Griffey's Corner

It's also disheartening to lose at the very end because your BP lets you down.... that can also very easily cause or add to a long losing streak & a downward spiral of the whole team.

Splitting hairs. You are now talking about a 2 game swing. Keep in mind blowing saves a lot of times means extra innings and further depleting additional BP and tiring out the whole team.... So yeah you only lose 4 instead of losing 6 games. But those extra variables will cost a team an extra 2 wins somewhere else.

I am probably the biggest Fletcher homer here.... have been for a long time. But I am not 100% sold on him. So far his power numbers have been low. Who knows how Cozart will be coming off a torn labrum.... he was not good before he got hurt. I just have a hard time imagining that Eppler will not go with more contingency plans next year. And not get caught with his pants down around his ankles. If the Angels do not win next year.... I think Eppler is gone.

Very good post. Hard to disagree.

He probably likes to get the timing of the pitcher and take a pitch to see how the ball is coming out of his hand. 100% serious. It does help some hitters to take a pitch or two.

IF.... IF..... he hits .240. 20 Homeruns. 20 Stolen Bases. Great Defense. Plays Hard. Cheap 1 year $4,000,000 deal. With all the holes to fill. I am not sure that he is 100% gone next year. Maybe the Angels should consider it. I am sure the usual suspects will chime in with there interesting theories.

No. It felt good to be honest and tell him that his baseball acumen is not very good. Honestly I do not think on the surface he would accept that statement anyways. He seems to have a lot of layers of ego going on. Which is probably good. I really do not want to hurt him or his feelings.

Just because you post a lot does not translate to the stupid sh.. you say as being correct. You give so many people on this message board crap. I tried giving you a way out and instead of calling you a dipsh... I tried to be nice about it. Next time I will just tell you the truth that your baseball IQ is low.

i actually toned down the post quite a bit. My true opinion of you is much worse. What really would hurt your ego is not that you are a jerk..... but that when it comes to baseball you are truly clueless.

When they can't field at any position that is not position flexibility.... again I am more picking on Marte. Also it allows the manager to keep screwing & tinkering with the lineup..... give me 9 solid guys on offense and let them play every day and develop a rhythm. I do not want guys bouncing all over the diamond playing out of position. Play one position and play it well. Also I think Cozart is rated as one of the worst 3B in baseball this year on defense alone. We have to agree to disagree on Cozart's bat..... I think he sucks with the bat. I do not want Cozart cycled anywhere except for the bench. I am tired of these players barely hitting at the Mendoza line every year..... and to make matters worse some fans praise them. we have wasted so many of Mike Trout's best years. If we even had AVERAGE players fill in we would we doing great. We fix LF..... and as soon as we do RF becomes a problem. We do okay at 2B and than we have a problem at 1B. There is a good chance all of the prospects right now in Salt Lake will suck.... everyone is on Ward & Thaiss jock right now thinking they will be the answer to are prayers in 2019.......... I hope so. Odds are both will fail and we will be in the same place next year talking about 2020. Rinse & Repeat. I think something more dramatic needs to be done. Either blow the whole thing up OR spend some serious money in a smarter way and get some serious infusion of talent & youth in here. Take on some bad contracts to get 1 good player or take on some bad contracts to get some good prospects. Quit treading .500 water. Go to one extreme or the other..... both formulas have been proven to win titles. If it was not for Trout the Angels would be one of the worst team in baseball every year..... that is bad considering that every year they are spending more than just about every team in baseball.

Have I ever said Kinsler has been good? The funny thing moxie is very important in winning games. Having guys in the clubhouse who are fiery, passionate and want to win is huge in the chemistry and makeup of a team.

I guess I just do not care that much about position flexibility when they suck at all positions. I was thinking more of Marte as I type this.... but Cozart did not impress me at 3B.... I believe he is rated as one of the worst this year at 3B? I don't care about Cozart at SS because we have Simmons. As far as Kinsler he has been a stud on defense this year at 2B. If Cozart had not gotten hurt.... which also negates some of his value while we are comparing players..... if Cozart had not been injured i think he would have finished up the year with about 13 HR's.... while I think Kinsler is on pace for around 20 HR's..... 83 games played & 11 HR's. Also Kinsler has stolen 8 bases and provides speed on the basepaths. Cozart finished the year with 0 stolen bases So in summation Kinsler was healthier this year, played much better D, more speed on the basepaths, and hits more HR's. And while as it stands now Kinsler is only barely above Cozart in BA.... I am thinking by the end of the year that Kinsler's average will be around .235. Don't get me wrong Kinsler has been crap. But I think Cozart so far has been diarrhea crap. Oh and there is that moxie thing too.

No Sh.. Sherlock. Either your IQ is real low or you surround yourself all day talking to a bunch of idiots..... I am guessing the latter. Question? Are you trying to say that since it was in 2017 that Eppler gets a pass for that?

It is a horror show when you surround him with the punchless offense the Angels have.... Trout needs to hit 70 HR's for the Angels to have a chance.

