TM3

I like this move as well.  Less emotional baggage on him this early in the season.  We don't need another Boston incident which seemed to have set the team back a bit.  At the same time, he can get more plate appearances to up his experience.

Pitching, his record could have easily been 6-1 right now.  Except for the Boston game and one other game, he was pretty much in control of the situation.

As a hitter, I feel that he strikes out a little too often (not criticizing loudly but he does swing like a pitcher at times).  When he makes solid contact, its a joy to witness but I think he has more to improve in the hitting aspect.  It'd be nice to see him hit some infield choppers like Simmons does as he can easily beat out those grounders with his speed but it seems to me like he's more of a line drive hitter where he's got high exit velocity coming off the bat so most of his infield hits will get to the fielder quickly.

I would love to see him play RF to replace a certain void in the batting order, but this won't be happening.

And......the game is over.

Shohei's interpreter is slacking, dude you have the best gig ever, at least 

56 minutes ago, MPohleece said:

Try Simmons at lead off, followed by Trout, or vice versa. Point is, they need to be back-to-back for any offensive continuity.

 

When is Shoe coming back? Barria or Heaney would be nice additions to the bullpen.

 

Ohtani seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Interpreting on live TV ain't easy, it's easy to critique after the fact, I know, but that guy's interpreting today

didn't fully cover some good things Shohei said. First, he didn't say "I got the win." It was more, he wanted to give his all for a team win

given the recent struggles. And the interpreter did mention Calhoun, but what Shohei said was, watching Calhoun running full speed, crashing into the wall,

playing hard gave him even more fortitude to keep pushing on in the game. So he was really descriptive and appreciative about Calhoun's effort, giving props to his struggling teammate.

 

Wish halos could keep causing more havoc on the base pads. More runs than hits. Great weird win today.

 

Shohei's interpreter is slacking.  C'mon dude you have the best gig in the translating business and all of baseball as a common folk, don't screw it up!  Noticed that the interview asked a long question and his interpreter bounces 3 words over to Shohei, wtf? 

I voted no.  At least he is trying to make adjustments.  It's only a matter of time before he leads off with Simmons and moves Albert down the order.

1 hour ago, Lou said:

It was a double. He was lucky it went into the stands or it would ha been a triple. 

and lol at the walk. 

It was a great attempt, would have been a double for Field anyway had he let up and played it safe.  At least he had a shot at getting the out, the effort was noted and appreciated by Ohtani.  The walk should have given Trout another crack had Kinsler not hit into a DP.  With him being in a huge slump, I thought his efforts made a difference. 

Great effort today by the Angels.  This game had a different feel than the others, you could tell everybody really wanted the win. Trout was amazing, Kole made a huge difference with the dive and the walk.  Bullpen came through!

Holy crap, that inning was way too close for comfort.

Nice catch Upton!

Ohtani is cruising along.   Please let him complete this game!!!

Pujols is a hot topic even when he doesn't play 

That run was all Trout!!

What is puzzling is that Scioscia is playing musical chairs with the batting lineup, everyone is getting shuffled around all except Pujols like this guy is untouchable.  Very weird.  

16 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

How boring an at bat will be? I take it you dislike Baseball. 

Baseball is not a total geek sport, you want to make it exciting for the fans as well.

Why stop there? Eliminate the umps all together as I'm sure technology can be designed to call the plays at the bases as well. Place a chip inside the bases and the players gloves. Just have the entire game automated and then see how fun that becomes for the fans.... 

Just now, Kevinb said:

None of that makes baseball exciting. If your watching baseball because u think the umpire will mess up your watching for the wrong reasons. Baseballs a great game with out having umpires with bias or having an off night. Or calling balls and strikes because of a home crowd. 

Seems like a novel idea on the surface but pilot one game with this and quickly realize how boring it will make the game.

No 3rd party human interaction or involvement just a pitcher VS batter like watching 2 guys playing chess. Boring. 

6 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

So you’d rather a game or an at bat be in the hands of an emotional umpire? Also what’s from Altuve doing that now with an umpire. Computers don’t have bias people do. 

Of course, the human element is what makes baseball exciting. It won't be close to the same with a computer calling balls and strikes.

I voted No, firstly tradition and secondly there will be guys that will game or exploit the system from both pitchers to batters. Imagine someone like Atruve with a very small strike zone and what happens if he crunches down even further? 

Lastly, it will take away the emotional aspect of the game that we've all come to love and hate but that's baseball. 

4 minutes ago, failos said:

Why would he agree to 25% less money?

Well, in the NBA they can get bought out mid-season at an agreed price and the player is able to sign a new contract with a different team but usually that's during the last year of their contract.  Don't see any other team signing Pujols though at this stage of his career.

Are there player buyouts in MLB like there are in the NBA?  Perhaps offer Pujols a buyout at 75% of his contract? 

Pretty bad defense all around tonight. 

It's weird how Shohei tends to ground out to 1st but hits fly balls to center or LF.   

I'd like to see him pull more long balls to RF and ground out to the opposite side, 3B/SS as I'm sure he'd be able to beat out many of those grounders.

Lol Bedrun

Good call in lowering Ohtani to 5th, a bit less pressure on him to produce.

Upton!!

Interesting lineup.  Funny how Ohtani keeps moving up in the lineup, next game he'll be leading off