ThisismineScios

I think this was the philosophy. Ward and Walsh expressed some frustration about taking too many pitches--fastballs ("heaters") especially--in the zone. It seems they were being coached to work the count. Maybe this works for Trout and Rendon, but not everyone can handle that well. And teams adjust, and you have to adjust as well.

It seems Matt Wise is improving as a pitching coach. But you can't really ignore the fact that he wasn't aware of 4-5 of his pitchers tipping their pitches. That's inexcusable. Ohtani, Lorenzen, Detmers, Peguero and those are just the ones we've found out about. He has gotten better though, so some credit is definitely due. For Jeremy Reed, I think without question you have to say he has not done a good job this year. He hasn't helped guys adjust, and when normally stoic guys go out of their way to call out the hitting philosophy, there's something there. The major regression from Walsh and Stassi, the lack of development of Adell and Marsh, and the overall drop in offensive production has to fall on him at least partly. I do think it's on the players, but a hitting coaches job is to make hitters better. I haven't seen any evidence of this.

Probably necessary to have an alignment of philosophy. All pitchers, high OPS college guys, etc. And I’d guess he made the call to take Neto when he fell. But no he’s relying on the scouting director and regional guys to make the call on specific guys. He probably watches a handful of guys in person then let’s the Director handle the rest.

I think more than anything it’s a reflection of the fan base. There isn’t really high demand for the kind of details you get in NY or Boston. There’s also so many things to do in Orange County, and way less generational or die hard fans than other major cities.

Uhhh…Trout and Ohtani? Not always, but I think it’s presumptive to assume that’s exactly how players think of it. I also don’t think the lack of winning has been tied directly to not having guys who care enough. They haven’t won because they haven’t developed their own guys enough to fill out a major league roster well.

Really though this is more favorable for the Angels than it is bad. Yeah you’ll lose out on some guys because of it. It’s makes your organization unserious to some. But a lot of guys like this type of atmosphere. It’s exactly what Rendon said about signing here. Ohtani. Thor. Trout even. It attracts certain personalities, and it doesn’t have to mean loser personalities. Fans on Twitter always complain about the lack of tough questioning for players and managers. But imagine there’s 3-4 of you asking question as opposed to 8-10? Not always easy to do that and maintain good relationships with people in the org. Which, I’d guess, is much more important for Blum or Fletcher or Bollinger than getting a great quote one time.

Great so Syndergaard can’t even count. I don’t want him back.

Yes. As a bench coach. That’s his perfect role. Connecting with the guys as a former player, he’s fiery. I don’t think he’s cut out to be a manager.

I agree. But At a certain point you have to turn your guys loose and not baby them. They let guys get to 100 pitches which I like. Analytics may suggest bringing in a reliever sooner for a guy like Suarez or Lorenzen (I bet He’s back). In which case guys like Herget, Barria, and Loup have more value.

There is no misunderstanding or mistake. He got caught, wanted to get the first statement out, and someone in his crew screwed up the spelling. He’s obviously lying. He instantly didn’t appeal. The stories around this guy are nuts. Lying about injuries, refusing consensus medical opinion, Vegas stories I heard about drugs and cash and girls from someone who was with him. He’s out of control.

In Outliers, Gladwell talks about how in Canadian youth hockey leagues, parents always want to have their kids the oldest in the division in order to dominate. To the point of family planning for whatever deadline that is. Instead studies have shown that those kids stagnate in their development while the best players are way more often among the youngest kids is each division. I am not suggesting this is doctrine, but could explain the thinking with some. Allow them to continue to thrive while younger than their division to continue their confidence and growth. Danger is if you Promote too far and they may be overwhelmed and get ruined. If you don’t promote soon enough they may stop pushing themselves. This is what I see with Quero and Guzman, Neto to a much lesser extent (SSS).

Please stop using Heyman as a truthspreader. He’s like a jilted lover—4/5 times a day he re-ups his Ohtani article because he knows fans will go crazy. All his quotes imply speculation. Fletcher said his sources are other front offices, not someone connected to Arte. Trading Ohtani without him telling the Angels he is leaving would be stupid. Very little chance he’s made up his mind. Trading Ohtani is a bigger deal than firing Maddon, but can we all stop believing at face value that Arte raged and screamed about Bobbleheads and posters? And that he would have traded Ohtani if Trout and Rendon were healthy? They were never going to trade him. You listen to teams offer to set the bar for the off-season, where Ohtani may indeed say he is not coming back.

The losing streak started as soon as Rendon got injured. His health is probably the most important factor in our success next year.

Stassi isn’t too expensive and even said he’s excited for O’Hoppe. What I don’t understand is why they signed Suzuki with Thaiss and Wallach perfectly capable of doing what he’s doing. I wonder if Suzuki is auditioning to be on the staff next year.

I wonder if @Second Base means Stripling? He was livid about being traded here, and openly expressed being relieved when it was canceled. Could have been both of them. If Bellinger was a little better he’d be great. Great defender at 1B and OF with some power. But alas he’s worse than Walsh hitting wise.

The only viable option to upgrade at SS is probably is one of the FAs is willing to take 3/90. Or, if a more mild upgrade option suddenly is available via trade—like a Rosario or someone similar.

What, like Zack Cozart? Agree on Joc. He’s not it; he is very strictly a platoon. Part of his appeal every winter is that he is eminently tradable. His high profile playoff years inflated his value. Best case for the Angels is actually if Adell shows he can hold down the LF spot. That, like the suddenly less necessary SS splurge, allows shifting resources elsewhere.

I get what you’re saying, and it makes sense. Ultimately they need to know what he is capable of. I just think he’s the second most talented pitcher in the system and some precaution is necessary. But, again, if a starter’s workload is too much for him, he could instantly becomes one of the best relievers in the league.

I 100% think you have to try him as a starter because he has ace potential. But I think you keep him in the 6-man and give him a lot pitch count to start—60 or so. If we still have Barria, maybe piggy back them? Or Suarez.

Just look at this filth. So good. So what is he? As a reliever, he could be a Devin Williams dominant level guy. But if he can start, you have someone with absolute filth. What should the Angels do with him to ramp him up?

What does gutting mean? Who is untouchable?

They won't cut Lorenzen. There seems to be a lot of mutual interest to bring him back. The thing is, he will not commit to anything besides starting...even though his arm clearly wasn't up to it this year. But the Angels seemed to have promised him something. He could be a valuable swing guy, but my guess is they bring him back at--what I hope at least--less than $7 from this year. Maybe 5.

I think the thing about the bullpen's stats are the memorable losses. Iglesias, Tepera, Herget, and Bradley have all had very memorable, devastating games. But overall, I don't think they've been awful. Heck, Even Tepera and Loup seem to be reverting to their normal...which is what Perry said. Now, I think he definitely overestimated their ability and Maddon used them completely wrong. But there is a solid bullpen with a few of those guys combined with a few AAA guys and a handful of AA guys.

Fair; I hadn't checked his ERA+ since the all star break. He's been hovering right above average all year. My point is I doubt the Mariners are panicking about it, even though it's an obvious overpay. He's still a good enough starter, even if he's not what he was last year.

Exactly. Either Arte panics and pays for one of those 4, or we sign a Bassitt or Manaea. I kind of hope Perry does a combination of trading and signing. This question is changing constantly though--what is our biggest offensive need going to be? 2B and SS suddenly don't look so awful.