SigBaby

Damn i thought that ball was hit better than that by Simmons

I can't believe they pitched to him

We need an actual lefty out of the pen. Why not just stick Skaggs in there once he's healthy.

Revere is definitely a goner once Trout comes back. Young has raked dating back to ST and really looks to have turned a corner.

I think Chavez should be the one going to the pen. By the third time through the order the guy can't get anyone out, but i think he could fill the role currently held by Petit (some late inning work when the other guys are tired, but otherwise 6th and 5th inning work) with Petit being pushed into a strictly long relief and blow out role. I think it's in our best interest to see what Meyer can do with an extended look.

One thing I was hoping they would do at the break last year was trade Bedrosian. I really like what Eppler has done with the pen and I think it is strong even without Bedrosian. I think that Parker and Middleton are very solid pieces and Bud Norris has been fantastic this year even though I don't anticipate him keeping it up. I think if Bedrosian is healthy and shows well before the deadline, we should trade him for a package similar to what the Brewers received for Tyler Thornburg in the offseason: a solid starting 3b , a top 15 organizational prospect, and a top 30 organizational prospect. 3 potential trade targets for 2b i've identified include: Jorge Polanco of the Twins, Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks, and Amed Rosario of the Mets. Each of these guys would represent a cheap, controllable option to hold down 2b for the future and are on competing teams in desperate need of bullpen help. I have faith in Eppler continuing to build a solid pen and i think we will be fine this season even without Bedrosian plus we will potentially have Bailey and Street coming back at some point this season.

I don't get why he isn't hitting higher in the lineup. This actually wouldn't look like a bad lineup Trout injury considered: 1. EY CF 2. Yunel 3b 3. Calhoun RF 4. Pujols DH 5. Simmons SS 6. Cron 1b 7. Maldonado C 8. Black hole 2b 9. Revere LF Puts a lot of speed back to back with Revere and EY, which would hopefully limit the DPs of Yunel. Also would be way more balanced than what we've been putting out there

Killin it.

You're probably right it just seems like Escobar GIDP 50% of the time when someones on first.

So many double plays with Trout getting walked in front of him

Really impressed with how Maybin's turned things around. His confidence and swing looked terrible just a couple weeks ago.

The timing of all this makes no sense. Espinosa actually showed some signs of life last game and Pennington has basically been the ceiling of Fontana as a decent backup infielder. Espinosa has been shitty but it was pretty well known what he was when we got him: a good fielder and bad hitter who is capable of going off for a month and salvaging his numbers. The fact that he is a black hole will be easier to take when Calhoun and the 1b position start hitting how they should be.

I'd like to see Escobar bat second with his ability to control the bat and put the ball in play. With Maybin at leadoff, there will be plenty of pressure on the opposing team with straight steals and hit and runs. 1. Maybin LF 2. Escobar 3b 3. Trout CF 4. Pujols DH 5. Calhoun RF 6. Valbuena 1b 7. Simmons SS 8. Maldonado C 9. Espinosa 2b Side note: it makes so much more sense to just have Valbuena play 3rd and Yunel at 1st, as Yunel's glove is fine but his arm is horriblly inaccurate. I guess its too late now but they shouldve worked on that during spring training

Jesus, that was completely unnecessary by Escobar. He's really lucky that worked out. And both his throws that inning tailed down the first baseline. At what point is he going to start caring and actually make a change to his throw across. It seems like every throw has tailed lately

I'm kinda sad i picked Peavy, but I guess without factoring in age there's really not much that separates any of these guys

I'm a big fan of the low price and potential of Aaron Barrett. I think he could come in and if given an opportunity could hold down the setup role. There's also a lot of cheap starter reliever hybrid pitchers left who could potentially be had on minor league deals given that there's a decent chance of making this teams pen/ 5 spot: Jorge De la Rosa, Edwin Jackson, Kris Medlen, Vance Worley, Williams Perez.

I've been in favor of a Cron trade for a while now with Marte and i guess now Valbuena taking his spot at 1st. But I wouldn't force anything and would only do it if it nets some young pitching.

I'm not on board with going after Bautista, but it's not like this lineup doesn't have areas that can be upgraded. He could easily get a lot of starts combined between left, right, DH, and 1st giving guys days off and adding depth in case of injury (mostly Pujols insurance).

My prediction is this season will be done in by the bullpen. There is not a single reliable guy down there outside of Bedrosian and I think it's gunna play out as it has so many times in recent history. The offense will be fine, the starters will be average, the defense will be fantastic but there's only so much you can do when the pen comes in and can't throw strikes or get crucial outs. So i think any money we have left to spend should be spent on a reliever or two to help shore up the pen

Revere, Cahill, and a reliever and finally bring this offseason to an end

We really just need 1 reliable reliever in the pen, as it stands now each of our relievers comes with a question mark. Was Bedrosian for real? Is Street salvageable? Has Andrew Bailey found his form? Ziegler would be good for a high 2 low 3 era which is stability that this team's pen needs.

I know it's not hard to be better defensively than Escobar at third, but why do people think Marte will be a substantial upgrade? The dude just looks uncoordinated in the field from what I've seen. I think Marte is a great depth piece for this team to have and a weapon off the bench, but I think if he replaces anyone in the lineup it should be Cron given that he can basically give us a similar skill set and Cron would net us more in a trade than Escobar.

In my opinion, Escobar's ability and range isn't the issue. He actually made some fantastic plays last year so he has the ability, but it's his lack of focus on fundamentals that leads to stupid errors.

Especially with the state of this staff. It's not like we'll be playing a lot of 2-1, 3-2 games this staff is going to give up runs regardless of how good the defense is.

This trade reminds me of a much more scaled down version of the Santiago Nolasco trade. Basically a player who all us Angels fans overrated and was traded for a value less than we expected. That value was basically an older replacement and a pitching "prospect"