eaterfan

10 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Portland is drenched in dirty, defiant, anti-capitalist, insatiable, entitled, angry people.  Do we really think they are going to fill a ballpark with people paying mlb retail ticket prices?

That’s a bad bet.

And good luck getting them to spend $14 on Nachos.

First they would protest the price.  How are they expected to afford piercing cleaning solution AND Nachos?

Then it would be the anti-cheese and chicken demonstration. Meat is murder.

And of course there would be the hunger strike demanding the name be changed from Nacho to NachX.

Nachx is cultural appropriation of TexMex culture no matter what's on them.

44 minutes ago, Deek said:

Salt Lake and Nashville make the most sense to me:

 

Opposite ends of the US

Strong economics to support

Seemingly solid fanbase

Honest question. What makes you think the economics of Salt Lake City are better than Portland? SLC has a much smaller metro area population (1.2 vs 3.3, practically 1/3 the size, Portland metro is about the same as all of Utah), and the metro population has a much lower median household income ($65k v. $78k). A large portion of the SLC fanbase won't use what are two of the three biggest sponsors (and probably all three) of alcohol, caffeinated soda, and gambling. They won't consume two of those three high profit items in the stadium. What data were you looking at that led you to the conclusion that SLC had stronger economics than Portland as far as how it could support a team?

Do you really just mean that the owners will get big subsidies for the stadium and development projects so that's why you want to see a team there?

I know you didn't bring up the baseball aspects. But that will be a lot more trouble than Portland, too. 

I'm not sure any of these places are good for expansion. I don't even think Vegas is a good place.

1. Nashville - population of metro area is 1.9 million. It's pretty small. 81 home games is a lot. Fun city to visit. This is probably high on my list

2. Portland - population of metro area is 3.3 million. That's decent sized, roughly OC population. They do support the Blazers and Timbers well. Fun city to visit. This is high on my list, too.

3. Charlotte - population fo metro area is 2.6 million. Panthers get medium support, but are supported well when they are good. Never been. Probably first on my list

4. SLC - 1.2 million metro population. It's tiny. It's at high altitude. Last on my list. 

5. Orlando - Who cares about metro. They have two teams that can't draw there already. It's hot AF so it has to be a dome. 

6. Montreal - 4.1 million metro population. Too cold early and lat in year so would need dome. Another Canadian team increases any international issues that already exist, couldn't support the last team. Granted, Loria sucks so maybe a better owner could succeed. Would be best option if they did succeed. 

Of these, I think Portland and either Charlotte/Montreal make the most sense, due to market size and potential support. I don't know that I was longing for more teams, but whatever. I'd probably go with a third team in New York before many of these options.

People should try to do some research before making assumptions based on a media bubble. Here's a link to the FBI crime stats:

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/ucr/publications

I beg you to please review these before posting about how crime ridden Portland is compared to safe places like Nashville. 

Nashville Metro has 570.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Nashville has 2,449.5 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Portland has 302.6 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Portland has a 2,746.9 property crimes per 100,000 residents. So you have an 88.5% higher chance of being a victim of a violent crime in Nashville and a 12.1% chance of being the victim of a property crime in Portland. 

Granted, the most recent data is from 2019.

If you prefer something more recent here's US News - 2020

https://realestate.usnews.com/places/oregon/portland/crime

https://realestate.usnews.com/places/tennessee/nashville/crime

Don't worry Conservatives. You can still rip on Dems! The mayor of Nashville is a Democrat. But safety isn't why a team should go to Nashville (really over any place on this list.) 

16 hours ago, James said:

Considering a team exists in Denver, I dont think elevation will be much of a factor in this decision.

Yeah, and the team in Denver has problems because of it. Baseball there is so different there than everywhere else and it hurts the players who play there. Teams going have trouble adjusting and the Rockies have trouble leaving. It's hard to attract free agent talent without overpaying immensely. The Angels try to skip AAA for their top prospects, especially pitchers. That should tell you all you need to know about Salt Lake City.

Will MLB expand there if it makes them the most money (highest stadium/development subsidies, and highest expansion fee)? Absolutely. Will it be the worst possible place to expand from a baseball standpoint? Outside of Mexico City, it definitely is. 

18 hours ago, gotbeer said:

https://www.nhl.com/ducks/news/ducks-name-mcilvane-head-coach-of-ahls-san-diego-gulls/c-343856392

Interesting.  Really young.  37 YO.   And a Euro.  But he's been a winner wherever he goes.  

Wonder what this means for a coach for the Ducks?  My wish might be in the running now.  As maybe a Euro style game is going to be introduced.

I mean, his last two coaching stops have been in Europe, but I don't know if that makes him a Euro. He's from Illinois originally and started coaching in the US. I presume he grew up with the North American game.

I'm not a draft expert, so I may be missing something, but if Colorado and Boston meet in the Cup finals, IMO the 2nd most likely matchup, then the Ducks would have three picks in a row at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd, right? Stanley Cup runner up, Stanley Cup champ, then the Ducks?

