Ariamus

This and exactly this! It's very risky to throw resources willy-nilly at relievers because they are so volatile. One year they can be lights out and the next year, they can be a big steaming pile of horseshit. I live in Jersey so I get a lot of Mutts chatter. Stankees too, for that matter. Anyway, it was rather amusing being a close witness to the dumpster fire that was Edwin Diaz's 2019 season. This just a year after he had arguably the best season any "modern" reliever has ever had.

Buttercup... LOL

I looked it up and I was surprised to see that the number of #1 overall MLB draft picks to win a World Series with the club that drafted them was as high as it was. Heck, our very own Angels are represented on the list. But it's still only five guys out of 55 so far; Strawberry, Chipper, Erstad, Pat Burrell, and Carlos Correia. In fact, The Asterisks had three first overall picks in a row and only Correia made it to the bigs, let alone win it all. So, no thank you. I'd rather see them play well than tank for a one in eleven crapshoot.

Indeed... ...still, their schedule is really soft almost all the rest of the way. The finish is tough with two in San Diego and three up at Chavez Ravine to wrap up the season. But the 13 games in between are seven against the Rags and and three each against Colorado and Arizona. All three of those clubs share a common distinction in that they all have MUCH worse run differentials than the Halos. It's a pipe dream, but...10-3 against the dregs would mean they're 27-28 heading into the final five.

I love how Adell made the tie-breaking run almost entirely with his legs. Infield single followed by first to third on Stassi's single.

I wrote in yesterday's game(s) thread and I'll say it again. The Angels' lineup is just too good for them to finish at the bottom of the Major League standings. 26-34 isn't going to get a top-three pick and that's where I think they're headed. 26-34 means they'd have gone 10-9 the rest of the way. That may sound nuts on the face of it, especially when you consider how terrible their record is. Or at least was a half a week ago. But the salient fact re their schedule is that, after tonight, they're done with the A's and Asterisks for the season.

If I were running the club, I'd do the following before the start of the 2021 season: Make every attempt to sign Trevor Bauer. The Angels need top of the rotation, front line pitching and he is that. Yes, he's a bit of an odd bird but does that matter? No. What matters is what he can give the club on the bump every fifth day. Ditto for JT Realmuto. This one's more of a stretch for two reasons. First, the Angels need pitching a lot more than they need to improve elsewhere on the diamond and they may not be willing to splash cash like they were last offseason. Second, if someone other than the current ownership is signing the checks for the New York Mets (i.e. Steve Cohen), I think Realmuto will wind up in Queens because they'll give him a metric fuck-tonne of money. Convince Albert to retire. I'd still pay him, mind you. But I think he hurts us more than he helps when he's in the game. The club needs to make room for Jo Adell and (hopefully) Brandon Marsh to get full playing time so we can see what they are and can be. They also need to account for the possibility that Ohtani will be a full-time offensive player as well (see below). Presuming that Trout, Rendon, Upton, Simmons (also see below), and Fletcher all play every day relatively speaking, that doesn't leave a lot of room to do all the things they need to do and still shoehorn Pujols into the lineup two-thirds of the time. So convince Albert to hang 'em up. I would prefer to do it amicably. It's gotta be possible to reason with him. I mean, what could he possibly still be playing for? The pandemic wiped out any chance he had at 700 homers and 2000 runs scored. I mean, he needs less than 100 hits to crack the all-time top-ten but is that really enough motivation? Give Shohei one more crack at being a viable two-way player. But only just one more. I'm still willing to give him one more shot next spring training to see what he's got left. Maybe even go into the season with the tryout. But if the power in his arm is gone, it should be apparent pretty quickly. And if it is, then it's time to put the notion of his being a pitcher to bed. To be clear, I still hope that he can be an all-star level pitcher as well as an all-star level hitter. He'd be much more valuable to the club that way than the alternative. But if it's not realistic, the time will have come to put a first-baseman's (or a corner outfielder's) glove on him and making him a full-time position player. Offer Simmons a 2-4 year deal at about $12-13 million per year. I like Simba and I like the rock-solid stability that he gives us at the second-most important defensive position. And I really love watching Rendon (another excellent defender) and he patrol the left side of the infield. Much as I love him, I don't think there's much of a market out there for a 30+ shortstop. I didn't think there was one before the pandemic (see Didi Gregorious) and I certainly don't think there is one now. Still, rather than screw around with the qualifying offer crapshoot, I'd make him an offer along the lines of what I wrote above. Any combination of at least two guaranteed years and attainable option years beyond that totaling no more than four at the amount suggested is fine.

I would love to see him stay as well. Frankly I was surprised they didn't trade him last week and I'm hopeful that's a sign they intend to do what they can to keep him. I also don't worry about the money. I really doubt there's a club out there that's willing to give a 30+ shortstop a big contract. I think he's bound for a "show-me" type contract like the one that Didi Gregorious got from the Phillies. So I think if the Angels offer him two years, $24-26 million with a third year incentives-laden option that wouldn't be too hard to attain, he probably would take it. I can live with that. What I can't live with is if it's a matter of either Simba or more pitching. I think the Angels have the wherewithal to do both and more. What they lack, or specifically Arte lacks is the will. I also can't live with Simba being the the fourth-best offensive player in the lineup. I love Simmons and the trade to get him (Eppler's first move with the club) can not be categorized as anything but an epic win. He's a fantastic defender; arguably the best at his position since the Wizard himself. And he's become a better than average hitter, developing from the veritable black hole he was in Atlanta's lineup earlier in his career. But even with his improvements at the plate, he's still a bottom-half of the order hitter. Or at least he has to be if you're talking about a legitimate contender.

