MacNasty

I see Sciosh and Dipoto as mutually exclusive. It is one or the other. Doubtless Moreno is going to have to choose, for that matter. Sciosh does not need this particular job, he has good standing league-wide and Arte knows that. I think he will force Arte's hand one way or the other, because he is in a situation where the organizational direction is OBP, and the roster has big bats that were supposed to bring OBP and the big hits but haven't worked out. His hitting coach who replaced Sciosh's longtime friend isn't necessarily any better really IMO, but somehow the guy has made it through the season and so has a pitching coach who continues to underwhelm. I think Sciosh recognizes a sinking ship when he sees one and he's gonna force things. Sciosh will be fired after this season. Dipoto had better make a very astute managerial hire and ensure a top-notch staff are brought in, too. Or he's gonna follow after next season.

I am of the opinion that Arte was behind both signings. He spearheaded them and made them happen. But here's my problem with the whole thing... Dipoto should have known that pitching was the key to this season. That is his job. Handling Moreno is his job too, though. He made a huge investment trading for Grienke, only to watch the guy walk when the Angels couldn't afford the bidding. But they could afford another bat instead???? Way I see it, either Dipoto cannot steer his owner to a good decision, OR he is disregarded by the owner. Either way, it means the owner needs a new GM.

Seems like pitching for the Angels means an automatic drop in velocity wtf. If Weaver was with another team he'd probably be hitting 94 on the gun again.

He has two rotation pieces: Weaver and Wilson. Richards is far from a rotation certainty. And with Gonzalez there is no telling when he will be ready. But it's not gonna matter for us anyway if the Angels have decided he's not worth it which is what we keep hearing. It's gonna be tough going for him to fill out that rotation on a budget. The pitching market is going to continue to be insane, which is why risking $50 million on a cuban pitcher doesn't sound all that crazy to me. But whatever, I'm sure he has a great plan in the making.

Gotta favor the Cubs in that deal due to Edwards, but it's not terrible for the Rangers. Olt is overrated and as good as Edwards looks it's A ball so he's got a ways to go. Again can't blame the Rangers for pulling the trigger there and it should help them out a bit in chasing the A'th.

Signing him is risky, but the cuban players seem to move up pretty quick and do well. And this guy is immensely talented. Just get 'er done Arte!

I agree, however Trumbo plays 1B too which is valuable right now. Bourjos will probably bring more in trade, and is easier to replace due to just playing the OF.

Arte needs to roll the dice, plain and simple. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

There is another way, and it's cutting bait on this season to add to future depth. That is something Moreno might not want to hear. But, that is also why teams have GMs. Are the Angels there yet? Maybe not. But, they're very, very close to being out of it. Reading that line and dealing with Arte's unhappiness with the wisdom of cutting bait is Dipoto's job.

I really don't think he's going to slow down. His swoon last season was from him breaking down physically from the long grind, at least that's what I attribute it to. I don't see that happening this time around. I think he's gonna be in the zone for most of the remainder of the season, hitting an overall .360 the rest of the way is only a problem for mortals.

Yep and I'm not sure how common that is, even though it is moreso true in other sports most notably football (to have the head coach/manager hire the assistants that is). But for example Sciosh's initial staff (going off my crappy memory here too) was cobbled together from some of the top candidates that Stoneman was considering. While I'm sure Stoneman had Sciosh sign on with the guys he'd be working with, I seem to recall that being how it happened. But right now there is no doubt that Dipoto will stack the next staff whether it's one coach or the whole burrito.

This goes back to what I was saying before re: Dipoto and whether he is going to be capable to reload this staff and team. This staff was reloaded with garbage, and while you can argue there wasn't much out there for him to choose from, he's the one ultimately responsible. As I mentioned I think Sciosh probably needs to go because of the philosophical differences between him and our GM. Sciosh is all about smallball, pitching and defense but he's not loading this roster. I'm just afraid of how Dipoto will rebuild the coaching staff in particular, but that fear also extends to the product on the field. Looking back at Stoneman, he had his issues but loading a coaching staff was not one of them. This team has not been the same in that regard since he left.

