DCAngelsFan

The scene outside the Orange County courthouse as the lawyers catch wind of this ...

http://media.al.com/alphotos/photo/2014/03/-c5d67a1591eb03d2.jpg

At least someone will get something out of this debacle ...

9 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

FWIW, I was around the team for a bit, and the 2014 team had by far the most cohesive group Id ever seen. 

I personally think theres something to it. A good shift at work is when you have good partners. If nobody really digs on each other, everybody is just going through the motions.

Syndegaard strikes me as the kind of guy to be good for the current group. Hes a veteran with a good success rep, so young guys wil listen. And the pitching staff has needed a guy like that for awhile.

He also strikes me as the type that will thrive by playing alongside of Trout and Ohtani. Syndegaard is a big name and all, but he seems "alpha jock" enough to step it up, recognizing hes in a pretty good spot.

Who knows how all the personalities mesh, but I think its far enough along that these guys are starting to believe, and get some swagger. 

Really crossing my fingers that Adell comes back up and breaks out... that would be the perfect boost for these guys.

I think many of us probably spend more waking hours with our teammates or co-workers than our family - your relationship with them is always going to color your performance and your attitude towards life.

It helps to "like" each other - but it's more than that, of course.  I've worked on teams that got along great, but our collective performance didn't reflect it.  

Whether you *like* the guy next to or not, they need to be the kind of person you'd want in a foxhole with you, as the saying goes.  

Trust and character are really important - you want your teammates to be trustworthy, reliable, and who give and get mutual respect, who are more dedicated to the mission (in this case, the team) than they're dedicated to their own ego.  Runaway egos can be super-toxic in a team setting.  Differences are fine - and a little piss and vinegar and a little internal competition can be good things, in the right measure.  In a team, not everyone has to be best buds - it's kind of impossible - but everyone should "fit."  

And to relate it to my own experiences - I notice a *lot* of people in the tech community are guilty of hiding / hoarding information.  They think it gives them power if they're the only one who knows how to do something.  

That's a shitty ethos - I will teach anyone who asks everything I know - because it makes us all, collectively, better.  As an NCO, that was what you were for - to teach, to mentor, and to model - not for the benefit of 1, but for the benefit of everyone.

You want players who'll do the same - who'll give away all of their secrets to a teammate, because it makes the team better.  

Anyway - I think you're right about Syndergaard- he's *an* alpha, and provides a little steel on the team, while recognizing he's surrounded by alphas who are as good/better than him, who are kind of easy-going and aren't going to elbow him aside for better publicity.  He doesn't have to be *the* alpha, just can be himself.  From here, he seems like a really good fit.

As one who's often kinda cynical about the club's commitment to the player scouting/development side - long suspecting that it was short-changed - only fair for me to say I'm pleased with this - those investments are a big part of what we need to compete, year-in, year-out.  

Nice find!

1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

Any news on the MRI?

Good news and bad news - the bad news is, the MRI machine malfunctioned ...

But the good news is, no structural damage to his shoulder.

11 hours ago, gotbeer said:

I find it strange that you have all this scrutiny and controversy on the Angels side of the development, but nothing on the Ducks side of their development.  Both I have to assume were headed by the same corrupt mayor.  But it does take two to tango.  

I was repeat the observation about how Arte obviously didn't play the game and grease the right palms in getting this done, that's why all the pushback - the state and the other parties in the suit obviously were looking for a payoff, err, "settlement" - and he and/or Anaheim didn't make it.  

But a "federal corruption probe" sounds pretty serious.  Is he (the mayor) accused of personally benefitting?   

But can't take that at face value anymore - these "probes" can be politically motivated - some state politicians could've pushed for the "inquiry" and there could've been a "resign and we'll drop the inquiry - stay, and we'll bankrupt you and possibly imprison you for *something*" message - federal prosecutors have endless resources to eff up your life if they want to - whether you actually did something illegal is irrelevant.  

If no charges are filed, we'll know it was all just a political hit job, and probably an attempted government extortion of a not-very-sympathetic rich guy.  

3 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Maddon has said he is not going to use Iggy for 2 inn saves this year. I agree with him, especially so early in the season. Besides Valdez nobody really out there last night. Everyone was used Ortega, Loup, Bear Claw, Tepera, Herget 50 pitches on Sunday so he was not available. Barria pitched 4 inn on Monday so not him. So it was Valdez last man standing. Tepera just did not do his job and they lost. Again I ask WHO would you have put in.

You put your best reliever in a high-leverage spot - and that's not necessarily the 9th inning.  

Having just snatched the lead, with the heart of the line-up coming in the 8th, and Seager leading off, the 8th was that high-leverage point.  Getting Seager out and not letting him bat again was the priority.  

