Baseball America: “They [Angels] have no bullpen,” one opposing scout said. “It’s going to be a big issue.”

[ThisismineScios]

I don't know, I don't mind it too much. I would much rather see Rodriguez as a starter, but he has barely pitched professionally. If the plan is to have him build slowly, from the bullpen to 2 innings, then go from there it will work fine. There are plenty of benefits to having him pitch out of the bullpen now; mostly that the bullpen currently doesn't inspire much confidence. But this year they can see if he can stay healthy in short bursts. If he can, they can begin to stretch him out to return to starting. 

But really, can you imagine him being a permanent piggyback guy? 3-4 to start followed by Barria/Sandoval? That'd be truly awesome. 

[tdawg87]

6 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Good Lord man, could you be more wrong about the nature of his injury history. 

He's not had trouble "staying healthy", he's had ONE injury that they attempted to fix with rest, it didn't work and they ended up having to correct it with surgery.   This isn't someone breaking down every two weeks with something new or someone so fragile he needs to be treated with kid gloves.  You could sooner make this argument about Brandon Marsh who had nearly the same injury early in his career and been on the shelf pretty much off and on every year since then and nobody is talking about converting him to a DH to keep him healthy and on the field.

Maddon wanting to use him as a RP is no real shocker, the kid is talented, misses bats, and can help the team win -- but for a team staring down the possibility of needing to replace four SPs next offseason removing the guy with the most upside from the system is one of the more shortsighted things this team has done in recent years and yet -- I'm not remotely surprised.

I'm not saying it's totally indefensible because an argument can be made that the team will be better able to monitor his usage and try to limit fatigue/monitor his health, but people really shouldn't be trying to paint this as anything other than a win now move because having him do anything but starting before he's proven he's incapable of it is dumb.  It's unlikely he will be using his full arsenal as a RP, nobody wants to be beat with their fourth best pitch in a leverage situations -- so there's a very real possibility it hinders his development on that end...   And while people can talk about the team "stretching him out" chances are if he comes in and proves to be a hammer, then we'll likely see him used as such, they will want him "fresh" so he will be able to put out the next raging fire the rest of the arson squad sets aflame the next day.

It's just as likely that if he has success in the pen Maddon pushes for him to be the closer next year because the super genius likes doing stuff like that then blather on about how teams need to think outside the box.  He will say it with style and people will buy it but when push comes to shove, a front end SP will always be more valuable and ultimately more expensive than a back end RP.

 

I'm calling the police.

[Lou]

38 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

I'm calling the police.

This is genius in its subtlety.

[ten ocho recon scout]

6 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

He had become a raging alcoholic and pitched to an ERA+ of 97 combined for the four seasons before moving to Oakland where LaRussa made his a RP.  

If there was ever a sensei that would know how best to use a raging alcoholic it would be Tony La-Roo.

(Imaginary gif of guy tipping his cap, then pointing, as a show of respect)

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

If there was ever a sensei that would know how best to use a raging alcoholic it would be Tony La-Roo.

(Imaginary gif of guy tipping his cap, then pointing, as a show of respect)

Yeah, its nuts that he sobered up while LaRussa was his manager...    

Can you imagine Tony and Wade Boggs drinking on a plane?   

https://www.esquire.com/sports/videos/a32407/wade-boggs-charlie-day-107-beers-in-a-day/

Still not as good as your Larry Walker story.

[ten ocho recon scout]

12 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Yeah, its nuts that he sobered up while LaRussa was his manager...    

Can you imagine Tony and Wade Boggs drinking on a plane?   

https://www.esquire.com/sports/videos/a32407/wade-boggs-charlie-day-107-beers-in-a-day/

Still not as good as your Larry Walker story.

Lol... that one is still legendary

 

Is he in the hall? If not he should be.

[Jeff Fletcher]

17 hours ago, oldguy said:

Agree.  Otherwise, why would he have pitched to only two batters yesterday and been relieved mid-inning?  It appears they are getting him ready for short stints.  

That was just because Mayers needed to pitch and there wasn't going to be a bottom of the ninth.

[Jeff Fletcher]

13 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Answer:

The imagination of a writer in need of content.

This is an offensive comment.

