Inside Pitch

Draft pick compensation.

Thats' great -- I would have been fine with a lot of things, but the reality is they didn't take a step back and rebuild, so it's all moot.

It doesn't NOT involve signing them either. It actually involves a little of both, but you're right... the loss of draft picks hurts when a team isn't failing miserably while trying to rebuild. There is more than one way to skin a cat and I hope the Angels management is smart enough to be creative. The Tigers are a good recent example of a team that signed FA's to try to fix themselves, they went from 119 losses in 2003, to 95 wins and a WS appearance in 2006 by spending money and drafting well. Mags and Irod were both signed to big deals post age 30, the Mags deal was met with a ton of criticism after he had been seen as a bust in Chicago -- Kenny Rogers got a three year deal and I believe he was 40. The big advantage they had over the Angels is they were able to sign FAs and not lose picks due to how awful they had been. Detroit lost 96, 106, 119, 90, and 91 games in that five year run that preceded their return to respectability. Wonder how many people would commit to an extended rebuilding cycle.

IMO the Angels have to wait this out and let Dipoto's plan unfold. Problem of course is that you have a lot of fans that want an instant fix and cant keep from stomping their feet because the team hasn't made the playoffs in three years. Had the Angels said they were doing a rebuild and signed/traded these guys instead of promoting them as a team for the ages maybe the uproar wouldnt be so bad. Rebuilding doesn't always mean trading everyone off and spending next to nothing. The last thing I want to see them do now fire Dipoto and go in a completely different direction. Dipoto needs to take his lumps and the criticism like Stoneman did early on. He might even learn how to stand up to Arte if he does.

I don't mind the Puols deal as much as I do the Hamilton deal, one bad contract is something a team with the Angels resources can deal with. AP is more money and longer but I do believe he was more than just a bat. Hamilton? meh. Right now he reminds me of the Gary Gaetti signing. They let Chili Davis go to get Gaetti, only to have the Rat implode while Davis went on being Chili Davis. BTW, I wanted Fielder.

Instead they spent 5 years 125 million on a player they simply didn't need. If not insanity, it sure was foolhardy.

Because two of those guys were hurt when he signed them? Two of them were rehabbing arm surgeries. How is that NOT on him? BTW, I was a pretty loud proponent of signing Carlos Villanueva, he fit the whole FB, pitcher profile JD was looking for only he was working on a three year run where he pitched more innings than hits allowed. He's put up a 2.85 ERA so far, and he signed for two years ten mil total. Honestly my biggest concern when it came to the SPs was Tommy Hanson's health. Vargas has been Vargas, Blanton has been worse than usual. I said Morales was gone in season last year -- Trumbo could fake it at two positions, was under club control, was cheaper. I don't fault JD there, outside of AM32 and the usual kneejerker chorus I don't recall people really bemoaning keeping Trumbo. Getting rid of Wells was a great move. Letting Hunter go was fine until they signed Hamilton to that contract. Hunter at 2 years 26 mil total was a far lesser risk than anything they would have had to pay JH. This team isn't as bad as it's played, it's had a perfect storm of events early on but this is the worst pitching staff we have had since Patt Rapp and Ismael Valdes were donning periwinkle based on potential upside and that's entirely on JD.

LOL.. I love how you state you didn't miss the boat then go about proving you did. Tell you what -- yes, you're right, You got it all figured out. The only thing wrong with this pitching staff is the manager. If Bob Melvin were managing the Angels, Joe Blanton would be the early favorite for AL Cy Young. Ryan Madsen and Sean Burnett would BOTH be 100% and Josh Hamilton's OPS would be eleventy million.

