Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is legit!

[Stradling]

5 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Dipoto is the Corky of GM's. I don't give a shit if I ever praised him, he left the organization in arguably a worse state than it was when he inherited it. 

The Baldoquin thing is literally the fart left in an elevator of asthmatic babies. I hope the Mariners never win and Dipoto eventually quits and his wife leaves him for Reagins.

It's not arguable.  He definitely left the organization is a much worse state.  

[Tank]

On 5/13/2017 at 8:01 AM, Inside Pitch said:

The Angels were said to have an inside track with him -- his Dad loved it in Anaheim, his grandmother loved it in Anaheim, the kid himself was one of the rare Vlad kids to live with his Dad, so he was familiar with the area.  Vlad Jr had regularly been on the field and hit in the park, most of the scouting staff were very familiar with him then came the purge.....  All the scouts got fired or replaced by smarter people hand picked by JD....  and then of course there was his infamous three day scouting trip where he proclaimed Baldoquin MLB ready needing only to get some at bats...

Best of all..   Vlad Jr signed for less than Baldoquin.   Not having had any chance at Vlad Jr is the single biggest reason why everything about the Baldoquin signing was a mistake.. 

Just imagine the nightmare in the making when we eventually pass on Mike Napoli Jr. and the ensuing HOF numbers he'll put up against the Halos.

[Homebrewer]

Vlad Guerrero Jr. Tearing Up MiLB: 'He Can Be as Good as His Dad or Even Better'

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2713019-vlad-guerrero-jr-tearing-up-milb-he-can-be-as-good-as-his-dad-or-even-better?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

On 5/11/2017 at 1:07 PM, Chuckster70 said:

Vlad's kid is going to be something. 

He's currently slashing .347/.466/.568/ 1.035 OPS,  with 19 walks vs. 15 strikeouts, showing good range and a strong arm from the 3B position. 

The Blue Jays are lucky to have him. It's a good thing Dipoto blew his wad on Baldoquin so we couldn't afford to sign Guerrero Jr. or Moncada. 

What it is with the Guerrero family and playing on Astroturf in Canada?

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 5/14/2017 at 0:10 AM, calscuf said:

I'm fairly certain you all called him JeDi.  Like a Jedi from Star Wars, like he was wise and shit.

And then it turned out he was from the pre trilogy movies, and he sucked.

[totdprods]

Should we call him 'Jerry Dipoto's Great Regret', or should we call Baldoquin 'Dipoto's Bane'?

[UndertheHalo]

Looks like Jerry picked another champ in Taylor  Ward.  

[Jobu]

I'd like to know if anyone in that room that were doing cartwheels and high fiving each other is still on the payroll. Has Eppler totally cleaned house?

[Ohtaniland]

On 5/14/2017 at 0:10 AM, calscuf said:

I'm fairly certain you all called him JeDi.  Like a Jedi from Star Wars, like he was wise and shit.

Jerry never made the big decisions. Those decisions were made by Arte and Scioscia then blamed on Jerry. Kinda like what happened to Reagins. 

[GrittyVeterans]

31 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Jerry never made the big decisions. Those decisions were made by Arte and Scioscia then blamed on Jerry. Kinda like what happened to Reagins. 

Giving Baldoquin whatever ridiculous contract he was given over Vladdy's kid or Moncada was certainly a big decision, and was definitely made by Dipoto. We could sit here and talk about how bad of an owner Arte is all day (he's horrible) but Dipoto set the franchise back like 4-5 years during his time here

[Troll Daddy]

35 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Jerry never made the big decisions. Those decisions were made by Arte and Scioscia then blamed on Jerry. Kinda like what happened to Reagins. 

Jerry's ego was too big for that to happen. 

[Chuck]

2 hours ago, CALZONE said:

Jerry never made the big decisions. Those decisions were made by Arte and Scioscia then blamed on Jerry. Kinda like what happened to Reagins. 

Not true. Jerry really really wanted Pujols. I know this for a fact.

The only knee jerk reaction from Arte on a transaction was Josh Hamilton. 

Fact. 

[Stradling]

Jerry also traded Morales for Vargas and Trumbo for Skaggs and Santiago both of which Claude hated.  Other than to be an instigator I have no idea why he would say this. 