I know even the most likely scenario is still very unlikely, but that would be a funny worst case scenario for the Ducks trades from last year.

1 hour ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

If Quero can maintain an OPS over .800, and keep up his strong walk/strikeout rate as a 20 year old catcher in AA, the dude should be a top 10 prospect.

 

Wonder if they'll start trying him at first base? With him and O'hoppe on the same team, that could end up being a lot of bat to waste.

If both develop then you have to trade one. You don't turn the rarest asset in baseball - a good hitting catcher - into a decent 1B.

If he can't stick at catcher, that's one thing. Or if his bat is sooo good that you want him in the lineup every day and don't want the ware and tear on his body so he stays healthy longer, that's another. But to just move him to 1B because catcher is taken is a huge waste.

Eakins officially out per Eric Stephens. He had an expiring contract that won't be renewed.

21 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

I'll go optimist and say that when you have two defenders that were released from other teams in Shattenkirk and Beaulieu eating up defensive time.  Not to mention Klingberg who does not play very good D.  That's a lot of the defensive problems.  Just their elimination with younger more skilled players will go a long way.  Just looking at how LaCombe was able to move the puck, and make effective passes, along with playing good D will make a difference.  Also having Drysdale a full season will help.  

One stat that I really liked about LaCombe.  2 GP, 9 blocked shots.  x25 games (50 total in a 82 game season), that's 225 blocked shots.  That would double any defenseman's total from last season on the squad.  Overall not sustainable probably.  But what that does tell me is that he is in the right position on defense to be able to block those shots.  Something our other Dmen lacked considerably.  

Don't get me wrong, it's not impossible for this team to make a playoff run next year. I just don't think it's likely. This team was dead last with Drysdale in the lineup, if I remember correctly. Bedard would go a long way towards competing, but in the scenario where we are debating Fantilli, Michkov, and Carlson, Bedard is already off the board. 

I just haven't seen enough from Zegras, McTavish, and Drysdale to think they will be able to carry this team to the playoffs next year. I mean, look at the talent on Detroit. I think we may be a year behind them and I think they are more talented. They didn't make the playoffs this year. Seider, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Hronek, were all guys who are better or comparable to the young guys on our roster. 

Maybe a coaching change will help, but I think we have another year or two at the bottom of the standings before this team is a real playoff contender. Even adding a Fantilli or Carlson. That's why waiting on a guy like Michkov isn't the worst thing. I'm not a scout, but if the Ducks are really high on Michkov and think he's on a tier above Fantilli, I don't know the timeline for him is too long to wait. Unless they think he may never come over.

27 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Tough call if you select #2.  I think Fantilli fits more of a Beeker mold.  6'2", 187 vs 5'10", 148.  Of course then you have the second coming of McJesus, in Bedard at 5'10", 185.  

Also, I think the Ducks should be ready to compete next season with the top selection, so waiting 2 years might also be an issue.  

This is where Maddon will be a big influence if we don't get #1.  

Anything is possible, but this team finished with the worst goal differential in the last 20 years. I think this team will be pretty bad next year, too. Maybe they finish 10th from the bottom, but I can't see them making the playoffs.

I might go with Fantilli over Michkov, but I won't be upset either way. 

Pens owe us for winning Crosby over us. 2 big losses to CBJ and Chicago.

Penguins have been eliminated with the Islanders win today. They have nothing to play for against Columbus tomorrow. We'll see who even plays. Not saying CBJ is the favorite, but I like their chances of getting a point a little better than if the Pens were playing for their lives.

43 minutes ago, deepdrive said:

We're to that point where every game means a lot regarding positioning. It doesn't seem like you can say what is going to matter past a couple days. It can change so much with the combinations of wins and loses.

One win for Anaheim, Chicago or Columbus could take them out of the top lottery spot and a win + tie  probably would. If SJ gets another point, they probably get stuck at 4.

I'm saying it would be meaningless for the Penguins if they get eliminated before either of those games. Had they lost last night, it would have been possible. Having Pittsburgh coming off the emotional let down of not making the playoffs and possibly resting some of their starters would give Chicago or Columbus a much better chance of winning. That would help the Ducks.

Now it seems like the Pens will be playing tough until the end and that means they will probably beat Chicago and Columbus, unfortunately. 

13 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Well, in the early game, Columbus got taken to the woodshed by the Devils.  Let's hope Chicago and the Sharks fare better.

In actual playoff news, Pittsburgh says they aren't done.  Florida is holding serve.  

No help from everyone last night. Was hoping Pittsburgh would lose so there is a chance they could be eliminated before the end of the season. They have games against Chicago and Columbus remaining so it would have been nice if at least one of those was meaningless for them.

3 minutes ago, deepdrive said:

The Colorado game is in Anaheim.

Going to Arizona is just a fake road trip.

Thanks, for some reason I thought it was in Denver. But the B2B still gives them the excuse to play Ek if Gibson is even remotely injured.

1 hour ago, gotbeer said:

I thought it was odd that Gibswim didn't start last night.  We have the back to back this weekend, so maybe they are going to throw Ek out there as a goodbye present.

