disarcina

It crushingly pains me to write this to you all but I've been given his blessing to share that our good friend that we've all known as @Lou (and IEBRUIN) has battling cancer for a while now, but it has taken a turn for the worse so he has been placed into hospice care. 
His days left on this earth may be few according to doctors, so please join me in filling this thread with as much love, memories and kind words that you can pass along to Lou and his family who may be reading this. 
It goes without saying, that Lou, who has been on AngelsWin.com for nearly two decades has been the top contributor and supporter, but even more so a dear friend. 

While I've known for sometime now and have been praying for a cure for his cancer, sometimes the answer in prayer is NO because God has a better plan, and maybe he just wants Lou (who is a believer) home to be with him in eternity. 
I would also like to add that I've grown to know @WicketMaiden more through our private messaging here, and he's been an amazing friend to Lou throughout his entire battle. Wicket got Lou into Cricket over a year ago and while Lou was in the hospital over the past several weeks they would watch the games together and comment during the games as a healthy distraction. 
Please join me in sending as much prayer for strength, peace & comfort and love to Lou as you can. 🙏

I think the most likely destination of all is Baltimore. They've just got their window of contention and are stocked with young MLB ready prospects and no where to put them. They could deal from their surplus without hurting the team's future while also making a big push this year. 
Minasian loves his first round picks and hyped prospects. I think he could swing some sort of deal where the Angels get Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall, Dylan Beavers and Seth Johnson from the Orioles. All those guys are furst or comp round picks, all have upside, all are in the high minors and every single one of them is currently blocked. 

normally your comment would be a correct assessment of the situation -- however, Ohtani is the most unique talent to come along - perhaps in MLB. history - certainly in the modern era.  There are two markets for Ohtani - and the value on each changes daily as we get closer to August 1 deadline.   Halos probably now realize (finally) they have ZERO chance of signing him long term -- and need to deal him to get something of value for the greatest player in the game.    Some teams might be willing to over-pay for a two month rental of Ohtani for the stretch run and playoffs giving them a real chance to sell out their stadium the rest of the season and load up on merchandise sales of Ohtani gear - jerseys, hats, shirts, bobble - heads etc. - he also could be the difference between making the playoffs with a shot at winning the World Series - even if there is no way the team can sign him long term. (Houston , Atlanta, maybe Cincinnati, perhaps SF Giants. -others).  Then there's the big boys would want Ohtani not just for the two months but for the extra time in close proximity to him to convince him to sign and stay long term (NY Yankees, LA DODGERS, maybe NY Mets.  Seattle (probably lack the resources).   If this comes down to the deadline wire -- the Angels front office will have to make the choice whether to pull the trigger on getting perhaps.ONE really good top prospect  and perhaps another good prospect  -maybe even a MLB guy (pitcher) under club control for. four more years or so for Ohtani or lose him forever with a draft pick compensation.  The Halos should insist on a draft pick as part of any player deal.  IMO the best chance for a team to over-pay for Ohtani is the NY Yankees who would be interested in signing him long term and feel - right now today - that they are behind the  LA Dodgers on Ohtani's list -- Yankees would be given and stretch run and playoff experience time to convince Ohtani otherwise.       As for the Dodgers - they can probably sit back and wait knowing they are the front-runners for Ohtani right now for 2024 and would engage only if a bidding war breaks out with the Yankees and their efforts to neutralize the Dodgers' advantage.    That's how I see it.
I just cannot see the ANGELS doing nothing and losing Ohtani to free agency.  The front office would be hounded and second-guessed forever if that were to happen.

