Lifetime

It's interesting that everyone agrees that we came into the season with a suspect bullpen and little to no depth and we had a rotation that was short of quality pitchers with little depth. Then we lose a couple of key pitchers in both the rotation and the bullpen, are forced to bring up pitchers that don't belong at this level due to lack of depth and when they pitch like crap we cry for the pitching coaches head because he was unable to turn mediocre to poor pitchers into quality arms.

Bourjos is much better in LF than Trout? Based on what.
Trout played 47 games 328 innings, in LF last year and did just fine both offensively and defensively. The notion that he is not a good LF or that that defensive position was negatively effecting his offense, based on a small sample after he performed well previously over a bigger sample is not sound reasoning.

It's interesting that everyone agrees that we came into the season with a suspect bullpen and little to no depth and we had a rotation that was short of quality pitchers with little depth. Then we lose a couple of key pitchers in both the rotation and the bullpen, are forced to bring up pitchers that don't belong at this level due to lack of depth and when they pitch like crap we cry for the pitching coaches head because he was unable to turn mediocre to poor pitchers into quality arms.

You want your better arm in CF. 
 
And again, correlation is not causation

Seriously, who makes it all the way to the MLB level and needs instruction on basic fundamentals?

SCOREBOARD!

Pitching (SP) should have been the focus of the majority of the off season spending - even if that means overpaying for Grienke. I'm not a fan of huge contracts for pitchers but I'd rather spend money in that area where the team lacks strength than spending it on more offense. Bullpen strength should have been the next priority and while we brought in some arms, we really didn't improve the bullpen. I was fine with getting Hamilton expecting he could put up his usual numbers which so far has been an abysmal disappointment but still, pitching was the preferred route this last winter. And I for one don't think Arte forced Dipoto to sign Hamilton (or Pujols for that matter). I think Dipoto had Hamilton on his radar already and intended to pursue him if Grienke didn't work out which IMO is a poor back-up plan. I would have been fine with Torii back even if he only gave us one good year out of the two he was signed for. He brought more to this team than what he did on the field. He was the consummate team player who brought talent, energy and leadership and never came off as a primadonna  despite his excellent career. No way I would have kept Wells after what he had delivered in an Angels uniform. And I was fine with letting Santana go too who has gifted talent but doesn't have the head to go with it and was one of the most frustrating players since Ramon Ortiz. But if you're going to lose one of you're starting pitchers, and there's a good chance you're not going to sign the big free agent pitcher (Grienke), the main focus for a back-up plan has to be quality starting pitching. If your plan is to fill the pitching with mediocre talent and try to hit your way to the playoffs, I have to question your thought process as a GM.

They're complaining about Trout, which means they have run out of legitimate complaints. Wash, rinse, repeat.

That explains why he blows

SCOREBOARD!

oops

The. Offense. Is. Not. The. Main. Problem.

Some of you guys are assholes. 

Oh OK

Dipoto was likely involved. He got the text.

Those on the "Arte-is-the-problem" binge, do you actually have anything to support the belief that he's one of the more trifling owners in baseball?  Or is this just another typical aw.com "psychic poster" ass-pull that's is built on a foundation of biased assumptions and leaped conclusions?

Here is another angle:
 
I don't think ANYBODY foresaw what the free agent market was going to be like (in terms of dollar amounts) this past offseason. Jerry made the trade and gave up Segura because you have to give talent to get talent, and while he was the Angels' top-rated prospect at the time, he was just that, a prospect, who had yet to perform at the major league level. He was also a prospect who was blocked by two above-average (and relatively cheap, even with their new contracts) middle infielders, and looked to be for some time. On the other hand, the Angels were four games out of first with a good look at winning the division, or at least, a wild card slot. Pitching was the primary issue at the time of the trade, and he was the best pitcher available. So we didn't make the playoffs. That wasn't Greinke's fault. He turned out to be the team's best pitcher down the stretch. If we had made the playoffs, there might have been more incentive for Greinke to stay, plus, there wouldn't be all this second-guessing from everyone who all of a sudden has 20/20 hindsight on here.
 
I said it at the time of the trade, and I'll reiterate it here: Flags Fly Forever. Greinke was the best opportunity to get that flag. It didn't work. Dipoto rolled the dice and crapped out. At least he showed that he wasn't going to stand pat and let things just play out.
 
Think about this for a moment: You're the GM, your team is in the thick of the hunt, and your primary need is pitching. There is a pitcher available who is really good, and gives you a great opportunity to win the title that year. All the other team wants in return is a bunch of prospects, nobody who has spent much time in the majors. Do you pull the trigger? Or do you just let things "play out" and hope that the team wins with what it has?

I say it again, what the hell are you talking about?

Why not argue which points you don't agree with in his post, and state your reasons for disagreeing with them? A "strawman" doesn't inherently end the argument just because you called it as such.
It makes for a much more pleasant conversation and thread if you respond in a respectful manner. If a post is so flawed to the point that it's not worth arguing with, then simply don't respond to it. A one-liner about the logic in a multi-paragraph post adds absolutely nothing to the discussion.

I believe he said you were a tool, not a troll

Some people require leadership training to become effective leaders. Others on the other hand come by effective leadership naturally. You don't have to be a mental giant or a college graduate to be a good leader. I don't think it's fair to say baseball players or any other group of athletes don't care about or work on being a leader. 

LOL! 

Defensive metrics are problematic to begin with. Using them to judge the defensive qualities of a catcher even more so.

Defensive metrics are problematic to begin with. Using them to judge the defensive qualities of a catcher even more so.

"Love our Halos, but I see clearly through the "spin fog" some of you guys/gals like to post"
 
Nah, it's called having the perspective of a baseball fan who has seen some crazy sh!t happen to random teams over the years.  There are lot of fun things left to happen, lots of crazy come-backs, dramatic home-runs, diving catches, etc that I want to watch this team accomplish.  I don't see how you can have fun watching any baseball team if your only criteria for enjoyment is "win or else" because 29 teams are going to be assed-out of a championship again this season so the odds are against you going in.  Right now, there are 130 games left and I really can't imagine going through the 5 stages of grief everytime I turn on a game...it can't be healthy.