Good morning Angels fans! Who are you rooting for this playoffs? Are you watching at all? Have some links.
Angels News
The Angels have not made the playoffs in years. Maybe that trade Arte Moreno called off could have helped? Off the Bench looked into it.
In case you missed it, Brent Maguire has taken over the Locked On Angels Podcast. He has been answering fan questions as well as provide insights about his articles here.
Around Baseball
The World Series will have fans, and tickets have sold out already.
For baseball fans, the playoffs so far have been not ideal, with the Astros one win away from the ALCS. The same Astros that would have been out of the playoffs if the Angels just won 3 more games.
Carlos Correa on the Astros has been playing up his villain role, and Taylor Blake Ward likes that for some reason.
It is George Springer however who has gone off, and has moved into second place in most home runs at Dodger Stadium in the playoffs.
Edwin Rios has tweaked his groin and is not on the Dodgers NLDS roster. They have the depth to not care, but it still sucks for him.
Marlins and Braves played so of course a certain someone got hit. It is just tradition at this point really.
Celvinger is heathy now and started in the NLDS game 1 vs the Dodgers. Or he was as he left in the second.
David Wright has a son now. Those born this year will not be drafted until 2039 at the earliest most likely, which is closer to us now than 2000 is.
Sam Miller of ESPN breaks down the types of playoff games that happen. Nothing in there about cursing yourself by giving away the game ball in the middle of a pitching change though.
Dave Wills has gotten into some heat for wishing injury on the Yankees sluggers. But instead of apologizing he has doubled down by saying he didn’t even do it. That it was a misunderstanding.
Hurricane Delta may end up coming close to Houston. If this will impact the postseason is unknown at this point.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
I don’t care about the Astros…..why?
I would if we were busy losing to them in the playoffs ( but we weren’t because we had losing seasons and weren’t in the playoffs against them. Kinda like Boston College & Pittsburgh Men’s BB fans hating on the Louisville Cardinals BB Program…..when they both finished at the bottom of the conference 9-23 for BC and 16-17 for Univ Pitt before Rick Pitino’s scandal about pay for play ) but we were never there for us to be mad about them, just jealous about them instead. We still sucked because we had a AM handpicked incompetent novice GM from the NY Yankees. 💪 👈 🤔
Anaheim City Council took second vote last night, approved sale:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/angels-finalize-deal-to-buy-angel-stadium-site.html
$150 million net of housing and park credits is less than half of original $325 million sale price. Considering the current financial condition of the city, the CC may have capitulated.
A deal is a deal though, but yea I can see your point.
In time, I hope everyone benefits enough to not look back in anger. Budget cuts for the city are in process.
MLBTR posted a story on the absorption of MiLB by MLB:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/minors-officially-becomes-branch-of-mlb.html
Just saw this and thought it was hilarious..and horrible.
https://www.reddit.com/r/angelsbaseball/comments/j6w2oa/according_to_fangraphs_jo_adell_was_the_worst/
Two in the top 10 (w/Teheran) is an accomplishment. Nowhere to go but up, Adell that is?
I’d like to see a photo of JD Martinez here “2002”, as he was the third worst.
Jo Adell, he didn’t play that much. Wow what a surprise. I hope he kicks butt in ’21.
Good pitching by the Marlins but their fielding and hitting and timing were off today. The Braves are looking tough right now.
ON MLB-TV there has been whining about the Yankees losing since last night. Ditto ESPN. I can understand the match up of NYY vs LAD, but please acknowledge that the small market teams have equal chances in this tournament and that a lot of us folks like to see the NYY lose. As a matter of fact I’m ecstatic. Go Ray!
You got it bruh…
Here’s your new GM, unless you think that’s funny Henry.
When Ray Liotta tells you you’re gonna pitch for the Angels and you and your wife can just visit or even live in New York or Scottsdale or where ever she wants to be in the off season you gotta at least strongly consider doing what the man says.
So I’d take him.
Please Tampa Bay give us one decent team in the ALCS and World Series.
Loved Acuna’s reply on twitter and Trevor Bauer’s thoughts on the matter. There’s a line between showing excitement and showing up an opponent and that line has move considerably in the last few years. Mattingly and co. need to realize that.
