The Legend of The Dipoto Four

And now the book is closed on THE DIPOTO FOUR.

Sean Burnett was one of the 2013 Dipoto Four, the quartet of pitchers Jerry DiPoto acquired prior to the 2013 season, each of whom turned out to be busts. It was announced today that Burnett had a torn UCL and will need Tommy John Surgery.

The Four signings are:

• Closer Ryan Madson, signed as a free agent on November 28, 2012, never threw a pitch at any level as an Angel.
• Tommy Hanson, acquired on November 30, 2012 from Atlanta for Jordan Walden, delivered an ERA+ of 70 (one hundred is league average) in 73 Innings Pitched.
• Joe Blanton, signed as a free agent December 12, 2012, accrued an ERA+ of 63 in 132 IP as a Halo.
• Burnett, also a 12/12/12 free agent signing, was injured after pitching just under ten innings in 2013 and is done for 2014 as well.
  

In addition to adversely affecting the 2013 Angels to unimaginable extremes, how have THE DIPOTO FOUR impacted the current club?

The Angels had enough faith in Burnett that they did not sign a lefty reliever for the big club over the offseason. There is no apparent backup plan now.

Would the Halos have traded for Skaggs and Santiago if Hanson and Blanton had been league average? Wait a minute, could there have been a silver lining here?

Well let's talk about the money...

The Angels have a $500,000 buyout on Burnett's 2015 season. He might be ready by next April. Okay not counting that here we go:

Blanton cost the team $15 Million

Burnett Costs us $8 Million

Madson signed for one year, $3.5 MIllion

Hanson was a bargain at $3,725,000

That's $30,225,000 for 186 innings of terrible pitching.

Here is a fun fact of the chaos that this lousy pitching sent the team into. Mark Lowe was signed as relief help late in Spring Training 2013. He was the pitcher of record to get the Win on Opening Day but that was the lone highlight as he manged a 9.26 ERA in 11.2 Innings Pitched and was released in early June after two stints on the DL between those underwhelming numbers. Sean Burnett was one of SEVEN Angels pitchers with less innings pitched in 2013 as Lowe.

The other six:

Ryan Brasier, Barry Enright, Nick Maronde, Matt Shoemaker, Daniel Stange and David Carpenter.

The Dipoto Four - a chaotic chapter in Halo History that makes Vernon Wells look like money well spent.