Jeff Fletcher

Geez, I can’t believe this is still going on. Yesterday before the game I asked another coach a little more about the situation and was told that they still could have bunted. Why they didn’t probably had something to do with the changing pitch probabilities as you get into the count and the changing value of the bunt when you’re moving one runner instead of two. Also, and this is my interpretation, but it’s a lot more risky to bunt with Adell at 3B than with him at 2B because he’s got to actually make some decisions on his own in that case, and well, we’ve seen how that’s gone. Finally I think that Drury’s absence from yesterdays lineup adds a whole new layer to this. Even though Wash says he was available, and he looked to be available as he was pacing in the dugout, maybe all that was an act. When I get to the ballpark today I plan to ask more about Drury. (And also Ward. He’s the second best OFer so I don’t know why he was DHing.)

It was a little confusing, but we asked Wash all of that. He said he wanted Adrianza to bunt. It wouldn’t surprise me if Adell stole third on his own, which then changed the equation. You’re not going to then lift Adrianza for Drury in the middle of the AB. Rengifo for Neto made sense because Rengifo has been hitting better and he’s a lefty. He could have hit Drury for Schanuel, but he said he wanted Schanuel to learn how to handle that situation, which does make some sense too. Also, Schanuel is a lefty and is likely to put the ball in play. It was unfortunate that he popped up. I noticed Drury walking around with his bat and helmet in the dugout throughout the inning so I’m not sure what they had in mind for him if it was none of those situations.

Seriously. if the Angels get through the season and a healthy Jo Adell has been on the bench the whole time that would mean everyone else is healthy and performing well, which would be a problem the Angels haven’t had lately.

I think it’s unlikely the people who made this decision (either Mountcastle to appeal it or MLB to change it) gave any thought whatsoever to Schanuel’s streak. I also really don’t think this streak was anything that MLB fans in general, beyond Angels fans, even knew about.

The marlins are now 0-5 and they blew a 5-0 lead on Sunday and a 4-0 lead on Monday.

https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/angels

What he always says is that he doesn’t start out with a predetermined limit. If he wants to spend $x on Player A, he asks and Arte says yes or no.

Yes

Well they ended up NOT going over the luxury tax. The premise of the whole thread was “if you’re over, would you have less to spend.”

I am not sure how to answer that. I don’t think they’re planning on trading but certainly they’re aware that they can.

My guess would be Strickland and Zuñiga with Soriano starting in the minors.

Washington said they sent down Soto because they want him to play and not sit on the bench. I definitely think they value him more than Adrianza in the big picture

As for Cooper, I suppose he'd be better than Sanó. The other guys still don't play shortstop as well as Luis Rengifo, so you're talking about a No. 3 shortstop and No. 6 infielder. Also, the player would have to want to come to a place where he's the No. 6 infielder. I'd call any of that hair-splitting. I do think Brandon Belt would be a decent addition at this point, but who know what he's still looking for.

Probably not. My last conversation didn’t lead me to believe they expected anyone’s price to fall enough to make a difference. That’s not to say it couldn’t happen or Arte couldn’t change his mind, but don’t hold your breath.

They also have position players they like at every spot. if you want to replace someone with a bona fide upgrade, that’s probably $15M at least. If you’re talking about “depth,” that exactly what NRI’s are. It’s fair to quibble that they should have signed Nick Ahmed as an NRI or given Brandon Crawford $2M instead of Ehire Adrianza but in all those cases you’re talking about a guy who does nothing but play defense, so I’m willing to shrug and say their evaluation is better than mine.