ettin

Sunk cost. As Angels fans we should be quite familiar with this term over the last few years.

Ummmm.... but every player, whether good or bad, started out as a prospect?

Someone may have already said this but why not trade him and then resign him as a free agent? **** Edit: IP did say this **** Best of both worlds if we get him at a fair price? He did go to Long Beach State so I have to imagine he probably likes the area?

Interesting article on the umpire of last nights game. Points to how Blanton excelled last night and why Hamilton did even worse than he normally does: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/why-does-john-hirschbeck-hate-left-handers To boil it down the home plate umpire, Mr. Hirschbeck, expands the strike zone significantly when left-handed hitters are at the plate. Seattle had a left-handed heavy lineup in against Blanton and he exploited that weakness. They also exploited Hamilton even moreso than usual.

I'd be interested.

I don't think it is just the offseason since he is hosing his spot in the lineup?

Give the thread time to simmer.... I'm guessing three (or is it just '3'?) more pages?

HD TV = A Higher Power Definition?

Ouch.

Wheter you buy into BABIP or not, Josh is currently 78 points below his career average BABIP for 2013. Combine this with his troubles on off-speed stuff (did you notice that he was thrown several change ups the other night and whiffed on quite a few of them).and you have the product you currently see on the field. I think we have a chance to see a closer version of the 2012 Hamilton one of these days if he can make some hitting adjustments to sliders, two-seam, and change ups.

Ervin's 2012 season sucked. He throws a HIGH amount of sliders and studies have shown that pitchers who throw 30% or more sliders and show a velocity drop have a high probability of an arm injury in the near future. I don't think it was a bad idea to dump him in principle. I like Ervin and wish him well but there were real reasons that decision was made. Of course Ervin is making them look bad now but oh well?

He's the clubbing leader right?

Not sure why you would think or say that? As of last year the Angels were one of the few clubs in MLB that had ZERO debt?

Angelswin.com: Where we love to talk about how we are royally screwed!

Yeah I think with the big league club pitching woes there is too much being read into this. I applaud the front office for trying a lot of our Minor league arms out in starter roles to see if they stick but this is a case of "I'll believe it when I see it".

I heard the same talk about Jered Weaver. Nothing is set in stone and we certainly don't know how Mike Trout feels so this is all pointless until he either stays or go's. Did we forget that his father was close to the scout that championed Trout to the Angels and also had Mike sign for slot pretty damn fast (since Mike wanted to play so badly too)? We really seem to be making a mountain out of a mole hill. Southern California is a great place to play and live and there is no readily available reason that Trout, like Weaver, wouldn't want to play here if we gave him the right contract that respected his abilities. I've said it before and I will say it again, give him a record breaking, very long-term contract and make him an Angel for life. Mike may have idolized Jeter growing up but there is no way that Mike will ever play with Derek considering their current ages and contracts so the Yankees angle doesn't fly to well either in my opinion. Yes Mike is from the East coast but there are a lot of people who move out to California and never look back.

Remember in WAR, the best defense is a good offense. In answer to the question I think he has not been mentally as sharp this season on both sides of the game. He is still young and doesn't always take the best routes to the ball but his speed sometimes makes up for that small error. I really think he is not as mentally focused, period. He may be taking the burden of the teams performance on his shoulders unnecessarily and may be "pressing" as S-C-I-O-S-C-I-A likes to say.

Pete Out in Center M H D and Lou say '12! Jump Peter, Fly High!

One scenario for this offseason might be the Yankees. If Lindsey does show enough maturity and ability to play and hit in the Majors, there is an outside possibility that Cano doesn't resign with the Yankees (we are talking about another potential $200 million contract for a player who is 31 years old and embroiled in the Biogenesis scandal) and the Skanks might want to trade for Kendrick (who has done extremely well in Yankee stadium over his career). In that scenario we might ask for a couple of prospects like Gary Sanchez and Jose Campos or some other combination that makes sense for us?

Scott is right about Howie. Unless we get a magnificent offer he won't be traded until this offseason at the earliest (and probably not until after 2014 in all likelihood). Lindsey is developing some power this season but Scott is correct in getting him up for a cup of coffee to see how he fares so that the front office can get a better idea of their options. I really don't see Trumbo going anywhere but I do agree that our younger players should get September calls and some regular playing time to showcase their talents for eventual spots on the big league club or for possible trades for pieces we do need.

Actually this is a great idea! I sent a request off to NotGraphs as they love to create and post these types of things on their web site.

Based on the fact that the starting pitcher market was predicted to be bad going back 2 years ago through next year, I think based on the available options Dipoto made some reasonable cost-conscious decisions. Clearly the Blanton signing has not worked out in any way, shape, or form, but I think he acquired two starters, Vargas and Hanson, without having to give up too much (Morales being the more significant trade over Walden). It's not like there was a whole lot out there to get.

Interesting sidebar about Ted Williams that I thought some of you might like: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/hub-fans-bid-kid-redo/

Hi Eric, I don't think you realize that this was the plan. This is the core group of players for this season and at least next season. Pujols, Hamilton, Trout, Weaver, Wilson, Aybar, Kendrick, Trumbo, and Bourjos either have such large contracts that they are essentially unmoveable at this time or are pre-arbitration and/or signed to team-friendly extensions that it would not make a lot of sense to move them. This is made moreso by the fact that we do not have any ready replacements in our farm system, at this time, to replace their production. There is a plan and it was to build a core group of players through free agency and extensions now (this plan started nearly two years ago), forego our first round draft picks (because the last two drafts, including this year, were projected as having a "weak" class of players), and then really make a rebuilding effort starting with next years draft. I think this is pretty much what we are stuck with for the time being. You could trade Kendrick or Aybar for instance but who do we replace them with? I like Romine's defense but his bat is light. I don't think Lindsey is ready yet on the farm to handle a big league job next year as a possible replacement for Kendrick. They could trade Trumbo or Bourjos but it just seems like we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot for the most part by doing that as they are both good young cost-controlled players, which is exactly the type we need to build around? What we really need to do is trade Pujols or Hamilton but that ain't happening and we'd have to eat money, AGAIN, and I just think that we are caught in a tightly woven web.

Only if Babe Ruth was being compared to 2012 Peter Bourjos.