Hoops McCann

Absolutely worth it.

The only way he should be traded is if the haul the Angels receive would make it impossible not to trade him.  Not a really good deal...or even an excellent deal, but rather, that deal is so damn good there is no way it can be turned down.  And that isnt likely to happen.

I've finally fully bought into the concept that Albert is in his steep decline.  For the first few years when he came over from the Cards, I thought he'd still be a .850-.950 OPS player.  Now, looking at it with an unbiased opinion, he's in a steep decline.

He will hit better than .153, but I do not think he will hit over .250 this season and his OPS will be no higher than .750.    That contract is god awful now...ouch.

Their current GM hacks other teams computer data bases for scouting reports. It appears they flourish by breaking the law.

Nice try, but no.  It has yet to be determined if the GM had anything to do with it.  More likely, a low level underling in the scouting department.  Let's hold off the condemnation of the GM until the facts are known. 

Brandon Phillips would be a good possibility. 

Parra and/or C. Gomez from the Brewers wouldnt be good, although, not sure Angels have the prospects to land Gomez.

It really is inexplicable, in a way.  Waino goes down, but everyone moves up and Garcia comes in and they have the best starting ERA in the majors.  Jaime Garcia, the oft injured lefty, has been incredible so far.  1.8x ERA and a WHIP around 1.0.  As long as he stays healthy, the rotation is looking very strong.

Holliday goes on the DL with a quad injury, so Heyward heats up and starts slugging.  Grichuk (sorry, Angel fans) has really been raking, that is when he doesnt strike out.  But, I think one of the real keys is Kolten Wong at the top of the line-up.  He leads all NL 2B in slugging and is #2 in OPS at the position.  He plays a great D and has good power.  He's been a real spark so far this season.

But, it's a long season and the playoffs can be a crapshoot; however, if the Cards can keep that starting ERA below 3.00, that's going to be tough to beat.

I will say this.  If this is indeed true, whatever punishment the FBI and MLB lays down will be totally warranted.

I am certain that the senior executives didnt know about this as the hack was very unsophisticated and noted it was easily traceable.  I'd like to believe if this was sanctioned by the team, they would at least use better hackers and a proxy server to avoid being caught.

Is there a more hateable National League team than the Cardinals?

success breeds hatred, but I'll take consolation in 11 WS championships or 19 NL penants. 

And, the answer is...Cubs.

Maybe I'm over reacting but I think this is reason enough to strip the franchise rights from the current owners and put the team up for sale. Kind of like banning the White Sox from baseball the Commissioner could iron fist this so it never happens again. Until Pete Rose owns a team.

overreact much?

Didn't think I could hate the Cardinals more than I already did but they found a way. "The Cardinal way" What a joke.

must be hard hating continued success and excellence. 

Being a Cardinals fan...Mike Trout

As an Angels fan...Bryce Harper (or McCutcheon as a close second)

Randal Grichuk went 2-3 today with a HR and two RBIs.  His OPS is .924 and he blossoming into a really good player.

Why, again, did Dipoto include him in the deal for Freese again?

After watching him, I am convinced he's going to be a similar player to Jim Edmonds.

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but Randal Grichuck has been very good since coming back from his back strain.

He's OPS is now around .925.  This kid has a lot of upside.   This is the player, not Bourjous, that the Angels should regret giving up.  He'd look very good in the Angels OF this season.

Puig, Pederson, Kershaw, soon to be Corey Seager and Julio Urias. Add in the fact they can spend more money than anybody else. Will be hilarious if they somehow don't end up winning at least one WS over the next several years

Depends on how many times they have to meet the Cardinals in the post-season:)

You left out the fact that the starting pitching is fair to poor and the bullpen is also fair, at best. 

I'm no fan of Dipoto, in fact, I think he has done a terrible job in assembling the roster.  Arte likely forced his hand in the past, but this year, he didnt do much to upgrade the team and the poor pitching I put squarely on his shoulders.

All-time?

Cool Papa Bell has to be up there

Three-finger Brown

The Yankee Clipper

The Splendid Splinter

Of course, I always loved Stan the Man...

Did anyone get the license plate of the bus that Arte threw Hamilton under?

Hamilton was a massive let down..a mistake and a mistake that is squarely on the shoulders of the owner.  Moreno, unhappy at the production from Hamilton as well as the relapse, saw an opportunity to ditch Hamilton and that's what he did.

The Angels are essentially eating the contract to get rid of him.  That tells me they were disappointed with his production more than his relapse, but used the relapse as an excuse to get out from under the contract.

Everything else is just obfuscation.

This is going to be a very big blow to the team.  Season started out so well for the team and Waino.  If it is a ruptured achilles, then he's out for the season, at the very least.  There are a few guys in the minors (Gonzalez and Cooney) who can step in, but Waino is almost irreplacable. 

NL is a far superior version of baseball than AL ball.  Disagree all you want, but NL has lots more strategy than AL ball and I find it vastly more exciting.

Hey, that's cool. The Rangers had a historically awful season, but I'm not the type that gets all wound up about it. I was pulling for the worst record in baseball so we'd get better draft picks, but they even failed me on that. ...and you guys will probably never feel a baseball pain as bad as our Game 6. I've got the thousand-yard stare. If it makes you feel better, pull up the video of Freese's double over Cruz. I can't watch it, but it'll probably give you a good laugh.

it was a triple, not a double and it was a thing of beauty.  But, let's be honest here...the Freese walk-off was pretty special too.

That was an enjoyable read.  Good stuff and I think it is very cool that this site does that. 

What is his Value over replacement Grit?

was at the game and what a game it was.  My head is still reeling from the adrenalin rush of the game.  Great atmosphere..almost as good as the 2011 WS.  Almost, but nothing will ever top that.

That was an incredible catch.  Looked like a single off the bat.  Did he actually catch it? 

AP is going to come through here. 

That's productive baseball there.  Aoki is responsible for that run.  His speed allowed him an infield single as most would have been thrown out.  And then he makes it into scoring position on the sac fly.  Team speed.

Salas is not the right call to the pen if that is, indeed, the call to the pen.