Memories of 02

Hopefully, the day of the big name veteran contract is ended under Arte Moreno's ownership Albert Pujols is kicked upstairs to fulfill the remaining years of his contract as the most expensive Assistant GM in the history of baseball. Ohtani is the Angel's closer which limits him to a max of 70 IP's a year and the Angels every day 1st baseman or DH. Preferably 1st baseman, so the fans can watch him run down to the bullpen after leaving his 1st base position after the end of the eighth. Then the fans can wait breathlessly as Clark Kent changes into his Superman closer clothes to emerge walking out with the strobe lights going crazy and the music blasting, and the scoreboard dancing in the dark, to save yet another one for our Halos. Finally, a patient new manager, who is not afflicted with yank and jerkitis, someone similar to the Astros skipper, or the A's Bob Melvin , who will patiently stay with Ward and Fletcher, and maybe one other great looking rook, until the playoff gel has completely molded.

If the Angels insist on making a starter out of Ohtani, he will go the way of Richards. In and out ot the DL. In and out of hospitals. He will be on the DL. He will have multiple surgeries and he will eventually likely opt for career threatening Tommy John surgery in the end. If he does this, he will end up like Richards. He will be largely ineffective, and lose literally years of playing time. Pitchers who rely on their FB, as their main pitch, like Richards and Ohtani, lose an average of 5 to 7 mph off of their heaters, after TJ, and become quite ordinary. Even if the Angels decide to go to a 6 man rotation, Ohtani, with his delivery could not handle a 140 inning workload, and will eventually succumb to endless injuries, on his way to the last resort of TJS. There is an answer to all this. A way to save the Ohtani arm and shoot a bolt of lightning into the Angel attack. 1, Ohtani becomes the Angel closer. This gives him a max of 70 IP's a year, and that 98 to 100 mph heater insuring Angel late inning V's. It's like money in the bank. 2. Ohtani also becomes the Angels every day first baseman. Not only does this give the Angels an excellent clean up hitter, but it moves Albert upstairs, before he goes full Abreu/ Wells on us next year, where he can relax and fulfill the remaining years of his contract as by far, the most expensive, assistant GM in baseball history. Not only will he be great company for Arte, but he can enjoy his twinkees and converse with his stock broker and not worry about not getting around on the FB anymore. This leaves a future thunderbolt of a first 7 in the batting order, (if they are played every day, and given patience, patience, patience), plus the best closer in the bigs. 1. Simmons SS 2. Ward 3B 3. Trout CF 4. Ohtani 1B 5. Upton LF 6. Blash RF 7. Fletcher 2B This lineup, if not deviated from in any way, will have the Angels in the playoffs in 2019. Yes, even with the Astros and A's in your same division. It's a win win.The beautiful, part of it is that no more deals are at all necessary. What is necessary is what Astro management had, when they put a team of young players that they believed sincerely in, on their way to a World Championship, on the field, that was the laughing stock and worst team in baseball for three years running. The A's did an Astro replay, right out of their playbook. Patience, Patience, Patience is the necessary ingredient. The ability to lose, in order to win.

Ah yes, those were the days my friend. The days of the fertile farm. The nucleus of a champion. The nineties and very early 2000's, probably showed the Angel farm to be the best in baseball. Edmonds, Salmon, Erstad, Anderson, Washburn, Percival, Frankie, Bengie, Lackey, Ortiz, all came out of those green pastures. A look at the numbers shows the Angels have nothing even close to Ward coming up on the horizon, despite all the hype.. Sure that could change in a NY minute, but right now it doesn't look that great. Even in Ward's case, some smart cookie in the FO had the idea of taking all that catching gear off of him and setting him free. It was like the unleashing of a great white stallion, and he hasn't looked back since. They even found out he can run. I don't mean he can run for a converted catcher. I mean he can run. He has both the best SB numbers AND the best SB pct. in his brief stint at SL.

Schmidt struggled his first year up, hitting well below the Mendoza line and commiting a then Phillie rookie record, 17 errors. However, Phillie management was patient with him and showed full confidence in the struggling young player They just kept sending him out there. come hell or high, water. There was no monthly schizoid, Salt Lake Shuttle. No needless, endless, lineup and batting order changes. No confidence busting, late inning yanks. The future hall of famer rewarded the Phillies with their first ever, World Championship in 1980.

Why in the hell, would this manager, in a game which is absolutely meaningless, put Cowart in as a DR for Ward in the Eighth? Ward was due to come up in the ninth. He had gone 0 for 2 with an RBI and a BB. Cowart as a DR in the ninth, we get. Why destroy the confidence of a rookie who is now at the top of every GM's list in the mlb, and whose numbers in both Double A and Triple A in the half year before being called up, actually dwarf even the great Trout's numbers in 2011, before his callup. Is it incompetence, or has he just completely lost it?

