mpcincal

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27967256/long-broadcaster-former-mlb-player-ron-fairly-dies-81 As a player, he was known mainly for his time with the Dodgers and Expos (he was an All-Star with both the Expos and Blue Jays), he finished his career with the Angels in 1978, and then started his broadcast career with the club after that season.

And, on the topic at hand: Strasburg is a pretty good guess as the Angels will be on him if they can't sign Cole. They definitely want Cole and will be willing to pay, but if the bidding gets out of hand, they can sign Strasburg for just a bit less with a higher quality second pitcher. And I figure both of the free-agent picks from that list should be pitchers. I can't imagine the infield being much of a priority for the Halos this offseason.

It's been awhile since I've fully looked at the magazine, but I think SI is past the point of it being a source for current news, so to speak. I think they're on the path of Athlon or Street and Smith where they'll just put out season previews and narrowly themed issues. I think the NBA preview issue is indicative of that.

I remember; but, then again, I'm in my early 50s.

4) Apologize for Being Total Jerks* *... but only if anyone was offended.

A friend of mine tweeted me the link to this story, and it was a good read. (No surprise, though, Scott Miller is one of the best baseball writers out there). As with many of you on this board, my biggest takeaway is the reminder that Tavares was a complete moron. It's no coincidence the Angels' fortune immediately went on the upswing after he stepped down. Of course, this story also reminds us of the Collins hiring. One story I remember reading (don't remember who wrote it) soon after the hiring was the Angels also interviewing Jim Leyland. Leyland had left the Pirates and was the most sought-after manager that offseason. The Angels scheduled an interview with him although everybody knew he would probably go to the Marlins, and if he didn't, he wasn't going to go to the West Coast. However, I guess the Angels had to show everyone they at least talked to him. In the story, it said that Leyland spent the whole interview singing the praises of Collins and telling management why they should hire him. So, we also apparently have Leyland to thank for that little period of Angels history.

I don't know what to make of this. I always figured a new manager brought in his own guys.

And speaking of that game, and former Angels pitchers, did you catch this story: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/braves-pitcher-sets-off-fire-extinguisher-in-clubhouse-after-loss-231606577.html

To his credit though, he's also been involved in this: Vaughn is a managing director of OMNI New YorK, LLC, along with Eugene Schneur, which has bought and rehabilitated 1,142 units of distressed housing in the New York metropolitan area. The company also manages these properties to provide low cost housing using government tax credits. He purchased the Noble Drew Ali Plaza in Brownsville, Brooklyn for $21 million, and plans to add massive security upgrades and renovate it.[10] He has also been involved in refurbishing the Whitney Young Manor in Yonkers, New York, a development first constructed by a company owned by his hero Jackie Robinson. Besides the New York metropolitan area, his company is also involved in projects in Cheyenne, Miami and Las Vegas and has expressed an interest in Boston.[11]

Been looking through this thread over the last half-hour and, obviously, I'm shocked and saddened like the rest of you. Of course, I immediately thought of Nick Adenhart, and also of Darryl Kile, whose death came under similar circumstances. I was already having an irritating day, having to go the doctor for a back condition that flared up, and then realizing I had a sudden problem with my car that will now be dealt with, but then I sat down for lunch with my Dad and hit the twitter ap on my phone, and the first tweet was from the club announcing the death. That put everything into perspective. My thoughts and prayers to his wife and family. God that wedding video looks so melancholy now, seeing a young couple with their whole lives supposedly ahead of them and not knowing that Tyler would have just seven months left. And, although it's already been stated, I have to say that Santa Monica Observer story was about the worst piece of journalism I've ever seen, and I've been in the newspaper business for a lot of years. The whole thing about the drugs was pure speculation, no sourcing or anything, and there was no reason to compare it with Tom Petty's death. If that showed up at my newspaper, the editors would have spiked it immediately and the reporter would have been called in for a little meeting. And, then he brings up Tommy Hanson's death and how the Angels had to "deal with" it. Um, Hanson had been out of the organization for two years when he died, so I don't think this hit the Angels quite as hard as the death today. Nice job on your research.

Introductions in the Pirates clubhouse: "Hi, I'm Chris Stratton -- journeyman pitcher. Damn glad to meet you!"

They could go the philanthropic route and send those jerseys to a third-world country, where they'd be among the Dodgers' world championship shirts from the last two years.

Yeah, that's my thought. However, one concern I have is that it's a couple hours before first pitch for the game against the Dodgers, and we might have some Doyyer fans in there to try and muck it up.

Yeah, it's been the same for a few years now. I have the 2017 version and it's one of my favorite hats, so I won't be picking another one up this year when I go to Arizona. Good news is they're going back to embroidered logos and fabric more like the regular caps, instead of the weird fabric and rubberized logos from last year.

1. Padres. Went to school at SDSU, and lived in the area for about 10 years and became a fan with the occasional successes in the '90s 2. Every other team in the NL West except the Dodgers, because ... well, you know. 3. Cardinals. I've just always liked them for some reason. My mom's side of the family are from Missouri and they're all Cardinal fans, so that might have something to do with it. Honorable mention: The Reds in the Machine era. I started following baseball in 1976 and loved to watch Bench, Rose and company.

<<In his career, excluding three NL teams that he only played a total of 8, 10 and 12 games against, his highest career BA was against..............the Angels, naturally. .317.>> I'm shocked it ended up being that low. I would have guessed .400 at least.

How about Tony Phillips' homer in the ninth inning of that 1995 playoff with the Mariners. They were already down 9-0 and the game was pretty much over with the Big Unit on the mound.

Geez, he looks like David Spade in "The Benchwarmers."

Is rooting for the ballpark to explode out of the question? This is tough for me, can't stand the Boston teams (nor their fans), but, man, the thought of douchebag Dodger fans gloating about a World Series win is too much for me to take. I look at this way: If the Red Sox win I won't like it, but if most of the celebrating is on the other coast, I can easily ignore it. If the Dodgers win, I'll have to see that everywhere I turn (and I live 2 1/2 hours from LA). At least, that's how I'm thinking today. It might be different in a couple of days.

This story says the owners trademarked "Las Vegas Aviators" and it will be one of five finalists. If they go with that, I think it would be a great choice. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/jun/12/51s-las-vegas-aviators-one-of-5-names-being-consid/

The thing with Double-A is that it doesn't have any leagues (or teams) west of the Rockies, so the West Coast teams will always have some distance between them and their Double-A affiliates.

And, of course, the announcement of the nickname reminded me of this:

As most of you probably know, the Angels' Double-A affiliate is moving from Mobile to Madison, Ala., for 2018 and now they have a name: the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Before you groan too loudly, you'll see in the link that Trash Pandas was probably the best of a pretty weak group of nickname finalists. https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/09/05/new-for-2020-rocket-city-trash-pandas/

When I was working at my college paper at San Diego State, the guy who was the men's basketball beat writer told us about traveling to the WAC tournament, where Stubing was one of the referees. Our reporter was hanging out on the court between games when he struck up a conversation with Stubing, who was sitting on one of the benches. Stubing asked our guy who he worked for and he told him he was covering the tourney for the school paper, and Stubing laughed and told him "Man, you're just a f**king pup!" "F**cking pup" was this guy's nickname in the newsroom for the rest of the semester.

If you have a Kindle, this book has given me a lot of great information, and it's updated every 1-2 years: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Spring-Training-Arizona-ebook/dp/B075Y1FHFV/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515118928&sr=1-5&keywords=cactus+league They go park-by-park and recommend best places to sit, parking situations, places to stay, places to eat nearby, etc., etc.