OC Register: Angels Q&A: When will Shohei Ohtani pitch? Why didn’t the Twins forfeit?

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels have an unscheduled weekend off, after their Saturday and Sunday games against the Minnesota Twins were postponed because of the COVID-19 situation with the Twins. They had a staff member and two players test positive on Friday and Saturday.

With no games this weekend, we asked for your questions about what’s going on with the Angels, starting with the immediate impacts on the rotation.

Q: Any word on how the delay will affect the rotation? Are they going to skip (José) Quintana and/or allow (Dylan) Bundy to start on normal rest? — @ajn2748

A: For starters, Shohei Ohtani is set to rejoin the rotation on Tuesday, in the middle game of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Ohtani has not pitched since April 4 because of a blister, but he threw three bullpen sessions in the past week, and apparently came through that well enough the Angels have penciled him in to return to the rotation.

Because of the time he missed, he won’t be fully stretched out like he was, but the off days this weekend will give the Angels plenty of fresh bullpen (and starter) options to work behind him.

On Monday, Bundy will get the start, which will be on a typical five days rest. Quintana, who was scheduled to start on Saturday, will now start the series finale on Wednesday.

Alex Cobb, who was scheduled to start on Sunday, has not been penciled in for his next start. He and Quintana were both scheduled to face hitters in a workout Sunday afternoon, so both are healthy. Cobb could conceivably pitch after Ohtani on Tuesday.

Q: At what point is it realistic to call forfeits on COVID cancellations? We have had this pandemic for a year already and there is a vaccine available. Players should be vaccinated or stay home! — @Halodux

A: Several of you asked a version of this question, and the simple answer is because that’s not part of the agreement between the players and Major League Baseball. There is no way players would have agreed to any rules that would connect forfeiting games to COVID-19.

In many cases, these games aren’t postponed simply because a team doesn’t have enough players for that day. The games are postponed to keep the virus from spreading when a whole team and support staff spend another day in close quarters in the clubhouse.

It’s also not really fair to blame the players or the team for COVID-19 exposures, especially when each of them also has family members who don’t have the same level of accountability to MLB.

And I think we’ve all lived in this world long enough to know sometimes the virus finds you, despite all reasonable efforts to avoid it.

As for vaccinations, it takes two weeks to be fully vaccinated and a lot of parts of the country didn’t even open the vaccinations to the demographic that includes most players until recently. Twins outfielder Kyle Garlick, who tested positive on Saturday, said he was vaccinated less than two weeks ago.

Players also certainly wouldn’t agree to mandatory vaccinations. There are people in all parts of society who don’t believe vaccination is right for them, and the players have a powerful enough union that they don’t have to agree to anything that enough of their members are against.

Q: Have the Angels been vaccinated as a team yet? — @TinaTigerl18

A: Although Joe Maddon said earlier this month he believed the Angels had passed the 85 percent vaccination threshold for loosening some of the safety protocols, the team has otherwise provided no confirmation of the percentage of players or staff members who are fully vaccinated.

Q: Surely they won’t make up these games in Minnesota. They can’t penalize the Angels by taking away home games because of the Twins problems can they? – @troysaund

They most certainly can, and probably will. MLB has always been willing to play makeup games at the opposing ballpark if returning to the proper ballpark isn’t logistically feasible.

The players prefer this to the alternative of losing an off day and having arduous extra travel.

The Angels and Twins have just two mutual off days before the teams meet in Minnesota in late July. On April 29, the Angels are between Texas and Seattle, but the Twins are between Cleveland and Minnesota. On May 20, the Angels are home but the Twins are again between Minnesota and Cleveland (going the other way this time).

The Twins only come to the West Coast one more time, and they have a June 17 off day after a series in Seattle, but the Angels are already playing that day.

The biggest advantage of playing at home is batting last, and the Angels will still get that, no matter where the games are played.

Q: Do you think the Angels need an Ace starting pitcher or Ace reliever pitcher more ? — @LAKingsfan49

A: A good starter is always more valuable than an equally good reliever.

That being said, I think having “an ace” is overrated. Most teams don’t have one.

You want to have the best, deepest pitching you can possibly have, in order to have a chance to win every game, not every fifth game. In a sense, it’s better to judge a rotation by how good the worst pitcher is than by how good the best pitcher is.