Forgive the length of this -- I figure I'll go on record with my thoughts on MS and everything else so that I avoid some dimwit trying to paint me as a MS apologist or JD hater... I'm not a fan of change for the sake of change, but neither do I believe it's okay to stick with the status quo. I don't think the game has passed Scioscia by, I fully expect him to have success again, but outside looking in he seems detached, and I can't imagine he looks at this team and sees a winner, not in the sense of what he views as a championship caliber club. I don't think he's a good enough actor to fake something he hasn't shown even when the team is doing well, emotion. MS has always been a guy that felt the SP set the tone for the entire game and the team, it's always been said that's one reason he's been so hard on his catchers as he's said he feels it's their job to help the pitchers first and foremost. Regardless of how much they may publicly try to talk it down, I think it's pretty clear there is an even larger disconnect between the manager and the GM, which is fine only I don't think it's a relationship that MS can succeed in. I don't think it's about his being stubborn or too set in his ways, I think he's just a guy that needs to believe in what he's doing and the people he has and its possible that isn't in play here. I can't imagine he was on board with the team going from a guy that was known as a character guy, a player who's every move breathed leadership to one who has needed the teams he's been on to alter their way of operating to keep him from imploding. MS is IMO the worst guy in MLB to ask to coddle and baby a superstar and that's whats been asked of him with Hamilton. Coddle is maybe the wrong word, but I'm sorry, I just can't picture MS having to interact with JH's life coach or give him daily affirmations.. I'm not taking a side, because I believe both MS and JD are quality people who may have BOTH gone too far in one direction with things, but I do believe Dipoto is more apt to learn from his mistakes than MS is at this point. I think there is a level of contempt in play, MS has won, he's done it his way and it's worked while the new guy has just weakened the team's strengths -- I genuinely think that's how MS sees it. JD likely views some of MS's thinking as stringent, even old school. I just don't think these two can work well together, MS likely wants to have greater say that he currently does and for Dipoto to succeed he really can't have any challengers to the vision he has of the teams future. They were forced into a working relationship, MS was never JD's guy and over time, it's possible the situation will worsen. I do worry that JD is being a bit too cavalier in addressing the pitching staff for two years in a row and is possibly guilty of being a bit too experimental with the saber principles but, ownership bought into his vision. Arte allowed him to clean house and gave him free reign to remold this team from the bottom up and cutting him off now would be a mistake. I don't think an in season move makes much sense, this roster is what it is and it's doubtful the guy they bring is would be anything but an interim guy. But, I think it would be foolish for the team to continue to pretend this marriage will work long term, the differences seem to be growing. My biggest concern here is that Mike Scioscia seems more likely to stand up to Arte than Jerry Dipoto, and I'm not sure the Angels can have a spineless GM while Arte is owner. Even if this team were to turn it around and play .600 ball the rest of the year -- the MS/JD tug of war (real or not), will be a constant issue. One way or another the team needs to resolve the situation. There is the real possibility that the Dodgers (or someone else), would be willing to part with something in order to bring in a guy like Scioscia.. Their roster more closely resembles a MS team than ours does, if you're the Angels and you can flip MS into someone that can help your on field roster -- they would be foolish not to do that just because they're afraid they might end up looking stupid. Besides, after the Pujols and Hamilton signings, people already think they are are stupid.

I'd bet that if this team hasn't raised it's level of play while playing the weak sisters of the AL this month that heads will roll.

Your ability to consistently miss the boat is impressive. It wasn't about any ONE guy.. It was about a glaring hole that's existed since he was hired and still hasn't been addressed. His attempt at fixing the pen was to sign two guys rehabbing surgeries. To date they have combined for 8.2 innings. Who other than the guy that put the team together is at fault for that? You might actually want to argue whats been said for a change too.. I'm not advocating firing Dipoto... you seem to have missed where I have said the opposite and argued the team needs to let the situation play itself out.. Unless people are homers with a man-crush, there is no denying this pitching staff is HIS baby and it's success and failure will fall on his shoulders. Burnett, De La Rosa, Frieri, Roth, Enright, Vargas, Hanson, Williams, Wilson, Lowe, and Blanton were all acquired by Dipoto. And since you brought up Rodney, let's pretend his fluke season isn't over and that he's NOT back to being the same Fernando Rodney he's always been... But the guy that let him walk is the guy you seemingly want to absolve of all fault, Jerry Dipoto... you know the guy that tried to trade for Carlos Marmol and his 9.8 million dollar salary.