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Not true. Jerry really really wanted Pujols. I know this for a fact.

The only knee jerk reaction from Arte on a transaction was Josh Hamilton. 

Fact. 

So who was in charge of personnel decisions? You're saying that Jerry wanted Pujols at a cost of $240M and Arte just said ok let's do it. Then Arte wanted Hamilton at a cost of $125M and Jerry said ok let's do it. What an f'n train wreck of organizational structure. 

That's why I wanted the Angels to hire a president of baseball operations type individual that would bring in his own GM and rebuild from the ground up. This "we don't rebuild, we just reload" really came back to bite us in the ass for years to come. 

I actually remember Jerry Dipoto saying that he was most proud of acquiring Chris Iannetta. It was Arte and Carpino that met with Pujols for dinner to convince him to join the Angels. Did the story change?

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, CALZONE said:

So who was in charge of personnel decisions? You're saying that Jerry wanted Pujols at  a cost of $240M and Arte just said ok let's do it. Then Arte wanted Hamilton at a cost of $125M and Jerry said ok let's do it. What an f'n train wreck of organizational structure. 

That's why I wanted the Angels to hire a president of baseball operations type individual that would bring in his own GM and rebuild from the ground up. This we don't rebuild, we reload really came back to bite us in the ass for years to come. 

I actually remember Jerry Dipoto saying that he was most proud of acquiring Chris Iannetta. It was Arte and Carpino that met with Pujols for dinner to convince him to join the Angels. Did the story change?

Dipoto spearheaded the entire Pujols pursuit. Once he got Arte on board, he took over on the money side. 

Arte was butthurt on losing out on Grienke so he gave the go ahead on landing the best offensive player on the FA market. 

[Inside Pitch]

6 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Not true. Jerry really really wanted Pujols. I know this for a fact.

The only knee jerk reaction from Arte on a transaction was Josh Hamilton. 

Fact. 

There was a major piece at ESPN that basically retold how the Pujols deal went down...  It went into great detail regarding how the Angels contingent showed up early, how they brought a ton of people carrying books crammed full of scouting reports and compared it to what had happened the season Reagins showed up late..   It went into a lot of detail at how the pursuit of Pujols took place and when/how Arte got involved.  I never understood how it suddenly became "Arte's fault" after things went sour ... well other than there was no denying Arte wanted to win.   

11 hours ago, Jobu said:

I'd like to know if anyone in that room that were doing cartwheels and high fiving each other is still on the payroll. Has Eppler totally cleaned house?

 There have been changes/additions, but I don't believe he ever fully cleaned house.  Many left after JD moved on -- either way the team is better off for it.  But there has never been the same sort of purge reported we saw in the weeks that followed the previous front office's takeover.

5 hours ago, CALZONE said:

So who was in charge of personnel decisions? You're saying that Jerry wanted Pujols at a cost of $240M and Arte just said ok let's do it. Then Arte wanted Hamilton at a cost of $125M and Jerry said ok let's do it. What an f'n train wreck of organizational structure. 

That's why I wanted the Angels to hire a president of baseball operations type individual that would bring in his own GM and rebuild from the ground up. This "we don't rebuild, we just reload" really came back to bite us in the ass for years to come. 

I actually remember Jerry Dipoto saying that he was most proud of acquiring Chris Iannetta. It was Arte and Carpino that met with Pujols for dinner to convince him to join the Angels. Did the story change?

Why are you living in the past?   Unless you believe there are mixed messages coming out currently or the GM isn't the one making decisions the talk of trainwrecks is old hat.  Things have changed.... the Angels under Eppler have in fact been rebuilding/reloading -- the results aren't there yet but it doesn't mean they haven't been working at it, Rome wasn't built in a day and he's got to redo everything that was undone between 2008-2015.  

Also -- how is the story changing simply because Moreno met with AP?   If the pursuit started with JD, if he's the one that did all the legwork and made the move to get him to Anaheim what difference does it make if Arte was the last guy to meet with him?.   For much of the Dipoto era the narrative has been that the AP deal (and Hamilton) was all Arte all the time...   That became the narrative only after AP tanked, prior to that JD was a hero who brought us AP and left MS out of the entire equation.