Q: If (Chris Rodriguez) keeps it up, any chance will we see him as a future starter? — @14chaversscott

A: The most valuable role any pitcher can play is to be a starter, so if Rodriguez has the ability, that’s what the Angels would like him to be.

The question at the moment is if he has the pitch mix and durability to do that, and we still don’t know. As long as they keep using him for longer relief outings, we should start to learn the answers to those questions. If the answer is no, he’ll probably be pushed toward being a high-leverage reliever.

Q: What is your opinion of the proposal to move the mound back 12 inches? — @angels30ryan

A: It’s an interesting concept, but I don’t really see it working. The idea is to reduce strikeouts. While an extra foot gives hitters a little more time to catch up to fastballs, it also gives a little more room for breaking balls to break. Given that, I’m not really sure it would have the desired effect of getting more balls in play.

I have a better idea: limit the number of pitchers (either in a game or on the roster) and deaden the baseball, the latter of which is already happening.

Pitchers would be expected to pitch more innings in each game, which would mean they’d have to be more efficient with their pitches, which would mean they’d have to dial back the velocity and throw more strikes.

If the ball were less lively, pitchers could be more aggressive over the plate without worrying so much about balls flying over the fence.

Who’s your favorite Angel not playing anymore? — @mikejt1954

You’re asking this question to a writer who was never an Angels fan, so you’re probably not going to get the answer you want.

From my perspective as a writer, Huston Street was my favorite Angels player. I covered the Oakland A’s when he first reached the big leagues, so we had a long relationship. He was always accessible and would always give thoughtful answers on whatever you asked, which is all a writer ever wants.

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[beatlesrule]

Huh? Is Fletcher the one answering these questions? Fletcher was not an Angels fan? Is this a common practice? Wouldn't you want to hire someone that actually likes the team and is/has been a fan of theirs? Seems strange no? So there are other writers out there covering teams they are not a fan of or just started following?

[Lou]

4 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Huh? Is Fletcher the one answering these questions? Fletcher was not an Angels fan? Is this a common practice? Wouldn't you want to hire someone that actually likes the team and is/has been a fan of theirs? Seems strange no? So there are other writers out there covering teams they are not a fan of or just started following?

Why would he be an Angels fan if he didn't grow up here? 

I'm guessing writers go where the jobs are. 

[PattyD22]

8 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Huh? Is Fletcher the one answering these questions? Fletcher was not an Angels fan? Is this a common practice? Wouldn't you want to hire someone that actually likes the team and is/has been a fan of theirs? Seems strange no? So there are other writers out there covering teams they are not a fan of or just started following?

Rhett Bollinger who covers the Angels for MLB is a lifelong Dodgers fan (he’s probably going to get pissed at me for saying that).  But as Lou said, he went where the work took him, and Southern California sure beat his first gig in Minnesota covering the Twins.

[failos]

14 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Huh? Is Fletcher the one answering these questions? Fletcher was not an Angels fan? Is this a common practice? Wouldn't you want to hire someone that actually likes the team and is/has been a fan of theirs? Seems strange no? So there are other writers out there covering teams they are not a fan of or just started following?

He’s mentioned that here a few times. Better to have an objective point of view than some homer.

[beatlesrule]

5 minutes ago, Lou said:

Why would he be an Angels fan if he didn't grow up here? 

I'm guessing writers go where the jobs are. 

I am fans of teams from other states. My hockey and football teams aren't from where I grew up or lived.  I just find it odd that someone that doesn't like the Angels is now writing about them. You don't get the homer aspect of it though so that's good at least. I just assumed that someone writing about the Angels was a fan of them. I learned something new. I am not a fan of the A's so devoting work time to learn all about them and everyone's names and have to follow them all the time would be hell on earth. Just my opinion though.

[Lou]

4 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

I am fans of teams from other states. My hockey and football teams aren't from where I grew up or lived.  I just find it odd that someone that doesn't like the Angels is now writing about them. You don't get the homer aspect of it though so that's good at least. I just assumed that someone writing about the Angels was a fan of them. I learned something new. I am not a fan of the A's so devoting work time to learn all about them and everyone's names and have to follow them all the time would be hell on earth. Just my opinion though.

If the A's offered you a job in their front office for more money than you're making now, you wouldn't take it?

