mulwin444

Damn Angels trainers! 

Both my wife and I had been sent home to work as of last Thursday.  Luckily, both of our jobs allow this option and I have been able to mimic my set up from my office with a couple of monitors, a docking station and a Skype phone from work.  The kids are off school indefinitely.  With the last update saying "out until May 4th", they may as well cancel the rest of the in-person school year and just have everything done online.
It's a weird existence and it's only been 4 days.

It was a WTF! moment for me when i realized my 10 year old is about to start online schooling.

Received a letter stating that I am an essential gov employee. Received an N99 mask. After taking last week off it will feel good to get back out there, or at least I'm trying to convince myself that it will. 
Wish me luck.

I'm retired but my son lives with me. I only leave home to pick up my meds, I take anti- rejection meds for a liver transplant I had 11 years ago. My son does warehouse work bu starting this week they're closing the doors for at least 2 weeks. They will continue to pay him for now. He brought some kind of bug home with and we bot have a bad cough but no other symptoms.
 l fill fine other than this cough, I'm having my next doctor appointment over the phone. My son is completely over it, what ever it was.
I hope everyone is good and stays that way. I am so missing baseball.
Take care.

"Groin issue"...wonder where that came from?

this would make an excellent SAT question...
pneumonia:Red Sox::____________:Angels

Apparently pneumonia is to the Red Sox what dehydration is to the Angels....

Damn, son...

Sale to undergo TJ surgery

Last year I was playing with the idea of an article series that collected 27 amazing Trout stats that I was going to publish on the blog throughout the offseason. Obviously that didn't happen, but I started it and thought I'd share them over the next month or two, as we face a delayed season of indeterminate length.
Caveat: I'll try to release at least one per day, but don't hold me to it. Some days I might release two or three, some none. But I'll try to be consistent. Feel free to comment in-between posts.
Also, let's make this a "corona-free zone." There are plenty of places to discuss the coronavirus and its implications, but let's give ourselves a break here and focus on THE GREATNESS OF TROUT.
Finally, there is no rhyme or reason. I have a list of 17 or 18 of them so far, and will have to scramble for more. There is also some overlap, especially as--I'm sure you'll guess--a lot of this is focused on WAR and related supernerd stats.
That says, here goes....
#1: CENTER FIELD JAWS LEADERS
JAWS (or Jaffe WAR Score system) is a nifty stat designed by Jay Jaffe that averages out a players career rWAR (Baseball Reference version) with the total of their seven best seasons, and is used primarily as a predictor of whether that player will reach the Hall of Fame. What is nice about it is that it balances career and peak numbers, thus avoiding the often deceiving cumulative-heavy nature of straight-up WAR.
Through 2019, Trout is now, just turned 28-years old, 5th all-time among center fielders, having just passed Ken Griffey Jr. Let me put that another way: Mike Trout has, through his age 27 season, the 5th best Hall of Fame resume among all center fielders in major league history. The impressive nature of that feat is when you look at who is on the list, centerfield being perhaps the most hallowed position on the baseball field, at least in terms of "Hall of Fame density."
The average of 19 Hall of Fame center fielders is 58.0 JAWS; Trout is at 69.2. Here are the above average center fielders, with their number of years played:
Willie Mays 114.9 (22  years) Ty Cobb 110.0 (24 years) Tris Speaker 98.4 (22  years) Mickey Mantle 87.4 (18 years) MIKE TROUT 69.2 (9 years) Ken Griffey Jr 68.9 (22 years) Joe DiMaggio 65.7 (13 years) Duke Snider, Carlos Beltran, Kenny Lofton, Andruw Jones, Richie Ashburn, Andre Dawson, Billy Hamilton and Jim Edmonds round out CFers with 50+ JAWs.
As you can see, there is a big gap between Trout and those above him, all of whom are all inner circle greats who at least twice as many years. If he maintains a modest (for him) 8 WAR pace, his JAWS should go up by about 4 per year, so he should be passing Mantle by the end of 2024, his age 32 season. If he averages 6 WAR over the course of his 11-year contract, he'll join Mays and Cobb in the 100+ JAWS club.
More JAWS to come...

Just for you, bebe

I didn't read any of this but I have no doubt it's very good. 
mulwin:

Part 1 was excellent. Looking forward to part 2.

Yeah, it will...I thought it could fit in one post but it became just this enormous thing trying to tie everything together.  The 2010 offseason and that year's draft itself will take a few paragraphs. 

