Pancake Bear

Not Hot Stove but I couldn't skip this one:

True or total BS, all I can say is

1 hour ago, ScruffytheJanitor said:

I like Regifo, and I'm not a big Andrus fan, but we are sleeping on the fact that Fletcher/Rengifo might be a significant negative next season. 

Somehow we've gone from David Fletcher is overrated to David Fletcher is a significant liability in the lineup. 

His floor is a weak hitting defensive specialist. Basically Velazquez with a few more hits. That's not amazing, but it's still worth in the neighborhood of 1-2 WAR, which is okay if the rest of your lineup crushes it. 

8 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I’d rather have more of a sure thing than Rengifo or Fletcher or Soto.  

Is Andrus a sure thing, though? 

I don't have a huge problem with what we have at SS at the moment. 

53 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

O'Hoppe will be assessed in spring training. If he looks ripe, he'll platoon with Stassi. If he looks like he could use a few more reps, he'll be sent to AAA and be back within a month or two after we all get sick of Godoy or Wallach. 

That said, I do like the idea of seeing Thaiss for the first month, as insurance for Walsh in case his struggles continue into this year. Still think Thaiss could hit reasonably well if given consistent playing time.

Uh, isn't that what Urshela is for? 

50 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

4+1+10 = 15

÷3 = 5

So we're 5th best.

47 minutes ago, mmc said:

I really don't think there's any chance whatsoever Ohtani signs a contract extension this offseason.  There's just no reason to.  Even if he wants to stay an Angel, and even if he's sold on the team's ability to compete, why not wait and see what the market will offer you, to ask the Angels to match or exceed, rather than just taking the best offer they'll negotiate with you?  There's no reason for him to not capitalize on his value as best he can.  Mookie could point to the Trout contract, Lindor could point to the Tatis contract, there's never been a free agent like Ohtani.  

Same reason Trout didn't? The money is going to be generational either way and for some people it really comes down to other priorities, like where you feel happiest. He already chose the Angels once. Shouldn't be much of a shock if it happens again.

Also, he already signed one contract a year before he could've made bigger money, so it's pretty clear he doesn't think like you do.

3 hours ago, Trendon said:

I actually think he skated around defense being a staple.

Buster asked him about it, and he went on to talk about how everything is important. That every good team can do everything. Pitching, hitting, defense, situational hitting, power, etc.

He emphasized pitching was a priority earlier in the interview when specifically asked about it.

But when he was specifically asked about defense, he didn’t seem as emphatic about that being important.

That's good, because defense is a definite concern with this lineup. Some positions it's fine, but others....we'll see.

15 minutes ago, disarcina said:

-- sorry to be pessimistic - or - should I say 'realistic'

You have an odd definition of realistic, tbh.

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

Are you hoping Arte will see your posts then give you a job in the front office?

Did you wake up today and decided to be a troll?

3 hours ago, T.G. said:

Even on the rare occasion when he is right... he can be is a dick about it.

FIFY.

National guys will always bash you unless you spend a ton of money on established names. 

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

They believe 6 of the 9 spots in the lineup aren't fit to start for most teams - including Rendon who Law believes is done.  No mention at all was made of the pitching.

So, basically everyone other than Trout, Ohtani, and Ward? 

New low for Keith Law, tbh.

2 hours ago, TroutBaseball said:

They didn't say they didn't improve, in fact they say they will hold their own. They just think this is still a waste of Trout and Ohtani.

So, basically, we didn't sign all of Turner, Verlander, and Judge.

Good. I'm tired of being picked as the off-season winner or dark horse contender only to fall flat. Let them think what they want, they won't see us coming. 

4 hours ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

I mean give him free reign to be a GM. Allow him to determine what needs to be done to establish a proper scouting, development, and analytics departments. Allow him to build an mlb roster free of payroll restrictions. 

Name me any GM or PBO who has no payroll restrictions and I'll call BS. Even Cohen has some degree of limitations, no matter how small. 

4 minutes ago, DCAngelsFan said:

The one reason I can find for optimism is what seems to be his personal character - I maybe I misread him, but he really seems happy to be on this team.  

"Winning" or the lack thereof is probably the single issue that may make him stay or leave.  I think if we were a slam-dunk 95-win team, he'd sign an extension now.

But we're not so ... ?

Trout agrees.

38 minutes ago, AngelsFanSince86 said:

Essentially, allow Perry to do whatever he wants throughout the organization without any thought to a budget.

Lol, wut?

44 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Lol, yes...  Again, you have as much say in determining payroll as she does.  She could personally be signing the checks and still not have any say in the final MLB payroll.

"No, Arte, you can't spend that much. Because it doesn't fit my budget."

Geez, people. "He wants to win - he's definitely leaving." You mean like how Trout was always talking about how important winning was to him and he was sure to leave? Pessimism makes people incredibly short sighted. 

6 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

I'm thinking it gets done prior to he leaves Angels camp to play for team Japan in the WBC. I'm guessing he doesn't want that question to be the focus point and a distraction all through camp in Feb/March ahead of opening day. 

Just out of curiosity, what have you heard? Negotiations going on? Is there mutual interest in him staying? I thought I heard that prior to the sale, they were pretty far apart on agreeing on his contract value.

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Ok so it’ll take years before you’re happy with his decision not to sell?  

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

The only issue with those things is we won’t have any instant gratification that “he gets it now” because those things won’t be publicized. And with the recent additions he’s made from Driveline you can squint and say they are adopting more analytics. 

Talk to children, get childish answers. 

Today's news has been revealing enough about how stupid everyone is. 

3 minutes ago, YouthofToday said:

Baseball team’s valuations have little to due with current player talent in the organization. That’s not how this works. Like at all.

it’s all about the size of the market, ability to monetize fans at the 81 home games, and local TV broadcast revenues. 

You seriously think Ohtani doesn't add value to the franchise? He adds a shit ton of value to the team. 

12 minutes ago, YouthofToday said:

#ArteOut.

I’m at the point where I will no longer watch or attend games until he is gone.

Clearly my interest in the Halos has wained considerably over the last decade due to gross ownership mismanagement.

Arte has to go.

Ohtani has no reason to sign an extension. This is not impacting a potential sale. Stop it people. 

Source: @Chuckster70

I actually am wondering if offers were low because of the risk of losing Ohtani and Moreno is going to try to re-sign Ohtani and then get in contact with interested parties after the season if he's successful.