TNAngelsFan71

Percival as the pitching coach? That would bring some grit to the staff. Would still like to see Salmon as a coach not just a spring training instructor. Nostalgia? Yeah, but I think they have a lot to offer as coaches.

I also see Atlanta as a good fit for him if SF doesn't make him a career Giant. I just think he may be someone to keep an eye on if his market is slow. Cole is obviously the first choice and the best fit for the Angels pitching wise in a long while. It's been nice to have a bit of a debate on this with both sides having some compelling views and it not becoming a group snark fest.

I would still have to take him at his step back level... 1.13WHIP..... Cole has a .89WHIP and he could/should be the AL CY Young award winner this year. As a side note... Cole did not face the Astros beast of a lineup where Bumgarner faced the dodgers multiple times I believe. I may be willing to pay a bit more for him if he can pass on some grit to these kids the Angels have on the edges of the Show.

You posted that as I was typing mine out. lol

I could be way off base here but I think Bumgarner may get under valued this off season. He may get a 4 -5 year deal (4 more likely than 5). I think clubs will look at 6 or so pitchers before him. He is only a year older than Cole and after a 4 year deal would still be a year younger than Hammels is now and his WHIP of 1.13 and K/BB 4.72 and 207.2 IP are still really solid.

So what is your projection for Yrs/$$$ for Bumgarner and Hamels?

A declining Bumgarner was still pretty good last year.... possible to get him on 2-3 year deal ?

Assuming the Angels want to go big after signing Maddon …. What do you think it would cost for Cole and MadBum? Could we spend some prospect resources to get a SP by trade as well and really have a killer rotation?

I second that.

We need starters that are not afraid to attack the strike zone. Every one of our starters seemed to nibble especially once ahead in the count. Is that a reflection of the pitching coach? the philosophy as put forth by Eppler / Ausmus? or just pitchers not being allowed to trust their stuff and seeing what happens? I miss the attitude pitchers like Percival had of here's my best pitch … hit it if you can.... if you do I tip my cap, if you don't go have a seat.

I would love to see the following happen... Sign Cole ---- 212.1 IP 13.82 K/9 best fit I have seen for this club pitching wise in a long time. Sign MadBum ---- 207.2 IP 8.80 K/9 the man is a bulldog and will hopefully be able to pass some of that on to the kids. Trade for Ray---- 174.1 IP 12.13 K/9 (Trade some combination of our infield depth and MiLB pitching or Barria / Suarez) Ohtani ---- expect 100 IP 10.97 K/9 in 2018 Heaney ---- 180 IP in 2018 11.14 K/9 Canning ---- expect 100 IP 9.56 K/9 (I expect him to take a step forward this season... he was looking really good till Skaggs passing) and sign Grandal to fill the void at catcher.

Maybe Upton stubs his toe again and Walsh bats .450 and they move Trout to left. I've seen stranger things happen with this club.

I would like to see this same graphic with a side by side of the angels opening day and end of season payrolls for comparison if anyone out there has that info.

Here is my hope for the rotation. Sign Cole (best fit for us on the market in years), Yes he will be pricey. Sign MadBum (the man is a bulldog and can teach that to our young pitchers). Yes he will be pricey as well. Make a trade for Ray (it will cost some of our depth but I would not touch Adell or Marsh. I expect we could see both Adell and Marsh up and productive by midseason.). That would give us a rotation of Cole, MadBum, Ohtani, Ray, Heaney, and the kids (Canning, Sandoval, etc). That rotation would compete with any team in the league. I also would say we need to pony up Arte's money and pay for Grandal.

I think the OF prospects we have coming up fairly quickly will out perform Goodwin in short order. Calhoun (while I love his play) is almost assuredly not having his 14M option picked up and Lucroy is not in the plan beyond this season. If we can acquire virtually any SP with control beyond this year that can win 4-5 starts from here on out is a huge addition to winning this year and beyond.