[m0nkey]

Why did Mike Trout sign with the Angels if he didn't grow up an Angels fan? What's in it for him?

[beatlesrule]

5 minutes ago, Lou said:

If the A's offered you a job in their front office for more money than you're making now, you wouldn't take it?

Front office? We are discussing a writing position.

3 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

Why did Mike Trout sign with the Angels if he didn't grow up an Angels fan? What's in it for him?

This is a horrible comparison. Like, not even in the same ballpark.

[failos]

Just now, beatlesrule said:

No.

This is a horrible comparison. Like, not even in the same ballpark.

Dummy

[Lou]

1 minute ago, beatlesrule said:

Front office? We are discussing a writing position.

So? 

Writers covet writing positions. They go where there is the best opportunity for them to do what they love. If you can't grasp that concept, maybe you aren't front office material after all. 

 

[beatlesrule]

Just now, Lou said:

So? 

Writers covet writing positions. They go where there is the best opportunity for them to do what they love. If you can't grasp that concept, maybe you aren't front office material after all. 

 

[Taylor]

I agree with beatlesrule. Someone like Roger Lodge or Rex Hudler circa 2006 would make more sense as the OC Register's beat reporter.

/s

[failos]

1 minute ago, cals said:

And let’s be honest here, isn’t it kind of gay for grown men to be “fans” of anything?

It’s certainly gay for a man to wear another man’s last name.

[PattyD22]

2 minutes ago, cals said:

And let’s be honest here, isn’t it kind of gay for grown men to be “fans” of anything?

Come on @cals.  I mean come on....

[failos]

1 minute ago, PattyD22 said:

Come on @cals.  I mean come on....

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Φαήλος said:

I miss @DEVLBAT

[WicketMaiden]

Ha ha. From baseball beat writers to boobs in only 15 messages, outstanding work. See what happens when they stop baseball?

[failos]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

I miss @DEVLBAT

Well he doesn’t miss you. He hasn’t posted in over a year.

Spoiler

I miss him too and all the other assholes who stopped posting

I miss @laagamer but he thinks we’re all homophobes.

[failos]

@cals is the reason @laagamer doesn’t post here. Mfer

[Jeff Fletcher]

30 minutes ago, Lou said:

So? 

Writers covet writing positions. They go where there is the best opportunity for them to do what they love. If you can't grasp that concept, maybe you aren't front office material after all. 

 

There are about 120 jobs in the world as a Major League Baseball beat writer. You take what you can get. 
 

The only time it would be helpful for me to be an Angels fan is if I’m doing any historical stuff, because then I’d remember it instead of having to look up what happened. But there isn’t much of that in the job. 
 

This is now my 8th year covering the team, so I know plenty about what’s happened in the last 8 years. 

[failos]

Just now, Jeff Fletcher said:

There are about 120 jobs in the world as a Major League Baseball beat writer. You take what you can get. 
 

The only time it would be helpful for me to be an Angels fan is if I’m doing any historical stuff, because then I’d remember it instead of having to look up what happened. But there isn’t much of that in the job. 
 

This is now my 8th year covering the team, so I know plenty about what’s happened in the last 8 years. 

We’re happy to have you. You’re a great writer and it means a lot that you post here.

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 minute ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

There are about 120 jobs in the world as a Major League Baseball beat writer. You take what you can get. 
 

The only time it would be helpful for me to be an Angels fan is if I’m doing any historical stuff, because then I’d remember it instead of having to look up what happened. But there isn’t much of that in the job. 
 

This is now my 8th year covering the team, so I know plenty about what’s happened in the last 8 years. 

I’ll add this: Although I don’t root for the Angels to win, and I don’t care when they lose, I do prefer for them to win because it makes my job easier (to a point). And more people read the stories. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

5 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I’ll add this: Although I don’t root for the Angels to win, and I don’t care when they lose, I do prefer for them to win because it makes my job easier (to a point). And more people read the stories. 

One more thing: I know a few writers who are covering teams that were their favorites before they were writers and they lose the emotional attachment pretty quickly when it’s their job. 

[Lou]

18 minutes ago, Φαήλος said:

Well he doesn’t miss you. He hasn’t posted in over a year.

He calls me every Tuesday, so it's been a long 5 days.