Shohei Ohtani is Baseball Digest’s Player of the Year. I guess he’s pretty good. MVP incoming! Meanwhile, vote for Shohei Ohtani to win the Hank Aaron Award. Voting ends October 15 at 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time.
Other Angels Links
The Angels got a new pitcher in the system but this guy is still pretty far from the show.
We have a new Assistant Director of Player Development. At the moment, I’m not sure what to make of this.
All right everyone. Would you trade a package of Angels (mostly pitching) prospects to Colorado for Kyle Freeland, who is basically a back end starter?
General Links
The Mets are looking for a new President of Baseball Operations. I wonder what will be wrong with their hire this time.
The Cubs will hire Carter Hawkins, formerly with Cleveland, as their new General Manager.
These are all the managerial rumors currently outstanding. I don’t see anything about Mike Scioscia or Brad Ausmus.
Andrew Heaney elected free agency instead of accepting his outright assignment from the Yankees. He probably needs to go to a nice spacious ballpark instead of a bandbox. I doubt if that latter statement is news to anybody around here.
Yesterday was opening day for the Arizona Fall League. The championship game will be November 20, 2021.
Could Craig Kimbrel end up being a cheaper alternative than Raisel Iglesias?
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
The Cardinals aren’t bring Shildt back to manage? Wild
It would seem he’s Shildt out of luck
Shildt rolls down hill……….
That’s crazy in my opinion. That team overachieved and almost knocked the Dodgers out.
That’s BullShild!
Yeah, I mean, he’s done very well in a tough division with some pretty cobbled together pitching. Maybe it’s a personality thing?
It’s really sad that my first thought is “What did he say in an old social media post, or do to a cheerleader?” when I see a guy with his track record let go.
Hire Mike for the front office. Hold him like they did with “Big Brain Brad”, fire Joe after next year…….Easy as Shildt on a shingle.
https://sports.yahoo.com/cardinals-fire-mike-shildt-despite-second-half-surge-to-win-a-wild-card-spot-184618259.html
Was hoping he was a scout……never mind
Don’t care about field skippers.
So, basically, you don’t actually follow baseball.
See the Moneyball movie ( Art Howe )
We and the Phillies chose to pay a lot of money to a field skipper and were both out of the playoffs.. How about Arte do the opposite and hire a guy like Theo Epstein for $7M and a good farm system director for $1M?
You thought the Cardinals manager was a scout.
Do you think that paying (or even overpaying) the manager makes a difference in winning? Should we just not have a manager, or maybe you want Swanson as manager and hire some random guy as a scout. Would that make you happy?
I think he’s just saying he doesn’t care about hiring a manager, wants a new “brilliant” GM and some scouts. I too want some scouts.
I don’t follow the Cardinals that much.
I don’t care about the field skipper that much because MLB has changed in the last 15 yrs. You of all people should know that we don’t need managers who were like the late Tommy Lasorda and Sparky Anderson making a lot of money anymore. GM’s and farm systems decide your season now days. Dave Roberts only makes $1M a year while Maddon makes $4M and both have one WS. Roberts has won 3 pennants to Maddon’s two and could very well win his 4th. Yes give us back Big Brain Brad!!!! 💪
What year was that Moneyball movie season supposed to be in?
2002…………..maybe 2002 is Brad Pitt?
A movie in which they also fire the scout.
Yes. It was in 2002. The year the A’s had that twenty game win streak. And also the year the Angels won the World Series by the way…
So we were not “out of the playoffs” then.
Only one small market team has won a WS since the 1991 Twins ( 2015 Royals ). BTW the Rays just got beat by the RS. 92 game winning team beats 100 game winning team.
$185M beats $70M……..again. So I guess Billy Beane sucks again or teams like his ( I think the Dodgers will probably beat the Giants, albeit I sure hope they lose ). Braves also just beat the lower budget Brewers too. Seeing a pattern here?
TEAMS THAT HAVE DEEPER POCKETS WIN IN MLB. this isn’t the NFL where you have the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers……why do think there’s always some surprising big name stars who get cut the week before the season starts I don’t see that happening in MLB or the NBA……
If you hate Billy Beane just because he’s very successful in Oakland and they always usually kick our ass then I understand that…
I don’t hate him.
I just think he’s overrated. By people like you.
Dude you’re a rambler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGBQerkvWs
for you……..when are your ridiculously wrong predictions ever gonna pan out?
Still know nuttin about anything. Maybe SB Nation has a blog about 1990’s sitcoms for you. 💩
This is his manager…
Watch the Padres grab him.
This is the fit I was thinking.
