Jeremiah

Perhaps a promo where the fans pick the lineup.

It works for some guys. Al Hrabosky, Kevin Brown, Kenny Rogers, Todd Stottlemeyre, Robb Dibble, all pitched angrily and pretty successfully.

Except for Stephenson, there’s still time to improve. That said, it definitely doesn’t look promising right now. I know BPs can be volatile, but this was specified as an area where the team felt they had really improved.

Same. He probably also works really rough hours, so I get it.

If you have ideas for more interesting threads, post those.

That’s how I see it as well, as do a number of other posters here. The issue I have is the messaging from the team. Don’t tell me before ST that you’re going to “Run the AL West down,” then later say, “We may not have the best personnel,” and that you hope the fans have patience. It makes it seem like there is miscommunication somewhere along the line. Be clear on what the mission is. Say you’re rebuilding. Sell us on the development of these exciting players.

Actually, they’re probably building something similar, and constantly updating it with whatever their proprietary database has collected. Smart teams are doing that anyway, and they guard those databases fiercely. The Cardinals got into trouble a few years ago for hacking into HOU’s database. It sounds like you think it’s all a joke, but science is more and more involved in player development and roster construction every year. People bring up the Phillies as an example of a good organization. Dave Dombrowski may not be a physicist, but his assistant GM has two science degrees, and heads their actual R&D department. The Phillies call their proprietary database “Rocky,” btw. You can bet other orgs have similar FO structures. You can yell at the clouds all you want, but teams need to have a good working knowledge of how to collect, interpret, and communicate this data for the long-term success of their team. Having people on staff with a good grasp of physics is pretty essential now.

It seems like a trade that worked out well for the players involved and both teams. That’s actually kind of a rarity.

Physicists have stiudied baseball since, oh, the 1940’s or earlier. TrackMan, Pitch F/X, StatCast, all of these ways of tracking pitching data were developed using physics. It would make sense for baseball teams to employ people who not only understand and use that data, but can also develop their own proprietary ways of measuring pitcher and batter data. Teams employ baseball scientists. They also consult with actual astrophysicists. The sweet spot on a bat, the way a type of pitch moves, all of that is physics. When the AL and NL were separate entities, the each employed a league physicist in the 90’s. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the necessity for a knowledge of physics in baseball.

I agree with this. I think it’s long past time to bring in a GM or a PBO who knows how to build a baseball ops department from the foundation up. They also need someone who can work with Arte, and tell him when to just let the baseball people do the baseball things, while Arte and Carpino do the business things. As for Hunter, I’m glad he’s back in the organization. I think he’s best utilized as a voice and mentor in the clubhouse. I think he has a lot wisdom to offer the team’s young core.

Perhaps the best “fine” would be not posting in it, which makes it more visible. Ignoring it allows it to be buried under threads you find more interesting.

I would imagine that the Angels still have a kangaroo court where players are fined for various in-game offenses, such as lead off walks, or being thrown out on the base paths. The fines often go to funding team activities on the road, the batboys/clubhouse staff, or local charities. Teams already have ways of dealing with things like that by making it more of a teachable moment than something so punitive.

I agree that it’s time to rebuild. As IP said in another thread, they’re “rebuilding-ish,” right now. That said, young, cost-controlled SP is essential. I think Detmers is a guy the team should build around. Trading Ward and Anderson should definitely be explored when the deadline comes around, as those are most likely going to be their best trading chips.

Who would you put in that spot?

What did he say that was wrong? I’m always curious as to where the lines are drawn.

I think that’s very likely given that Arte hires inexperienced FO executives. We’ll never know for certain, but I would think the decision to keep Ohtani was Arte, as was a directive to add at the last trade deadline. Arte is a marketing and advertising guy. He wants eyeballs on the screen and people in the seats. That can sometimes be at odds with the necessary growing pains of building a sustainable farm system to feed the MLB team. I think Arte’s sudden about face on selling the team hampered Perry’s managerial search, which lead to the lame-duck Nevin season. It looks like this season is finally one where Perry was more or less in the driver’s seat. It’s probably the first real one fans can grade him on. None of this is to defend Perry, per se. His signings were probably his choices, and what he brought to ownership. I just doubt he’s had much free reign.

Healing from a tear of any kind can be hard to predict. It definitely could be some time before he’s in game shape again.

That sucks. His bat was starting to come around. This team really needs more infield depth.

There’s nothing requiring anyone to engage with this post. He presented a topic. Discussing it is not required of anyone who doesn’t like said topic.

Great find! I miss getting physical tickets. They were always a kind of built in souvenir of the game.

That’s a definite. A lot of that goes back to his appointment of Reagins and the subsequent choice of Reagins over Eddie Bane in that particular personality struggle. Firing Bane was a huge error that has probably cost us a lot in terms of the prospect quality. Arte has since then brought in inexperienced GMs who have variously had power struggles with field management, or the owner, and could never get on the same page to create a vision and a culture. That is an organizational disaster. Similarly to his predecessors, Perry cannot get Arte to get out of his own way. Perry doesn’t have the experience or the reputation to tell Arte when to butt out, so you have the multiple failures to move Ohtani after failing to put a quality team around him and Trout, the subsequent trades that gutted an already meh farm system in order entice Ohtani to stay, and an apparent lack of a vision for the long-term future of this organization. You can say that maybe that’s changed this year, but has it? $33M to a middle reliever never made sense. The lack of IF depth is a bit concerning. Wash is a great manager that a lot of people here used to clown regularly, but he’s also 72. How long does he want to rebuild an MLB club? I think there are still way more questions than answers. The team has always played things close to the vest, and that’s their prerogative. With that, however, will come questions about what the organization is doing. When HOU, CHC, and TB we’re losing with a purpose, they were up front about it. If the Angels are now in a similar phase, don’t tell us you’re, “Running the AL West down.” So, yeah, Perry isn’t very good yet. Arte likely won’t stick with him long enough to become a good GM here.

Read it again. I never claimed you said that; just that you could have without invalidating your point. As for the list of players: yeah, that was me, again generally supporting your point of view without insulting anyone while doing so. Judging by your last sentence, it sounds like you’ll just look to insult certain posters regardless of the validity of their points. That wouldn’t make it easy or even worthwhile to engage with you.

You were making a reasonable point about a discussion on changing Adell’s position in the field. I wouldn’t want to try it just yet, but it’s not unreasonable. Then you are asked for examples of successful players who did it. Instead of doing that, or saying you can’t immediately think of any, you just cut and run, lobbing some personal insults as you flee the scene. I generally agree with your point, even threw out some names to support it. All without personally insulting the guy who disagreed with you. If you’ve got stuff to add to the topic? Cool. Ad hominems aren’t it.

Actually, I can think of several, but it isn’t nearly as simple as some folks are making it out to be. If it is done, it’s usually in the minors, or during ST. It takes a lot of practice and adjustments. It’s not usually done midseason unless there is an immediate need. off the top of my head: Robin Yount, Craig Biggio, BJ Surhoff, Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel, Kevin Mitchell, Troy Percival, Darin Erstad, Jack Clark, Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis, Jr.