Good morning Angels fans! How have you been today? Things have been spicy outside, so have some cool links to wash it down.
Angels News
So, Brian Haskin’s lawsuit was dismissed. You know, the guy the Angels threw under the bus for the whole pine tar mix selling scandal? Yeah, he tried to get some unlawful firing suit, but that was rejected.
$The Athletic surveyed MLB agents and Trevor Bauer is still likely to be an Angel or Blue Jay.$ Which, is really just dragging this thing out beyond reason, very annoying. I mean the only offer known is the Mets and they will not give him what he wants so this could take a while.
Free agent pitcher Spencer Patton threw for teams and hey, the Angels were one of them. Do not get your hopes up, as that is the way of the let down.
Around Baseball
So the HOF voting by the writers has been revealed, and no one made it. The last time was in 2013. At least the ceremony this year for last year’s inductees is still on schedule. For now.
Hey look, a signing! JT Realmuto is a Phillie… for 5 more years at 115.5 Million. They add nothing since he was theirs, but at least that is over. Odd the Angels didn’t try with how Arte is.
MLB Network loses more talent as Eric Byrnes is no longer there after 10 years. Yet Mad Dog is still employed by them, why?
So that is why Brad Hand wasn’t picked up on waivers, his one year deal is deferred through 2024. Wow, that is just an odd move.
Masahiro Tanaka is going back to Japan. Want proof that MLB is being cheap? Here it is. This is a pathetic sign for MLB.
Blue Jays get Marcus Siemen, which gets him out of the AL West! Blue Jays got busy after getting second place a ton earlier in the offseason. 1 year 18 million was the deal.
Simba is now a Twin. One year deal 10.5 million. I will miss him.
Tommy LaStella is going to the Giants for 3 years. Lots of action now huh?
Image edited from a screenshot from Gridiron Heights
the problem with the illustration of Trout here: it’s not fat enough
And apparently he goes into the Hall with a Cap with no logo
Seeing Maria on Twitter post that Angels aren’t even in the running for Bauer now. Bummer we couldn’t land a TOR pitcher but hopefully we at least go for one of the top remaining guys, I’ll even take Paxton (he’s good when healthy but that’s the issue), here’s hoping it comes soon too.
I’ll add in Odorizzi but I liked him before last year, so if we sign him I’ll hope for any season form except last year’s from him
Not surprising. I was never convinced he fit in our current payroll/budget and frankly the culture here needs more character and leadership not a guy that seems to wear out his welcome everywhere.
He was great last year in half a season and would have helped a horrible rotation but this isn’t a guy I’m going to lose sleep over.
If he wasn’t pricing himself at 35-40 mil I’d be more disappointed but he was and his career minus last year doesn’t support that type of money. I agree, and I’d really like to add guys to the pen as much as the rotation, I say let’s get Odorizzi and Colome.
Both of the arguments she uses have been known all along.
Our budget didn’t suddenly change.
The Calloway situation has been known for years.
It seems strange to use that as a basis of an argument just now (as opposed to always). Is there something more?
Steven Matz traded to the Jays. If I were a betting man, I would say Bauer is going to sign with the Mets.
No one asked me but;…..Cheating is well cheating. There is no measurement of judging cheating. If you cheat to any degreed measurement, you are still a cheater. Shoeless Joe, Pistol Pete, AssRod, Bonds, or Ortiz do not belong in the Hall period. As it is now that suspicion is not enough to keep you out (i.e. Piazza and Rodriguez were great catchers, but they used according to Canseco and former Dodgers.)but when caught or ratted out should be enough to kept you out of the Hall……Schilling seems crazy today is his thinking, but during his playing days his teammates accepted him and his work and had no issues with him at least nothing reported, so yep he belongs in…..
While I don’t like to see cheating rewarded, there are already known (after the fact) cheaters in the Hall of Fame, such as manager Leo Durocher and player Hank Greenberg (for Greenberg see John Rosengren’s “Hank Greenberg Hero of Heroes” pages 200-201). If they aren’t going to be removed then I don’t see much reason to keep steroid users like Bond or Clemens out. The gambling cases are different in my eyes however. Jackson, even though his play was outstanding in the series, knew his teammates were throwing the game. Rose was the manager, and even if he only bet on his team to win, did he short his team in previous games to ensure the win when it mattered to him? In my opinion, both of those latter cases crosses a line that disqualifies either from consideration.
Steroids were banned by the United States Congress in 1990. While there were no tests they were illegal just the same. Justifying bad behavior with bad behavior is wrong.
RIP Cloris Leachman
She brought to life Frau Blücher and Nurse Diesel, two of the funniest characters on film.
Gam Gam in Beerfest ha ha.
She was great. Long career. RIP.
Lest we forget Madame DeFarge from History of the World, Part 1:
We are so poor, we do not even have a language! Just this stupid accent!
NEIGH!