I’m surprised by that too but I read he did not share the vision in the direction of the team with upper management.
Signed for $75K as a 16yr old in 2009 by the Red Sox. Didn’t realize $75K was such a exorbitant amount of money to a billionaire. 😠 😠 😭
Wait. That’s not a Red Sox hat. Also…
I guess billboard signage doesn’t pay as much I thought
That’s OK we can just wait and have him in 5 yrs when he’s had TJS and on his 4th team at age 34 with a WHIP of 1.6 or above
My bad dammit!!! 😭 💪
I
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Where the hell eat this will year?
You always remind me of when a drunk ex-girlfriend walks up to you in a bar wanting to “talk” and just lush mouths a bunch of random “promblems and ish shoes” at you over and over again that you don’t care about.
2002 – best I can figure, your argument (which you repeat incessantly) is that every good player on other teams should have been scouted and drafted and/or signed as a free agent by the Angels. Anyone who is good and less expensive should be an Angel.
If that is indeed your argument, I think it’s an oversimplification and lacks nuance. Players succeed for all kinds of reasons. The dimensions of the ballpark may suit their game. They may feel comfortable with the coaching staff. Their family could be healthy and happy where they are living. There are a multitude of examples of players failing in one location and succeeding in another.
Also – baseball is the type of game which leads to career years which, while impressive, are usually not predictive.
Given these things, your visual and emoji filled posts come across as repetitive, hindsight driven, oversimplified whining.
On the other hand, wouldn’t it be great if, through sheer repetitive complaining, the Angels actually did sign and draft all those guys? That would rule.
Oh yeah. I’m sure the front office is reading and taking 2002 into consideration.
I do like magic thinking though. 😎
As I said before a few days ago, I could care less about the fact that other teams passed on numerous players. Our margin of error is way thinner than a lot of other teams including numerous teams with better scouting and player development and lesser operating budgets.. We have to fire and purge many bad baseball scouts. ( Matt Swanson ).
No. Keep Matt Swanson for his noble Roman nose and the fact that he makes me think of Mary Swanson who was a hottie.
But Kristy Swanson was a vampire slayer
Plus I loved his Hungry man TV dinners
Ugh……
TV dinners suck, canned dog food probably tastes just as good.
But we should still totally keep Matt Swanson. He rules.
And You know this, 2002 because you’ve never had a TV dinner?
It seems to me you are adding 50+25 and arriving at the answer ‘apples’.
If your point to all these posts is that the Halos need better scouting and player development – you will not hear any argument from me. I believe the entire scouting and development departments need to be reworked and strengthened for sure.
But it really seems like your point that you are continually trying to make is that every player that has a successful season somewhere or was a relative value should have been an Angel. That is flawed reasoning and doesn’t take into consideration the imperfect science that is scouting and player evaluation. There is a lot of luck involved when attempting to look into the future based on performances in High school, college or some field in Timbuktu.
Good scouting does not automatically result in the Angels acquiring the players whose pictures you post. As has been pointed out, there are plenty of good scouts on the 29 other teams who passed. So that is a relevant point. Many of the scouts who you implicitly praise by posting pictures of players that they have signed, passed on other players whose pictures you have posted.
The hindsight you employ is not available to major league scouts who look at things like ‘tools’ to try and see into the future. It is pretty much a guessing game that, at best, is probably a 10%-15% success rate. And even if they get it right and a player becomes a top prospect- that often does not translate to success at the Major League level.
Accordingly, you are judging history with the benefit of hindsight and acting as though an imperfect science is a mathematical equation that should have been solved time and time again. Scouting does not work that way.
Not just scouting and evaluation … DEVELOPMENT too.
Oh for sure!
Has anyone in the last 10 years said anything like “The Angel’s scouting and player development is great and I don’t see why it needs to change…”
I think some of the more tool shaped people on this site really think the Angels’ FO has guys looking at our comments and reporting their tirelessly limp and chapped wank to the “powers” they are squeaking truth to.
But really all they do is annoy us…. like that is supposed to do something? I guess? Start some kind of candy assed uprising? I dunno…..
I’m confused, didn’t 29 teams pass on signing this kid?
So what
So did we, your point?
Captain Hindsight, the point is you pollute this environment with mugshots of players not signed or drafted by Arte’s organization that happen to have one or two good seasons. There’s 29 teams that passed on these players, not “just” Arte. If that image is Frank Montas, he passed through the Red Sox, White Sox, and the Dodgers organization since 2009. Montas had a 4.00 ERA in the minors, and has pitched in the 3.80’ish range during his MLB career. We have our version of Montas on roster with Cobb, Mayers and Junk.
