Pancake Bear

If anyone can honestly say they've never seen a no name anon account on Twitter break news of a sign or trade, then feel free to shit on people linking to them.

Nobody thinks they're anywhere close to as reliable as Rosenthal or Passan, but there are people in organizations who have inside info or know someone who does. Some of the people on here, for instance - like Chuck. Obviously the difference is the anons can't be vetted, but that's why no one takes them too seriously. I'd still rather hear a rumor, even if it's greater than a 99% chance they're wrong. And it's not like the big guys are never wrong. Boob Nightengale, anyone? Heyman: Arson Judge to San Francisco? 

This is a discussion forum, for goodness sake. Lion in Texas was probably 100% full of shit, but at least he gave us something to talk and joke about last offseason. People need to lighten up and enjoy the hot (cold) stove season. 

In order of likelihood (imo): 

1. Dodgers

2. Angels

3. Giants

4. Rangers

5. Braves

11 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

I agree halos will have a few 1 year deals on position players and maybe longer deals on pitchers.

They will? Or that's what you would do? I've seen nothing at all that suggests they'll be going that route. 

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

No blue check mark so.

Blue check mark or its absence doesn't really mean anything anymore. 

So, is this like when Gubi says on Twitter that the Angels are not done, when in fact they are done?

26 minutes ago, Stradling said:

 

Assuming that would be news related to the Mets. Thing is, I see zero reason he'd go to the Mets. It's not like he won't get paid elsewhere, and they haven't exactly been successful of late, which gives no particular reason for choosing them over even the Angels. Literally the only reason to pick them would be money and that seems dubious. If there's Mets news, I'm gonna assume it's that they're out on Ohtani. 

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

Oh, is that all?  Just "something like" that?  Lol.  That would add roughly $100M to the payroll.

My bad, I assumed when I said "something like" that it would be obvious I was using those guys as examples of top tier players at multiple other positions. The point, in case it wasn't clear, is that if we're spending higher amounts to fill other holes than Moustakas works as an extra infielder. If we're going moderate to cheap elsewhere, than we really ought to be aiming higher than Moose to fill that extra infielder role. 

If we were to pick up something like Ohtani, a top tier starter like Yamamoto, Bellinger, and a good reliever, I'd probably be okay with filling our infield need with Moose at league minimum. But he's at best okay. 

6 minutes ago, BTH said:

Worse case scenario he’s a nice option off the bench?

He’s already worse than a nice option off the bench. 

The Moose obsession is weird. He was a bad hitter last year, full stop. I realize he brings a good clubhouse and dugout presence, but....he can't really hit anymore. 

2 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

If you tried to line a parrot's cage with a Dylan Hernandez article what do you think the parrot would say.

Wrong answers only, go!

You're supposed to take the shit out, not bring more in. 

Sonny Gray

Cody Bellinger

37 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Just a hunch, Ray Montgomery will end up being an AGM. 

Assistant to the GM. 

So, what exactly is an offensive coordinator and what do they do? Is that like a second pitching coach but with a different title and he'll be working at the same level as Johnny Washington but on different aspects? Or is he like the hitting coach equivalent of POBO and will maybe have oversight over hitting on multiple levels of the organization? 

Trout has batted around .200 career as a DH. He shouldn't DH aside from the rare break. I'd rather just give him the day off. 

Rangers went from a bad offense in 2022 to a top 5 offense in 2023 with zero meaningful additions in the offseason beyond coaching and players developing. Only additions they made last offseason were pitching. They improved by over 20 games and 170 more runs scored. 

1 hour ago, Angels 1961 said:

Yamamoto is not signing here. Ohtani is not coming back. Angels need to start a rebuild around young players they have. Top FA not signing with a non contender. This is my opinion as I look at this roster and division halos are in. New direction needs to take place or the losing will continue. As a fan hard pill to swallow but how many losing seasons before things change. 

Get a time machine and go back and tell all that the Rangers last offseason. 

17 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

That was Johnny Narron. 
 

This is Jerry Narron. 

Same thing. 

23 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

You could say that's the next hurdle to clear when filling out his staff. 

This argument has long been the domain of dimwits and it appears that won't be changing any time soon. 

A million dollars could fall out of Jeff Bezos' back pocket and it's loss wouldn't mean much to him. For most people, though, that's a gigantic amount of money. None of that changes the value of the money, though. It's still worth a million bucks regardless of whether it's in Jeff's pocket or mine. 

Tying an award given for individual performance to team results (in a sport involving 25 other guys on the roster each game, at that) is so monumentally stupid and illogical that one wonders how he has a job writing about sports. Sadly, it was a popular view even ten years ago, and there's enough holdouts to ensure it sticks around a bit longer. But it can't die any too soon. 

1 hour ago, Angels 1961 said:

Will teams use a 6 man rotation for him. I wish him nothing but the best going forward. In some lineup like Texas loaded with talent he will put up great numbers.

When the Angels tried to pitch him more often, it didn't work as well. I'm curious to see what happens if whoever signs him says eff it to the six man rotation. I don't expect him back at this point, but the fact is that Ohtani had it great in Anaheim on a personal level and he may be about to find that out. 

Some updates courtesy of @BTH on Twitter/X:

18 minutes ago, totdprods said:

It's something to keep an eye on, but just because he wasn't good DHing in his 20s doesn't mean he's going to be bad DHing in his 30's. I would not be surprised if many superstars experienced similar splits early in their careers versus later on. 

I think he should start spending time in one of the corners this year though. Moniak's CF defense seemed pretty solid.

I wouldn't think much of it except that he has never had a season where he bats well at DH. It's starting to feel like a pattern to me - like he just doesn't play as well when he's sitting on the bench half the time. Could it change? Sure. Kershaw was a playoff ghost...until one year he wasn't. But personally, I'm not at all eager to pencil Trout in for significantly more DH days until he starts hitting in that spot. 

Am I misremembering or wasn't Stroman the guy who was trashing the Angels over Skaggs' death? Or maybe it was just Eppler?

33 minutes ago, AngelStew43 said:

It will likely be one of the four OF.  Trout, Ward, Moniak or Adell, with a generous portion of Rendon mixed in. 

Trout getting more reps at DH would be a big mistake. He can't hit when he's a DH. 

1 hour ago, BTH said:

not even gonna bother to click that article.

I never give him the satisfaction of a click anymore. That's the only thing he cares about. He has zero journalistic integrity. Dude is pathetic.