So, I was planning on a bigger piece to kind of encompass everything until 2020 but, with recent suspension of all baseball related activities, I thought this would give something else to discuss...so here's part 1:
I always find it fascinating to look back into decisions made by the Angels franchise that essentially define its nature, both within the fan base and from the outsider's perspective.  With the franchise closing in on 60 years, we are now starting to get dividing lines in regards to specific eras of its history that take us from the expansionist beginning, the surprise success of '62, the Fregosi-led teams of the mid-to-late 60's and the fight for team identity and relevance,  the trade before the '72 season that brought them Nolan Ryan, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", the death of Lyman Bostock, "Yes We Can!" in 1979,, Buzzie Bavasi thinking Ryan was just a .500 pitcher, the veteran-led playoff team of '82, the disastrous game 5 of the 1986 ALCS...
Lots to review and breakdown but I was more curious as to the turning points, both positive and negative, that have occurred since Arte Moreno's purchase of the franchise in 2003.  With the Angels coming off a World Championship in 2002, and the sale of the franchise note announced until May 15, 2003, Arte didn't really get a chance to make his mark until the off-season.  
2004 Spending Spree: 
Fresh off a disappointing 2003 season, Arte opened up the check book and immediately turned the franchise fortunes around by signing Kelvim Escobar, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, and, to the surprise of literally everyone, generational talent  Vladimir Guerrero.  This was a significant change from the Jackie Autry and Disney ownerships of the past decade that envisioned the Angels as more of a small-to-mid market franchise and spent accordingly.  By contrast, Arte brought in legitimate talent in their prime (Escobar at 28, Guillen at 28, and Guerrero at 29) and got himself a top of the rotation starter in Colon.  This season set the tone for the Angels going forward as it announced their intention of being perennial contender for the AL West.  
Troy Glaus' Departure:
After two injury-plagued seasons in 2003 and 2004, Troy Glaus was not pursued by the Angels as a free agent option at 3B.  Dallas McPherson tore through AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake to the tune of .317 .387 1.057 OPS and was viewed as the heir apparent and, ironically, a supposed answer to the inconsistency at 3B due to Glaus' DL visits.  However, chronic back issues derailed McPherson's career to the point of back surgery and he never reached his potential.  As a result, the Angels attempted to fill in the gap with Chone Figgins, Maicer Izturis,  Robb Quinlan, Edgardo Alfonzo, Shane Halter and Shea Hillenbrand before finally settling on Chone as the permanent starter for the 2009, a year before his departure in free agency.  After that, it was still a mixed bag of fill-ins and disappointments with Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, Luis Jimenez, David Freese, Yunel Escobar, Luis Valbuena, Taylor Ward and Zach Cozart.  Alternatively, Glaus went on to play 6 more seasons (almost all of 2009 was lost to injury) with Arizona, Toronto, St Louis, and Atlanta while putting up a 15.4 WAR between 2005 - 2008.
Bill Stoneman Continues to Build Team through Free Agency:
More representative of an era than a specific date or offseason, Bill Stoneman defined his time as Angels GM as an executive who sought Free Agents to fill in the talent gaps as opposed to trading away his prospect currency.  At the time, there was a lot of evidence to support this approach as the 2002 team, and subsequent playoff teams of the mid-to-late 2000's, were built on a combination of farm talent and free agent signings.  2004 was Molina, Erstad, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus, Lackey, Washburn, Percival, Shields and KRod mixed with the previously mentioned haul in free agency.  2005 saw more of the same as they brought in Steve Finley, Paul Byrd, Orlando Cabrera, and Esteban Yan, 2006 had Hector Carrasco and J.C. Romero, and 2007 saw Gary Matthews Jr, Darren Oliver, Justin Speier before Stoneman stepped down in 10/2007. 
By leaning heavily on Free Agency, Stoneman was able to supplement the existing roster but ultimately at the expense of the upcoming drafts. So, in 2004, the Angels were able to score big when Jered Weaver fell to them at the 10th due to sign-ability concerns they lost their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing Colon and Escobar.  Additionally, in 2005, they lost their 1st round pick due to signing OCab (got a late 1st round supplemental pick for losing Percival, chose Trevor Bell) , lost 2006 2nd round pick for Carrasco signing,  lost 2007 1st and 2nd round picks due to Matthews and Speier signings (got a late supplemental 1st rounder due to losing Kennedy, chose Jon Bachanov), and lost 2008 1st round pick due to Hunter.  So, between 2005 - 2008, they only picked three times in the late 1st round.  This was a gamble because it was absolutely depending on the next wave of talent coming after 2004 to become at least major league regulars and, honestly, it was a mixed bag.  For every success (Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli) there was a missed opportunities (McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Chris Bootcheck, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor Bell) and, by the time 2010 rolled around, the farm was in a sorry state.
The Mark Teixeira Trade and the 2009 draft
In 2007, after the Angels had just finished another season which ended in an AL West crown, their third in the past four seasons, and another playoff loss to the eventual World Champion Red Sox, newly promoted GM Tony Reagins attempted to address their rather average offense by signing Torii Hunter to pair with Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the order.  By mid-season, though, despite being 26 games over .500, the starting pitching and bullpen was once again doing the heavy lifting that season.  Casey Kotchman was one of those offensive players that was struggling to find his form with a rather tepid .287 .327 .774 OPS.  While not terrible, it was certainly under what is traditionally expected of a 1B and well under the .296 .372 .840 OPS he posted the season before.  At the trade deadline, Reagins made his move and brought in 1B slugger Mark Teixeira, a legit switch-hitting middle-of-the-order presence to bat in front of Vlad and Torii.  Now, if this felt like an odd occurrence in regards to recent Angels’ history, it’s only because, under Stoneman, a mid-season acquisition usually resembled Alex Ochoa.  Despite the shot in the arm, he gave to the offense (.358 .449 1.081 OPS 181 OPS+ 3.7 WAR), Teixeira was definite risk to be lost to free agency once the season was over and, after the season, the Angels might again be looking for a new 1B.
Well, the “worst case scenario” came to pass: Teixeira signed with Yankees, giving Arte a case of the “sads”, but, luckily for him, the Angels front office signed a stud Cuban player named Kendry(s) Morales a few seasons prior and all he did was put up .306 .355 .924 OPS 139 OPS+ 4.3 WAR to help lead them to the 2009 AL West.  On top of that, Scouting Director Eddie Bane leveraged the draft picks (1st rounder and a supplemental 1st rounder) from losing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout…yes, THE Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs.  Additionally, Bane proceeded to draft Randall Grichuk, Garrett Richards, and Patrick Corbin as well for a ridiculous 1st/2nd round haul.  Despite is previous neglect, the Angels’ farm system got a much needed shot in the arm.
The Death of Nick Adenhart:
The morning of April 9th, 2009 was surreal.  A post on this message board announced what had happened but the words didn't make sense...it just didn't seem possible and there was no way to really conceptualize it.  I remember refreshing the website over and over again as the news changed from uncertainty to disbelief to stunning realization.  Even over a decade later, just typing the words brings a familiar ache as well as memories of Jered Weaver’s tributes during and after that season, including naming his son after him.   Obviously, a baseball game seems trivial in comparison to life and death but baseball was not going to stop to let the Angels mourn.  After one suspended game, the Angels were back on the field to deal with tragedy both individually and collectively.  They could have folded under the weight of those events but they persevered, using what they could to inspire them to an AL West title, past their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox, only to come up just short against the Yankees in the ALCS.  Whether or not Adenhart would have been a factor in that series is a question but what we do know is, despite a late season acquisition of Scott Kazmir, the Angels didn’t have the arms to compete against the playoff tested Yankees.  Going forward, it also meant the Angels were down one starting pitcher they were counting on to make a contribution for 2010 and beyond and eventually led to both signing Joel Pinera and trading for Dan Haren.   
Just 2010…All of it
Where to begin…so the Angels lost the 2009 ALCS to the Yankees and went into the offseason knowing that Vlad Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins, keys to their recent playoff runs, were likely gone and they were really counting on guys like Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to continue to provide the extra base power, starters like Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders to stabilize the rotation behind Weaver and Santana, and for players like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen, and Brandon Wood to continue to develop.  That, for the most part, didn’t happen.  Bobby Abreu was feeling all 36 years of age putting up a .255 .352 .787 OPS 1.9 WAR, Juan Rivera saw his production drop to .252 .312 .721 OPS -0.2 WAR, but at least Torii Hunter was solid, despite his penchant for getting thrown out trying to steal.  Lots of struggling…but the gut-punch was Kendrys Morales’ broken ankle jumping on home plate after a game winning grand slam.  Seriously, what the f…?! Hard to remember a time when you went from absolute joy to utter misery within a few minutes.  What that meant was, besides the huge bat out of the line-up and Napoli eventually had to move to 1B.  As for the younger players, Kendrick finally made it through a whole season where he wasn’t injured or demoted but put up .279 .313 .721 OPS 99 OPS+, Aybar’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff to .253 .306 .636 OPS 77 OPS+, and Brandon Wood, highly touted prospect and supposed future franchise 3B, put up a historically brutal .146 .174 .382 OPS 6 OPS+.
As for the pitching, Joel Pinero was signed to bring some depth to the rotation and on the DL by mid-July and didn’t come back until mid-September, when the Angels were already out of it.  Additionally, Scott Kazmir, who was being counted on to pick up some of the slack after Lackey departed for Boston, was awful.  It was just one mediocre start after another culminating in memorable July start against Oakland which saw him put up a line of:
5.0 IP 11 H 13 ER 3 BB 2 SO 3 HR
This prompted a “DL visit” and a search for answers on the Angels’ part.  The Angels answer?
On 07/25/2010, the Angels sent Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a PTBNL (Tyler Skaggs) for Dan Haren…Woof.  While Dan Haren was a definite high-end starter, that was a lot of starting pitching currency to give up even with the move being made with 2011 in mind.  Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team never got back on track and the team’s struggles set the tone for the 2010 offseason.
Part 2...coming soon
  

