Inside Pitch

Right -- so he's proven to be bad while Cowart hasn't had the at bats to prove anything yet....

Jesus Christ -- Philly is harder on it's athletes than NY or Boston.. I went to a Father son baseball game in Philly once where the fans actually booed the player's kids... They are a seriously ruthless crowd... The press might be louder in NY and Boston, but I dont think they are any more ruthless or cutting than Philly.

I remember after that draft a few of us were doing the usual post draft digging up of facts on guys and were really excited about Ryan Vega.... Someone had asked we we seemed geeked, because there wasnt much about him and he was coming from a JC.... I think it was Eaterfan and me who were just so happy to see us taking someone who was more projection and upside than certainty... Vega had been a JC All-American or something like that after his first year... he was relatively unknown but he was young and projectable... and in some ways a nod to the international market having been a product of the Beltran Baseball school in PR.... basically everything the typical JD draftee wasn't. He may never amount to anything but we were just so happy to see them take a risk for a change... Now we have like 10 guys we can dream on... It's nice to not have to pin all our hopes on one guy.

I know I likely sound like a broken record but.. it sure is nice having a farm system again.....

I meant more the level of frustration -- you're the best at getting fed up and going boom

I rather enjoyed the rant -- short, to the point... I'm reaching that same point of frustration. They may be keeping him in AAA in case they are thinking of being buyers and view him as a potential chip, but whatever... Just call him up and roll the dice.

LOL, it's like AO hacked into Chuck's account... BTW, I totally agree.

Nah -- its cool -- but check out that site, it's pretty bad ass. For instance the Angels have a payroll close to 175 mil but only 87 mil of it is on the active roster because of injuries and the sort. That 87 mil would rank 29th tied with the Padres in overall payroll dollars. Also, the Padres are just very poorly run. They have a shit ton of money going to other teams for their past mistakes... it's awful. Meanwhile in Detroit - they have been remarkably healthy -- they have 173 million in active payroll on their 25 man and yet they are 42-49.... So, basically -- Detroit is just bad

The Marlins offered more money, the Angels offered the no trade.. But AP actually left money on the table to join the Angels - so did CJ Wilson. Here is a link to an excellent payroll site -- it shows the retained (the dead money you are talking about) and a great breakdown of how much payroll is on the DL etc etc. If you click on the individual teams youll see it shows draft bonuses for recent draftees and minor league salaries... http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/ Seriously -- a great site.

I don't view Kendrick, Kinsler or Walker as being equal to Espinosa. If they trade for Gordon then they traded for Gordon -- I won't rant and rave about it but I don't view him as anything other than a "meh". I just don't expect a guy who's put up a 82 OPS+ post PED to switch leagues and not see a drop off.

I can't get on board with the whole -- "we have made dumber decisions in the past so we can make another one and be okay" line of thinking -- I know that's not exactly what you're saying but, making a deal thinking you might have to make another deal later to correct it isn't my thing. There are likely cheaper band-aids available in FA, in fact, I'd rather pay more on a one year deal than hope Gordon's game will carry over to the AL and AL West. Would people be cool with a .275/.315/.375 batting line at the top of the order? Because that's what Aybar was as an Angel. Gordon BTW is sporting a career .273/.306/.373 batting line over 398 PAs in inter-league... So if those inter-league numbers were to carry over this team would have committed an average of 13 mil for Erick Aybar offense at the TOP of the order...

FA. I want no part of trading for Gordon or anyone now, I'd much prefer to see what Cowart can do given everyday at bats than trade for a 2B. Keep in mind, I've said since before the season started that I saw this as a throwaway season. I'm hoping they are able to trade off players - I would welcome a late season swoon and another top 10 draft pick but I doubt that actually happens, particularly if all the injured pitchers come back. Mostly, I want them working on a plan for 2018 and beyond -- they will finally have some financial flexibility this winter, I'd like to see what Eppler does with it assuming Arte hasn't turned prick and was just genuinely toeing the luxury tax.

Kendrick will be available -- Kinsler may be if the Tigers don't bite on the option year.. Brandon Phillips is a FA I believe -- he turns 100 but still. Pretty much every available guy has some sort of negative ... Im all for going after the guy with the fewest negatives.

That's not likely a possibility is it? I'm not a fan of his for the same reasons I was not a fan of Revere -- their entire games are driven by batting average. He's not awful, just not the type of player I typically like and neither one of them belongs anywhere near the top of the order which is where I think most people here believe he fits. I'd sooner kick the tires on a guy like Walker than commit to Gordon's contract.

Killer showing? The guy put up 1.6 WHIP. He was walking 7.3 batters per 9... Not surprisingly he's got an ERA of infinity. How he managed an ERA of 2.50 while allowing almost two baserunners per inning is miraculous.

Figgins unlike Gordon knew how to milk walks and tended to stay healthy without the use of PED -- his highest salary as an Angel was 5.5 mil too. There are a lot of warts that people are glossing over with Gordon, but whatever... Now that the conversation is turning into stats are bad they don't support my opinions I've lost all interest in the discussion. Name recognition ... that's what really matters.