If you want to use Montas to prove how stupid Arte and 28 other owners are, please post your sage wisdom on every freakin’ MLB blog site that exists. Feel the love in response.
Why are you talking about a guy with an A’s hat on being signed 11 years ago by the Red Sox? If you can suss out why this is a question, then you will see why so many people think you are a total clown show.
Ahem!
What is your point of existence?
Arte should stop being so cheap and sign any male worldwide under the age of 18 who at one time has put on a baseball uniform, even for a single day, to a $75k contract. No way can this plan backfire.
The opposite of us signing Albert for $30M for 10 yrs
Everybody is mad that he’s older than he says he is.
We signed Albert for 3 million a year?
Now I feel so much better.
We might have just broken even WAR value wise
David Beckham started his professional soccer career at 17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Beckham#:~:text=Beckham's%20professional%20club%20career%20began,UEFA%20Champions%20League%20in%201999.
In the UK no less, not Guatemala, Haiti, or Cameroon. A first world country where there’s running water, gas, electricity, and phone and internet service.
BYE!!! 😆 💪
Sorry, I am confused. Can he pitch?
So we picked up Victor Morin? Maybe Victor could work with Gubi?
Only if he knows what a Great Fucking Song is.
I am not sure I understand the Kimbrel move. Do we want to trade for a 16M closer who had a poor 2021?
I think I would rather pay the QO for Raisel, or hopefully sign him for 3/45. I see no upside to trading for Kimbrel (paying 16M + prospects for a hope at return to form?). Do they think there would be a market for him at that price? Do any top closers make that?
I agree with you on Raisel. I think he will be worth the 3/45. I’m chomping at the bit to get the amount of money to “play” with for next years team.
I also had a trade scenario to ask you all about. Big salery dump for the Padres who I think are seeing a better way to spend money elsewhere. Padres have a decent amount of SP already and they get a young cheap OF to add to a huge area of need. Pomeranz is a sunk cost that the Angels take on. He’s a lottery ticket at this point who may never pitch again. Free’s up cash for SD and Angels get a #2 for cash plus #3 prospect. Trade says its in favor of SD here.
Angels GET42
Drew Pomeranz
-7.5
Blake Snell
9.7
Padres GET13
Jordyn Adams
4.9
Total Value: 2.20
Total Value: 4.90
biggiswrth
So the Padres give up 4 top prospects (2 of which were MLB top 100) and then four-months later do a salary dump of a former Cy Young winner in his prime later for Jordyn Adams?
The trade app you’re using is broken. Padres are not even taking that call.
Agree. Got to be using mywetdream.com as a trade simulator
That would be a Shidtty for the Madres……
What if comes down to whether he thinks the Angels are gonna be any good next year? Raisel’s gonna get paid no matter what or where..
Braves, Giants, Blue Jays, Padres, Phillies, Red Sox..
That is an actual concern. I think a guy might take 3 or 4 million less over the life of his contract to go play for the Braves, for example. A team that can technically afford him, has an open competition window, and can still pay other players (unlike the Rays or Brewers).
But we play in California. With beaches. Everyone wants to play here because millionaires can’t go to beaches for the 5 months they aren’t playing.
Or (hear me out), Raisel likes playing for us, sees the moves Perry is making, thinks playing with two MVPs (Trout and Ohtani) is cool, and signs for a higher salary than he has ever had – with us. That is also possible, right?
Oh yeah. I’m just saying that he has a point. It’s not unthinkable for a guy to decide to target signing with a team that will put him into the post season NOW. It’s a concern, but doesn’t sink us.
If I were a player, playing with Trout (sometimes) and Ohtani, live in Newport, after they traded for you and you just had a great year…………….Meh, I’d consider it.
I understand this trade, and your thinking is right on, use our money to absorb expenses another team wants to get rid of (Pomeranz) as a trade asset. This type of deal could happen, but we’d still have to give up more than just Adams probably. I have been thinking along the same lines, but we’d have to overpay more to pull this off just because the Padres can surely get more strait up for Snell, even at his diminished value.
Wait we have to throw in Biggiswrth? Not sure If I like that trade.
For that kind of money, I think Raisel is a better choice. And no prospects.
or we can just count on Perry’s risky gamble of drafting all those reliever type guys including Sam Bachman and Ky Bush coming through. Eppler did the same thing in the 2018 Draft by drafting 12 pitchers. ( Andrew Wantz…..WTF!!! ) Starting pitchers guarantee you more long term success than bullpen guys. Say hello to 2014 again CTPG!!! 😠 😠 💪 👈
Hurray for bad scouting and GM’s 😆 💪
Have you actually looked at how many of this past drafted arms are starters? It doesn’t sound like it. Even Bachman…. just because one scout said on draft day that he could serve as an MLB reliever RIGHT NOW doesn’t mean they won’t or can’t develop him as a starter, which is what they said they’d do.
