Opening Day. The words roll off the lips, elicit smiles, and signal the beginning of the best time of the year: baseball season. Day after day of freshly cut grass, the rhythm of the game, and hopefully a post season push.
The big news out of Anaheim came pregame as local boy made good and friend of the site David Fletcher agreed to an extension. I couldn’t be happier for David and his family.
For those of you just jumping back into baseball mode and catching up to speed, here’s where the Angels project compared to the rest of the league.
The most volatile of all positions is the bullpen, which has been completely remade this off season and added three new arms just this week. I’m starting to like this unit.
Hey Jim Abbott, check out this kid. Honestly, my first thought was that the opposing coach shouldn’t run on the kid. But all Abbott wanted, and I’m sure this kid wants, is to be treated the same as everyone else.
Shocker, but EastSPiN kicked off the 2021 season with the Yankees. Of course their schedule includes lots of NY and the Cubs, but the Angels do get a couple of games including Sunday.
Detroit and Cleveland played in a snow globe. That was really football weather.
Miguel Cabrera has the chance to become the first player in MLB history to collect his 3000th hit and 500th home run in the same season. He’s happy to be back and have fans in the stands.
I’m going to put on my big boy pants when it comes to Miggy. No, he was never more valuable than Trout by any logical assessment. And the “triple crown” crowd is annoying. But Miggy is one of the best pure hitters the game has seen and he’s closing in on history. I’m going to enjoy it.
Not every Opening Day story was a great one. The Washington Nationals reminded us that we’re not completely out of this thing yet.
If anybody deserves a night out at the ballpark it is the essential workers who have spent the last year overwhelmed by the pandemic. MLB is donating $1.5 million in tickets to those hard working folks.
Ty has spoken.
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1378432168884535300?s=20
Interesting. Not great for our bullpen this year but hopefully he’s happier doing whatever it is he does now.
Gotta say I don’t have a ton of sympathy for a “I was just kinda over it” response during a pandemic where plenty of people have lost everything and are struggling to pay bills. Bummer you didn’t love your job that paid you millions dude.
Very strange and seems to confirm it’s a mental health thing.
Cold side of me is glad he walked away though, if that’s the way he feels about baseball.
This is a question of making the right choice. In our long lives you don’t want to regret for a bad choice, but we all make them. Today Ty made his choice of careers, today he has no regrets, so I respect his decision.
I might quit, too, if my bosses hired three new guys at the last minute who’d been fired from their old jobs, and told me to stand by at a different location. That had to mess with Ty’s head.
Agree.
Ty was so nice to my son before a game a year and a half ago- very supportive and genuine. I was pulling for him, because I think his stuff has a lot of filth to it and he was really close. But if your head is not in this game, it’s almost impossible to succeed. Good luck on your future ventures. The grass is always greener, but hard to beat the gorgeous green on a baseball field.
I see we’re starting gramps again. Ugh
Well, it is a tough lefty tonight in Keuchel, so it is somewhat understandable.
But if Albert starts tomorrow against Lynn then we’ll know something is up. I would expect Walsh to be in there tomorrow, but we’ll see.
Maddon was talking to Lodge on yesterday’s pregame about not wanting to be the manager to break Albert’s 21 year starting Opening Day streak, the fact a lefty was going tonight and that we would see Walsh at 1B this year
Yeah, I don’t think Maddon has soured on Walsh or anything like that.
I think the plan was always to have a time-split. And Albert hit the ball pretty well in Spring Training, so he’s getting a couple early starts. I would not panic or start thinking he’s going to start 5-6 games a week.
Just called the box office and for now they are leaving any not purchased 4 or more block of tickets empty (not selling 2 of the 4 available or making any other adjustments) but that its being talked about. Just an FYI since there are tickets left and third party selling options have limited selection and same restrictions.
Ty Buttrey did not report to the alt site and has walked away from the game, Maddon said.
https://twitter.com/FabianArdaya/status/1378112098698321920
Interesting. I can’t imagine how frustrating this business is for players at certain points.
The best bet for him is to hook on somewhere else where a real pitching coach might be able to help Ty make some adjustments. Has not been easy watching him perform inconsistently.
They put him on the restricted list instead of releasing him. He’s going to have a hard time getting to the other team without cooperation from the Angels.
Can’t say I blame him.
Why was he sent down anyway?
