ten ocho recon scout

This hit me a few years ago... as much as I hate them, it's hard as hell not to sit back and admire them. It's not just the money they have, but they just constantly seem to make the right moves. (Aside from October)

I think the Angels FO is still in there not showering, and staying in their bedroom for 4 days listening to The Cure phase right now. And their friends are telling them "bro, you just gotta get out there and bang the first Asian meet, and you'll forget all about Ohtani!" And then we probably got stupid drunk at a party and came on way too hard to that guy the Giants just signed. We might get lucky and act kind of smooth and get Yamamotos number. But then screw it up leaving 8 voicemails that night like in Swingers.

It will be Ron Washington. I was driving past the stadium today at work. Not thinking of it at all because I drive past it all the time, but as soon as I was passing in front of it was like a gut punch... looked over and saw the team logo where Shohei was. Felt like I just git dumped and was driving past the sizzler my ex and I had our 2cd date at. Like "why did you leave me, babe!" Then I realized I was taking her to dinner at the sizzler in the dating phase. And I think that's how shohei saw it. Like "the all you can eat shrimp was cool, but... when you asked me to get the salad bar and we could split it was.... shitty"

Read this earlier today and am wondering the same thing. I'm sure it was more or less the same, but he wanted LA..

Regarding loyalty, I read somewhere else either today or yesterday, and it stuck, basically "tell that to Vlad and Torii". And it's a solid point. Lackey was demonized when he left for Boston, but knowing first hand how the negotiations went might make it seem different to some people. Basically, if this team or any other is going to love on when they think someone is done and not worth it, it's fair for the players to see it the same way. I mentioned on here a few months ago some things I was told by players back in the day about the org Penny pinching on so many things, whenever that story earlier this year about CJ Wilson calling the Angels out broke. And then you look at it from a guy like Ohtani's perspective... I'm sure Ohtani was happy here, and would have liked to stay. And I'm sure he would have done the same deal for the Angels. But it was all based on "do I truly expect this org to get it together any time soon?"

.... so I'm guessing no Ohtani MVP bobblehead next year?

This was genius

We are all Snafu now

ccd242f1-9d80-42fb-b9c8-326c74413629.mp4

With hindsight, of course With forward vision, of course. A lot on here were actually pretty vocal about it. I was pretty much in that camp. I liked that we went for it this year, but because it was too late.... it was last second hail Mary time.

"All we have to do to replace Ippei is find two guys who kind of speak English and Japanese" - Perry

That was great

No. We all do. I also hope he wins 10 rings. It's back and forth. You love the guy and want him to succeed. But you also absolutely hope it backfires huge for the Dodgers. Just normal fan stuff

Something that I've been kicking around in my head the last hour or so (among a bunch of other things). It's already been said to death that we had 6 years to convince him to stay, and that's true. But I think more directly it was the last 2 years. This past year is obvious enough. But 2022 shouldn't be ignored 2021 Ohtani becomes the biggest story in sports. Ohtani becomes an international sensation, and probably the most popular ballplayer since Griffey. You still had Trout and hope for Rendon. And we proceeded to fill out the roster with guys like Jack Mayfield, and Gosselin, and Velasquez, and Lagares. I liked last offseason, and was excited about Renfroe in particular, and liked that we added depth. But we again stayed away from true impact guys. I think if you're Ohtani, after the previous 4 seasons, knowing that if Arte wasn't going to go all in with him at his peak, he was never going to. It was probably pretty clear to him that he would be the next Trout, with Trout the new Pujols, and making the next 6 years like the 6 before it

To clarify, what's the $40 million number I'm reading? The Dodgers are paying him $2. Year, but for luxury tax purposes does he count as $40 something?

I mean, he hasn't really done much that made sense the past few years so who knows. But I don't see any way he stays now. He lost money. Crushed the fan base (even if Ohtani was never going to stay). Is unwilling to buy a ring and doesn't have the farm to miracle one. So it's not like great times are ahead I don't think we're going to hear anything directly from him again, until he's gone. But again, who knows

I can tell you we won't be getting as much free Chic Fil A after 10 runs this year, so I think it's us.

He's got a massive ego so doubt we'll ever hear anything. But I have to assume he's gone here soon at this point. He took a massive hit in the media, and sith the fan base. He just lost the biggest name in the game to his hated rival. And I think @Jeff Fletcher or someone on here mentioned recently, Bally Sports is dying and that will hurt his income in a huge way. I think the most we'll ever hear is the media saying Arte is selling again, and we'll never hear from him again.

I think he already "did" with that interview he gave earlier this year. Like I said in another post, I thought that meant Ohtani and him had worked something out, like "I'll match whatever you're offered in FA." Or something. And who knows, maybe there was something to that. And maybe something over the course of the year changed. It absolutely seems like Ohtani was headed to the Dodgers all along. And like @Inside Pitch mentioned a few days ago, he would have been there 6 years ago if they had the DH already. But I can't believe Moreno would have stayed unless he had some sort of indication Ohtani would stay too. Moreno played this out so poorly...

I hate to post from hindsight, because none of us really know anything. But you almost have to look back at 2022 and think they should have made a take it or leave it offer, realizing there was nothing they could realistically do to drastically improve the org as a whole in one season, and if Ohtani wasn't committing, you couldn't risk how it all ended up. Again, that's with hindsight. But I quietly expected that Moreno deciding to stay had something to do with a gentleman's agreement with Ohtani and we would end up keeping him.

Skaggs dying was obviously horrible. Same as Adenhart. There are worse things But damn, looking back at the past year... it's hard to not see this as the worst "period" in team history. Moreno finally decides to sell... then changes his mind. That was the warning of things to come... We finally aquire depth. Then it all gets hurt. Including our recently acquired blue chip catching prospect. And the guy we traded to get him turns in a good year, hits home runs in the playoffs We trade from our shit farm to aquire guys who end up not helping out, at all. Like literally at all. Giolito... dear Lord did that one backfire on us. Everyone hurt... ... and when we finally show signs of some life and hope, the team makes moves and immediately goes on a losing streak that crushes the season. And all you had left to watch (aside from some interesting young guys) was Shohei. .... then he gets hurt and doesn't finish the season, while he was on a possible course to break Judge's new HR record Season ends with a whimper. Ohtani bails to the probably worst case scenario team for Angel fans. And signs this ridiculous contract that absolutely helps the Dodgers... so we don't even get the hope of him crippling them going forward like the Pujols deal did to us. Now we're left with literally nothing. And the team is far worse off with not a lot of hope (like suddenly freed up from a shit contract, exciting farm, etc). Moreno still the owner. Like I said, people dying is far worse. But this is pretty much the magnum opus of pathetic from a franchise that has plenty to choose from. Not just Ohtani leaving, but how literally everything that could go wrong this past year did. Cherry on top is that roughly within the same time frame of the past year, we got to watch MLB adoringly cheer Albert Pujols suddenly find his old self and reach the HR milestone. And we were paying him as he did it. Holy shit its been a bad decade.

I have the Stephen Holland Ohtani painting hanging up. It's next to the Trout and Vlad one. I thought it was cool to have 3 MVPs displayed. (And I don't have have really any other memorabilia but those). It's not like I'm gonna take it down. (Cost way too much). And I still love Ohtani, and it's still cool to have those 3 up. But now its weird looking at it. Not in a "fuck him" way, but in a "this is awkward" way.

In the parking lot after the game.