tomsred

11 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Is there a more dire need than someone who can hit?

Yeah, someone who can pitch.

If DiChiara hits effectively in the minors, he may make an impressive trade piece in the future for filling a position  of dire need.

I would like to have Lorenzen as a reliever instead as a starter.  Not sure he wants to do that, but he might as he likes it here.

This is sad, we finally get a break on a trade like this with a guy who comes out hot, and then this!  I know it's a really small sample size, but this kid looks good, I hope he gets a fresh chance next year.

Does losing McKinnon to the A's lower Minasian's grade?  It's a direct result of the process.

The question should be simply:  "Attempt to sign Ohtani to an extension", or "Don't sign Ohtani to an extension, trade him for the best available package".  The problem is we don't know the makeup of the team around him yet for 2023.

Sorry, but I don't think the fluctuation in attendance is anywhere close as important as TV/media revenue.

The 2023 retooling is going to be spectacular if we analyze player performance after two games.

1 hour ago, Ron Mexico said:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10044474-shohei-ohtani-rumors-mlb-exec-says-angels-arte-moreno-is-afraid-to-ever-trade-him

I had to laugh at this.  Of course some rival exec would say something like this, probably one who wants Ohtani really bad.  Also interesting that he didn't identify himself as the rival exec who said this, like maybe....Dodgers?   I think the move to not trade him at this deadline was wise, yes the Angels might have gotten a little more for him now, but I don't believe the difference is that great if they do it in the offseason.  Plus in the coming off season they will know a great deal more of what is available to them, and also what are the most critical spots to fill, plus how soon.  A lot of things can be answered between now and the end of this season, we have 57 games to have a hard look at what is with us now.  In one sense there is no pressure to win, but in another there is a lot of pressure on the players we have to perform at their best just to have a shot at next year on this team.  Let's also see if Trout comes back and is effective this year.  The remainder of this season is really a critical time in my opinion.  Learn more, and prioritize where your weaknesses need to be retooled with new players, where you want to bet on a rebound on someone currently here, and please make an early decision in the offseason on what to do with the manager and coaching staff plus anyone else in the front office for that matter.  

10 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Not trying to make excuses for Sosh, but...

On top of that and the ghost of Pujols, the last decade of Sosh, the only talent that came through the system was a handful of pitchers who all needed Tommy John, no pen, and CJ Cron and Calhoun. Ohtani at the very end.

It's a talent problem, not a coaching one (IMO).

....and who is in charge of gathering talent, .....the GM's.  If I had to rank the last three GM's in that regard I would say Eppler was #1, Minasian is #2 right now, and #3, and far behind, is DiPoto.

10 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Angels have not spent money wisely in free agency. Top free agents tend not to sign with winning teams. Minasian will need to upgrade thru trades. So many needs bullpen, starters, OF, MIF, C

Problem is the Angels don't have much to trade for more useful talent, and unless some of the players mentioned don't rebound a bit in the last sixty games this problem will get worse.

2 hours ago, Rollinghard said:

Start by firing these four:

Hitting Coach	Jeremy Reed	3	3
Assistant Hitting Coach	John Mallee	2	11
Hitting Instructor	Paul Sorrento	6	6
1B/OF/BR Coach	Damon Mashore

And what the hell does a field coordinator do? 

Makes sure they are showing up and playing on the right field?

26 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I have no idea what to expect from him. And I'm not sold that he sucks 

That said, I was never convinced he was good, and always felt that all-star campaign was fools gold. Anything that comes out of nowhere (like Ward this year) shouldn't be counted on to continue 

I think the biggest problem is that even if he was closer to his norms (or just better than he's been) he's not the guy you pencil in with high expectations.

He's fine to bat 6th or 7th on a good team. And say Ward was fine, with Ohtani/Trout/Rendon is a good team. Especially if Marsh was hitting like an average everyday player.

The problem is when you erase the superstars... and suddenly guys like Walsh are expected to be big dogs.... that's where the problems come into play

 

That's right.  There is a lack of effective offensive depth.  Someone is going to get hurt every year, and when it's one of the prime three (Trout, Ohtani, Rendon) there is a big drop-off to the replacements.  There is also a big drop off from the next tier (Ward, Stassi, Walsh, Fletcher, Rengifo).  At that point you are playing questionable offensive major league players at best.  The starting pitching has stayed pretty healthy, but if Ohtani, Detmers, Sandoval, Thor, Suarez, or Barria get injured look out, big problem.  The bullpen is a mess really.  It's a real dilemma!