PTP took some college closers in the draft, which I think was smart, but it’s the lazy man’s version of things to say that this was a draft full of relievers. Especially since, when you talk about 20 new pitchers, there’s a good chance things will shift. If it turns out one of those closers can learn a change up in A ball then he suddenly becomes a starter prospect. If the kid we got from LSU turns out to only have two useful pitches, he’s a reliever. If all of their arms snap off next year, they are true Angels.
But hell, even if the Angels get a very effective 6 man bullpen out of last year’s draft it was a win. While I hope they take some catchers and maybe a talented bat next draft, I say draft moar pidchars this year too. We are set at several positions for the time being as it is.
I bet that girl above knows a thing or two about making bad decisions. Is that the girl in the bar you were referring to? 😆
We’re just gonna have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the 20 pitchers strategy pans out. Need to get a least one good starter out of that.
No more Packy Naughton type guys PLZ!!! 😠
What strategy are you proposing instead? What is your actual critique – or is it just pessimism that anything Angels will ever work?
I think that is a dude.
While the draft isn’t full of relievers, there’s definitely a crop of near-immediate relievers in the class.
Luke Murphy was a closer at Vanderbilt. He’s already in AA. He was drafted to be a bullpen stud ASAP.
Jake Smith spent more time in Miami’s bullpen than in the rotation.
Andrew Peters was the stud in South Carolina’s bullpen.
Ryan Costieu was the stud in Arkansas’ bullpen.
Those are four guys who were closers in the two toughest conferences in the NCAA. Considering the teams immediate needs I’d imagine they are ticketed for the Angels bullpen ASAP.
We all know they won’t all make it but if two do and we add them to Warren with C-Rod as a multi inning guy, we have the makings of a legitimate, homegrown bullpen.
Yep. If I were Perry, and I were smart (which is apparently impossible) and I were planning to re-sign Iglesias when I traded for him, I’d draft a stable of near MLB closers from the SEC to quickly fill the pen at a low cost and mitigate what I have to pay Raisel so I have a solid pen with a shut down closer at the same or less cost than an average pen.
But that’s just what I would do, or Perry would do, starting way back when I traded for Raisel, if I were smart, which neither of us are, so that’s probably not what’s happening.
But 4 out of 20 pitchers being obviously intended for the pen isn’t “drafting mostly bullpen arms”.
Are you calling Capt. Hindsight lazy in his thoughts on the Halos roster? Because if so, carry on…
I said – signing Raisel is better than trading for Kimbrel.
I said nothing against (or for) signing a SP (which I have elsewhere said we absolutely need to do).
I have no idea what you are upset about. Did you not want Perry (or even Eppler) to sign pitching? Do you think (magically) that someone can predict how every college (or high school) pitcher will play out?
Poor 2021?
Well, the second half. He had an ERA of 5+ after moving across town. Is that worth 16M? – there is a reason they want to trade him (per the link).
If we’re going to randomly choose halves to believe in, I would rather the one where he was a closer, the role he’s been in his entire career.
Ok, but there is a trend line and a recency aspect.
For my money, I would stick with the guy who has been consistent, than the guy one has to count on returning to form (especially if the latter also cost prospects and not ‘just’ cash).
I think trends over 20-some innings are silly
Ok. But, he is a reliever, and the 28 innings for the White Sox was half a season. (He pitched just shy of 60 innings all season)
For the overall year Kimbrel’s ERA+, his FIP, and his WHIP were all slightly better than Raisel Iglesias. I think they are an interesting comparison. He obviously did not flourish with the White Sox.
Raisel, on the other hand, flourished in his time with the Angels and pitched a few more innings so this might be a case of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
And maybe he gets slightly more money. I would still rather just pay Raisel than trade for Kimbrel.
Agreed.
Well yes, if they were equal. However, Kimbrel would only be on a one-year deal. Depends on the prospect.
Second, probably deviating from my original point too much, which we’ve addressed as best we can
why not? he makes $16M a yr right now and we need a SS.
Big on intangibles ( he makes routine plays, has HR power, former UCLA Bruin, a Doyer killer 💪 💪 , and besides we need sweaty long hair guys who look like WWE wrestlers!! )
Sighhhh. Here.