In before Clod says he will pick his walk up song based on what will make the most sense for him and his family.

First, I get you're not making a hard argument for him, so, my opposite point of view is just for the sake of discussion, devil's advocate type of thing. You're right the final year is an option, but it's an option that's automatic based on plate appeances... He's far from a lock to get them given his tendency to break down but its just 600 PAs so, you get my point. As far as what he's proven capable of.. he's put up a bWAR over 2.4 once in his career -- and then promptly got popped for PEDs To date he's managed 8.8 bWAR through his age 29 season. Seems like a stretch to expect him to be able to put together 9-12 bWAR from age 30-32, particularly given the aging profiles of speed first guys and considering he would be moving from the NL to the AL. Not impossible -- just unlikely if we base it on his history. I agree it's not a crushing contract, I just don't see a legit leadoff hitter there, and I worry about guys who's entire game is based on their wheels. Particularly guys who have a pretty sketch injury history and a PED suspension. Lastly, I agree it would be nice to have even a league average 2B again.

It's borderline -- you're talking about 4 years and 50 mil after this season. If his offense fails to translate from NL to AL it's got some stink to it. Not a crushing contract but, one that would linger around til 2021.

I hope it's not Gordon, he's got some warts -- he's fast but doesn't get on base at the sort of clip you'd like to see from a leadoff type -- I don't see him as a cornerstone type player by any stretch and if his offense fails to translate from NL to AL (his career OBP of .305 in interleague is troubling), then they have saddled themselves with another long term contract. I guess it comes down to the costs involved. But speed doesn't age well historically and Gordon's entire game is about speed. Among the pending FA's, Neil Walker and Howie Kendrick might make decent stopgaps -- but Howie's been struggling with injuries all season so -- red flag.... Ultimately, I want to see Cowart be given regular at bats for a few months. It seems they know what he is and don't see a future but I'd hope before they committed to anyone Gordon, Walker, etc etc -- that they at least take every possible look at what they have.

Who exactly has done that? If Moustakas is the answer... then the Angels need to be asking smarter questions..

So -- it's not that he's potentially good.. it's that the competition sucks.. right? (poking fun at his critics not you)

The grass is always greener... Totally agree with you that his numbers this year will drive his price up -- but even that isn't the problem.... He's just not that good other than bringing some power. Moustakas has a career OPS+ of 95, prior to this season it was 92 His three most recent years before this juiced baseball season he was a 100 OPS+ hitter. The dude owns a career .303 OBP and been hot and cold his entire career -- he's not a cornerstone play by any stretch and would bring credence to the old line about the only thing wrong with FA is the "high price of mediocrity". Anyway just for giggles.... Dallas McPherson put up an 96 OPS+ as a member of the Angels. Maicer Izturis put up a 102 OPS+ as the primary 3B in Anaheim with an OBP of .364 Chone Figgins first year at 3B he put up a 117 OPS+ and in his three years as the 3B he managed to put up 13.3 bWAR and sported a career OBP of .363 as an Angel. Moustakas has 11.0 bWAR in his entire career. Alberto Callaspo's four years in Anaheim mostly as 3B he managed a 96 OPS+ and an OBP of .335 David Freese's two years in Anaheim he put up an 106 OPS+ and an OBP of .322 Yunel Escobar's two years in Anaheim he's also put up an 106 OPS+ and an OBP of .351 There is no question the Angels will need a 3B soon, but for the love of all things baseball, let's not start building Moustakas into something he isn't and no he wouldn't be the best 3B they have had since Glaus, not even close. The negatives attached to this guy are IMO big enough where the power is marginalized. Really, it's kind of ugly.... he's had all of one full season where he's managed a league average OBP before this one. He hasn't hit for shit in any of the AL West parks in his career save for Texas. He's basically CJ Cron, the 3B version... He's going to milk this season for a big paycheck -- a bigger paycheck than he's actually worth.

The Angels IMO earned their rankings.. They drafted poorly, they shuttered themselves from the international market and wortst of all IMO they failed to take advantage of the loopholes as they pertained to Cuban players in particular. They just didn't have the number of lottery ticket types and players teams could wish on that other clubs had.. What the Angels do deserve credit for at least through the Reagins years is developing players... When they did get a guy that showed some glimpses of talent they tended to convert them into players - that's where they were extremely underrated IMO and the exact opposite of what was going on in Seattle and other teams. There were some teams that drafted really really well only to see those players hit a wall or fail to develop. I think a lot of that success was because players where groomed to play a certain way and the transition from minors to majors was pretty seamless -- something that was clearly not the case under the previous regime and seems to have been addressed under Eppler. Tracking the farm is fun again...

I was talking position players..... I should have said that, my bad. Weaver was definitely someone that was worth getting excited about -- not sure I ever saw him a pure upside type, but he was as sure a bet as we had drafted when it came to pitchers. Frankie on the other-hand was exactly the sort of high upside type I was thinking of when talking about Adell.