Reveille1984

He's just trying to get the guys fired up with some old timey contact plays and bunting!

At least if I'm going to have to miss a game, this doesn't seem like the worst option with that lineup

Go away Rojas, nobody likes you

I don't think Joe would be in any danger even if we had that terrible of an April.  This just isn't the type of ownership group that would feel pressured to make a move based on mediocrity.  

Unless attendance/profitability takes a complete nosedive, I honestly don't feel Moreno cares that much about the team's performance.  As long as he has his marketable stars in Trout/Ohtani to draw in the fanbase, I don't think he's too worried.

I mean, Marsh is fine.  Not sure why he's getting hate.  2 for 7 in two games with 2 walks and some good ABs. 

Trout and Marsh need to be the two stalwarts in the OF in my opinion.  If Maddon doesn't have faith in Adell just send him to AAA and at least get him some reps.  

But yeah, this offense is pretty concerning, especially if our core guys are going to be getting a lot of rest days.  Looking at the quality of ABs and plate discipline from Houston versus our scrubs is night and day.  Fletcher is a utility/bench guy at this point, and everyone outside of Ohtani/Trout/Walsh/Rendon are just plugs.

1 minute ago, tdawg87 said:

If only we had a catcher that was good at framing OH WAIT

true... am not enjoying the 50/50 catching split so far

40 strikes and 35 balls... barf

If only his command was bugs bunny good

Walsh... dude.  He would have been out by five steps

bunting with a runner on 1st and 3rd.. good times

Hey, not a pitcher!

11 hours ago, Second Base said:

Reading these comments is entertaining. We all had such high hopes. Syndergaard being one piece and the next one being a Stroman type and then finally trading for Luis Castillo so that Detmers can develop in AAA. 

As usual, reality sets in. The second starter is a failed reliever with upside (Lorenzen), and there was no trade. Detmers is it. 

Had I said this at the beginning of winter, y'all would've lost it. 

Hopefully this works out. 

At least a positive note is that the bullpen has been completely overhauled so hopefully we're less reliant on starters going deep.  As long as guys like Suarez, Lorenzen and Detmers can avoid completely imploding every outing and give us 4-5 innings the bullpen and our offense should be good enough to keep us in games.

Best case is Ohtani stays healthy again, Thor's arm doesn't fall off, and Detmers takes a step forward and becomes even a league average starter.  Lorenzen is just a dude, I have zero expectations for him.  

I don't think the primary criticism of Moreno has ever been that he's cheap, to me anyways.  It's more that he's a notorious meddler and doesn't give his baseball operations staff the autonomy necessary to shift the franchise in a positive direction.  He isn't the only problem, but he's been the one constant over the past decade plus of mediocrity. 

My main issue is that the Angels are directionless as a franchise under his reign.  The whole 're-arming instead of rebuilding" strategy hasn't panned out, our farm is consistently in the bottom five every year (how much of that is on Arte cheaping out on scouting/development vs. our scouting just sucking, who knows), and the major league roster has had the same holes for seemingly ever that haven't been addressed.  Maybe Minasian's bullpen upgrade strategy will pan out, but like the other GMs before him he'll still be hamstrung by whatever internal limitations that Arte has in place.  

Long story short, Moreno isn't a huge blight on the team or anything in the way some other owners are.  But given the value of the media market we're in, it's hard to look at what other teams with both money and good player development can put on the field vs. what we're been doing.

1 hour ago, bloodbrother said:

83-87 wins and just on the outside of the playoffs seems about right as of today. With surprise contributions/good injury luck then 90+ is possible. If they're playing well around the deadline then I'd expect another key addition to, most likely, the rotation

Arte "Just Outside the Playoffs" Moreno.  Don't think there's been a team that defines mediocrity more than the Angels in the past decade.  I'd love to be proven wrong, but we always seem to be the kind of team that needs everything to go right to sniff the post-season.  If anything happens to Ohtani, Trout, or Rendon we're gonna have some bad times.

Yeah, feels like there must be something in place with Vasgersian after the MLB network deal.  Otherwise the whole part time thing doesn't really make a lot of sense, but this is the Angels we're talking about so who knows.

Why anyone would clamor to hear from a GM is beyond me, especially in the notoriously soft OC media market.  

You're always going to get the same canned, PC response to everything, and no reporter is ever going to pressure his generic replies.  

2 hours ago, Duren, Duren said:

The biggest moves have been made. Trout and Rendon healthy enough to play regularly. Two likely all stars who barely played most of last season. And if Syndegard (sp) can become a steady part of the rotation somewhat close to his potential then that too is a quality addition.

