OT: Los Angeles Angels Talk

[Hockey Duckie]

Heaney outpitched Clev last night. Heaney came to us via Dipoto trade, specifically beloved 2B Howie Kendrick. It was time to move on from Kendrick, though.

 

[duxfan1101]

Heaney outpitched Clev last night. Heaney came to us via Dipoto trade, specifically beloved 2B Howie Kendrick. It was time to move on from Kendrick, though.

Didn’t Dipoto trade away Clevinger? Or was that someone else?

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Angels are winning 3-0 vs the Astros with the 4 thru 9 hitters batting .189 or lower and 2 of them are batting .000
Heaney needs to pitch a complete game or 8 IP and let Pena close it out.

 

[ADHB]

Didn’t Dipoto trade away Clevinger? Or was that someone else?

For Vinnie Pestano. A mediocre middle reliever... who had cleared waivers. Granted, Clevinger had some injury issues at the time, but that was a colossal failure to properly evaluate the talent.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Didn’t Dipoto trade away Clevinger? Or was that someone else?

Dipoto did, but no one knew Clevinger would produce like that and Clev wasn't a high end prospect. Here's a snippet from mlb trade rumors reflection: link And here's the trade: link

Clev balling out is like hitting the lottery.

It took Clev a couple seasons to return from TJ surgery. Which is the same path Ohtani may have as well in returning to becoming a pitcher again next year as he struggled this year, his first season back from TJ surgery.

BTW, remember when Dipoto was the GM in Arizona and traded P Dan Haren to the Angels for P Joe Saunders and pitching prospsects Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs? Crazy right?!

 

[Hockey Duckie]

For Vinnie Pestano. A mediocre middle reliever... who had cleared waivers. Granted, Clevinger had some injury issues at the time, but that was a colossal failure to properly evaluate the talent.

I think both teams took a gamble on questionable players. Cleveland and Pestano had soured relations to where Dipoto thought he can still get an MLB player out of Pestano for a lower end prospect that has struggled a bit after TJ surgery. If it weren't for the injury, then Clev wouldn't have been traded. Here's a quote from mlb trade rumors site:

"Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, at a time when it looked as if he could be emerging as Anaheim’s top pitching prospect, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note in their free report."​

There wasn't a colossal failure to properly evaluate talent. Cleveland took a gamble that Clev could bounce back from his TJ surgery. They won bigger than they thought because they really wanted to part ways with Pestano.

 

[duckpuck]

Eppler's biggest change was in his approach to the draft - keeping first round picks and drafting higher ceiling/higher risk players. Dipoto

I think this argument is largely academic. Moreno is the problem. He's saddled his gms with some awful contracts (Pujols and Hamilton) and then, when those blew up, Moreno refused to spend money to fix the problem. Some bad luck along the way (Skaggs/Adenhart) made the pitching problems even worse.

The only way for the angels to get better in the short run is to sign and draft better pitching. Trevor Bauer would be a great start combined with a healthy Ohtani. A rotation of Bauer, Ohtani, Bundy, Heaney and ?? is a good start.

But the reality is that until Pujols' contract is done, they don't have a lot of options unless Moreno opens the piggybank. Upton's contract is almost as bad, but at least they have other young/cheap outfielders they can play instead.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Eppler's biggest change was in his approach to the draft - keeping first round picks and drafting higher ceiling/higher risk players. Dipoto

I think this argument is largely academic. Moreno is the problem. He's saddled his gms with some awful contracts (Pujols and Hamilton) and then, when those blew up, Moreno refused to spend money to fix the problem. Some bad luck along the way (Skaggs/Adenhart) made the pitching problems even worse.

Awww... Adenhart... ::: sighs :::

Moreno prevented the Angels from keeping ace Greinke. Moreno drove out Dipoto and chose Eppler, who fits Moreno's style of hitters first.

Although the Angels have had bad luck, the organization still should be able have depth in their system. That's what I liked about Dipoto. He tried to gave us some pitching MLB depth or close to it to keep the Angels afloat while trying to develop their system. We went away from that under Eppler. Yet Eppler didn't screw up acquiring P Stripling (with OF Pederson and prospect OF Pages). That was all Moreno's self-inflicted wound.

The only way for the angels to get better in the short run is to sign and draft better pitching. Trevor Bauer would be a great start combined with a healthy Ohtani. A rotation of Bauer, Ohtani, Bundy, Heaney and ?? is a good start.

