Dave Saltzer

Congrats to Shoemaker for making the team! Good job. Very happy for him.

Looking forward to listening to it . . . once the kids are asleep! Been a rough and busy day.

The Angels are going to go through a lot of bullpen arms. Innings like that will make sure he's on the short list to get a call up.

The press conference will begin around 1:30 and Mr. and Mrs. Moreno, Jerry Dipoto, Mike Scioscia, and Mike Trout will attend. If it is like events in the past, I would bet that some alumni Angels will attend.

Wow!

Looks like Rondon and Towey are both going to the 66ers.both should be challenged. I though Fish might have gotten that bump up too.

5 things I've seen this past week I haven't seen in two years.

 1) Consistent starting pitching 2) Bullpen holding leads 3) Two out hits with R.I.S.P.  4) Late inning rallys  5) A long winning streak

 

I,d love to see a few weeks like this when it counts.

I agree with everything you said and was almost going to put #5 as one of my reasons, but I went back and saw that the Angels had an 8-game win streak in 2013. I couldn't believe, but they did.

I have to say how awesome Jose is for coming on to do this and how amazing it is to see how our site has grown. Jose and Terry were there at the beginning at Hail Marys and they're still here as we're getting ready for the start of the 2014 season.

Looking forward to this. You've got to ask him about what his father thought of this and what is what like as a kid to hear this. Seriously, his dad never played with Pedro Borbon.

Thanks Dave,

I agree with your top ten. I would also say that I am excited for Angels baseball beyond 2014, which has not always been the case. I like where the Angels are going. It has been a while since I have been able to say that.

I like what Dipoto has done and is doing by writing ouT an organizational philosophy, spelling out exactly what a player needs to do to earn a promotion, being aggressive and challenging prospects with jumps so that they can grow more and faster. Lots of good things to watch for a long time.

Do Craig posts count?

I wonder how many page views we've had over the years.

About the glitch, quick question and I may be way off base here...

Was something edited out there?

Not at all. As others pointed out, time flew by, as did space on my memory card. I was going to edit it better to make the transition more smooth, but decided that the bit that I caught regarding the stadium improvements was important on its own and left it in there so we could get as much info from his talk as we could.

Good analysis. I agree, his screwball was just filthy, and I'm looking forward to seeing it all season long! Plus, he's such a great guy. As much as we all will miss Mark Trumbo, Santiago's personality and stuff plus Skagg's stuff will more than make the Angels a better team this year.

Bumping this for the people who didn't attend Fanfest or watch the interview. Jerry telegraphed the move to the crowd in his answer to the question about what the rotation and bullpen would be. Notice who he does not mention.

If you haven't watched this video, along with the Tim Mead Dugout Talk (which is in the process of being posted) you really should prior to the season.

I did love what Jerry said about Blanton at Fan Fest. He said Joe had to perform to make the team, but that's not the part I liked. He also said that Joe had a bad baseball season, that doesn't make him an evil person. That's the part I liked. I know we talk about hate and sports hate on here. I truly think that some fans on here took it personal when he performed poorly. It went beyond sports hate. I know we aren't suppose to feel bad for millionaires (I guess), but whenever a career ends there is sadness there, regardless of how poorly he performed. There will come a time when all of us become less productive than we once were and we will have to step aside, that won't be enjoyable for us either.

Thank you for reminding us of the classiness an professionalism that Jerry brought in his answers and for pointing out an often overlooked fact. Having a bad season does not make one a bad person.

I am convinced that he would have been a success either in business or politics had he never been a baseball player. He is very charismatic and thoroughly knowledgeable about every aspect of the organization. I would love to sit through a game and just talk shop with him.

I hope he hits 40 bombs and 20 of them against the Dodgers.

Me too. Can't help but root for him to have a good season overall and a great season against the Dodgers.

Jim Abbott is more than one of my favorite players--he's a true hero and a great guy.

Nice!!!  Good guest!

so youre saying I shouldnt buy this book, I should just buy two books written by lesser pitchers?

I love the first book he wrote. Wish it was on kindle so I could download it to my phone when I travel.

LMAO!

Line of the day.

Thanks for the nice article Dave.  

 

Question: Doesn't Scioscia lose ~30lbs every winter, coming into Spring Training at his lowest weight, then gains it all back during the regular season?  Maybe the secret to the team's success this year will be for Scioscia to lead by setting an example and keeping the weight off throughout the season?

He may have lost a few pounds each offseason, but nothing even remotely close to this offseason. It's a dramatic difference, and I really think it's his way of showing that he and the entire organization are serious about the changes that they want to make.

I wish I had the willpower to lose that much weight and the time to workout that much.

I got a copy of it from Rob. He does a wonderful job writing. I might not get to it until the summer, but am looking forward to reading it!

We always wonder how we can top our Fanfests, and yet we always do. This one was so great. The players we got were great people and great interviews. Having Sarah Colonna was a perfect improvement. But, for me, the highlight was seeing Bruce. Knowing that he would be with us, his Angels family, meant the most to me.

It is too bad the Angels let him play so much in September and he ran out his rookie status. He would be a lock to win it this year by what we've seen out of him so far.

Yep. Agreed. But, I don't care and I don't think he cares. He just wants to play and gives 100% every time out there. It's been a real pleasure watching him mature from a prospect to ML player.

I gotta admit, I'm beginning to get excited for the season. I'm usually excited in November, but this year, after the last few years, I've distanced myself as to not get too emotionally involved in a crappy team. Something feels different this ST, and after reading this, I'm feeling optimistic.

Me too Carlota69! It's going to be a dogfight this season, but I'm getting excited. I can't make any guarantees, but I can tell you that they are making all the right moves to get off to a good start this year. If they do that, they should be right in the thick of things.