I get it. You think the overall rank is what matters. I think this team has not played up to its potential on offense, which is directly related to that hitting coach. It's cool, we disagree.

Agreed. If I could move one or both of them I would but that's not gonna happen.

Gotta agree on Richards to the rotation. Williams is a capable #5 starter at times, but lately he's been so bad this team needs to make a move. They can't afford to keep being in the hole right away when he's on the mound.

I'm ok with tonight's pitching matchup if they play defense behind Jerome. What is painful is 7-9 in the lineup so it would be nice to see Callaspo and Iannetta get it together at the plate... Just get on base ffs.

The only untouchables on this team are Trout, Pujols, and Hamilton. Outside of them I would move any positional player for a good (workhorse type) starter. This is why I would like Dipoto to let it be known the Angels will have a limited sale to clean up their OF depth a bit. Howie would have made a lot more sense last year before the depth was traded away, but the Angels aren't going to stop scoring runs if they move him. Trumbo would probably be moved already if Albert hadn't hurt his foot, but no matter what they say about Bourjos now is a great time to trade him while his average is high and everyone knows what he can do on defense.

Maybe the fact that Mickey Hatcher's firing did no long term good is because his replacement isn't up to the task. Right now I'm not sure Dipoto is going to cut it due to the way he's "settled" with this staff. The hitting coach isn't getting it done, or at least did not have this lineup rolling right out of the gate. How much of that is Sciosh? The pitching coach had the same thing going on, with the staff only recently showing signs of normalcy. But when you consider the overall body of his work going back to his hiring, I'm not sure he should keep his job. What I do think is that Sciosh's original staff was STACKED with Black and Maddon. The Angels' struggles might have more to do with how those guys have been replaced along with Hatcher's replacement than it does Scioshia. And don't get me wrong, I am in favor of restacking a whole new staff. I'm just not sure Dipoto is capable of putting together a great one.

Yep, and he started kinda slow too, but has been killing it. I don't think he's gonna slow down this season, I suspect he'll keep pushing that BA upwards of .340ish which will have him very much in the running again.

The Angels need to do two things in my opinion: 1. Sign Gonzalez and hope he can cruise through the minors very very quickly. 2. Sell one of their outfield surplus players for some promising prospects. It will give them the best of both worlds. They won't have to give up anything other than rolling the dice on a Cuban fireballer, and they will not fall out of the playoff race due to selling a guy like Bourjos.

I agree we don't need another expensive rental. But why does it need to be a rental? The Angels don't need to be buyers, they might be able to sell and still maintain momentum in climbing the standings. Selling Bourjos for example isn't going to end our season. They have other options to replace Schuk, like Calhoun. The depth is there in the outfield to be able to yield some need even if it is a high end prospect or two that needs more seasoning. Then Trout would have center field, and it could be argued that is where he needs to be. Dipoto showed an ability before to zero in on strong prospects to get the best in trade. Maybe it's time for him to do that, vice chasing the big ticket guys who have thus far made his life harder.

I think they need to convert their outfield depth to some more pitching. Trading one of Trumbo or Bourjos will not cripple this team, but either of those might bring in significant pitching depth to this org. And I would also roll the dice on cuban Alfredo Gonzalez in the FA market. He's 26 and if he's a quick study he might be a late season call up for our bullpen in a pinch.

A couple pitches before that I had thought it was funny how they ignored Pujols on 1B even when he was way off the bag. He really surprised them with that heads up play. And I would add that HR by Trout was impressive, for him to get the barrel on that thing and get it out wow. We're spoiled by his greatness, but plays like that keep it in perspective.

I'm with you on Schuck. He's done a reasonable job filling in and all at the plate, but his defense oh god.

If they can get Vargas back and throwing how he was before the DL, and PB in the outfield to round out the defense these guys might be primed to do some damage after the all star game. Lot of looks at both Tejas and Oakland right away in the second half. But yeah they definitely need to take advantage of this sched up to the break.