Smart decision

Angels franchise going nowhere fast.
Ohtani needs to be dealt at deadline because he's not signing long term here.
But Halos probably won't do that.
Arte's proposed sale of the club - now off the table - was the best bet for the Angels to move on to be a big market contending club -- Arte as a sole owner (with some investors) just can't compete with the. conglomerate ownership interests like the Dodgers and.other teams.
Not necessarily a knock on Arte - although he's. certainly made some mis-steps (Josh Hamilton being one example) but he just  does not provide the economic wherewith all to compete with the better capitalized ownerships -- meanwhile - from an owner's standpoint, the Angels are a great franchise - the fan base seems to show up at the 30,000 per game attendance range, win , lose or draw.  Weather is. nice, particularly this time of year - so evenings at the ballpark are pleasant. it's a great entertainment option and a winning team would be nice, but not really all that necessary to make a profit.  The. team can and. has drifted under this scenario for years.
Right now the Angels have,  perhaps, the best player to ever play the game (two way Ohtani) and a legitimate. HOF'er (Trout) who seems to have  hit his mid-career point a bit prematurely with all the injuries he's sustained.  We have these great players and still can't move the needle.  
We're in free fall heading into the. All Star Game.  There's no playoffs in our future this season..  The switch out of Madden for NEVIN which. never made. much sense to me - seems to me , anyway, to make less sense now.   Oh well.
When all is said and done, 30,000 will show up at the ballpark.  Fun time had by all. Oh well.

Angels franchise going nowhere fast.
Ohtani needs to be dealt at deadline because he's not signing long term here.
But Halos probably won't do that.
Arte's proposed sale of the club - now off the table - was the best bet for the Angels to move on to be a big market contending club -- Arte as a sole owner (with some investors) just can't compete with the. conglomerate ownership interests like the Dodgers and.other teams.
Not necessarily a knock on Arte - although he's. certainly made some mis-steps (Josh Hamilton being one example) but he just  does not provide the economic wherewith all to compete with the better capitalized ownerships -- meanwhile - from an owner's standpoint, the Angels are a great franchise - the fan base seems to show up at the 30,000 per game attendance range, win , lose or draw.  Weather is. nice, particularly this time of year - so evenings at the ballpark are pleasant. it's a great entertainment option and a winning team would be nice, but not really all that necessary to make a profit.  The. team can and. has drifted under this scenario for years.
Right now the Angels have,  perhaps, the best player to ever play the game (two way Ohtani) and a legitimate. HOF'er (Trout) who seems to have  hit his mid-career point a bit prematurely with all the injuries he's sustained.  We have these great players and still can't move the needle.  
We're in free fall heading into the. All Star Game.  There's no playoffs in our future this season..  The switch out of Madden for NEVIN which. never made. much sense to me - seems to me , anyway, to make less sense now.   Oh well.
When all is said and done, 30,000 will show up at the ballpark.  Fun time had by all. Oh well.

Passed on the Royals Qualifying offer, signed a 1 /6.5 with Milwaukee...then He signed a 4/64 deal with the Reds, don't think that's drifting. They cut him when things didn't go well, so Colorado didn't pay him more than the minimum. 
He went to Chatsworth High in the San Fernando Valley. Not Camarillo. Moustakas attended Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, where he was a four-year starter in baseball. During that time he helped Chatsworth to a 124–11 record, including four West Valley League championships, and two California Interscholastic Federation city titles. Moustakas was voted "Player of the Year" by Cal-Hi Sports in both his sophomore and junior years.[3] His 52 career home runs in high school are a California prep state record.[4]
 

Moustakas signed that one year deal with. Milwaukee after KC did not re-sign him. He never played for San Diego. Drifted  to Cincinnati and then wound up  Colorado this year.  Moustakas played his high school ball in S. California (Camarillo) so it's sort of a homecoming - I thought Nevin missed a perfect opportunity to pinch hit Moustakas for Rengifo in the 9th inning today.

YES -- Halos really have no real choice here. -- cannot risk losing Ohtani (best MLB player of all time) leave for draft pick compensation.
NO -  Arte keeps his word but risks being the guy  who not only let Ohtani get away, but get away for virtually nothing in return.

realistically, does the. Angels front office have much of a choice other than to move Ohtani before the trade deadline.   Force. the Dodgers and the Yankees to bid against each other and vastly over - pay for a rental in order to have the. upper hand and proximity to him to sign him long term -- plus he would be a heck of a rental for the stretch run.  Not sure what other clubs might be in the  bidding for the "Rental phase competition -- some club knowing there's no way they can compete with the big buck$ teams to sign him long term but feel 'it's now or never' for their playoff chances and are willing to part with a top pitching prospect or two to have Ohtani for two months plus the post season.