Gotta love her
https://twitter.com/EliasToufexis/status/1354556685436633090
Completely off topic, but…
On January 27, 1967, the crew of AS-204 (commonly known as Apollo 1) were conducting a test at Pad 34 when a fire broke out in the capsule. All three crew members died of asphyxiation.
Rest in peace, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.
Ad astra per aspera
“No Bucks…..No Buck Rodgers”. RIP Fellow Boilermakers
I’ver read that Grissom was expected to be the first man to walk on the moon. Following his death, NASA gave the nod to Neil Armstrong.
NASA didn’t “choose” Neil, he just happened to be at the right place in the rotation. Had Gus lived, Deke would have jiggered the rotation.
Had Apollo 9 or 10 not completed their mission, Pete Conrad would likely have been the first man.
I’ve come around to voting in Bonds, Clemens, Rose, Shoeless Joe.
Society has changed over the years. Certain words that were never used in public are now in news stories, quoting public figures. It’s almost an anything goes world.
Civility is quaint. Even here! So if I loosen up my standards to match our current state, looking at them instead as prejudices, I have to consider Bonds and Clemens within what was winked at by MLB. If Selig is in then the steroid users who were the best of the bunch should also be in. I can’t believe I’m saying this!
And with MLB contemplating having legal gambling at stadiums how can Rose remain on the permanent ban list?
As for Jackson, it’s long been thought that Landis came down hard to set an example, harder than was necessary. Not to mention the problems with Landis’ character.
In other words: blah blah blah…
I think Rose is a different question than Bonds or A-Rod.
What Rose did attacked the fabric of the game, whereas Bonds and A-Rod were a part of something that a large percentage of players were doing. That does not make it right, but it is an important point.
The other key point is that both Bonds and A-Rod showed dominating, HOF performance levels PRIOR to juicing, which makes it very likely they would have had HOF careers even without the aid of steroids.
This argument likely cannot be made for Big Pappi however ( though we don’t know with the same level of certainty when he began juicing as we do with Bonds).
Agreed. As much as I disdain Big Roidy and Bonds I know the unethical things they did were to improve performance and win.
Rose? There are games he bet on and games he didn’t. I have no idea which ones he was trying to win and which ones it would be better if he lost.
As far as when Bonds and A-rod really started juicing, I have theories both did it much sooner than most people think.
I wonder why Jon Heyman keeps putting Bonds on his ballot but not Clemens.
Maybe Clemens was juicing way earlier?
It is clear that Bonds was not juicing prior to joining the Giants. Thus, he was already a two-time NL MVP before the cheating began.
In fact, many considered Bonds the best all-around player in the game during his later years in Pittsburgh. The truly sad thing is that Barry DID NOT NEED steroids to dominate (whereas Sosa and Big Mac clearly did).
My argument for Bonds is that he would have been in the Hall without ever having done it. Of course he would not however have the single season or all-time HR records.
The other thing about Rose is that he shows not one ounce of remorse. That recent “apology” of his was the most disingenuous piece of shit I’ve ever heard in my life.
And he still to this day lies about having bet against the Reds.
I think if he had come clean about all of it, and said “Look, I had a problem” etc he would already be in. But he never really did that. Instead he took half measures.
On the field Rose obviously deserves the Hall as much as anyone ever, but due to the situation with the gambling I don’t think he will ever nor should he ever get in.
The uncertainty of start time question was more directed towards Big Pappi.
With Bonds the body changes are a dead give away. It is pretty clear Barry started in response to Sosa and McGwire getting all that love in their chase of Maris.
McGwire did set the rookie record for HRs as a skinny kid. Well, skinny compared to later so I think without steroids he would have been in the 40 to 50 HRs a year category. And yes, I’ve read Bonds was jealous.
If McGwire makes it. Jose Canseco should be in.
True what you say about McGwire. He was also highly touted back in college days. I think the “before” and “after” was more pronounced with Sosa than with him.
Still, I don’t think Mark will get in.
I think there’s statistical evidence that Barry started using in 1990. I realize a lot of guys add power as they get experience, but his jump up from 89 to 90 was substantial and he never looked back.
He went full hulk after 98, but dude was OPS’ing about 1.000 with an OPS+ of 180 for the years 90-98. I have a hard time thinking that big of a jump, sustained for that long, in that era, being 80% better than the other juicers, came naturally.
Tanaka looked like a good fit from both a baseball and marketing standpoint.
More consistent than Bauer yet less expensive due to a lack of upside.
Can’t blame him for not wanting to be in the US right now.
No doubt. While I definitely prefer Japan’s risk based handling of this thing, I’d also try to do a lap in Japan if I was an American ballplayer. I’ve always been fascinated by Japan and getting the opportunity to fully immerse in that culture while getting paid would be awesome. Adam Jones spent two years there so his kids could experience something new.
Yeah, I would definitely take a job in Japan if it ever comes up.
