mpcincal

The Angels have a “Throwback Week” scheduled the last week of July. Most likely that’s when they’ll be wearing these.

I write for a small-town newspaper and was covering an event (skateboard contest) Saturday morning for a couple hours, so I was “off the grid” during that time. After I left I stopped at a nearby place about 12 p.m. for a smoothie, and when I got back into the car, I went to my phone and hit the MLB Trade Rumors app, and it had the same story (“Ohtani hasn’t yet made a decision”) that hadn’t been updated since the previous night. Then, I went to X-Twitter and on my feed there was Sam Blum’s post saying he just announced he was signing with the Dodgers. Later in the afternoon, I went to a card/collectibles show in Santa Maria, and as you would expect, it was the big topic of conversation.

The one notable thing I have is an Ohtani bobblehead that sits on my bookshelf. I’m thinking I might try to get it on Ebay or something like that. Otherwise, my two Angel jersey are blank; in this day and age, I don’t put a number or name on it because you never know how long a player might be on a team.

Thread title goes without saying for me. I’ve gone through the departures of Ryan, Baylor, Joyner, Abbott, etc., etc. and remained a fan. Not gonna change with Ohtani leaving. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s a great thing we lost a player of this caliber, but as noted earlier in this thread, it does give the Angels a little more flexibility — they can build a pitching rotation without worrying about giving one guy a long rest, they can rotate Trout and Rendon, among others, through the DH spot, which could help health wise. Of course, Minasian and ultimately Moreno have to follow up on this. That’s my biggest worry. Honestly, the Dodgers was the one team I didn’t want to see him sign with, but probably knew that would happen. We won’t have to deal with him in-league or in-division, but any kind of success he has is going to be right in our faces. Meanwhile, the reputation of the Angels organization is at an all-time low and the obnoxious asshole Dodger fans won’t hesitate to disrespect us and the team. Anyway, the band-aid has been ripped off, now it’s time to move forward.

I think they definitely should bring in Hunter, Erstad and Gil so they can learn the ropes and take over when Washington retires.

True, but they play in the Big East Conference. Obviously, I'm thrilled at this outcome. I was at SDSU in 1990s when the basketball program was pretty much at rock bottom, and to see the team reach these heights 30 years later is pretty incredible. Right now, UConn looks like the best team; they're on a total roll right now. Fortunately, Aztecs don't have to play them until the championship game if they can get past FAU (not taking that for granted).

San Diego State alum here and I'm in a very good mood tonight. I was hoping Alabama would stumble at some point; to have the Aztecs knock them out made it even sweeter. Now SDSU has to play Creighton, the team they blew a big lead and lost to in last year's first round. It won't be easy, but I got faith.

I was following the end of the game on the Gameday for the MLB App and on the last pitch the bozo running that feed entered "In play -- run(s)" and I'm thinking "Oh, crap, they probably tied it at least." And a few second later they showed it was fly out to end the game. Thanks for misleading me, MLB App guy.

I look at that photo and I’m thinking Matt Holliday must’ve had a dalliance with Natasha Lyonne (the “Russian Doll” actress) about 18-19 years ago.

So, I guess former MNF sideline reporter and noted sports media right-winger Michelle Tafoya think the Angels broadcasters talk too much about one of their team's best players: Well, she definitely got people's attention, although I still don't know where the hell she's coming from on this.

No, that's the first thing I think about when I remember his departure. The club wanted him to get the shoulder surgery after the '98 season so he'd be ready for spring training, he decided to try and rehab it in the offseason, and then realized right when ST started that he was gonna need the surgery. I was living in San Diego at the time and always listened to the Mighty 690. The morning show had Larry Bowa, one of the coaches, on for an interview right after Edmonds decided to get the surgery. When the hosts mentioned Edmonds, Bowa was noticeably pissed and minced no words about that situation on the air. Also, Blarg's observations about Tavares' role in that trade are correct. I remember reading the quotes about Tavares ripping on the players and thinking "What's up with this guy?" No news here, but Tavares was a moron. It's no coincidence the Angels started their best-ever multi-year run immediately after he resigned.

