Fake Chow

I've never started a new topic here as I am a "luker" multiple times daily, but tend to not weigh-in much.  With that out of the way, I want to simply point out that Perry just "seems different" than what we've had in the role of a GM in past.
I admittedly was appreciative of the job Eppler did and have always felt he inherited an extremely difficult hand.  The state of the farm, the noose/limitations he was under, lack of depth, etc.
With that being said, I'd like to express how pleased I have been with Perry's job to-date.  Given the circumstance and current situation (i.e. win now), the foresight and judgement he has displayed is so clearly evident in most every area of the roster.  It's almost as if his plan from the day he began is now being played out in front of our eyes....and he has rarely missed on many of the players he identified early on.
No one truly knew what he had when with Bachman, Joyce, Neto, Moniak or others.  In many cases, we still don't.  But to have the foresight to "lower our floor" with inexpensive backfilling the way he has AND to have the cajones to promote and trust his instincts has been remarkable.  I remember when he signed Anderson to such a low-market deal wondering what the "catch" was.  Now, we are seeing a quality 3-4 starter evolve we will have for another year at a reasonable cost.  I was a big Marsh fan, but would make the trade for O'Hoppe over and over again.  Neto blows my mind for a rook and I have no idea how he possibly projected that and laid off the FA's when his job was on the line.  The Renfroe signing was SO solid.  
The BP was always a huge question mark and that wasn't lost on Perry.  I was critical of the offseason approach (i.e. low-cost spending, practically ignoring the white elephant), but his response has been to rely on his initial moves to address it (Silseth, Bachman, Davidson....and more to come).  
Undoubtedly, when our season comes to an end without a championship we will be able to "Monday Morning Quarterback" what he should have done differently.  But I have to say, I won't be in that crowd.  What he has done this year and the results through 30+% of our games have demonstrated to me this is a man with a plan.
Hell, he has me so excited to be an Angels fan again that I am actually at piece with Shohei leaving (Note: fan since Nolan signed my ball in '77).  In fact, I find myself at times wondering if it might be best for the organization to trust in him to identify the right combination of young talent in a deadline trade to truly put us over the top going into '24!!!  Nuts?  I know.  But man, this guy seems to know talent.  I am so jacked about having a young, core group of O'Hoppe, Neto, Moniak, Adelll, Sandy, Detmers, Bachman, Joyce, Paris, and whatever else he might acquire from a Ohtani trade that I am beginning to think the worse thing we can do is let him walk for nothing with this guy in charge.
I honestly think if the vets can perform like they can, this team is capable of making a very serious run.  I don't envy Perry's position in having to determine it's fate by early July (the trade deadline being so early is a point of contention with me, but that's a whole other topic).  But just imagine if Rendon returned and the power came with it, Walsh found his grove, and Mike returned to being "Mike."  With our starters coming around and the BP taking shape, we have a roster that can compete in ways we haven't seen in quite awhile.  I'm not suggesting we'd win it all, but it "could" make for a really fun ride.
My point is, props to Perry.  Well done, sir.  And thank you for offering this fan something to be excited about for the next handful of years.

In a game they had to win, and to avoid another series loss to a .500+ team, the Angels rallied for their (3rd) 1 run win during the month of May, to once again elevate over .500 for the season.   Beating the red hot Orioles is no small task, and the Angels beat them twice in Baltimore.  Another lost series would have been unbearable as the natives were getting restless.
Lots of positives to take back home.  
Great outing by Anderson,
Trout and Ohtani bats coming to life,
Aggressive base running
Situational hitting
Moore and Estevez saving the game.
Defensive gems by Renfroe and Neto.
Nothing better to give both the team and fans some good vibes headed into a tough home stand with AL Central leading Twins, (24-14) Baltimore, (23-21) Marlins, and the Sox.
A winning record in May, series wins vs three teams above .500, coupled with a relatively healthy club, puts the team in a much better spot than last year, and would set things up very well for a successful summer campaign.

Yep. It's called "Perry Me Away."

That 28th ranked farm seems to be holding it's own.

I'm watching/listening via youtube.

I'm starting from the beginning and just just finished episode 1.  Just wanted to come here and say that I love it.  Keep up the great work fellas. 

