Dave Saltzer

Las Vegas High Rollers?

Sometime soon I will write up my ideas for realignment. I think you will like it.

Here's an article with a scouting report on Gilbert: https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/4/10/17217324/2018-mlb-draft-scouting-report-logan-gilbert-rhp-stetson He is now 6-1 on the season with a 2.98 ERA and a 76-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 54.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .192 against him. Along with the ERA, both of these numbers are inflated after his last outing. I think it is safe to say that Gilbert’s first three innings were more indicative of the pitcher he is. His ceiling is pretty high in my opinion. He has the looks of a solid No. 2 with four pitches that can all be above average as he develops and uses them more. He should be one of the early college arms off the board in June.

Thanks for the feedback Jeff. I appreciate your insights. How much have you heard about the desire to really do realignment from MLB Execs? Besides Portland, where else have you heard (if you've heard) being discussed as possible expansion sites? On a similar and somewhat separate note, how much do you think we, as fans, should make of the decrease in attendance for many teams so far? As that more media/fan chatter, or is there more concern at the MLB level?

I think that Portland would need/want a retractable roof as well as Las Vegas. With their 150 days of rain or so, they'd need at least an indoor stadium, and, they'd need heating for it, which makes the costs similar to cooling for Las Vegas. As I pointed out in the article, Portland hasn't shown a big history of fan support for baseball, so it's hard to imagine another Major League team doing well there. While it would create a "rivalry" with Seattle in the minds of Executives, I don't think it would create a real rivalry with fans like the Angels/Dodgers. So, I'd rather see a team move to or expand to a market where it can thrive and draw good crowds, and that seems to me to be much more likely in Las Vegas over Portland. Any realignment plan needs another team in the West and one in the East, so, Las Vegas is my top choice for the west. Now, at least, the gambling barrier is gone, so it's more likely to happen.

What if the BPA is another outfielder? Since it is truly a rarity where a single player would be that much better than all the rest of the country, I think our farm is at a point where we can be a bit more selective and look at what we can use a bit more overall in the system. Looking at our system, a lefty arm would be very useful. Given the choice, I'd ideally choose a college lefty over a prep pitcher, if all else is equal. Now, as much as I want a lefty, I want the best pitcher available, and I've heard really good things about Winn from Orange Lutheran. I'm not so sold that Steele would be the steal of this draft. But, I'll wait and see.

Okay, one of my sons wants to vote to 4th inning single. A second son wants 1st inning single. My 3rd son wants to predict a 3rd inning HR. Their friend wants a 4th inning double. Allof their predictions are off the starter.

Why I said 1st round HOFer is that I don't see anyone making a logical argument against him being in the HOF and no one will have to convince others of the merits. And, the player won't have to hope to get in during a "weak class" class. That's significant. Old yardsticks die hard in baseball. 300 wins used to be the magic key to getting into the HOF, but with a 5-man rotation, increased reliance on a bullpen, shortened pitch counts, etc. it was becoming a nearly impossible number to achieve. Someone had to break that, and IMHO, Blyleven was the perfect one to do so. It wasn't his fault that the teams around him at times were really bad. That he was so close to 300 should not have been held against him, yet so many voters did in fact hold it against him. By putting him into the HOF, it made it a lot easier for future pitchers to get into the HOF without the magic ticket. I believe that Edgar Martinez should also be in the HOF. But again, many voters hold his lack of a true position against him. But, if you watched baseball during his era, would he have been one of the most feared batters coming up with a man on and the game on the line? I'd say easily yes, and as such, he should be in the HOF. But, it would take (and has taken) a strong argument to change the minds of many voters for him to get into there. Ichiro isn't in that category, IMHO. I think he will get in on the 1st ballot because outside of Ricky Henderson, he would be one of my top choices for a leadoff hitter over the last 30 years or so.

I agree. I don't get his logic either (assuming there is a logic).

Jonathan Mayo had us taking on OFer with this projection: https://www.mlb.com/news/projections-for-all-30-first-round-draft-picks/c-274577288 Frankly, I don't see it. I'd rather see us go with another strong college arm, particularly a lefty, to pair up with Canning and make a new rotation for the team fairly quickly. Maybe he thinks that they will move him to 1B or someplace else, but he has to know our future OF is much more set with Marsh and Adell than another bat. 17. Angels: Steele Walker, OF, Oklahoma Walker's best tool is his bat, to go along with his outstanding instincts and makeup that allow his tools to play up. He's also been one of the better offensive performers in the college game this year, something that could appeal to the Angels (see Thaiss, Matt).

One of my sons wants to change his prediction to a first inning single off of Leake.

Driving my kids and their friends to baseball practice, some of the friends wanted in. One predicts and 8th inning single off a reliever. One predicts an 8th inning HR off a reliever, and one predicts a 4th inning double off the starter.

