Capital_Dave

Ryan Budde's walk-off double in 2007.
http://newsok.com/game-winner-a-dream-come-true-for-budde/article/3107708

Actually, Pujols himself has answered this question: he'll retire early if his daughter Sophia qualifies for the 2020 Olympics.
So.... GO SOPHIA!
http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/pujols-could-retire-before-contract-expires-to-attend-the-olympics-mlb-cardinals-angels/1fp7whq121cxl1rel4yf0n7hyc

Shoemaker = Bearded Blanton

Meh. Wake me up when he does that in a game that matters.
-This post brought to you by the Claude Foundation.

Billy Eppler serving on the General Managers Panel at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) conference in Phoenix.
http://sabr.org/analytics/schedule
 
An Angels GM showing up at (let alone serving as a panelist) at an analytics conference?  Color me impressed.
 
Needless to say, neither Goose Gossage nor Mike Scioscia will not be in attendance.
 
 

if you play in the scioscia league its: C, C, C, C, C, Util, Util, Util,
Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util, Util,

Anybody else watch/love "Serenity"/"Firefly"?!  Nathan Fillion is hilarious!  He's also great in "Castle" on ABC, and "Slither".  He was also the wrong Pvt. Ryan from Minnesota in "Saving Private Ryan...
 
I just watched "The Cabin in the Woods" on megashare.info the other day.  It's from Joss Whedon (who is the creator of Serenity), and was pretty good.  Very entertaining spin on the kids in peril in the woods movie.  Lots of dark humor in it as well.

Avatar checks out

You mean you aren't excited for the GeNava Conventionâ„¢ (by Sciosciapath) in Left Field?

Try living in Las Vegas where you get blacked out by SIX teams!

Apparently Dave Schoenfield is lurking at AW.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/68010/angels-are-wasting-the-best-years-of-mike-trout
 
 

Dickerson or Gonzalez... Or sign Fowler. 

"Would you like something to read?"
"Do you have anything light?"
"How about this leaflet, 'Promising Angels minor leaguers'"?

The stadium is fine. It's like the 1998 Honda Civic. It's there, it gets you from place to place, and works fine. If you haven't seen any other cars it's great but it's probably one of the older cars on the road with few modern amenities and conveniences that come standard in newer models. It's also not old enough or charming enough to be a classic car. It's hard to justify buying a new Mercedes when the Civic has been running fine even with 200k miles.
When I was younger I was hoping a new Angels Stadium would reflect some unique characteristics of Orange County like the beach or Disney or something. But honestly the replies in this thread basically show that the current stadium is the best reflection of OC. The best things people have said about the stadium are "easy access, easy parking, and family friendly". The most negative thing said is that it has no character. So maybe it is exactly OC. The single thing that most defines the stadium is an artificial rock pile with water rapids. If that doesn't say OC then what does?

I think a caricature of Arte has developed that he's impulsive and (lately) conservative.  People seem to have this idea that he's our crazy uncle Larry that we just have to put up with.
 
What if he's crazy like a fox?
 
Neither Gordon nor Cespedes nor Upton have come off the market since Arte signaled he wouldn't be spending much more.  The guy wasn't under oath when he said that, and even what he said was couched with words like "probably."
 
I suspect that Arte is playing the long game with these free agents and looking for the market to come back to him.  It's already working -- several other teams (through FA signings, pitcher signings) have *left* the LF market over the last two weeks.  
 
Remember, Arte made hundreds of millions in the advertising signage industry.  He has built his career on lying to people... or at least selling them on a marketing campaign.  He's completely self-made, didn't inherit a penny.
 
Keep your powder dry, we may well come roaring back into the LF market and be the "mystery team" for one of those three left fielders in short order.

I think a caricature of Arte has developed that he's impulsive and (lately) conservative.  People seem to have this idea that he's our crazy uncle Larry that we just have to put up with.
 
What if he's crazy like a fox?
 
Neither Gordon nor Cespedes nor Upton have come off the market since Arte signaled he wouldn't be spending much more.  The guy wasn't under oath when he said that, and even what he said was couched with words like "probably."
 
I suspect that Arte is playing the long game with these free agents and looking for the market to come back to him.  It's already working -- several other teams (through FA signings, pitcher signings) have *left* the LF market over the last two weeks.  
 
Remember, Arte made hundreds of millions in the advertising signage industry.  He has built his career on lying to people... or at least selling them on a marketing campaign.  He's completely self-made, didn't inherit a penny.
 
Keep your powder dry, we may well come roaring back into the LF market and be the "mystery team" for one of those three left fielders in short order.

