Deek

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…

Seemed like a nice guy.... but he was painful to listen to....

As if we needed any evidence that Pujols is no Shohei...

Former: Roberto Clemente Current: Freddie Freeman

I don't want to dog-pile or hate, but... I can't help but continue to feel like there's a correlation to the team's success / fan enthusiasm... And the departure of Pujols and Upton... The players seem to have a collective personality (and I don't believe for a second that Pujols would have donned a cowboy hat after any of his handful of HRs left in him - I can't help think that every time I see that thing)....

As entertaining as the no-no was... I'll trade it every day of the week and twice on Sunday for good consistency from Detmers....

Three AL MVPs on the roster!

Part Deux: 6 - Matt V and Gubby are fun... Valentine - not so much...

A few notes: 1 - Adell looked terrible (circa 2020) - That throw in on the first run of the game was between home and first and he completely misplayed a ball by coming in and letting sail over his head... and then there were his ABs: where he was way too over aggressive swinging at balls well outside of the zone (two that were down and in after a text book set-up pitch)... 2 - I know this is going to sound weird because it was a quiet night offensively... but without Upton and Pujols in the line up... it feels more dynamic - There wasn't a point that I felt I could jump up and grab a refill or hit the head... just felt like there was much more promise and potential... 3 - Ohtani, Trout, Rendon... that's so fun to watch... and I agree with others: move Shohei out of the 1-hole - put Fletch there! 4 - The bully was solid overall 5 - This team is fast..

Who in the hell even shows up early enough to a game to make this assessment... this is SoCal people! ... and seriously: LOL at grilling in a parking lot - this isn't Walmart...

Completely Overrated: Todd Greene (I seriously thought his power and swing would translate) Completely Underrated: Mike Trout (I thought he had the pedigree to be a legit starter, I never thought he'd be in the conversation for GOAT)

I was in Jr High when I attended my first game. Don't remember the exact date or the opponent... because it didn't matter: I just wanted to see Wally World in 1987!!! We were living on the central coast of Cali and I didn't follow baseball at the time, but my uncle was a big Angels fan and raved about Wally, so he took my cousin and me. We drove down, watched the game (actually got Wally's auto, while waiting for him at his car, and Willie Fraser's auto as well) and drove back in the same day... I was hooked - and obsessed with Wally Joyner and the Angels from that point... And was pretty disappointed to learn while attending subsequent games that you rarely get your idol's auto while hanging out after the game ?@#!%$...

Soooo… Arte’s going to underwrite a pay-per-view cage match to sort out job titles…? My money’s on Nevin…

I’ll even take the time to consider the opinion of trolls …

I know if you don't have something nice to say, you shouldn't speak... but here goes: I don't like Manfred and I don't like Rosenthal... But what I like even less - is the rampant censorship that has permeated the media: FB, Twitter, MLB, etc - and the social movements that passively (or worse yet, actively) acquiesce the actions... Particularly when diversity is being presently lauded as a priority within our society. This is sad commentary on the direction of our society that demonizes a critical or different opinion... Closer to the Angels: That is one of the first things I think of when remembering Victor Rojas. I was always surprised at how critical he was at times of players, coaches and the org. And I loved that about him. I always thought he did a really good job of being critical without being personal. I didn't always agree, but I did always value and respect a different opinion...

Guby and Rex would be epic... I don't care what anyone says...

Money aside - I don't think Grienke or Kershaw fit the "mentality" bill that Perry seems focused on: Kershaw - great in the regular season; disaster in the bright lights of the post season... Grienke - His emotional breakdowns for much of the first half of his career are well documented. I like Grienke and would love to get him on a 1/$15M or even 2/$25M, but I just don't see it happening...

Seriously… who gives a crap about some ridiculous emotional support dog… next time I see one in a grocery store, I’m gonna punt it into the end zone….

With all the complaining and blaming about bringing in new pitching - it got me to thinking about a few things: 1 - With free agents, you need to have two willing partners (the club and pitcher - duh). So many people on the board (though often I wonder if it's just a loud minority), lay the blame at the feet of Arte and the GM - as if it's their decision alone. We've seen countless examples of evidence to the contrary - on our roster alone: A) Thor had offers for more $, but chose the Angels because he liked the fit (that doesn't make the team/GM that offered over market a failure - they put the most competitive offer on the table, and the player had an agenda that wasn't based solely on $) B) Rendon had a comparable (I actually vaguely remember it was for more $) offer from the Dogs... but at his press conference he went out of his way to say he chose the Angels because he didn't like the "LA vibe" C) Shohei chose the Angels because of his relationship with then GM Eppler and the "family vibe" of the club... none of those examples are solved by an owner offering more money when they know they're the highest bidder (albeit you can always throw $10M / year to help, but that doesn't seem very plausible - why would you bid against yourself?). I think the board gets a bit too carried away with all the "meddling" owner talk and dismisses so many other factors that are in play: relationships, personal preferences, etc... 2 - We have Shohei in our rotation. I really think this point doesn't receive its due consideration from the AW hoard. Shohei drives us to a 6-man rotation. That works to our benefit when pursuing a pitcher like Thor who's coming off of surgery and could significantly benefit from a reduced workload (a very nice strategy of Perry's that was brought to light when the signing was announced - and one I hope he can replicate in the future - my 1st hope was: why not make a run at Verlander under the same premise). BUT if you're a pitcher that in any way sees value in volume stats - it's probably a tougher sell: you won't have the opportunity to win as many games, rack up K's, IPs, etc - And even if you're more of a sabermetric minded pitcher and you see yourself as a #1 type and in the Cy Young hunt on a perennial basis - you can't dismiss the number of voters who still value volume stats - and how that could impact you adding hardware to your trophy room. AND for many pitchers, the 6-man rotation is a paradigm that's counter culture to the philosophy they've trained and developed on. I don't want to see Shohei ever pitch/play for another team, so in no way am I advocating we change the current structure... but I suspect it makes Perry's job more difficult in the pursuit of FA pitchers - and it doesn't stop with the rotation - there's a trickle down effect into the bullpen as well.... so... 3 - I'm starting to think it makes more sense for us to go the trade route. I think we'll need to bring guys in via trade with multiple years of club control to prove out the system for a couple of years before we'll have even footing in the pursuit of FA pitchers. I'm not suggesting we give up in the pursuit (you never know when someone WANTS to be in SoCal - see: Lorenzen) or give Perry a pass (it's his job to get creative to get the deal done), but I don't think the Front Office can ignore what I think is a likely reality... Do your worst...

Seager @ 10 years $325M = ARod 2.0….

If Sho has already proven he can put those numbers up with Trout and Rendon on the DL and Walsh unable to hit lefties... What does their status have to do with him replicating his performance....?

So the draft pick for Thor is basically a push... Maybe the Angels had an idea of Iglesias' intentions...

I don't want to see Chris Carpenter on the bump... And the only positive I see to offering Kershaw is that both sides wouldn't have to worry about any exposure to October.... And I don't want any part of Heaney - any MLB pitcher that has to remind himself he belongs in the bigs, shouldn't be there...

I miss Jeff Mathis...

I just plunked down $540 for a Shohei Ohtani 2017 Bowman Chrome Refractor RC BGS 9.5 (sub grades: 9.5, 9.5, 9.5, 10)... Which is the most I've ever paid for a single card - and I've been collecting since the mid-80's. I've got cards worth more than this one - some I've purchased individually (Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Trout RC auto, etc - but bought them for less years ago) and many others I've pulled from packs or traded for them... So what's the most you've paid for a card...? Figure this beats bitching about the team and management for a few minutes :)...