I saw him as no worse than#3 on our bullpen depth chart behind Iglesias and maybe Mayers
But the dude still has great stuff. It is not like he was terrible last year. And it is hard to understand why others were kept on the roster but not him.
You must not have seen him since the second half of 2019.
He’s been brutal since then. He ain’t that good dude.
I believe in him. Just like I believe in Robles.
Not a surprise, but Newsom is trying to get the ASG moved to CA now.
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1378074680939081731?s=20
Maybe SF? San Diego was recent, I doubt they would want to do LA area two years in a row, and Oakland is, well…O.Co.
I think Anaheim could host again. Idk if 10 vs 13 years is that big of a deal.
Would be cool with either, though.
I guess, but Anaheim-LA back-to-back would still be weird if there are other viable options. I dunno…
We live in weird times. 🤷🏻♀️
Arte needs to build a new stadium first.
We can shoot fire out of fake rocks. It’s a lock.
The Old Big A is definitely in need of another facelift. Last Night I noticed that Some of the seat armrest tops were rusted as the Angels had failed to add their annual coat of all weather green paint. Now even though it looked like mostly the zip tied seats that were being neglected I though that was strange that you would only maintain the current usable seat locations. It makes you wonder what else is lurking in the great bowels of the Big A that has been off limits for the last year plus. I think even the resident giant moths bats and rats are finding the conditions untenable . Hopefully they haven’t took up new residency at The George
Newsom, no thanks. I’ll take an Anaheim AS Game though. 10 years is long enough
I just now received the Bally Sports West Calendar from last nights game curtesy of my son who was there. Food he said was limited and took 15-20 min, but beer was a nightmare and that was in the Diamond Club because of the Apps that had to be used.
Rob the Goof Ball Commissioner is moving the All Star Game from Atlanta. So to did he announce it is dedicated to Hank Aaron. So why then move it?
and the answer is he has not got an opportunity to address the public who he is sure loves him.
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred is how the article started, he really thinks he is that important. lol
You tell those clouds, Grandpa.
so….any guesses where the all-star game will be?
https://www.mlb.com/news/2021-all-star-game-draft-relocated
My guess is Minnesota.
SD, SF has to be another NL stadium probably.
Wrigley Field should host it ( haven’t hosted it since 1990 ).
milwaukee
I was looking at the list of places where the game has been held, checking out which have had the longest wait, which have never had it. Tampa?
Not in that stadium. Maybe the new Rangers park.
Even the Tampa Bay Rays don’t want to go Tropicana Field So an ASG ain’t happening there
Come to California. We’re wokest. By then maybe some bars and restaurants will be open all the way…. or the MLB can just throw parties in a bunch of the vacant bars and clubs and eateries.
Come to Colorado, we’re tokest. And the DINGERZ flyyyyy.
Bubby ManBeard should just light the brightest signal ever and declare that the AS Game is moving to Wakanda… forever.
The place with a monarchy and no voting.
Don’t have to worry about voting rights ruining your game if there are no voting rights. *taps forehead*
Exactly. Man, there are some pretty funny internet rants about how Wakanda was actually a totally F’d up jerk travesty of a country. Just plain horrible people ruled by truly awful tyrants.
When you choose your leader by a fight to the death, you may have a few issues.
China
Go all out and hold it in Taiwan.
I want it held at the Tokyo Dome. If nothing else maybe east coast writers will stop complaining about having to stay up late for west coast games.
Would anybody even miss it? I mean, the lack of competition all star games (all sports) promote in the current era is disappointing. NFL Pro Bowl was on the chopping block and still might be.
Being almost 30 and having a baby at that age, I understand Mike’s weird season. It’s like that big shift in your age and you realizing you’re getting older. He probably didn’t sleep well. Covid generally scared him, most likely since he would be afraid to get pregnant Jessica sick. Obviously as women get older these things are more delicate so I can see that he was playing with probably 75% attention if that. This year he looks set on playing better, he looks healthier in the face and a little slimmer. I also think that he sees the youth going away so he’d like to tap into it a bit more, hence the enthusiasm. This is the age area that Griffey fell off, so I’m hoping he finds his happy place for another 5 really great years.
Perfecto assessment.
I think he’s been reading Kierkegaard and pondering the essence of what makes a good man while worrying about the price of high grade steel pellets and how US foundries will compete with Asia over time while still letting his mind drift to issues closer to his heart such as which band wins the white war, White Lion or WhiteSnake? I really get the sense that he’s come to terms with his love of Key Lime pie but understands that he needs to sometimes just eat an apple because meringue gives him the night farts. He is also coming to grips with the fact that he may, deep down, be a cat person.
