Justabitoutside

Josh Hamilton, Mo Vaughn, Gary Mathews Jr, Vernon Wells

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!  2018 should be a very good year for me personally, as I’ll become a grandpa for the first time.  
I think we can all agree 2018 will be a great year for the Angels and AngelsWin!  I wish you all health and happiness this coming year!  

Fans are going to get a real treat watching Simmons and Kinsler work together on the field. 
 

Everyone, Pujols included is aware of how bad he was last year. He can't be thrilled that he's getting trolled by infielders and called out as the slowest and worst. According to him and the team he's had a surgery-free off season to get in better shape and review what went wrong. They don't expect to see 2017 Pujols in 2018. It's entirely possible that he's as bad again but as a fan of the Angels and baseball in general I'm willing to give him the chance to redeem himself before I declare him dead

jesus, some people.
nothing is ever right or good enough.

No because it went our way.  If he signed elsewhere it would obviously be Scioscia’s fault.  Try to keep up. 

El Ranchito in La Habra, on Beach. Their flour tortilla chips are amazing.
El farolito in placentia isnt underrated, it always has a line. But i think its mostly locals. I doubt people from out of the area know about it 

Trade Calhoun and a prospect for a starting pitcher.
Trade whatever for Stanton and Gordon.
Collect the Off-season Championship trophy.
 
Being a GM is easy.

Good for Maldonado, he was excellent this year.
Simmons is out of this world good, if he didn't win a riot would have been necessary.

Stupid ass scioscia told trout to shit away september, and pujols to get old and suck.

With how many home runs the Angels gave up this year you want to see more?

Calzone will be so disappointed.

Look at the World Series.  Is there something to learn about the kind of bats you need to have to be legitimate?
Stanton embodies the kind of bat every team needs.  A game changer.
He is in his prime with arguably many of his best years ahead of him.
I think we are 1-2 years away from Stanton's salary being considered a bargain.  My guess is he opts out which means the Angels would get 3 prime years and mot be on the hook for the whole contract anyway.
In one move having Stanton here with Trout elevates this roster and lineup to an entirely different level.
The team would then be probably one other modest upgrade offensively away from being a legit true contender lineup, achievable by trading a bit of pitching depth.
Many are afraid of big bold moves because of Hamilton and Pujols.  But mental discipline needs to take over here.
Pujols was way older.  And Hamilton was a drug addict.
How those two moves would scare people away from a 28 year old who hit 59 homers makes no sense to me.

there's not a single person on this board or on the planet earth that can tell you if a hitting coach is going to be successful or not. they are in a results oriented business and, dare i say, frequently just along for the ride.
i don't know when chili davis became the world's greatest hitting coach, and if so, why was he available? the red sox couldn't afford him?
hinske has come from the greatest success the cubs franchise has ever known, why's he shitty?
these are rhetorical questions, i know the answers.

so someone.  anyone on here is qualified to determine whether Eric Hinske is better than Chili Davis or vice versa?
um.  ok. 

It wasn't meant to be logical. It was meant to be a light jab at all the teachers, myself included, on the board. You can unclench and relax now

@Troll Daddy why the hell is Altuve the same height as everyone else? Dude should be on a kids bike.

I don't actually hate the Dodgers or the Yankees...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Just their fans.  There are a few exceptions, but still... it's the fans.

I don't care about the Yankees or, frankly, the Dodgers. The Yankees have done a great job constructing their roster and have battled hard this year. And if the Dodgers win, maybe it will light a fire under Arte's ass to build a better team.

The gap between the angels and the Dodgers is so large that it is thoroughly depressing.

It's funny thing - I grew up listening to Vin Scully and was a huge Dodgers fan -- I also listened to Dick Enberg and liked the Angels.
Dodgers were always the top LA / S. Cal team and the Angels sort of an after-thought --- but I really liked the Cowboy and wanted to see the Angels win a World Series for him.
Attended lots of games at Dodger Stadium over the years.........and watch a fair number at The Big A including a memorable Nolan Ryan 16 strikeout performance.
As I became older, had kids and was involved in Little League stuff with them -- still sort of liked the Dodgers but preferred Angels Stadium as a better family friendly park. I also liked the players better -- including a short stop named DiSarcina -- not too flashy, not the best fielder / glove guy -- not really much of a hitter compared to guys like Ripken, Jeter and Garciaparra.......but when DiSar was in the line up, the Angels seemed to win and were a better team..........then O'Malley sold the Dodgers and along the way the team was bought by an very under-capitalized Frank McCourt -- thanks Bud Selig for that one -- will never understand the hold McCourt had on someone in MLB to get an exclusive right to buy one of the most storied franchises in baseball using a Boston parking lot as good faith collateral.  Of course, McCourt and his family members quickly caused the value of the blue chip Dodgers franchise to plummet........
well,  I will stop rambling -- bottom line , I became to really like the Angels and not so much the Dodgers........McCourt's ownership[ was abysmal and embarrassing for MLB -Selig who paved the way for McCourt to destroy the team -- was never really held to account. As for Arte and our Halos during this time -- I felt they really missed a great opportunity to significantly increase their market share/ penetration into the greater Los Angeles/ S. Cal basin..........it didn't happen......McCourt's low capitalized ownership cratered..........the local LA blue chip investors with Magic Johnson as the public PR guy lead had Dodger Blue back with competitive teams and now to the promised land of the World Series.
I just don't see the Angels having a chance in the foreseeable future to challenge the Dodgers' dominance of the greater LA market (although the awful cable tv situation for the Dodgers probably helps the Angels as the Dodgers' expense).

Dodgers fans don’t consider the Angels their rival ... not sure why some Angels fans do. 

I think after the Vernon Wells-Josh Hamilton fiascos, Arte lost heart, and retreated to his yacht.  He had the Angels run on the cheap and gave up on the stadium negotiations.

there will never be another .400 hitter.  

I'm ashamed that I hated the trade when it happened. Simmons is, in some ways, as fun to watch as Trout. It's amazing how easy he makes everything look. 
I think keeping him an Angel for the rest of his career is priority number 2 behind Trout.