Capital_Dave

Cool. Mrs. HaloFromVegas and I will see if we can make it!

Sean Rodriguez (now with the Rays) once went out of his way to give my son Will an autograph. He remains one of Will's favorite ballplayers, despite having a career batting average in the .220s.

From Jim Abbott's tweet:

Ah, there's the Joe Blanton we've all come to know. Six hard-hit balls in the 3rd, 3ER. 2 of the 3 outs were well-struck to deep outfield. 3-0 Cubbies.

Jon Heyman: Headline Here are 14 Major Leaguers Who Could be Moved Jon Heyman on Rick Porcello, within same story: "...there’s no obvious replacement now that Drew Smyly is in the rotation. Plus, his $8.5 million salary is no bargain. Unlikely to go." Quality reporting there. He gets paid for this.

Seriously, we should all be cheering for Blanton today. He won't be starting for us to start the season, but maybe he can find another team willing to trade for him if he pitches well today. So, let's all cheer "GO JOE BLANTON" so soon we can say, "Go, Joe Blanton."

... and with that being said, we should all hope for some really good starts by Blanton later this month... so some pitching desperate team finds something in Blanton to salvage. Otherwise we cut him and get nothing at all.

"Deception" and "the ball coming out of his hand well" is all about salesmanship. They are trying to put lipstick on a pig, hoping against hope that some pitching-desperate team offers to pay at least some small part of what Blanton is owed for 2014.

The HaloFromVegas clan really enjoyed the events. Just got home after today's game and a five hour drive. Jerry Dipoto's speech last night was typical for him: candid, highly articulate. The tone he set -- pulling back the curtain, giving as straight an answer as he could -- was matched by Tim Mead and his candor this morning. Reading between the lines, I took a few conclusions from Dipoto's and Mead's presentations: Buttercup's days are numbered at the Big A -- as are Joe Blanton's. Both welcome developments! Thank you to the entire Angelswin Board of Directors for a job well done.

Archie Bradley vs. Garrett Richards Saturday. TBD for Sunday. (Skaggs?)

If they are on a five day rotation (with Blanton getting the other split squad start on Friday), looks like we'll see Richards and Skaggs on Saturday/Sunday? Archie Bradley started yesterday for the Snakes in their other split squad game (the one not against us). Would love to see him on Saturday. Cueto pitches today for the Reds - would that would put him in line for Sunday's start against us?

Letting/making the kids go to school on Friday, so we'll leave Vegas around 3PM and arrive Phoenix about 9PM Friday night. Games Saturday/Sunday, plus Fanfest and the Tim Mead talk of course! Looking forward to it.

Sorry no guaranteed draft picks and no AngelsWin discounts. Notherhalo (or anyone else interested): email me (david@byerman.com) if you want to join and I'll send you an invite.

This was set up in Season 1, the episode at Frank's alma mater. It was clearly implied that he and his college buddy were more than just friends...

Hey guys. I'm on the tail end of recruitment for a well-established weekly H2H points-based fantasy baseball league I've run for the last six years. We have 10 of 12 teams back from last season and we're hoping to grow to 14 teams this season. $100 buy in, plus a $25 deposit on transactions ($0.25 apiece, capped at 100... you get whatever you don't spend on transactions back at the end of the season.) It's a competitive but fun league, great group of guys from across the country. Full details and draft info (as well as our payout and points structure) can be found here for download or attached to this message. Let me know if you're interested. The Dugout 2014.pdf

Over. But over on the Padres (76.5) looks like EASY money to me.

Vernon Wells scoffs at his $8.5M and raises him $12.5M to $21M. ($18.6M of which will be paid by the Angels.)

Can someone smarter than me explain what happened to Boesch? He was a third round draft pick, fifth in ROY balloting in 2006 and then just seems to have faded into obscurity. Is there a particular hole in his swing? A pitch he can't hit? His leffy/righty splits look pretty good. Does he have high upside anymore? I particularly like this signing because if he does recapture the magic, he's under club control until '17.

Marlins to the rescue! Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that the Marlins are interested in free agent outfielder Vernon Wells. Wells is one of the names the Marlins are considering as they attempt to secure a right-handed bench bat. The 35-year-old was released by the Yankees earlier this month after he hit just .233/.282/.349 with 11 homers over 130 games last year. He could be had at the major league minimum, but might have to settle for a minor league offer at this point of his career. Jan 24 - 12:20 AM http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/2893/vernon-wells?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Hooray! We didn't get caught up in this insane bidding war! Onward and upward.

ONLY AS A THOUGHT EXERCISE... I have a question. If the Angels had a need for a righty power/ no average bat off the bench, could they re-acquire Wells and would he have to accept their offer? Has this ever happened in major league history? Again, if Jerry Dipoto is reading this, THIS IS ONLY A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. Please resume your Rosetta Stone Japanese language lessons at this time. Thank you.

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal #DBacks have scout who was teammates with Tanaka in Japan. #Angels exec Hal Morris was teammate of Tanaka’s agent, Casey Close, at Michigan. Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal Doubt any of it matters, but teams looking for edges. Close negotiated an “out” in Greinke’s deal and had same clause in Kershaw proposal. Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal Would not be surprised to see similar structure for Tanaka, or perhaps even a huge average salary on a short deal.

In for one. Gotbeer: I hope you embedded some kind of referral link, a lot of us didn't know about that! Thanks for posting.

... with the Indians. Whew. Not us. http://tracking.si.com/2014/01/07/bobby-abreu-comeback-indians/

I'm an Angels fan because your character is best defined when you're cheering through adversity. I was ecstatic -- then rather uncomfortable -- when the Angels won the World Series. The prospect of winning another championship by turns thrills and terrifies me. (I'll be uncomfortable again if the Angels are world champions.) I define the Angels as a team that's fun to cheer for, through good times and bad... and for whom bad times seem to come easier than good times. I couldn't live with myself if I was a fan of a team that always wins... that just seems too easy. I'm happy and comfortable rooting for a team for whom winning is an aspiration; one that is within grasp, and one that will be sweeter to savor when it finally comes to pass.