Junkballer

I'd be happy is they spent to just under the tax threshold on their primary off-season needs (not an elite SS) and went all-in at the trade deadline, assuming they are not just in competition for a wild card but in contention for the division title. Off-season: just the tip; Trade Deadline: All-In. Being that all-in can mean different things in different circumstances, I'll say that in this scenario it means spending prospect capital at the deadline to fill holes and augment the pitching staff, without devastating the farm. And going above the tax threshold, at that TD point, to the extent that they can become a non-taxed team (increased threshold in new CBA) in 2023.

Ohtani window, here we come.

Thanks for taking the time to do the GDTs @jsnpritchett, also @beatlesrule and @Chuckster70 (and others?). You helped a lazy dude like myself to not have to look up lineup and start time info every single game.

I slept in a Billy Idol shirt last night and woke up dancing with myself.

Also it's easier to move him in the last year(s) of his contract if the Angels want to trade him. In a perfect world you want to front-load contracts and withhold NTCs.

That was coach-speak for he'll make an adequate emergency catcher.

Earning bodily function nicknames here on AW was probably a wake-up call.

I think Minasian is going to assume that Rodriguez and Quijada are going to be part of their bullpen and that we may only see one new name there. They desperately need stability in the rotation and from a roster planning perspective, CRod's injury history plugs him in to the BP, being that replacing him as a reliever is less impactful to the pitching staff overall. Quijada may not start the season with the big club but may be viewed as a sort of ace in the hole as other arms are vetted there.

Didn't you hear, he clouted his ankle. Right @WicketMaiden? Love Brit terminology.

Angels are more like the Adobe.

He's good to have as insurance in case of catcher injury. Can't see them going into next season with Thiass as the backup catcher though unless he is far further along with the details (framing, keeping runners honest). Sounds like Maddon is praising him for getting the basics down.

Meant Paris/Vera. Maybe so, just thinking that a top tier SS doesn't fit the immediate needs and budget of this team. They do need an excellent glove there and if that defender has a middling bat but allows for spending on pitching, thats the way to go.

No because the SS contract shouldn't be for more that 2yrs+club option so that they can bring in Arol/Vera. That precludes the big names. Trade for mid-tier defense first SS and use the money on a TOR starter and closer.

I think it is a matter of principle, but in the context of where his teams were at in terms of legitimate championship contention, which they really haven't been for a loooong time. My understanding is that he is a proponent of fiscal restraint in the owners meetings, however, we don't know if he will go over the top once the team establishes itself by getting deep into the playoffs. I don't really blame him. If I was an owner I wouldn't exceed the threshold just in hopes of making the playoffs. It'd have to be a one year scenario of exceeding and the following year allow for the farm to replace traded or expiring contracts to get back under. The compounding of the tax over successive years makes living in the tax zone foolhardy. I believe the new proposed tax structure is going to carry on the penalties for successive years.

I think he's just getting it all out of his system so he can let the hope spring eternal this off-season.

The man who will be identifying the "right" FA pitcher and bringing the contract proposal to Arte for approval is not the same man (or front office team) that identified those other players. Perhaps with the exception of Pujols, previous GM's did the scouting and analysis so there is no reason to imply that Minasian will screw the pooch in a similar way as was done on the Pujols, Hamilton and Upton contracts. He may not have done all that well with relievers outside of Iglesias but those were all budget bound peanut harvesting decisions in the context of not fully knowing what they had in regards to young in-house options.

That's rather hyperbolic. He stated that he values winning over the fan atmosphere and personal relationships with teammates. That's about it and that's consistent with what most elite players would say whether they say it to the press or not. Putting a 2022 deadline on things is just plucking stuff out of thin air. I don't doubt that should 2023 come and go and they are not serious contenders by then that he will look at the Angels as irredeemable but putting a 2022 deadline on winning is plucking things out of thin air. Ohtani as mercenary is at this point a personal narrative of yours.