It's the one record that most baseball gurus claim will never be broken. DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. The 9 time World Champion, Yankee Hall Of Famer's indellible imprint on the history books. Yet, here he stands. The Angel's young, rookie, Taylor Ward. Two down. Fifty four to go. True, the Angels only have 39 games left after tonight. This means he will have to start off 2019 with a 14 game hitting streak. Tis a small price to pay for the newest, young, Angel phenom. To stand next to the great Joe D. in the record books.

Great move, Billy

A lot of disagreement on whether to bring Ward up now or wait until Sept, where he would miss 70 to 80 PA's. Over the last 25 years or so, the Angels have spanned the gap with players who started in their low minors and came through the complete system to the majors. Some fizzled out such as McPherson and Wood. Some became really good major league hitters, such as Anderson, Salmon, and Jimmy Edmonds. One became a future Hall Of Fame superstar, Mike Trout. Let's look at Trout. Beaten, dejected, he was sent back down to the minors in 2011, his rookie year, in what appeared to be a big bust. A weak AFL showing, followed by a Spring of 2012, where he missed the entire Spring Training due to a terrible virus, did not help his cause. BUT He had those important major league AB's in his mind as constant mental reference. AND while recuperating from the virus, he read Ted Williams book. He laser like zoned in on Williams major points. 1. The pitcher is your enemy. 2. He will try to make you swing at HIS pitch which is usually out of the strike zone. 3. NEVER swing at any ball out of the strike zone. 4. A walk is as good as a hit. (In Trout or Ward's case, you can steal 2nd anyway). 5. Value your OBP higher than your BA. Now, these basic rules are not rocket science. All major league hitters are aware of them. Yet only the truly greats stringently apply them. Sure there are exceptions. Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Vladimir Guerrero, hit doubles and home runs on balls a foot outside, off their shoe tops, and off the bridge of their cap. These kind of hitters are a rarity. They are freaks. They come along once in a generation. Once Trout ingested Williams rules and APPLIED them, HE controlled the pitcher. He's been flying high ever since. Major League GM's reference top 100 minor league lists. They also reference individual club's top 25. But the list they have sitting on their desk every morning is the week's top performers. Who is actually blooming now. Ward has been on that list 3 times in the last 2 months. Ward is at the top of the wanted list of every GM in baseball. Ward would be the PCL batting champion except he is shy a few PA's. The reason he is shy a few PA's is that he was busy tearing up Double A earlier in the summer. What jumps out at you regarding Ward's numbers are 1. The 24 year old's gaudy almost 450 OBP. 2. The numbers are the same whether they are from pitcher friendly, double A or hitter friendly PCL. 3. The numbers are almost eerily, identical. I suppose the Angels, mathematically still have a chance for the playoffs. Realistically, they have zero chance for the playoffs. Unless the Angel's FO has turned into a bunch of Don Quiotes fighting imaginary windmills, they need to pull the trigger now. Yes, he is a converted catcher. He is not quite Brooks Robinson, defensively, yet. Let him get polished up here. He needs to get his rips. Bring him up now.

No it wasn't a great post. It was more than stupid, it was irrelavant. Unless you are the same person with 2 computers. At this point, unless the Angels FO has gone completely wacko, the games are absolutely meaningless. They could bring in Bedrock to play 2nd or short, if they had to, and it wouldn't mean anything. Ward needs his mlb, PA's. He needs as many as possible. He needs them now.

The can't miss number 1.for so long. The speed, that cannon arm, that beautiful swing. had the scouts falling all over themselves, gushing. It just hasn't happened. With Ward, the Angels number one pick of 2015, having torn up both the Southern League, and the PCL, this year with almost eerie, consistency, and within a hare's breath of stepping on stage, in the show, has the time arrived to give up on Kaleb?

"Yesterday, how I long for yesterday," The Beatles, 1965 How's he and Albert hitting lefties today? How are they hitting lefties, tomorrow? Naw, don't think about tomorrow. You'll have nightmares, tonight.

Too bad. The guy is like Albert, absolutely autrocious against lefties. That's 2 automatic outs for the next few years. I had no idea that Richard's injury requires Tommy John. What a bummer. So you still have Ohtani, (hopefully he can stay healthy), Skaggs, Heaney, Barria, with the Shoe and Trop vying for 5th starter.Not bad, and I would like to see them convert Bedrock to a starter.

Time for Billy to toss in the towel. See what you can get for Upton on a waiver deal. A couple more young arms for the pen. '19 starters set and look good.. Richards, Barria, Heaney, Skaggs, Ohtani. Ward's ready to take over 3b. bring him up now. Put Cowart in LF and just leave him there the rest of the year to get his rips. Stay with Fletch at 2b to get his rips. Trout was sent back down in '11 don't make the same mistake twice. Thaiss ready? Not sure, marginal. Irstie or Bengie or Salmon for '19 manager?