Kinsler has been a better fielder & shown more pop with his bat. Also he is doing this from middle infield not at a corner position where you need better offensive numbers. I also like Kinsler's moxy.

But now I am starting to think maybe I am wrong about that? On the positive side I feel like help is on the way with Canning, and some of the younger players. But on the negative side everyone hits at Salt Lake, no Richards next year, Eppler keeps striking out with offensive acquisitions. The team is .500 now but honestly the way they are playing I don't think they will even finish this year at .500. Is Ohtani going to be a good hitter? Since the first 2-3 weeks he is probably hitting about .220 with 3 HR's. Can he hit MLB lefties? Valbuena- Bad signing Cozart- Bad signing Kinsler- Bad Idea to I don't know.... he has been maybe okay? Espinoza- Bad Idea His track record on that side of things is very poor. Every year the team outspends the Athletics..... but here we are. Mike Trout's 1st full season he hit .326 and stole 49 bases..... I want that Trout. He has never hit more than 41 HR's in a season. Maybe he never hits .340? Maybe he never hits 50 HR's a year like Griffey & Mantle, etc. All the prospects that I am stoked about know one knows yet if any of them will amount to anything. I still have confidence in Eppler. But this year has shaken it. The whole bullpen fiasco this winter.... I can see how some of it happened..... but still. In reality the Offense sucks. And for next year we have massive holes in every area.... other than maybe average SP. We have one of the oldest rosters in baseball. Outside of Upton in LF. Trout in CF. Simmons at SS...... I see 6 holes in the Offense. Pujols will never go away. And Arte has made a crap load of money but he has proven he will spend a good amount... but never an obscene amount to fix a lot of the problems that he created. We keep shedding bad contracts only to take on new bad contracts. There is 3-4 components we look at. Offense= Sucks. BP= Sucks. SP= Below Average. Manager= a lot of people seem unhappy with him. If we pay Trout $40,000,000 a year and get Pujols like playing in his 30's than we will be screwed for 10 years. In his 20's Pujols had one year where he hit .359 and still hit 43 HR's. Are things getting worse?? Was I just kidding myself? F......!!!!!!

Just wanted to say a quick Thank You... & how proud I am of the Angels members that this was the 1st post I have been involved in where everyone got along. No one was freaking out when I suggested that MLB hitters should use the whole field when they hit. Or a MLB hitter should know how to bunt. Or NL pitchers have a lower ERA because there is no DH. Good job everybody!!! Let's all keep it up. This is the world we should live in.

I would rather hang on to the prospects. Any great pitcher the angels acquire will probably get injured. I would rather the team build through studs 1-9 in the everyday consistent lineup, and for starting pitchers have young, cost controllable talent. Spend a little bit more on the BP since relief pitchers are generally cheaper.

Awesome post!!! Was the commissioner giving him grief because he does not promote himself enough?

Just curious what the other members think? 2nd question is what in your opinion most needs to happen for them to get going and make the playoffs? I would say they still have a 5% chance. But they really need for the offense to wake up.

Hopefully some of the prospects pan out. I know very little about the % of prospects that pan out..... but I would guess 1 in 3? 1 in 4 pan out? There just is not many Mike Trout's & Ken Griffey's lying around. I don't think the Angels will put all there eggs in 1 basket. Guarantee it they will go after 1 or 2 proven free agents players this winter with a solid offensive resume under there belt. If they get an Upton type .250 BA with 30 HR's.... that will suffice.

To think that Richards will extend for cheap is laughable. Team friendly deal maybe he takes $60 million instead of $65 million over 4 years. The guy is healthy this year. Has a career ERA of 3.52 all in the AL. Has the pedigree of being a 1st round draft pick & has some of the best stuff in baseball. Simple answer is trade him for a top 100 prospect.

The only thing that keeps hitters from having control of where the ball goes is they have a different approach. They are all too busy trying to hit the ball as far as they can every single pitch. If you really want to hit the ball to left field as a LH batter you can even move your feet and position them as such to where it would be almost impossible to pull the ball to right. If you have played to a high level of baseball you probably already know this. If you have not than you may not.

Kole hitting .170 is good enough????

I am not saying what they should do. I was predicting what they will do. If the Angels do not add ANY offensive firepower, from outside the organization, this winter than you can kiss Trout goodbye. Trout staying or going is a lot like a heavily recruited high school football player. Most of those athletes do not pick a college at the end of there senior year. If the Angels plan is to be above average in 2019 if everything goes right than Trout is gone. By 2020 it will be too late.... if it's not already. To assume that any of these prospects are going to come in and be good just because they played well at Salt Lake is not a great plan. The Angels need a LOT of offense. If they are basing next year on Thaiss, or Herm, or Blash than that is not a great plan. Who knows if Marsh or Adell will be ready in 2020.... or if they ever will be ready. Most prospects do not amount to anything at all. Don't get me wrong I love prospects. But if the Angels plan is to slowly & gradually bring in unproven talent than kiss Trout goodbye. Trout is a winner and I am pretty sure he is getting tired of this losing crap.