#BillyMartinMotivationalCourse

My attempts to research how to objectively evaluate manager performance is largely unsuccessful. Even Fangraphs doesn't seem to have a handle on it. Some factors are not quantifiable, such as managing egos, chemistry and motivation over the long haul. What little (old) evaluation I've found puts him in the middle of the pack in bullpen usage and Dave Roberts near the bottom. I doubt that a different manager would have led to more many more wins this year being that they had very little available talent due to injuries and the poor performance of releivers not named Iglesias. Also it is an unknown how another manager would have allowed or hindered Ohtani's historic season. Not real helpful but the Angels Pythagorean expectation is .443 and their record is .474.

Welcome to the board. The Angels really need to acquire high probability arms. Unless Minasian sees something in the advanced measurables, like he did with Cobb last year, pinning hopes on his comfort zone with a certain teammate doesn't seem like a good strategy for pitching selections. They have enough question mark arms as it is.

And Bachman. Perhaps we will see him in a limited reliever role as early as the latter part of next season. An enormous part of our collective disappointment this year is due to a horrendous spate of injuries, which of course begs the question of depth. The farm, while not top-tier with difference makers, is mid-tier, has not been depleted by the first-year GM, and will have 19-20 new drafted pitching prospects to develop. The Angels ability to develop players is a huge question mark and in my view will be a big factor in grading Minasian's overall success, as well as his ability to identify quality 1-year contract arms to bridge the pitching staff until the farm starts producing in sufficient numbers and quality. We still don't really know, still in his first year, how astute Minasian is in terms of building the entire organization, from scouting, development and selecting affordable free agent arms, but there are some indicators that he is competent. Lastly, with all of Arte's faults, we don't know what he will do in terms of payroll (exceeding the internal budget cap) until the team has evidenced themselves as more than just a plausible playoff contender. In 2022, if the team's impact players are relatively injury free, and Minasian does his part in getting quality arms and filling in the roster, they should be in a better position than they were in the beginning of 2021 to contend for a wild-card spot. Then 2023 looks even more promising with JUp's contract gone and a plenitude of controlled arms. It all depends on health and Minasians whole-of-organization improvements.

That seems like a false dilemma and not at all successive to my post. Of course, the answer is yes to both, improve the rotation to make the playoffs and improve it more to span the gap to championship contender. In those two distinct scenarios making a decision to go over the internal or luxury tax thresholds are entirely different, at least in my view. There is no reason they can't improve the rotation (and fill out the roster gaps) to make the playoffs without exceeding their cap. I'm dealing with their cap as a reality. I would prefer that they adopt the competitive balance tax threshold as their cap, at least until they establish themselves as a solid playoff team, but that isn't the reality.

This isn't going to be news to the front office, and it won't motivate Arte to spend over the internal self-imposed cap. This was a placeholder year for Minasian no matter what, so that he could evaluate who he had in Marsh, Adell, Sandoval, Suarez, Barria, the rest of the farm. Also to vet Walsh and Stassi after the COVID year and see what a healthy Ohtani really brought to the table. Sure, had they been better positioned at the trade deadline we would have seen some additional help acquired, but I doubt that significant prospect capital would have been expended. They won't be all-in this off-season either and the internal cap will remain. I am guessing here, but I doubt Minasian would go to Arte to ask for permission to exceed the internal cap until the team establishes themselves as capable of making the playoffs. In my opinion an organization like the Angels (that doesn't have an unlimited budget like one other team) shouldn't ever exceed the cap in order to make the playoffs, but only to span that difference between a marginal playoff team and a true championship contender. I'm sure Minasian is more concerned with getting the Angels into that marginal playoff team level more than the implications of Ohtani's comments were, being that his continued employment will depend on that, and if they do establishes himself, the Ohtani question will resolve itself.

So good to see the Bruins turn the corner vs Stanford. 2-1 vs the Tree now, with the 2020 loss being double OT, after that horrendous 0-11 streak.

Your invitation arrived?