TEvans

Delete their numbers and move on

I actually hope we sign Bumgarner so these clowns on the MLB Network would STFU about the Angels needing more than just Cole. 

Lets not fool ourselves into thinking there’s no value in an innings eater at the back of the rotation.  
Conspiracy theorists calling MLB players trash will never not be ironic and funny to me.  

Is Vlad a black dude too?

I see where you are coming from but to say Ohtani is comparable to Strasburg is premature at best.
Strasburg pitched 209 innings with 3.32 ERA and 1.038 WHIP.

Eppler graduated from UConn with a degree in finance.  Then he interned with the Washington Redskins.  
Cashman played division III baseball and graduated with a degree in history.  He started with the yankees in 1986.  
Eppstein went to Yale and graduated with a degree in American studies.  He was first hired by the Orioles as a public relations assistant.  
Jeff Luhnow graduated from U penn with a degree in econ and engineering and then he got an MBA from Northwestern.  He worked for Mkinsey for five years.  He founded and was CEO of Archetype solutions and was GM and VP of marketing for petstore.com.  He joined the cards in 2003.  He met the Cards owner Bill DeWitt jr from working at Mkinsey because he knew DeWitt's son-in-law.  
Andrew Friedman played college baseball for Tulane.  He earned a BS in management from Freeman.  He became an analyst for Bear Stearns and an associate at midwest capital till 2003 when he met Stuart Sternberg the owner of the Rays.  
you're an idiot.  
 
 

96 mil .vs 72 mil.   One guy falls off he's a 30+ mil RP..    

Price threw 105 innings last year, only threw 74 innings in 2017 -- he's due money through his age 36 season.   Upton's deal is over by the time he reaches Price's current age.
This seems like an awful lot of risk for a team that really can't get something wrong moving forward.

Honestly, if you can’t get excited about Adell then stay the hell out of a thread about Adell.  

He’s played 21 in RF, 20 in CF, 6 in LF this year. 

both just happened in a week.
We all knew this wasn't a WS team but to have the high point of the season turn so quickly into the low point is what has me on tilt. 
 
 
 

Well, this thread will change directions now...
?

It's just a dumb game. We sit here and moan every time the opposing team hits a homerun, or call players names when they aren't doing well, but the sudden passing of Tyler Skaggs brings everything back to reality: This is a game. For entertainment. It is ultimately meaningless in the overall scheme of things. These are human beings just like you and I. They feel pain. They get sick. They die. This is a gut punching reminder of that fact.
I hate baseball right now. I don't even want to think about wins or losses or stats. I don't give a shit about Tyler Skaggs the MLB pitcher. I only care about Tyler Skaggs the person. I can't imagine what his friends and family are feeling right now. But my thoughts are with them.
Again, F*ck baseball.

I keep reading different people in different threads either with questions or providing misinformation about these guys, so I started a thread (which I never do) so hopefully everyone will see and get caught up. 
JC is pitching tonight (6/24). His rehab assignment expires on Saturday (6/29), so at most he’ll have one more outing after tonight. He’s out of options so he’ll be in the majors by Sunday (6/30), barring a setback. I don’t know if he’s going to be a starter or reliever. 
Middleton had a setback in early May and is now significantly behind JC. Middleton is throwing off a mound but (as of a few days ago) had not faced hitters. Once he starts facing hitters, it’ll be at least 3-4 weeks before he’s active. But he’s in a holding pattern so I wouldn’t plan on any specific return for him till you read that he’s facing hitters. 
There ya go. 

he'd be tied for the 10th highest WAR on the team.  

I had a good feeling about him relative to how his defense and handling of the staff was talked up.  
there are some things that are obviously his fault.  The team leads baseball in wild pitches.  As we know many of those could be avoided.  He's been terrible at the plate although I didn't expect much even though I was hopeful.  He clearly doesn't frame well.  
my biggest issue with how things have gone this year in conjunction with the entire staff likely has as much to do with some new philosophy on sequencing and selection.  I see a team that's 3rd in baseball in hrs allowed and last in baseball in GB rate as well as 3rd worst overall in hard hit ball rate. They are the only team in baseball that has not thrown a single cut fastball.  We are also have the 4th lowest rate of sinkers but we lead baseball in the combo of slider/curve.  
Whatever these guys are asked to throw isn't working.  It seems to me like a lot of straight fastballs.  I think what they are trying to do is get pitchers to throw from the same release point (tunneling) but it takes a talented pitcher to keep the difference from being recognizable.  
@SlappyUtilityMIF and I had a conversation about this in another thread that they are forcing the system onto each pitcher instead of letting them tailor their approach.  
Maybe this is more of a Doug White/Eppler thing but what bothers me about how someone like Lucroy fits into this is location.  I watch him call certain pitches to a certain spot and and as the pitcher is winding up, I am very often thinking to myself 'holy balls, don't miss with that even by an inch relative to where he's setup' .  
He's not making anyone better but neither is the system.   Thinking that it might be more the latter than the former.  

