Chuck

The Rams are going to suck. Have fun!

Geeesh. We may be a few games over .500 or at least right at .500 if we had this guy.

Also... Props to @nate who wrote this on Mike Trout, entering the top 10 in our top 50 moments in Angels baseball feature. #9 - 2014, 2015: Mike Trout's MVP's By Nate Trop - AngelsWin.com Staff Writer Starting with the day Mike Trout was drafted to all of his accolades in the minors to his dominance of MLB, Angels fans knew it was only a matter of time until he was the AL MVP. In 2012 his first full season he put on a dynamic display of power, speed, and athleticism leading the league in stolen bases, runs, OPS+ and making catches in center field that no human should ever be capable of. In 2013 he did more of the same, leading the league in walks and for the second year in a row, in runs scored, stepping up his OPS to .988 and OPS+ to 179. Both years he finished second in MVP voting to Miguel Cabrera, who might be a statue in the field but offensively he was mashing the ball including the first triple crown in decades. If you are a believer in WAR and sabermetrics, Mike Trout deserved the MVP both years but if you believe in the old school stats they favored Miguel Cabrera and it didn’t help that the Angels failed to make the playoffs both years. In 2014 it was a different story. After hitting a single in his first at-bat of the 2012 All Star Game and a double in his first at-bat of the 2013 All Star Game, he hit a triple in his first at-bat of the 2014 All Star Game and ended up adding a double and a walk to go 2-3 with a run scored, two RBI and his first MVP, the all-star variety. He wasn’t finished though leading the league in RBI and for the third straight year runs scored and WAR, slugging the Angels to the best record in baseball and his first playoff series. The conversation was no longer about WAR vs old school, there was no doubt he would be the MVP and on November 13th 2014 it was announced that he was unanimously selected as the AL MVP, the sixth player ever to win both the ASG and league MVP in the same season and the fifth-youngest player ever to win the MVP. His first at-bat of the 2015 All Star Game was a home run to right field that few players in baseball could hit, finishing off the first at-bat of the ASG cycle. He was the fourth player ever to lead off the ASG with a home run and he finished the game 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored and became the first player ever to win back to back All Star Game MVPs. Unfortunately the rest of 2015 ended with a familiar story, there was another catch and even though he lead the league in slugging, OPS and once again, WAR, the Angels missed the playoffs and Josh Donaldson had an equally impressive season playing for a playoff bound team, leaving Trout the MVP runner-up for the third time in four seasons.

Remember we have an active page just for live Mike Trout stats, facts and accomplishments on our "Troutstanding" page here.

Christian Arroyo is a good prospect, but there's nothing exciting about his game offensively. I'd take him for Escobar, if Parker is included. .270/.309/.375 with 2 HR is not very inspiring. He reminds me a lot of Jose Rondon, with a little more pop, (but not much), but less speed. Also, Parker does not look lost at the plate. He's been just fine in his brief at bats in the big leagues. .288/.381/.548 with 11 HR in just 146 at bats. Last season between AAA and w/ the Giants he hit 29 HR, with 67 walks. I do not mind the strikeouts when he's supplying a ton of power and takes the occasional walk.

Santiago's trade value skyrocketed. Trade him SOON before he reverts back into bad Santiago!

It was a good story. Much like Mulder was. If he actually pitched

It must be those horse tranquilizers he takes before bedtime.

Man Zimmerman and Lund are tearing it up.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20160704&content_id=187841674&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb Nate Smith made his Pacific Coast League debut with Salt Lake late last season. It did not go well as Smith went 2-4 with a 7.75 ERA in seven starts. But he said it did impart some valuable lessons. "I learned a lot from it, took that into the offseason and then obviously into this season," Smith said. "Working with pitching coach Pat Rice, who's filling in for Erik Bennett, he's been my pitching coach for the past two years, so it's nice to have him a third year. You just kind of pick up where you left off, just working on keeping the ball down and just reading hitters better." Using what he learned, the Angels' third-ranked prospect is 5-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 14 starts this year, numbers good enough to earn a spot at the All-Star Futures Game. "Obviously, it's an honor," Smith said. "I'm proud to represent the Angels. I'm humbled that they gave me an opportunity. I found out a couple days ago. The hard part was keeping it a secret; they told me not to tell anybody. It's exciting." Smith said he expects his parents to make it out to the game in San Diego on July 10 but otherwise is looking forward to the experience of going up against some of the best prospects in the game. "Definitely, I look forward to facing them, and not just that but hanging out with them, too," Smith said. "I know a handful of people, but I look forward to meeting some new guys and making some new relationships." Lately, Smith has had a good relationship with the hitter-friendly PCL. "Like I said, [the key is] keeping the ball down," he said. "The ball flies in a lot of these parks. Learning how to read hitters better, their swings, what their approaches are. Learning how to pitch with what I have, [pitch] sequences, things like that." A 2013 13th-round pick out of Furman, Smith has moved steadily up the ladder, learning more and more at each stop. One of the biggest lessons has been in coming up with a good plan for each hitter he faces. "It's been interesting," Smith said. "It's kind of like playing chess, almost. You've got to think, 'What's his strengths, what are my strengths, what are his weaknesses?' Sometimes you've got to do your best and hope for the best." One thing Smith hasn't worried about is how many analysts have pegged the Angels as having the Majors' worst farm system. "That's out of our control, it's just another person's opinion," he said. "Everyone in this locker room is confident in their abilities. When you're out on the field, it doesn't matter what someone ranks someone else. You're trying to put bread on your table. You're trying to win. You've got to do whatever you can."

Agreed!

Yes!

Michael Kohn.

I'm sorry for your loss bud.

True, but he's not as good as Escobar nor can he leadoff.

BTW, I'm fine with keeping Escobar through next season. Tell me who's going to be our leadoff hitter next year?

The Giants may not be a landing spot after all for Escobar. Matt Duffy (Achilles) is expected to be ready for activation from the disabled list at the start of the second half. Duffy has ditched his walking boot and took grounders on Sunday. It's possible he'll be cleared to resume hitting on Monday. The third baseman has missed the last two weeks of action with a strained left Achilles. Source: Henry Schulman on Twitter

The amount of errors they make on the bases is mindboggling.

Teoscar Hernandez and Derek Fisher for Santiago and Huston Street.

8-for-11 with three home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored in his last two games. Crazy!

Jeremy Rhoades, rhp, Angels. Rhoades, the Angels’ No. 25 prospect entering the season, seems to be turning the corner on a rough season. He extended his scoreless run to 11 innings Saturday with seven shutout frames for high Class A Inland Empire, which fell to High Desert (Rangers) 2-1. The fourth-round pick from Illinois State has seen tremendous growth from a year ago when posted an 8.35 ERA and .310 opponents' batting average in the Cal League. Rhoades works mostly with a sinker/slider combination with a fastball from 89-92 mph and a slider in the 82-85 range. From Baseball America

Keep it going Pujols!

A 25-year scotch and Johhny Walker Blue Label.