OhtaniSan

Neto pushing his OPS over .700 paired with his lock down defense is more than enough reason to be beyond excited about this kid (I say kid even though i am only 2 years older than him haha)

1 minute ago, Taylor said:

Trade him while his value is high?

I think we gotta hold on to him. Angels need to be trading for reliable starting pitching , not looking to shop the little they have 

Moniak is starting to make it impossible for him to be sent down again. As much as I love Ward, I think Moniak could be a useful platoon partner for him

42 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

The question then is, how long does Loup get to show something other than disappointment?

Two weeks?  A month?

When Tepera returned from the IL, he was DFA'd after his next blowup. So i imagine with Loup it'll be the same appearance-to-appearance leash. Probably an emphasis on if he's executing his pitches or missing spots.

Aaron Loup is Aaron Poup right now, but i also still hope he can save his season. Would be a lot more fun to be wrong about him being washed

Side note: Aaron Poup is my fantasy team's name

6 minutes ago, mmc said:

25. Kenyon Yovan, RHP, Angels

A 27th-round pick in 2019 out of the University of Oregon, Yovan was drafted as a reliever even though he had a four-pitch mix in college. He’s a power arm who attacks the strike zone. A two-way player in college, he hit 17 homers in 2021 as a first base-DH power bat. Last year, he posted a 1.77 ERA in 17 relief appearances between rookie ball and Low A. He’s maintained that dominance this season at Double A, with a 0.57 ERA in 15 2/3 innings. It won’t be too long before he’s added to the Angels bullpen.

Angels GM Perry Minasian: “Has the power to pitch at the backend of the pen.”

Crazy that he first entered our radar cuz his grandpa posted on this board. Seriously excited to see what this guy can do at the MLB level

When did thread topic switch from "Official 2023 MLB Season" to a convention center for petty manbabys?

Weird.

Damn i hadn't realized how hooked i was on the podcast until today when i noticed the next episode hadn't dropped yet. Great job guys! Fiending for more

50 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

 

Just asking a question. You and others raved about his elite defense and speed. Seems like 2 perfect spots for him. If not going to be used he is useless player too carry on this team. 

Not wrong here. I respect Nevin's attitude for preferring to be the hardened team that drives in all their runs and rolls the lineup over, but this philosophy hurt them in last nights game. Phillips should have absolutely been used to at the very least to pinch run for Rendon, and honestly he probably should have been called in to bunt the runners over. If the runners had been bunted over, a pop out becomes a game-tying sac fly. 

These are very clear indicators of what we have all been saying as well: that Nevin's philosophy doesn't properly emphasize mechanics, fundamentals, or really any outside the box thinking other than traditional "let them hit" American baseball. Dropping a sac bunt or pinch running for your best hitter isn't sexy - but goddamn what it does do is put pressure on the other teams defense and increase your chances of getting that crucial run in. Playing fundamentally sound baseball and finding small ways of putting pressure on another teams defense is sexy enough in my book.

I remember earlier this season there was a game with like 3 bunt hits in a row against us and our defense fell apart and pitching collapsed right after. In a nutshell, that's what we need to be doing to other teams and what we need to stop letting other teams do to us.

1 minute ago, jsnpritchett said:

OhtaniSad.

Might unironically use this if it comes down to it LOL. Thanks Jason, my real name is Jason too - so you're clearly already a cool dude

If Shohei leaves or gets traded - I'm gonna need a new username. I hope he stays

Here are his stats for those who were wondering!

16 hours ago, OhtaniSan said:

I added him to my fantasy team for tomorrows start so i’m all in 

Being right feels so good 

I added him to my fantasy team for tomorrows start so i’m all in 

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

 

Perhaps loading up on INF depth to prepare for potential Soto/Rengifo trade?

Should make a version where the big print/logo is instead on the back of the shirt. With the front of the shirt only having a small version of the logo/art in one of the top corners over the nipple area

I'm withholding judgement on giving up on Rendon until mid season. I think people are freaking out with his slow start, but that's all it really might be - a slow start. The injury bug has always been Rendon's thing, not flat out sucking. 

He's hitting .176, but despite that still sports a .360 OBP. The guy still has the good eye and discipline that he has been known for. Even as he slumps, he still maintains his ability to get on base. Once the hits start coming, and they will, we'll see some much better numbers. There's no way he will continue the season with a no doubles and no home runs pace, he is just getting his timing down right now. Of course, an injury could always derail the progression, but he's healthy now and that is enough for me to not throw in the towel on his production.

