Claude

Tbf I didn't expect more than a split this series. The White Sox are going to be really good this year.

Didn't know that.
Definitely hoping for a speedy recovery @Dave Saltzer. 
I think we can all agree that Cancer can go fuck itself.

On a personal note, please say a prayer or send some positive vibes to our own David Saltzer who is battling a rare form of blood cancer. 🙏
Last week Dave did chemo which wiped him out and today on opening day he's spending it in the hospital getting radiation treatment. 

This is awesome. 

Adell needs to spend less time making videos of himself jumping on boxes and maybe work in some baseball fundamentals.

Or he just isn't that good of a baseball player 

Lol Adell.

It's like he's literally never played in the OF before. How did we never hear about how horrible his defense is until he came up?

I’m a bit concerned tbh

FACE!
 
 

I don’t think I’m ever gonna trust Adell at the plate or in the outfield. 
 
He just screams Justin Upton to me.

Upton has an .850 OPS 
Ohtani goes 9-4 with a 3.60 ERA over 120 innings
Angels trade for Johnny Cueto for the stretch drive with SF picking up $5 million of his remaining salary.  

He wouldn't have signed an extension with a team that hasn't won and showed no signs of trying to if he was eager to win. He's now eager this year after looking at his teammates? He was consulted by ownership and this team is the result? That's sad. The team is better on paper but are not favored to win the division and many don't even have them making the playoffs. Odds are once again against Trouts team.

Albert doesn't want to win.

When Shohei Ohtani arrived in the major leagues in 2018, facing skepticism that he could be a successful two-way player, he coped with the pressure by just trying to have fun.
He’s trying that again.
“It’s kind of how I felt in 2018,” Ohtani said through his interpreter in his first interview of the spring on Thursday. “Rather than have pressure, I just want to have fun and feel good out there, and just do my job when it’s given. Hopefully, I want to make Joe (Maddon) use me as much as possible.”
The 2018 Ohtani produced a .925 OPS at the plate and a 3.31 ERA on the mound, performances the Angels would love to see again.
They especially need him on the mound, where he’s barely been in the two seasons since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He is now at 100 percent physically, including a more rigorous offseason workout regimen. After he threw a 27-pitch bullpen session on Thursday morning Ohtani said that his arm feels “much better than last year.”
Maddon said Ohtani had been up to 95 mph during throwing sessions before spring training, although the Angels reported him maxing out at 90 mph on Thursday.
“I’m not worried at all,” Ohtani said. “This is my first bullpen wearing a uniform this year, so I’m not too worried about the velo.”
Ohtani also didn’t seem concerned about the offensive slump he endured last season, when his OPS dropped to .657 and he found himself often benched at the end.
“I’ve been hitting all offseason and I think my swing is feeling really good right now,” Ohtani said. “My body is feeling good. I think we’re in a good spot hitting wise.”
If Ohtani continues to be healthy and he performs as well as he expects, the next question will be how the Angels will use him.
During his rookie season, the Angels had a strict schedule in which he didn’t pitch more than once every seven days and he didn’t hit the day before or after he pitched.
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“I feel really good about it,” Ohtani said. “He talked about how we need to communicate with each other more and earn each other’s trust and get to know each other. I feel really good about not having the restrictions.”
Maddon said they never got to the point of that conversation last year. In his first year working with Ohtani, Maddon didn’t know him well. And in spring training they already knew Ohtani wouldn’t pitch until mid May, so the discussion of incorporating both sides of his game hadn’t happened before the pandemic shutdown.
“I want him to tell me what he thinks, how he feels,” Maddon said before their meeting Thursday morning. “Shohei, what would be a good way for us to view you and and get the most out of your abilities this year, whether it’s on the mound, whether it’s hitting?…. This year I want him to take charge of his own path.”
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I think it's become clear that the Angels really are waiting for the farm to be ready and for certain contracts to expire. I'd imagine that by 2022 when Adell and Marsh are ready full-time that things will change, but then again, we've always said "next year" for the last 4 years. 
The one year deals over the last few seasons has completely puzzled me as well. Only Bundy out of the group including Harvey, Cahill, Teheran and others has actually worked. Quintana fits well for a #4-#5 type guy. But i'm lost with Cobb. High-risk guy (at low money) IMO. And to trade Jones for it? ummm.... 
Sure, the Angels paying big bucks to Pujols hasn't handcuffed them to sign Trout, Rendon and Upton, but it's where they spend their money that concerns me. It's the lack of financial attention to the rotation. Yes, homegrown is the best option. Just look at the Dodgers, Astros, Rays, etc.... But the Angels aren't in that position so they needed to do the other option.... Spend more. 
Yeah, what concerns me isn't the fact that they aren't spending money. It's the fact that Arte fires Eppler and has publicly acknowledged that they're looking deep to figure out what's wrong and has said  "they feel it everyday" with Trout not being in the playoffs yet it feels like nothing has changed. 
The Angels do have a better chance to make the playoffs this year, but I think a lot of us still see major concerns with pitching. I'd like to stay optimistic, but it's difficult. 

This is Joe Maddon mind games in play. 
Ohtani may have 'no limit' but don't be surprised when he gets pulled after the 4th inning with 60 pitches in his first start.

Any word on how Bob Nightengale feels about the Angels 2021 season?

Another mediocre year...on paper at least

Perry Minasian just shot himself in the foot. I don't know how much the rest of you know about Angels baseball culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in Atlanta where you can become successful by being an a******. If you screw a fanbase over in Anaheim by not making a big offseason splash, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance. What this means is the Angels fanbase, after hearing about this, is not going to want to support the Angels, nor will they watch any games. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Perry Minasian has alienated an entire market with this move. Perry Minasian, publicly apologize and resign or you can kiss @floplag and @RendZone goodbye. 

Perry Minasian spoke to the media on Zoom today, and it seems like he's done with the roster. In addition to him saying that they're "prepared to go into Spring Training with what we currently have" the fact that he had this Zoom call today sure seems like an end of offseason type Zoom call. Now, I obviously wasn't on the Zoom call so maybe that wasn't the reason for it, but it sure seems like it.
On the possibility of adding more to the roster before Spring Training:
"Never say never. There's a possibility that we could add to the current group we have. But we are prepared to go into Spring Training with what we currently have, we feel like we've upgraded the roster in a lot of different areas over the course of the offseason, so is it a possibility? Yes. Will it actually end up happening? We'll see."
https://www.mlb.com/angels/news/perry-minasian-on-angels-2021-spring-training

Trout seems content here doing whatever they’re doing. If he wasn’t he probably wouldn’t have signed that extension. He gets his privacy and beach life. Can’t complain.
 
Rendon has his ring, he’s good. He looked pretty content at that press conference being able to move his family/young daughter out to the beach and live a quiet life. 
I don’t think having Pujols around these days makes any of this better either. The guy is in terrible shape and making a killing.