Canning. Don't forget Canning.

But the reality is that until Pujols' contract is done, they don't have a lot of options unless Moreno opens the piggybank. Upton's contract is almost as bad, but at least they have other young/cheap outfielders they can play instead.

The continued development of Heaney and Canning is a great option. Keeping Bundy was also a great option. That's three known quantities right there. Ohtani is still a wild card and I would try not to put too much stock in Ohtani. If he does return, then great for us, but if he doesn't, then at least we had prepared a contingency plan.

This is why Moreno screwing over the organization by scraping the trade with the Dodgers for P Stripling, OF Pederson, and prospect OF Pages for 2B Rengifo and a low end prospect. Stripling could have been a good middle starting pitching rotation.

We do have Adell to dangle for a trade this off-season if the Angels want to grab top-end pitching prospects near MLB level, but we screwed ourselves a bit because we just traded away OF Goodwin.

The Angels do have options, but Moreno needs to remove himself from any baseball operation decisions. It's going to be difficult to find pitchers at the MLB level and we're going to hope another dumpster dive can bring up another Bundy in 2021. It's just cringe-worthy to be gifted a starting MLB pitcher like Stripling because the Dodgers have a superfluous amount of pitching talent. I hope we get some kinda luck like that again this coming off-season. That and some known closers.

yeah... I know... I'm talking too optimistically when it still doesn't look great at all. The Ducks will be in the playoffs before the Angels do. LoL

 

[duckpuck]

Awww... Adenhart... ::: sighs :::

Moreno prevented the Angels from keeping ace Greinke. Moreno drove out Dipoto and chose Eppler, who fits Moreno's style of hitters first.

Although the Angels have had bad luck, the organization still should be able have depth in their system. That's what I liked about Dipoto. He tried to gave us some pitching MLB depth or close to it to keep the Angels afloat while trying to develop their system. We went away from that under Eppler. Yet Eppler didn't screw up acquiring P Stripling (with OF Pederson and prospect OF Pages). That was all Moreno's self-inflicted wound.



Canning. Don't forget Canning.



The continued development of Heaney and Canning is a great option. Keeping Bundy was also a great option. That's three known quantities right there. Ohtani is still a wild card and I would try not to put too much stock in Ohtani. If he does return, then great for us, but if he doesn't, then at least we had prepared a contingency plan.

This is why Moreno screwing over the organization by scraping the trade with the Dodgers for P Stripling, OF Pederson, and prospect OF Pages for 2B Rengifo and a low end prospect. Stripling could have been a good middle starting pitching rotation.

We do have Adell to dangle for a trade this off-season if the Angels want to grab top-end pitching prospects near MLB level, but we screwed ourselves a bit because we just traded away OF Goodwin.

The Angels do have options, but Moreno needs to remove himself from any baseball operation decisions. It's going to be difficult to find pitchers at the MLB level and we're going to hope another dumpster dive can bring up another Bundy in 2021. It's just cringe-worthy to be gifted a starting MLB pitcher like Stripling because the Dodgers have a superfluous amount of pitching talent. I hope we get some kinda luck like that again this coming off-season. That and some known closers.

yeah... I know... I'm talking too optimistically when it still doesn't look great at all. The Ducks will be in the playoffs before the Angels do. LoL

I did forget Canning. And I'm much higher on him than Heaney. I think Heaney's at a point where he is what he is - an inconsistent pitcher who doesn't trust his stuff and will never be more than an average 4/5 starter.

Greinke wanted to pitch in the NL. I don't blame Moreno for that - Grienke was a trade deadline rental.

He did kill the deal for Stripling/Pederson. At the time, there was no excuse for that, but in hindsight it is good the angels didn't make that trade. Stripling has been bad this year and Pederson was a one year rental for the Angels who would have blocked Adell - those guys would not really have helped much this year IMO.

Eppler has made bad choices from the bargain bin. Having a limited budget due to Moreno's bad choices and the lack of prospects, the guys he signed haven't worked out. That's on him - you'd like at least a 50% strike rate on those signings. But more so its on Moreno who forced him to pick from the thrift store second hand reject bin.

Upton's extension was on Eppler. He overpaid for a decent player, at a position where there are a ton of other options.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Greinke wanted to pitch in the NL. I don't blame Moreno for that - Grienke was a trade deadline rental.

