itsKnoppUitsme

Why tf do people here think Burnes would sign with the Angels?
Any of the top spenders in FA would love to have him and I’m sure the Orioles themselves would bring him back with their new owner looking to spend. Their team is STACKED. Why leave that for Arte (who doesn’t spend big on pitching) and this roster

Okay, the story Ohtani's lawyers are proposing is pure fiction. Here is where the timeline burns them. First it was reported Ohtani was paying off Ippei's gambling debt.
 But that is considered a gift and as such it would have to be reported to the IRS by both Ohtani and Ippei and would create a tax burden. If either hadn't reported gambling winnings or debts along with the gift then they are in violation of tax laws.
If either reports gambling winnings or losses, MLB gets involved which would threaten Ohtani's contract and MLB career. 
The money came from Ohtani's account which is supervised by his accountant. There is no way these withdrawals could have occurred without Ohtani's accountant being aware and notifing his client. 
So Ohtani's lawyer fabricated a story of bank theft, which is nearly impossible. The only real plausible situation is Ohtani was betting and using Ippei to make the transactions thinking it wouldn't be traced back. And I am sure the FBI knows this along with the IRS. 
Ippei should have gotten a better lawyer before falling on a sword. Supplying a story that will be proved a lie by the FBI and IRS is going to cost him prison time either way. Bank fraud or lying to cover Ohtani's gambling still lands him in jail. Unless he takes a plea bargin.

How would an interpreter get his hands directly on the cash from Ohtani's paycheck to divert it in the first place? I assume that he gets a paycheck just like everyone else who provides a service. I can't imagine how this is even possible. Something just seems really off here.

I think it only makes sense that Ohtani is a terrible gambler

I think that's a fair way to look at it.  I guess my feeling is that the offense probably has more variable outcomes than in almost any recent season.  If Trout and Rendon are healthy and are at least in the universe of their prior performance AND the young guys are healthy and take steps forward, the offense could be quite good.  If either Rendon or Trout get hurt for an extended period of time again and/or don't perform up to their standards, then the offense will probably be average.  If Trout/Rendon aren't healthy/don't perform AND a couple of the young guys don't hit like we're all hoping they will, the offense could be disastrous.
Yes, you can come up with scenarios like this for other teams--but given the Angels recent history and the uncertainty around the younger guys, I just think the offense is more of a wild card than most teams' offenses are.

Me checking here to see if we signed Snell/Martinez

He’s a dodger, I will always hate him. Could have gone to literally any other team I wouldn’t give a F. Hate hate hate, double hate 

October 2002...

Winning the World Series, and Nolan Ryan's no hitters as an Angel, to me were much bigger.

Papelbon, the Katt Williams of MLB!

Papelbon, the Katt Williams of MLB!

I haven’t watched the interview mainly because we all hear what we want to hear.  If you think he is a piece of shit that is stealing money, then you will hear that in his interview. If you judge a player because of religion, that is what you are going to hear. If you like the guy, then you will consider his injuries and their part in his inability to live up to his contract. If you hate the guy you will say that he doesn’t care. If you like the guy, then when he says he wants to spend time with his family, you would say he has his priorities straight. If you hate the guy and he says he wants to spend more time with his family, you will say he “hates” baseball.  If you like the guy and he says he has to do a minor tweak to his off season routine, you say, good, hopefully he can get healthy again.  If you hate the guy and he says he has to do a minor tweak, you lose your shit over a lack of commitment to not have a complete overhaul of his off season routine, or you ask, “where was this minor tweak 3 years ago”.  
Personally, I see him as an injured player that hates the media. I see him as another in a long line of “what if” type players. 

