oldguy

When O'Hoppe and Stassi come back we need to find a way to get all four catchers into the lineup!!

I think John Rocker has something left in the tank.

He had this strikeout problem in 2014. He used to ALWAYS take the first pitch and found himself down in the count. He fixed it by swinging at more first pitches, thus avoiding the 2-strike situations where he would get the heater high and inside.

Unfortunately, I'm betting he was a bit relieved being able to avoid that situation.

Shohei says he's fatigued because he's pitching more this year? He's averaging 5 2/3 innings pitching every 6th day. I'll just never understand this younger generation!

He was an underrated announcer. Certainly better than most today!

It'll probably sound like this...

Thanks for the weekly fix, gentlemen. Your discussion about the lack of a clubhouse leader was spot on. I DO think that O'Hoppe and Neto can be that guy (however, it'll take time to be comfortable with the veterans.) The irony is that, during the WBC, Ohtani was that guy for Team Japan! Perhaps we make the entire team learn and speak Japanese?

no

I was listening on the radio, Terry Smith mentioned that opponents are hitting .529 against Detmers the third time through the order. FIVE TWENTY NINE!!! I couldn't hit that in my slo-pitch softball league!!!

and, as mentioned before, losing Shohei opens up the DH spot for an aging Trout and Rendon.

Another nice podcast. Where can I go to submit questions?(the mailbag)

Thaiss and O'Hoppe will make a great catching combo. What to do with Stassi?

Fregosi and Buck Rogers were the managers, Dean Chance was the Cy Young, I have no idea who the first and last players picked were.

I know you're being sarcastic, but, therein lies the problem. Who will lead this meeting? Frankly, this is not up Trout's alley, he likes to lead by example (and, unfortunately, he's just not getting it done lately.) Shohei doesn't speak the language well enough (and is probably just marking time), Rendon is just too laid back, and everyone else is fairly new. Perhaps we could trade Trout for Bryce Harper just to get some fire in the clubhouse. When we had Lackey, Erstad, Percival, and Weaver the fire was built-in. Torii Hunter was also a leader, but Albert ruined that dynamic. On the brighter side, I see that fire in Neto and O'Hoppe.

I think it'll open up the spot for Trout (to give his legs a break) and Rendon (perhaps full time if his fielding doesn't improve).

I think Trout has "Brandon Wood" disease in clutch situations. He's just befuddled.

Matthews Jr., Wilson, Wells, Upton, ...

On the bright side, at least that'll open up the DH spot for Trout and Rendon.

Unfortunately, nobody is taking on that contract. The Angels are hamstrung with Trout and Rendon for the next few seasons, and with Trout a few seasons more after that. This club is ALWAYS in that situation, and the blame has to fall squarely on Arte. He is always looking for the quick fix and just never seems to learn. We all laughed when Houston moved to the AL West and we got to play them 16 times. They didn't look for a quick fix, and the rest is history.

He's fast-becoming the new Albertross.

I cringe everytime the ball is hit to him.

Yep. 3rd time through the order gets him everytime.

I also turned it off. Fortunately I saw on Twitter that the game was tied so I got to see the end. Being a NorCal resident, I use the MLB app to watch games. This year, I wasn't going to be, once again, fooled into subscribing for the entire year so I'm subscribing on a month-by-month basis. After the 11-8 loss to the Royals, I cancelled my monthly renewal (expiring today). This morning, I renewed. Both decisions felt good, hopefully I'll be renewing a month from now (because I'll probably cancel before then). Good times!!!

Great way to start a Monday morning! Well done, again!