So, I was planning on a bigger piece to kind of encompass everything until 2020 but, with recent suspension of all baseball related activities, I thought this would give something else to discuss...so here's part 1:
I always find it fascinating to look back into decisions made by the Angels franchise that essentially define its nature, both within the fan base and from the outsider's perspective.  With the franchise closing in on 60 years, we are now starting to get dividing lines in regards to specific eras of its history that take us from the expansionist beginning, the surprise success of '62, the Fregosi-led teams of the mid-to-late 60's and the fight for team identity and relevance,  the trade before the '72 season that brought them Nolan Ryan, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", the death of Lyman Bostock, "Yes We Can!" in 1979,, Buzzie Bavasi thinking Ryan was just a .500 pitcher, the veteran-led playoff team of '82, the disastrous game 5 of the 1986 ALCS...
Lots to review and breakdown but I was more curious as to the turning points, both positive and negative, that have occurred since Arte Moreno's purchase of the franchise in 2003.  With the Angels coming off a World Championship in 2002, and the sale of the franchise note announced until May 15, 2003, Arte didn't really get a chance to make his mark until the off-season.  
2004 Spending Spree: 
Fresh off a disappointing 2003 season, Arte opened up the check book and immediately turned the franchise fortunes around by signing Kelvim Escobar, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, and, to the surprise of literally everyone, generational talent  Vladimir Guerrero.  This was a significant change from the Jackie Autry and Disney ownerships of the past decade that envisioned the Angels as more of a small-to-mid market franchise and spent accordingly.  By contrast, Arte brought in legitimate talent in their prime (Escobar at 28, Guillen at 28, and Guerrero at 29) and got himself a top of the rotation starter in Colon.  This season set the tone for the Angels going forward as it announced their intention of being perennial contender for the AL West.  
Troy Glaus' Departure:
After two injury-plagued seasons in 2003 and 2004, Troy Glaus was not pursued by the Angels as a free agent option at 3B.  Dallas McPherson tore through AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake to the tune of .317 .387 1.057 OPS and was viewed as the heir apparent and, ironically, a supposed answer to the inconsistency at 3B due to Glaus' DL visits.  However, chronic back issues derailed McPherson's career to the point of back surgery and he never reached his potential.  As a result, the Angels attempted to fill in the gap with Chone Figgins, Maicer Izturis,  Robb Quinlan, Edgardo Alfonzo, Shane Halter and Shea Hillenbrand before finally settling on Chone as the permanent starter for the 2009, a year before his departure in free agency.  After that, it was still a mixed bag of fill-ins and disappointments with Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, Luis Jimenez, David Freese, Yunel Escobar, Luis Valbuena, Taylor Ward and Zach Cozart.  Alternatively, Glaus went on to play 6 more seasons (almost all of 2009 was lost to injury) with Arizona, Toronto, St Louis, and Atlanta while putting up a 15.4 WAR between 2005 - 2008.
Bill Stoneman Continues to Build Team through Free Agency:
More representative of an era than a specific date or offseason, Bill Stoneman defined his time as Angels GM as an executive who sought Free Agents to fill in the talent gaps as opposed to trading away his prospect currency.  At the time, there was a lot of evidence to support this approach as the 2002 team, and subsequent playoff teams of the mid-to-late 2000's, were built on a combination of farm talent and free agent signings.  2004 was Molina, Erstad, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus, Lackey, Washburn, Percival, Shields and KRod mixed with the previously mentioned haul in free agency.  2005 saw more of the same as they brought in Steve Finley, Paul Byrd, Orlando Cabrera, and Esteban Yan, 2006 had Hector Carrasco and J.C. Romero, and 2007 saw Gary Matthews Jr, Darren Oliver, Justin Speier before Stoneman stepped down in 10/2007. 
By leaning heavily on Free Agency, Stoneman was able to supplement the existing roster but ultimately at the expense of the upcoming drafts. So, in 2004, the Angels were able to score big when Jered Weaver fell to them at the 10th due to sign-ability concerns they lost their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing Colon and Escobar.  Additionally, in 2005, they lost their 1st round pick due to signing OCab (got a late 1st round supplemental pick for losing Percival, chose Trevor Bell) , lost 2006 2nd round pick for Carrasco signing,  lost 2007 1st and 2nd round picks due to Matthews and Speier signings (got a late supplemental 1st rounder due to losing Kennedy, chose Jon Bachanov), and lost 2008 1st round pick due to Hunter.  So, between 2005 - 2008, they only picked three times in the late 1st round.  This was a gamble because it was absolutely depending on the next wave of talent coming after 2004 to become at least major league regulars and, honestly, it was a mixed bag.  For every success (Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli) there was a missed opportunities (McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Chris Bootcheck, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor Bell) and, by the time 2010 rolled around, the farm was in a sorry state.
The Mark Teixeira Trade and the 2009 draft
