dprep80

They dont matter that much. Yet for some odd reason the writers think they matter enough to make the HOF.
 

Mike Scioscia Would Like to Continue Managing.
Homebrewer would like to continue being an Angels fan.
Both will not happen.

He is a good manager but this teams needs a change of culture or it'll be more of the same for years to come

What is going on here? 
I feel like I’ve been banging this drum for years and no one has listened, and suddenly today everyone “gets it”?
Maybe the realization that Scioscia didn’t ruin Kaleb Cowart is what finally pushed people over the line. 

Good call

How does a country with our resources suck so bad?
The answer to both is: bad management.

1. calhoun
2. simmons
3. trout
4. ohtani
5. upton
6. pujols
7-9 whatever, just no valubuena

Except that Bonds' power didn't fall off this drastically, even for a month. 

Trout makes things complicated. You almost can't NOT go for it the next 2 years because of how great he is. At the same time, you don't want to go all in on 2 years and be left with nothing if he walks. 
Billy Eppler has quite possibly the toughest GM job in baseball the next 2 years

I think the Angels need to find a new home for Kinsler.  Obviously, it will be Fletcher/Valbuena at 3B and Kinsler at 2B until that happens but Valbuena and Kinsler need to go, sooner the better.  After that, just go with Fletcher 2B, Ward, 3B, and JMF utility

It is time to trade Kinsler and Valnobuena in the next 2 weeks, and to see what they have with Fletcher and Ward for the rest of the season.

As has been discussed, after the initial hot 13-3 (+56 Run Differential)  start, they have been a pretty forgettable 36-45 (-32 Run Differential) and there is really not a lot of expected turn around with the team in it's current form.  Over short periods of the season, it's hard to tell what's just a hot or cold streak and what is likely the way things are going to be for certain players on offense.  So, just taking a look at the team 97 games in, we'll try separate fact from fiction.
Mike Trout: For almost the first three months of the season, Trout was on a historic pace in terms of WAR that was challenging some of the all times greats in the game.  However, on June 19th Trout was DH'd due to an injured finger on this throwing hand and the power has taken a nose-dive to just 2 2B 2 HR 4 RBI in his lat 24 games.  He has still been contributing offensively (.267 .411 .788 OPS in July) but mostly with singles and walks and leaving the scoring to the anemic offense behind him.  Something is clearly wrong and, since he's not swinging and missing at alarming rate, odds are it's something physical.  The trend hasn't been kind lately but the fact that he has taken the field at all tells you it's not something too serious and hopefully the break does him good.
Justin Upton: So far he's put up decent numbers but everything about his play has felt "soft" and underwhelming.  His "clutch" stats have already been discussed but those tend to normalize over the course of a season.  His overall numbers, though, (.251 .344 .788 OPS 118 OPS+) are at or below his career norms, but not far, and his 2.3 WAR says he's making some kind of contribution but, damn, it's a quiet one.  I think he has room to push it closer to his contribution from last season, something like .275 .355 .865 OPS., but below the last seasons .901 OPS.
Albert Pujols: After a bad 2017 (.241 .286 .672 OPS -1.8 WAR), Pujols has seen a bit of an upswing in his numbers so far this season.  After flirting with staying below .700 OPS for much of the season, he went on a tear in July (.297 .366 1.042 OPS)...and then promptly went on DL because of course he did.  Then, we get the feedback that Albert has been playing on "1 1/2 legs" for a while now and, you look at 2017, and wonder exactly how long.  Is he going to come back and continue his tear?  Likely no, but, if he could just maintain somewhere in .750-.780 OPS going forward the rest of the season that would be huge.
Kole Calhoun: The Tale of Two Seasons - pre-DL .145 .195 .374 OPS, post- DL .274 .319 .926 OPS
Can we expect a .926 OPS from here on until the end of the season?  Um, no.  However, the change as far as hard contact versus the auto-outs he was hitting earlier this year speaks to the adjustments he's made since his "injury".  He's not really taking walks, and he's K-ing about ounce a game, but he's finally getting the extra base hits he was known for so far in this career.  Going forward, I can see him hitting somewhere around .265 .320 .750, giving hope he'll actually earn the last year of his contract in '19.
Martin Maldonado: In a season and a half with the Angels, Maldonado has put up .226 .284 .645 OPS which, essentially, is what he basically put up offensively in 6 season with Milwaukee.  He is who is with the bat but, at minimal cost, he's put a 2.5 WAR since he's been here at a key position, primarily due to that nebulous thing called "Catcher Defense and pitch calling".  He's leading the league at a 48% caught stealing percentage but curiously also leads the league in passed balls with 10.  Yes, it's been a weird season.  Expect more of the same from Maldy.
Andrelton Simmons: .313 .371 .814 127 OPS+ 4.6 WAR - Kind of says it all doesn't it.  Did I mention the 28/16 BB/K ratio?  Speed numbers are down a bit which reflects him being in more of a run producer role, but OBP. SLG, OPS, OPS+ all are advancing and he's threatening the 7.1 WAR he put up last season.  No reason we shouldn't expect this to continue.
Shohei Ohtani: Who knows what to expect really?  In spring training, the experts were lamenting the fact that Ohtani looked overmatched and were questioning the Angels inserting him in the every day line-up.  Then, he put up a .283 .365 .887 OPS 144 OPS+ and everyone got real quiet.  He has struggled against lefthanded pitchers this season but found the ability to double off a tough lefthander in Scott Alexander on Friday and worked a walk on Saturday off the bench against Jansen to start a game-tying rally.  Even if he doesn't pitch the rest of the season, the guy is an untapped fount of awesome waiting to explode with the bat and I can see him catching fire in the 2nd half.
Ian Kinsler: He's, eh, alright.  Good defensive player that screams "veteran presence" at a transitional position for the Angels at 2B.  You keep waiting for him to catch fire but then he just does, well, this:

