Heyman: Inside Baseball | Which teams have actually improved this winter?

[Chuck]

https://www.fanragsports.com/inside-baseball-which-teams-have-actually-improved-this-winter/

[Chuck]

1. LOS ANGELES ANGELS

There’s little doubt which team has made the biggest and boldest improvement. And yes, it’s been quite a winter for Mike Trout, whose Eagles are in the Super Bowl (#FlyEaglesFly, as he would tweet), who got married and who also saw his team move from perennially mediocre to a major playoff threat, and also, one of the more interesting clubs around.

They got a little bit lucky, and they were very good, too. The Angels, in retrospect, made a lot of sense for Japanese League sensation Shohei Ohtani, as his marketing arm, his agent and the ability to DH are all there for him with the team that’s sort of in L.A.

Billy Eppler also is one of several GMs who did the legwork, invested the time and logged the miles, so he gets credit, too. The Ohtani move almost by definition was the best move anyone made this winter, as they got a (potentially) $200 million player and phenomenon for just a tiny percent of the cost.

But that wasn’t all the Angels did. They brought back Justin Upton for $106 million over five years, signed Zack Cozart to play third for $38 million over three and traded for Ian Kinsler to fill their annual second-place hole. If Ohtani is as advertised, and the talented Garrett Richards (Trout’s roommate – at least pre-wedding) can stay healthy, they already have the makings of a World Series contender. Though, if we have a quibble, it’s in the bullpen. Hard to blame them from staying away from the steep prices on the deep end of the relief pool, but they’ll need to do something there, and the pen options – at least via free agency – are growing scarce.

[Hubs]

I was listening to Dodger Talk last night in the car, and wow what a horrible host that guy is. I know you're a homer dude, but he's almost as bad as Vic The Brick Jacobs. It would be like the Angels giving Rex Hudler a radio show without a co-host to temper him.

He mentioned the Angels just as I was getting out of the car and he literally has zero clue about anyone other than the Dodgers. I'm sorry but if you're job is to host a radio show, you should at least do your research.

Mentioned that the Angels got better, but said they still "aren't very good" and the rotation has question marks and he doesn't trust it. DID NOT MENTION OHTANI. This guy thinks the Dodgers shouldn't bring back Darvish, or "don't need to" because the NL is a cake walk for the Dodgers. He thinks the Dodgers are set in the rotation, with guys like Urias and Walker Buehler, but DID NOT MENTION OHTANI.

He also mentioned bringing in Kinsler, but made a joke about his age. Made a joke about Pujols. No mention of Cozart or Upton. Did mention the pen as being bad. 

The reason I mention this is that obviously an educated writer in Heyman thinks differently, and it's laughable how much of a homer this dude was.

I think the Dodgers are the best team in the NL, but they have gotten significantly worse from last season, and are relying on performances from guys like Chris Taylor and Alex Wood, to repeat their career year. The Angels have one guy like that in Cozart.

[Hubs]

One other note, especially with the memo about possible collusion. The host seems to think the AL is stronger than the NL having more teams to compete for the playoffs.

How many teams going into this year are legit contenders for their divisions or the Wild Card? I think it's the opposite of what the Dodger Talk guy thinks.

IN THE NL

Dodgers (FAV), D'Backs, Rockies, Giants?

Cubs (FAV), Brewers, Cardinals

Nationals (FAV), Mets, Phillies?

IN THE AL

Astros (FAV), Angels,

Indians (FAV), Twins

Yankees (FAV), Red Sox
 

 

 

[Ohtaniland]

28 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

I always get excited for Angels baseball to start, even when I know we're not really contenders.

But this year, I'm more excited for the season to start than I have been in a long time.

I think that we’ll be in the mix and make some noise but I’m not delusional enough to believe that this is some super team. 

We’ve patched some holes but we have have no idea what Ohtani’s transition year will be like. We may certainly experience some growing pains with Cozart having to play third base for the first time in his career. Kinsler is a stop gap. 

We have no idea what we will get from Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Shoemaker or Ohtani. 

We also have a 38 year old first baseman whos had limited mobility that prevents him from running out ground balls. 

Upton is a huge plus but our outfield depth is still very thin. Our backups are Marte and Young jr. I’m not sure who backs up Trout if some significant injury were to happen.   