(EDIT: Maybe my response was too strong. I shouldn't be offended. But I do think it's ridiculous to suggest that a professional writer for Baseball America is fabricating quotes like some high school kid at the school paper.)

Edited March 27, 2021 by Jeff Fletcher

[Erstad Grit]

Don't understand why we didn't claim Hand or even sign a guy like Greene. 

[Dtwncbad]

27 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

This is an offensive comment.

(EDIT: Maybe my response was too strong. I shouldn't be offended. But I do think it's ridiculous to suggest that a professional writer for Baseball America is fabricating quotes like some high school kid at the school paper.)

Jeff, really?  There are no lame ass fake writers?

Give me a break.  I work in finance.  If you made a comment about there being lame ass phonies in finance, I wouldn’t take any offense since I am not among the lame ass phonies in finance.

[Pancake Bear]

1 hour ago, cals said:

You basically just compared used car salesmen to crossing guards.   

Whether one thinks a sportswriter might make up a quote or not is moot (whether a sportswriter might is a different discussion and in most cases I doubt there'd be any reason to fabricate quotes: Why would they need to in this instance? The quote was literally just saying what is probably fairly obvious at the moment: The Angels pen looks like a house of cards after Iglesias. Maybe it's better than it looks, but of all statements to imagine is made up, that's a strange quote to point to as made up.

[WicketMaiden]

Writers who fabricate quotes or plagiarise other people's work are very few and very far between, and those that do try it are unceremoniously dumped from the profession with their reputations in tatters. Sports writer is a great gig and like all great jobs the competition is fierce, far too fierce for 'lame ass fake writers' to make a living at it by making stuff up. Ask a 100 finance guys if they want to be sportswriters. Then ask a 100 sportswriters if they want to be finance guys. Which career do you think supports more lame ass employees getting away with doing a sub-standard job?

It's not like Twitter or a message board comment that can be waved away or laughed off as out of context, when a writer writes something under their byline their reputation (and their possibility of future earnings) is on the line, and fabricating quotes is simply anathema to any writer or reporter hoping for a future career. 

 

[tdawg87]

4 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Jeff, really?  There are no lame ass fake writers?

Give me a break.  I work in finance.  If you made a comment about there being lame ass phonies in finance, I wouldn’t take any offense since I am not among the lame ass phonies in finance.

Just stop.

[Warfarin]

6 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

Don't understand why we didn't claim Hand or even sign a guy like Greene. 

Probably because of budget.  For the cost of Hand, we acquired Iglesias, who I think is a better pitcher at this stage in their careers.

I'm sure Minasian would have signed various other relievers if he had the money to do it.  But he likely saw a team with a lot of holes that he had to fill and only so many dollars, so he did what he could do.

As most have said, the "easiest" spot to fix on a team is the bullpen, and most teams can usually do it fairly cheaply.  It'll take a few attempts as they cycle through guys, but I actually think our pen looks decent.

We prospectively will have:  Iglesias, Mayers, Buttrey, Claudio, Sandoval, CRod, Guerra, Slegers.

No, it is certainly not an elite pen, but it has potential, and Pena should be back probably about 2 weeks into the season to help.  

Iglesias is a shutdown closer.  Buttrey does have strong stuff, it's just a matter of re-discovering his previous form.  Sandoval looks good as a multi-inning weapon.  CRod has electric stuff and looks like he could do a good job in his role.  Slegers looked pretty decent  last year.  Claudio will serve his role and mainly face LHH.

Mayers is the one I am concerned about.  Reports are his stuff is down sharply, and Maddon wore him into the ground last year to try to make the playoffs, so I can't help but wonder if he is an injury waiting to happen.

[tdawg87]

Nah but really, get Chisek. 

Wait, that makes too much sense so we won't get him.

[Angels 1961]

8 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

This is an offensive comment.

(EDIT: Maybe my response was too strong. I shouldn't be offended. But I do think it's ridiculous to suggest that a professional writer for Baseball America is fabricating quotes like some high school kid at the school paper.)

Angels still looking for bullpen help anyone coming before opening day? Steve Cishek, Tony Watson?

[Angel Oracle]

14 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Yeah, its nuts that he sobered up while LaRussa was his manager...    