Every GM had their strengths and weaknesses, Eppler included. As @Scott34indicated, the job Eppler had done is impressive, particularly compared to his predecessors. Here a few key highlights that I see in him. 
- Eppler may be the best in the business at building a farm. The hole the Angels were in as far as prospects maybe was the deepest in history of any team. The belief was that a typically empty farm system takes 5 years to properly restock. One as bad as the Angels, more like 7-8 years. But Eppler is great at this, and he recruited and hired the best personnel in the business. Together, they've drafted as well as anyone, they got creative in their international signings by bypassing the Dominican Republic where they lacked presence, and picked up high caliber kids from the Bahamas and Venezuela, they took advantage of a unique opportunity to acquire Maitan and Soto for very little, and hit the jackpot with Ohtani.
- Eppler hasn't made a ton of trades, but on the whole, he had held his own. 
- Eppler has done a great job getting payroll back under control after the unfortunate spending bug spree of his predecessor left the Angels with a bloated payroll and asking team. 
- Eppler himself has proven to have perhaps the keenest eye in the business when it comes to acquiring low cost pitching with great upside. 
- The one thing that Eppler is notably bad at is free agent spending and assessments though. This guy can't buy a vowel when it comes to free agents. But I think he's recognized this and contained his own free agent spending.
- The biggest thing though, is that he's kept an open line of communication with his players, and helped them buy into what he's trying to build. Shohei Ohtani is an Angel because of this. Mike Trout will remain an Angel for life because of this. Andrelton Simmons is eager to sign an extension because of this. He goes after high character people and connects with them on a much deeper level than simply business. It seems personal with him. 

I think a lot of people look at what he's doing and take it for granted. I seriously don't think people realize what a once-in-a-lifetime talent Mike Trout is.  If they did - they'd be flocking to the ball park to see him play. Parents owe it to their kids to go see Mike Trout play.  It's funny how we take his greatness for granted. 

clearly overrated and Puig is better...or is it Bellinger? Maybe its Betts?

"Alex Morgan, tell me what was going through your mind when you kicked the ball into the goal!!??"

I just don't like him Strad. I think he's a terrible manager and to make things worse he's kind of an asshole.
That said, I'll wait and see how he does after Upton and Simmons get back and reevaluate after the season. 

A guy like Nolan Ryan wouldn't get an opener because he's the better option against any part of the lineup. If you are 90% certain that you'll be needing a reliever then why not use one in the one spot in the game where you have matchup surety? It absolutely makes sense with so-so starters or those who don't normally get deep into games

Within the next 5-6 weeks, Heaney, JC Ramírez and Middleton are all coming back. 
That’s a rotation of Skaggs, Heaney, Harvey, Cahill and Canning. I still think it’s too early to give up on Harvey and Cahill. I don’t think they’re going to become aces, but both should be serviceable starters, and if you have a deep bullpen with some multi inning relievers, you can get them out quickly when they don’t have it. (Look at the Brewers.)
Barría, Tropeano and Suarez stay stretched out as AAA starters and can fill in in case of injury. 
JC Ramírez, Peña, Taylor Cole and Bard all cycle up and down (except JC, who is out of options) as multi-inning relief, with-a-lead options (not mop up, more like 2017 Petit). Starter has given up 2 and looks shaky in the 5th, with a 4-2 lead? Bring in one of those guys for 6-7 outs to bridge to the late-inning guys. 
Buttrey, Robles, Allen (give him a chance now that he’s healthy), Middleton.
Garcia, Bedrosian and Noé Ramírez are all tweeners. Some from that group may need to go to make room for Middleton and JC
Your 12 pitchers are 
Skaggs, Heaney, Cahill, Harvey, Canning
Robles, Buttrey, Allen, Middleton, JC Ramírez 
1 of García/Bedrosian (other DFA)
1 of Peña/Cole/Bard (others optioned)
If they have 13, Noé Ramírez too

Because the team would have a problem is they say he 100 percent will return and something happens.
Players get sick and get hurt working out or walking down the stairs. It happens.
Until he’s in the clubhouse and ready to go, there’s no reason to guarantee he’s playing  
Also, he’s on the IL. He can’t be on the IL if he’s able to play and he can’t be on the active roster unless someone else comes off. So until they are ready to make the roster move, they need to be careful what they say  
The media is only saying he will “likely” or “probably” return also. 
It’s all just semantics so I wouldn’t worry about it.