oldguy

Thank you @halomatt & @oldguy. We have always tried to keep it real on our shows all while trying to provide reasons for optimism as well. 
This turd was hard to polish and when Victor said he talked to people in the baseball industry and echoed what @Spirit said about players not wanting to come here in free agency, the mood took a turn for the worse. 
Thankfully we ended on a cheery note with our Christmas traditions. 
Here's hoping Perry and Arte change the perception of playing for the Angels. I'm hopeful Ron Washington plays a big part in that.

I WOULD like to thank Chuck, Geoff, and Victor for all their hard work bringing us these podcasts, but this last podcast regarding the "this is where players go to die" was just both too true and too depressing.  What was even more depressing was when Geoff said that any free agent we sign probably doesn't want to win, otherwise they wouldn't come to Anaheim. 
Merry Christmas to the crew, I'm just gonna skip it this year.

I WOULD like to thank Chuck, Geoff, and Victor for all their hard work bringing us these podcasts, but this last podcast regarding the "this is where players go to die" was just both too true and too depressing.  What was even more depressing was when Geoff said that any free agent we sign probably doesn't want to win, otherwise they wouldn't come to Anaheim. 
Merry Christmas to the crew, I'm just gonna skip it this year.

I WOULD like to thank Chuck, Geoff, and Victor for all their hard work bringing us these podcasts, but this last podcast regarding the "this is where players go to die" was just both too true and too depressing.  What was even more depressing was when Geoff said that any free agent we sign probably doesn't want to win, otherwise they wouldn't come to Anaheim. 
Merry Christmas to the crew, I'm just gonna skip it this year.

Yes, I wanted them to since the end of the 2021 season

While may be true, doubt he would’ve come back even if the angels matched the dodgers offer 

No, but I also don't want to get anyone's hopes up. 
Ohtani's negotiations held up the market, and now free agents are allowing their individual markets to develop. But also, if two teams are offering similar money, the player is more likely to choose a winning team with a strong farm that can infuse excitement and talent. 
Right now, the Angels aren't a winning team, and while O'Hoppe, Neto and Schanuel are exciting, much of the farm is barren. So I'm guessing that unless the Angels offer more money, they probably aren't at the top of anyone's list. And I doubt they're involved in the trade market for guys like Cease or Bieber. The cost will be more than I think they can afford. 
So my guess is they'll round out the roster with some low cost vets. 

I can't even remember what I had for breakfast.
 

and you forgot to mention that the Halos needed a replacement for Brett Phillips...
 
with a guy who has a career batting average 20 points lower...
 
and gets paid 7 times as much...

Thanks for nothing Shohei!!! NEVER AGAIN will we cuck ourselves by wearing the effing Kabuto!
 
Wait...is that Yamawhatshisface still available??

We need to have some thick skin this offseason and take all the Angels/Arte hit pieces that will surely come.  Some will be deserved. 
Be smart here Perry… Just like when you talked Arte out of signing Trea Turner. Spread the money around. Keep raising the floor on the roster.  Don’t cripple your flexibility with the wrong deal
If we get back to contending and winning, all the pain goes away.  We aren’t that far away.  Probably not this year unless everything goes right, but 2025 could be interesting. 

For 700 million, we could have had Pujols, CJ Wilson, Hamilton, and 1/2 of Rendon!

Ha!  I knew someone would say that!

Thanks for nothing Shohei!!! NEVER AGAIN will we cuck ourselves by wearing the effing Kabuto!
 
Wait...is that Yamawhatshisface still available??

and you forgot to mention that the Halos needed a replacement for Brett Phillips...
 
with a guy who has a career batting average 20 points lower...
 
and gets paid 7 times as much...

Looks like a mii from Wii sports 

Morosi is reporting David Fletcher is on a Frontier airlines commercial flight in a coach seat right now to Atlanta (layover in Phoenix).

This was when Dipoto was trying to be the smartest guy in the room and was trying to sign guys early in hopes of saving money.  They tried it with Kelenic too which led to the drama about service time. Kelenic and his agent claimed they were promised a spot on the 40 man and MLB roster if he took their lowball offer, he refused and was sent down.  Then the stink happened, he was called up and stunk the place up.

Just cleared 10m in payroll. 

Salary dump….

Tommy John

In HS I avoided the sophomore slump. I just repeated my freshman year. 

Nolan Schanuel = Wade Boggs
Zach Neto = Dustin Pedroia
Logan O'Hoppe = Gary Carter
Ben Joyce = Eric Gagne
Mickey Moniak = Drug-free Josh Hamilton
Jo Adell = Hank Aaron
But in reality, Schanuel seems like a lock to hit .280+ with a high OBP. The question is whether he develops any power with that downward swing. The range seems like anything from .280/.370/.370 to .300+/.420+/.450+. So a poor man's Boggs. But he's a very unusual hitter, and is going to put up unique batting numbers. 
Neto is a poor man's Pedroia. He actually could be almost as good as Pedroia, but he's more like a .270 guy than a .300+ guy. Otherwise similar, but playing SS.
O'Hoppe is a poor man's Carter: Average plus catcher, hitting and defense. Like most such catchers, the key is health. 
Joyce is going to be one of those guys that makes some batters look silly, then walks the bases loaded and gives up a salami. 
Moniak is a platoon guy. He's weird, though. He was so hot for like a month, then absolutely terrible, then got good again. He's like the second coming of Taylor Ward, but without the walks.
We might all fully give up on Adell and then something clicks and he becomes a star. I don't know, though, he just doesn't seem to have "it." He reminds me of one of those gym guys that only works on his arms and chest and ends up being so top-heavy and lopsided, with no core strength or balance. Adell wanted to jump from toolsy prospect to superstar, yet missed the most important part in-between. It looked like he might have stepped back to make up some of that missed development, but then got hurt. He remains a wildcard: We could see more of the same, bouncing around several organizations for a few years then making a name for himself in Japan. Or he could burst out and hit .270 with 40 HR next year.
Anyhow, there's enough potential in that group plus Rengifo that with a bit of lucky, and unusual health from Trout, Rendon, Ward and Drury, and it could be a dynamic offense, even without Ohtani. Or it could be another disaster.