Plot Twist:  Taylor was home schooled.

1) put an much money into scouting, development, analytics, etc. as Perry thinks necessary.
2) attempt to extend Shohei. If you can't get it done this offseason then allow Perry to field trade offers and give him the blessing to do what he sees fit.
3) regardless of whether he's able to extend Shohei he needs to open up the pocket book without any budgetary restrictions.
Essentially, allow Perry to do whatever he wants throughout the organization without any thought to a budget. Anything short of that is failure.
He can reinstate an mlb roster budget when the farm system is functioning at a high level.

Arte ain’t the problem. The problem is all these modern day stat nerds. We won a championship playing old fashioned baseball and listening to fat boys gut. Yes we fell short a few times but we were respectable. We started playing nerd ball and have sucked ever since. We need to get back to signing a team full of tobacco chewing  boys that ain’t afraid to get dirty. 

What is worse I come back before  Feb 1 or Arte not selling team?

I think a new stadium in LA county is on the table, but realistically the Angels are already in the best spot possible for them geographically. Anything north of Cypress is already Dodger country and south of San Clemente is a whole lot of nothing until you get into San Diego. Moving north takes them further from the fan base. and moving south doesnt really get them any closer to anything.

Hey all.  I was wondering if my friend could join us?
He's pretty shy but he'll come out of his shell once he gets to know you.
@cals?
Hey buddy.  Just thought you might want to stop by.  

Yes, it is.  That changed with the last CBA (or maybe the one before that I forget).  First round picks are protected for all teams.  For us, it would be our second highest pick (round 2), then third highest pick (round 3), and so on.

I am a little more interested to see if they are also considering having 9 hitters in the lineup.

They're premium in the sense that there is a Del Taco across the street from the stadium.

At this point I'd be happy about the Phillies, Padres, or Guardians.

Everywhere?  

I used to have a pretty good feel about how Baseball America would rank guys -- they were always tools, tools, and more tools.  I used to understand how FGs came to their rankings, like Baseball Prospectus they leaned heavily on the stats end of things.  But for the life of me I've never really known what the guys at MLB.com (Pipeline), look for what doing their rankings.
They currently have Harry Ford ranked 68th, one spot behind Logan O'Hoppe, but that's not the ranking that makes me wonder.  Take a look at Ford's size, age, the league he's playing in and the park itself.  Compare him to Edgar Quero and tell me what exactly it is that Quero is lacking other than a lofty draft position?  This isn't a slam on Ford, he's a great prospect putting up excellent numbers in another pitcher's park -- they seem like they would be very closely rated/ranked.   
In a less apples to apples comparison -- what makes Jace Jung a top 100 guy but not Neto?  Jung's glove at 2B is iffy.  He's got this weird upright stance that I doubt carries over into pro ball, as it stands he's currently fighting the Mendoza line in High A, albeit he's getting on base like a champ.  Meanwhile Zeto's glove is legit, he looks like he's a lock to play a more demanding position and he's done very well offensively in AA.  Neither guy has a sample size big enough where the numbers matter at all.  I don't think Jung isn't a prospect by any means, I just don't see how he can be ranked above Zeto.   They have Zeto as a 50 overall despite a breakdown of 60/50/50/55/50 .vs Jung at 60/60/40/45/45 for a 55 overall.  They must really value power potential.
I really have no clue what it is MLB.com bases it's rankings on.

If, as has been speculated by some, he pressured Reagins to make that trade, then yes, he deserves blame….but no, if his GM makes a bad trade without Arte being overly involved (he is the owner so he obviously needs to sign off on most things), then he doesn’t deserve any blame….If his GM suggests a FA signing that works out and Arte agrees to raise his budget to get it done, he deserves a lot of credit….if the FA signing is a bust and Arte raised the budget but he lets his GM make the baseball decision, then no, it’s not his fault….seems pretty simple to me…credit where it is due, blame when due…

Why would I give him blame if the trade went through?
 
I don't blame Arte Moreno for trading away Mike Clevinger for Vinnie Pestano, I blame Jerry Dipoto for that.
I don't blame Arte Moreno for trading away Kyle Bradish for Dylan Bundy, I blame Billy Eppler for that.

Who the hell would blame Arte for a trade?