Found out today that Joe Buttitta, who called Angel games in 1982-84, had recently passed away. He was also the KTLA Channel 5 sports anchor when he did the Angel games. Found out through this link tweeted from the local news station in Santa Barbara County, where Buttitta's son, also named Joe, is a morning news show host. https://keyt.com/news/ventura-county/2021/07/30/joe-buttitta-father-of-newschannel-anchor-remembered-during-memorial-ceremony/

Gawd, she looks so good in that photo. I first took notice of her in "Bachelor Party," and in that movie she gave off an '80s girl-next-door vibe, though she played a rich kid. Of course, she moved into 'video vixen' territory with the Whitesnake vids, though she still looked great.

Did any of you guys catch this tonight: I didn't see a whole lot of the game, when did this bunt happen? Obviously early in the game. I can see a complaint if a team does that leading by 13 runs, but when they're behind? Boy, the Dodgers fanbase still annoys the hell out of me, but lately I'm been thinking the players and staff are actually decent dudes, and then their manager starts acting like a whiny little bitch, and after a win, too. What say all of you?

Well, that was quite a brain fart. I thought they were on the road for some reason.

So, I see the game is starting at 6:38 pm our time, which makes it 8:38 pm in Arlington. Why so late?

And then there's is (FWIW):

Been a fan since 1976, and for me, it was actually Mark Langston. I really thought he was on the cusp of being one of the elite pitchers of baseball when he signed, and, after a winning season in 1989, he made a really good pitching staff even better. It didn't turn out as well as I hoped, what with his struggles out of the gate in 1990 and all, but he was a pretty solid pitcher while he was with the Angels. I got really excited when we got Vlad, also, and I think that signing turned out the best out of all the free agents the Angels acquired in their history. I loved the acquisition when it happened, but I always file Torii Hunter's signing as the "most shocking." I've always been in tune with the hot-stove scuttlebutt in the papers and websites, so I would usually have an indication that a player was going to sign somewhere before the actual announcement, but with Torii, I never saw any story, report, tidbit or item connecting him with the Halos until I read the story that he was signed. Fortunately, that one worked out really well for the Angels, also.

I just heard about this myself, RIP. I read two of the books he wrote after his career ended, and they were really fun reads. Some good stories about how he and Jerry Reuss would terrorize Tommy Lasorda. Also had a great cameo to kick off the classic Angels-Mariners game on "The Naked Gun."

For me, yes. Baseball was the first sport I really followed as a kid, and we went to a lot of Angels games in the 1970s and '80s (Anaheim Stadium was easier to get to from our home than Dodger Stadium). The Padres are my favorite NL team. Throughout the '80s, the Lakers would be my second favorite team, but that has waned a bit because I've lost interest in the NBA as a whole. Football-wise, I've had a weird history in rooting interest. I was a Rams fan as kid and teen, with the Seahawks my second favorite, but then I "disowned" the Rams when they moved to St. Louis. I went to college in San Diego in '90s and it was there I became a Charger fan (which I am to this day). I still like the Seahawks, and interstingly, always liked the 49ers despite their rivalry with the Rams. Otherwise, I've always rooted for USC, but my deepest allegiances lie with San Diego State, my alma mater. For hockey, I root for both the Kings and the Ducks, though I understand that's quite a rarity.

Apparently our old friend Doug Eddings, the man behind the plate tonight, is the one that tossed Castro. Eddings' strike zone has been pitiful. In the top of the third, his first strike on Trout and inning-ending third strike on Rendon were both noticeably outside.

Now that Adell is a real big leaguer, I hope they can give him a proper number. 59 just doesn't cut it for a top prospect who will probably be playing regularly.

When first managed the Angels, Reggie Jackson was on the team, and there was a story about when Mac was Reggie's manager earlier in Birmingham. Reggie recounted the story in his Hall of Fame speech: RIP, Mr. McNamara

Remember our friend who likes to write the occasional anti-Angels rant? Well, he seems to be in a little trouble: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/889mzp/la-times-places-columnist-arash-markazi-on-leave-amid-plagiarism-investigation

Current MLB ballparks: Angel Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Petco Park, T-Mobile Field in Seattle, Kauffman Stadium. Former MLB stadiums: Jack Murphy/Qualcomm, Veterans Stadium (during 1996 All-Star weekend). My family and I took a tour of the Kingdome in 1981, while the players were on strike. Spring Training: My Dad and I have gone to Arizona to see some games in six of the last eight years and have been to all 10 around Phoenix. I've also been to the Padres old ST complex in Yuma, and the Angels' in Palm Springs. Minor Leagues (current and former): Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino (new and old), Riverside, Lake Elsinore, High Desert, Bakersfield, Visalia, Modesto, Reno and Springfield, Mo.