In 2007, after the Angels had just finished another season which ended in an AL West crown, their third in the past four seasons, and another playoff loss to the eventual World Champion Red Sox, newly promoted GM Tony Reagins attempted to address their rather average offense by signing Torii Hunter to pair with Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the order.  By mid-season, though, despite being 26 games over .500, the starting pitching and bullpen was once again doing the heavy lifting that season.  Casey Kotchman was one of those offensive players that was struggling to find his form with a rather tepid .287 .327 .774 OPS.  While not terrible, it was certainly under what is traditionally expected of a 1B and well under the .296 .372 .840 OPS he posted the season before.  At the trade deadline, Reagins made his move and brought in 1B slugger Mark Teixeira, a legit switch-hitting middle-of-the-order presence to bat in front of Vlad and Torii.  Now, if this felt like an odd occurrence in regards to recent Angels’ history, it’s only because, under Stoneman, a mid-season acquisition usually resembled Alex Ochoa.  Despite the shot in the arm, he gave to the offense (.358 .449 1.081 OPS 181 OPS+ 3.7 WAR), Teixeira was definite risk to be lost to free agency once the season was over and, after the season, the Angels might again be looking for a new 1B.
Well, the “worst case scenario” came to pass: Teixeira signed with Yankees, giving Arte a case of the “sads”, but, luckily for him, the Angels front office signed a stud Cuban player named Kendry(s) Morales a few seasons prior and all he did was put up .306 .355 .924 OPS 139 OPS+ 4.3 WAR to help lead them to the 2009 AL West.  On top of that, Scouting Director Eddie Bane leveraged the draft picks (1st rounder and a supplemental 1st rounder) from losing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout…yes, THE Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs.  Additionally, Bane proceeded to draft Randall Grichuk, Garrett Richards, and Patrick Corbin as well for a ridiculous 1st/2nd round haul.  Despite is previous neglect, the Angels’ farm system got a much needed shot in the arm.
The Death of Nick Adenhart:
The morning of April 9th, 2009 was surreal.  A post on this message board announced what had happened but the words didn't make sense...it just didn't seem possible and there was no way to really conceptualize it.  I remember refreshing the website over and over again as the news changed from uncertainty to disbelief to stunning realization.  Even over a decade later, just typing the words brings a familiar ache as well as memories of Jered Weaver’s tributes during and after that season, including naming his son after him.   Obviously, a baseball game seems trivial in comparison to life and death but baseball was not going to stop to let the Angels mourn.  After one suspended game, the Angels were back on the field to deal with tragedy both individually and collectively.  They could have folded under the weight of those events but they persevered, using what they could to inspire them to an AL West title, past their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox, only to come up just short against the Yankees in the ALCS.  Whether or not Adenhart would have been a factor in that series is a question but what we do know is, despite a late season acquisition of Scott Kazmir, the Angels didn’t have the arms to compete against the playoff tested Yankees.  Going forward, it also meant the Angels were down one starting pitcher they were counting on to make a contribution for 2010 and beyond and eventually led to both signing Joel Pinera and trading for Dan Haren.   
Just 2010…All of it
Where to begin…so the Angels lost the 2009 ALCS to the Yankees and went into the offseason knowing that Vlad Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins, keys to their recent playoff runs, were likely gone and they were really counting on guys like Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to continue to provide the extra base power, starters like Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders to stabilize the rotation behind Weaver and Santana, and for players like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen, and Brandon Wood to continue to develop.  That, for the most part, didn’t happen.  Bobby Abreu was feeling all 36 years of age putting up a .255 .352 .787 OPS 1.9 WAR, Juan Rivera saw his production drop to .252 .312 .721 OPS -0.2 WAR, but at least Torii Hunter was solid, despite his penchant for getting thrown out trying to steal.  Lots of struggling…but the gut-punch was Kendrys Morales’ broken ankle jumping on home plate after a game winning grand slam.  Seriously, what the f…?! Hard to remember a time when you went from absolute joy to utter misery within a few minutes.  What that meant was, besides the huge bat out of the line-up and Napoli eventually had to move to 1B.  As for the younger players, Kendrick finally made it through a whole season where he wasn’t injured or demoted but put up .279 .313 .721 OPS 99 OPS+, Aybar’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff to .253 .306 .636 OPS 77 OPS+, and Brandon Wood, highly touted prospect and supposed future franchise 3B, put up a historically brutal .146 .174 .382 OPS 6 OPS+.
As for the pitching, Joel Pinero was signed to bring some depth to the rotation and on the DL by mid-July and didn’t come back until mid-September, when the Angels were already out of it.  Additionally, Scott Kazmir, who was being counted on to pick up some of the slack after Lackey departed for Boston, was awful.  It was just one mediocre start after another culminating in memorable July start against Oakland which saw him put up a line of:
5.0 IP 11 H 13 ER 3 BB 2 SO 3 HR
This prompted a “DL visit” and a search for answers on the Angels’ part.  The Angels answer?
On 07/25/2010, the Angels sent Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a PTBNL (Tyler Skaggs) for Dan Haren…Woof.  While Dan Haren was a definite high-end starter, that was a lot of starting pitching currency to give up even with the move being made with 2011 in mind.  Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team never got back on track and the team’s struggles set the tone for the 2010 offseason.
Part 2...coming soon
  