By @ryanmfalla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
It's not everyday you find an ace-caliber high schooler bulldogging his way to top prospect rankings just one year out of high school, and it's even less often that you find that arm in the 11th round of the draft. The Angels latest top prospect, RHP Caden Dana, came into the Angels organization as a high schooler in the 2022 draft, and though he’s pitched less than 80 innings with the organization he’s already established himself atop the leaderboards. Though he has pitched just one full professional season in the minors the quality of his stuff, as well as his physical and mental makeup, has firmly entrenched his status as a soon to be big league starter. The maturity present in the now 20 year old speaks for itself with his presence on the mound, and his dedication behind the scenes allow his best qualities to shine regularly. When talking about Caden Dana you often hear whispers of ace-like potential, yet when analyzing his ability it becomes clear this conversation should be more than just whispers.
“It was a big step for me going from high school ball to facing grown men in Rookie ball. It was different but I adapted pretty quick. I stuck with my main intention from high school; just throw strikes, focus, and get that out.”
His first full season in the Minors saw him waste no time establishing his stock as a top organizational prospect. Dana struck out 89 hitters across 69.1 innings of work between Low A and High A in 2023 while allowing just four home runs. Hitters managed a sub .300 OBP while seeing power numbers fall to a meager .324 slugging percentage against his stuff. He also performed well against the splits as right handed hitters managed a lowly .621 OPS while lefties hit for a similarly meager .619 OPS. This was not across short sample size either as Dana pitched against righties in 155 PAs with lefties seeing the plate 126 times. Dana’s strikeouts may be the most upfront indicator of his Major League quality, yet his ability to sap power out of bats is the talent that will spell the most success for Dana going forward.
“I'm just trying to keep them as off balance as possible, keep them guessing. Don't let them know what's coming. That’s my goal, if you get off-balance swings you won’t give up too many home runs.”
Through 53.1 innings at High A Dana registered as a top pitcher across multiple categories in the Northwest league, notably finishing the season as a top 5 pitcher in K/9 rate (12 K/9), K% (31.7%), FIP (3.23), and Swinging Strike % (16.6%). Despite producing most of his outs through the flyball (43.7%), which would be the 6th highest FB% in the Northwest League, Dana managed a top 3 HR/FB rate of 5.5%. This ability to keep the ball in the park bodes well for his future pitching in Anaheim as Angels stadium has seen its fair share of flyball/strikeout pitchers find great success. Dana tends to comp towards a Noah Syndergaard type given his edge towards power pitching over finesse, though he does come packaged with a fair grasp on strike zone control for a pitcher entering his age 20 season. Attitude and energy wise, Dana is reminiscent of Angels favorite Jered Weaver, a quality sure to play well with fans in the coming years. His presence on the mound is highly aggressive, and his ability to spot the ball all across the zone is strong enough to give credence to the future stars ace-like comparisons. Dana’s physical frame (6’4, 215lbs) supports his power repertoire well, offering confidence that he will continue to add velocity onto his already mid to high 90’s power fastball. His slider looks to develop into a quality Major League out pitch, and once he furthers his sense of control on his hammering curve Dana will present a true force to be reckoned with as an Angel. 
“I got a four seam fastball, change up, split change up, 12-6 curve and a slider. I can play up and down. I can play east and west. I like bullying hitters with my fastball, really test them with that. Build off that with a curveball or slider, really test them with the secondary. All of my pitches work well with each other.”
The Angels have made a recent habit of spending over slot in the draft to attract talented high school pitchers edging towards college. Despite being a talent capable of first round quality development Dana fell to the 11th round of the 2022 draft, leading to speculation that he would take his talents to the University of Kentucky before the Angels swooped in with a well over slot bonus to secure his talents. The Angels would repeat this same strategy in 2023 after swooning pitcher Barrett Kent with a well over slot bonus in the 8th round to keep him from fulfilling his commitment to Arkansas. Instead of watching top level high school talents refine their draft stock in college, and likely fall out of the Angels reach, the organization has taken to securing these arms before they can develop into surefire top 10 picks out of college. An inspired strategy for an organization often picking outside of the top ten, why wait for talents to become first rounders in three years when you can roll the dice in the middle rounds now? This strategy has so far proven effective as Caden Dana’s development has him fast tracked towards a soon to be Major League starting role.
“I was drafted on the third day of the draft, my agent called and told me the Angels had come up with a really good offer. They ended up drafting both me and my brother [Casey Dana] that day. My dad was on that call too, it was something I had only dreamed. The Angels had proposed the idea the day before we got drafted. I was happy and also pretty shocked to hear that, I didn't think that situation was possible going into the draft. It was the best outcome for me, my brother and my family. Getting everyone into the picture together.”
Dana’s path to the Majors is quite straight-forward from here as he finished 2023 with success at High A, seeing his last three starts all go for 6 IP with at least 7 K’s in each start (9 K’s last two starts). It would not be out of the question to see him begin the year at Double A, and from there he’s just a stones throw away from the big league club. The Angels are quickly preparing Dana for a Major League workload as he regularly threw 80+ pitches an outing last season with four of his ten High A outings being 90+ pitch affairs. You often see 18 to 19 year old prospects average 40-60 pitches an outing, signifying the Angels desire to develop a Major League stamina early. This is not without warrant either as Dana came into the organization with a natural ability to maintain quality of stuff deep into starts, especially the strength of his power fastball. The stars appear to be aligning for Dana to make his big league debut in short order; as is the Major league starting staff is not particularly deep and with the Angels tendency to promote prospects out of Double A there appears to be a clear shot to the Majors for Dana. Especially should the bottom end of that big league starting depth fall out of order in 2024. Realistically speaking Dana is earmarked for a 2025/2026 debut, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him making his first big league impressions late in 2024 come September call-ups. He is one of the more aggressively minded pitchers within the system, and with the stuff to back up his bulldog mentality he is sure to provide impact quickly once he hits the Majors. This organization may be far removed from the modern glory days of bulldog aces like Jered Weaver or John Lackey, but with Caden Dana in the fold Angel fans can look forward to a starting staff that will bring Angels dominance back to the AL West. Dana may simply be a prospect today, but come tomorrow we will see him shine as one of the brightest spots in the future of the Los Angeles Angels. 
View the full article

