SmallSampleSize

Using the Weaver analogy is not equal.  Or close.

Weav's whole life was and is out here and he had expressed, at every chance he had, how much he wanted to stay here.  And it was painfully different than when every player alive always says the right thing about wanting to stay with their current team.

And never mind that all of baseball was surprised at just how much of a hometown discount he gave the Angels.

We have no idea what Trout's drivers are.  Winning a ring?  Playing on a relevant team and experiencing the playoffs a lot?  Being close to home?

Hopefully he stays but this has no similarities to Weaver. 

Since his family is in NJ, you never know. 

Pinstripes *throws holy water on my keyboard* are never out of the equation - even with papa S no longer around.

 I am currently in the process of taking legal action against Jack Clark and his employers at WGNU 920AM.  I am going to send a message that you cannot act in a reckless manner, like they have, and get away with it.  If I have to be the athlete to carry the torch and pave the way for other innocent players to see that you can do something about it,  I am proud to be that person.  I have five young children and I take being a role model very seriously.  The last thing I want is for the fans, and especially the kids out there, to question my reputation and character.

This is great and he should...if he is innocent.

I saw many posts like this with Armstrong and Braun.   The Armstrong defenders were almost violent.  They must feel great today.

And as for legal action, well...it's well documented what Armstrong did and basically ruined some other careers as a result.

The *!&@# part today is you have had so many cases of the same type of thing being said and proven wrong later that some of us at least (me) become gun shy when this stuff comes up.

I _really_ want to believe him, and not just because he's now an Angel.  I have no reason to not believe him.

The only nagging part of me is his drop off this year after his most recent - and last - contract.   Yes, he has an injury but one he has also suffered from at times in the past - but didn't affect his numbers.

Best case scenario:  Pujols sues, wins, and sets an example to prevent reckless accusations.

Worst case scenario:  His drop off this year could be attributed to signing his final deal and set for many lifetimes, not wanting to risk health issues with further use as no need now, and...

The only other cynical part of me is why is Clark accusing Pujols of all people.  And dragging his trainer into this.  What's his motivation?  Ratings?  Many others he can attack.   I've not read all the articles so maybe there is history here I don't know about.

I hope he's telling the truth, will come back healthy next year, and show everyone where they can shove it.

Funny thing is, if Pujols was still on another team - everyone on Angel fan boards would say "You just now figured that out?!?!?" 

He's on our team, and it's "How dare you!"

There is no proof or smoking gun (or even smoke) other than accusations right now.  Relatively nothing.  Literally nothing.

But if something came out, would any of you be shocked?  Surprised?  Sure, maybe.

I don't believe anyone anymore. 

When millions upon millions of dollars are at stake and guaranteed, this isn't your 1952 MLB'er.

Rewards now can last many lifetimes.

Best thing I've seen

Heh yeah it's probably in the top 10 of my stash to be sure, maybe top 5. 

If for no other reason than the sheer randomness of it all.

So the little fella is walking towards...someone photographing nature?...or a remote campsite?...or ?!?!?!?!

And he is all inquisitive and sniffing and suddenly he decides he wants NO part of something...

...and while easily running along that ridge, he further decides...he wants NO part of this world anymore and just bails!

I probably watched it 50 times my first time (unless I smoked after a bad Angels loss at the time time, in which case probably a little closer to 340 times) and I just don't get it.

Of course the person who added the text to the gif did it perfectly.

I hope the little fella lived.

Edit:  I told myself I'm going to learn how to edit gif's as I've seen some great ones recently - and I need to redo this one to react to Dipoto trades...as an Angel fan.  Will hopefully report back with progress if I can find the source gif.

Oh oh.

That actually strengthens the claim.

We're dead.

Lance Armstrong and Ryan Braun swore on their lives (and at least two generations of family member lives) they were clean.

Has Pujols sworn on his life yet he is clean?

If not, we're fine.

NEED MORE QUARTER BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS PLEASE.

It hurts my soul listening to Gammons say that.

It hurts my soul's soul hearing it. 

Hindsight is 20/20, but this one sure is a MF'er.

If good or bad players are all it takes, then for once...

...I'm excited about Hamilton and Pujols career-low performance this year.

It means some good news is-a-comin'!   Although knowing this org's luck as of late, Arte will can dummy instead of fatty.

But really, after this season is over these fun threads won't be around anymore.  I don't think we'll be 2 weeks into the post-season before Arte announces changes.

No one enjoys being taken for a ride.  Especially not when hundreds of millions of dollars are involved.  Also, whatever he eats on his contract, he knows he's losing MUCH more in all the other associated revenue streams.   A few playoff appearances will more than make up for it financially, in so many ways.

A couple more months, we'll be there.

Mark Reynolds??

I got to love non season ticket holders taking over this thread.

That's true.  Those are the only real fans.

How dare the rest of us...!

It is not a crappy product.    

I disagree.   It is a crappy product.

At least if you define watching baseball as entertainment and then further define it as what attributes of it entertains you.

I never said it's crappy because we lose.   Only a couple teams each year will realize true success.

It's also not crappy because of failed expectations.  Those are debatable each year.

It IS crappy (for me) because I get no entertainment from watching guys look like they are doing us a favor trotting out each night - and led by a manager that seems to be going into a diabetic coma all the time. 

Losing is one thing.  How they are losing is entirely unenjoyably.  That goes for half their wins as well.

Throw guys like Ersty, Figgy, Trout, and hell a bunch of Willits' scrapping each night to try and win and giving it 100%...and give me a manager who shows some fire when needed...and I'll see you at the ballpark tomorrow night.

I haven't gone to a game yet this season and I don't regret it a bit.

 

Can't imagine being a season ticket holder.

Yap.

