Pancake Bear

I’m in my thirties. I do not remember any Angels manager before Scioscia. I wasn’t really a serious fan until 2002, though. Seemed like before that, whenever I watched they lost. 

Pretty much any retread, particularly don't want Ausmus. 

Scioscia had a great run. Last few years have been tough. I don’t blame him for that. I’m sad he’s leaving, but I think it’s time for a change. I wish him the absolute best. 

16 minutes ago, floplag said:

Whether or not its "obvious" is debatable.
I personally have other prorities in my plan.
Dont get me wrong, im not opposed, i just thin k its a luxury after other needs are filled.  SP is one thing we have a glut off if they ever manage to stay healthy

Starting pitching isn’t a luxury. Their lineup isn’t the issue, the issue is and has been for a long time their rotation. Until that is dealt with, they will be at best a mediocre team. The rotation is priority #1 and nothing else comes anywhere close. 

Maybe Dipooto would trade Segura for Baldoquin? That would solve the 2B/3B issue.

(This is sarcasm, ftr)

- Hire a new manager

- Sign Mike Trout to a lifetime deal

- Promote Adell, shift Calhoun to 1B

- Sign/trade for a SP

- Try out Fletcher/Ward/Rengifo at 2B/3B and see if an improvement is urgently needed

- Sign/trade for a catcher; use one of the guys up right now as the alternate catcher

- If there is money, Sign/trade for a high-end RP/C

5 hours ago, True Grich said:

Trophies are nice. Flags are better. I'm more likely to remember who won a WS in any given year as opposed to who won the MVP.  Awards are subjective to certain degree.  Championships are not.  I don't know how many, if any MVP's Bill Russell won, but I know he won 8 titles in a row and 11 overall as a Celtic.  I know MJ won a ton of MVP's, but I don't know how many exactly - but I know he won six titles.  Again... trophies are nice - flags are better.

Flags are cool, but not particularly meaningful for rating individual players (although I know every player would rather have a championship than an MVP). Jorge Posada has 5 rings, John Lackey has 3 - they're not bad players, but I don't think anyone would argue that either is an all-time great. Neither is a HOF guy (Posada already fell off the list, Lackey likely to). 

Obviously I'd love to see the Angels win a bunch of championships, but y'know what? The Angels have a player who has a higher WAR through his age 26 season than anyone in history. We don't know how he'll age, but this is arguably the best player in MLB history at this point in his career. I hope he wins a bunch of championships with the Angels, but until he does, I'm going to enjoy watching the best player I may ever see in my lifetime and root for him to be recognized as the best player each year.

4 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I do not expect Mike Scioscia to be the Angels manager next year.

As for candidates outside of those three, there are dozens all over the place. How about Rob Thomson with the Yankees? I definitely expect them to interview people from outside the organization. I also think it's more likely than not that they'll hire a first-time manager. 

No Ausmus!

On 9/26/2018 at 7:24 AM, Jeff Fletcher said:

FWIW, I am highly skeptical of the idea that Eric Chavez is the favorite. It is not what I’ve heard. 

I’m starting to think it may not be Chavez, Paul or Ausmus. 

Maybe I’m wrong, but as of 7:23 am on Sept 26, this is what I believe. 

So, um, I'm assuming you have heard from sources that Scioscia's tenure with the Angels is complete? Mike DiGiovanna (as well as others) seems to take that as a fact - he tweeted as much the other day - but I would imagine you're a little closer to things than he is these days.  

Should we infer that since you have not heard that Chavez is the favorite and that it may not be Chavez, Paul, or Ausmus either, that what you had heard (as of yesterday morning) was that they may be looking outside the organization? 

It's hard to imagine too many obvious choices other than, say, Joe Girardi. If not him, apparently someone without managerial experience (I can't think of any other likely options - maybe John Farrell, but that seems a stretch)? But if that's the case, I'm not sure why they'd go outside the organization. 

1 hour ago, Lou said:

"as good". I quoted you. as good is the same as equal to. 

i was merely wondering if you had any stats that supported your statement. evidently, you don't and just care to be an shithead about it. that's cool. 

also, I never said anything about Cleveland rolling over Boston, so I have no idea why you keep bringing that up. 