That's hindsight - who knew Tepera was gonna implode?  The safe choice was to use Tepera in that spot - that's why we pay him.

But if Maddon is as smart as he says he is, he'd have put Iglesias in for the 8th.  

Of course we'll do the "Best Player Available" especially with the 1st pick - I wouldn't actually be surprised if we took another pitcher with our first pick - there are some good pitching prospects in the draft, and mlb.com has us taking Barriera - and I certainly wouldn't complain about a guy whose comp is Guidry.  Another mock has us taking Sims.  

I think Cross would be a good fit as a college outfielder - short trip to the majors.  

Carl Crawford's kid as a high schooler might be interesting ..

18 hours ago, mmc said:

Just curious how you guys would prioritize deadline buying?  For me it's probably in this order.

1. Elite bat

2. Bullpen

3. Dependable veteran depth starter

4. Another MIF

5. An upgrade at backup catcher

 

Agreed on the order - at least in a vacuum, one more elite bat (looking high OBP over power, though both is obviously nice) could make an already productive lineup even more dangerous.  Of course, questions about where do they play, what do we lose, who gives up ab's, and how to obtain are important questions - thus "in a vacuum."

The real elite bat we need is Rendon's.  

I think by the ASB, perhaps another reliever - this seems like something we can solve internally, tbh.

But I think Bard and Jansen will be available,  if we want to go all in on someone more experienced (and both Jansen and Iglesias at the end of games is a pretty appealing thing.)

As for a veteran SP, imo, the time to get that was in the offseason, when Cobb, Rodon, and Ray were available   

17 minutes ago, failos said:

Welp. I just bought season tickets in the Diamond club (120 Row D)...I kinda feel like a dummy, but I think it was worth it given how often I've bought tickets over the standard price on Stubhub and vivid seats. Don't screw this season up, Angels!!!

 

edit: whoops posted this in the wrong thread. Oh well.

The cognitive dissonance of someone whose nick is "failos" buying season tickets ... 

I remember when I had to buy subscriptions to mlb.tv to watch the games, and it seemed every damn time I ordered, they immediately cratered.  

But (thus far, knock wood), this not only a good team, but a helluva fun team to watch - enjoy, I'm jealous!

18 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

I just told him he's a butthead via email.

With that brushup hair and greasy lube, er, "look", he definitely looks like he just pulled his head out of a whale's anus.. 

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Sounds good....

....Unfortunately at best it's been a wash in LF because Adell in his 127 defensive innings there managed to put up a DRS figure of -4.  Had he been afforded the same number of defensive innings as Upton last year, his DRS would have been a -21.  How bad is a -21??  Upton in his entire career managed a combined -27 DRS.

Pretty much all the gains have been in the IF and CF where Mike Trout has gone from a -4 in 295 innings to a positive 3 in 211 innings -- that's been significant. Ridding themselves of Upton most definitely improves the defense, just not to the degree people believe due to Adell's defensive shortcomings while out there.  

Heres the kicker.... The 2022 Angels are actually sporting a lower FLD% and worse UZR/150 this season than in 2021, which would argue that the issue then and the improvement now is almost entirely due to improved positioning.

Where did we see this being said the last two years?

Yes, replacing a bad Upton with a bad Adell was pretty much a wash - at least there was the notion that Adell would get better ....

but what we have *now* in Marsh, Trout, and Wade is far better defensively than what we had with Upton, and, anyway, my point remains that there are times you can sacrifice a little offense for much better defense and come out ahead.  I may be wrong - but at least I don't have that heartburn of last year watching Upton repeatedly almost-but-not-quite-getting-to ball after ball in LF.  

As for positioning - hmm, dunno, kinda sounds familiar . . ?  

IIrc, you and Dochalo made compelling cases last season about terrible positioning - to the point where I think you stopped watching the feed 'cuz it was too frustrating.  

But I'll have to take your word for it that positioning this year is much improved - I don't doubt it, I just can't prove it.  

30 minutes ago, Second Base said:

The defense was helped tremendously when they cut Upton. Having Marsh and Ward in the corners does wonders. And every option they have at 2B and SS is a good defender. 

Normally such uncertainty would sink the team's offense, but Ward's breakout, Trout, Ohtani, Rendon and Walsh all being healthy and Marsh stepping up had negated that. 

I think the last big thing I see is speed. Speed doesn't slump and they currently boast good speed in 6 spots of their lineup. That is a lot of pressure on opposing defenses and opposing pitching to control the run game or stopping them from taking the extra base. 

People who thought we should keep Upton b/c of his "offensive upside" failed to see how many runs - games? - he cost us last season.

Marsh I knew would be great - but I had no idea of how good a defender Velasquez would be - his DRS is "5" (tied for 7th in the league), has a 0.7 defensive bWAR - and yeah, his offense is terrible, but I'm happy to have him there full-time.