I think the franchise defining moments come between the 2009/2010 off season and the Dan Haren trade.
The team should’ve rebuilt after 2009 but it’s understandable why they didn’t, coming off one of the franchises all time great teams taking a trip to the ALCS. They had a good run from ‘02-‘09 but the window was clearly closing. Still, the team decided to make another go of it bringing in Kazmir to replace Lackey and Matsui to replace Vlad.
These moves were clearly not paying off by the day Morales broke his leg, sticking the nail in the 2010 coffin. Opting to then double down and trade for Dan Haren was indicative of the organizational philosophy that would cripple the franchise for the next decade, most notably with the Vernon Wells trade the following off season.

Great job @mulwin444. I enjoyed reading it. You always have thoughtful insights.  Looking forward to your next contribution. 

So, I was planning on a bigger piece to kind of encompass everything until 2020 but, with recent suspension of all baseball related activities, I thought this would give something else to discuss...so here's part 1:
I always find it fascinating to look back into decisions made by the Angels franchise that essentially define its nature, both within the fan base and from the outsider's perspective.  With the franchise closing in on 60 years, we are now starting to get dividing lines in regards to specific eras of its history that take us from the expansionist beginning, the surprise success of '62, the Fregosi-led teams of the mid-to-late 60's and the fight for team identity and relevance,  the trade before the '72 season that brought them Nolan Ryan, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", the death of Lyman Bostock, "Yes We Can!" in 1979,, Buzzie Bavasi thinking Ryan was just a .500 pitcher, the veteran-led playoff team of '82, the disastrous game 5 of the 1986 ALCS...
Lots to review and breakdown but I was more curious as to the turning points, both positive and negative, that have occurred since Arte Moreno's purchase of the franchise in 2003.  With the Angels coming off a World Championship in 2002, and the sale of the franchise note announced until May 15, 2003, Arte didn't really get a chance to make his mark until the off-season.  
2004 Spending Spree: 
Fresh off a disappointing 2003 season, Arte opened up the check book and immediately turned the franchise fortunes around by signing Kelvim Escobar, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, and, to the surprise of literally everyone, generational talent  Vladimir Guerrero.  This was a significant change from the Jackie Autry and Disney ownerships of the past decade that envisioned the Angels as more of a small-to-mid market franchise and spent accordingly.  By contrast, Arte brought in legitimate talent in their prime (Escobar at 28, Guillen at 28, and Guerrero at 29) and got himself a top of the rotation starter in Colon.  This season set the tone for the Angels going forward as it announced their intention of being perennial contender for the AL West.  
Troy Glaus' Departure:
After two injury-plagued seasons in 2003 and 2004, Troy Glaus was not pursued by the Angels as a free agent option at 3B.  Dallas McPherson tore through AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake to the tune of .317 .387 1.057 OPS and was viewed as the heir apparent and, ironically, a supposed answer to the inconsistency at 3B due to Glaus' DL visits.  However, chronic back issues derailed McPherson's career to the point of back surgery and he never reached his potential.  As a result, the Angels attempted to fill in the gap with Chone Figgins, Maicer Izturis,  Robb Quinlan, Edgardo Alfonzo, Shane Halter and Shea Hillenbrand before finally settling on Chone as the permanent starter for the 2009, a year before his departure in free agency.  After that, it was still a mixed bag of fill-ins and disappointments with Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, Luis Jimenez, David Freese, Yunel Escobar, Luis Valbuena, Taylor Ward and Zach Cozart.  Alternatively, Glaus went on to play 6 more seasons (almost all of 2009 was lost to injury) with Arizona, Toronto, St Louis, and Atlanta while putting up a 15.4 WAR between 2005 - 2008.
Bill Stoneman Continues to Build Team through Free Agency:
More representative of an era than a specific date or offseason, Bill Stoneman defined his time as Angels GM as an executive who sought Free Agents to fill in the talent gaps as opposed to trading away his prospect currency.  At the time, there was a lot of evidence to support this approach as the 2002 team, and subsequent playoff teams of the mid-to-late 2000's, were built on a combination of farm talent and free agent signings.  2004 was Molina, Erstad, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus, Lackey, Washburn, Percival, Shields and KRod mixed with the previously mentioned haul in free agency.  2005 saw more of the same as they brought in Steve Finley, Paul Byrd, Orlando Cabrera, and Esteban Yan, 2006 had Hector Carrasco and J.C. Romero, and 2007 saw Gary Matthews Jr, Darren Oliver, Justin Speier before Stoneman stepped down in 10/2007. 
By leaning heavily on Free Agency, Stoneman was able to supplement the existing roster but ultimately at the expense of the upcoming drafts. So, in 2004, the Angels were able to score big when Jered Weaver fell to them at the 10th due to sign-ability concerns they lost their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing Colon and Escobar.  Additionally, in 2005, they lost their 1st round pick due to signing OCab (got a late 1st round supplemental pick for losing Percival, chose Trevor Bell) , lost 2006 2nd round pick for Carrasco signing,  lost 2007 1st and 2nd round picks due to Matthews and Speier signings (got a late supplemental 1st rounder due to losing Kennedy, chose Jon Bachanov), and lost 2008 1st round pick due to Hunter.  So, between 2005 - 2008, they only picked three times in the late 1st round.  This was a gamble because it was absolutely depending on the next wave of talent coming after 2004 to become at least major league regulars and, honestly, it was a mixed bag.  For every success (Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli) there was a missed opportunities (McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Chris Bootcheck, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor Bell) and, by the time 2010 rolled around, the farm was in a sorry state.