All our asian fans are bouncing to the Dodgers 

F Arte!   Get out of MLB!
Not for Ohtani but for being a joke of an owner who couldn’t care less about building a strong org and franchise.
Last straw was cheaping out Clint Hurdle.

Is there something about this team not to feel miserable about?
You do realize that fans of New York & Chicago teams will spend day and night complaining and acting miserable about teams they support, when those teams are sucking it up.
Perhaps if you visited the Anaheim Ducks board, you can tell all the fans who have been following the Ducks for 20-30 years, and are now bitter and miserable about how things are going, that they should also stop following their team.
The Angels have a pathetic owner, haven't come close to making the playoffs as a wild card team for 9 straight seasons, and just lost a generational player to a team that everyone here apparently hates more than any other team in the league, and you're asking why following them makes me miserable?
When the Angels have a decent owner, and demonstrate that they're capable of winning and making the playoffs, and I'm still complaining, feel free to criticize me all you want.  Fact is, if they ever got their act together, which under current ownership seems highly unlikely, I'll be more than happy to convey an optimistic tone.  Right now, I'm sorry, but I can't sit here and say what an amazing ship the Titanic is, and how happy I am to be on it's maiden voyage, while it's taking on water.

Kimchi could be his nickname  😎

Did you get in on any of those sweet nerd orgies?

Should have stayed California Angels, the more I think about it.   First became a fan in 1966, when it was a relatively new name, and loved it since.
Nowadays, they supposedly would be barred from changing it back to a state name.

To be fair.... As a former Angels GM he probably thought it was normal to put anyone and everyone on the DL.
 

Can he stay on it for 2 more years!?

You can’t forget the elephants, they are all in the room!

You can’t forget the elephants, they are all in the room!

You can’t forget the elephants, they are all in the room!

If you listen closely you can hear Troy Glaus popping opening the champagne.  The record lives on!