ettin

I really like this pick, particularly in the 3rd round, this has a lot of risk, but a lot of upside, particularly if he can start.

It would not be shocking to see Scott Boras whispering in Soto's ear, "Just wait until you hit free agency, just think you could crest $500M with the Yankees.... wait... wait... WAIT!"

The Angels should certainly inquire, but we would have to empty part of our Major League roster and our farm to even have a chance.

Names like Adell, Sandoval, Detmers, Marsh, Paris, Bachman, Guzman, et al. would all have to be in the conversation and even then I think we fall woefully short in the quality over quantity conversation.

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

Thought I'd post this here. I think Bill James makes an important point - that the decline of a Mike Trout is very different from the decline of a Kole Calhoun (he wrote "Kyle" but I think he meant Kole). Meaning, a peak seasons of 120 OPS+ declines to 100 to 90, etc. Whereas Trout peaked around 180-190, so his first plateau of decline might be more in the 150-160 range. Plus, even in decline, great players still seem to have one or two peak-level seasons mixed in.

So my sense is that the next five years of Trout is going to see more ups and downs, but still one or two vintage Trout performances. James' hypothetical OPS+ line of 170, 150, 185, 160, 135, 152, 144 sounds about right...obviously it won't be right, but something like that.

I'm also not convinced that Trout can't adjust. He's done it before, and more so, he's been dominant for good periods of time this year. He may still continue to struggle with the high fastball, but if he can lay off it more, his walks will go up, and he can focus on pitches he can hit. For whatever reason he's swinging at pitches he's generally avoided in the past.

So I do believe this, when it comes to Trout, but this was also a similar argument that was made prior to extending Albert Pujols (which I think was, in hindsight, a mistake for a 1B/DH type of player).

Frankly, we need to see how the team plays through the rest of July. If they go on a winning streak and improve from their current 5% chance of a Wild Card slot, it would not be unsurprising to see them turn around and become buyers, possibly. Really just depends on where they are at in 3 weeks.

Beyond that you don't tear it all down. You don't move Iglesias whom you just signed to a multi-year deal, that is counter-productive in all likelihood. You just don't blow it up, you continue to build forward, which this team needs and can accomplish. If we end up as sellers, you simply move the short-term assets only. Then in the off-season if you have an opportunity to upgrade, then you might move one or more longer-term assets for an established, productive player. Extend Ohtani and do the other things that will make the Angels contenders in 2023 and beyond.

Personally, Ward has shown great bat production and hasn't overly hurt in the outfield. Adell would be fantastic depth so do you move one of them or do you keep both? Are there other ways to upgrade pitching for example? Lots of permutations and I am not sure we need to make drastic changes to achieve our goals.

Everyone likes the fun thought process of making a big trade, but I think the Angels need to be really shrewd and careful about what they move and why.

On 7/3/2022 at 11:02 PM, Inside Pitch said:

Some of this is park induced but it's good to see him showing signs of development.  He's put on good weight too.

(References last year's Angelswin.com prospect ranking list).... So you're saying there's a chance! YESSSSS!!!!

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Taylor Ward for the Dodgers. But the Indians wanted him straight up for a starting pitcher. 

Oh really? I seemed to recall there being a lot of speculation but no one could identify that 2nd guy. Good to know! Glad we didn't do it!

For a long time I have believed that Rengifo's bat has a lot of potential for a MIF, so I really hope he is turning a corner because a lively Rengifo bat can be a nice contributor to this club as others have noted.

2 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I’ve had several conversations with Angels coaches and front office people about how Rengifo has much more talent than all of the other middle infielders (Fletcher included). He just hasn’t been able to put it together. 
 

Let’s not forget this is a guy the Dodgers and Indians both wanted in trades that didn’t happen. 

But Jeff who was the second piece the Angels were sending with Rengifo?!?!?

1 hour ago, Docwaukee said:

I can't believe we fired him after he passed away.  That's bush league.  

1 hour ago, Lou said:

Arte is cheap.

All these jokes, has me deceased.

8 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Poor pitch recognition?

Actually they appear to hit offspeed pitches well enough. It really seems to be a fastball issue specifically.

Boy this thread started hot right out of the gate, didn't it?

Great content @taylorblakeward, Justin Campbell and Ben Joyce feel like guys Minasian would potentially target. Well done!

Hi Jeff, here are some possible reasons:

1. Team strikeouts are high.
2. Angels hitters are getting beat by opposing pitcher fastballs.
3. Angels hitters are not making enough contact on pitches in the strike zone.

When I hear the word "rebuild", I immediately equate it to a tear down of the current roster and a multi-year process of reconstituting the entire team.

The Angels have not been that for a handful of years now, primarily because they have two once-in-a-lifetime generational players on the team in Trout and Ohtani. They have been trying to surround those two with a good set of role players and other stars, to win now, not later.

So everyone should get the word rebuild out of their vocabulary as long as one or both of Trout and Ohtani are on this roster. At best you should be calling it a "retooling", probably. "Reloading" might be a word that describes a "retooling" combined with a touch of "rebuilding".

Don't use the word rebuild until Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are no longer on this roster. Despite the fact the team is laying down to their opponents, doesn't mean the organization philosophically believes the team should not be competitive year in and year out. I think they all want to win, but the magic formula has not presented itself yet and the personalities involved in the decision making processes continue to jam up the wheels (looking directly at Arte Moreno here). 

My older brother wrote to me on Facebook and basically said, "My brother! Joining me in the second half of your first hundred years.", ha.

Thanks all!

Sorry I was actually in Florida most of the week on a business trip and didn't get back until yesterday, so I only saw this now! Sincerely appreciate it, thank you!

3 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Ortega could be out of the loup soon.

Thank God you double-checked the spelling of "loup" or it would have been Error In Loop.

21 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

not sure about that.  he's walking no one.  

Oh yeah missed that, lol. Me dumb.

13 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

I've got one for yah - who the hell is Jorge Marcheco?  Made 3 starts in the DSL last year.  9ip, 0 hits, 0 walks, 20 k's.  His only baserunner allowed was a HBP.  In those 9 innings, he threw 70 pitches.  What the shit?

Tonight in his first ACL game he went 5 innings and gave up 2 hits, 0 walk and whiffed 6 on 31 pitches.  He also hit a guy.  Um.  What the hell?  

Are those pitch counts right?  I don't think so.  

13 hours ago, rafibomb said:

howwww

90-grade stuff with 10-grade control?

3 hours ago, failos said:

She doesn’t know anything about baseball, but I’ll probably take her to a game if she’s worthy enough.

 

For our first date we’re having coffee and she invited me to her church.

Either place you take her still has Angels, right?

18 hours ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

they are spreading pox

18 hours ago, failos said:

We have a good Monkey though.

Well if he gives you pox, you can just turn to him and say, "Really Monkey?"

1 hour ago, failos said:

Lol ok. So at this point @ettin is getting that ticket unless it sells on stubhub.

 

But I think @beatlesrule wants that one now. So I might have to do a drawing/raffle.

If @beatlesrule wants the 27th, give it to him.

1 minute ago, ettin said:

Season tickets?

If there is a game on June 16th or 17th, or 18th, that would be awesome!

Or did I not read your original post right?

Okay I read wrong, lol. Throw my name into 26th or 27th, your choice @failos.

1 minute ago, failos said:

for all the games?

Season tickets?

If there is a game on June 16th or 17th, or 18th, that would be awesome!

Or did I not read your original post right?