Oh no. You don't realize the ramification of not retaining Greinke. There's publication that Dipoto would be able to re-sign Greinke. Greinke would have signed with the Angels if the Angels met his salary demand. He's pitching for the Astros today, which dispels the whole "NL" need. It's all monetary. Arte chose to use $25 mil on Hamilton than Greinke.

Why is that important? We gave up a future all star in SS Segura to acquire an ace during the era where signing a FA would cost your organization a 1st round pick. 1st round picks is where your organization gets its talented depth! We lost a 2012 1st round pick because of signing FA Pujols. Dipoto didn't want to lose a first round pick to grab an ace pitcher so he traded a very valuable asset in SS Segura.

By Moreno signing Hamilton, he cost the team a 2013 1st round pick and lost SS Segura for nothing. Smart GM's don't do that, but Meddling Moreno wanted his stamp on the team as he went out to Hamilton to sign him.

Dipoto knew pitching would become a problem and wanted to address it early in 2012. Can you imagine how our fortunes would be different if we kept Greinke?!

It's really crazy to be nonchalant about losing ace pitcher Greinke (or rather SS Segura) and a 1st round pick.

 

[duckpuck]

Oh no. You don't realize the ramification of not retaining Greinke. There's publication that Dipoto would be able to re-sign Greinke. Greinke would have signed with the Angels if the Angels met his salary demand. He's pitching for the Astros today, which dispels the whole "NL" need. It's all monetary. Arte chose to use $25 mil on Hamilton than Greinke.

Why is that important? We gave up a future all star in SS Segura to acquire an ace during the era where signing a FA would cost your organization a 1st round pick. 1st round picks is where your organization gets its talented depth! We lost a 2012 1st round pick because of signing FA Pujols. Dipoto didn't want to lose a first round pick to grab an ace pitcher so he traded a very valuable asset in SS Segura.

By Moreno signing Hamilton, he cost the team a 2013 1st round pick and lost SS Segura for nothing. Smart GM's don't do that, but Meddling Moreno wanted his stamp on the team as he went out to Hamilton to sign him.

Dipoto knew pitching would become a problem and wanted to address it early in 2012. Can you imagine how our fortunes would be different if we kept Greinke?!

It's really crazy to be nonchalant about losing ace pitcher Greinke (or rather SS Segura) and a 1st round pick.

I'm not being nonchalant about losing Greinke. I'm being factual. He likes to hit and wanted to face easier lineups in the NL - that was widely reported. The angels might have been able to overpay, but he got a massive deal from the Dodgers which is where he wanted to be.

Moreno then panicked and signed hamilton.

And for the record, I was in favor of the Angels re-acquiring Greinke last year (when houston did). Would have been a great acquisition with only a few years left on his oversized contract and Arizona looking to trade him at a discount. That is the type of deal the Angels should have been making, rather than throwing free agent dollars at retreads.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I'm not being nonchalant about losing Greinke. I'm being factual. He likes to hit and wanted to face easier lineups in the NL - that was widely reported. The angels might have been able to overpay, but he got a massive deal from the Dodgers which is where he wanted to be.

Moreno then panicked and signed hamilton.

And for the record, I was in favor of the Angels re-acquiring Greinke last year (when houston did). Would have been a great acquisition with only a few years left on his oversized contract and Arizona looking to trade him at a discount. That is the type of deal the Angels should have been making, rather than throwing free agent dollars at retreads.

You are because you're not accepting how big a loss we had in not returning Greinke AND losing a first round pick. A first round pick is how you improve your farm system. We traded a future all-star in SS Segura for Greine, which took away talent from our farm system talent level.

1. The moment we traded for Greinke, there was already articles citing Dipoto was intent to re-sign Greinke.

2. Now, you may have forgotten that Hula Dula (Torii Hunter) was not re-signed in 2013 off-season because Moreno told him there was no money.

3. Dodgers paid ace P Greinke $147 mil for 6 years, an average of $24.5 mil per year on Dec 10, 2012.

4. Because the P Greinke was traded for mid-season, the Dodgers did not have lost a first round pick and the Angels do not obtain one, as per mlbtraderumors article.

5. Angels paid slugging OF Hamilton $125 mil for 5 years, an average of $25 mil per year on Dec 12, 2012.

6. Hula Dula tweets that he was told there was no money to dish out, which is why he wasn't re-signed, but Hamilton got got a contract for $25 mil per year.