Also glad Acuna immediately made them pay with his speed. That’s the best way to stop it.
Can Houston possibly get by Tampa Bay Rays? I sure hope not, but if they do can they beat the Dodgers in the World Series? Yikes, I would really be sick then. Gawd do I dislike the Asstros. BTW is the WS this year going to be on a neutral field?
In the Rangers’ new stadium.
I, for one, will enjoy it if the Astros beat the Doyers in this year’s WS.
My current hate for the Asstros will be long gone in a few years. I just don’t have what ever mental pathways are needed to stay engorged with outrage over sports things all that long and the fact that most people are self interested assholes who will do what ever they can get away with to help themselves in any situation leaves me barely caring about the Stros. Sure, I enjoy the ribbing they are taking. But they are just a group of guys who got caught in a world of people who are just like them in one aspect of life or another, and just haven’t been outed. The current team will disband at some point and I won’t care about them soon after.
But the Doyers and their fans can always suck it. In 1961? Yes, suck it. In 1981? Yep. 2001? Si senor. 2021? Even more so Lord, amen. What about Vin Skully? Is he BLUE, then yes, he can suck it too. The Astros are a turd blip. The Dodgers will always be a festering pile. If the Astros being evil serves to heap more suffering on the golden plastic children of So Cal baseball then their current shame is a tool that would only add to my joy if the Dodgers lose to them again.
On the flip side, I just don’t think the Asstros are that good. They won’t win it all. But if they did, against the Doyers? Hell yeah, I’ll enjoy all the smeared mascara on the face of Doyers Nation much more than I’ll be bummed the Astros won. I’ll be happier if the Padres just win the current series though. That would be a more pure joy.
“I just don’t have what ever mental pathways are needed to stay engorged with outrage over sports things that long”, but since 1961 Dodger fans can suck it. ?
Self interested assholes that cheat are something that does not clear away so clearly like a morning beach fog that by noon I’m singing “I can see clearly now”.
What I do acknowledge that we have in common is while you dislike the Dodgers and Scully for what seems like a long time, I have the same feelings towards cheaters and liars.
Lol
No.
The only thing that has gone right so far (as far as I’m concerned) was Tampa’s win over the MFYs. Tampa is my last real hope for some playoff fun. All invited on this bandwagon.
In other brief notes:
1. The Houston thing is sickening to me.
2. Dodgers are really good, deep and well run organizationally. It amazes me that they have not won a WS since 1988!
3. Watching Clevinger pitch makes me anxious. All that shaking and jimmying.
4. Does Buelher really throw that hard or was the radar gun a bit wonky? Per the gun he was throwing 98 and 99 over and over again.
Ditto on this Houston thing. Dodgers hired the best and this may just be their year. No weak spots with an organization that knows what they are doing from top to bottom. Ditto on Clevinger. Buehler is the real seal and will replaced kershaw as Top Dawg someday. The Dodgers are just loaded with pitchers and have 3 top players with only one in the top money. I am jealous that we are not just as good as them, but then we have an Albert and they don’t!
I’ll root for anyone but the Yankees and the Yankees NL (duh Doyers). I’d actually be happy if Tampa wins. Atlanta or the Padres too. Miami? Eh, ok I guess. If the A’s beat the Doyers in the WS I’d enjoy that David/Goliath win. If the Astros make the WS I’d want them to beat LA…. but get destroyed by anyone else. But there’s still plenty to root for in this post season.
G-Rich kinda of sucked and took the loss against the Dodgers. But the whole A’s team more than kinda of sucked, down 0 – 2 in a 5 game series.
At one point the Dodgers and Padres were at a 1 – 1 score and the Dodgers didn’t even have a hit.
Amazing how many children of former MLB players are playing in the Majors currently. And most are as good or better than Pops was. The Angels have one, yep, Bedrock’s Dad played mostly as a Brave.
Up until right now it sure looks like the three best teams in the playoffs are Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The braves have put together an offensive team as good as any. Tampa has pitching and Dodgers have everything.
R.I.P. Eddie, you sure were as good as it gets and you were innovative and exciting. You are very much missed.
R.I.P. Johnny Nash, we can all sing along with you with as we can all “See Clearly Now”.