DCAngelsFan

I'd be very surprised if Upton was dealt, or even shopped. I think a big reason he waived his NTC to come here and opted to re-sign here was because of the stability and permanence.

As we saw following Tyler's passing, MLB players are a brotherhood beyond jerseys, and I think the Angels have really promoted themselves within that community as an org that is very player-focused and player-friendly, welcoming...

They don't manipulate service time. They don't base all of their decisions purely on data and formulas. They stick with vets a little longer than they should. They buy vets a little more often than most. They settle before arbitration. They've convinced Weaver to take a discount, Ohtani to come here, Pujols to sign here for less money, and kept the best baseball player of this generation from testing FA. 

For those reasons, I don't think they'll shop Upton, and I think they'll strongly consider retaining Calhoun this year and even next. 

If we're honest with ourselves, we know what's bringing all of these "refugees" north - they know they can make more money in the US, often to send home to their families.  And they know if they claim asylum, they'll eventually be released into the country, legally - with no need to duck ICE all the time, at least until they miss their hearings.  (THey know this because Americans are down in Central America telling them this - there are people deliberately encouraging this migration.)  They're also told that if they bring a kid - *any* kid - with them, it's even easier.  
So, the simple way to turn off that "refugee" spigot is to make the policy you must apply at a consulate in the first country you cross into.  If you fail to do so, if you enter the country illegally, you are ineligible for an asylum claim for 5 years.  If you present yourself at a Port of Entry, you can make a claim, but must wait outside the country until your hearing.  And we should hold such hearings in embassies or consulates in those countries - not here.  And we need to staff up so those hearings can be held and determinations made in days or weeks, not months or years.  
Stemming the "economic refugee" flow won't solve the problem - they'll just revert to more illegal border crossings.  There needs to be a security fence, and immediate deportations after capturing biometrics - so repeat offenders can be detected and charged.   The detention facilities need to be all-but-closed.  By expeditiously deporting those who enter the country illegally.  
And there needs to be enhanced punishments for those that exploit undocumenteds - charge employers that pay illegal workers $5 an hour with human trafficking violations - let those employers face actual prison time and fines that'll put them out of business.  Enforce it, hard.  Heck, offer work permits and cash to undocumenteds who provide information that result in the arrest and conviction of employers that knowingly exploit workers.  The hypocrisy of those that talk about "compassion" for undocumented are often so eager to benefit from their cheap labor is nauseating.    
The list of fixes goes on and on - the magnitude of the problem is overwhelming - the elementary school across the street from me is filled to the brim - 75% are ESL, many of them here as UAC's (many undocumented make pretty good livings, paid to look after UAC's.)  We spend over $100m a year in my county just building new school buildings, much of that attributable to the influx of undocumenteds and their children.  Then, of course, you have to *staff* all of those schools - we spend over $1B a year on schools in my county, now - that's staggering.  
It's an astonishing dereliction of the Congress that they're happy with the status quo.  For all the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching, they really don't seem to want to do *anything*.  
We can't import every economic refugee on the planet - a billion will come.  If we need more workers, raise the quotas, vet them, let them come here legally, with legal rights and protections against exploitation.  
Which for many, defeats the purpose.  They *like* their cheap, exploitable labor.  It's disgusting. 
 
 

His last name isn't actually "Smith", his parents couldn't spell his real last name ....
"Jones"
 

