kevinb

Tony Azevedo was water polo's equivalent of Tiger or Kobe.  Biggest star power in the sport.  Doesn't mean he has the star power of Tiger Frigging Woods.
Being baseball's biggest star doesn't put you even close to Tiger or Kobe level.  This isn't Mickey Mantle in 1965.
 
LOL - Pujols was such a super duper mega star that the Angels attendance went down 100,000 his first year in Anaheim.
 
Man, you guys are delusional.
 

If you think that Albert Pujols was ever even close to the stratosphere of Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant, you need to, as the Wolf said in Pulp Fiction, "Move out of the sticks, fellas".

Good god, some of you are delusional.

Since 2014 the Angels are below .500 and they've finished with a winning record once while 2020 will be the 5th year in a row with a losing record.  I'm not worried about the Angels 5 years from now when Trout and Rendon are past their primes I'm more concerned about the next 3-5 years and whether or not they muddle along in mediocrity.  I'm not for gutting the farm but the last 5 years have made me realize how great 2004-2009 were.  Obviously we would have loved another ring especially when some of those teams felt like they had a legit chance (screw you 2005).  As disappointing as it was to not win a second ring I would absolutely take the feeling of being close but not quite there over talking about next season before the current regular season ends. 

It doesn't necessarily undermine either, but from my understanding of the Dodgers' infrastructure when it was Friedman/Zaidi (President of Baseball Ops + GM) - Friedman was essentially what we would consider a "GM" in the sense that he had the ultimate say in terms of trades, signings, etc.
Zaidi, OTOH, was the man mainly in charge of the minor leagues and the under-the-radar type roster moves/signings - i.e., signing Max Muncy, etc.
I think for Eppler, if he stayed on board while we hired a President, while his title would still be GM, it would effectively be a demotion in terms of responsibilities, and I am not sure he would want that.  And, more importantly - a new president would likely want "his guys" to fill out his FO, which likely would not be Eppler.

The article points out a big factor.
The scouting HAS to be improved.

“The Angels do not employ a president of baseball operations. At the start of this year, according to team media guides, the Angels employed 43 baseball operations staffers, the Dodgers 62.”
 
I thought the above was a key part of the article. I don’t understand how the Angels do not have a president of baseball operations. I don’t also get how the Angels have 43 staffers 19 less than the Dodgers. There’s a reason the Dodgers have been who they have been of late. Mimic them it’s obviously working. I’d be curious how many staffers is average around the league and if the Angels are above or below that number. 

I’m sorry if I am laughing at the “horror” of winning for four years and getting a WS ring, but then suffering for 5 years after that.  Man that five years after the parade would be rough.
Maybe we should just stick to regular Angel way of winning one WS every 60 years.

I would still take a World Series ring and some years like we had from 2004-2009 if it meant trading away our prospects. 

This is one of the best articles I have ever seen written about the Angels front office under Moreno. Great job @Dollar Bill. It offers such a great, comprehensive view of the Moreno years without getting buried in weeds or coming off as blasting or touting anyone specifically. 
Once again, it’ll be an interesting offseason. Maybe the biggest yet for the future of this club for the next decade. 
Also, the bit about non-tenders and a flooded free agent class is interesting and could be quite a wrinkle to usual offseasons.

You know me. I’ll take on all comers haha

Bro, I've been one of those guys that argued closers were overrated even before it became trendy.  I loved the fact that Stoneman was a master of building pens from failed SPs and casts off..   But if ever a team needed someone with some clout in the pen it's these dinks.   I havent looked to see who is available but this might be the first offseason where they actually chase a guy capable of shutting hitters down in the pen.

Will there be a study guide before the mid term?
But honestly thanks I’ll look it up. Would you say that stat is the best one for pitchers?

He’s not even worth arguing with lol

Sure Thaiss had an over 700 ops last year. I’d say that’s not sucking. 

Ya Walsh Ward Thaiss have sucked I agree. 😂

I actually have no idea how it works in the later rounds. (To be honest, I have no idea how it works in the early round either; I just assume the GM has a say in who is drafted early.)
But Walsh was a 39th-round pick. Does the GM make the picks at that point? I mean, the Angels drafted Dipoto's own son in the 38th round that year. Did Dipoto do that? 

Just a bunch of late bloomers

Maybe we need to rethink Dipotos draft picks. Fletcher Walsh....

Maybe we need to rethink Dipotos draft picks. Fletcher Walsh....

Dipoto

GRAND SALAMI!! 
Atta boy Walsh!! 

JARED WALSH IS TAKING US TO THE POST SEASON BABY!!!!

Eppler did some things right, but five losing seasons shows that he’s not the guy to get them back to post-season baseball while keeping a solid farm.

San Diego and LA probably have the highest likelihood to sign him. They’re ready to strike now to win a championship. The Angels are still many many pieces away unfortunately.