True story: Prior to my 40th birthday my then fiancé asked me where I’d most like to visit. I said Japan. So I started planning a great 9 day trip. Then she set our wedding date and I decided I wanted to walk down the aisle with everything paid and I did. So I canceled my Japan trip and worked a lot.
At the end of the year I did my taxes and I’d made just enough to have pay the alternative minimum tax, another 6 grand. Or basically what I had budgeted for Japan. And I still haven’t gone.
In hindsight we should’ve done one epic trip prior to the wedding. I get so goal oriented and locked in, though.
I was fortunate to live in Tokyo Japan for 3-years working for The Mouse. Would go back tomorrow. From my apartment, short bicycle ride to the Yakult Swallows Stadium. Their big foreigner 1st baseman was Roberto Petigine (who came up with the Mets). Each team could only field 2 foreigners in the batting lineup for one game to keep a level playing field. Also went to the Yokohama Bay Stars, Chiba Lotte Marines, Tokyo Giants, Nippon Ham Fighters and Seibu Lions to experience Japanese baseball. I missed Ichiro the first year I was there before he jumped to MLB. Very entertaining style of game, fan experience, food and the girls carried small beer kegs on their backs ready to pour drafts from 3-4 Japanese breweries….so awesome. Imagine, living in a country where you witness school girls riding their bikes at midnight and folks treat each other with respect, kindness and decency.
I’m confused as to why Nippon fights ham, or do they fight with ham?
I lived and worked in Japan for five months. I became a Saitama Seibu Lions fans.
I went to a couple of games. I liked the ballpark and really enjoyed the experience. The fans are very passionate. I would equate it with like a good college football atomosphere here.
Disney+ Imagineering show had such a great episode on the international parks. I don’t see myself going to China anytime soon, but Tokyo Disney is high on my list.
Did you guys get a good honeymoon, though?
We all need to do all the traveling we can once we are vaccinated and it’s safe. I’m already fantasizing about a trip/delayed honeymoon around Europe spring 2022. Japan can hopefully happen in the next few years. Might even get to travel to see family for the holidays in South Korea.
A few things: Curt Schilling is a complete loss as a human being; I like listening to MLB network in the car but Russo is an utter waste of time, although he is better than Skip Bayless; I’ll miss Simba’s smooth glove a lot; and aren’t we getting close to running out of possible pitchers to sign that are worthwhile?
Again, Baseball writers continue to fail to segregate on-field performance from social media. Don’t agree with tweets so they invoke the character clause. If they vote him in, colleagues or followers would assume they support Schilling’s opinions. This is the world we now live in, pretty sad to me. If such clauses were to be retroactively applied to current HOFers, there would be an empty wall or two in Cooperstown. Schilling, on the field, is a HOFer. Schilling was 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in five career elimination games, 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 career postseason starts, Never been arrested or convicted or a crime, only his being castrated due to his opinions. So yeah, take him off the ballot, let the pencil necks wage their war against the PED abusers, the real bad character “cheats” of the game. For the record, I don’t agree with Schilling’s positions but he pitched some damn good frigg’n baseball when the spotlight was large and his team was in a go-home situation.
Also, didn’t his opinions come out only after he retired? It’s one thing to consider a player’s demeanor while they are still playing and quite another to exclude them based on post-retirement activities.
He shot his mouth off about both players and management in terms of attitude and competency while he was playing. The political stuff was after his retirement.
Yet in todays world (and baseball’s controlling hierarchy) those indiscretions are the same or even more egregious than those who took illegal substances and/or cheated the game.
Makes total sense to me.
Pete Rose?
No, Curt Shilling. I’m pretty sure Pete Rose’s gambling occurred while he was still a player/manager.
Yes. He was making calls to his bookie from the frickin stadium!
I really hope we land Bauer now. If Tanaka is heading back to Japan without even a reasonable offer, then we must not have been pursuing him (despite our desperate pitching need). Bauer is our last chance at a pitcher better than Bundy (someone to push down the rest in the rotation) that doesn’t include parting with our top prospects (and maybe even then) which Perry seems to be avoiding (thus far).
So #BauertoAnaheim everyone!
We did not agree on Tanaka, but here we actually do agree.
What would have been a reasonable offer to Tanaka?
Well, MLB Trade Rumors suggested 3 years 39M, which is 13M per year.
I have been suggesting, for weeks now, that we should offer him 15M on a 1 year deal (or about that annually) to be our top SP signing. There were similar suggestions (before mine) in the If I were Perry series, that also had him in that price range.
I don’t know that he was offered that much by anyone. Maybe he wanted more than that, having been paid an AAV of 22M for the past 7 years. Who knows?
I was fine with the 3/39 and used it in my article. Fact is Bundy and Heaney are due to leave after this year, Quintana is now too, so even if Tanaka aged from a 2/3 to a 3/4 over the life of the contract, $13 million per year would’ve been fine.