Having him start against AZ would be a way to try to lose. The back to back (especially with night 2 at altitude) gives them an excuse to play him and have a whiff of plausible deniability. 

1 minute ago, gotbeer said:

Oops.  I was looking at the conference standings, and not leaguewide.  Damn Columbus.  

Hopefully, we lose in regulation on Saturday. That's going to be the biggest game of the season and do a lot to determine the draft order. I don't think any of the teams we are competing against take any more points.

Luckily, with the tie breakers the Ducks can win against Arizona and Vancouver and still be ahead of the Sharks in the lottery odds. That point they picked up against Colorado looms large. 

I'd love to finish dead last because a top 3 choice is guaranteed. The Ducks will at least have the choice between Mitchkov and Carlson and get to decide for themselves if they want to take the risk on Mitchkov coming over (and the time it will take to get him in the system). 4th wouldn't be terrible since you get at least one of those guys. 5th is a tier down, from what I've heard. I don't profess to be an expert on amateur hockey scout or have original talent evaluation. 

16 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

4 games remaining.  We have guaranteed a finish no lower than 3rd.  So we'll pick 5th in the draft atm.  

I assume you mean 3rd from the bottom. I'm not sure how you are getting there. It seems unlikely we finish with more points than SJ, but it's possible. They have 60 points and the Ducks have 56. If Anaheim wins out, they finish with 64. So they could finish 4th from the bottom and get the 6th pick. Am I missing something?

2 hours ago, mrwicked said:

Tonight will make things a bit more clear: we have game in hand, and the other 3 pathetic losers are all playing.

A point by any of them will be fantastic.

We own any tie-breaker by way of our sh*tty number of regulation wins, so that's an embarrassing positive for us as this goes down to the wire.

I would love for a couple of them to get wins. I think the Ducks have the easiest remaining schedule. Their game against Arizona will be huge.

I diagree with most here and think it will be tough for the Ducks to finish with more points than the Sharks. Ducks have a game in hand and are 3 points behind with 5 left to play. And Anaheim has the tie breaker. I'm hoping the Ducks don't get 3 more points all season. 

Columbus and Chicago are definitely the more realistic threats to finish behind the Ducks in the standings.

Hopefully I didn't jinx anything.

Just looked at the standings and I could be wrong, but it looks like 4th worst is the "highest" the Ducks can finish, unless I'm mistaken. They are 10 points behind Montreal with 5 left to play. So they can catch them in points, but isn't the first time breaker regulation wins? Ducks have 13 and Montreal has 20. Ducks can only get to 18. This would mean Anaheim finishes below them in the standings. 

Ducks 13 regulation wins is the lowest by a couple games.

18 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

This also means, we are in the 5th worth record position now if we win out.

And everyone else loses out. 

On 3/11/2023 at 10:24 AM, Chuckster70 said:

Why is it that it's just Sam crying about this though? You don’t see Fletcher, Digi, Shaikin or any of the MLB beat writers for the Angels outraged about this. 

He doesn’t owe reporters a thing IMO. Just let your GM cook and give him the resources to do his job well like he did this past offseason.

Maybe it’s just me but Blum comes across as someone who likes to stir things up on Twitter with a generally young Angels fanbase that seemingly always have sand in their vaginas. 

If you just want to hear what the owner/team have to say you can just follow their Twitter and read their press releases and the pre-post game show. Reporters should ask tough questions, give analysis, and point out contradictions. 

Yeah, if you want to claim to be a pillar of the community and what binds OC together like sports teams do, then you do have to have communication with the stakeholders. Doing one interview with a national reporter every 3 years isn't that. 

2 hours ago, aznhockeyguy said:

This was one of my criticism of him when the Angels drafted him so high.  Throwing 100+ is great, but if he can't locate or get a good secondary pitch, it doesn't matter.  I'm also not a big fan of drafting reliever prospects that early in the draft.

I would normally agree with the reliever stuff, but with the slot pool allocations, if you can save money on a 3rd rounder and put those funds elsewhere then have at it. 

The pool money (and remaining college eligibility) makes evaluating a draft impossible without looking at the thing holistically. Great drafts can tank early picks to load up in later rounds. 

23 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

Who is that going to be?  Whoever it is won't be giving them $150M a year.  It can't really be an already-existing RSN that carries baseball, since the team schedules would overlap.

Also, for what it's worth, other RSNs not owned by Diamond Sports Group are having issues.  The Astros, Rockies, and Pirates RSNs made their first rights payment of the year, but for less than the contracted amount. 

https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2023/wbd-att-rsns-light-on-mlb-rights-payments-1234709889/

 

Maybe, or maybe not. The issue for Diamond might not be the revenue stream but the interest payments because they were leveraged to the hilt when they bought it. 

If someone buys the rights for the same price but can reduce costs by not having interest payments due, it's possible to make a profit even paying those prices. I don't know what the margins were and the amount of interest, but it's very possible that deals could be similar. 

Not saying it's likely, but it's possible the costs just got out of hand and the revenue just didn't grow as they needed it to with that much interest due.