HaloSpurs

If anyone fancies some drinks in London let me know

Honestly as fans I don’t think we should or do care. I personally don’t. I don’t think it’s untrue though. Pujols was signed imo as much for his marketability as he was for his potential future on field performance. This is why you have to question the ownership.

I’m probably one of them to be fair, at least in the more supportive camp, although certainly not trashing the org. The decision is undoubtedly the right one and we are a better team without him in the lineup (as we would have been for the last few years) i guess for me it’s just looking beyond it and at his career overall and just a shame it’s ended like this cause don’t think any player being released is really reason to celebrate, especially not a hall of famer. But I get it completely and why other people feel differently. Clearly he’s let a lot of people down who had high expectations and he’s been such a disappointment. On the field anyway. Off the field it can’t be questioned the impact he’s had raising the profile of the franchise and the long term potential effects of having Pujols in the record books with 600 HR, 3000 hits etc in an Angels uni . However now just time to move on and look forward with Walsh at 1st base full time and hopefully far better production from our outfielders of the future, now and longer term

Late to the thread so probably just repeating everything that has been said but it’s proper mixed emotions. Hes been pretty terrible for half a decade, never lived up to the contract or prior performance, been such a weakness at the plate and running the bases for this team and we are going to be better without him in there. However personally still quite emotional. He’s a true icon of the sport. A generational talent that has done so much for the game. By all accounts an incredible person off the field. And it’s a shame to see him go out like this. I guess as an Angels fan I’m happy this decision has finally been made and we can move on and improve the hitting. As a baseball fan I’m sad that it’s happened like this and not on his own terms, but glad we can celebrate such a special career

Is it just me or is this the weakest AA lineup I can remember for a long while? Is there anyone there (bar Detmers) we can really expect much from?

Honestly, you may want to take what I say with a pinch of salt because I am undoubtedly biased and a bit of a homer towards Maddon due to the support he has given to us over here in the UK and what a truly great guy I think he is; but I genuinely don’t think there is a better manager for the Angels right now than Joe. @Second Baselisted a lot of his decisions in this and I don’t think you can read that and not agree that in reality he is getting a lot right, and is in then with a lot of what the franchise wants. It may backfire if he gets injured but his handling of Shohei this year taking the training wheels off has made us such an exciting team to watch, given us a chance to appreciate just what a special talent he is and helped us win games. He can’t do too much about the rotation but he’s been quick with the hook when he’s needed to be and while there have undoubtedly been some questionable bullpen decisions which have backfired, I don’t think his handling of it has been a net negative overall. I think in terms of roster decisions im slightly uncomfortable with his usage of Albert and I think we needed to make a move to have Walsh at first most days and someone else (Ward maybe) out in right. This is a really tough stretch and results aren’t going our way, but this team still feels different. There’s more energy, more drive, more aggression - this comes from the manager and personally I love to see it.

Thing is you could have him in the rotation and followed up by Chris Rodriguez and you’d feel so much more confident than Quintana right now

Exactly my feelings. Can’t help but be excited by the lineup when it looks like this Just need Stassi back in there

Musgrove is the one I really wanted and thought was achievable for us - and he’s starting extremely well.

This series feels huge. Us off the back of an awful series defeat to the rangers and Houston in abysmal form. We need to start strong

That was my fault

Exactly! Been a good day (so far)

Ha! You know what it’s like. These occasional day games are a real treat though - doesn’t help that the last two have been postponed

I know you guys probably hate it in the middle of the week but having day games occasionally makes such a difference in allowing me to sleep! Love how often we are hitting the ball out this year

Yes that was me! Well spotted and thanks Lou!

Sunday’s are my favourites (day games = UK friendly) so would be delighted if Ohtani was on the Sunday schedule for a few weeks anyway.

Kinda nervous about Rodriguez and Detmers to the pen this year, while I get the arguments for ... these guys are going to be massive for the organisations future over the coming years and I really am wary about doing anything that may hamper their development,

I really think we should lock up Bundy to an extension sooner rather than later - he’s only going to get more expensive

This is excellent thanks for sharing Chuck. Love some of the memories of Angels in the 80s and early 90s that pre date me

This was great! Nice job Dave. Daron is such a nice guy, real asset to the organisation

Seeing Heaney striking guys out and the breaking ball looking like that at this point of the spring is a real positive

This year more than ever I’m so optimistic and I’m not sure why. I’d say when you have a payroll we do and the star players on the roster it’s only natural to come into each year with some level of optimism, but this year just feels to me like the one where things actually click, the rotation is settled, and the hitting is well above average. Ohtani is just hyping everyone up too, can’t help but gush over such a talent. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be baseball fans

Got to speak to Daron Sutton last night and man what a fantastic guy he is. Think they’ve absolutely smashed these hirings with Matty V who just oozes star quality and Daron Sutton who you can just tell is so passionate about the Halos and excited to get going. Very much a dream gig and as he told me last night, both him and Matt can’t believe their luck that they are coming into such a great job and the belief that it’s going to be a really good year. Anyway if it interests anyone the link is below. Shameless plug I know but if you do listen and enjoy them please could you rate and subscribe. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/halfway-around-the-halo-a-uk-angels-podcast/id1551395851?i=1000513492410 https://anchor.fm/laangelsuk/episodes/Daron-Sutton---New-voice-of-the-Halos-ess6h5

Hahaha, just glad she hasn’t been bullying him

That’s a great read on Rodriguez and shame he didn’t get into the game yesterday but hopefully we will see a bit more of him this spring