Other legendary things that have gone the way of the Dodo--managers getting kicked out of games for arguing calls. I miss those. A couple of times a year, it was well worth the money to see Weaver stomp on his cap or kick dirt. Now, with instant replay, it's too clinical.

Very much agreed. Injuries suck. I remember having such high hopes for him as a player.

Forgot about Todd Greene. Thanks for reminding me. I remember seeing Todd Greene shanking one out of the stadium a mile foul over the 3rd deck down the 3B line. That was a bomb, but not an HR.

Something legendary indeed. We'll tell our kids about the times when players would play with passion and weren't afraid of ejections and things to duke it out every now and then. Heck, it often got players to bond and get fired up to make a push for the playoffs.

What's with the hatred?

The longest shots I've seen live at Angels Stadium: 1. Bonds' shot in 2002 2. Bo Jackson's shot in the All-Star game 3. Possibly/probably Trout's last night (need an official measurement). If it were 524, it would be the longest, but in retrospect, I'm guessing about 460 is right.

Loved watching him play against every team but the Angels. Great player. And honestly, I see this as a bit of class. Instead of retiring against the Angels, with Pujols possibly collecting 3,000 hits up there, and with Ohtani taking over as the face of Japanese baseball, it's a good thing. Definitely a first round HOF, and yes, had he come earlier he'd push Pete Rose for the all-time lead in hits.

Anyone got access to ESPN? Keith Law has a new mock draft out. http://www.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=8328

So who is going tonight for a chance to see history?

As I said in the article, he is my favorite player, and his story is utterly compelling. He will forever be talked about as a player. Additionally, his story, particularly going straight from college to the Majors without any Minor League experience is utterly impressive. To put it in perspective, in the last 38 years, it's only been done 8 times. Seeing how there's probably been about 8,000 players in the Majors in that time span, saying someone is 1 in 1,000, regardless of all else, is pretty legendary. Don't get me wrong, Langston has better numbers. But Abbott's story is legendary, and my favorite player. It's okay to disagree, but it doesn't make one opinion right and the other wrong.

That's where I'm at, but I can see why some would think he is. As I wrote, Simmons' defense is worth the price of admission. And, he has become so much better as a hitter than I thought he would be when we first got him. I can easily see him becoming the legendary player for the position, but for me, it will take several more years of play at this level to beat out Fregosi.

I emailed off the creator of the Topps and Beckett Media's list with some questions about their list. I'll post the responses I got here. If you all have more questions about the Topps and Beckett Media's list, please post them here and I can pass them along for answers. How did you all determine which players to place in your lineup? Was it based on the most cards sold or were other criteria used? We chose the teams based on four key variables: Star Power of the player…. What the player means to the fans base and what their peak popularity was… What the player means to the hobby and collectors… The overall skill/accomplishments of the player… These are each weighed differently for each player/card and we realize there is no perfect answer. We certainly invite discussion and new thoughts/ opinions on how the list could be improved… Why did you go with Jim Abbott as the starting pitcher and not Nolan Ryan? The pitching decision was a really tough one! Obviously Nolan Ryan, Chuck Finley and Jered Weaver were tremendous pitchers for the Angels. They had longer careers and in all three cases accomplished more on the field than Abbott… But this is one instance where the importance of the player’s card weighed very heavily. Abbott’s ’89 Bowman Rookie Card was released during a watershed moment in collecting and with him being selected 8th overall, then finishing 3rd in the Cy Young voting as a 23-year-old, his peak popularity and the importance of his card got him on this list… Why did you go with Percival over K-Rod? This was really close. K-Rod’s peak was incredible and he had some electric years as the closer. Percival did as well and ultimately spending a full decade as the team’s closer and finally winning a World Series (we know K-Rod was great in the WS too) gave him the nod…but this one was as close to a 50/50 call as we had. How come you list Carew at 2B when the overwhelming majority of his time as an Angel was at 1B? This was between Bobby Grich and Rod Carew, who, even though he spent most of his time with the Angels at 1st, we felt could still be slotted as a second baseman, since he spent much of his career their. A fictional, legendary Angels line-up with Carew AND Joyner at the plate, along with the popularity of their cards, nudged us towards that decision. What were the toughest positions for you to decide for your legendary lineup? You mentioned them, for sure. The two hardest were the starting pitcher and relief pitcher spots. There were passionate cases made for all those guys and we gave it our best shot, sticking to the guidelines we put together. We know some fans may disagree, but that’s the point of the teams…to invite discussion and come up with the best squad.

Look, there are lots of personal favorites that I left off the list. Some of them hold very special meanings for me as I got to know them off the field as well as on the field. I did consider Langston, and loved it when we had the 3 big lefties in our rotation, all with 18+ wins. But, it was hard enough working Abbott into my lineup, and Langston wasn't going to supplant Finley. As for Chili Davis, really loved it when he played here, but there was no way he could supplant any of the starting OFers or Vlad. Loved him as a switch hitting DH, but there just wasn't room on the roster for him. I'm telling you, making this roster is not easy.