Rally Gorilla

4 hours ago, Stradling said:

This is incredibly dumb with all due respect. 

His act after a game seven shows a lack of common sense and character and those kind of guys don't tend to age well.  It takes smarts and mental toughness to stay in shape and adjust once the 97mph fastball goes away.    His selfishness after a freakin' game seven also doesn't build confidence that he will become the kind of leader you want on a team.  So, with all due respect, signing him through his age 36 season at huge $$$ would be too much of a risk, and therefore dumb.   Thanks for respecting my opinion though.   

7 hours ago, True Grich said:

Cole to Houston...

Definitely a step in the right direction.

Just now, Lou said:

that's just batshit crazy 

You want to give a HUGE seven year contract to someone who lacks common sense and character?   To me, THAT is batshit crazy.    

25% less than I would have before he wore a Boras cap to post game 7 interviews.      Let the Mariners pay him full price... he'll fit in nicely with their other talented/roided under performing cast.   I just don't see someone with such lack of judgement and character performing well after age starts to catch up with him a bit.

2 hours ago, floplag said:

Am i the only one that was horribly bothered by his post game attitude?  That and the Boras cap were a total turn off.

Absolutely not.   Someone is going to pay him the big bucks but IMHO the risk of doing so just got higher.

Well, I was excited about Cole....until he wore a Boras Corp cap during interviews right after the series ended.    That move shows a real lack of judgement and character.    The wound was still fresh for Astros fans and he took a pee in it.    I literally hate the Astros for tanking intentionally for many years to cheat the system...and then acting like they are genius baseball strategists because they can win after hogging the highest draft picks for all those years.    However, that was a b.s. move by Cole and I don't believe talented players who lack common sense and character tend to do well in the long run.   Given the high $$$ it's going to take to get him....It's a hard pass in my opinion.

Ok, my two cents...

It always seemed to me that Gene Autry LIVED to see the Angels succeed.   Yes, letting Ryan go was a horrible move...but someone had convinced him that it was in the best interest of the team.   So, maybe his judgement can be questioned, but not his passion to put the best team he could out there.

On the other hand, Arte seems more like a businessman who is always looking to maximize his profits.   If the fans would stand for it  (and his profits remained the same), then I don't think he would of ok'd the Trout extension.   Maybe he's learning that this is an entertainment business and that watching the team struggle as his bank account grows is not very entertaining.   Props to Billy Eppler for helping him see the light.    Maybe a chart showing projected increase in team value did the trick?   

And THANK GOD for Mike Trout!   He didn't hold a grudge over some early penny pinching by the team.    He didn't get bent out of shape by the team not jumping at a contract extension when he approached them about it a few years ago.   He didn't get discouraged by the lack of playoff appearances.  The best player of this generation wants to be an Angel for his whole career.     We are so blessed to have him.

3 hours ago, Sean-Regan said:

Good. 

Although does anyone else see irony in he and Sosh retiring (probably) the same offseason? Maybe it’s just me. 

Nap's hatred of Sosh had been the only thing holding his aging body together.    

On 11/16/2018 at 3:24 PM, totdprods said:

Man, I forgot how great his 2011 year was. .271/.327/.438/.765, 116 OPS+, 26 doubles, 11 triples, 12 homers, 22 stolen bases. 5 WAR.

Great luck, eh?   Guy tears it up and gets displaced by the greatest player of our generation.   I always felt bad for him. 

Trout extension:   5 years,  $210M

Mike Moustakas:  3 years, $66M

Patrick Corbin:  3 years, $36M

I'm guessing that unarmed men, women, and children....all poor and on foot...don't pose much of a risk to our country.   They are being watched closely and none of them are getting across the border w/o our permission.    Labeling this as an "invasion" is just fear mongering.  Bulking up security for the situation makes sense, but sending 5K troops is just an expensive PR stunt.  

IMHO, the division races over 162 game are what really identify the successful teams.   I'm not a Dodgers fan, but I give them props for winning the NL West 8 times out of the last 11 seasons.   Not getting a ring during that time has gotta hurt though.   Reminds me a little bit of the Rangers.   "Freese hits it into center.  We WILL SEE YOU Tomorrow night!"  

On 10/24/2018 at 11:05 AM, Angel Oracle said:

Cozart needs to step up in 2019, case closed.  

I've been looking at Cozart's career numbers.   He's averaged over +2 WAR over his career  (even including 2018) and he had a whopping +5 in 2017.    I wouldn't bet the farm on it, but I think he's got a real chance to bounce back from the torn labrum and  be a solid contributor in 2019.     

I wasn't aware of 50/50 arrangements between teams.   I'm going to look online try to educate myself on exactly what they are and how they work.    Learn something new every day.   

