I would love to see the Angels replenish their farm system with prospects from other organizations, but this cannot be done unless you are prepared to miss the playoffs for the next five years.

You are only going to get top 10 prospects from other organizations if you trade the players we do not want traded. This means you would need to give up any near future playoff hopes.

You can get great prospects for Weaver, Trout, or Trumbo, and maybe Freiri, but if you take these four guys off the roster, the Angels would be 10-15 games under .500 and already out of the hunt this year. You would gut your short term future as well. Trading these guys would be absurd.

The Angels would not get much for any other players on the their ML roster because they are not good enough to command top prospects and/or they have long or overpaid contracts that no one else will take on.

I guess what I am trying to say is the Angels are stuck with what they have, unless they want to further gut their future by trading for more "proven" veterans in exchange for Bourjos, Cron, Calhoun, etc.

I hope Dipoto will resist this temptation and rebuild the farm slowly through the draft and hold onto the young promising guys they have.

There are few players in baseball that can hit 40 homers in Anaheim and Trumbo is such a player to trade him in hope that we can perhaps get such a player to do that in the future is ridiculous. Trumbo is the present and the future of the Angels second only to Trout in that regard those two are the building blocks of this offense in the near future.

until he comes up to the big club - and forgets how to hit. He's done that before.

Why on earth would you trade Trumbo? Are you kidding? Makes you look dumb even suggesting that... Izturis, who would want him? Morales has a bat, a switch hitting bat with power.. another year and he will hit 25-30, drive in 85+"

In baseball you have good players, very good players, and HOF players.

Tim Salmon, Chili Davis, Dale Murphy, Steve Garvey, Bernie Williams, and Edgar Martinez were very good players.

Mark Trumbo is none of these. He's a good player that is playing a bit over his head. Trade him now while his value is still high and get us a bull pen arm or two.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if the Angels don't make the postseason, Dipoto will dismiss the coaching staff, Scioscia will take exception to that, and will resign.

However, I really think the Angels will make the postseason. If it is one and done I think the pitching coach may be let go. In reality the team should be doing considerably better than it is with an astronomical payroll.

I also think if Ervin Santana doesn't turn it around the Angels won't pick up his option. I think they will pick up Haren's option because injury is the reason he's struggling this year. I'm sure they'll try to get a bullpen piece.

I'm usually optimistic about the Angels because what I witnessed in the 20th Century as opposed to the 21st. One way or another I think we will get to the World Series in the near future.

The thing that concerns me about Dan is that chronic back problems never get better - they only deteriorate, especially for athletes.

Check this site's article about last night's game. Haren was saying it wasn't his back, that his back felt fine.

That surprised me.

And now we just have to worry about his pitching while no one knows what his problem is, including Haren.

Our lineup isn't all that bad when Morales plays (offensively); but when he doesn't, we get either Wells (who had a good game yesterday -- I'll give props when deserved) or Izturis, and then the bottom or our lineups looks like this: Kendrick, Callapso, Wells/Izturis, Aybar, and Wilson.

Now, some games they've done well. But I don't want to bet my season with runners on 1st and 2nd with Howie "6-4-3" Kendrick up and Izturis on deck. That's not going to get it done...or at least hasn't enough times this year to keep the Angels close enough to Texas. There's no way the bottom of their lineup should look like that!!

As to the question: if they don't make the playups, look for a meltdown in the coaching staff. No player is going anywhere. Scoscia will either be gone or his staff will take the bullet for him this year.

He's said he was fine before when his back was clearly bothering him. I don't believe him.

Trade Trumbo? NO! Izturis? He's a free agent at the end of the year and hopefully won't be resigned. Morales? No, he is starting to hit for power again. I would like to see how he starts off next season with a full season behind him post injury. Trade Callaspo and Howie and let Ianetta walk.