Today is 9/11, and we honor those who lost their lives on that fateful day nineteen years ago.
Angels News
The Angels won their first game in the new Texas Stadium yesterday. At 18-27, the playoffs are far away but the tank isn’t out of reach. 2 and a half out for the number 1 pick!
Yesterday after his 16th Home run, Mike Trout broke a part of the rangers park. The poor Plexiglas…
David Fletcher is almost ready to come back. Hopefully he will play in COORS today.
Dylan Bundy has been very good for the Angels. He has the 3rd most fWAR among pitchers this year.
It snowed in Denver this past week but it will be a warmer series for the Angels. Gametime temperature in the low 60’s to start! Perfect for COORS, not good for windchill.
Around Baseball
Yesterday was the first day that MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, WNBA, and MLS played on the same day. How many did you watch?
Dodgers place Walker Buehler on the injured list. Blister issue on throwing hand.
A cool site that shows what home runs hit would be home runs in other MLB parks. Mike Trout hits a lot that would leave every stadium.
Today is the 19th anniversary of 9/11. There are MiLB Players and draft picks who are younger than that. The Mets are honoring 9/11 heroes this year despite the pandemic.
With no MiLB this year, prospects have been stuck playing vs themselves with only a few for each team at their alternate site. Some have thrived though and MLB put out a list of the top performer for each team this year. (Jordyn Adams is the best for the Angels.)
Games cannot stop being postponed as the Yankees at Baltimore has been pushed to today for a double header due to rain. More bad weather expected in the east as the weather gets colder.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
A 460+ foot HR from Trout in Coors, or I’m taking my wiffle bat home so no one can play anymore.
Tank or go for it? I can’t decide what I want this team to do. It’ll be yet another buttercup if they go for it and end up just outside of a playoff spot and picking 15th in the draft.
Still no Fletcher, but Upton is back. Matt Thaiss gets a day off. 😇
https://twitter.com/Angels/status/1304531234769399808
Wonder how long until we see Jam Jones at 2B. With Barreto out, Fletch nearing a return and Rengifo struggling mightily the window seems to be closing
If Jam Jones can’t get time over Matt Thaiss at 2B, I’d assume he really really sucks and is a bust prospect. Fletcher at 6 was a steal but Ward and Jones look like big 0s at the top.
yes, the Angels have lots of LOBsters and pretty much every game I think of some variation of the same joke, such as “what do you call it when the Angels get 3 hits and a walk? A scoreless inning”.
Apparently, though, the Royals are even worse at it!
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/the-royals-might-have-the-worst-offense-ever-with-the-bases-loaded/
The Royals might be the worst with bases load, but there’s only 1 team that eats more LOBsters than the Angels this year. https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/team-left-on-base-per-game#
ouch! That is a great, revealing list!
what I want to see the rest of the way…all stats oriented….no, most stats oriented
Trout, over .300, leading the league in HRs and OPS+
Ohtani, Upton, and Adell, over .200
Pujols, 661
Canning, at least one win. Tonight?
Bundy, finish with an ERA under 3
Robles, some sign of life in the arm
No more Atlantic Coast Conference players anymore PLZ!!!
Thaiss, Wilson, Detmers 😣
+ Dustin Ackley maybe the most overrated player from there evuh!!!
awww, that’s a really nice watercolor of a boat Red!
Not mine. I found it online. Also found the original pic somewhere, the meme I made from it is on my FB.
In a move that will probably surprise no one, Matt Harvey has been demoted to the bullpen in Kansas City after having a horrible year so far.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/09/royals-move-matt-harvey-to-bullpen.html
No. People should be surprised. Surprised he wasn’t cut outright.
There is no such thing as a bad one year contract!
Those two plays by Adams were fun to watch
We are 2.5 games from the #1 pick in 2021 and also only 4 games from a playoff spot. 2020 is so weird!!
Definitely. I missed the Rangers series. But, it is so weird. I’m not even looking at the standings or really rooting one way or another. I’m just taking in a game or two as I can and whatever happens, happens.
Can someone tell me what happened to Patrick Sandoval? Injured, DFA’d? Seems like he just disappeared…
He was sent to the minors (Long Beach) on August 28.
Hermosillo and Sandoval went down that day and Quijada and Walsh came up that day. I remember from my winter research that Sandoval had one or more options available so he’s just bouncing back and forth on the shuttle.
Yahoo says it was the 28th, but BBRef says he was optioned to Long Beach on the 30th.