They’re rolling the dice but baseball is almost here so it’s getting exciting. 

[Chuck]

14 minutes ago, OHTANILAND said:

I think that we’ll be in the mix and make some noise but I’m not delusional enough to believe that this is some super team. 

We’ve patched some holes but we have have no idea what Ohtani’s transition year will be like. We may certainly experience some growing pains with Cozart having to play third base for the first time in his career. Kinsler is a stop gap. 

We have no idea what we will get from Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Shoemaker or Ohtani. 

We also have a 38 year old first baseman whos had limited mobility that prevents him from running out ground balls. 

Upton is a huge plus but our outfield depth is still very thin. Our backups are Marte and Young jr. I’m not sure who backs up Trout if some significant injury were to happen.   

They’re rolling the dice but baseball is almost here so it’s getting exciting. 

The Astros and Dodgers both had the same question marks heading into the 2017 campaign. Just saying! 

What's funny is, most people penciled in the Nationals and Cubs and Red Sox and Indians as representatives in the World Series. 

and nobody predicted the Twins, Brewers, Rockies and Diamondbacks to be in the thick of things in Sept.

The Angels did not just fill holes, they filled them with proven guys who are replacing HUGE voids at their respective positions on this team. Upton, Kinsler, Cozart and Ohtani are GIGANTIC additions and Richards is coming off a solid comeback after he was deemed 100% healthy. Most people would love to have Skaggs, Shoemaker, Heaney, Bridwell to round out 3-5 in their rotations.

[Angelsjunky]

Good write-up, but I'm actually mildly optimistic about the bullpen. There are no standout, obvious relief stars, but there is a lot of talent there, and at a bargain cost. Furthermore, with the extra pitchers that might not get many starts, there's some depth. Eppler can always bring in help if need be.

[totdprods]

12 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Good write-up, but I'm actually mildly optimistic about the bullpen. There are no standout, obvious relief stars, but there is a lot of talent there, and at a bargain cost. Furthermore, with the extra pitchers that might not get many starts, there's some depth. Eppler can always bring in help if need be.

I think the pen will be fine. If healthy, we'll have some SPs to play around with there. 

I think we'll see Eppler wait out the remaining relievers and, much like last year, nab a couple of them in next few days on minor-league deals. 

It looks like the White Sox and D-backs' are copying Eppler's plan already, so wouldn't surprise me if other teams are doing similar and that's one reason there isn't much movement on those arms right now.

[HaloNArizona]

2 hours ago, Hubs said:

I was listening to Dodger Talk last night in the car, and wow what a horrible host that guy is. I know you're a homer dude, but he's almost as bad as Vic The Brick Jacobs. It would be like the Angels giving Rex Hudler a radio show without a co-host to temper him.

He mentioned the Angels just as I was getting out of the car and he literally has zero clue about anyone other than the Dodgers. I'm sorry but if you're job is to host a radio show, you should at least do your research.

Mentioned that the Angels got better, but said they still "aren't very good" and the rotation has question marks and he doesn't trust it. DID NOT MENTION OHTANI. This guy thinks the Dodgers shouldn't bring back Darvish, or "don't need to" because the NL is a cake walk for the Dodgers. He thinks the Dodgers are set in the rotation, with guys like Urias and Walker Buehler, but DID NOT MENTION OHTANI.

He also mentioned bringing in Kinsler, but made a joke about his age. Made a joke about Pujols. No mention of Cozart or Upton. Did mention the pen as being bad. 

The reason I mention this is that obviously an educated writer in Heyman thinks differently, and it's laughable how much of a homer this dude was.

I think the Dodgers are the best team in the NL, but they have gotten significantly worse from last season, and are relying on performances from guys like Chris Taylor and Alex Wood, to repeat their career year. The Angels have one guy like that in Cozart.

Sounds like this guy stopped by and read a few snippets on AW.com, and then reported it as his own thoughts.

We can find too many posts about our questionable line up, and AP's age, while not directly mentioned, is brought up in a round about way when discussing his decline.

[HaloNArizona]

2 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I think the pen will be fine. If healthy, we'll have some SPs to play around with there. 

I think we'll see Eppler wait out the remaining relievers and, much like last year, nab a couple of them in next few days on minor-league deals. 