I wouldn't have mentioned it on here before this thread, but I've not gone to a game in 2 years (well last year and so far this season).

We live in LA (towards the SFV), so we have a longer drive but we still used to go to ~15 to 20 games a year most of last decade.

Now, -zero- games in two years.

For us, it would cost enough that we can go to almost any other fun destination besides say...the SD Wild Animal Park or Disneyland, and with the other options we get infinitely more entertainment for our $$$.

The worst part...I'm starting to not miss it.  I guess you put out a crappy, uninspired product long enough and one forgets why they used it to begin with.

I still follow baseball so I'll follow the team on the radio - or TV if really bored - but I can't imagine someone paying for season seats unless they just like to sit outside and figure being close to fast food is better than just sitting at a park near their home.

Edit:  Wife just said we really only went to 10-13 games a year or so but still...  Damn their record-keeping mind.

I wouldn't shed a lot of tears if Moreno sold the team. He's crippled the franchise with two horrible big money signings and two horrible GM hires, and one stupid 10 year managerial contract.

So weird.  I dreamed of having an owner that would spend on par with the other big name teams (even with Dogs some...100M over us?), but little did I realize how un-fun it would end up feeling.

Guess I can't blame him for trying as the effort was at least a fun experience but...yeah...the Lakers will recover much, much quicker than us I'm afraid.   And with the Dogs getting all this national attention, it's the kick in the nuts.

Give me scrappy small ball again and even if we barely can fight for the last WC, I don't care.  I'd actually watch instead of just have the game maybe on in the background, then check boards later.

I _literally_ don't know an Angel fan who has any idea what this organization is trying to do at this point - game after game.  Not one.

Sadly, I don't think they do either.

Misleading title.

I fully expected this thread to be about his jock.

A-Rod has the highest BA of anyone in tonight's Yankee lineup, sample size excluded.

Plot twist: Cashman fights to support A-Rod's appeal.

I wish we could ban the word "battle" from sports interviews.  

Just 'cause I'm sitting behind Johnson and Greene don't mean I have to be banned. 

It's not like I used PEDs.  Otherwise, would I be behind GREENE on the depth chart?  Really?

Huh? Are you saying that those 15 players are the only ones who ever used PEDs? Those are just the names on one document from Biogenesis

Dammit, I normally only like to write less than 240 characters but...

This x100.  Everything said has come true in essence because...he was mostly telling the truth.

Problem with what Canseco said at the time is:

1)  MLB couldn't (and wouldn't) acknowledge anything for obvious reasons regardless of them looking the other way

2)  He came off as sour grapes and already had some credibility issues so I don't blame anyone for not taking him seriously (source: Me)

3)  Active players wouldn't say !@*# and those out of the game didn't want to back him up since it would only bring ridicule and shame - it was a lose-lose situation

We'll never know how bad it was - or how bad it still is. 

It just makes for fun message board fodder.

With the MLB having such large, long, guaranteed contracts - they will just get smarter and more careful.   When you can put your family and their family and their...on easy street for generations, you know they will keep using because the risk in this case might be worth the reward.

Only way it changes now is change the !*@ contracts.  And you can never ever have 1 strike and you're out because of the miniscule chance of false positive.

<3 NFL.

P.S.  I know I'm in the extreme minority and don't mind the flak but as with some other posters, I feel a bit bad for A-Rod.  Not feel bad for him in general, eff that.  He's set for many afterlives.  But if you believe what all those close to him say about the extreme lack of self-confidence and a large feeder for his addiction to PEDs, it's sad.  I'm sure his childhood/father issues didn't help his confidence.

Imagine being one of the best and not walking around each day on cloud nine with confidence for eternity - but instead the opposite. 

Bonds abused PEDs because of his ego. 

The more I hear daily (if true), the more A-Rod seems like that incredibly hot older woman who knows she is defined by her looks - and despite being the best looking in the room, feels completely inadequate and is addicted to plastic surgery.

Aaaaaaaaand he's a doosh.  But I still feel a little bad for that side of him.

Come at me.

If PEDs were legal...

..Scioscia's players would be too unmotivated to use them.

At best we leverage a Super Big Gulp sugar-enduced over-acheiving quality start by Blanton.

At Salt Lake.

3 for 3 now.

2 for 2 so far today.

Bareev eet.

At least for one week or so, there will be enough to distract me from more circle jerks (in both directions) about our big splashes.

My 2013 Angels reality has devolved into wondering whether D-Train is still suckling the Night Train.

The commish needs to step in and block this...

...in the best interest of my baseball.

Some of you guys are a bit harsh on the PED stuff now.   Especially on the guys who have not been associated with anything other than having a good end to their careers.

Look at me.   I bet you wouldn't think I was maybe using PEDs but I can tell you my message board career, even at this advanced age, has never been better.

I'd go so far as to say that for the first time in my life, I'm now a true 5 tool internet board user.

1)  Can find and link overplayed, animated GIFs in beast mode

2)  Easily at the top of my class in being able to x-post

3)  Few better at my position in ability to repost old content at will and claim first

4)  Top-3 troll of white knights with my own circular arguments

5)  Misuse meme's at a record-breaking, HoF clip

Yap. 

*bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble*

Well, you can't always guess right.

So one guy does well. 

What about guys like Jean Segura eh?  

The Doooyyyyyyers were definitely on their way to contention of that title and then BAM.

Per MLB.com, "...the last 12-game win streak on the road for the Dodgers' franchise was 89 years ago, the 1924 Brooklyn Robins, with Hall of Famers like Zack Wheat, Dazzy Vance and Burleigh Grimes, managed by Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson..."

29-7 in their last 36.  I'd say unreal but that isn't fitting.

If the season ended today, I wouldn't be surprised to see Mattingly get MotY.   From pink slip talk to hardware.