At least that’s what I see when I look at him play baseball or see snippets of his life on SM.
Yes but he’s still fat
I wounder who the Astros play in their next series and what fan base gets to let they hear it.
Did anyone go to the game? How were concessions? How was the experience?
I’m going Monday. I’ll write a piece Tuesday but would love as many favs as possible to share there experiences here.
Awesome, thanks Jeff. We go to our 1st game of the season 4/6
My dad and I went to last night’s game and we had a great time. The staff was very friendly and we enjoyed the space in between our seats. We didn’t order anything from the stadium since we brought sealed water bottles. So for reference they do allow you to bring sealed water bottles in the stadium and you can bring multiple ones. That was a huge bonus for me since I drink a ton of water. Parking is still $10 which I was very surprised and everything is cashless even when you pay for parking.
Overall it was a great experience for us. I mean just being at the ballpark with my dad again after more than a year brought tears to my eyes as that’s a tradition I didn’t think we’d get to experience for a few more years.
Thanks for this information!
Someone from my office was at the game last night. The concessions were a complete cluster f#$k. You were supposed to text and order your food as well as pay for it. They were supposed to text you when your food was ready so you could pick it up. NOBODY got the texts. This couple ordered at 7:30 p.m. and received their food finally at the bottom of the 8th inning. I’m hoping they get this worked out before the 16th, as they don’t allow you to bring anything into the stadium.
That really does look bad, so if I order a beer in the first I drink from the 8th. Oh My. That won’t work,
Exactly.
She showed me her order placed at 7:32 p.m., got their food and beverage at 9:50 p.m. Colossal fail.
I’ve had bad experiences at Dodger stadiums NHL outdoor game, 49ers “new” tech Levi Stadium, etc. Makes the experience not as enjoyable but happens.
Just use your stomach to sneak a bottle of whiskey into the game. They never find the booze you swallow.
Haha love it gitch
I may be missing something here, but what is the logic for not allowing you to bring your own food in?
Logic? Logic? That went out the window with all the pandemic rules and regulations that vary from city to county to state to other states to federal govt. to CDC and back to local “Directors of Health”. no food, no beverages (water), no bags of any kind, even clear bags. Now, everyone was surrounding the food stands trying to get their order in the 7th inning as they were tired of waiting, so what they had was an even bigger assembly of people then you would at a normal game pre- pandemic. So they ended up with the exact opposite effect of what they intended. Then they were nice enough to hand everyone a card with a website address that you could go on to get your money refunded if you didn’t get your food/ beverage. In her and her husbands section it was nothing less than a shit show disaster of epic proportions. When she showed me the photo of all the people crowded around the concession, I couldn’t believe it. Isn’t it ARAMARK who does the concessions at the stadium or is it some other company? Whoever it is just face planted last nights game.
Yeah the logic is that now every business of every kind gets to blame COVID when they have operational problems. There is no logic except that. It’s theater.
The angels have obviously adjusted pricing of tickets (to maximize value of every attendee) and I’m sure have minimal staffing to save a few bucks plus a few other issues that create stuff like this
It looks like it is Legends who are the concessionaire at the stadium. They have you text 747474, get the menu of food choice, pay, then they are supposed to text when your food is ready for pick up. No texts.
I thought it was 474747. Boy Howie Kendrick would be embarrassed to be associated with this shit show
Thanks for sharing. Looks like I could be wrestling my kids for their goldfish/yogurt chips
Well this is what happens when they have a sellout crowd.
MLB’s list of essential workers for free tickets has some issues. Why are teachers included when they didn’t have to take any risks until they were vaccinated? And what about retail sales associates, financial institution employees, government services like the DMV, EDD and courts, court reporters, legal secretaries/administrative assistants, garbage collectors, etc…?
Great gesture but like you mention some key people left out. How they’ll get distributed even to those included is interesting in itself
Granted, there are school districts where the teachers are running the asylum, but the district I work in has had teachers in the classroom all year long. There have been multiple staff members who got COVID, so please don’t over generalize.
Orange Unified has been in class since the end of September.
Any one can contract Covid-19 and die, but that does not make them FLWers.