It looks like the White Sox and D-backs' are copying Eppler's plan already, so wouldn't surprise me if other teams are doing similar and that's one reason there isn't much movement on those arms right now.

I think the pen will be better than people think...We are returning Bedrosian, Parker and Middleton.

We brought in (looking for the next Petit or Norris) Bard, Pena, Johnson

We still have other guys like Ramirez, Castillo, Paredes, Wood

 

[Second Base]

Bullpens do not need household names or proven entities. It's such a volatile part of the game that good teams will basically piece together advanced many options as possible.

Some are going to implode, some will get injured, some will stay the same and some will breakout.

The Angels have basically 15 options between the major leagues and AAA they can choose from. If we anticipate rolling with 7, 15 should give us at least 5 serviceable options in the bullpen.

My guess is Parker, Wood, JC Ramirez, Johnson, Middleton, Paredes, Bedrock and Bard will all have solid seasons in 2018. 

[Ohtaniland]

2 hours ago, hangin n wangin said:

Who said this is a super team? I certainly didn't.

I just said I am more excited going into this year than I have been in a long time, since we don't have any glaring holes like we have had at 3rd base, 2nd base, and left field like in recent years. I also have zero concern about Cozart transitioning to third base. 

Of course there are uncertainties with our dehydrated pitchers and yea we could use a little more depth. But I really like the potential of our starters and the off season isn't over yet either. 

But I stand by my statement. I am more excited this year than I have been in a long time. I'm definitely not saying this is a super team.

I wasn’t trying to imply that. I was just giving my personal take on the team in general. I think you can rewind every spring training and you will see similar posts that make you want to believe in the latest addition of the Angels. I’m rooting for the team but I still think Eppler’s plan is three years away from building a true sustainable contender. There’s still plenty of work to do.

[Erstad Grit]

I agree with the pen concerns.

Guys like Petit, Albers, etc signed relatively cheap. One guy like that can be the difference between a division or wild card. 

[Inside Pitch]

On 2/2/2018 at 2:35 PM, Hubs said:

I was listening to Dodger Talk last night in the car, and wow what a horrible host that guy is. I know you're a homer dude, but he's almost as bad as Vic The Brick Jacobs. It would be like the Angels giving Rex Hudler a radio show without a co-host to temper him.

He mentioned the Angels just as I was getting out of the car and he literally has zero clue about anyone other than the Dodgers. I'm sorry but if you're job is to host a radio show, you should at least do your research.

Mentioned that the Angels got better, but said they still "aren't very good" and the rotation has question marks and he doesn't trust it. DID NOT MENTION OHTANI. This guy thinks the Dodgers shouldn't bring back Darvish, or "don't need to" because the NL is a cake walk for the Dodgers. He thinks the Dodgers are set in the rotation, with guys like Urias and Walker Buehler, but DID NOT MENTION OHTANI.

He also mentioned bringing in Kinsler, but made a joke about his age. Made a joke about Pujols. No mention of Cozart or Upton. Did mention the pen as being bad. 

The reason I mention this is that obviously an educated writer in Heyman thinks differently, and it's laughable how much of a homer this dude was.

I think the Dodgers are the best team in the NL, but they have gotten significantly worse from last season, and are relying on performances from guys like Chris Taylor and Alex Wood, to repeat their career year. The Angels have one guy like that in Cozart.

It's guys like this and the affect he has on their fan base that led my generation of Angels fans to hate the Dodgers and their myopia....

[tdawg87]

2 hours ago, OHTANILAND said:

I wasn’t trying to imply that. I was just giving my personal take on the team in general. I think you can rewind every spring training and you will see similar posts that make you want to believe in the latest addition of the Angels. I’m rooting for the team but I still think Eppler’s plan is three years away from building a true sustainable contender. There’s still plenty of work to do.

Eppler's plan is always "three years away". 

We've got a hugely improved farm system, we got the best two FA's available, and we are still under the luxury threshold.

Eppler and Arte clearly intend to compete this year, next year, and the year after that. What do you think they are waiting for in 3 years?

[Chuck]

4 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Eppler's plan is always "three years away". 

We've got a hugely improved farm system, we got the best two FA's available, and we are still under the luxury threshold.

