wopphil

“All of a sudden”? 

“All of a sudden”? 

I saw Donnelly at The Catch back in the day and jokingly asked where he hangs out in Oakland when he plays up there.  He said “Not even our baggage handlers hang out in Oakland.”

And the beautiful irony of a black man indicting a rich, racist, white former president. It’s a great day in ‘Meirca! 

Lock him up?

Angels Medical Staff, "Stick out your tongue and say Ah."
"Aaahhh."
Doc, "Yup, that's a shoulder injury."

Gary Sanchez is still available. For a couple million, he might make a lot of sense. 

Gary Sanchez is still available. For a couple million, he might make a lot of sense. 

Suarez last two seasons amount to 207 innings (includes time as a RP), he's posted a 110 ERA+, 3.86 ERA, 4.01 FIP.  

Not sure what people are wanting to see from him but considering how much money people were willing to give guys like Matt Garza when he was a FA (an owner of a 108 ERA+ at the time he was a FA), Suarez is kind of becoming the Howie Kendrick of SPs.
Time to ignore his awful rookie season when he should have been in AA and focus more on what he's actually been doing.

And let’s be honest:  Whoever signs Ohtani is going to get 2 or 3 years of amazing results, a couple of years of great to good results and 5 years of “he can’t do both anymore” for $60 million/year.
He’s my favorite player (along with Trout) but he’s turning 29 this year.  How many more years can he do both?  Will he still be starting 30 games and hitting 35 bombs as a 38 year old?  I won’t say he can’t do it because if anyone can, he can.  But he’s already had Tommy John surgery and what he does puts a lot of stress on his body.  And we don’t know how he will age because this is unprecedented.  
Unless the team commits to “cap” level payroll or above for the duration of the extension, it probably won’t be worth it.  
It’s going to sting terribly to watch him do amazing things for a half decade with another team.  But ultimately I can deal with it if that money is allocated in a way that lets the Angels be a perennial contender and not a disappointment with another aging superstar.

There is a lot of baseball left to be played this spring. Let’s see where these guys are at four starts from now. 

Offer him 12/500 and get it done. 

Offer him 12/500 and get it done. 

Offer him 12/500 and get it done. 

Let’s get 3 of the top 9 and call it an off-season!

This is great. It’s hard to guess what he will do this year, but if it’s anything like what he did last year, he will be a huge addition to the staff. 

I have been thinking this too, and I don’t think it would be a bad thing. It would give us yet another league average bat at a questionable position - more depth. 

I think they challenge the Dodgers for the division. The Dodgers lost so much talent that they failed to replace. I could see them dropping to 90-95 wins, and that might be where the Padres end up as well. 

But also a reason for hope for 2023.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to grab another starter at this point. The only options - a guy like Wacha, for example - won’t move the needle much beyond the internal options. The money would be better spent on getting two of the available pen arms. 

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to grab another starter at this point. The only options - a guy like Wacha, for example - won’t move the needle much beyond the internal options. The money would be better spent on getting two of the available pen arms. 

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to grab another starter at this point. The only options - a guy like Wacha, for example - won’t move the needle much beyond the internal options. The money would be better spent on getting two of the available pen arms. 

I am confident Perry gets another arm in the next few weeks. And a guy like Chafin or Moore would go a long way toward improving the pen. 

I know I get called a pessimist for this, but the Angels as currently constructed, appear to be an 85 win team. When the trade deadline comes, they'll be too good to sell off pieces, not good enough to emerge as a clear buyer. So I think they'll do little of consequence. 
85 wins won't be enough to get them into the post season, and after the year, Ohtani is going to sign a 500 million dollar mega deal to play with either the Padres, Mets, Giants or Mariners, and the Angels will get nothing in compensation that makes it even remotely palatable. However, at the end of the day, are you really sure paying one player 500 million for his 30's is the right move to make? 
It'll sting at first, but the Angels will have dodged a bullet long term because he's not going to be doing the two way thing will at age 35, let alone 40. 
Of course, the winter isn't over yet. The Angels may still get another starter and reliever, in which case depending on the quality of those, this could be closer to a 90 win team and that could change things entirely.