Better to not treat stupidity with more stupidity 

If we're honest with ourselves, we know what's bringing all of these "refugees" north - they know they can make more money in the US, often to send home to their families.  And they know if they claim asylum, they'll eventually be released into the country, legally - with no need to duck ICE all the time, at least until they miss their hearings.  (THey know this because Americans are down in Central America telling them this - there are people deliberately encouraging this migration.)  They're also told that if they bring a kid - *any* kid - with them, it's even easier.  
So, the simple way to turn off that "refugee" spigot is to make the policy you must apply at a consulate in the first country you cross into.  If you fail to do so, if you enter the country illegally, you are ineligible for an asylum claim for 5 years.  If you present yourself at a Port of Entry, you can make a claim, but must wait outside the country until your hearing.  And we should hold such hearings in embassies or consulates in those countries - not here.  And we need to staff up so those hearings can be held and determinations made in days or weeks, not months or years.  
Stemming the "economic refugee" flow won't solve the problem - they'll just revert to more illegal border crossings.  There needs to be a security fence, and immediate deportations after capturing biometrics - so repeat offenders can be detected and charged.   The detention facilities need to be all-but-closed.  By expeditiously deporting those who enter the country illegally.  
And there needs to be enhanced punishments for those that exploit undocumenteds - charge employers that pay illegal workers $5 an hour with human trafficking violations - let those employers face actual prison time and fines that'll put them out of business.  Enforce it, hard.  Heck, offer work permits and cash to undocumenteds who provide information that result in the arrest and conviction of employers that knowingly exploit workers.  The hypocrisy of those that talk about "compassion" for undocumented are often so eager to benefit from their cheap labor is nauseating.    
The list of fixes goes on and on - the magnitude of the problem is overwhelming - the elementary school across the street from me is filled to the brim - 75% are ESL, many of them here as UAC's (many undocumented make pretty good livings, paid to look after UAC's.)  We spend over $100m a year in my county just building new school buildings, much of that attributable to the influx of undocumenteds and their children.  Then, of course, you have to *staff* all of those schools - we spend over $1B a year on schools in my county, now - that's staggering.  
It's an astonishing dereliction of the Congress that they're happy with the status quo.  For all the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching, they really don't seem to want to do *anything*.  
We can't import every economic refugee on the planet - a billion will come.  If we need more workers, raise the quotas, vet them, let them come here legally, with legal rights and protections against exploitation.  
Which for many, defeats the purpose.  They *like* their cheap, exploitable labor.  It's disgusting. 
 
 

Glad you guys enjoyed Thaiss' best day of his career. 
Miserable grouches. 

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player?  
Here's the commentary on the rule:
Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. 
Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. 
But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him.  To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy.  He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy,  one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous.    
In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder."    
The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.  

Curious why you think his arm isn't (or won't be) sound enough to pitch next year?  
At any given time, 1/4 to 1/3 of pitchers in the league have had TJ.  
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN680Hq-FDVsCwvN-3AazykOBON0/edit#gid=1109879914
 

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player?  
Here's the commentary on the rule:
Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. 
Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. 
But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him.  To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy.  He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy,  one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous.    
In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder."    
The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.  

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player?  
Here's the commentary on the rule:
Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. 
Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. 
But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him.  To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy.  He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy,  one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous.    
In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder."    
The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.  

This is a false narrative.

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player?  
Here's the commentary on the rule:
Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. 
Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. 
But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him.  To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy.  He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy,  one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous.    
In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder."    
The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.  

And what kind of "slide" is it when you launch yourself headfirst through the air, and lower/drive your shoulder into the player?  
Here's the commentary on the rule:
Marisnick violated every part of the rule, both letter and spirit of it. 
Whether he "meant" to hurt Lucroy is between him and his maker - I doubt he did - it was a split-second decision. 
But I don't think anyone really thinks he was deliberately with malice-aforethought trying to injure Lucroy - but. at best, he did form an intent to knock Lucroy down, to prevent Lucroy from catching the ball and tagging him out, not to "hurt" him.  To knock the ball loose, he changed his path, away from the straight line to the plate he was on, and directly towards Lucroy.  He *meant* to hit Lucroy when he didn't have to, and he did so in a reckless way that injured Lucroy,  one explicitly outlawed in baseball because it's dangerous.    
In legal terms, if he'd killed Lucroy, it would be "Voluntary Manslaughter" rather than "Premeditated Murder."    
The only issue now isn't "guilt" - he obviously broke the rule and flagrantly - the only question now is his punishment.  

yep.  made a specific move to go after Lucroy when the outside was clearly available.  The more video I see, the more I realize that it was clearly intentional.  

This - they subcontract - but HD *tends* to have a larger inventory on-hand.  Since they use multiple subs, might be easier to find an installation time that works.  
What I'd do - if you have a service rating service around you, (I live near DC, so checkbook.org for me, but maybe something like Angie's list?), get the names of a few reputable stores.  
Then do a quick measure, and estimate how much material you need - then call HD, and a few local flooring stores, and just tell them the deal - first question, see if they have an opening in their installation calendar they need to fill that works for you.  If they do, then go see what they have in-stock - if it's a small job, probably could just use a remnant they have on-hand.  They'll all want to come out and measure - a locally-owned store could do that same-day, Home Depot, it might be a week.   
I got a whole floor and stairway of hardwood installed in 4 days from the time I put the deposit down to it being done - so, can be done.  (Local stores usually have much better prices than any chains.)   

