Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the upcoming Angels season?

[Chuck]

Vote! 

I can honestly say that with all of the depth and in improving at two major holes in LF & 2B, that I'm pretty optimistic despite not signing any big named FA's or making a blockbuster trade. 

[Homebrewer]

Somewhere in-between. Interested but not excited. Just looking forward to baseball.

Been a long wet winter up here (and it's raining again)

Only 12 days till pitchers and catchers report..

 

[AngelsFanSince86]

I'm pretty optimistic. This offseason has been exactly what an intelligently run team should do. This is largely how the giants' offseasons went for years. Extend the good players you have and make smart, low risk, under the radar moves that improve your team while not sacrificing the farm.  Big free agent signings rarely pan out and the expectations that are created from the hype and optimism that comes with them is usually never met.  There are times and places to sign big names and this is not one of them.

 

I'm optimistic because the team has clearly gotten better as well as the farm and we are headed in the exact right direction to be annual contenders when trout is in his prime and when he will be making the decision to stay or leave.  All this and the fact that I believe if everything goes right we have a shot at the playoffs this year. Worst case scenario is this year is a stepping stone to our future contention and it seems we finally have a competent GM we can trust to not screw it up.

[Junkballer]

Optimistic in the sense of improvement.  Still feels like a bridge year setting up for next year though.  Happy about filling in the major areas of deficiency and adding a lot of depth and flexibility with position players.  Still feel pitching can end up being what keeps this team from competing for a playoff spot though. 

[Hubs]

I honestly believe that if we stay healthy the Angels are the division favorites as currently constructed.

[Angel Oracle]

What hangin and HB said.    That said, Eppler does have this franchise pointing in the right direction, at a pace that won't wreck the farm system.

[mulwin444]

More optimistic than last season.  They still have question marks but Eppler's built enough decent depth that, if someone fails or gets injured, the drop-off isn't something like Freese to Gillapspie or Richards to Chacin.  I think if everything shakes out ok they are a 86-76 type team with the possibility of 90 wins if the BP sorts itself out. 

[Brent Maguire]

I'm optimistic in the sense that there's basically zero chance 2017 will be worse than 2016. The amount of bad luck added onto a bad team in 2016 made it an unbearable season at times. The 2017 team actually looks interesting and offers some optimism as they could sneak into the playoffs.

It's likely that the team will be elite defensively, run the bases well and boast an above average offense(thanks Trout). Obviously, they're thin on the pitching side of things but a healthy Richards really keeps this team in contention IMO. Getting 450-500 innings out of Richards, Shoemaker and Skaggs would be huge. The one area I'm still concerned about is the bullpen, which others have said as well. Street bouncing back would be big but the bullpen looks awfully thin and it's risky banking on the bullpen swinging upwards due to volatility. Realistically, I want one more arm(Tommy Hunter) to stabilize the group a little bit. My guess is Eppler is banking on Meyer, Middleton or Campos coming up and making a big impact.

I'm optimistic as well because the AL West doesn't look super strong, although Houston is clearly superior. I think the team, on paper, is right there with Texas and slightly behind Seattle. The only other threats in the AL look to be Detroit, New York, Toronto and Baltimore. It's not out of the realm for the Angels to steal a Wild Card spot, although I think a lot needs to go right healthwise for that to happen. 

[tdawg87]

Yes.

[beatlesrule]

I must insist on being a pessimist. I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind.

[ettin]

I am optimistic. Defense is elite and should have a nice ancillary effect of shortening pitcher outings because of more outs and double plays made which will have a direct impact on starter and reliever use (and overuse) over 162 games. Offense is just as good as it was last year and probably better, particularly if Maybin repeats his 2016 efforts (or even comes close to it) and our catching duo manages to hit better. Pitching depth is greatly improved but not 100% perfect. I have a good feeling about Richards, Shoemaker, and Skaggs providing solid performances.

A playoff appearance is possible even in a highly competitive A.L. West.

[Richard]

Cautiously optimistic

The offense should be better than last year. 

The pitching and Garrett Richards' health are the things I mostly worry about, but optimistic the team will still be competitive in September, and hopefully into October.

[Troll Daddy]

Post All-Star break the team was 47-44 including a 11 game losing streak mixed in there.

Hell yea, I'm optimistic about 2017!

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

7 minutes ago, ettin said:

I am optimistic. Defense is elite and should have a nice ancillary effect of shortening pitcher outings because of more outs and double plays made which will have a direct impact on starter and reliever use (and overuse) over 162 games. Offense is just as good as it was last year and probably better, particularly if Maybin repeats his 2016 efforts (or even comes close to it) and our catching duo manages to hit better. Pitching depth is greatly improved but not 100% perfect. I have a good feeling about Richards, Shoemaker, and Skaggs providing solid performances.

A playoff appearance is possible even in a highly competitive A.L. West.

I hope he's worked on his pick-off and holding runners better....

[nando714]

I'm optimistic

and then the first week of the season goes by...

[eaterfan]

What does 83-86 wins mean? Not sure where I fall as far as optimistic or pessimistic. I'd be happy with an 86 win season. I like the direction the team is headed. 

[Inside Pitch]

Optimistic...  

While I think the team can compete, I like that they added guys who could generate interest should the team see no option other than to sell off.   Win or lose, they seem to be in a position to possibly end up ahead.

As I said in the other thread, I really like what Epp did.

[Inside Pitch]

21 minutes ago, eaterfan said:

What does 83-86 wins mean? Not sure where I fall as far as optimistic or pessimistic. I'd be happy with an 86 win season. I like the direction the team is headed. 

My sentiments in a nutshell. 

[fan_since79]

Cautiously optimistic. I'm looking forward to seeing a real left fielder once again.

If Richards and/or Skaggs experiences forearm tightness at some point, you can throw that optimism out the window.

 

[ksangel]

As a fan I can't ask for anymore than Eppler has done this off season.  With Maybin/Revere in LF, Espinosa at 2B and adding Valbuena for depth Angels are a much better team position wise than 2015 or 2016.

If Richards, Shoemaker and Pujols are/stay healthy and the bullpen comes together should be able to compete for the division title. 

 

[ukyah]

i'm definitely optimistic by comparison to last year's team. i'm hopeful in regards to this team's performance against the rest of the league. i would be significantly more optimistic, in that regard, if we had mixed in some money spending and got ourselves colon and one of the elite closers. the awesome thing about that would have been that it didn't require a "plan change". the only long term contract would have been the reliever, and those are extremely movable with excellent return.

[katrinab]

i am optimistic to start every year regardless of what they do or don't do

games aren't won on paper, so basically every team has a fighting chance at the beginning of the season

[ScottT]

Realistic

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, Troll Daddy said:

Post All-Star break the team was 47-44 including a 11 game losing streak mixed in there.

Hell yea, I'm optimistic about 2017!

You know, once in a while you surprise us with a good post. 

Well done. Keep up the good work buddy! 

[ettin]

I think TD gets too much bad press!

I used to get annoyed with his comments too and then a few months ago he made a comment about how he thought the Angels could contend in 2017 and I thought "Well I'm about to start writing the Primer Series, let's see if he is right?" and sure enough as I wrote it up I began to see more of the possibilities so to be honest TD has been a proponent of a winning 2017 season long before most of us, including myself to a degree, were.