Cosmo_Kramer

So bat him leadoff

Misunderstanding. I worded poorly. Let me try to clarify what I meant. I think Ohtani will mostly sit on days surrounding his start in order to keep him fresh. Think 2018, which is what you described. We agree on this piece. But I think they'll also sit him other times for general maintenance. Similar to how Trout sometimes sits or DHs even when he's healthy. I'm not saying these will occur frequently. Maybe a few times total all season. My original statement was just saying these select few times he sits will probably be skewed to shield from LH. Edit: To demonstrate what I mean, look at Ohtani's batting game logs for 2018. Look at the games where he pinch hits in an AL ballpark. Opposing SP tend to be LH. For example. April 10, 2018. Ohtani does not face LH Martin Perez. PH against RH Bartolo Colon. Long story short, I think it'll be similar to 2018, but we'll see if Maddon gets creative.

Agreed

This is close to ideal. I like Trout at 2 and Rendon at 4 since Trout at 2 gives his slugging more value than at 1. And I like Trout at 2 over Rendon because he's the better player and he'll get more PAs at 2.

If Rendon bats 4th, he will get a PA in the first inning when someone gets on base. I'd prefer that scenario over him batting 3rd with 0 on and 2 out.

Agreed. I want Ohtani to bat as much as he feels comfortable. But I think the times he sits will mostly be against LH.

Agreed on Ohtani. Would be nice if he did. I think he fits at 3 though if your 2/4 is Trout/Rendon. The platoon section was pretty interesting

I was just looking at this too actually. Maddon has had some interesting lineups. Rizzo Bryant would be the Cubs equivalent of Trout Rendon, and he hit them all over the place.

It's hard to weigh the different factors. I think Trout's greatest strength as a hitter is his obp, so I want him to have as many opportunities as possible. #1. Trout can also slug, so you want people in front of him. #2 instead of #1. Fun fact. #3 is the lineup position that is most often in the on deck circle when the game ends. I don't want my best hitter stuck in the on deck circle with the game on the line. #1 _____ #2 Trout #3 _____ #4 _____

2/4, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8/9 is the general order if I remember correctly. It's hard to say how the new baseball and scoring environment affects that though. Have you read the platoon section recently?

I'd still split up lefties, especially with the 3 batter minimum next year. You could make an argument for Ohtani to bat between Trout and Rendon to try to protect him from those matchups.

I think we could see La Stella bat leadoff vs R. I think we could see La Stella at 1B sometimes. I think we could see Fletcher bat leadoff vs L. I think we could see Fletcher in the OF sometimes. I think we could see Pujols play more vs L. I think we could see Ohtani bat more vs R.

Pretty realistic imo. Hopefully Adell takes a big step

Here are the leaked financial documents from ten years ago. Pretty interesting. https://www.scribd.com/embeds/68522636/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-22q9h12ipr6k79j2ain1&secret_password=2fz6h9oi8exmmc3oo654

Ugh, I was hoping for a better defensive fourth OF. Chris Young is terrible in CF and bad in the corners. At least he's a decent hitter vs lefties though. And I don't mind the Carter signing since he'll give us some minor league depth.

I wouldn't go more than 6/110 on Darvish. $20M+ AAV leads to luxury tax concerns. It's highly unlikely this would be his best offer though. Oh well, pass. Eppler really has his work cut out for him the next year or two.

Correct. Not included in the AAV calculation. But they are added to the luxury tax calculation for the year they are earned.

AAV is not affected, but the luxury tax calculation is affected.

Yes

The AAV doesn't change, but the bonus is included in the luxury tax the year it is earned. So yes, it does count.

They don't affect AAV, but I'm pretty sure they count against the luxury tax in the year they're incurred. Edit: Jeff includes it in his luxury tax estimate for this year. http://www.angelswin-forum.com/forums/topic/33213-starting-pitching-relief/?do=findComment&comment=1069443

I'm sure it's not easy playing for Baltimore these days. But yeah, Cozart was such a prefect signing. Machado or Donaldson would be a great fit.

True. I think I'd prefer Machado if we make a big splash though. Elite elite elite defense, with an above average bat, no health concerns, and youth. I think he'll get a contract in the same range as Kershaw.

Assuming Richards has a full, healthy year, I doubt we'd be able to resign him in addition to signing Kershaw. I like the idea of signing Kershaw, but if he also has a full, healthy year, he probably gets $250M+.

Why? Cobb hasn't been durable, isn't super young, and has pretty terrible peripherals. His swinging strike rate was third worst among qualified pitchers last year. Yikes