Perhaps old news - but I just saw it on NetFlix - get documentary -- our pal (formerly. Pinetar here - Rob Goldman - author of "when they  were Angels' and also a book about. Nolan Ryan is in the documentary quite. a bit - talking about his. days as an Angels bat boy and about watching Nolan Ryan    Anyway, it's a great documentary about one of. MLB's greatest pitchers of all time,
It talks about Ryan's Texas roots -- and the documentary made me more understanding why it's OK for Nolan Ryan to be wearing a. Texas cap in the HOF -- even if his best seasons and best stats. were during his Angels years --  although. - as the documentary points out -- Ryan had some great stats from age 35 to almost 44. and pitched as well during those years than almost any time of his. career.
I. really enjoyed the documentary  --everybody here probably watched it long ago.

Perhaps old news - but I just saw it on NetFlix - get documentary -- our pal (formerly. Pinetar here - Rob Goldman - author of "when they  were Angels' and also a book about. Nolan Ryan is in the documentary quite. a bit - talking about his. days as an Angels bat boy and about watching Nolan Ryan    Anyway, it's a great documentary about one of. MLB's greatest pitchers of all time,
It talks about Ryan's Texas roots -- and the documentary made me more understanding why it's OK for Nolan Ryan to be wearing a. Texas cap in the HOF -- even if his best seasons and best stats. were during his Angels years --  although. - as the documentary points out -- Ryan had some great stats from age 35 to almost 44. and pitched as well during those years than almost any time of his. career.
I. really enjoyed the documentary  --everybody here probably watched it long ago.

thanks - its a great documentary. worth watching several times.
Rob Goldman featured throughout and really does a great job.

Perhaps old news - but I just saw it on NetFlix - get documentary -- our pal (formerly. Pinetar here - Rob Goldman - author of "when they  were Angels' and also a book about. Nolan Ryan is in the documentary quite. a bit - talking about his. days as an Angels bat boy and about watching Nolan Ryan    Anyway, it's a great documentary about one of. MLB's greatest pitchers of all time,
It talks about Ryan's Texas roots -- and the documentary made me more understanding why it's OK for Nolan Ryan to be wearing a. Texas cap in the HOF -- even if his best seasons and best stats. were during his Angels years --  although. - as the documentary points out -- Ryan had some great stats from age 35 to almost 44. and pitched as well during those years than almost any time of his. career.
I. really enjoyed the documentary  --everybody here probably watched it long ago.

your comments --  all true --  having been to several VGK games I would call  what you characterize as 'distractions' during the game. - as 'the full Vegas Entertainment treatment' and really makes the Golden Knights game an entertainment venue for the whole family unlike any other in the NHL --  the VGK have been a huge success in Las Vegas.  As for baseball --  step back one second -- remember the Oakland bar is very low for the A's -- if the Las Vegas A's (Aces?) --  draw 17,500 to 20,000 per game they're ahead of where they were in Oakland.  Also - I think the 'opposing team' fan attraction to the game you mention for the NHL above will translate to baseball. Fans planning a trip to Vegas will schedule around when their team is in town.

Gary Sanchez - pass on. this guy. -- he's a DH -- his 'defense' ability as a catcher is limited.
He's really. a DH and third string emergency catcher for teams that can utilize a spot on their 26 man roster for that. purpose.

They could just as easily use that facility as their rookie ball, A ball, AA ball facility if it can't be used as a AAA location.  Especially A ball, geography doesn't seem to matter as the Angels have an Inland Empire affiliate, and the Dogs have Rancho.  But even in AAA, Braves AAA is in a suburb of Atlanta 30 miles away, Twins AAA is 11 miles away, Bostons AAA is in Worchester 44 miles away.

