Junkballer

Particularly disappointing in light of the front office personnel brought in by Minasian that supposedly were going to place the Angels solidly in the middle of the pack (at least) re: game planning and analysis. I can't read the "perry-minasian’s-front-office-hirings" & the "front office and game planning" threads without acknowledging that there is a notable discrepancy between the front office's performance in this regard and my unquestioning optimism at the time that the pedigrees of the new personnel were going to right the ship.

Dodgers:

In addition to shoring up the bullpen and stabilizing the rotation with a #2 or better starter, improving the defense should be a high priority. With most positional starting roles filled, Minasian will have to work on the few open positions, SS, #2C and bench. I think it is more probable they sign a SS with defense in mind than trust it to Rengifo, and that likely means no Raul Iglesias. I can see them starting out doing closer by committee until someone establishes himself. Contending for the division will come down to how savvy his choices are with pitching and of course injuries.

I just wonder if they are willing to take the risk of paying Iglesias in the neighborhood of 19mil for one season and if it's in Minasian's DNA to offer a QO to a reliever, no matter how good. It would have been nice to get a 3 year extension earlier with much lower AAV. He's been pretty consistent in his career. So, I don't think a QO is a lock and I can see them doing a Bavasi, "we can get 2 back end relievers for the same price as Iglesias" type of thing (and of course pick the wrong two guys). Being that there is probably no chance to extend him, I hope they QO him as it would be nice to be able to close out game from game 1, just not sure it will happen.

Say "What" one more time m**f***r, I dare you!

A playground legend is born.

Think of it as year one of a new GM's regime. They suffered multiple catastrophic injuries this year, coupled with complete no-shows by two pitchers that NO ONE thought would completely mess the bed the way they did. However, they are addressing pitching through the draft and at this early juncture seem to have done well. The new GM has a MUCH better idea of the capabilities of the young players (Sandoval, Marsh, Adell, et al.) on the 40-man and minors, which will inform his transactions this off-season. Ohtani has blown up like Hiroshima. Going into next season, even before any off-season moves, they have one ace, a seemingly solid #2 guy (who hopefully will be displaced to #3 by a new acquisition), controlled young bottom of the rotation arms, a decent bench and the inside track on retaining an elite closer. Outfield depth galore with likely improved defense (as J-UP plays less). Catcher, 1st, 2nd and 3rd base locked up by solid players all with satisfactory or superior offense. Sure, Minasian has to shore up the bullpen, bring in a workhorse #2 or better starter, add a proficient SS and overall improve defense. There will be a little extra payroll room this year after arb and other increases. No reason he can't bring in the personnel they need. Next year will come down to injuries. If low to moderate, they will contend for the division. In some ways, being a fan is like being in a marriage, you can't hold on to all the things they did wrong several years ago and you have to celebrate the things they are doing right and are improving on. The Angels are on an upward trajectory and you're in on the ground floor.

I like O'Neil, Ryan's son, from when he was on the LA Kings FSW team. Good personality and seemingly good dude. Not sure if baseball play by play is his forte but I'll give him a lot of slack. Pretty sure he's a Dodger fan though.

Herget with the stirrups! Love it.

On the d-side it was a stunt-blitztravaganza

Going back a ways, Rome (HBO) was fantastic. It was a 4-year storyline but they decided to end it at two seasons, essentially fitting 3 years into one. Still good but definitely felt rushed to the finish line.

Absolutely! UCLA 6-1 vs SEC since 2000. Bruins running game is legit. Their defense is much improved, essentially shutting down LSU's running game. Oh and Dulcich looks like an NFL TE. If DTR can show up to every game, not just the big ones, they will contend for the PAC XII title.

What has been reported is that MLB is not just wanting to lower the threshold but increase the tax penalties in each of four tiers as opposed to the current three. 25% at 180m + 3 more tiers vs the current 20%@210m, 32%@230m & 62.5%@250m for first year overages. The percentages for the other 3 proposed tiers haven't been publicized as far as I know but it likely also includes increases in multi-year tax participants above the current escalation. A tax that brings a higher percentage at an earlier and subsequent tiers will compound the penalty to ultra-high spending and mitigate blowing the threshold out of the water. It will be interesting to see if under the new CBA the Dogs luxury tax participation this year will make them a 2nd year participant next year, resulting in higher penalties, or if the slate is wiped clean. In my mind it is clear that there has to be more competitive balance in the MLB. Moving towards limiting both egregious overspenders and underspenders is one of the ways. Maybe not a perfect solution but it does address the apparent unfairness of a team spending 190m more than the lowest payrolls and 88m+ over the average payroll. Let the formula for team success ride more on scouting, drafting and development and less on the ability to spend.

I think you do when teams (well, one certain team) blows through the threshold like it was wet toilet paper. The advantage doesn't just stop at the big club level but creates advantages in the farm system as well by limiting the amount of prospect capital needed to make trades and dump contracts.

If it weren't for fact-checkers I'd be right just about all the time.

You get a pass for having a Dune quote in your signature line.

At the time of his signing it didn't appear that they would be playing there much, if at all.

J-Up is a sunk cost. They can either platoon him and get some value for their money, or, be on the losing side of a prospect swap to offload him, all the while paying for the lion's share of what is owed to him. Even if he were to accept a trade, which seems on the surface to be unlikely, it's pretty clear that you get better value ($ & asset management-wise) by keeping him as a platoon player and OF depth than paying him to play elsewhere. Besides, the scenario changes a bit at the 2022 trade deadline depending on how the Angels are doing and how his contract year goes. It may make sense then but not just to clear a path for two still-developing youngsters with no mlb ready positional depth behind them in the organization.