ettin

However it does have Marissa Miller and James Hong (Lo Pan!)..... saving graces?

This is part of the reason why Major League Baseball fails in its marketing and promotion of the sport. They should realize that viewers are already watching a "slow pace" game (unlike basketball for instance) and that by adding a crap load of commercials they are just pissing people off. Same thing with the World Series, it just doesn't get the viewership that a Superbowl gets.... not even close.

Please turn towards tdawg.... he won't notice it anyway with all of the excitement of Trout hitting a double in the All Star Game. Besides he has to clean those pants constantly anyway.

Luckily for Cab, Dav, and Bau, they are spread out across three teams....

I have a feeling Pedroia doesn't care about his height. David Ortiz was quoted, after seeing Pedroia in the locker room, calling Dustin "Little Donkey".

That is because Mike Trout doesn't understand failure like normal baseball players.

I like the way you think AO! Seriously though, as I alluded to in my recent article, I think Howie's time as an Angel is winding down and he won't be here before the trade deadline next year if Lindsey keeps progressing and developing.

I hope you have your Blanton underwear on, under your Trout pants.

For a shortstop this is above average without a doubt, so I'm not sure why you are so down on him Beer? Even if he maintains an approximate .750 OPS he is still very valuable to any team especially considering his propensity for base stealing (like 30+ SB's a year?).

The only thing I would readily disagree with is Segura's performance in the Minors. His 2009 and 2010 seasons were quite good and at one point he was keeping pace with Trout in the Minors. But beyond that you are pretty much correct about the above statements. I'm on the record as a supporter of Dipoto to this point in time. I believe he will right this ship eventually and we will all be the happier for it.

Walk rate up, strike out rate down = Increased awesomeness! Seriously though the K% rate is down to 16.4% so far this season. Imagine if these improvements stick (which I think they will)? The idea that he is improving is jaw-dropping and incredibly impressive. I have said it before and I will say it again.... Give him a long-term money shattering contract that he couldn't possibly refuse. 10 years, $150 million, 15 years, $250 million, 20 years, $350 million? I may be out of my mind but I don't think I am (isn't that what all the crazy people say to themselves?).

That was a pretty darn comprehensive scouting report.....

True I noticed that too but it is a weekly article they do so it may have just been the author selecting a couple of top candidates and highlighting them not as a more comprehensive look.

And it's not like Dipoto hasn't ALREADY talked trades with other teams already. He just hasn't pulled the trigger yet as the rest of July plays out.

BP article found here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21210#commentMessage Hank Conger continues to lead the list of catchers this year in framing pitches. Basically he is taking pitches that are outside the strike zone and getting the umpires to call them strikes on a consistently higher basis than his peer group. Combine this with his upsurge in throwing runners out and his solid offensive game and you can make a solid argument for Hank picking up the lion's share of future starts both this year and next. I think we have a good, solid catcher developing right before our eyes!

Sadly it's selling time.

He's in the last year of his contract (which was $15 million for the year) and the year is half over so he's at about $7.5 for the rest of the season. It will be interesting to see what the Phillies do with him. He's a hometown favorite and they may get all sentimental and extend him. The A's bringing up Grant Green makes me think the asking price was to high for Utley.

I think you are probably right on this one Stradling. Dipoto may not be going after the Cuban pitcher, not because he is afraid of the money but more likely that the Angels don't have enough scouting information and raw data on him to produce a reliable profile of his performance and capability. Dipoto appears to take a balanced approach between scouting and statistical analysis and he may just not have enough of both to make an informed decision.

Thanks for recognizing the effort, AJ. Although the point of the article was that Kendrick is not likely to be traded before the season ends, if the Angels tank hard before the trade deadline it is not totally unreasonable for Kendrick to be traded and Lindsey brought up to get a longer cup of coffee to face big league competition. I don't think Lindsey is ready to make the jump either but I also think (and Dipoto has said this) that Bourjos will not be moved, period. This leaves very little tradable assets to acquire a good arm for the rotation. Our offense is significantly better than our defense, so sacrificing some of one for the other is not unreasonable. Most of us are not privy to Minor League players "readiness" levels but it seems like Lindsey could use another year in the Minors which is why I feel that Kendrick will likely be with the team in 2014. If we are out of it next year then he will probably get traded before the deadline. Otherwise it will probably happen in the offseason.

One team that I failed to mention was the Blue Jays who may also want to upgrade at 2B. A package would probably have to be centered around Aaron Sanchez or possibly Robert Osuna. Sean Nolin might be another target.

Well first of all thanks for taking the time to comment on an article you didn't read. Despite what you think about the length of it (clearly you scanned it at least) I did put in a bit of work to examine the situation, so you could have saved the first part of your statement and just said the last part. For the record I like Howie and what he brings for the team but his contract was designed to have tradability at some later date. It is only fair to examine his value as a trade candidate and, quite frankly, if he was moved he could bring back a high quality arm which is what a lot of you have been clamoring for this year.

I didn't read the article yet but the Rockies tried this during the last half of 2012. It didn't produce some of the results they wanted but the theory is sound as it has been proven that relievers over 1-3 innings are more effective (by not having been through the lineup more than once). I'm assuming that is what the article hints at and it would seem to make some sense.

I see a Southern Comfort endorsement deal in Napoli's future. "Be comfortable"

I heard Schwarzenegger is available to play the main character.

Just like his unlucky .274 BABIP in 2012.