This is all good news for the Oakland A's.
This move is about 15 years (at least) over due.
Nice to see the MLB Commissioner FINALLY showing some support for the A's.  This commissioner and past commissioner (Selig) have made the A's a less than small market franchise (and one in distress) by refusing to support  them over the years.  All of this wasted time and weak A's franchise for two decades could have been avoided if Bud Selig would have over-ruled the SF Giants and allowed the A's to move to San Jose - years ago --
Meanwhile - the Oakland Coliseum is 'governed' (using the word loosely) by the Oakland Coliseum Commission which not only is dysfunctional itself but has a governing board with representatives from dysfunctional government entities (City of Oakland, Alameda County, I think the Transit District rep has a seat) -- anyway - it's a board perfectly designed to create bureaucratic in-fighhting and inertia - which it has done for two decades plus.  Let's check their track record -- losing the A's give the Oakland Coliseum Commission a trifecta (hat track) -- they've lost the Raiders, Warriors and now the A's.   And the Mayor of Oakland blames the A's !!  That's pretty laughable.
I feel for the small cadre of longtime loyal A's fans. Anyone who has gone to a game there has encountered them. Not a lot of them - but they are very knowledgeable baseball fans, have great seats (because the park is fairly empty) and in my experience have always been nice to opposing fans there to root for their visiting team.  The Oakland venue may also be the 'best day game walk up ticket venue' in MLB.  You can walk up and still get decent seats.  Not too many places you can do that any more.  If you're a Red Sox or Yankees (insert team) fan - you can see your team in Oakland from a great seat view you're never going to get at Fenway or Yankee Stadium without really over paying for your seats from brokers.  
I wish the A's well. MLB Administration has treated them poorly for at least 20 years now.
PS -- as one who saw games at the Oakland Coliseum way back before 'Davis Mountain' was constructed (the wall of nose bleed seats all around the park) - it was once a beautiful venue for baseball with the Oakland Hills in view behind centerfield -- Davis Mountain built for the Raiders destroyed the ambiance and baseball was never quite the same there again,.

it's just great to hear Victor Rojas' voice again talking baseball !!!

OK - you win - Mo had some decent stats with the ANGELS. I just remember that things deteriorated with Terry Collins as manager and Mo Vaughn leading the rebellion in the clubhouse. It was ugly and a very low point for Halos baseball -- harkening back to the year of the Chico Ruiz pulling a gun on Alex Johnson in the dugout/ clubhouse area.  My next nominee for the biggest Halos trade/ Free agent signing bust would be the 'closer' we signed - Madsen -- he pitched very well as a set up guy for Philadelphia for quite a few years and then stepped up to closer for them (or was it for the Cincinnati Reds? One year there) Halos sign him to pretty lucrative two year contract.  I think he may have made one or two pitches warming up at Tempe in Spring Training and that was the extent of his Halos 'pitching career' - he spent two years on the Disabled List rehabbing at Angels expense -- then signed with a new team - never was quite the pitcher he was during his Phillies years but I do remember grumbling a bit when he pitched for his new teams in a pen role which helped his new team(s).   Two year deal on the Halos payroll (entire amount probably paid by insurance) and generated no stats for the ANGELS other than DL time.

this is great news.  please let us know how to sign up to listen.
also, I think a lot of Angelswin.com fans would be interested in what Victor Rojas is doing these days (other than this podcast).
Also - kind of late to this - but welcome back to David Saltzer -- good to him back feeling well enough to continue his excellent coverage and commentary on Angels baseball.

not necessarily a big fan of Nevin's -- but I agree with his philosophy on closers here.  
Mike Sciosca was purely a 'formula' manager --  you (including any opponent ) could predict his moves for all 162 games of the season; this guy comes in as the set up guy in the 7th, maybe the 8th, then this guy and then the closer is always this guy.
I have NEVER agreed with this approach - I know sometimes players like it because 'they know their role' but it makes little sense to me to have set roles for every game which only lets the opponent know how to structure their line up and utilize their bench depth guys and pinch hitters in the late innings.
I like Nevin's way here -- which keeps the other side guessing and throws them off-stride rather than being the same old, same old personnel coming into the game the same way, the same time in virtually every game that's close.

I think Ohtani's minimal chances of staying with the Angels went to zero and none when Arte Moreno decided not to sell the team.
Arte simply. cannot compete as a sole independent owner with the conglomerate owners.
Ohtani's contact will be the richest - perhaps in all sports history.
He's a world wide phenomenon that goes well beyond baseball.
If he does wind up in Dodger. Blue, they're probably going to have to offer him a percentage stake in team ownership.
Perhaps Arte could offer that as well.