I think a caricature of Arte has developed that he's impulsive and (lately) conservative.  People seem to have this idea that he's our crazy uncle Larry that we just have to put up with.
 
What if he's crazy like a fox?
 
Neither Gordon nor Cespedes nor Upton have come off the market since Arte signaled he wouldn't be spending much more.  The guy wasn't under oath when he said that, and even what he said was couched with words like "probably."
 
I suspect that Arte is playing the long game with these free agents and looking for the market to come back to him.  It's already working -- several other teams (through FA signings, pitcher signings) have *left* the LF market over the last two weeks.  
 
Remember, Arte made hundreds of millions in the advertising signage industry.  He has built his career on lying to people... or at least selling them on a marketing campaign.  He's completely self-made, didn't inherit a penny.
 
Keep your powder dry, we may well come roaring back into the LF market and be the "mystery team" for one of those three left fielders in short order.

Consider me in the camp that favors this trade.  Strongly.  Non-elite RP's are a dime a dozen.  Starting infielders and lead off batters are not.  Escobar is cheap and versatile.  We won this trade.

Consider me in the camp that favors this trade.  Strongly.  Non-elite RP's are a dime a dozen.  Starting infielders and lead off batters are not.  Escobar is cheap and versatile.  We won this trade.

I love how everyone thinks a 7th inning guy is worth more then a starting 2B. This was not a overpay, it was a fair deal.

According to FanGraphs, Simmons is the 30th most valuable player in baseball in terms of trade value.  This is what it takes to pick up a contract with that kind of perceived value.  
 
FanGraphs wrote:
I’ve had more than one front office member point out that Simmons’ early career numbers look remarkably similar to that of Ozzie Smith. And if Simmons takes any kind of step forward at the plate, he’s a superstar. 
 
Fingers crossed that Eppler is right on this one...

Someone needs to get on this.
 

Someone needs to get on this.
 

Look, it's easy to start the "Fire Eppler" threads and bad-mouth this trade, but I think the more interesting thread is teasing out what this tells us about Eppler's approach.  And I, for one, think I'm going to like it.
 
This is a "big boy" trade.  It's a confident trade, trading two PROSPECTS for a proven commodity.  Yes, a below-average hitter, but undeniably the best defensive player in the game.  77.5 runs saved since 2013, first in the majors by a LARGE margin.  Second place is 52.2.  He's going to be so much fun to watch.
 
This is a trade that a team makes when it plans to open the wallet.  Neither Newcomb nor Ellis have ever set foot in the majors.  Simmons is a major stud defensively and proven in the major leagues.  Fangraphs rated Simmons' current contract as having the 30th most trade value in the major leagues (in between Abreu and Seager... pretty heady company).  Fangraphs' article quotes several front office executives comparing Simmons' early years to Ozzie Smith.  If he develops in that model, this trade is very likely to be a huge win for the Angels.
 
I think Eppler is bringing some Yankee swagger to Anaheim.  If this reflects a new direction for the club, I think we should prepare to see some major new free agent signings in the offing.  If the club keeps moving in this same direction, the product on the field in 2016 is likely to be far more competitive but at a much higher cost.  It isn't the "Angels Way" many of us grew up with, but maybe we are the ones that need to adapt.  Maybe the Angels are finally about to realize their potential as a big market team.

Look, it's easy to start the "Fire Eppler" threads and bad-mouth this trade, but I think the more interesting thread is teasing out what this tells us about Eppler's approach.  And I, for one, think I'm going to like it.
 
This is a "big boy" trade.  It's a confident trade, trading two PROSPECTS for a proven commodity.  Yes, a below-average hitter, but undeniably the best defensive player in the game.  77.5 runs saved since 2013, first in the majors by a LARGE margin.  Second place is 52.2.  He's going to be so much fun to watch.
 
This is a trade that a team makes when it plans to open the wallet.  Neither Newcomb nor Ellis have ever set foot in the majors.  Simmons is a major stud defensively and proven in the major leagues.  Fangraphs rated Simmons' current contract as having the 30th most trade value in the major leagues (in between Abreu and Seager... pretty heady company).  Fangraphs' article quotes several front office executives comparing Simmons' early years to Ozzie Smith.  If he develops in that model, this trade is very likely to be a huge win for the Angels.
 
I think Eppler is bringing some Yankee swagger to Anaheim.  If this reflects a new direction for the club, I think we should prepare to see some major new free agent signings in the offing.  If the club keeps moving in this same direction, the product on the field in 2016 is likely to be far more competitive but at a much higher cost.  It isn't the "Angels Way" many of us grew up with, but maybe we are the ones that need to adapt.  Maybe the Angels are finally about to realize their potential as a big market team.