Turd Ferguson

I may be in the minority here, but I really don't mind not spending this offseason. I don't think this team is a FA or even 2 away from being competitive. And I don't think any FA available this winter, outside of Shohei, had the ability to substantially alter the team. We have been burned too many times by signing the same caliber of FA that was available this winter to exorbitant contracts. 

Now, if this becomes the new norm rather than a 2024-specific strategy, then I have a problem. 

Angels gonna Angel.

Well, this is ... alarming. 

This offseason seems to indicate a sale. Lots of one year deals for spare parts; no long term commitments. That is my hope, anyway.

I was hoping this would be a poll so I could subtly vote.

No, I will not root for Shohei. He's on a different team, probably the worst team he could possibly join from my perspective. 

But there is no chance I would ever root for him to get hurt. Many of these posts are pathetic. And definitely not emblematic of the many, many passionate fans that I have met over the years. 

Quickly losing respect for several posters that I though had reasonable posts over the years.

1 hour ago, mmc said:

What is it about this guy that’s causing people to make such retarded posts?

Typically, not "that guy" but I've seen enough of your posts to know you have many, many better adjectives than "retarded." Please use different terminology.

On 12/24/2023 at 10:11 AM, FromJapan said:

Since Ohtani joined the Angels, NHK (a Japanese public broadcaster) had broadcast almost every Angels game on its satellite channel throughout the season. Additionally, many games were broadcast live for free on a Japanese internet streaming service. Games involving other Japanese players were not broadcast on a regular basis, and games between teams without Japanese players were rarely broadcast, except in the postseason. For this reason, over the past few years, in Japan, the Angels have become the most watched MLB team. Many travel agencies in Japan have offered plans that combine watching an Angels game with sightseeing in Anaheim and/or Los Angeles.

The following are an English translation of the titles of recent Angels-related topics as of December 25th that are posted on a fan site for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which Ohtani belonged to during his NPB days. Since this is a fan-based site, some titles are ironic.

• Angels: "We lost Ohtani, but we gained more Japanese fans, so it's okay."
• New Angels manager Washington travels to Philadelphia to meet Trout.
• Rendon (29) .319 AVG, 545 AB, 174 H, 34 HR, 126 RBI, 1.010 OPS ---- Angels: “Yeah, we got him!”
• Will you still support the Angels even if Ohtani is gone?
• Trout maintains no comment on Shohei Ohtani's transfer.
• Without Ohtani, the Angels will be able to use the DH and starting pitcher rotation more flexibly, making a comeback.

Thank you for this. It makes a ton of sense. Though Ohtani has departed, hopefully his exposure on the Angels will endear the team to some Japanese fans -- we have enjoyed the support from, in my opinion, some of the best fans in the world.

I hope to enjoy more of your posts and insight going forward. Domo arigato gozaimasu!*

*Please excuse my clumsy attempt at Japanese. I have been inspired to try to learn the language. 

I thought this was about how much Rendon earned every at bat.

In all seriousness, congrats -- my #1 source for Angels news: has been since 2013 and was before then while I was lurking!

21 hours ago, FromJapan said:

When I was a child, I was a fan of the Osaka-based Nankai Hawks (Pacific league, NPB). The team's owner passed away in 1988, so the team was sold and moved to Fukuoka City. The team I was a fan of was gone.  My daughter has been a fan of Ohtani since he was in high school, so after he joined the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, I occasionally watched Fighters' games on TV.

By the way, the following is a post related to Angels, but its authenticity is unknown.

 

Thank you for this update. Fujinami has a very impressive arm. He would certainly be an asset if he heads here!

We will miss Ohtani, but the true Angel fans appreciate his time here and wish him the best.

I am curious, though, has Ohtani's time with the Angels made the Angels a more popular team in Japan? Obviously, losing Shohei is not fun for us Angel fans but if Ohtani has at least somewhat raised the profile of the Angels to the talent-rich future of Japan, there is certainly some silver lining there. 

Just sell the team already.

I wouldn't have an issue taking a flier on him. However, he hasn't pitched in MLB in 3 years; there's the very real possibility that he's just not that good anymore.

Without his golden goose, hopefully Arte circles back on some of those offers to buy the team. This whole franchise needs a hard reset.

It's all a test. Shohei is strategically placing information to see who leaks it. Dodgers and Blue Jays are out. Either we are in great shape or Perry is still in Nashville.

Obviously clearing salary for the $600M Man.

Jim Bowden urging people not to "guess and lie" is just fantastic.

We were all so young and optimistic...

Anyone but the Dodgers.

Cimber was tough for me to hit in the MLB the Show 23, so there's that.

21 hours ago, totdprods said:

Injuries really fucked the 2023 team. IMO they very likely could have made the wild card otherwise. There was a point in August where we had basically an entire team on the IL…

Two catchers in Stassi and O’Hoppe, an entire infield in Drury, Neto, Rendon, and Urshela (eventually Rengifo), an outfield in Ward, Trout and Adell. 

A rotation’s worth in Canning, Suarez, Bachman, Daniel, CRod, and a bullpen in Joyce, Warren, Quijada, Devenski. 

And yes, there was a point where they basically all overlapped. An entire team. 

 

Don't necessarily disagree, but how is this different than any other season? Seems like we are crushed by injuries every season. Is it a training room thing? Player thing? Pure bad luck? That's what I think we need to get to the bottom of.

Maybe our offseason budget should go into a new training staff.

Arte asked $3.5B. He received 2 offers at that amount on the same day. That prompted him to withdraw the team from market because he thought he could get more.

Not that it has ever been a mystery, but the guy could care less about the team; it's a pay day for him. 

And he has signed players that could care less about the team; it's a pay day for them.

And just like that, the Ohtani era ends in a whimper. 

Unbelievable. The Los Angeles Murphy's Law of Anaheim. 

33 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Does this look like a playoff team to you?  That thought ended with that 7 game losing streak after the deadline. 

It hasn't since May and I advocated for trading Shohei, but that is revisionist, and we won't re-litigate that.

The issue with this team isn't talent, its philosophy. I think we've seen that with some trades (Mous, Cron, Grichuk) and call-ups. We need a culture shift, not a talent shift. It's a work in progress but I like the direction.

I think Perry is PHENOMENAL and I hope he gets the chance to actually build his own team. "Ownership" just needs to get out of the way, for once.

12 minutes ago, Stradling said:

So you pull him and put Moniak in?  What Adams needs is a reaction play where he has to run in the alley and dive for a ball. 

Of course not. But isn't this supposed to be a playoff contender? If so, Adams shouldn't be out there. If not, well...

What Adams needs is the ability to react to a play and, if he doesn't make it, his team bails him out. In my opinion and from what I've seen, Sandoval hasn't helped there.