I also wonder why the Asterisks didn't walk Adell...though you have to think that Rendon is sent up to pinch-hit then f they do.

Damn it, you may be right... Told you...l

Even if they were just 4-5 in those chances, they'd be just a handful of games under .500 and right in the mix.

As much as I would love it there is zero chance Arte is adding $50 million this offseason to the payroll. Yeah...I know.

Disagree...get me Bauer and get me Realmuto and that'd be a good start.

Halos have too good a lineup to finish with the worst record in the Majors.

I predict next inning, a plague of locusts will descend upon the Big A.

The OP is right about one thing...the pandemic has eliminated any chance Pujols had at 700 homers, slim as it was.

Stupidity is not a symptom of COVID 19...the OP picked it up somewhere else.

No

Yes, Amtrak is the plan. I live right dab-smack in between the two cities. I'm actually closer to NYC but it's easier to get to CBP than the Bronx. I've seen the Halos in both parks; five times in Philly and dozens in NYC. I know have been to the new Yankee Stadium for Angels games four times but I lost count at the old stadium. It was something around three-dozen times over the years. There's a fair bet that I'll catch at least one game at each park this season. For Philly, I definitely recommend the Reading Terminal Market as a place to visit. It's a great place for people-watching and to go for a late lunch or early dinner before the game. Definitely go for cheese-steak while in Philly and the Market will offer plenty of options. If you want to go for the big-name cheese-steak places, Jim's is just a few blocks from the terminal. Pat's and Gino's are regarded as the originators of the sandwich and they're basically across the street from each other in South Philly. They're also closer to the stadium than the Market and Jim's. Dalessandro's is also highly regarded but they're basically outside of town in Northwest Philly. In NYC, find yourself a good deli for pastrami or corned beef. All of the best ones are in Manhattan and Brooklyn though and, with the park in the Bronx, that may be inconvenient depending on where you're staying and for how long. Katz's and 2nd Ave Deli are the go-to's. As for sights, the Memorial is momentous but it can be very "heavy". It's the sort of place that one should visit but one doesn't really need to see twice. At least that's how I feel about it. I am fortunate to not have lost anyone close in the attacks so maybe that factors in how I feel about the Memorial. My recommendation if you have the time is Lady Liberty. It's a half-a-day at least so you may not have the time. But it is definitely worth the visit.

How about Manny Ramírez then? My opinion on the PED guys is not set in stone and it is still likely to evolve. This is because it's hard to know what the extent of use was throughout the sport. Moreover, it's more than a bit unfair to make pronouncements over players who, even if they used, broke no official rules of the Leagues. These realities create uncertainty and that uncertainty diminishes the career totals for those guys with less obvious cases for the Hall. That's why I say there's a gap between Bonds and Clemens and the likes of McGwire, Palmeiro, and Sosa. Heck, even if all his achievements were on the level, I'm not so certain Sammy Sosa's case is that strong. That said, I am hard and fast in my opposition to guys that broke the rules. If a guy got dinged since the ban, they're out. Even if he got caught at the end of an otherwise illustrious career. In my opinion, if I guy was using after the rules were in place, there should be little doubt he was using before. So Manny doesn't get in. The same applies to ARod.

Larry Walker played a total of 4 games in CF in Montreal, in 1991 no less. But I'm sure he was amazing in those four games. Apologies...I was having a similar discussion a couple of days back re: Center Fielders involving Junior and Andruw Jones and I conflated the two arguments. My overall point that Larry Walker was already probably the best right fielder in the NL before he left the Expos still stands though.

People that cite the Colorado numbers for Walker forget how great he was in Montreal. There's a strong case to be made that, when MLB nearly lost its mind with 94-95 work stoppage, the best Center Fielders in the AL and NL were Ken Griffey Jr. and Larry Walker respectively.

Bonds definitely and Clemens probably as well were both sure-bets for eventual Hall induction even before it is widely believed they started juicing (97 for Clemens and 99-00 for Bonds). The same can't be said for Sosa, Palmiero, or even McGwire.

Baines' election, controversial as it was, does not necessarily open the door for Baylor. I know everyone loves Don; I do too. But he was not the hitter that Baines was. His numbers all trail Baines by significant margins like 20 points in batting average, 50 or so home runs, etc.

Curt Schilling has a career bWAR of 79.5, good enough for 26th all-time among Starting Pitchers. He's also 28th in the Jaffe system. There's been 6,000 or more starting (exclusively so) pitchers in MLB history. That puts him in the top half of the top percent, all-time. And those levels hold all throughout his statistical record. The most impressive thing to me about Schilling, besides the postseason record of course, is how great his control was considering he was a power pitcher. He's ranked 15th all time in strikeouts and 36th in Ks per 9 (again, easily to 1%). So, it's amazing that he's 7th all-time in Ks to BBs ratio. In short, Schilling may be a douchebag and an asshole but that doesn't matter. He's in the top 1% of the best of the best (remember, I'm only counting MLB pitchers, never mind the tens of thousands that played and never made it) of all practitioners of his craft. That's a Hall of Famer to me.