LA Angels Tuesday News Crash: Where’s the Baseball?

Photo credit: Rex Fregosi

Labor Dispute News

The Players Association has apparently had it with the negotiations and said to just go ahead and schedule a season.  Tell them when and where to show up.  They’ve washed their hands of the matter.  They’ve called your bluff, MLB.  Just schedule a season already!  At least one voice says the impasse could easily be solved, but I think it’s a little late at this point.  The two sides could argue about safety protocols for a few more weeks.  At that point, why bother having a season?  Right on cue, Rob Manfred says he is now not 100% sure there will be baseball in 2020.  He is attempting to get the MLBPA to waive its right to a grievance hearing. If only the fans could file a grievance.

Angels Draft News

The Angels have already signed 3rd round pick David Calabrese (for $744,000) and are likely to sign 4th rounder Werner Blakely for $900,000.  They have also come to terms with 5th round pick Adam Seminaris.  He signed for a below slot bonus of $140,000. 

General Baseball News

MLB authorized a resumption of scouting activities, almost just in time.  A judge has ordered a letter from Rob Manfred to the New York Yankees about a cheating investigation be opened to the public.  The Yankees and MLB both oppose this; each for their own reasons.  The Yankees are appealing the order.  A team official claims there is no smoking gun.  Christian Hackenberg is the latest NFL train wreck who is going to try to make it in professional baseball. 

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Mia
Legend
Mia
4 years ago

I’d just like to say a big FUCK YOU to Manfred and his puppet masters.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  Mia

This is, indeed, the grandest and least lubricated screwing of a pooch I have seen in my sports lifetime. The only way this can get more fun is if a bunch of owners go belly up and Chinese billionaires buy their teams. If this keeps going and spills into a protracted labor fracas then MLB might as well just admit they don’t mind if every kid ages 8-15 just takes up soccer and gets it over with.

On the bright side, my dream of watching the USA win a World Cup someday, and then care about 10% as much as any other country in the world, could come true if all those kids start learning to take a dive and cry like they have been shot now.

Mia
Legend
Mia
4 years ago

I think you just stumbled onto the plan…

Bankrupt MLB, sell to Chinese investors, install 5G towers at the stadiums, infect the whole country with COVID-19, and then Bill Gates can microchip us all with a vaccine! How did we not see this before?!?!

/s (Just in case)

In all seriousness, losing a season of Mike Trout is what saddens me the most of all this.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  Mia

When Americans are all soccer fans we are one giant step closer to the New World Order. I see through the veil of lies and below the truth because I am stuper smarts.

Mia
Legend
Mia
4 years ago

I see through the lies of the Jedi!

Mia
Legend
Mia
4 years ago
Reply to  eyespy

Just let the kids play…

matthiasstephan
Super Member
4 years ago
Reply to  Mia

KiiiiiiiiD!!!

steelgolf
Legend
4 years ago

If this season is truly lost, and not going to be played, it better not add another season onto Pujols playing contract. certainly there would be some sort of impact whether it is a shortened, pro rated season or a completely lost season.

steelgolf
Legend
4 years ago
Reply to  Charles Sutton

Yep, there will be a lot of issues that arise from this, including if there is no season, then when will free agency actually begin, since there will be no World Series? This thing is going to spill over into the next labor agreement too.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
4 years ago

too bad it’s impossible to declare all contracts invalid. I’d like to see an actual players league. I know it’s been tried before and it didn’t work. Something about stadiums being “unavailable” and probably a lack of business acumen from the players and their representatives.

But honestly….these owners are terrible. Manfred has been shown to be nothing but the owners’ mouthpiece. For years they’ve tried to make it seem like the Commissioner was an intermediary. Well, until they fired Vincent and put in one of their own, Selig. They should rename the position to Owners Rep.

Have you ever had a mean boss? Didn’t you want to quit because of him/her? The last time I had one of those I didn’t bother sticking around after 6 months. Things are so bad now between the players and owners that I’m starting to enjoy Trevor Bauer. Yes! It’s that bad!!

2002heaven
Super Member
4 years ago

Six owners don’t wanna play the season ( i smell a rodent here! ).
Hope YKW isn’t one of the secret six. But wouldn’t surprise me if he was!!!

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
4 years ago
Reply to  2002heaven

I’m convinced he is.

I read various people saying “that’s it, I’m through with baseball” and I think they’re being silly. But here I am, for the first time ever, re-thinking my fandom. If we lose Trout’s age 28 season in part because of Arte…..

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  2002heaven

I was wondering if Cheap Arte and his cabal of billboard selling stripper sniffing Christians were the ones dragging this out. It seems like the sort of “fly off the handle” things Arte may do sometimes. But then I realized he’s just launched his whole master plan to build a stadium and all the stuff around it. He just signed Rendon and Trout to huge long deals. He may even see some value in milking all he can out of his dwindling Pujols supply. He has to figure out if Simmons should be retained, not to mention Eppler, he probably wanted to generate some positive momentum with the new manager and star players before labor strife starts….

He has a fair amount of important stuff in suspended animation right now. I can think of at least six teams that would be far more interested in skipping 2020 than the Angels. The Angels are still profitable. The A’s, O’s, Pirates, Tigers, Marlins, Royals etc etc…. I could see them passing on paying for half a dead dog season if they can do so. Also some teams with injury/payroll issues, Rockies, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets et al. The heel dragger’s not likely to be our Chief of Cheap.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
4 years ago

What you say about Arte and the Trout/Rendon deals is sensible. Surely he’d want to take advantage of his superstars.

But consider the Stripling/Pederson deal. There we see when things don’t go exactly the way he expected them to he reacts rashly, ready to throw everything out.

Yes it’s all speculation. No game threads, that’s why.

eyespy
Super Member
4 years ago

It’s all of the owners. They would lose money if they held the season, but think they could make money if it was canceled, but not by the COVID-19. They need for someones to not come out and play. Then the savior will kick in. The New York teams, from what I have heard last, haven’t even been cleared to play in the own stadiums yet.

2002heaven
Super Member
4 years ago

The A’s are still gunna beee good. let’s see should we keep Eppler or not?
Does a dog wanna keep it’s tapeworms or not?

Jim Atkins
Super Member
4 years ago

About the Hackenberg news- next Tim Tebow? Doesn’t he want to be more than a bad joke? Honestly, why do people think they can just pick up and start a baseball career? This is a difficult game. Maybe it’s because it looks so effortless when played extremely well.

WallyChuckChili
Legend
4 years ago
Reply to  Charles Sutton

Jim Morris says hello.

red floyd
Legend
4 years ago

He was in the minors, had an injury and was released. (At least according to Disney)

WallyChuckChili
Legend
4 years ago

I’m completely overwhelmed with all the 2020 MLB Undrafted Free Agents that the Angels have signed. It’s hard to keep track of all these 20k bargains. With only 5 rounds of a normal 40 round draft, I was expecting 10 maybe 20 bargain signees. But the Angels have proved my low expectations wrong. Can’t wait to see the final list.

AKA_rmhalofan
Member
4 years ago

That was my initial reaction as well.

H.T. Ennis
Admin
Super Member
4 years ago

I’m sure there’s many reasons that the Angels have not yet signed any UDFA, and we can blame ownership/management for all of them.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
4 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

it’s really sad to see the list of UDFA signings, by team, and see that empty space.