Almost four months.  That's not a glitch, that's a feature -  $11 mil has gotten us 1.5 WAR.  It was nice that Ian waived his no trade to be sent here but the Angels have options in David Fletcher (for now) and potentially Rengifo in the future.  It doesn't a crystal ball to see what we'll get out of Ian Kinsler the rest of the season if he stays in Anaheim.  There needs to be a change.
Luis Valbuena: The baseball equivalent of the GIF of someone shoveling money in a stove.  Here's Valbuena as an Angels player: .201 .277 .672 OPS and he's trending downward from last season...downward as in .204.250 .594 OPS in 2018. The idea was right - lefthanded 1B/3B who has extra base pop - but the results are in and, yeesh, he sucks.  No way to sugarcoat it.
With Ward destroying AAA, even with his defense being a "work in progress" having a 3B and 2B of Ward and Fletcher makes sense for the 2nd half.
If Pujols comes back healthy enough to finish the season, I think we could benefit from having a look at something like below for a bit:
1. Calhoun RF
2. Simmons SS
3. Trout CF
4. Upton LF
5. Pujols 1B
6. Ohtani DH
7.  Ward 3B
8. Maldonado C
9. Fletcher 2B
 
 

If I could tweak it a bit and have it be Suarez instead of Canning then I would do it.  DeGrom is a legit #1.  

I would do that....I don't think the Mets would....

I don’t think the Mets would trade him without Adell in the deal 

Then he'll be even more depressing on our 60 day DL list. At this point I think it's better to load up on low cost arms and let them duke it out

Is that a tarantula 

But he is a problem.

Pujols should bat no higher than sixth IMO.  I would audition Thaiss and Fernandez at first for next year starting now.  Pujols should play less. 
A good adjustment for Pujols: be more aggressive early in the count.  Too often he is in 0-2 and 1-2 counts.  Pujols was ahead in the count more often in St. Louis.  If Pujols starts hitting well on the first pitch, 1-0 counts will be more common.

Gray is going to be headed back to the DL for TJ surgery in 3....2....1..... Hurry! Do it~
 
 
Oh, and btw, we need to sell high on Ward Quickly! Before he becomes our starting 3Bman putting up Mathis type #'s for 6 years~

Might as well as throw in Judge too.  Yankees need to open up a spot for Frazier anyways,

Amazing things happen when the bullpen does its job, don't you think?  

Come on be honest, i cant be the only one that was sitting there last night thinking oh shit here it comes...  

Let's get Trump on the phone to straighten this out.