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Wisconsin27

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Everything posted by Wisconsin27

  1. I may be off, but I suspect Arte will spend when attendance and fan interest wanes. Our owner is a businessman first and always has been, imo. He'll ultimately make sure his product sells.
  2. Really nice piece. Very measured. Two thoughts. 1. Rushing Dana would be the most Angels-thing ever. Let him cook, we are not winning it all this year. 2. I'd be really interested to hear IP's take/thoughts. I know he references a lot of predictive data that might be useful in continuation of this thread.
  3. I wonder why not? This team, as constructed, should put it's resources towards the future and pitching. I want to barf when I see the Snell rumors.
  4. School is in session for us, but I hope like hell you do something like this in 4+ years when I able to retire. Would love to join all of you!
  5. Man, thanks for sharing this. What a wonderful kid and someone I hope we treat the right way moving forward. You can just tell he's got it together and is super respectful. In this day and age, its refreshing.
  6. No interest whatsoever in Yellich. The bill will come due and we'll have to watch and suffer. When will we learn these long-term contracts given to 33+ year old position players rarely, if ever, work out? I'm exhausted with this approach.
  7. I'm in the minority for sure, but I have no interest in signing a player to a 500 million dollar deal. We've been, and continue to be, down the road of having a few high-priced star position players that hinder our ability to complete a roster (read: resources towards high-end SP and BP). I'm exhausted with the approach.
  8. Now THAT's the totdprods I am accustomed to. Well stated and agree (almost) wholeheartedly (as the decision to not trade Othani the last two deadlines still chaps me!). But I totally get where you are coming from, so thanks for clarifying.
  9. I respect your contributions, totprods, but just can't agree with this. No organization came overcome those obstacles long-term regardless of a short-term plan (of which, I agree with you on). Winning organizations don't have meddling owners reluctant to spend on the farm or analytics, and fire people who don't perform under their "keep the revenue streams going" approach. None, in any sport. The idea we can properly evaluate any GM knowing the parameters our owner puts in front of them is almost comical. As fans, we just clamor so much for the next season that I sometimes think we lose perspective of the big picture (forrest from the trees, so to speak).
  10. I can appreciate your faith in our organization's abilities. I wish I had the same faith, but two decades of incredibly questionable decision-making has me quite down. And yes, I believe it starts with Arte, but that has been regurgitated to death.
  11. You couldn't have worded my pending reply to MMC any better. To me, it's more about what we are "protecting" in terms of potential help versus the rather small chance of what he could become. Entirely different discussion if we were loaded at the younger levels. But we're not. As has been stated, we should be looking for guys from other teams with this profile given our baren organization.
  12. I know I shouldn't regurgitate this, but can't help myself. Under Arte, I didn't ever feel it was going to be a good idea to resign Ohtani from an organizational perspective. Three really high-priced players, none of who pitch, and all of whom would be 29+ and signed for multiple years simply never made sense with an owner that was luxury-tax avoidant. There was simply no way to put the necessary roster, specifically to pitching, around those three with a salary ceiling. It's why I'll never understand why we didn't trade him for max value earlier. And as a fan, it pains me to say this because he's been awesome to watch. There are no easy solutions moving forward, particularly with the free agent class being so weak. I'm bracing myself for some ridiculous move, initiated by Arte, for someone that will put butts in the seats/generate excitement to the casual fan that will ultimately be a disaster (and certainly not for pitching). It's the cycle we've been on over and over again, but has been successful for Arte's business plan. Sorry for the rant.
  13. I have a bit of a different take. I have come to view Arte as a businessman with a sole purpose of increasing the value and revenue of his business. And he has done this very well. He's managed to put his resources in the areas that convince his fans that the product they purchase is a solid one and worth following (i.e. spending their money on his product). There is defined amount of money he's willing to spend, like all owners, and he allocates his resources for the sole purpose of encouraging his clients (fans) to purchase more. This is to say, I don't believe for a minute that Arte has ever had ambitions of creating a strong organization. To the contrary, he understands that making an occasional and well-timed splash will maintain his clients (fans) interest and drive them to his business. He has been a master at this as the increase in his club's net value over his tenure would demonstrate. Strong organizations that rely on baseball minds shy away from the many deals the Angels have offered; an aging Albert or Rendon, Josh, and many, many others. I fear his desire to resign Ohtani for revenue purposes only may be another example. However, Arte has been a wise-enough businessman to know that those moves would excite his clients and put butts in the seats. More intelligent "baseball-moves" would not provide him what he desires as they don't excite the average fan. The average fan doesn't "see" the work done in the background (i.e. the technology reference in the article), investments overseas, or any other money placed into infrastructure in an organization. That doesn't sell excitement, which Arte has always been interested in. I just don't believe for a minute the reason the Angels haven't been successful for the past two decades is because they've mistakenly chose where to invest in high-priced players. Strong baseball organizations have shown us time and time again they can overcome the occasional error. But Arte is different. He's successfully managed to create excitement regardless of the deals he's signed player to. He's managed to get 3 million customers to purchase his product routinely. That's successful business from his view. At the end of the day, his vision doesn't align with most/all diehard fans. But he controls the signings and the narrative. And it's the reason why it has sucked to be a diehard fan of his team, and will continue to be while his owner, for many of us.
  14. RIP Brandon and condolences to his family. What an awful week for the AW Brotherhood. My heart goes out to some of you guys who had personal relationships with Lou and Brandon.