You can't have be on both sides of the story. We already know current history that Moreno favors hitters over pitchers. Could the Angels afford $25 mil per year? Yes. Hence, the Angels could have afforded Greinke to stay with the Angels. Greinke is an ace pitcher and you belittle his talents as an ace pitcher by saying he wants to pitch in a weaker league? You also belittle the conversation that he wants to only pitch in the NL.

All about the Benjamins
From Greinke wikipedia:

"Greinke agreed to a six-year free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $147 million, on December 8, 2012. The deal, which was finalized on December 10, was the largest ever for a right-handed pitcher at the time it was signed.[53] It was surpassed a year later by Félix Hernández's seven-year, $175 million contract extension with the Seattle Mariners.[54] Greinke later claimed that he chose the Dodgers over the Texas Rangers, who also were pursuing him, primarily because they offered more money.[55]"​

Just how good was Greinke for the Angels and in 2012 total?
Again, from his wiki page:

"Greinke made his first start for the Angels on July 29.[51] After a stretch of four unproductive starts from August 3–19 (1–1, 7.20 ERA in 25 innings), Greinke followed up with four consecutive starts of at least seven innings and two or fewer runs — all of them wins. In those starts, he produced a 1.88 ERA in 281⁄3 innings.[51]
​

Greinke became the first pitcher since 1920 to record 13 strikeouts in five innings or less in a game against the Seattle Mariners on September 25. He then combined with four other Angels pitchers to tie an American League record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.[52] He finished his time with the Angels with a 6–2 record and a 3.53 ERA in 13 starts.[51] Overall in 2012, combined with both teams, Grienke made 34 starts with a 15-5 record, 200 strikeouts, and a 3.48 ERA."

Moreno wants sluggers over pitchers. He doesn't place the same value on pitchers as he does hitters, obviously. Dipoto learned this the hard way and it cost him the 2013 season. Then Dipoto traded for younger pitchers so he could still retain them longer without the possibility of losing them soon because Arte doesn't want to re-sign them. Let's review the runs allowed under Dipoto and Eppler once again to fully comprehend the difference in philosophies.

Angels
Year	GM	PCT	Run Scored	Runs Allowed	Diff
2012	DiPoto	0.549	767	699	68
2013	DiPoto	0.481	733	737	-4
2014	DiPoto	0.605	773	630	143
2015	DiPoto	0.525	661	675	-14
2016	Eppler	0.457	717	727	-10
2017	Eppler	0.494	710	709	1
2018	Eppler	0.494	721	722	-1
2019	Eppler	0.444	769	868	-99

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Dipoto knew his pitching staff was on a downward trend and nabbed an ace without losing a first round pick during the 2012 season. Moreno simply had to pay up for the ace, and, apparently, had the money to do so. Moreno chose to go after Hamilton. There were other pitchers the Angels could have also chased for a lesser salary if Moreno didn't want to get into a bidding war for Greinke. As we already know, Moreno was intent on signing Hamilton.

To this day, the Angels haven't acquired a high-end pitcher only player since Dipoto left. It has been dumpster finding and hoping to find a gem like Bundy has turned out to be this year. Ohtani is a two-way player, not a pitcher only - yet, he would be our ace.

We paid a heavy price for Greinke and it set back our farm system by losing SS Segura for nothing, no compensation for losing Greinke in the off-season, and losing a 1st round pick by going into a different direction by signing FA Hamilton than retain Greinke.

If we didn't trade Segura, then we wouldn't have had to trade for SS Simmons. Then would could have kept 2014 first round pick P Newcomb. Maybe our system could have developed Newcomb a little bit better.

Re-signing Greinke was Dipoto wanting to go after the World Series immediately, than wait for a few years was going big. And seeing his track record with the Angels, he was on the right track. Eppler's track record isn't great at all. Again, Eppler may work under an owner willing to overspend because Eppler has a knack for grabbing high end talent, but needs a lot of money to extend that to acquire high end pitchers as well. In Anaheim, Eppler has many constraints under Arte. It hasn't worked. Dipoto made it work, but also was fed up with it when he quit mid-season in 2015.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

With today's loss, it secures the Angels finish sub .500 for another season. There exists a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs as of today. Bundy has been a good find, finally after several years of dumpster diving! 3B Rendon has a crazy high OBP, mostly due to his ability to draw walks. Need starting pitching, middle relief, and closers for next season. With this much hitting, we just need some 2nd tier starting pitchers. Oh, and a pitcher who can frame very well would be nice too.

