Inside Pitch

I applaud you for linking to an opinion piece that speaks of what "the consensus seems", but those words are opinion. The author believes that's what MOST teams will do, it's not a cold iron fact and it doesn't mean the Angels would be one of those teams. Pretty simple premise to grasp when there isn't an agenda involved. More importantly my point and what you tend to gloss over is that nobody on this message board has any real clue what the Angels are thinking beyond the fluff they put out there and for all we know it's meant as misdirection -- all this Ohtani talk may just be more misdirection... it's a two way street. What I do know is that you didn't see the Simmons deal coming, you certainly didn't believe the Angels would trade for Upton -- you don't envision them being players for Ohtani... and yet the first two are in Anaheim and the team is possibly trying to maneuver to make a play for Ohtani. Again, for all we know they are getting reports on AP that are leading them to believe he might be able to spend more time at 1B. If that were the case then your entire belief that open DH at bats are a vital part of equation may not be a problem at all. I know what you think.. what I'm saying is none of us know what the Angels know, or what they may be thinking. But by all means -- continue to speak in absolutes. Afterall, Girarid did in fact save his job and Upton certainly did opt out...

Or maybe that's not at issue at all. Maybe all that talk about expecting bigger and better things from a healthier AP is nothing more than lip service and the team realizes it needs to transition from AP/Trout to Trout/Someone else. Or, you know maybe they aren't talking smack and they are getting medicals on him that show he's actually way ahead of where he's been health wise... Regardless -- if the plan is to pair Trout with another legit front line player at some point there is no denying that chasing Ohtani would be cheaper than trying for Machado, Arenado, Harper etc etc... Hell given the unique situation with Ohtani's contract flexibility maybe they actually envision a world where they could get him and STILL chase someone bigger next year... Or it could just be even simpler -- like keeping those 3 million people you always point to as the Arte's primary motivation happy and continuing to go to games in the future.... The only thing this development really shows is that the Angels are no longer telegraphing their intentions and as was the case with Simmons, and Upton, they will continue to surprise us.

Oh the hilarity... Yes -- everyone please take a page out of Calzone's book and cheer for the team regardless of who is out there.. In other news -- North Korea asks the world to step up their human rights game.

Cut the bullshit. You wanted to pay big money to a proven mediocrity at 1B (Hosmer), because -- "he's a gamer". You also wanted to throw money at CC Sabathia. Something about glass houses and casting stones. Not sure who you think you're fooling but whatever floats your boat.

I'm sure you are.... With ST you'll have a new opportunity to suck the life out of anyone's enjoyment of Angels baseball....

The agenda... always the agenda...

Yeah -- but you gotta admit it would be awesome when Lackey walks to the mound yelling the entire way then takes the mitt from the pitcher sends him to the dugout and stays on the mound to pitch.... Can't even pretend he wouldn't try it.

Maitan's star had dimmed pretty massively -- chances are someone else will get a bigger/better deal. If these guys are smart, they hold off until next year and have more teams bidding on them.

This is correct.

Hathaway and Phil Leftwich both looked decent then either got hurt or completely fell apart...

He forgot to mention how we're getting Hosmer because he's a "gamer" and signing CC Sabathia because well, he is all the things he normally rails against. I mean, if a person is going to bring up all the crap being said on the board and claim them as done deals, then they should include their own genius suggestions.

Hilly Hathaway.....

He went by Stu..... really weird.... His brother Stan was an Angel too.

Yep..... what's more I think if you asked Eppler, he'd say he's less worried about the pick itself and more concerned with the loss of the actual pool money. We have seen them do a really good job of spreading the money around.

I'm more concerned with how his seemingly chasing hrs brought his overall performance down.... and how or if that will carry over. You're not listening to what I'm actually saying, you're seemingly so caught up in the actual HR tally itself you're ignoring the why or how it may have impacted other parts of his offense. We are looking at things. Not a right or wrong type of thing. If you've read what 've said... I'm unsure how to read his performance other than the concern for the ugly rates

I've said it before..... I'm decidedly against Moustakas at what I think the asking price will be, but until we have any real indication what he wants or what the market will bring my stance is admittedly premature. The dude is a decent bet to outperform guys who will be signed for less... I think he's a risk, I think there are warts there ... but if they can get him for 3/40 plus an option he likely delivers on it.

This is fair. I think a more accurate statement to be made is that the current focus is better for us than the previous one. It remains to be seen whether the issue was poor scouting or a bad draft strategy... I dont believe the scouts or Ric Wilson were bad, I think they were looking at the wrong things and chasing different types of players as a result.

The point isn't that Hrs were up for everyone, the point is there is a reason why they were up and the hrs are the only reason some people believe he's anything special. 20, 12, 15, 22, - 38. The 38 HRs happened... but it's hard to believe it's a new level of performance and minus that hes a mediocre bat. Those ugly rates are just as real as the 38 hrs but they aren't the anomaly.... The HRs are.

There seem to be two camps. Those that are putting a high value on his HR totals and those that are putting greater weight in the predictive stats. The HR totals last year were highly influenced by what even MLB had admitted were juiced baseballs -- people are seemingly glossing over what really is a pretty significant "issue". At the same time, we have no clue of MLB is going to switch back to the previous balls or try to milk the HRs in some attempt to win over disgruntled NFL fans.. Meanwhile the argument against what the predictive stats are pointing towards is that maybe players knew and he went up there trying to hit HRs thus impacting those other other predictive numbers -- we really don't have any clue and it's not something that people should dismiss either.. What I do know.... normally, a career worst walk rate and a spike in K rate are not things you want to invest in --- there is some ugly there. He is IMO one of the harder guys to peg. His having been hurt the previous year after a very good 2015 season only makes him harder to predict. Until we hear actual numbers from him or the marketplace as to what he might get, we have no idea how big a risk or possible value he might be.

He is clearly keeping us on our toes....

Or .... BaseballMom?

I commented on this too recently -- I think that second opt out was put in by the Cubs to safeguard against him having a good half season and bolting -- he's had his share of injuries... another one of those speed power types that seem to break down...

If they could get him for 3 years 40 mil plus an option year to sweeten it for him -- that's not a bad deal. And I've been banging the no Moustakas drum pretty much since day one.

Gold... Pure Gold...

23 walks.. 142 Ks.... Jerry Dipoto, entered Seattle talking about obtaining pitchers and hitters that "control the zone".... Still saying one thing, doing another. Dude is such a fake.