dynamic has been off. I don't think he wields as much power as has been long believed, especially the past few seasons. I do think collectively Arte and Sosh *did* both have too much pull at one point, and it just so happened to be at the very worst time - around '09-'12. Reagins was too sycophantic, and Dipoto was the polar opposite, and that disconnect broke down the organizational balance.
I agree that the manager really doesn't have much impact on the game to game basis, but Sosh does seem to make the most of his team and that's been true over the last 17 years - the discrepancy with the Pythag standings points to that, and even though we have fallen short of the playoffs often recently, I felt the recents teams that were in it until the last week of the season were over-performing, and Sosh earned some credit there.
The injuries this season aren't his fault, nor the thin farm or awful roster structure. Does he have a share of the blame? In part, because his opinion holds some weight as any manager's should, but not enough to lose his job.
The time to have made a managerial change was a couple years back when it would have made sense to install a Dipoto man and commit to his plan, or after the '17 or '18 season at this point. He seems to be working well with Eppler, I don't think him or Arte have nearly as much say in baseball ops anymore, nor does he have the contract security to push it anymore. Don't see us parting ways unless one of the next two season ends disastrously in an unexpected way. Not worth jarring the clubhouse, Trout, or paying more dead weight money. 

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 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. 

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. 

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. 

1.  Mike Trout has 4 more years with the Halos (at least).  There is always hope when you have Trout.  His presence on an average team otherwise = 90+ wins.  
2.  We actually have some talented starting pitchers, they're just hurt.  TJ surgery works.  Maybe not for everyone, and maybe not right away, but a rotation of Richards, Shoe, Heaney, Tropeano and Skaggs is solid with reasonably expected performances.  Granted, providing significant depth by 2018 will be extremely important, but there will be opportunities to do so. 
3.  We have money coming off the payroll.  Only 74.1 mil is committed to 2018.  We will likely be offering arb to Richards, Calhoun, Bedrosian, Cron, Shoe and Heaney.  Hopefully, we can extend a couple of those guys and minimize the outlay.  But either way, that should run about 30mil.  Giving the halos somewhere between 50-60mil in payroll flexibility by 2018.  
4. The offense is good and we aren't losing anyone of consequence over the next two years except Escobar who we could probably bring back.  Pujols has probably leveled off (let's hope).  Cron, Calhoun, Bandy are solid and fingers crossed that Simmons keeps improving.  All of this being done with no real production from LF and very little from 2b.  A couple of upgrades and we are probably one of the league's best.  
5. Bullpens can be fixed in short order and there is some help on the way.  Bedrosian has turned a corner but everyone else is fairly weak.  But a closer and a couple of solid adds as well as some progression from Middleton, and Alcantara and they are serviceable.  
6. The farm system is getting better.  Don't get excited, I didn't say they were good.  But there have been some solid performances this year that give some hope of help on the way.  There has also been some strong showings from a few international players this year.  Something that is a long time coming.  We will have a top ten draft pick for 2017 and probably 2018.  Our international spending limit is almost over as well.  It's fingers crossed, hang the horseshoe, rub the rabbits foot, but there is this faint glimmer of hope.  Can you see it?  You have to squint, but it's there.  
Overall, by the time 2018 rolls around we could at least be interesting but in a good way.  As long as we don't sell off long term value for a 2017 ruse, we could be on the upswing again.  If 2018 doesn't go well, then at least you have some parts to move that would allow you to add to what you obtained this year and in the 2017, 2018 drafts as well as the international pool.