[Angel Oracle]

The one thing those scouting reports on Pujols possibly didn't go into?    His exaggerated crouched stance, which when combined with being some 250 lbs. eventually creates big wear and tear on the knees and feet?   And thus the potential for big decline before the contract was even 2-3 years old?

[Ohtaniland]

6 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

The one thing those scouting reports on Pujols possibly didn't go into?    His exaggerated crouched stance, which when combined with being some 250 lbs. eventually creates big wear and tear on the knees and feet?   And thus the potential for big decline before the contract was even 2-3 years old?

They knew he that he had already began the declining stage of his career, and had Plantars fasciitis and hamstring problems for years.

[Taylor]

There's still time to sign Kelvim Escobar Jr.

[Homebrewer]

Even forgetting Pujols and his money... the failed Hamilton thing sets this organization back so much. That one was completely avoidable.

125 million would pay a whole lot of top scouts (international and domestic) and lure experienced front office people, and stat analysts, sports psychologists,  minor league coaches and facilities, etc, etc. Instead it was poured down the proverbial drain.

 

[T.G.]

Why do I feel like I've read this thread before?

[Inside Pitch]

9 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

They knew he that he had already began the declining stage of his career, and had Plantars fasciitis and hamstring problems for years.

You are right -- they knew and they didn't think it mattered...   http://www.espn.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7330066/st-louis-cardinals-albert-pujols-join-los-angeles-angels

Some have questioned whether it's smart to give a 10-year deal to a 31-year-old.

 

"I will say that Albert Pujols' age to me is not a concern," DiPoto said. "He's an honorable man and a very respectful man. I'm not a scientist, but I can tell you he hits like he's 27. ... I will say this, that in regard to the evolution of a hitter, as hitters begin to age, into their 30s and to whatever point you can project, there is a certain quality and a trait in a hitter, the patience they exhibit. Albert has had an extraordinary career with regard to maintaining control of the strike zone. Albert is still as big an impact guy after 11 years as there is in this game."

_____

To be fair -- nobody saw AP's decline coming the way it has.   The PED era clouded the aging curve and inner circle HOFs like AP tended to have longer decline phases....   The situation just went sideways...

 

 

 

[Ohtaniland]

3 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

You are right -- they knew and they didn't think it mattered...   http://www.espn.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7330066/st-louis-cardinals-albert-pujols-join-los-angeles-angels

Some have questioned whether it's smart to give a 10-year deal to a 31-year-old.

 

"I will say that Albert Pujols' age to me is not a concern," DiPoto said. "He's an honorable man and a very respectful man. I'm not a scientist, but I can tell you he hits like he's 27. ... I will say this, that in regard to the evolution of a hitter, as hitters begin to age, into their 30s and to whatever point you can project, there is a certain quality and a trait in a hitter, the patience they exhibit. Albert has had an extraordinary career with regard to maintaining control of the strike zone. Albert is still as big an impact guy after 11 years as there is in this game."

_____

To be fair -- nobody saw AP's decline coming the way it has.   The PED era clouded the aging curve and inner circle HOFs like AP tended to have longer decline phases....   The situation just went sideways...

 

 

 

I agree 100% and I believe that's a fair assessment of Albert with the information they had at the time. I was at the press conference and saw the excitement from the fans. I think we all expected that making the playoffs would be the easy part and maybe even get another championship. I don't think anyone expected the outcome of today. I sure hope they make better decisions in the future.

[Angel Oracle]

Only 25 days until the Halos can FINALLY resume finding and signing some Vlad Jr./Moncada types.

Is "Baldoquin" the new 4 letter word for BAD scouting? 

[Chuck]

49 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

I agree 100% and I believe that's a fair assessment of Albert with the information they had at the time. I was at the press conference and saw the excitement from the fans. I think we all expected that making the playoffs would be the easy part and maybe even get another championship. I don't think anyone expected the outcome of today. I sure hope they make better decisions in the future.

Making the playoffs can never be attributed to just one or two players. It takes an entire 25 man roster to win ball games.