Good point on team speed- both speed on the bases, and speed covering ground defensively collectively - it has them creating (more) outs on defense, and avoiding them on offense - name of the game, really. 

2 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Im hoping so. 

Been thinking this since his first or second start. He looks healthy. If hes even 80 percent of who he was, its a huge boost.

And as someone said above, he seems to like it here. I think a guy like that, making good (not best in the league money) on a team w Trout and Ohtani, with a bonafide youth movement incoming, is going to be a bit more flexible on what hes willing to stay for.

I think he's still in the "mental recovery" period from TJ - I think his velocity will tick up as the season goes on - the 6-man rotation is a good fit for him right now.  

Don't know if that's good news for re-signing him - but I think you're right, I think he's in a good place with this team. 

Contract length, dollars, etc, don't care - just nice to have a guy who can *pitch*, and isn't always on the verge of disaster.  

There's this:  Also this:  https://nypost.com/2022/04/13/red-sox-far-apart-in-xander-bogaerts-rafael-devers-contract-talks/

My guess is he thinks the Sox are unwilling to pay him market rate,  feels insulted, and so he opts out and signs a big long-term deal - elsewhere.   Then again, Sox fans will be very disappointed if they don't make an effort.

OTOH, he'll be 30, he benefits from Fenway (away OPS is over 100 points less than home), and while I'm sure he'd get Seager / Correa money, I'd be cautious - like 5/160.  

That's for another team - we need to extend Ohtani, not chase a guy who'll always be a Red Sox player in his heart.

9 hours ago, arch stanton said:

If I remember this right the criticism of Dipoto was that everyone believed that Ward would be available in round 2 or even 3 in which case we're pretty happy with a guy who breaks out at age 28

BA had him rated the 70th best prospect and we coincidentally had the 70th pick (Jam Jones)  so the whole party breaking out 'cause we got our guy was kinda juvenile and weird and embarrassing.

There were a couple of guys drafted later that would've been nice to get - but honestly, it's not like we missed on someone huge - it was just the overreaction that had a huge cringe factor

If they just said (cool), and moved on, we'd never even remember that draft or that pick.  

7 hours ago, WicketMaiden said:

Sandoval was lethal, totally on his game. His change-up put a couple of hitters on their knees, they couldn't get anywhere near it. His performance completely justified his stat-line. Very, very promising indeed.

Props to Rendon too, he was a beast with the glove last night, as was Trout with the bat. Fun times! 

Absolutely - there was no "fluke" in what he did - he spotted his fastball really well, and his slider and changeup were just nasty - I dunno *what* he threw to Reyes - some kind of cutting changeup - but the look on his face was priceless.

Got tired and his velocity dropped quite a bit - my only concern with *that* is that Maddon not leave him in too long - that's when you get hurt, when you're fatigued.  Let him build length naturally.

42 minutes ago, Hubs said:

For those that have been there, where do I go for a cheesesteak the following day?

 

Jim's on South Street is my preference (you used to be able to order them at milkboy across the street, which is (ws?)  kind of nice - gives you a place to sit.  That might've been a Covid thing, tho)

Last time I was there I got one from Sonny's on Market street - it was freezing out and I was starving, so my opinion might be skewed, but the cheesesteak and fries seemed amazing - and bonus, there's seating and they were really chill and friendly.

https://sonnyscheesesteaks.com/

https://jimssouthstreet.com/

If you go to the terminal market,  the best things include apple dumplings ala mode at the Dutch Eating place and/or a salty caramel donut at beilers and/or pretzels at miller's.  There's also a DiNics at the terminal market for a kind of famous roast pork.

18 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Oh man, now I'm hungry. I just did a brisket. I'm going to sharpen my knife and make a thin sliced brisket sammich with horseradish and au jus.

Oh, man, I do love brisket - I just did a homemade pastrami a couple weeks ago - corned a brisket, then smoked it - I'd have never believed it, but a Rueben made with homemade pastrami might legit be the best sandwich ever made ...

Now *I'm* hungry

Eh, I make better cheesesteaks than anything I'd had in Philly (pro tip - the scraps from breaking down a psmo is a great start)

Gotta say, though, the roast pork sandwiches, beilers donuts, hoagies, and soft pretzels are awfully good - but like you said, hard pass on sitting with Philly fans.

Watching those clips is pure pitching porn - I used to think his splitter was amazing, but his slider was hilariously evil last night - like F-rod's vintage slider, but Ohtani had 3 other pitches just as evil that might be coming.  

Just close your eyes and swing, maybe you'll hit something.  

19 hours ago, Angel Dog and Beer said:

I love Hawaii. Been going there 1x/2x year for the past 20+ years. Regarding the locals, Cals is right. But so is Taylor.