If only a pitching staff was only three men deep. Greinke was on the roster when the Angels signed Pujols? I missed that. And I guess I imagined the Angels leading the AL in blown saves the season before Pujols was signed. Yep, the pitching was fine, the team had lots of depth and we had lots of able bodied call ups to fill in when Santana and Haren imploded. We didn't trade one of the few promising SP prospects in the system for a RP in May to address a glaring hole, that was all in my head. Definitely need to sign more bats this winter.

Tell you what I find more telling. Mike Scioscia normally makes one of his "I believe this is a Championship caliber" type speeches when the team stumbles out of the gate. I don't remember him doing that this year -- or I missed it when he did. This year, it's almost always been about the team still trying to find itself or something along those lines. I think Dipoto's long term vision for this team is the right course of action, but anyone unwilling to put this roster on him is kidding themselves. Even if we pawn Hamilton and Pujols on Arte, this pen and that rotation are entirely Dipoto.

I'll bite. Other than being JD's beer buddy, what has Brad Ausmus done ANYWHERE to make one believe he would be good manager? Losing in the qualifying round of the WBC to Spain didn't really do much to make me believe he's a future manager. Supposedly he's a great advance scout at the MLB level. Other than that, and his reputation as a great defensive catcher, I'd love to hear what makes him a good pick. BTW, whoever the hell DOES manage this team next -- can they please spend whatever it takes to hire Chili Davis? Been begging for that to happen since Davis hung up his cleats. A's did it and BOOM...

Doesn't make either of us feel any better but, it's not your fault it's a mess in the first place. One of the things that bugged me about not acquiring pitching was the reality that the market isnt any better next year. Ervin and Matt (Mr Glass) Garza may be the best options out there... Paul Maholm maybe too.

Or he got tired of spewing a company line he simply doesn't believe.

So then the argument is Friedman vs Dipoto? Well, you know who the Angel's first choice was right? He wouldn't have ignored the pitching two years in a row.

You missed it, I already argued the Rays are the better bet to contend. You're arguing an imaginary foe. I then responded to your post by comparing the Rays situation this year to that of the Angels last year, when the pitching failed to live up to what was advertised. It was a completely separate thought. I've not ignored any math, I've just simply been able to follow along.

The way this team pitches -- you're being extremely optimistic. I'm not hoping for a crash and burn but I am hoping this team falters enough that it faces reality. There are simply too many weak links on the pitching side to pretend this team will contend. Pray that Blanton, Hanson, and Vargas all pitch well enough that teams on the cusp trade viable talent for them. IMO moving anyone up the middle is likely a mistake as it simply creates a new hole and we already have too many. They are stuck with Hamilton, and they need to protect their investment in AP, so shut him down and get him healthy. Trade Callaspo if you can but really, they don't have the position players to move without further weakening this team. Then actually try to address a weakness next winter instead of fixing what isn't broken.

Arroyo, Nolasco are the Nutri System version of Blanton. If the goal is to rearrange the chairs on the Titanic then yes, acquire those two.

Try looking at the bigger picture.. TB's team ERA ranks 12th in the AL, the Angels are 13th. That staff hasn't come close to being what they were expecting, regardless of the current three game series. Their bullpen has been even uglier than ours despite pitching 40 less innings.

TB is in the same position the Angels were last year. Their pitching staff was supposed to be the strength of their team and instead it's been awful. Much like the Angels their team has thrived on run prevention and strong defense -- it's no shocker to see them struggling the way they are. Maddon like Scioscia can't magically erase bad pitching performances. TB can keep Maddon.... Imagine how much better the Angels would be right now if they had Moore and Alex Cobb

The sad reality is that this pitching staff lacks the anchors it always had in the past. The team goes into a series HOPING to steal a game and survive others. After more than a decade of expecting to win, they are playing like a team that is hoping to catch breaks... and it shows. The aggressiveness is gone because they are all afraid to screw up, the pitching staff that served as a safety net is gone. This team knows it can't rely on it's pitching for anything.

The one with a pitching staff that can make it's own outs and isn't a threat to give up a HR every other inning.

That ones a maybe for me.. Norris started off hot. Richards/Harrell was a push IMO. Wilson was our best bet at a sure thing.