Focus, jackass. 

Two teams aren’t equal, so if I don’t say ‘better than’, I mean ‘nearly as good as’ when I say ‘as good’ - which, per FG pitching rankings, they are one spot apart. I brought up Cleveland supposedly rolling over about on because that’s what the other guy claimed. That is what I was responding to. 

21 minutes ago, Lou said:

if you have evidence, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide it for us.

thanks 

 

Equal to? I said it was close. Sale matches up pretty equally with Bauer per WAR. Kluber, though, is a clear mark above anyone on Boston. Their bullpens are similar in value. Overall: Fangraphs - Cleveland ranked 3rd in overall pitching, Boston 4th.

And again, you can be a jackass if you want, but I said previously I was responding to the bizarre assertion that Cleveland would roll over Boston in a matchup. I do not . That's just fantasy - if for no other reason: Cleveland trails by nearly twenty games despite playing in the easiest division in baseball while Boston is smoking it in the East despite having the Yankees with a better record than Cleveland right behind them. I do not believe that Cleveland (or anyone else in the AL) is nearly as good as as Houston or Boston. 

Considering the AL East is filled with the most-hitter friendly parks of any division, while the AL Central is largely middle of the road on that level, I'd expect ERA to be a bit better for Cleveland. I think they're comparable on pitching, while Boston is a bit better offensively. The idea that Cleveland is substantially better than Boston is rather ridiculous on basically any level. If we were to rank the AL, it's probably Houston, Boston, Cleveland/NY/Oakland with either Houston or Boston most likely winning the pennant unless someone has an abnormally lucky series. 

Evidence says Boston’s pitching is as good. It ranks high on overall numbers and Boston’s lineup is far deeper. There’s a reason Boston has won nearly twenty games more. 

1 hour ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

They did before the injuries...

You going to tell me that a side by side comparison of the teams from the 2000's were by far superior to the team they started with this year? Theres a bigger issue if players of this caliber aren't producing like they should. Sometimes you create your own luck and I find it extremely hard to believe that the Angels had the worst luck in the league 4 years in a row.

C- Molina vs Maldonado

1B-Spezio vs Pujols

2B- Kennedy vs Kinsler

SS-Eckstein vs Simmons

3B- Glaus vs Cozart

LF-Anderson vs Upton

CF-Trout vs Erstad

RF-Salmon vs Calhoun

DH-Brad Fulmer vs Ohtani

 

1B is a huge black hole at the moment. Pujols was yet again a negative on a position that Spezio filled pretty solidly in '02.

2B was actually just fine this year.

SS - where Eck was 2002's best player - is actually improved by Simmons (this year, anyway).

3B also is a gigantic mess (26th overall this season - I'm surprise it was that good).

Catcher is difficult to compare for rather obvious reasons . 

Outfield: Upton has been up and down, but he's fine for the moment. Calhoun's job is far from safe this offseason and into Spring Training. Amazingly, the 2018 outfield is still better than 2002's, just because of Trout. Even though Upton is worse than all three guys in '02 and Calhoun is barely positive on WAR. 

DH: Fullmer basically tied Ohtani's WAR, but Ohtani played around half a season.

Pitching is also a huge difference: The '02 staff was remarkably healthy. Compare just the number of pitchers who started and appeared out of the bullpen both years. It's crazy. 

So, clearly, 1B, 3B  and RF need to be better. With Adell, RF is probably fine (might want to grab a 1yr placeholder, depending how you feel about Calhoun). If Cozart rebounds or Ward can get it together, 2B/3B might be good enough to not be a gigantic weight. Ohtani put up crazy numbers in a short time at DH. All season? That position is set. Catcher, you probably want a veteran brought in, even if you think one of Briceno/Arcia/Hudson. Whichever of those three is still on the team can serve as backup (or lead, depending how things work out, I guess). 

On the whole, 2002 was better, but not so much that a full season from Ohtani and some dead weight being excised couldn't put us in the same neighborhood even without a substantial move. 