My mind is trying to get a handle on this awful season by Ohtani. It’s basically a throw away and I am trying to figure out why. Here is my best guess:
1. He was not physically ready to pitch. We saw that in the shortened ‘Spring Training’.
2. The mental frustration of dealing with failure on the mound bled into his hitting. As a result, he is pressing which is never good for a hitter.
3. He is a player who needs a full Spring Training to get ‘right’. He has a swing that can sometimes result in his ‘bailing’ away from the ball. Spring Traing is where he would work out those kinks.
4. Being so far away from home and family during a pandemic caused further stress which tested his focus.
My belief is that all of these things put together deeply affected Ohtani and his overall mental state such that 2020 is a throw away. I fully expect the real Ohtani to return in 2021 (presuming it’s a full season with a full Spring).
I’m borderline “he shouldn’t get any more ABs this season” simply because it doesn’t seem as if reps are helping him. He’s pulling off and bailing, and it’s super sad to watch. Hope he returns with a vengeance in 2021!
I’m with you. I’m just mystified.
Buehler:
Or alternatively…
Trouty, Rendon, Simba and Fletch should be the only regulars to play as all the rest should be bench players as we need this small sample size to evaluate for next season.
What was amazing to me during the Chiefs home game against the Texans was that there were fans in the stands. The Boos from the crowd for BLM was heard loud and strong. Then what is with a “Black” national anthem? Well this is the strangest year that l have or will ever see. The Chiefs have arguably the best player in the game in Mahone and they won going away. Should have MLB and MiLB allowed fans to return? l can see both sides of the coin on this just like should the counties and/or the state reopen? Sports stadiums employ a great many employees that do not have a income right now. Let’s see what we have to add here on this site. Should Baseball teams have opened their stadiums? Did the NFL do the right thing allowing fans into the stadiums? (in fairness the stadium in KC was 22% full of fans.)
The post about the HR’s is a fun read, but really what stood out for me was Nelson Cruz. A 40 year old hitting the ball hard and long. Suspicion arises on these numbers only because of the facts that he has been busted for steroids in the past and the fact he played in Seattle where the steroid use in the last 25 years has been rampant. Minnesota appreciates his contributions no doubt, but l do not if l do. Is MLB testing this year, my guess is not. Or is Manfreddie afraid to tarnish the sport in 2020 strang?
Multiple Minor Leaguers have tested positive and been suspended so they are certainly testing.
Albert Pujols 660 Watch: Day Infinity.
If he can’t do it in Denver he should just retire.
Hope the team enjoys the chill here! Definitely preferred to SoCal lately.
You guys think if I called the stadium and offered my entire stimulus check they’d let me in? 👀
Disguise yourself as a cardboard cutout and sit down behind Angels dugout.
And that Angels employee has already set a precedent of adding hoodies to cutouts, so I should blend it!
“Denver area woman arrested trying to sneak into Coors field, told police risking COVID was worth seeing some DINGRZ.”
How I read the headline: “CtPG member represents Angels fandom perfectly, getting Buttercupped just as she thought she was going to watch some baseball”
Rec’d for proper spelling!
Sounds like a solid plan to me!
After you sneak in, wave to the cameras so we can wave back. Oh and wear Get Your Red ON red gloves.
And give away my position? Pfft.
I prefer the heat, thanks! I grew up in Minnesota and spent most of my life there so that’s probably why – but I’ll take 100 degrees to 40 or 50 any time!
Once it gets into the high 90s I just wanna tap out. It’s so much easier to get warm in 50 degree temps than to get cool in 100.
I’ll echo the sentiments of the previous thread, but I do hope that we spend a lot of the remaining games playing Walsh, Thaiss, Ward, and Rengifo.
Walsh and Thaiss have both, at times, looked like promising possible future first basemen for us. Walsh has looked much better since he was called back up, and given our need for LH power, I’d like to see what he’s capable of doing.
With Thaiss – I feel a bit bad for the dude in that they keep moving him all over the place with little time to prepare. It appears Maddon envisions him as a super utility type player, which is fine, but I think he needs more time and reps at those positions before he’s forced to start playing them.
Yep, I want to see what Walsh/Ward/Thaiss have to offer.
Thaiss doesn’t look like a major leaguer. This has Eppler all over it. Desperate to see if he can stick anywhere to prove that his horrible draft pick is worth something. I mean really? Maddon Knows the season is done so he doesn’t care.