The Mark Teixeira Trade and the 2009 draft
In 2007, after the Angels had just finished another season which ended in an AL West crown, their third in the past four seasons, and another playoff loss to the eventual World Champion Red Sox, newly promoted GM Tony Reagins attempted to address their rather average offense by signing Torii Hunter to pair with Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the order.  By mid-season, though, despite being 26 games over .500, the starting pitching and bullpen was once again doing the heavy lifting that season.  Casey Kotchman was one of those offensive players that was struggling to find his form with a rather tepid .287 .327 .774 OPS.  While not terrible, it was certainly under what is traditionally expected of a 1B and well under the .296 .372 .840 OPS he posted the season before.  At the trade deadline, Reagins made his move and brought in 1B slugger Mark Teixeira, a legit switch-hitting middle-of-the-order presence to bat in front of Vlad and Torii.  Now, if this felt like an odd occurrence in regards to recent Angels’ history, it’s only because, under Stoneman, a mid-season acquisition usually resembled Alex Ochoa.  Despite the shot in the arm, he gave to the offense (.358 .449 1.081 OPS 181 OPS+ 3.7 WAR), Teixeira was definite risk to be lost to free agency once the season was over and, after the season, the Angels might again be looking for a new 1B.
Well, the “worst case scenario” came to pass: Teixeira signed with Yankees, giving Arte a case of the “sads”, but, luckily for him, the Angels front office signed a stud Cuban player named Kendry(s) Morales a few seasons prior and all he did was put up .306 .355 .924 OPS 139 OPS+ 4.3 WAR to help lead them to the 2009 AL West.  On top of that, Scouting Director Eddie Bane leveraged the draft picks (1st rounder and a supplemental 1st rounder) from losing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout…yes, THE Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs.  Additionally, Bane proceeded to draft Randall Grichuk, Garrett Richards, and Patrick Corbin as well for a ridiculous 1st/2nd round haul.  Despite is previous neglect, the Angels’ farm system got a much needed shot in the arm.
The Death of Nick Adenhart:
The morning of April 9th, 2009 was surreal.  A post on this message board announced what had happened but the words didn't make sense...it just didn't seem possible and there was no way to really conceptualize it.  I remember refreshing the website over and over again as the news changed from uncertainty to disbelief to stunning realization.  Even over a decade later, just typing the words brings a familiar ache as well as memories of Jered Weaver’s tributes during and after that season, including naming his son after him.   Obviously, a baseball game seems trivial in comparison to life and death but baseball was not going to stop to let the Angels mourn.  After one suspended game, the Angels were back on the field to deal with tragedy both individually and collectively.  They could have folded under the weight of those events but they persevered, using what they could to inspire them to an AL West title, past their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox, only to come up just short against the Yankees in the ALCS.  Whether or not Adenhart would have been a factor in that series is a question but what we do know is, despite a late season acquisition of Scott Kazmir, the Angels didn’t have the arms to compete against the playoff tested Yankees.  Going forward, it also meant the Angels were down one starting pitcher they were counting on to make a contribution for 2010 and beyond and eventually led to both signing Joel Pinera and trading for Dan Haren.   
Just 2010…All of it
Where to begin…so the Angels lost the 2009 ALCS to the Yankees and went into the offseason knowing that Vlad Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins, keys to their recent playoff runs, were likely gone and they were really counting on guys like Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to continue to provide the extra base power, starters like Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders to stabilize the rotation behind Weaver and Santana, and for players like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen, and Brandon Wood to continue to develop.  That, for the most part, didn’t happen.  Bobby Abreu was feeling all 36 years of age putting up a .255 .352 .787 OPS 1.9 WAR, Juan Rivera saw his production drop to .252 .312 .721 OPS -0.2 WAR, but at least Torii Hunter was solid, despite his penchant for getting thrown out trying to steal.  Lots of struggling…but the gut-punch was Kendrys Morales’ broken ankle jumping on home plate after a game winning grand slam.  Seriously, what the f…?! Hard to remember a time when you went from absolute joy to utter misery within a few minutes.  What that meant was, besides the huge bat out of the line-up and Napoli eventually had to move to 1B.  As for the younger players, Kendrick finally made it through a whole season where he wasn’t injured or demoted but put up .279 .313 .721 OPS 99 OPS+, Aybar’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff to .253 .306 .636 OPS 77 OPS+, and Brandon Wood, highly touted prospect and supposed future franchise 3B, put up a historically brutal .146 .174 .382 OPS 6 OPS+.
As for the pitching, Joel Pinero was signed to bring some depth to the rotation and on the DL by mid-July and didn’t come back until mid-September, when the Angels were already out of it.  Additionally, Scott Kazmir, who was being counted on to pick up some of the slack after Lackey departed for Boston, was awful.  It was just one mediocre start after another culminating in memorable July start against Oakland which saw him put up a line of:
5.0 IP 11 H 13 ER 3 BB 2 SO 3 HR
This prompted a “DL visit” and a search for answers on the Angels’ part.  The Angels answer?
On 07/25/2010, the Angels sent Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a PTBNL (Tyler Skaggs) for Dan Haren…Woof.  While Dan Haren was a definite high-end starter, that was a lot of starting pitching currency to give up even with the move being made with 2011 in mind.  Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team never got back on track and the team’s struggles set the tone for the 2010 offseason.
Part 2...coming soon
  

