Ariamus

7 minutes ago, Lhalo said:

I would have liked him to say "Hey Erica. I bet those babies would be eating good with that rack!"

Pretty sure he'd have a lot more trouble walking that back...  

1 minute ago, Biergott said:

So glad I didn’t pay for a new streaming service to watch games.  DIRECTV and Fubo suck.  Staying with YouTubeTv.  Previous years I would pay more for the crappy signal and UI so I could watch games.  No reason to do that with this dogshit rotation and lack of motivation in our geriatric owner that doesn’t care about winning.   Saving me money…..and the pain of actually watching.  

MLB.tv for the win! 

Dramamine not included... 

Just now, Hubs said:

 2 errors in 2 innings gives them a 1450+ pace. Would be the major league record.

Who said we can't be Number.1 ???

Don't fret folks... Jose Suarez is coming in.

That'll fix 'em!

I don't care enough to bother with picks so I'll just share a buddy's ranked rooting list. He's rooting most (1 being the most) for:

1. Marlins
2. Twins
3. Orioles
4. Blue Jays
5. Rangers
6. Anal warts
7. Phillies
8. Dodgers
9. Impacted wisdom teeth
10. Rays
11. Repeated kicks to the groin
12. Astros
13. Having to sit through an entire concert by Natalie Merchant
14. Chlamydia
15. Asteroid strikes on the East Coast
16. Diamondbacks
17. Slow death of the American dream
18. Brewers
19. The end of western civilization
20. Braves

5 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Ariamus, Arte Moreno was not the focus of the podcast. I have said on previous pods this season that Arte has been a problem, especially when it came to not investing in player development, how he goes for the next shiny thing in FA when he doesn't get his guy and how he was cheap when it came to adding quality starting pitching prior to this past season. 

That said, they did go after some high priced FA starting pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Zach Wheeler, Patrick Corbin (when he was good) and others, but they went to teams they wanted to sign with, so you can't put the blame on Arte for a lack of trying, which is what @Spirit was referring to. 

You also can blame him for Adrian Beltre getting swooped in on during the wee hours overnight by the Texas Rangers because they added another year to the contract and more money.... you can't blame him for Pujols, Rendon, Hamilton and some others for not producing to expectations, or the injuries they've sustained. You can't blame Arte for ALL the injuries the club has sustained this year when he put together a solid roster that had a damn good chance even if half of the guys stayed healthy. You can't blame Arte for Ohtani getting TJ surgery and for Trout not being able to stay on the field as well. 

Thank you for listening!! 

You're quite welcome! I enjoy the show and will keep listening.

Admittedly, it was Victor that reeled me in... I was a huge fan of him from his broadcasting days and still miss him greatly. But I've since learned that you guys (Chuck and Jeff) are great as well and the show holds up great even when Victor can't make it. Keep up the great work!

That said... My main point is that you can't be a consistent winner without player development. Using just free agency to build a roster involves too much risk and no fault tolerance. Without a steady stream of capable replacements, even if only temporary ones, the only way the FA approach will work is if there are no "issues" with the players you sign.

Ultimately, Arte's regime doesn't do player development and arguably hasn't since almost day one. It's a testament to the previous regime that the club continued to be really good for almost the first entire decade of his reign. But the flow of talent from the minors eventually ended and the well remains dry.

I also think your recollection on some of the specifics with FA signings and missed ones is a bit off.

On Beltre, I don't think we can let the club off the hook for Texas "sniping" him at the last minute. The impression that I got at the time and everything I've read since suggest that the Halos took it for granted that he would accept their offer. It was well documented that Beltre wanted desperately to return to SoCal and I think Reagins and Moreno banked on that. Instead they focused on signing Cliff Lee and Beltre felt unwanted so he changed his expectations on where to sign.

Additionally, there is definitely blame to be had for some of the big contracts Arte did authorize. Actually, just one. Even at the time, most everyone outside of the Halos' circles saw the Hamilton signing for what it was, a terrible decision. Never mind the risks involved given his personal history, there were two HUGE warning signs with him at the time.

