Angelsjunky

This might be true, but goes against what we've heard - that he was given increased payroll. So my guess is that he was told to spend if the deals and players were right, but don't spend just to spend (like previous years). It may also be that players didn't want to sign with the Angels.
Sure. There are lots of things that savvy GMs do, that Angels GMs don't seem able to do. In that regard, I haven't seen anything about Perry to think he's particularly special or even above average.
I basically agree with this, though think Paris and Adams are even more green than Neto and Schanuel. 

You might be right, but I'm not sure 22 games is enough to pull the plug. I think you give it another couple weeks. Also, Schanuel has 7 hits in his last four games, hitting .467. Clearly you're not sending him down right now. If he falls into another abyss, maybe.
Neto looks really lost, but who are you going to replace him with? 

I hear your point, but Neto did just fine last year. He wasn't great, but he held his own. Schanuel it is less clear. He didn't play enough last year to really show that he could handle major league pitching, so I'm more open to the possibility that he's best served in the minors for a couple months. But I think his main problem is a bit of confusion about who he is as a hitter. To me, he is a contact and walks guy, yet there's been all this talk about him putting on muscle and trying to hit for more power. That's a quick route to ruining what is already a great skill set. 

If 2024 wasn't primarily about taking stock, why didn't Perry spend more? He signed no major free agents - just a bunch of bench guys and relievers. As you say, they've got some trade fodder and the rest of the guys you mention are cheap filler. They're on the team because the Angels don't have enough minor league depth to fill a major league roster.
I agree that it is a "shitty team with ton of journeymen," but there's also some young talent. And again, who do you want to see playing that isn't playing? We can nitpick details, like giving Hicks playing time over Adell, but I'm guessing that will change eventually.
Or to put it another way, if they accept that they need to take stock and rebuild, what else could they have done? Rebuilding a team takes time; signing and developing young players takes years. The fact that the Angels didn't max out their payroll with (more) dubious free agent contracts is a good thing - it means they've accepted the fact that their approach of the last eight years hasn't worked, and they need to try something else.

If 2024 wasn't primarily about taking stock, why didn't Perry spend more? He signed no major free agents - just a bunch of bench guys and relievers. As you say, they've got some trade fodder and the rest of the guys you mention are cheap filler. They're on the team because the Angels don't have enough minor league depth to fill a major league roster.
I agree that it is a "shitty team with ton of journeymen," but there's also some young talent. And again, who do you want to see playing that isn't playing? We can nitpick details, like giving Hicks playing time over Adell, but I'm guessing that will change eventually.
Or to put it another way, if they accept that they need to take stock and rebuild, what else could they have done? Rebuilding a team takes time; signing and developing young players takes years. The fact that the Angels didn't max out their payroll with (more) dubious free agent contracts is a good thing - it means they've accepted the fact that their approach of the last eight years hasn't worked, and they need to try something else.

Yeah, it is sort of disheartening. For awhile there it looked like they could go up over .500 and shoot for something like 85 wins on the season. Now I'd be surprised if they won 75. The team is a mess. Trout and Ward have been trending down the last week. I'm sure they'll bounce back, but we might also need to accept the likelihood that this version of Trout isn't a full renaissance. The pitching is a mess. Schanuel and Neto look under-cooked. Etc.
But, while it is disheartening, it isn't surprising. Their strongish start was more surprising. This is more what we should have expected.

The AL West sucks because none of the other teams have gotten to play the Angels.

Yeah, it is sort of disheartening. For awhile there it looked like they could go up over .500 and shoot for something like 85 wins on the season. Now I'd be surprised if they won 75. The team is a mess. Trout and Ward have been trending down the last week. I'm sure they'll bounce back, but we might also need to accept the likelihood that this version of Trout isn't a full renaissance. The pitching is a mess. Schanuel and Neto look under-cooked. Etc.
But, while it is disheartening, it isn't surprising. Their strongish start was more surprising. This is more what we should have expected.

The Angels kind of suck.
Oh, the "resurgent" Trout is hitting .256. So much for that.

The Angels kind of suck.
Oh, the "resurgent" Trout is hitting .256. So much for that.

Trout: .290/.362/.710, 7 HR, 200 wRC+
O'Hoppe: .364/.451/.523, 1 HR, 186 wRC+
Ward: .313/.333/.612, 6 HR, 169 wRC+
After those three, only Sano has a wRC+ over 100 (118, due to walks mainly). Rendon has come around of late; after going 0-for in his first five games, he's hitting .395/.442/.474 with a 168 wRC+ in his last 9 games and .480/.517/.580 in his last six, including five multi-hit games.
Thaiss's numbers look gaudy, but he's played in only 4 games. The worst offenders are Neto and Schanuel, both with 39 wRC+, as well as Hicks and Moniak both with 54. Rengifo (80), Drury (70), and Adell (99) are varying shades of mediocrity.
Obviously small sample size, but clearly a weirdly distributed offensive profile. The "big three" plus Thaiss account fo 2.9 WAR, with everyone else at -0.4.

Which means that expectations are very different. Half of Neto's value is his defense, while maybe about 10% of Schanuel's value--as a first baseman--is defense. Not to mention base-running.

Can we start calling Ward, Deliverance?
 


Taylor should be in a Where Are They Now? celebrity article.

They tied this up but I still agree with you.  Early leads have been dread inducing.

The minor league numbers are pretty depressing - almost no one of note is doing well, with a couple of exceptions. I wonder if Vera, Placencia etc are going to be "Maitaned" after this year. Still quite young, so probably not, but I've pretty much given up on those guys.
I'm not at all worried about Rada, but I question their decision to place him in AA. That's rough competition for an 18-year old. A+ would be hard enough.

Trout's almost halfway to his season total of 17, in 73 total games.

I wouldn’t give up on Placencia yet, nor Denzer Guzman, but Vera hasn’t shown anything to give me much hope. Bad average, lots of strikeouts, no pop, no speed. 
Placencia though still drew a ton of walks, almost 90, against much older competition and a little bit of pop and speed. 
Worth keeping in mind Tri-City is a horrible field for offense too, and that’s where both played a bulk of last year. 
Hopefully one of these guys at least makes it to a decent UT IF guy, even if just depth.

The minor league numbers are pretty depressing - almost no one of note is doing well, with a couple of exceptions. I wonder if Vera, Placencia etc are going to be "Maitaned" after this year. Still quite young, so probably not, but I've pretty much given up on those guys.
I'm not at all worried about Rada, but I question their decision to place him in AA. That's rough competition for an 18-year old. A+ would be hard enough.

Ward remains one of the biggest surprises, and a mark in Dipoto's positive column. Of course it kind of reminds me of being right about something but just through sheer luck. Ward turned out to be a very different player than he was when he was drafted.

Yes, agreed - and I got your point, was just riffing off of it.

Which means that expectations are very different. Half of Neto's value is his defense, while maybe about 10% of Schanuel's value--as a first baseman--is defense. Not to mention base-running.

Trout is telling a funny Jered Weaver story when he was a rookie, including Jered paying him back for dinner with a bucket of quarters.

No worries, we've got Sonny DiChiara.

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