California Cajun

Angels sure missed him more than I realized. 98 wins his last year here.

One of the A list Angels pitchers, took a home town discount, appreciated his fans.

Watching Nationals methodically beat up the Angels. Can't Angel management just pull Nolasco offstage so we don't have to see a game that doesn't look promising at all?

I definitely think Eppler to date has been the better GM.

I think they have a chance but I've seen too much ebb and flow throughout the season to count on it. What mystifies me is that the pitching has outperformed the hitting. They can find pitchers but still have more problems with offense.

Great comeback to tie the score. Does Seattle have a bad manager or did the Angels just come through in the clutch?

Mark Langston was sure letting Scioscia have it for not intentionally walking Cruz. He said Nolasco didn't have the stuff to pitch to him.

My frustration will be with the hitters if Nolasco gives up a ton of runs and the hitters can't score his ERA.

Scioscia gets the most out of his players. They never quit. I would retire, however, before my lifetime average dips below .300 or after my 3,000th hit if I were Albert. It would be a graceful exit and besides, the Angels can only benefit if he hits a home run, sacrifice fly, or a base hit which would require a pinch runner. i don't think the Angels can win a championship with him in the lineup.

No excuses. Personally I'd rather eat at home or tailgate in the parking lot with friends.

I'll take A and C. He'll probably take it hard at first like any all-time great. Bless him, he's team-oriented and is doing his best, but there's no way he can follow Trout in the lineup with a sub-.235 average and not run the team into outs. No one is at fault. It just happens.

Very enjoyable game, but I still scratch my head when I think of how much better the pitching is than the hitting despite all the serious injuries the staff has suffered in recent years.

I wonder how he would have behaved during the Pujols and Scioscia ejections tonight if he was at home plate and a AAA umpire at first rang Albert up. West Is under the mistaken impression that fans come to watch him perform. I'll be glad when he hangs it up.

The greatest Angel of them all.

A real championship caliber player, part of the Angels first division winner. R.I.P. That's the kind of guy you wanted on your team.

You put everything in perspective.

I admit thinking about the 2002 team winning it all after finishing 42 games out of first in 2001, trading Mo Vaughn, and learning to be a running team after about a one month learning curve after the all star break. This 2017 team does a decent job pitching and the position players as a group have trouble providing run support. I'd love to see if a better offensive position player acquisition could make the difference. I also wonder if Albert's presence in the heart of the lineup makes it impossible to become a running team. Being an Angel lifer I'm often an incurable optimist, especially during the Spring. I lived 6.8 miles from the Big A as a kid and there is some innate reason why I always have a cap, an MLB subscription, and watch, listen, or look for scores 45 years after leaving the area.

I'm all for them winning the wild card, but I don't see them going far enough in the playoffs to make sacrifices to advance this year.

I wonder the same thing. If I were him I'd retire with either the .300 lifetime average or 3000 hits. I don't think he can get both. He's got more money than he'll ever need.

How many of you date back to the 50s and 60s with Dick Lane hosting wrestling and Freddie Blassie, Mr. Moto, Bo Bo Brazil, and others! Whoa Nellie! It's kind of like Pete Rose moving from the baseball class to the seemy underworld of wrestling class with his transgressions. Requiem for a gambler.

He remains a distraction to baseball 28 years after his lifetime ban, and putting him in the HOF for his accomplishments would probably shift attention away from him. The NFL suspended Paul Hornung for one season for gambling and there is no circus around him.

Honestly, I think Ted Turner has a short attention span and loses interest in things fairly quickly. I've wondered if Arte is less interested in the Angels than he used to be. Will he write the check that makes Trout a Halo for life, or does he hope to sell by then?

If Cron and Cowart can hold their own at first and second for the next couple of years that will really help the farm system develop.

One point you made that's absolutely essential is picking the right manager after Scioscia leaves, probably when the contract ends after 2018. And, as DocHalo says, Arte has to pay $$$, with a commitment to win a World Series. Arte has been sandbagging the last few years until a couple of contracts gone sour expire. He has to exercise better judgment, respect the chain of command, and let the baseball people make the baseball decisions. If he doesn't trust his baseball people, he has to go out and get some he does.

Looks like a scene from Night of the Living Dead. Those Disney Duds were awful.