Good Morning Angels fans, hope your 2021 is doing better than 2020, even though it is only day 6. Anyway have some links!
Angels News
$Baseball America released their Angels Top Prospect list and Jo Adel is still at number 1. They use a different criteria for eligibility than MLB does, and Chris Rodriguez has jumped Detmers to be the top Angels arm on the farm.
Jeff Fletcher has an idea to stop tanking, give the Angels an extra pick in the draft. Well, more like the top teams to not make the playoffs get an extra pick after round 1, which is the same thing to be honest.
It is Chuck Finley week here at Crashing the Pearly Gates. If you have a fan shot, write it and it may be on the site. After all, there isn’t much Angels news going on right now.
Around Baseball
Speaking of that anti tank thing, the $Athletic has some ideas on how to stop it. Personally, it isn’t a big problem like with NBA and NFL.
In a more serious note, Sandra Scully, wife of Vin Scully, has passed away at the age of 76. She was battling ALS.
Tommy Lasorda was in the hospital and now he is out. The 93 year old is still kicking, even if he is taking a nap almost every time he is on tv.
Hank Aaron is one of the first in Georgia to take the vaccine for COVID-19. This should get others to take it too, although, those in Georgia have their eyes set elsewhere…
Ha-Seong Kim gave his introductory speech of joining the Padres. He managed to say some of it in English, and he chose San Diego because they are one of the best teams in MLB right now.
MiLB AA will not start on time. Those that aren’t MLB or AAA will not be allowed into Spring Training this year until after the MLB players leave. This makes sense, but it really hurts if it gets to 100 degrees by the time their spring training starts.
$Even Jeff Passan is mad about how slow this offseason is. Seriously there has been less money spent this offseason at this time than any other year in recent memory.
Oh and the NPB posting deadline is tomorrow at 2PM Pacific. And so far it doesn’t look like anything has happened yet. In fact, Sugano may stay in Japan the offers are so bad.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes.
Think about it, would you attend a game at the Big A if the vaccine is not at 70%. This virus has hit my family with four deaths and from stupidity 14 have had the virus. Canada will likely say NO to the Jays playing at Rogers Stadium. Newsome will soon call for a Lock Down as there is no ICU beds or room for any more even in hallways, Chapels, etc.
I have been saying here for months that MLB will be lucky to hit a 120 gm season. So in trying to set your expenses for next year it will be nuts to sign Bauer to anything approaching 35 mil per. On top of that the Union wants players to be paid in full, not prorated.
With unemployment so high who could afford going to a game now anyway? Sure will be another strange season for all of MLB once again. Will we come out of this? Sure, but the fact remains that it won’t be this year and that is a lot of income lost for paying for players millions upon millions of dollars.
It is not that I am being negative about this whole Covid thing, but I knew back in June of ’20 that rolling out a vaccine for two to three hundred million folks was going to take at least June – September of this year to complete and that was not even counting shelf life.
While we will witness some sort of schedule what about minor leagues and prep along with colleges and universities? That makes MLB Draft a ton of fun. So until at least the beginning of March I do not see a lot of activity being a priority for the Angels or anyone else. This is all play it by ear from here on out.
Sorry to hear about your family. I lost a close friend on the 23rd and have two close friends who lost their dads last Fall. I think this has hit us all to some degree.
As far as attending games, I think you’ll get a variety of responses. My risk factors are extremely low, I don’t live with anybody high risk, I have my own office….I’d feel ok going to a half full stadium with a mask on in a few months.
Yeah, Same here. Vickie lost her mother on the 19th.
I suspect today is not the day for any major signings or trades.
Would be a good day to do something unpopular though. All-time bad news dump opportunity.
Puig 2021!
Year of the Puig!
Tbh, if he “behaves,” he could make a pretty good short term fit, to play RF if we still have Adell. Spell Upton in LF and occupy an OF spot for Marsh (if we still have him) in 2022 while Upton moves to DH. I don’t think he’ll get a guaranteed starter gig by any team, but he shouldn’t be too expensive, upside is high, and we do have a need that could offer him near full playing time.
He brings energy and plays aggressive. Yes, he overthrows the cutoff men but has a cannon. Give him an incentive based salary. I doubt Perry goes for it even though last year, leadership was going to bring him onto the Braves roster before COVID derailed their plan.
He would also give us a reason for Pujols to occupy a roster spot
250,000 new cases every day, people still denying it’s a real thing and many refusing to wear masks or wearing them incorrectly under their nose (like a chin diaper).
Unless we have a significant portion of the population vaccinated by summer, I think this may be another season with either no fans or highly limited numbers. The season (if it starts) will definitely be without fans until at least June except in very limited areas like Texas (unless the players Union objects and says players won’t play with fans present).
Can’t do anything. No fans in the stands. No budget to use on the team.
The owner isn’t investing any money until he is guaranteed a return.
Do you think they will have fans in the stands in California this season? How about games in the state?
We will be the last, for sure. But all but Oakland have good TV contracts, which can help offset that a bit.
If you want to catch a game live this year, think Texas and the Midwest.
My condolences to the Scully family.
As most of you know (some newbies won’t), I have direct experience with how horrible ALS is. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
ALS is cruel.
Angels are interested in Wilson Contreras.
Would create a great lineup. Still need pitching. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/angels-interested-in-willson-contreras.html
I like Contreras but I immediately wonder if we could get a better deal on Jorge Alfaro. Nobody’s talking about him (bad 2020) but he’s a league average bat (lots of swing and miss), has a cannon arm, and he was an exceptional framer as recently as 2018. I’m not comparing the two, as Willson has clearly had the better career, but I kinda think Contreras will cost a blue chip while Alfaro might only cost a potato chip.
The way the news was put out, I’m thinking this is already a done deal. Realmuto will go back to the Phillies.
A Contreras bat in the lineup will be welcomed and I’m sure we’ll get the comments, “can he pitch?”
Contra code nickname pending….
Many years ago, I ran the contras.
Ollie is that you?
No, he’s referring to this…
Shall I?
“Arte refuses to pay for pitching because he err stoopid! He juss wan big splashes names to fill seats and get 3 million. He knows hundreds of thousands of rabid Contreras fans will blindly pile into the stadium and he doesn’t need to pay 4 pitching! Yarg!”
Hopefully our budget at this point is not just a cow chip
Sugano, Musgrove and Contreras, maybe Kluber.
6 weeks or so until Spring Training begins. Given that ownership is playing the poverty card, it’s likely many top / middle tier free agents will not be under contract when it begins.
The next sound we hear will likely be Boras yelling “collusion” in every interview…..and he won’t be incorrect.
The reality of the situation is that there is not one owner / ownership group that knows for certain exactly if and when fans will be allowed into the various ball parks. This is a big hit to their budget projections and is going to make all but a few teams gun shy on signing big contracts. This is really a bad time to be hitting free agency as a player. Even an elite player will probably see his earning potential take at least a 10% hit. Boras will go on his soapbox but the reality is that so far the vaccine roll out has been slow once it hits the state and county levels everywhere, so who knows if we even get fans in a ballpark before September, if at all.