TEvans

The thread title sounds like a childrens book.
As of now, unless they acquire a 1B, pujols is starting at 1B.
Sadly.

I highly recommend Chuck doing the same thing in order to post on here.  

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/team_compare.cgi

^^This page is endlessly fascinating as a breakdown on how everyone did by position. The topline number is that we are exactly 15/30 in WAA over the last year. Exactly in the middle. Makes sense, given our record. If you search "LAA" (on chrome at least), our rank is highlighted for every position. A few things are clear:

1. Our pitching is a problem. Starting, relief, everything. A lot of that has to do with injuries, but if we don't pick up pitchers this off season, I'm starting to become inclined to believe we will have the same issue next year - especially given the fact that we seem to have this problem with these pitchers every year. Spoilers: this will be the hardest nut to crack over the next few years.
2. Our offense actually isn't bad. 11th overall. The obvious problem here is 1B, 3B, and RF. Nothing shocking there, but its worth noting that if we got league average players at these positions (WAA=0), we would be ranked as the second best hitting team in baseball. Why so good? Trout in center, Simmons at short, and Ohtani at DH. This explains almost all of our position. This problem is frustrating because it feels SO fixable. We can just find somewhat average players, and it would make a huge difference. If we signed a blockbuster and two whatever players, that could be huge. But...our timetable to compete may depend on fixing these three positions - unless someone can work a miracle with our pitching. There are glimmers of hope from the minors, but no one looks to be all that ready to step up to the job for any of these positions. Also, as crazy as it sounds, without Kinsler we may be looking at a fourth hole here next year. Not great.
 
Can I picture us competing next year? Sure! With a couple key pickups, a couple pitchers staying healthy, and a couple rookies coming up, we could look like an offensive juggernaut with middle-upper middle pitching. Is it likely? Not particularly. If I were a betting man, I would imagine we go into 2019 in a similar way that we went into 2020: Eppler picks up a few lottery tickets for the major league team, maybe adding one serious long term part. The team is built in a way that if the players play to their potential and stay healthy, we will have a serious shot at the division - and a somewhat easy shot at the wild card. But, the major movement will be with an eye towards the future. Our farm will continue to look  a lot better, and players will continue developing. Many small changes (and some flashy minor league changes) will happen in order to solidify depth in our farm. And, we will know that our core coming up is one year closer to contributing.
The "modal" outcome here seems to me that we don't really impress in 2019, but we do appear to be a team with slightly less holes than the 2018 team. About half way through, it will be notable how many rookies are playing on the team. By 2020, the team will be young and exciting, and ready for a clash for the west - hopefully with Jones, Thaiss, Canning, Rodriguez, Marsh, and maybe even Adell contributing (and ideally, but probably not, Maitan contributing).

And to be clear... you don't actually "debate" - you write stuff that makes zero sense and we make fun of it.

Counterpoint: Ask anyone here how many fucks they give about Napoli's opinion on coaches.

Dear Fellow Angels Supporters:
Under the heading, be careful of what you ask for, as you may get it, Mike Scioscia is gone, just as many of you have been so anxious to see for years.  
I recognize that I may receive hate mail, but I believe Mike was a really good manager.  Here are my reasons (not in any particular priority order):
 
His players loved him, even when they had losing seasons.  In 19 years, he never lost the club house.  That is amazing.  Orlando Cabrera said he was the best manager he ever played for.  Torri Hunter,  Juston Upton,   Garrett Anderson, Mike Trout, Otani, etc, --they all loved playing for Mike.  Lots of manager lose the clubhouse when seasons go south.  That never happened with the Angels under Sosh.  To me, that says something about his ability to manage the clubhouse. You can't blame Mike for the past 3 seasons,  How can a team win when four fifths of their starting rotation is gone for the season.  I think it's incredible that the team was as good as it was last year and this year they projected a rotation of Richards, Otani, Skaggs, Ramirez, and Shoemaker.  Basically, except for Skaggs, the rest were out for the year and Skaggs had at least 3 stints on the DL.  You take 4 starters out of most teams, and I think they may have trouble competing.  Yes, I know Oakland managed it this year, but I suggest that is an outlier. I think it's amazing how Sosh developed quality bullpens despite significant injuries over the years.  Last year, Street basically missed the entire season.  This year, Kenyon Middleton  missed the season.   His players love the guy, his peers respect the guy as as very knowledgeable, and the Angels fans have, by and large, ripped him since I have been on this site.  I really don't get it.  When he had talent, the team won.  When his team was destroyed by injuries they often were still in the hunt late in the season.  And most importantly, to me, it speaks volumes that in 19 years he never list the clubhouse.  That is very rare.
It's not his fault the club signed Josh Hamilton, Pujols and Vernon Wells.  He and the entire club suffered as a result.  It's not his fault that Dipoto savaged the farm system , leaving the Angels with little talent to draw on for years. 
Of course, I hope the Angels select a great manager and I am confident they will.  They should be much improved next year, as many of their pitchers are set to return (Ramirez, Shoemaker, Bridwell, Middleton, Meyer).

That's all true, by the way. 
I have a leftover quote from Tim Salmon that didn't fit into my story today...
"I know the fans are probably wanting something more, but over time they’ll come to realize what they had. The grass is not always greener. You've got to be careful what you wish for." 

what I have learned from this thread:
1. Tank is going to be ok.

There is a good chance that Upton passes Jackson only to be over taken by someone else. Reggie's record is almost sure to fall in the coming decade.

noted

A dream of mine is to sit in the photo well at an MLB game. On Saturday I received last minute notification that our family was being invited into a dugout suite at Angel Stadium. This being the closest thing I've ever had to that opportunity I took my camera.  We've been going through some brutal family stuff lately and this was a total godsend and a respite from the storm.

I shot all of these from behind the screen with a good camera, it's no where near the quality that sports photographers use, but it still did a decent job (Canon 60D with the stock lens for camera nerds)
I thought you guys would be able to enjoy these with me.
 









 
 
 
 

Add in that Mike was sick during spring training in 2012...otherwise he most likely would have started 2012 with the big club. 

Promoted! 

Also, Mike Trout put up .5 rWAR and .7fWAR in 135 PAs that season. Over a 650 PA season that translates to 2.4 rWAR and 3.4 fWAR. That's certainly not a bust.

Add in that Mike was sick during spring training in 2012...otherwise he most likely would have started 2012 with the big club. 

Add in that Mike was sick during spring training in 2012...otherwise he most likely would have started 2012 with the big club. 

I counted 3

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Someone is going to read this and think it is real and not sarcasm.

his page lists him as a catcher, first baseman, relief pitcher.  Awesome.

The org needs to back off of signings like Donaldson.   They have rarely worked out.   Time to put trust in the farm.   They can still trade a few prospects to build areas of weakness, but the age 33+ signings/trade acquisitions  need to be minimized, going forward.

I am going to be extremely pissed if we sign 34 year old Josh Donaldson and his fucked up shoulder and calf muscle. 
 

I'm think they're preparing to beat the shift. These are players that can hit those doubles and home runs but can also take a walk or beat out a bunt, steal second then score on a single. The antithesis of all that was mentioned in the article about not beating the shift. We have the privilege of watching our front office lead the way into 21st century baseball. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
GOD BLESS AMERICA