Pitching: Based on how things went this year, our biggest need is not in the pen, it's less innings for the pen. 2002's pen put up less than 450 innings. 2018? Over 600 (not sure how that counts relievers who started, etc). Heaney and Skaggs should be set for 2018. Pena/Barria/Shoe will be in the mix. There's a few other guys that can fill innings in a pinch, but really, we need at least one reliable arm badly. That is a must. Could we use a Kimbel or some other top reliever? Sure. Who couldn't? But is it a need? Probably not in 2019

Basically, we need a top SP - not necessarily a deGrom, but even a Corbin or Keuchel ought to make the team substantially better. After that? We'll probably bring in a veteran catcher, but I'm not sure we *must* make any other moves. A legit closer type and a solid 3B(/1B) would help, but it isn't a must.

A lot just comes down to something the 2002 team had: Durability in the pitching staff.

3 hours ago, Dick B Back said:

I don’t think Boston could get past Houston or Cleveland so it ain’t happenin’.

You should’ve stuck with Houston. Saying Boston couldn’t get past Cleveland undermines your argument. Houston is fair, though. I think Boston comes out of the AL, though. I think Houston breaks down at the wrong time. The NL will have to get lucky to win the WS this year - the AL teams are quite a bit better. 

I think you can appreciate what Scioscia has brought to this organization and still feel like it’s very much time for a change - both for him and the team. 

So,  my take is, if Scioscia’s back next season, I’ll mostly be disappointed. I feel like bringing Sosh back is business as usual, which, for the last 4 years has been pretty bad. They haven’t won a playoff game in a really long time. I don’t blame all that on Scioscia, not even most if it, but I think the team needs a change. Hopefully whoever makes this decision feels the same way. 

16 hours ago, Lou said:

tell them the MLB World Series trophy says hello back 

I'll get back to you in November after Boston wins the WS. 

1 hour ago, greginpsca said:

Former position players generally have a bad track record as managers. Pitchers and catchers usually have better track records because of their familarity with how to run pitching staffs. that's why i would hope the next manager would be Madden or Bud Black.

 

 

Alex Cora, Gabe Kapler, and Dave Roberts say "Hi".

17 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

MLB Network guys are gushing over Miguel Andújar for some reason 

1) He's a Yankee

2) See No.1

3) They disregard analytics (which show conclusively that not only is Ohtani #1, Andujar might not even be #2)

Oops. Missed that. Thought it looked too good to be true. 

.400+ OBP every month? Him and Trout need to be our 2-3 batters. That's insanely good.

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

No...but I also didn't think Felix Pena, Deck McGuire, Taylor Cole, Odrisamer Despaigne, John Lamb, Noe Ramirez, and Jim Johnson would combine for 31 starts - an entire rotation slot  - this year either. 

As much as I want to see the kids play, I'm fine with our AAA depth, the players you listed, being Hermosillo, Rengifo/Fletcher, Walsh/Thaiss, Fernandez, Ward, and one (two?) of Briceno/Arcia being those names instead. 

That means rounding out the 25-man with guys like Jon Jay, Daniel Descalso, Jeff Mathis (hah, I'm kidding, maybe), and Steve Pearce as our opening day bench. 

 

Ultimate trolling of Angels fans? Next season Scioscia retires, Eppler reacquires Mathis, and Chavez New Angels Manager plays Mathis as our everyday Catcher.

2 hours ago, floplag said:

This is pretty much spot on, though i dont count anyone as wholly untouchable, hes as close as it gets. 
For example Mia comes to us with a silly deal for Realmuto that involved Adell... you kinda have to entertain that, but it would need to be something like that to even bring him into the conversation.

Yeah, I don't trade Adell for Realmuto. Not even for deGrom given his age. 

Canning maybe if the deal is right, but I can't figure what that would be - I mean, we need pitching badly, and I don't know who would trade a better pitcher for an unproven one in Canning, so I don't see a scenario in which we move our best pitching prospect. 

Beyond that, I'm no expert, but I feel like it just depends on what the deal is. I don't move guys just for kicks like Dipooto, but *if* there's a deal that makes sense, I'd be open to trading pretty much anyone else. 

Machado. Arenado's Coors batting splits scare me. Not that he's a bad player away from Coors, he just isn't quite the same player. Having said that, Arenado is better defensively and might come as a cheaper FA contract.