  15. Been thinking about Lou ever since I learned of the news. RIP Lou! You will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
  16. "Pivoting" and signing Rendon was on Arte, Chuck. And it wasn't the first time he chased a flashy, low-30's position player in free agency. The W-L of this team during his ownership is certainly on Arte. I don't think he deserves to get blamed for injuries or not a willingness to spend. But he likes to spend on 7-day a week players (position players) who attract at that gate and have name recognition. The Rendon signing seemed like a panic at the time, tbh. And no one could have predicted it would end up being this bad. I mean, it's just horrible.
  17. Find Peace, Lou! You have been a pillar here for as long as I can remember. All the love to you and your family!
  18. You're going to catch hell for this post, too:-)
  19. You're going to catch a lot of hell for this post. And I understand why as we have suffered for what seems like forever and LONG for some sort of reason to be excited in August/September. That said, I agree with your premise outside of two things. I like what Perry did with the resources he had to work with. And I don't buy for a second the decision was Perry's. It was Arte's. If you have a moment, ESPN has a 1 minute clip on the decision that is worth a watch. Perry has proven to be exceptional, imo. Just exceptional. His drafts have been wonderful and he took orders and put us in a position to fill gaps until the cavalry arrives. It's got me more excited for the fall than I have been in over a decade. Organizationally, the decision to "go for it" is an absolute disaster in terms of lost opportunity costs. A 40 year old Verlander just landed the Astros top two prospects. What would Ohtani have landed last year at this time? Hell, even this year when our odds of making the playoffs were 15%ish and we had multiple starters out while facing a daunting August schedule? More importantly, if it all works out and Ohtani resigns (honestly, regardless of whether we make the playoffs), Arte has to either sell the team or go over the luxury tax threshold (something he wouldn't do for Mike). It's really that simple as anything short of either of those and we'll be in the same position we've lived in for the last 10 years. It's really that simple. I'll end with this and not targeted at any of my fellow Angel-brethren in particular. I hope everyone remembers the last month accurately 2-4 years from now. This decision is for the present/this year. We will be paying for it for years to come (if Arte remains owner and maintains current payroll). I wouldn't run my business that way and I don't pile up credit card debt at home for the same reasons. The bill always comes due. I'm jacked for this fall and think we have a true shot. In the end, Ohtani will "get his" and likely go to the team he feels most comfortable with that hands out top-level dough. We've seen it over and over in sports, but the hometown discount is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Ohtani may be different and I find myself thinking that at times. But even then, it's up to Arte to deliver.
  20. Arte is the primary reason our team struggles. He injects far more than an owner should. This organization doesn't make "organizational decisions," but is instead driven by Arte's business ($) approach. Think about it. We took Ohtani off the market (when he should have been shopped last year at this time) a week early, with multiple starters out indefinitely, while 3 games out of the wildcard and a very difficult schedule ahead, in one of the biggest "sellers" markets in recent history. Just think about that. Perry, whose job is on the line, then dealt what little we had in the way of the farm in an effort to go "all in." What I feel is lost on people is this.....what if it works? We make the playoffs AND sign Ohtani (assuming everyone understands the odds of making, much less winning, the World Series is extremely unlikely). We "succeeded" with our plan to make the playoffs AND Ohtani decides to sign with us. Wonderful. Bear with me. With Arte as owner and unwillingness to increase payroll beyond the threshold (it's been 20 years since he's owned the club and it's NEVER happened, even with Mike in his prime years), what the hell is the plan? We have a baren farm system with Ohtani, Rendon, Mike and Anderson combining to 138+ million and they will all be 30 or older. FFS, when will this team learn? IF, IF, IF Arte was willing to spend as he hasn't in two decades, I would be behind it. But this notion of "going for it to only make the playoffs because as fans we really have that as an end-goal" just doesn't resonate with me. I wish my team was run organizationally with the idea they would compete every year. Yet, here we are, with "stars" on our roster every single year for the past 20 with nothing to show for it. Just exhausting. We have some wonderful young talent. O'hoppe, Neto, Moniak, Detmers, Sandoval and many more. I would have much preferred we traded Ohtani in an effort to acquire more farm/cusp talent, kept Bush/Quero, and build organizationally. I honestly believe this pathway would have surely gotten Mike to the playoffs, rather regularly, in last half-decade than the current approach. More importantly, it would have jived with the parameters the owner has set for the past 20 years in terms of salary limitations. Arte's fault from a baseball fans perspective isn't in his willingness to spend, but rather in his requirement it be on "stars" that will put people in the seats. I've been a Rams (and Angels) fan since '78. Stan's approach to owning a team should have a book written about it. Nothing gets done without his stamp, but he trusts the people he hires to the degree he almost never intercedes. My rant is over and I'll continue to have my mood change with the results of every Angels game as I have for the past few decades. I'll do my best to go "all in" with the current club, which I honestly feel is as "put together" as any in recent memory (injuries aside). I just don't understand the end game, but I will worry about that this winter!
  21. This is exactly where I am at, only I will add a couple of more: - We also lost the prospective prospect haul that would have certainly been better than the comp pick we will gain. Though I don't buy he would be worth what the media wants us to believe. - IF Ohtani does decide to remain with us, then what? Arte won't go over the threshold, so we will be trying to once again fill holes on cheap fliers to surround our 3 high-priced players. Which leads to the farm, where ideally those players come from.... - We will now be buyers in one of the worst buyer markets in recent memory, thus depleting our farm even further. It's the most "Angel decision" ever, but sure promises to be a fun ride this year!
  22. Is it me, or does Thaiss get on base every f-ing game? I've honestly wondered if he would be a leadoff candidate (I know!).
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