Sure because of the injuries, he hasn't lived up to the 38mil a year price tag, but most players seldom do, especially those signed after the age of 30. I don't think the question should be can he be worth 38mil, as it's already a sunk cost. The question for me at least is can he still produce and be useful, and i think he can and will.

I think the heckler took it too far. I mean it’s one thing when the fans in the stands tell a player he sucks and generally fucks around , but another thing to escalate it to insulting him by demeaning the player and calling him a little bitch. 

I think Rendon shoulda still walked away and ignored him just being a professional athlete, but looks like the heckler learned the hard way this time. 

Maybe MLB bans the heckler in the video to establish a clear boundary of what should be acceptable heckling and borderline verbal abuse.

The Bees outfield of Moniak, Adell, Adams could be really fun to watch. There's still a lot of potential there with each of them and there are still reasons to believe they can have a breakthrough and reach that potential. Moniak and Adams especially have looked great in Spring to where i have more faith in them being useful at the MLB level than i have in Adell. 

They must see something good in Adams to have him start in AAA - maybe he even overtakes Adell and Moniak on the depth chart and we see him this season if there's an injury. You'd hope out of these 3 formerly highly regarded top prospects there'd be at least one that can take Renfroe's spot next season, or at least turn into a good platoon or serviceable bench bat. 

Something about heading into this year just feels different. Yes we say that every year. But this year feels like were built a bit less heavily around the luck factor or relying on a hail marry for certain positions.  

I'm cautiously optimistic, and maybe even a bit more optimistic than cautious. 

My favorite is when the financial analyst (or whatever regular day job he had) on the Czech Republic struck out Ohtani with 79mph fastball heat. Super cool seeing a team of regular dudes having fun

Out of all the prospect rankings out there, the MLB pipeline is ironically the worst and most generic one out there. 

How dare you temporarily disrupt my morning reading

Before games I like to hit the Karl Strauss or Golden Road right next to the stadium and walk in to the games hammered. Does that count as a pregame activity?

4 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

I had a craving for a number 1 combo at In N Out last night. I haven't been there in like 5 years but decided to go. I always get no onions with extra lettuce, extra tomatoes and extra pickles. Girl taking my order seem to be puzzled that I wanted extra pickles. She asked me if I was sure I wanted extra pickles. I got a chocolate shake instead of the soda and asked for a large and she told me they only have one size. Bummer but okay. Freaking cost me $11.15! Holy balls!! Now I remember why I hardly ever go to In N Out. At the window, the girl reads my order back to me and hands me my food. I get it in a box even though I told them I am eating it at home but I don't say anything. After a couple of min of driving, I took a bite and didn't taste any lettuce. At a red light, I inspected to find no lettuce which was odd since usually it's overflowing with lettuce when you get extra.

Now I am at a standstill because I am not one to go back if a place gets my order wrong but I didn't have any lettuce at home and I was close enough so I decided to go back. I walked up to the window and there was no line which was nice since  and showed my box and receipt with the burger to the worker and told him there was no lettuce and if I could have some and he said we can't take the burger back but they will make me another one. Okay cool so I got to keep the no lettuce burger while they made another one. About 5 min later, a cute girl hands me a bag and says we gave you more fries too and sorry about that. I told her thank you and it's probably the first time In N Out has ever forgotten something with my order which is an amazing track record and the fact that I got a free double double and fries because of it is awesome. Also props that In N Out still doesn't charge for extra lettuce, tomatoes like most other good food quickly places do. McDonalds shorted me a whole burger patty before and the next day I went in and told them and they made me another double cheeseburger free of charge so that was great too. In N Out kept the receipt which was smart of them as I feel like this is an easy thing to exploit and I wonder just how much of it goes on.

It's partially my fault for not checking to make sure the order was right since she read it off to me before handing it, I assumed she also checked it over and since I don't remember In N Out ever getting my order wrong, I just assumed it was all there but hey, free lunch for me today although I am not sure how well those fries did sitting in the fridge since last night. Oh and if you want hot stove, check out the basketball world. Crazy trades going on.

I was with you until you got to McDonalds

Is O'Hoppe really only 185lbs? That seems oddly light for a 6'2 catcher