Eppler and Arte clearly intend to compete this year, next year, and the year after that. What do you think they are waiting for in 3 years?

^

[Erstad Grit]

8 hours ago, Hubs said:

I was listening to Dodger Talk last night in the car, and wow what a horrible host that guy is. I know you're a homer dude, but he's almost as bad as Vic The Brick Jacobs. It would be like the Angels giving Rex Hudler a radio show without a co-host to temper him.

He mentioned the Angels just as I was getting out of the car and he literally has zero clue about anyone other than the Dodgers. I'm sorry but if you're job is to host a radio show, you should at least do your research.

Mentioned that the Angels got better, but said they still "aren't very good" and the rotation has question marks and he doesn't trust it. DID NOT MENTION OHTANI. This guy thinks the Dodgers shouldn't bring back Darvish, or "don't need to" because the NL is a cake walk for the Dodgers. He thinks the Dodgers are set in the rotation, with guys like Urias and Walker Buehler, but DID NOT MENTION OHTANI.

He also mentioned bringing in Kinsler, but made a joke about his age. Made a joke about Pujols. No mention of Cozart or Upton. Did mention the pen as being bad. 

The reason I mention this is that obviously an educated writer in Heyman thinks differently, and it's laughable how much of a homer this dude was.

I think the Dodgers are the best team in the NL, but they have gotten significantly worse from last season, and are relying on performances from guys like Chris Taylor and Alex Wood, to repeat their career year. The Angels have one guy like that in Cozart.

I don't really disagree with that criticism.

Rotation has been hurt and has major question marks.

Kinsler and Pujols are both old and carry risks.

Cozart doesn't deserve any mention. He's a bench role at best. 

Upton is solid. 

Pen may have lost their best pitcher in Petit and closer role is at least a little iffy, although I like Parker. 

We will see with Ohtani. I remember when the Mets' Matsui was supposed to be better than Ichiro. 

Personally I see a great year this season but can't say I disagree with any of these takes. 

 

[IEAngelsfan]

9 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Cozart doesn't deserve any mention. He's a bench role at best. 

 

What?  Cozart is definitely not a bench player and is an upgrade over Escobar at third.

I hope you got Cozart confused with Cowart.

[tdawg87]

12 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Cozart doesn't deserve any mention. He's a bench role at best.

I assume you are confusing Cozart with Cowart, because Cozart is our starting 3B and a significant addition to the team.

[beatlesrule]

I assume he meant 2nd base and not 2nd place.

[JustATroutFan]

We'll see. Angels had a great offseason, at least on paper. I remember when I also thought that they had a great offseason in 2011 when they signed Pujols and Wilson, on the same day, to big contracts. Sometimes, handing out big deals look bad once it's all said and done but at the time, it looks like it was at least good moves. But one thing can be said: The Angels at least tried to build a good team around Trout. Just need to see if these moves that look great on paper pan out.

[OregonLAA]

21 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Eppler's plan is always "three years away". 

We've got a hugely improved farm system, we got the best two FA's available, and we are still under the luxury threshold.

Eppler and Arte clearly intend to compete this year, next year, and the year after that. What do you think they are waiting for in 3 years?

Albert to be gone....

 

Has to be what he’s thinking, right?

[tdawg87]

7 minutes ago, OregonLAA said:

Albert to be gone....

 

Has to be what he’s thinking, right?

Well we got Albert for 4 more years so I guess it's a 4 year plan. Then Arte can get the payroll down to 80 million and Eppler can finally work his magic.

[ten ocho recon scout]

22 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

It's guys like this and the affect he has on their fan base that led my generation of Angels fans to hate the Dodgers and their myopia....

Ive always rolled my eyes when i listen to dodger radio. But to be fair, ive heard more than enough dipshit comments over the years on the radio following angel games as well, and assume most teams if not all have the same problem.

I think its fair to say most fans on here are in the die hard category. We love the angels, but follow other teams, prospects, payrolls etc. The majority of fans arent as nerdy as us. Big names still trump all to the vast majority.

[Docwaukee]

The Angels are not going to put winning on hold to wait out the pujols contract.  Clearly.  

If we fall a bit short due to a lack of pen depth or SP injuries, then I'll be pretty disappointed considering there are options available to overcome that at the current time.  

But this team is still at a point where we need to find out who we are.