markb

I just bench-pressed my couch after reading this post.

is your google on layaway?

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2014&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=17,d
 
Familiarity breeds contempt.

I love it when guys step up against teams that traded them away.  Cowgill has pretty much teabagged the A's this year.   Before tonight:  .417/.462/.667

Alex Curry
 

They told him to stop, but he ran through it.

Join the chatroom, and tomorrow there won't be any threads calling you out for what you said during the game!

Pretend his avatar wrote that and I think it'll make more sense.

So are we now debating who is responsible for not making the move that hasn't been made?

Aybar has had a couple seasons where he deserved consideration but he's had the misfortune of playing in the same league as our Lord and Savior.  

I think your friend is sleeping with your girlfriend. 

That wasn't me

Pujols looks like he's second guessing himself every swing.  I think this is more mental than physical at this point.

Pujols looks like he's second guessing himself every swing.  I think this is more mental than physical at this point.

A man 20 feet away puts his hands up in catching position.   
 
"Over here, Raul!"  
 
*Ibanez spikes the gnome into the ground*

On a mound.

A man 20 feet away puts his hands up in catching position.   
 
"Over here, Raul!"  
 
*Ibanez spikes the gnome into the ground*

The team is 11-13 when Conger starts and 20-15 when Iannetta starts.  
 
There are plenty of valid reasons to criticize Scioscia this season, no need to randomly invent reasons that aren't.  

The team is 11-13 when Conger starts and 20-15 when Iannetta starts.  
 
There are plenty of valid reasons to criticize Scioscia this season, no need to randomly invent reasons that aren't.  

Watching Bedrosian get squeezed prompted me to look at the PITCHf/x data tonight...
 

 

 
Maybe he had some money riding on the Astros.  
 
I'm sure this will invite conversation about Iannetta's pitch framing as well, and maybe justifiably so.  But the two most egregious calls to my eyes were both Bedrosian fastballs that he didn't even move his glove for.  

Today on "What Planet Are We On," Erick Aybar on pace for a 100 RBI season.

With Blanton, or the Steve Finley experience, or a few others over the years, the alternatives have rarely been all that appealing.  Right now we're dealing with this with 3 .800+ OPS young guys just sitting there, while he plays LF nonetheless, when one of them is also a plus defender.  It feels like little league where the coach gives special treatment to his own son and pisses off the rest of the team.

The Angels international department was essentially shuttered after the Clay Daniels fiasco when he was basically caught skimming money -- when that happened it set the Angels back a decade.   If you have netflix, do yourself a favor and watch the movie Pelotero, it will give you a tremendous insight into the process in places like the DR.  Anyway, when word spread that the Angels people had been robbing players they were blackballed by just about every player handler in the DR.   These handlers basically take players in as young as ten years old, they feed, clothe, board, and train them until they are able to finally sign at which point they get a huge cut of the signing bonus.   These guys are the power brokers, they are the guys that point guys towards certain teams and have a great deal of influence and control...   Those were the relationships that were lost or destroyed.... those are the relationships that the Angels have had to rebuild.
 
As others have stated, recent rules changes to the international signing process will likely end up spreading the talent a bit more evenly, the only real jackpot players are the Cuban's with service time in the Cuban leagues who also meet certain age requirements and the Japanese players.  

With Blanton, or the Steve Finley experience, or a few others over the years, the alternatives have rarely been all that appealing.  Right now we're dealing with this with 3 .800+ OPS young guys just sitting there, while he plays LF nonetheless, when one of them is also a plus defender.  It feels like little league where the coach gives special treatment to his own son and pisses off the rest of the team.