I don't like to go to see the Yankees in Anaheim because their fans are so numerous and obnoxious.   It's a rare treat for SoCal Yanks fans when their team is in town, so they buy up the more expensive seats and they tend to stay later, especially if the Yanks are winning.  Sometimes it seems like a 50/50 crowd  (or worse) by the later innings.   

I gave him a nine.  In a short time, and with limited resources, he has put the team on a path to be a contender again someday.      

Even the moves that didn't work out seemed good to me at the time, given the constraints he had to work with.  Espinoza was a low-risk move that could have given us a solid defender to go along with Simmons.  For a while there, I feel that we had the best up-the-middle defense in baseball.  Unfortunately, Espinoza chose his time with Angels to hit 59 points below his career average...making his defense irrelevant.    

39 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Like whom?

I agree that the selection of youngish FA's is pretty limited.   Corbin would be my first choice, even considering the draft pick.

IMHO, a 33 year old with 1,800 IP is not what the Angels need now.   It's going to be hard to complete for the division in 2019, so I'd rather see the Angels bring in some younger FA's for the rotation that have a better chance of helping us in 2020 and beyond.   

3 minutes ago, TroutField said:

Anybody saying hitting after watching this last season is a moron.

IMHO, we need both.  So, does that make me half a moron and half a genius?   Do they cancel out?

Even if the team goes overboard on spending AND Eppler works wonders. It will be hard to get the team into contention for 2019.

I would start by grabbing every youngish  (29-30 y.o.) FA we could get for the rotation, bullpen, C, 1B  (Yes, I think it's time to realize our 1B production is a major problem), 3B and 2B.   Maybe trade Cole if there is a FA that seems likely to be a solid upgrade. 

Maybe Ward and/or Fletcher prove themselves to be solid-or-better everyday players.  Maybe some other youngsters come out of nowhere.   Maybe some of our oft-injured pitching staff will stay healthy and take their games to the next level.   Then it's a process of seeing what we still need next off season.

 I'm old enough and lucky enough to have seen Willie Mays play a few times in Candlestick during the last few years of his career.     Even as a youngster, I knew seeing him play was something I would always remember.   Now we have the greatest player of THIS generation on our team and I have had the privilege of watching him play (live or on TV) nearly every game for six years.   I would be heartbroken if the Angels screw this up and he leaves via trade or FA.   So, my vote is to extend him.  You can't replace a 10 WAR superstar.  Imagine how fun it would be to see his contributions matter in the playoffs.

On 10/4/2018 at 5:59 PM, Tank said:

who said the team has passed on extending him? according to reports, discussions have started.

Trout mentioned previously that he had been open to the ideal of contract that would make him an Angel for the bulk of his career.   I'm not sure exactly when this was, UnderTheHalo posted above that this was during the negotiations for his previous extension.   Hopefully, he is still open to that idea this go around, and the team will do anything reasonable to make it happen.

On 10/4/2018 at 6:29 PM, UndertheHalo said:

You’ve got this wrong rally gorilla.  When they were negotiating the first extension Trouts team floated the idea of a “life time” contract.  They ended up settling on the current one.  There was no enmity. 

If a team is lucky enough to get a once-in-a-generation player, and that player is interested in a "life time" contract.....it's criminal for Mr. Moreno to not do everything in his power to make that happen.   What did I get wrong?  Who said anything about enmity?    

IMHO, the Angels won't succeed until Arte Moreno sells to an owner that is more committed to winning.

Initially, he at least paid lip service to his responsibilities towards fans and recognizing that he is in the entertainment business. 

He spent big on Pujols and Wilson, but those were questionable moves that were probably against the advice of the GM.   The moves seemed more designed to gain Mr. Moreno a huge TV contract (the amount I heard was $3 Billion)...so, even if you throw the Hamilton debacle into the mix, he made a fortune.   The deal paled compared to the the one the Dodgers got later, but that is a different story.

Mike Trout has said he came to the team wanting to extend his contract to the Angels until the bulk of his remaining career.   To me, passing on an opportunity to lock up this generations greatest player is criminal.

In 2016, Mr. Moreno was quoted in the OC Register as saying "The reality is, it's a business."     That really rubbed me the wrong way.   Mr. Moreno has profited handsomely as owner of the Angels, especially if you factor in the increased value of MLB teams.   In the post steroid era, successful teams build through the farm system  (I think Eppler has made a good start there) AND the signing of  key FA's as needed.   

More power to Mr. Moreno in increasing his wealth, but that doesn't bring me a lot of joy personally.   It is an entertainment business and this team was hard to watch in 2018.

1 minute ago, Rico said:

So you want to spend billions and seize land from people for a, "I don't know.  Let's find out?"

Beat me to it.