Angelsjunky

I agree. At least 2 out of 3, but very possibly a sweep. This team is going to make things interesting over the next few weeks and, at the least I think, prevent a big sell-off. Whether or not it prompts Dipoto to go hard after a Cliff Lee remains to be seen, although I think that unlikely.

Ocho, interesting thought about Pittsburgh Bonds - I hadn't thought of that. As for batting order, it really doesn't matter all that much, although I'm a bit surprised to hear adherence to the old "RBI opportunities" argument. That said, I would prefer #2 then #1 then #3.

I'm feeling hopeful. Hold me.

Omar Infante belongs on the Angels.

Mark Trumbo: Master of the high fly out.

Good enough.

Moment of truth. If Hamilton... K: God's existence is questionable GIDP: There is no God GITP: God hates Hamilton

Trout is amazing. Just amazing.

Howie would have tried to turn that into a double

Sweet. Just think, there are furious Tigers fans saying "Miggy sucks" right now. Just puts things in context.

Dochalo, I think the point is that the decision doesn't need to be made now, on June 27, but sometime in the next few weeks. I think the ASB is one benchmark, but I wouldn't make it artificial and say "if we're not .500 by the ASB then we sell." That would be like saying "if we go 12-3, buy, if 11-4 sell." Its more a matter of what the trajectory is. That said, I'd be looking at a rough benchmark of needing to win two-thirds of the games leading up to the ASB, which would be 10-5 or 45-48 total. That puts them within range. 9-6 puts them at 44-49, which is still worth seeing how they start after the break, but 8-7, or 43-50, seems like not quite enough.

Talk about a misleading headline. Here's the actual quote: “When will there be an honest conversation about the poverty, racism and inequality that hinders the delivery of a quality education product in our school system?” Lewis also asked in the speech. “When will we address the fact that rich, white people think they know what’s in the best interest of children of African Americans and Latinos—no matter what the parent’s income or education level.” I'd say the "race baiting" comes from The Daily Caller, not Karen Lewis. And I for one don't think she's wrong.

I say we should have our first Angelswin gay marriage. I'm a Church of Life minister and can officiate. Glen and Adam? Seriously though, I very much agree with Glen here. Separate the two issues; as long as marriage has legal ramifications then gay marriage is a civil rights issue, and taking a stand against gay marriage is being against equal rights for gays. Now if you want to argue that marriage should be solely religious and have no legal ramifications, fine. But that should apply to everyone, not just gay people. So first we get everyone on the same playing field and then we can talk about what legal elements marriage should and should not have.

I really don't want to see Bourjos traded. To me he is by far the Angels' second most exciting player, and also my favorite after Trout. He brings so much to the game and is just a pleasure to watch.

What value does Hanson actually have? The guy's a back-end starter at this point.

I've been a big fan of Calhoun from early on and think he's still a bit underrated, with a chance of being a solidly above average major leaguer, even a borderline star. I see his best-case scenario being something like .290/.850 with 20 HR; the Choo comp is good, or as I said sometime ago "Baby Brian Giles." Plus, I think it would be a bad move because his trade value isn't as high as he's worth, at least not until he actually succeeds in the majors. At 25 years old in a hitter's park his numbers at Salt Lake will be suspect. I'd rather see him become the 4th outfielder, and if he does well then they can trade Trumbo, who has higher value.

I'm thinking his upside is Bobby Witt or maybe Bobby Jenks if he returns to the bullpen. He might have some good years and even a substantial career, but he'll be erratic, walk a ton of batters, and overall be no more than average.

Cowart, Lindsey, Grichuk, and Maronde for A-Rod.

Seems like a trade of non-entities. The only thing interesting about this at all is what it could entail, in particular for Kole Calhoun. And even that might have no real impact.

I maintain my view that the team will get hot for an extended period of time at some point, but it will be too little, (far) too late. I expect 80-85 wins. The question is whether they get hot before or after the deadline. If it is before than Dipoto might be tempted to bring in another starter through trade. If after, a few parts might have been sold off.

Clown quote, bro.

Jeremy Giambi was actually a pretty good hitter - he had a career line of .263/.377/.430. I don't know why he retired when he did at age 28. Signing Josh Hamilton was like signing Vernon Wells c. 2006 and getting Vernon Wells c. 2011.

LOL at "respected." Anyhow, I hear what you are saying and agree that it was a bad on-the-field investment. If I could take it back I would, and despite what he says I imagine Arte would feel the same. All I was trying to do was point out that Pujols' value--as an all-time great Latino player in a heavily Latino market--goes beyond his stat sheet. I agree with you, Brandon, at least about the first part, but I also think there's a place for venting. We all love this team and it gets frustrating. Not to mention that I personally enjoy a good ole' fit of Angel Oracle apoplexy; it actually softens the losses a bit (AO, you've got to get on your game...you seem to be mellowing out). Out of curiosity, Chuck, how does the activity level of this site compare to other Angels sites? I assume this is the most active dedicated Angels forum on the web? I'm happy hear so have never checked around...I'm faithful to you, Chuck Hmm...I think this is half-true. As Lifetime said, it was more that Steinbrenner got out of the way. But I think you and Lifetime are both pointing to the same thing, that the Angels would probably be better off if Arte left baseball operations to Dipoto. Nice post. It made me wonder: is it possible to run a baseball franchise and be successful financially completely aside from how many games the team wins? Or rather, is there a point in which the team is good enough to be in the discussion and keep fans interested, and thus the business side is taken care of? I agree, nice list. But you continue to take all pressure off Arte and Jerry. They built this team, Chuck. I agree with what you're saying but think it needs to be balanced by Arte and Jerry taking responsibility for what have turned out to be many bad moves. As I said early on with my infamous "Dipoto Grade Card"--which has turned out to be more accurate than I thought, unfortunately--the proof is in the pudding. Sure, hindsight is 20-20 but its Jerry's job to be able to project these eventualities. I'm not will to write this off to superstition. This team was poorly constructed - heavy on aging (former) superstars, mediocre starters, and erratic relievers. Dipoto's various gambles didn't pan out, for the most part. Even his trading crown jewel which we all lauded him for, Frieri, has turned into not much more than a Fernando Rodney/Brian Fuentes type pitcher. At some point we have to look at what is rather than what should have been. That said, I want to see how Dipoto responds. If I'm Arte I see how Dipoto rights the ship; if this team is in contention next year, heading towards 90+ wins, then Dipoto deserves to keep his job. If not, he's done.

Discuss. I'm concerned. Jered this year looks similar to Haren last year. I don't know what happened to his velocity but unless he gains it back he's a #3-4 starter at best.

I like the fact that he has the long range plan in mind, thus his comments to Hamilton. Now whether or not Hamilton figures it out and earns a significant portion of his contract remains to be seen, but I think Arte's point is that Hamilton is only 10% into his contract (half a year of five years), so he's not going to judge that a complete waste...yet. I also think Arte's comments about Pujols are a good reminder that with Albert he's not just, or even primarily, paying for stats on a page. He's paying to have a living baseball legend play in an Angels uniform. Albert Pujols is one of the two dozen or so greatest hitters in baseball history, and one of the three or four greatest first basemen, so his value goes beyond his WAR. If we keep that in mind, as long as he's producing at a pretty good clip he's "worth" the money.