Even if he still were available, I don’t want to spend 16M on a SS. WE NEED PITCHING!
teams that make the PO’s have good SS’s
Carlos Correa, Wander Franco,Tim Anderson, Xander Boegarts, Willy Adames, Dansby Swanson, Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Edmundo Sosa, The Giant’s guy, all made the playoffs. Sorry MT and the rest of CTPG, but SS is too important to cut corners on.
Got it. Draft only all the good players. Also sign all the guys who sucked but are now going to be good but no one knows they will be good yet. Also sign several starting pitchers, a bullpen, a closer, and a premiere short stop. Oh, and hire the Giants POB. Also a brilliant GM from an IV League school. Also, sign all new scouts and a new ops dept. Also, all knew MiLB people. And international scouting n dev guys. And a new training med staff.
Is that it? Did we get it all?
Can I just add in having Georgia Salpa be our new sideline reporter just for the hell of it?
Only 2 of the guys you mention make 16M (Bogaerts, Turner). You can add Crawford (if you remember his name), and Semien (he is ok, right?) or Lindor (if you think he is still good). None of the others. It is possible (by your list) to have a top SS for less than 16M – and that is why I would suggest.
You do acknowledge there is only so much money to go around, right?
I choose to look at the Ferreira hiring as a positive. The Cards have one of the best track records for developing players. The Angels minor league system is now filled with young arms. What I am hoping is this represents an acknowledgment by Arte that building a Baseball Organization is mission critical and that baseball people are being hired to fill those roles.
This also might be a nod to the Angels minor league nutrition issue that came to the forefront during this season.
Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign that Perry is having some influence and has identified major weaknesses in the Organization that are now being addressed.
I would like to see more hirings in the fields of scouting,international scouting, player development, analytics and strength and conditioning to feel even better about this. Ideally I would also like to see a President of Baseball Operations be hired to feel confident that marketing is no longer the main focus of the team.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step and this is a decent step in the right direction.
Yup yup. I could give a shit about “acknowledgment”. And the bogey man of “marketing” is a stupid concern that we just sort of invented here since pretty much all teams that can afford stars pay for stars. I even laugh at the “Angels starving minor leaguer” meme as though the bottom rung of other teams prospect lists are being fed science diets for free and being housed in the Hilton while Covid bans host families by their teams.
But all the pearl clutching bullshit aside, our system is weak, and there is no substitute for just plain hiring better people to run it. So we’ll all see if the team’s addressing the issue via new hires. This guy Ferreia’s a good start. Let’s hope for a few more.
But let’s keep Matt Swanson just to f*** with 2002. Hire 100 scouts and let ol’ Matt be their travel agent, but keep Swanson in the fold.
Another issue on my mind…. MLB scouting. Would having better pro-scouts help us avoid signing the WRONG free agent splashes? Help us find more Charlie Mortons? Can we get some more of that too? Cause it’s not as simple as “this guy is over 30… he are a bads signing.”
Keep your douche bag friends in the exec suites if you want Arte, I don’t care, just acknowledge the teams issues by hiring us a big ol’ pile of brains, hopefully from teams with a good track record.
Bad farm system directors can injure a team for a long time.
Ask Ric and Matt!! 😭 💩 😠
Hopefully Perry told him to go on vacation in Fiji back in June.
When I see a picture of Matt Swanson all I can see is a mighty freight train barreling down the tracks on it’s way to golden mountains of baseball glory. He’s pretty much the best ever and does a great job of adding pizazz to a gray tie to boot.
Ray Fosse passed away yesterday. He is perhaps best known for being on the receiving end of a brutal home plate collision with Pete Rose at the 1970 All-Star Game.
The Angels connection there is that Halo All-Star Clyde Wright was the pitcher on the mound at the start of that infamous play.
Wright had a tremendous first half that year. He went 12-6 with a 2.86 ERA and had thrown the first no-hitter at the Big A eleven days before the ASG (the no-hitter was against the A’s who had a decent line-up for that game: Bert Campaneris, Felipe Alou, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Tommy Davis, and Joe Rudi were batters 1-6. Tony La Russa even got one AB as a pinch hitter).
Wright came into the ASG in the 11th inning with the game tied 4-4. Wright retired all three batters he faced that inning, including getting Joe Morgan to ground out.
In the 12th inning, Wright retired the first two batters he faced, Joe Torre and Roberto Clemente, but then he gave up a single to Rose, a single to LAD Billy Grabarkewitz, and then the single to CHC outfielder Jim Hickman that scored Rose from second base and ended the game.
I wonder how much stuff you keep in your mind, since I’ｍ often impressed by your historical references.
Watched this game and I clearly remember that play.