First, there were his terrible splits at the Big A. Everyone knows the park across the road from Disneyland is where fly balls go to die and Hamilton was a big, booming fly-ball hitter. And second was the fact that, although he had been healthy and clean the entire season, Hamilton's numbers crashed in the second half of 2012. He dropped almost 50 points in average, almost 60 in OBP, and 120+ in slugging in the second half of that season. That plus the fact that he was well past 30, and a "hard 30" at that, by then. Did the Halos learn nothing from the Mo Vaughn catastrophe? Apparently not. No, Hamilton was incredibly ill-advised at the time. No credit for that one.

The Pujols signing was also quite risky and everyone should have seen that at the time but I won't hold that one against Arte. Because, even if Albert didn't live up to the money on the field, the Angels did get an excellent return on investment in literal cash with his signing.

I won't dispute the CJ Wilson or even the Rendon signings. Both were smart signings at the time and they just happened to not work out, albeit for different reasons.

I also won't hold a lot of the players they missed out on against the club. Cole was always going to sign for the Yankees unless they completely ignored him and they didn't. It still sucks but it is what it is.

Wheeler is much the same except in his case, it was his girl that guaranteed he'd never wind up in Anaheim. I live in Jersey and she's from around here. Word is, she wasn't keen on moving too far away from her family so that explains Wheeler's choice.

BTW, fun story... I've met Wheeler's father-in-law. He's a regular at my favorite watering hole and Wheeler and his wife actually had dinner at the same place the night the Phils clinched their NLDS series with Atlanta last fall. The story is they headed up to her folks' place after the game and stopped on the way for chow.

So, some good and some bad with the FAs. But the original point about player development stands. You can't be a consistent winner without it and unfortunately, there's no reason to believe Arte will ever change his tune on the subject. Not many 77-year-old leopards change their spots, after all.

Anyway... Thanks for reading my words and keep up the great work with the pod.

Just watched the episode today...

The guys are delusional re Arte. It's not for a lack of trying? That's complete BS. You know where Arte doesn't "try" at all? Player development.

In the first half of his time as owner, the club summarily dismantled a scouting and player development apparatus that produced the steady gusher of talent that lead to a decade of dominance during the 2000s. The vast majority of the guys who won the 2002 Series and however many division crowns after were home-grown.

But, in the decade and half since the unbelievable 2009 draft, the Angels have developed exactly TWO players who compiled career bWAR totals in the double digits with the club: Kole Calhoun and David Fletcher. The Angels farm system has been a laughing stock for a decade. They have been made themselves notorious for how poorly they treat their minor leaguers.

This is all on Arte. For him, player development is a line on the budget ledger that will never "appear" to be in the black. So he doesn't spend on it.

The same is true for analytics. It's another area where Arte's Angels have been notorious for being oblivious to.

Again, these things are all on Arte. So it is farcical to think he's done everything he can to win.

Period. Full Stop!

Don't care.

I don't believe a goddamn thing Rendon says.

1 hour ago, greginpsca said:

I think there will be big changes next season. 

Are we talking "stick everyone on a rocket and shoot it into space" big? Like, dynamite the stadium and team offices big?

6 hours ago, YouthofToday said:

Eternal mediocrity. 

That's generous.

Easier to say who I want back...

Assuming of course that Ohtani walks. If he leaves, then I would want back the following: O'Hoppe, Neto, Schanuel, Bachman, Silseth, Joyce, Detmers, and anyone else in the organization that has not yet made their MLB debut.

Everyone else can go, be they player, coach, executive, AND especially ownership.

2 minutes ago, TroutField said:

Estevez turned into a pumpkin as soon as it hit august

Charlie has not been good for a while... 

The triple play was nucking futs!!!

On 8/15/2023 at 1:54 PM, Hubs said:

People seem to like Nevin on here for some reason, and take Minasian's side against Joe Maddon. But this team is headed for a full regime change. Most blame Arte, but this isn't all on the owner. Yeah, he may not hire well, but despite Perry's decent trades and some good signings, this team is not good. Injuries, yes, but this is not all on injuries.