Cool, man!  Appreciate it!

It's going to be intertwined with a very special "Blossom" episode in part 2...it's one where Joey says "Whoa"

Great post Mulwin, really enjoyed reading it.

So, I was planning on a bigger piece to kind of encompass everything until 2020 but, with recent suspension of all baseball related activities, I thought this would give something else to discuss...so here's part 1:
I always find it fascinating to look back into decisions made by the Angels franchise that essentially define its nature, both within the fan base and from the outsider's perspective.  With the franchise closing in on 60 years, we are now starting to get dividing lines in regards to specific eras of its history that take us from the expansionist beginning, the surprise success of '62, the Fregosi-led teams of the mid-to-late 60's and the fight for team identity and relevance,  the trade before the '72 season that brought them Nolan Ryan, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", the death of Lyman Bostock, "Yes We Can!" in 1979,, Buzzie Bavasi thinking Ryan was just a .500 pitcher, the veteran-led playoff team of '82, the disastrous game 5 of the 1986 ALCS...
Lots to review and breakdown but I was more curious as to the turning points, both positive and negative, that have occurred since Arte Moreno's purchase of the franchise in 2003.  With the Angels coming off a World Championship in 2002, and the sale of the franchise note announced until May 15, 2003, Arte didn't really get a chance to make his mark until the off-season.  
2004 Spending Spree: 
Fresh off a disappointing 2003 season, Arte opened up the check book and immediately turned the franchise fortunes around by signing Kelvim Escobar, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, and, to the surprise of literally everyone, generational talent  Vladimir Guerrero.  This was a significant change from the Jackie Autry and Disney ownerships of the past decade that envisioned the Angels as more of a small-to-mid market franchise and spent accordingly.  By contrast, Arte brought in legitimate talent in their prime (Escobar at 28, Guillen at 28, and Guerrero at 29) and got himself a top of the rotation starter in Colon.  This season set the tone for the Angels going forward as it announced their intention of being perennial contender for the AL West.  
Troy Glaus' Departure:
After two injury-plagued seasons in 2003 and 2004, Troy Glaus was not pursued by the Angels as a free agent option at 3B.  Dallas McPherson tore through AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake to the tune of .317 .387 1.057 OPS and was viewed as the heir apparent and, ironically, a supposed answer to the inconsistency at 3B due to Glaus' DL visits.  However, chronic back issues derailed McPherson's career to the point of back surgery and he never reached his potential.  As a result, the Angels attempted to fill in the gap with Chone Figgins, Maicer Izturis,  Robb Quinlan, Edgardo Alfonzo, Shane Halter and Shea Hillenbrand before finally settling on Chone as the permanent starter for the 2009, a year before his departure in free agency.  After that, it was still a mixed bag of fill-ins and disappointments with Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, Luis Jimenez, David Freese, Yunel Escobar, Luis Valbuena, Taylor Ward and Zach Cozart.  Alternatively, Glaus went on to play 6 more seasons (almost all of 2009 was lost to injury) with Arizona, Toronto, St Louis, and Atlanta while putting up a 15.4 WAR between 2005 - 2008.
Bill Stoneman Continues to Build Team through Free Agency:
More representative of an era than a specific date or offseason, Bill Stoneman defined his time as Angels GM as an executive who sought Free Agents to fill in the talent gaps as opposed to trading away his prospect currency.  At the time, there was a lot of evidence to support this approach as the 2002 team, and subsequent playoff teams of the mid-to-late 2000's, were built on a combination of farm talent and free agent signings.  2004 was Molina, Erstad, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus, Lackey, Washburn, Percival, Shields and KRod mixed with the previously mentioned haul in free agency.  2005 saw more of the same as they brought in Steve Finley, Paul Byrd, Orlando Cabrera, and Esteban Yan, 2006 had Hector Carrasco and J.C. Romero, and 2007 saw Gary Matthews Jr, Darren Oliver, Justin Speier before Stoneman stepped down in 10/2007. 
By leaning heavily on Free Agency, Stoneman was able to supplement the existing roster but ultimately at the expense of the upcoming drafts. So, in 2004, the Angels were able to score big when Jered Weaver fell to them at the 10th due to sign-ability concerns they lost their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing Colon and Escobar.  Additionally, in 2005, they lost their 1st round pick due to signing OCab (got a late 1st round supplemental pick for losing Percival, chose Trevor Bell) , lost 2006 2nd round pick for Carrasco signing,  lost 2007 1st and 2nd round picks due to Matthews and Speier signings (got a late supplemental 1st rounder due to losing Kennedy, chose Jon Bachanov), and lost 2008 1st round pick due to Hunter.  So, between 2005 - 2008, they only picked three times in the late 1st round.  This was a gamble because it was absolutely depending on the next wave of talent coming after 2004 to become at least major league regulars and, honestly, it was a mixed bag.  For every success (Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli) there was a missed opportunities (McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Chris Bootcheck, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor Bell) and, by the time 2010 rolled around, the farm was in a sorry state.
The Mark Teixeira Trade and the 2009 draft