 

[MMC]

Adios, Billy. Hope you enjoy going down in infamy as the assclown who wasted 5 seasons of the best player in the league’s prime.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

So who is the genius that replaces Eppler ?
Dombrowski is not good at rebuilds and is only the guy you bring in to trade away prospects and young players for veterans.

Don't see how a new GM will do any better as long as Arte is the owner.

This whole conspiracy about Artie loves HRs and hates pitching is misguided. Shortly after taking over as owner the Angels signed prized FA pitchers in Colon and Escobar, drafted Weaver in 2004 and Adenhart a few years later. The Angels traded for Garland in 08. Angels traded for Kazmir in 09. Angels signed CJ in 2012.
The only FA pitcher that worked out was Escobar who pitched like a #2 in 06 and 07, ERAs were higher league wide in those seasons. Colon was good in 05 but broke down immediately in the 05 playoffs and pitched like garbage in 06 and 07, he won the CY award in 05 but Lackey and Washburn pitched better than him in 05.

What do people expect, next GM to trade away canning, marsh and adell for veterans in their prime ? Sure that may get them to .500 but a few years later they'll come crashing down.

 

[MMC]

So who is the genius that replaces Eppler ?
Dombrowski is not good at rebuilds and is only the guy you bring in to trade away prospects and young players for veterans.

Don't see how a new GM will do any better as long as Arte is the owner.

This whole conspiracy about Artie loves HRs and hates pitching is misguided. Shortly after taking over as owner the Angels signed prized FA pitchers in Colon and Escobar, drafted Weaver in 2004 and Adenhart a few years later. The Angels traded for Garland in 08. Angels traded for Kazmir in 09. Angels signed CJ in 2012.
The only FA pitcher that worked out was Escobar who pitched like a #2 in 06 and 07, ERAs were higher league wide in those seasons. Colon was good in 05 but broke down immediately in the 05 playoffs and pitched like garbage in 06 and 07, he won the CY award in 05 but Lackey and Washburn pitched better than him in 05.

What do people expect, next GM to trade away canning, marsh and adell for veterans in their prime ? Sure that may get them to .500 but a few years later they'll come crashing down.

This is not true at all, Dombrowski was instrumental in building very good teams in Montreal, Florida, and Detroit, he only emptied farm systems when given a win now mandate. I'd have no issue with him being the GM.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Don't see how a new GM will do any better as long as Arte is the owner.

This whole conspiracy about Artie loves HRs and hates pitching is misguided. Shortly after taking over as owner the Angels signed prized FA pitchers in Colon and Escobar, drafted Weaver in 2004 and Adenhart a few years later. The Angels traded for Garland in 08. Angels traded for Kazmir in 09. Angels signed CJ in 2012.
The only FA pitcher that worked out was Escobar who pitched like a #2 in 06 and 07, ERAs were higher league wide in those seasons. Colon was good in 05 but broke down immediately in the 05 playoffs and pitched like garbage in 06 and 07, he won the CY award in 05 but Lackey and Washburn pitched better than him in 05.

...
2012: Signed FA 1B Pujols to a 10-year contract. This was not a good baseball contract, but rather a money leverage contract. When a 10-year $250 mil contract nets you a $3 bil tv contract for 20 years is a steal for Arte. I didn't like the baseball aspect, but give praise for the big profit. I thought Arte would be willing to pay the luxury tax after gaining that much profit. I was wrong. He wants to keep the profit and keep it building. Lost 1st round pick due to Pujols signing.

2013: Signed FA OF Hamilton over re-signing P Greinke. Hambone cost $25 per five years. Greinke costs $24.5 mil per year for 6 years, with an out clause. Lost 1st round pick due to Hambone signing.

To make sure Dipoto gets to keep pitching, he makes trades for pitching prospects near MLB level. I've already listed the several pitchers Dipoto has acquired.

In comes Eppler's era. I've already listed all the transactions of losing pitchers over hitters, including SS Simmons. Under Eppler, the only notable pitcher he's acquired is Ohtani, but he's a two-way player and he's having a difficult time returning to pitching.