Well, not having released the results of the autopsy doesn't imply "drugs" - b/c there's no autopsy finding - at least not officially - because they were asked to withhold the *autopsy* finding - but when the toxicology tests are completed, and the report goes final, cause/manner of death will be public information.
(there may be leaks earlier, of course.)
And if, say, opioids were found in his room, likely the police would already have said that. 
But someone dying at his age, in this manner, statistically drugs are the usual culprit, but could be an undiagnosed congenital heart condition, like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and often, something as "simple" as sleep apnea.  
I'd say let's not do the "dead pool" with this, and not speculate to try to be "right."  
 
 

Well, not having released the results of the autopsy doesn't imply "drugs" - b/c there's no autopsy finding - at least not officially - because they were asked to withhold the *autopsy* finding - but when the toxicology tests are completed, and the report goes final, cause/manner of death will be public information.
(there may be leaks earlier, of course.)
And if, say, opioids were found in his room, likely the police would already have said that. 
But someone dying at his age, in this manner, statistically drugs are the usual culprit, but could be an undiagnosed congenital heart condition, like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and often, something as "simple" as sleep apnea.  
I'd say let's not do the "dead pool" with this, and not speculate to try to be "right."  
 
 

Lucroy was inside the whole time. There was no time when Marisnick should have been going to the inside. 
I can’t read his mind so I don’t know if it was malicious or just careless, but it was definitely against the rules. 

Running up the score was (somewhat) defensible - I've heard many times among those in the soccer community that's it's more humiliating to take it easy on an opponent.
But the excessive celebrations in a slaughter were embarrassing and juvenile.  
And I was embarrassed by Alex Morgan's "tea-drinking" mockery after scoring against England, thought it lacked class - in what sport is mocking your opponent ok?  And we're surprised when England played so roughly in the 2nd half?
They're supposed to be the best in the world - ambassadors for the Women's game, and role models.  They should act like it.  

She's been taking a knee during anthem sine 2016, and has nothing to do with Trump or Fox news, it was done in support of Kaepernick, or rather injustice and inequality in America.  
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/rapinoe-kneels-for-anthem-again-ahead-of-u-s-national-team-game-003056979.html
Personally, I think she's a good player, and don't think she's a terrible person - but if you're going to represent your country on a national team, and take their money, then  perhaps don't go overseas and disrespect your country's national anthem or traditions - but honor everyone elses'.
 

Saddleback Hospital made a makeshift memorial
 
 

Jesus H Christ.
F*ck this week.
 

Tyler Skaggs is gone. Unfortunately for Angels fans, this is an all-too-familiar place. We’ve been here before. It’s not a comfortable place. It’s a very sad and very confusing place and we will never, ever get used to it.
 
We Angels fans, like every other fan base often use terms like “us” and “we” when discussing our favorite team. That speaks to the level of connection we have with our team. We experience the emotional highs and lows that go along with winning and losing. Even though it may be a bit silly, we feel that the team’s victories are also our victories. So when I say “we lost Tyler Skaggs” – that “we” is real. It’s tangible. It’s meaningful. 
 
But… this loss is not about us.
 
This time is about Tyler’s family and those that were close to him. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them as they try to manage their grief, their sorrow and their pain.
 
I don’t know how the Angels move forward from this. I really don’t. Baseball is hard enough as it is. 
 
Perhaps we fans can play a role in helping the team move forward by simply showing up. It’s time to show how much we care and that when we say “we” and “us” we really mean it.
 
It is my hope that on July 12 when the Angels return home for their first home game since Tyler’s passing, Angels fans show up in huge numbers. We need to show up even if it's hard. We need to show up even if we don't want to because again - it's not about us and showing up matters.
We also show up by telling stories. It’s important to tell the stories that speak to a time when we might have had an interaction with Tyler that meant something special to us. We share the good things we’ve read or heard about Tyler too. We recount those stories to others and in doing so we all remember.
 
We remember that Tyler Skaggs was one of us. We remember that Tyler Skaggs competed at the highest level and he sought out victories so that we could experience joy. 
 
We are thankful for having had the opportunity to be connected to him in some small way. He may not have known our names, but he definitely felt our presence every time he stepped on a baseball field. Tyler showed up for us and now it's time for us to do the same.
 
We will all miss Tyler Skaggs, but more importantly – we will never forget him.
 

"The Martian" (drawing comps to Mike Trout)  signed for $3m less than Baldoquin, whose signing may also have cost us the chance to sign Vlad Jr.  
 

"The Martian" (drawing comps to Mike Trout)  signed for $3m less than Baldoquin, whose signing may also have cost us the chance to sign Vlad Jr.