Sure, there are other possible upgrades that would help. Especially in pitching. And a few moves likely will be made. But you can't  just look at what other teams are doing and compare. All have their own needs and priorities. Flying under the radar isn't the worst thing starting the season though fans always idealize players from elsewhere. 

Arte has invested a ton of money in Trout and Rendon. Now let's see them healthy and a chance to upgrade the team from within.

I mean, with our lack of any success in the last decade plus I kind of feel like they do need to compare themselves to what other teams are doing.  What they've been doing sure hasn't paid any dividends.

Our farm system is one of the worst in baseball.  We have one prospect on the fringes of the top 100.  Our pitching staff again is a hail mary of fringe rotation guys and bounceback candidates. We aren't making any plays in free agency or gaining talent through trades either...  our only option is players from elsewhere at this point.  Yet per usual, Arte seemingly doesn't want to pony up past his internal budget in one of the biggest markets in MLB, with one of the most marketable players in the baseball world in Ohtani on top of a perennial MVP candidate in Trout.

I'm not sure who you think is going to be an "upgrade from within", but I wish I had the same optimism of this front office's ability to add and evaluate talent.

I'm kind of ambivalent either way on Correa, was just hoping he wouldn't go back to Houston.  

He does seem like the kind of "splash" signing Moreno would be interested in though...

Looks like Astros are pushing hard to bring back Correa... more great news for the Angels!:

3 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

I'm a baseball fan first. I am glad baseball is back even though my team will most likely once again not have a good season. I will still enjoy baseball and the playoffs like I always have. I will go to some Angels games and they still have some exciting players to watch and it will be nice to see some of the youngsters play and get their chance.

Yep.  The second half of the season turns into me watching Trout/Ohtani at bats in between doing chores around the house.  What makes it even worse is that my wife and her entire family are Dodgers fans, so I hear nothing but BS all season.

We've basically done nothing (as of yet) to improve our chances this offseason other than hoping Syndergaard's shoulder doesn't fall off.  Guessing we'll tack 2022 onto this list with another "Missed Playoffs" :

I think Marsh will eventually settle into a 2.5 to 3.0 WAR guy.  Probably something like .260/.330/.410 with good speed and defense.  His lack of plus power is always going to limit his ceiling.

Adell, who knows really.  If he can continue his development on the trajectory of what he did in AAA last year (.290/.340/.590) that would be phenomenal for us, but I feel it's going to take him a while to get there (if ever).  He cut his K rate significantly in the show this year, but at the expense of sapping his power.  I could see him anywhere from 1.0 to 4.0 WAR in a full MLB season based on how he adjusts.

I also see Stroman or Gausman as the most likely.

Scherzer would be great, but why would he sign here?  A lot of teams are going to be throwing money at him, which will likely include many teams that are actually, you know, good at this baseball thing.

18 hours ago, Torridd said:

I don't believe teams can do that and also stay successful. They would need a surefire minor league system because ultimately you need free agents and if you're going to have free agents many of the best ones will come at a high cost. 

Yeah, the problem is we can't develop talent (pitching especially), and we also don't have much success with FA either.  Then you have teams like the Dodgers who seem to have an endless supply of impact minor leaguers and some of the deepest pockets in baseball.

The only way we're going to get back into contention is to make some smart trades on top of a few smart mid-tier FA signings.  Like AO posted, that will probably end up being a QO/multi-year deal for Iglesias, and a lottery arm one year deal (Cobb).  Maybe we get lucky and grab a guy like Stroman/Scherzer, but honestly those guys are going to be highly sought after and I don't think we pony up for them. 

Our offense is good enough already with a core of Trout/Rendon/Ohtani/Walsh, and then hopefully Marsh and Adell can take a step forward and Stassi can continue to provide some pop from the catching position.

SEA had a -50 run differential and 90 wins, which is basically unheard of.  I wouldn't be surprised if they're back under 80 wins next year barring a lot of improvement.

On 10/4/2021 at 1:14 PM, Jason said:

Halos are not good at developing players 

Seriously.  How are people still expecting guys like Barria, CRod, and Canning to be reliable starters after what we've seen the last couple years, and on top of that expecting our drafting and player evaluation to be as good as Tampa Bay after this many years of mediocrity?  There's no comparison there to be had.

The only way this team is going to substantially improve is by either free agent pitching or trading for pitching (or both).  Same shit every year, fix it!