9 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

I actually agree with @CaliAngel's main point (I think it's his main point).  If Iglesias is available to pitch, why not just have him start the 9th?  What are you saving him for?

I think they were thinking that they wanted Quijada to pitch the ninth, and if we didn't score in the bottom of the ninth,  let Iggy pitch the 10th inning.  Quijada dumped that plan when his command was off.

Start a Go Fund Me page, and buy it yourself.

2 hours ago, Trendon said:

I think Loup's fine as the second LH RP in the bullpen (behind Quijada) if he has adequate coaching

I hope you are correct.  It would be nice to see him regain the form he had in 2021.

2 hours ago, Trendon said:

Loup isn't as bad as his ERA would suggest. I think part of the issue is he's working with an incompetent pitching coach. If the Angels deal him, go for it, just don't take back any dead money for next year because I think he could be a good LH reliever under a MLB caliber pitching coach.

I don't know about Loup.  He's a soft tosser with a wildly breaking slider that he has had trouble controlling it this year.  It can be effective to left handed bats, but he's getting hit too hard.  I would rather see a harder throwing left handed pitcher than him in the bullpen, someone more like Quijada  who has been more effective, but who would throw a little harder yet (98-100 range).  I think you will see a new pitching coach next year, but we have a good beginning with our starters this year.  There is just no depth on the hitting side, and little depth on the pitching side.  There is some hope for better pitchers in our minor league system.

11 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's got a lower OPS+ than either of those two guys and strikes out at a higher rate.

That's true, but he is playing under heavy pressure in New York.  There is a good chance Gallo won't improve, and I don't like him taking away time from younger players.  But Loup's not helping us much, and has a two year contract.  Also Marsh and Adel would play with Gallo in right field.  It's Sierra would be replaced.  And if Trout plays again this year, you might get two veterans plus one of Adel/Marsh.  Actually if Trout plays again this year I would move Trout to left field, Marsh to center and Gallo to right platooning with Adel.

Actually, it's the offense, not the pitching that sucks so badly right now.  The offensive woes have gone on for far too long.  There just isn't any effective offensive depth.  I don't know the number, but how many games have we scored two or fewer runs this year, it has to be ugly.

I was thinking more that it was a way of dumping Loup, if it doesn't look good for a rebound from him.  Gallo may very well be at the end of his career as well.  But Gallo has been playing under a lot of pressure in New York, what would happen if he got out of there and came here for two months?  Maybe the change in environment with less pressure would perk him up.  In the worse case, Loup and Gallo continue on their current paths, and they are both gone from the Angels by year end and we start with someone new next year.   That could be either a different outfield addition or a bullpen addition.

Thanks for the update on Gallo's salary Lou, I misread it as his 2022 salary.  If the Yankees assume Loup's contract and we take Gallo's contract at this point we would be ahead money wise.  At this point we get a veteran outfielder who has potential to hit with power, and they get a veteran reliever who may help them in the playoffs if they can perk him up.

6 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Why in hell would any Angels fan want to let New York off the hook on their albatross? 

To let the Angels get rid of their albatross called "Loup".  

Joey Gallo is making $6.2M this year, and has lost his way hitting at least currently.  Yankees are marketing Gallo after the Bettintendi trade with Kansas City.  Is an Aaron Loop trade to the Yankees worth us taking a look at Gallo for the remainder of the year worth it.  Taking some pressure off of Gallo might help breathe some life in him.

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

Yes, the entire coaching staff is going to get purged. This isn't Minasian's crew. It was cobbled together with leftover Maddon picks and a few minor league instructors from inside the organization. Slate is going to be wiped clean, I doubt any survive the cuts. 

Minasian had something to do with it as well, especially the bench coach, Montgomery.  I'm worried about Minasian, most of the decisions he has made have blow up, either sooner or later.

I don't think Shohei will be traded before the deadline.  I think they want to assess where the team is at and what is available for improvement in the offseason.  There are a lot of directions this team could go with or without Shohei, and trying to rush into a decision is not very likely at all.  Shohei is keeping up interest in this team while they evaluate what they currently have, and also what they have in a near ready major league state in the minors.

Of more interest to me is what will be done with the manager and coaching staff, and for that matter will the GM spot be changed.

On 7/23/2022 at 2:26 PM, tdawg87 said:

He's done. 

There is absolutely no way he is done.  People also said that Kershaw was done, he is now as good as he ever was.  We aren't dealing with Pujols, Wells, Mathews here; Trout is special and he will fight back hard.

2 hours ago, budice0 said:

"Trouts can have back conditions? who knew?" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Actually it's quite common in fish, if you have to wiggle you butt to propel yourself forward it's inevitable.