90% of the people I come across working in the restaurants, shops, etc. are cool as hell. You smile first, ask them how their day is going, don't be pushy, they're super cool. 

Of course there's always a-holes, and Hawaiians in general are confrontational, so they'll tell you "eh, you fukked up" if they see you doing something wrong. Don't speed in neighborhoods, don't illegally park on the side of roads, don't stop in the middle of a road to take pics, don't cut in line, don't be loud. You know, normal stuff that you wouldn't even think of doing here. 

I surf a lot while there, some spots that are more regulated by the locals, and I've come across some pretty serious "mokes", in which I need to watch myself. Never had any problems. 

Give more than you take and you'll be fine. 

 

Sage advice for visiting anywhere on the planet, really.

Bear in mind, everyone who lives in any place worth visiting has had really shitty experiences with tourists - if you're identifiable as a tourist, you're already in negative territory because of those who came before you.  

Dress and act like a local, and be a little extra kind - project a friendly chill persona, without being intrusive - a smile, a friendly word, and courtesy goes a long way.

(YMMV in certain IED-infested neighborhoods)

6 hours ago, Taylor said:

He's hitting way over his head right now and the hot streak will eventually end. But I don't see why he shouldn't be given a shot at leadoff, since he's earned it.

Ride the hot hand - can always move him down in the order when he cools off. 

Besides, we could have Rickey Henderson on this team, and our manager would bat him 9th just to "shake things up".  

The remote Vasgersian is definitely minor league stuff.  

Except the current setup is worse than that, because we can see with our own eyes Vaspergian is 5 seconds behind the play.   And he and Gubicza constantly stepping on each other is just embarrassing.  

But to be honest, as bad as that is, given the choice between O'Neal and that train wreck, I had to think about it.   O'Neal is just awful.

I grew up with guys like Enberg and Drysdale and, yes, Scully - I can't believe we can't find an adequate announcer.  Just adequate.

To me, I think someone needs to come from radio first - I'm always doing something with the game on - I rarely can just sit and watch tv.  So, I often only know something happened because of the crowd noise, and I have to go to the tv to find out "what" - (lately, it's Matty V. making a fly-out sound like a grand slam.)   Doesn't hurt to maybe give me some some words to tell me what's happened.  

7 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Biggest difference between Cheaters and Halos: developing international talent

Other than Ohtani (no minors time here) and maybe Suarez eventually, who has truly made it here?

Now contrast that to the Cheaters.   Altuve, Alvarez, Gurriel, Valdez, Javier, Urquidy, Siri, etc.

When will the Halos start seeing that? Can’t blame Clay Daniels anymore, he was let go a long time ago (12+ years back).

Tucker - drafted 1st / 5th pick overall

Pena - drafted 3rd round by the Astros 

Gurriel - Cuban defector, signed as a free agent

javier - International signing - 2015 (on the positive side, we signed Yan that same year, while in the post-Baldoquin penalty)

Urquidy - International signing - 2015 

Siri - international signed by the Reds, DFA'd, signed to a minor league contract by the Astros.

Altuve - international signing - I remember him telling the story of trying out for an Angels scout first but we blew him off 'cause he's too short

Alvarez - Cuban defector, signed by the Dodgers, who traded him to Houston for Josh Fields

Bregman - drafted 1st round/#2 overall by the Astros

Brantly - free agent signing

So, a couple of really early draft picks, some FA's, and some very solid returns on International signings and scouting (they made a very good trade for Alvarez and ripped off the Dodgers, which rarely happens)

No magic, really - we've sucked at International signings which we've all known for a long time.  And this is what feeds the "Arte doesn't pay attention to organization nuts-and-bolts" narrative - you can parse that and say "oh, but that's the GM's responsibility" or "That's the Director of Scouting" or whatever.  But from a talent perspective, this is a very poorly performing organization (if we hadn't drafted Trout, can you imagine how bad this franchise would be?) and has been since he got here.   It's his responsibility.  

The sad part is I'd have thought Arte would have a bit of a leg up as a Mexican owner in recruiting internationals, but doesn't seem to have helped

Bachman needs time to develop - to master a change-up, and whatever else he needs (that 9.4 SO/9 for his profile in A+ isn't great - slightly below league average)  Of course, am concerned about his size - but his GB rate is intriguing - I like strike out pitchers, but I like guys who can routine get groundouts in 2 or 3 pitches even more.  

We already know C-Rod can pitch at the ML level - and  he's 23 - he's shown great, electric stuff - but he doesn't have a long track record of success *or* health - but he's still only 23

If C-Rod can fully recover and stay healthy, and continues to develop, with his stuff, he could be a #2 or 3 starter - or more.  

Bachman I don't think has the ceiling of C-Rod - I hope he can stick as a mid-rotation starter, but could see him as a solid RP/future closer.