wopphil

Shoemaker has been ridiculously good. What a shot in the arm he has been to the staff.

Yep. This is where she should start. If that doesn't get her anywhere, maybe Servepro has a bond on which she can make a claim. Unfortunately, it might be hard to find an attorney wanting to take a case like this. Your friend isn't going to want to pay $250+ per hour out of her pocket, and few attorneys would take a case like this on a contingency.

Aren't they a sovereign people? Don't they want to be recognized as independent and not interefered with by our government? Don't they want their own laws so that they can take certain advantages (like operating casinos)? Why, then, do they have any right to be offended by the names of sports franchises outside their territories, and why do any of us give a shit what they think? This is beyond absurd. More of the same crap from this horrible administration (which, by the way, openly and proudly befriends Jay-Z, which in Cherokee means "he who loves to use derogatory n-word term.")

I laughed too. Glad it was a grand slam that did us in and not just a double. But in Scioscia's defense, most of us were happy to see Bedrosian get the save opportunity. I actually don't fault Scioscia for this loss (though I would not have brought in Frieri).

Game of the year. So glad I am at work. If this had happened while at home, I may have beat the dog.

Shoemaker's peripherals suggest he is major league caliber. The HR/9 is too high, but the hits, walks, and strikeout ratios are outstanding.

It seems to me that Green ought to be in Orem if healthy. I know he is young, but he isn't that young. Lots of 18 year olds play in Orem. If he can't compete there at 18, I can't imagine he is that great of a prospect.

We are watching our generation's Ruth/Williams/Mays, playing for our favorite team. It's unreal.

Never question our fearless leader. Don't you all understand he knows way more than all of us? He won a championship 12 years ago, after all.

Awesome video, glad I watched.

Yep, I so badly wanted it to be good, but it looks absolutely aweful.

Great report. I hate to be negative, but it seems this has been a relatively disappointing year for our farm. Outside of the Alvarez and Bedrosian, nobody has had any breakthrough performances. Lots of decent seasons, but nobody is going to be jumping onto any top 150 lists anytime soon.

Would be nice if Howie - with his .534 OPS the since May 12 - showed up and did something meaningful today.

Yep. He was solid earlier this week, so I'd be shocked if he got demoted after tonight. In fact, he needs to get back out there tomorrow to get back into a rythym and get the ball coming out of his hand well.

Every single person on this board knew what would happen by, at the latest, Upton's at bat. Of course Scioscia had no clue Freeman would rip the ball too.

. Aaron Crow is the guy I was thinking of, though he actually slipped a bit the next draft. Also, every mock draft I saw had Newcomb going 6-11. Even if he can just jump from 15 in this draft to 7 or so in the next, he stands to get a fair amount more money (plus, a college degree). And if he improves on what he did, he could go even higher. Again, I am not saying this is likely, just that it wouldn't be unprecedented. This sort of thing happens every few years.

I generally agree with your original point, and odds are Newcomb signs. But it wouldn't shock me if he didn't. If he is very confident in his ability to replicate his success, he may believe he can increase his draft spot and his signing bonus, while also obtaining his degree, by not signing. And although I haven't done the research, my guess is there are plenty of other comps besides just Appel. What about Luke Hochevar?

Mark Appel says hello.

Since his last homerun two months ago, Ibanez has a .428 OPS over 134 plate appearances. But I am sure he will get hot any day now. We should all just trust Scioscia on this one.

Is 40% of the way through an historically great season. All 13 of his starts have been quality starts. He leads the AL in WHIP and ERA. He is averaging over 7 innings per start. And his k/bb ratio is 7.36. I was in the camp of "glad we didn't pay him that much," but I think it is safe to say that every pundit, analyst, and scout who said he doesn't compare to Darvish was wrong. This guy is walking away with the Cy Young, and possibly the MVP too.

I'd take a game loss just to get the chance to see Aybar throw an inning.

Freeze now tops my list of most despised Angel. I never see him do anything other than strikeout or GIDP.

Which just goes to show how stubborn scioscia is and how statistical analysis plays zero role whatsoever in any of his decisions. I am thrilled with what the team has done this year, but Scioscia's decisions are often mind boggling. If we miss the playoffs by a game or two this year, you can bet his bullpen mismanagement and loyalty to guys like Ibanez will be an issue.

I don't think any team will take him at the $17 mil he is owed, and I certainly hope the Angels don't take that risk. But I'd love to see him for half of that, as long as we aren't also giving up a good prospect.

Me too. In fact a number of the moves I wanted to see made would have been busts. The Angels are better off with Dipoto as the GM than with me as the GM.