2020: Signed 3B Rendon. No top end ace. Then get upset as landing P Stripling, OF Pederson, and prospect OF Pages. Arte got his big time hitter in Rendon, but let acquisition allow Arte's head to get so big ruin acquiring an MLB pitcher. Stripling is a 3-5 pitcher, which we still need!

Remember, Arte tried to save face by saying he would trade for a pitcher during the season.

Angels
Year	GM	PCT	Run Scored	Runs Allowed	Diff
2012	DiPoto	0.549	767	699	68
2013	DiPoto	0.481	733	737	-4
2014	DiPoto	0.605	773	630	143
2015	DiPoto	0.525	661	675	-14
2016	Eppler	0.457	717	727	-10
2017	Eppler	0.494	710	709	1
2018	Eppler	0.494	721	722	-1
2019	Eppler	0.444	769	868	-99
2020	Eppler	0.446	278	298	-20	As of 9/23

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The projected 2020 RA = 862 runs allowed for a 162-game season.

Dipoto nabbed an ace pitcher in 2012 with Greinke. Ohtani is the only notable signed as a top end pitcher, but Ohtani is a two-way player. That's an 8-year span of not acquiring top-end known pitching talent. Big name hitters acquired since 2012 are Pujols, Hamilton, Simmons, Upton, and Rendon. There have been only two pitchers drafted in the first round in 9 seasons (7 seasons technically because we lost a first round pick for 2012 and 2013 because of FA signings of Pujols and Hamilton). Newcomb in 2014 and Detmers in 2020. We traded one of those pitchers in 2016 to grab SS Simmons.

I find the logic of saying a GM will fail because of the owner, but then absolve the owner for not being involved in baseball operations. Is the owner meddling with baseball operations or not?

With the Angels, we can say the owner meddles often. With the Ducks, we can say the owners are hands off.

 

[duxfan1101]

I didn’t hate everything he did, but the fact of the matter is we have failed year after year and things have to change.

 

[MMC]

Thank god, was so f***ing sick of that loser

 

[KelVarnsen]

I’m all for firing him but is it really going to matter with Arte as the owner? It sure appears like he is far too involved.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Arte is the problem and until he let's baseball people do their job nothing will change

 

[jiggsawpuzzle35]

We need to sign Trevor Bauer to a year contract and give him whatever he wants. $30/$35 million or even more.

 

[AngelDuck]

5th GM in 13 years. I have nothing to back it up but that has to be close to the top of the league for front office turnover during that time period, right?

The posts above me nail it. Nothing changes until Arte sells unofrtunately. The Angels need a president of baseball operations that can come in and completely restructure everything top to bottom like Epstein and friedman do. John Carpino has been the Angels president throughout this whole period of sucktitude and yet no one even metions him. Why does he still have a job despite the GM being fired every 3 years? ISnt he supposed to be involved in the hiring of these guys?

Until Arte finds that guy (which hes proven he cant), nothing really changes.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Arte is probably why they took Detmers over guys with more upside. Sacrificing talent so you might win sooner

 

[ADHB]

Carpino is a business and marketing guy. While he might masquerade as someone who knows something about the sport, he's just a suit that Arte brought with him from his past companies. People complain about Dombrowski as being a trade-the-farm type of guy, but I don't think he is unless the situation dictates it. I think there are likely better options available, but I would be perfectly be fine with him, because a guy of his stature doesn't sign on unless he's given full control of the organization.

Most successful teams have the President of Baseball Ops/GM hierarchy. Arte isn't stupid. He can see what works. But at the same time, I think he had no interest in that because in his mind, he was acting as the "President of Baseball Ops" guy in the sense that he wanted to control the philosophy and micromanage the front office. And while the guy knows a little about baseball, he's basically just a fan. He has no sense of what works from an organizational standpoint. You can tell when you hear him talk at these stupid press conferences he's so proud of. He ends up signing guys because in his words, he "likes watching them on tv" or some garbage. If he hires another rookie GM, then no matter how promising the guy is, it's going to be just more of the same with Arte running the team like his personal toy.

So much has been lost from a scouting and development sense, and it's totally believable he has skimped on the budget there. He's an advertising man. He cares about what you can see right in front of your face, not anything behind the scenes. Eppler was at least able to convince him to invest a touch more into the pipeline. Let's hope that doesn't end with the next front office.