For ****s sake, Pressly...

Big out there

Buck Compton said:

---

Cole isn't taking a "hometown" deal, so might as well get that thought out of your head.

---

I have hope that they can work something out. His contract can be back loaded and his wife was saying that they like how often they travel West and can visit family.

Well that was dicey

The D said:

---

Well that was dicey

---

Well you were dicey

Good job settling down and getting those two Ks.

But would have been one run in if Tyler White's doppelgnger wasn't the lead runner.

Quote:

---

By MIKE DIGIOVANNASTAFF WRITER
AUG. 7, 2019

6:20 PM
Angels fans probably would like nothing better than to wake up one morning around Christmas and find a big lump of Cole in their stockings.

Gerrit Cole, that is.

There might not be a better fit in free agency next winter than the Angels and Cole, the Houston Astros right-hander who is 14-5 with a 2.87 earned-run average and an American League-leading 226 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings of 25 starts.
Cole is what the pitching-poor Angels need an ace. He's a strapping 6-foot-4, 225-pound flame-thrower who could front a young rotation and possibly vault the Angels into playoff contention.

And Cole, a Newport Beach native who grew up an Angels fan and played at Orange Lutheran High School and UCLA, seems open to a possible homecoming.
After allowing one run and striking out 11 in Houston's 11-2 win in Angel Stadium on July 18, Cole said he enjoyed pitching in front of family members and friends.

"I grew up here, watched games when they still had bleachers," Cole said. "It's a really unique park. Driving up the 57 today, seeing the Big A, it's always cool. It's always special. In an industry where you don't always get to see your family as much as you would like, getting to hug your mom after the game is nice."

For an Angels-Cole pairing to produce Hallmark moments in 2020, however, the Angels must do something they have never done: dole out a nine-figure contract to a pitcher.

The two biggest contracts the Angels have awarded pitchers are the five-year, $85-million extension Jered Weaver signed in 2011 and the five-year, $77.5-million deal C.J. Wilson signed as a free agent before 2012.

Cole, who will turn 29 in September, could command a deal in the $200-million range, and not just because his agent, Scott Boras, rarely settles for less than top dollar or offers hometown discounts.

Cole will be the class of a thin free-agent pitching crop heavy on older left-handers such as
Hyun-Jin Ryu, who will be 33 next season, Madison Bumgarner (30), Cole Hamels (36), Rich Hill (40) and Wade Miley (34). The top right-handers will be Zack Wheeler (29) and Tanner Roark (33).


"We haven't secured one," Angels General Manager Billy Eppler said Wednesday of a nine-figure deal with a pitcher, "but that doesn't mean we haven't explored one. There is not a philosophy or a directive in our organization to avoid sizable investments in pitching. The circumstances need to warrant such an investment.

---

LA Times article with some interesting quotes from Cole from August 7th.... sounds like he wants to be close to Mom.

Also, there are some interesting free agents that will be available this off season.

Buck Compton said:

---

Cole isn't taking a "hometown" deal, so might as well get that thought out of your head.

On a different note. I was looking back at some all-time strikeout seasons. Holy **** was Randy Johnson good from 1999-2002. Just insane K numbers. You forget about it from that era of homers, but he was dominant.

---

Did the same thing tonight. Fun stuff.

enter Osuna

103! Magic number to 3.

How can the Angels possibly afford Cole is my question? Huge offensive contracts with 2020 salary listed:

Trout (37.6)
Pujols (29)
Upton (21)
Simmons (15)
Calhoun (14)
Cozart (12.7)


That's $129.3 M already against a $208 M tax... before any arbitration, before any roster fillers, and before any pitchers. You add in what may be $40 M for Cole and you're looking at ~$170 M on 7 players.

And the 2020 WS

This guy breaks down what would have to happen to sign Cole:

agdaddy04 said:

---

Kashchei said:

---

Cole needs to think about Texas taxes (or lack thereof) versus Kalifornia taxes

---

This isn't as big of a deal as you think. For one they get taxed based on where they play the individual game, and second I don't remember a high profile player taking a discount to stay in a no income tax state. I do remember all of us talking about Beltran doing it after the 2004 playoffs, but that didn't play out either.

---

Did Verlander take a discount? Certainly, he may have taken more of a long-term sacrifice to stay in Houston.

There's more to it than just the total amount.

Trevor Bauer is even experimenting with 1 year deals only to maximize his total earnings. It's risky, but if you're a player the caliber of Cole or Verlander and you're confident you can stay healthy and perform, it may be worth it long term.

yes, the Angels don't have the money. LAAA's payroll in 2019 was slightly greater than the Astros' (before the Greinke acquisition)

bearkatag15 said:

---

This guy breaks down what would have to happen to sign Cole:

---

Yeah, realistically we just can't sign Cole.

The Greinke trade sealed that fate. Although, I suppose there's magic that could be made in the trade market if we deal certain people to make it happen.

I just get the feeling that the Grienke trade was to get someone elite for a cheaper annual value than Cole, and try and fill in the starters with LJM and a cheaper #4 and #5

But yeah, it's hard to imagine next year we can get better than we are right now based upon Cole leaving. We need to hope we can find another Miley type performer that gets us through the season.

the west coast team with money to spend is the Padres.

but San Diego is still a ways from being a playoff contender.

not quite west coast...but the Diamondbacks have money to spend also. Cole would probably elevate Arizona to contender status

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/payroll/2020/[url=https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/payroll/][/url]

According to Sportrac, they are only have about $69mm available next year after Trout, Pujols, Upton, Simmons, Calhoun, Cozart and Petit

you know in one sense maybe the competitive balance tax is doing its job. It's spreading out the $30 MM players.

the Yankees and Red Sox will not be in the Cole sweepstakes because their payrolls are already in the $200 MM range. And they will have to take care of Judge and Betts in the next 1 or 2 years

it's wonderful having teams in your division that completely mismanage their payroll

Correa needs to play in 4 of the last 5 games to reach the 80 games-played plateau for 2019.

it will be an interesting arbitration case

I think 105 wins gets the astros homefield throughout the playoffs. if they are 2 up on the Yankees and Dodgers going into the weekend, do you sit JV and Cole Saturday and Sunday?