I tried to be optimistic, all year long, but three straight second half collapses, (well last year was in end of May, but still a collapse)... three straight losing records and three straight seasons where the team doesn't look like its getting any better? Minasian is getting fired. Nevin will not be back.

Since Scioscia left, this team has been BAD. You can say the last four years of Scioscia weren't great, (he also dealt with a lot of pitching injuries). But the record certainly speaks for itself. 

2019 -- 72-90. 

2020 -- 26-34 (which is a 70-92 pace).

2021 -- 77-85.

2022 -- 73-89

2023 -- 59-61 (80 win pace, but I doubt they finish that high).

 

Scioscia's last 10 years 

2018 -- 80-82

2017 -- 80-82

2016 -- 74-88

2015 -- 85-77

2014 -- 98-64 (best record in MLB).

2013 -- 78-84

2012 -- 89-73

2011 -- 86-76

2010 -- 80-82

2009 -- 97-65

 

SO who is a good GM or Manager Candidate for next year and beyond?

I'm late to the thread so I'm not sure if this has been said already. I'm fairly certain it has... But here it comes anyway.

A change of GM and swapping the field manager without a change in ownership is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It doesn't mean shit because the ship will invariably sink... Each and every year.

3 hours ago, yamsi12 said:

This team has been horribly mismanaged for going on a decade now.

You're being generous. The Halos catastrophic descent into ineptitude actually began more like 15 years ago. It just took five years or so for the effects of the terrible decisions they were making decimated what was previously an exceptionally well-run organization.

4 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Luis Polonia should have skipped the minors.

6 hours ago, Hubs said:

Rendon to the 60 Day IL?

It was retroactive to July 11, so that means September 8th or 9th is when he'd be eligible to come back, so he must still be weeks away from being healthy enough to resume baseball activities.

Who are you kidding??? Rendon's done for the year. Also, spoiler alert... Someone's going to sneeze on him wrong sometime in mid April next season and wipe out 2024 for him too!

7 hours ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Come on Perry! Should demote Trout and Ohtani so the angels can have the highest ranked farm system.

8 hours ago, Jay said:

What about Rendon...?

Fuck that guy!

9 hours ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

Is this a record for a drafted player?

It's not even a record for the Angels. Jim Abbott went to the Olympics in Barcelona after being drafted in the summer of 1988 and he made the Big club out of Spring training in 1989. He never threw a single pitch in the minors in between.

3 hours ago, oldguy said:

6 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Can you imagine this club during those years with Beltre in his prime and Trout. 

Butterfly effect.  We don't sign Vernon Wells, Hamilton, or Pujols because Kendrys Morales gets moved down in the order to hit behind Beltre, and thus, never hits the homerun where he has the freak ankle injury.

The thing that galls me the most about the whole Beltre affair was the fact that he was practically begging for one of the SoCal clubs to sign him. I understand why the Dodgers would not be interested, having been there, done that. And money might have been an issue for the Padres back then but it certainly was not for the Halos.

Also, the butterfly effect goes much further...

Not giving Wells, Pujols, and Hamilton all the money they did means they have the money to keep Greinke and keep replenishing the rotation, once Weaver starts to break down. Plus they don't have turn the page on the likes of Torii Hunter, Howie Kendrick, and Erik Aybar because of money or their dearth of starting pitching. Never mind the fact that Jerry Dipoto probably never becomes the GM and thusly, never gets the chance to obliterate the farm system and player development apparatus like he did.

The Beltre non-signings, both of them were a downward turning point for the organization that it still hasn't recovered from.

1 minute ago, eligrba4ever said:

LIGHT IT UP!!!! 

4 STRAIGHT!!!!

It's 5.

2 hours ago, REDneck said:

Yes.

 The trio of Ward,Ohtani, and Trout left 13 runners on base last night.

So the question begs, why didn't Rendon play last night?

I legit understand the guy needs his rest and Nevin is easing him back into the lineup, but the guy has managed to play 6 of 18 innings since his "return".

I wouldn't call that maximizing the return on a investment.

Angels had already won the first two games of the series and Nevin bet on having a fair enough chance to get the third game sans Rendon.

I don't necessarily agree to the gamble but it happened to pay off.