In 2007, after the Angels had just finished another season which ended in an AL West crown, their third in the past four seasons, and another playoff loss to the eventual World Champion Red Sox, newly promoted GM Tony Reagins attempted to address their rather average offense by signing Torii Hunter to pair with Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the order.  By mid-season, though, despite being 26 games over .500, the starting pitching and bullpen was once again doing the heavy lifting that season.  Casey Kotchman was one of those offensive players that was struggling to find his form with a rather tepid .287 .327 .774 OPS.  While not terrible, it was certainly under what is traditionally expected of a 1B and well under the .296 .372 .840 OPS he posted the season before.  At the trade deadline, Reagins made his move and brought in 1B slugger Mark Teixeira, a legit switch-hitting middle-of-the-order presence to bat in front of Vlad and Torii.  Now, if this felt like an odd occurrence in regards to recent Angels’ history, it’s only because, under Stoneman, a mid-season acquisition usually resembled Alex Ochoa.  Despite the shot in the arm, he gave to the offense (.358 .449 1.081 OPS 181 OPS+ 3.7 WAR), Teixeira was definite risk to be lost to free agency once the season was over and, after the season, the Angels might again be looking for a new 1B.
Well, the “worst case scenario” came to pass: Teixeira signed with Yankees, giving Arte a case of the “sads”, but, luckily for him, the Angels front office signed a stud Cuban player named Kendry(s) Morales a few seasons prior and all he did was put up .306 .355 .924 OPS 139 OPS+ 4.3 WAR to help lead them to the 2009 AL West.  On top of that, Scouting Director Eddie Bane leveraged the draft picks (1st rounder and a supplemental 1st rounder) from losing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout…yes, THE Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs.  Additionally, Bane proceeded to draft Randall Grichuk, Garrett Richards, and Patrick Corbin as well for a ridiculous 1st/2nd round haul.  Despite is previous neglect, the Angels’ farm system got a much needed shot in the arm.
The Death of Nick Adenhart:
The morning of April 9th, 2009 was surreal.  A post on this message board announced what had happened but the words didn't make sense...it just didn't seem possible and there was no way to really conceptualize it.  I remember refreshing the website over and over again as the news changed from uncertainty to disbelief to stunning realization.  Even over a decade later, just typing the words brings a familiar ache as well as memories of Jered Weaver’s tributes during and after that season, including naming his son after him.   Obviously, a baseball game seems trivial in comparison to life and death but baseball was not going to stop to let the Angels mourn.  After one suspended game, the Angels were back on the field to deal with tragedy both individually and collectively.  They could have folded under the weight of those events but they persevered, using what they could to inspire them to an AL West title, past their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox, only to come up just short against the Yankees in the ALCS.  Whether or not Adenhart would have been a factor in that series is a question but what we do know is, despite a late season acquisition of Scott Kazmir, the Angels didn’t have the arms to compete against the playoff tested Yankees.  Going forward, it also meant the Angels were down one starting pitcher they were counting on to make a contribution for 2010 and beyond and eventually led to both signing Joel Pinera and trading for Dan Haren.   
Just 2010…All of it
Where to begin…so the Angels lost the 2009 ALCS to the Yankees and went into the offseason knowing that Vlad Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins, keys to their recent playoff runs, were likely gone and they were really counting on guys like Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to continue to provide the extra base power, starters like Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders to stabilize the rotation behind Weaver and Santana, and for players like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen, and Brandon Wood to continue to develop.  That, for the most part, didn’t happen.  Bobby Abreu was feeling all 36 years of age putting up a .255 .352 .787 OPS 1.9 WAR, Juan Rivera saw his production drop to .252 .312 .721 OPS -0.2 WAR, but at least Torii Hunter was solid, despite his penchant for getting thrown out trying to steal.  Lots of struggling…but the gut-punch was Kendrys Morales’ broken ankle jumping on home plate after a game winning grand slam.  Seriously, what the f…?! Hard to remember a time when you went from absolute joy to utter misery within a few minutes.  What that meant was, besides the huge bat out of the line-up and Napoli eventually had to move to 1B.  As for the younger players, Kendrick finally made it through a whole season where he wasn’t injured or demoted but put up .279 .313 .721 OPS 99 OPS+, Aybar’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff to .253 .306 .636 OPS 77 OPS+, and Brandon Wood, highly touted prospect and supposed future franchise 3B, put up a historically brutal .146 .174 .382 OPS 6 OPS+.
As for the pitching, Joel Pinero was signed to bring some depth to the rotation and on the DL by mid-July and didn’t come back until mid-September, when the Angels were already out of it.  Additionally, Scott Kazmir, who was being counted on to pick up some of the slack after Lackey departed for Boston, was awful.  It was just one mediocre start after another culminating in memorable July start against Oakland which saw him put up a line of:
5.0 IP 11 H 13 ER 3 BB 2 SO 3 HR
This prompted a “DL visit” and a search for answers on the Angels’ part.  The Angels answer?
On 07/25/2010, the Angels sent Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a PTBNL (Tyler Skaggs) for Dan Haren…Woof.  While Dan Haren was a definite high-end starter, that was a lot of starting pitching currency to give up even with the move being made with 2011 in mind.  Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team never got back on track and the team’s struggles set the tone for the 2010 offseason.
Part 2...coming soon
  

I remember being at that game and the sheer joy of Morales’ walk off grand slam. I had never seen a walk off grand slam before and we were going nuts in the stands.  We saw the dog pile and were cheering our asses off.  Then we left.  On the way home listening to the post game with Terry, he informed us about Morales.  Unreal.
A few years later, I get to watch Don Baylor break his f*cking femur not 3 feet away from where Kendrys injury happened.
Home plate area sucks.