Can you imagine Tony and Wade Boggs drinking on a plane?   

https://www.esquire.com/sports/videos/a32407/wade-boggs-charlie-day-107-beers-in-a-day/

Still not as good as your Larry Walker story.

If only Andre the Giant was still alive.   Gotta have lots of peanuts to soak in all of that beer he drank.

[Dtwncbad]

4 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Just stop.

What a bunch of sensitive babies. Seriously.  The media has ALWAYS had its share of people that either completely make up (or just tweak) quotes from anonymous sources to give themselves a story, or to sensationalize their story.

Always.  And there is a strong argument that it is worse today than ever because of the internet and the never ending need for more and more content.

My original comment was simply reminding that point.

There was no reason for JF to be offended by that, and there is literally no reason for anyone else to get whipped up about it.

Yes, some writers do make shit up.  They do.  Even from high profile “respectable” papers and sites.

Read any story with unnamed sources with at least a stitch of skepticism.  That was the original point.

So anybody bothered by this very simple true comment. . .stand up, fix panties, then sit back down.  

[Jeff Fletcher]

9 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Jeff, really?  There are no lame ass fake writers?

Give me a break.  I work in finance.  If you made a comment about there being lame ass phonies in finance, I wouldn’t take any offense since I am not among the lame ass phonies in finance.

Are there bad writers who work for respected publications? Yes.

Are there writers who make up quotes and work for respected publications? No. 
 

(Obviously in the whole history of journalism it’s happened, but it is soooo rare that when it does happen that writer is fired and will never work again, which is why I would never assume anyone has done that. Also, it’s really easy to get a scout and ask him something, so I don’t know why you’d assume this is such an unattainable comment that it would be made up.)

[tdawg87]

19 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

What a bunch of sensitive babies. Seriously.  The media has ALWAYS had its share of people that either completely make up (or just tweak) quotes from anonymous sources to give themselves a story, or to sensationalize their story.

Always.  And there is a strong argument that it is worse today than ever because of the internet and the never ending need for more and more content.

My original comment was simply reminding that point.

There was no reason for JF to be offended by that, and there is literally no reason for anyone else to get whipped up about it.

Yes, some writers do make shit up.  They do.  Even from high profile “respectable” papers and sites.

Read any story with unnamed sources with at least a stitch of skepticism.  That was the original point.

So anybody bothered by this very simple true comment. . .stand up, fix panties, then sit back down.  

Yeah, no. 

Just stop.

[Dtwncbad]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Are there bad writers who work for respected publications? Yes.

Are there writers who make up quotes and work for respected publications? No. 
 

(Obviously in the whole history of journalism it’s happened, but it is soooo rare that when it does happen that writer is fired and will never work again, which is why I would never assume anyone has done that. Also, it’s really easy to get a scout and ask him something, so I don’t know why you’d assume this is such an unattainable comment that it would be made up.)

We agree Jeff.  If they get caught they get fired.  The point is it is pretty hard to get caught when you are never required to name your source.

There are people doing their job in the gray area in every profession.

It is probably good advice to note when the source is unnamed.

[Dtwncbad]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

Yeah, no. 

Just stop.

I can tell you pretty squarely that you directives are meaningless.

Have fun though.

[tdawg87]

2 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

I can tell you pretty squarely that you directives are meaningless.

Have fun though.

I am.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 minute ago, Dtwncbad said:

We agree Jeff.  If they get caught they get fired.  The point is it is pretty hard to get caught when you are never required to name your source.

There are people doing their job in the gray area in every profession.

It is probably good advice to note when the source is unnamed.

You have to name your source to your editor if he or she asks.

If you think this is something that happens routinely at major publications, you are wrong.

[Dtwncbad]

19 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Are there bad writers who work for respected publications? Yes.

Are there writers who make up quotes and work for respected publications? No. 
 

(Obviously in the whole history of journalism it’s happened, but it is soooo rare that when it does happen that writer is fired and will never work again, which is why I would never assume anyone has done that. Also, it’s really easy to get a scout and ask him something, so I don’t know why you’d assume this is such an unattainable comment that it would be made up.)

“Are there writers who make up quotes and work for respected publications? No.”

I would respectfully disagree to this Jeff.  Is it more rare the more the publication is respected?  Yes.