Hospital employees, Doctors office staff, Sheriff/ Police, Firemen and EMT’s and grocery cashiers are front line workers, not teachers or retail clerks as Front Line Workers. Otherwise everyone are Front Line Workers.
This speaks to personal bias, I suppose, but just going off of what you mentioned: teachers had it rough. Some of them, depending on what state you’re in, did risk quite a bit since their schools never completely closed. And they had to completely learn a new way of teaching with new tools and new structures while trying to navigate uncharted waters in terms of student involvement and feedback. There are some teachers out there who didn’t handle it well, but many more who were absolute heroes. They deserve every bit of recognition. Note, I am not a teacher but I have three kids in school.
I am, however, a financial institution employee who never worked from home. I had to be in the office every day. But because of the advancements that had already been made and implemented in communication and online transacting prior to the pandemic, we were able to limit interaction with clients and obe just fine. There were business concerns, and meeting over Zoom is different than meeting a client in person, but our jobs didn’t change to nearly the degree that teachers’ did.
I will say that it would have been nice to give some recognition to retail workers and other service employees, but that might be too broad a category.
What about plus plus sized male models with slim portfolios of work?
My thoughts on the broadcast on a notecard.
1. Sutton was better but he seems to be hyper when he should be calm and calm when he should be excited; the lack of excitement in the HR call and during the bottom of the 9th where Raisel dominated and post game was odd.
2. Sutton seems like he’s trying hard to be funny at times but his material is pretty weak sauce. Telling the fans he will explain basic baseball terms was a wierd ‘bit’;
3. Chemistry is lacking between Gubi and Sutton but that takes time. It likely will work itself out.
4. Jose is just marbles-in-his-mouth whenever he talks. And his brain moves faster than his mouth causing him to talk faster to make the 3 points he is thinking about. It’s not working.
5. I missed Vic’s building energy very much in the bottom of the 9th and after the game. Light that baby up! Drive Home Safely!
6. Overall, I give the broadcast a C – up from a D during spring training. There is some potential but Jose has to go back to a non-in-game role. A 3 man booth does not work (in any sport) in my opinion.
Re #6. Early MNF is the exception that proves the rule.
Yep. But it was Meredith, Cosell and Gifford. All three were talented and meshed. That is rare.
Yeah, it was a unique staff.
I thought Sutton was okay. The drop-off from Rojas was notable, but it’s hard to tell how much of that was Rojas being better individually and how much is chemistry with Gubizca, which will hopefully improve over time. I don’t think Sutton is as good as Rojas, but it should get better.
The sense of humor was really the only part that made me cringe. I assume he was being sarcastic with his “That’s an industry term” bit, but he carried it on way too long. He referred to “look” as a deep industry term which they will have to discuss in a pre-game segment at some point, and it just fell flat.
I did not care for the Bally’s score/game situation graphic. The out dots at the bottom of the diamond were really weird, and the placement of the graphic across the bottom of the screen with the rotating scores was poor. I’ll get used to it, but I’m not a huge fan.
I was begging for a Pujols squeeze play in the 8th last night. Best likely outcome these days IMO. Glad he basically listened!
Too GA to go parse the gamethread but were people less pissed with the broadcast? To my ears Sutton seemed less amped up and overall it was pretty easy to listen to.
Outside of that, the bullpen not being comically shaky was a nice treat for Opening Day. We’ve all earned it.
I think he’ll grow into the role. Stassi HR call was weak, and immediately after the win was nothing special, but I am pleasantly surprised.
Sutton also has an odd habit of calling fly balls “well struck” when they’re not even close to going out of the yard. I remember that was Bob Starr’s signature call back in the day… and if he said a ball was “well struck” then you knew for sure Downing or Joyner or someone else was certainly taking a trip around the bags. Sutton’s gotta get rid of that or only save it for when the ball is truly going out.
I noticed that, too.
Not sure how smart this is, but I’m getting my second Covid shot on Monday and am seriously considering heading to Globe Life when the Angels visit later this month.
If you’ve gotten 2 shots and wear a mask I feel like you should be good. Opening Day at Globe Life obviously is a different story if you’re worried but I think I read they’ll either have distanced sections or go back to restricting attendance below 100% capacity after the opener.
The point of the vaccine is to live again. With some precautions, of course.
Go for it. I’d love to head out there. I’ll wait until I have the vaccine. Airplane concerns me.
Just started flying again over the past month. Delta did a very good job on keeping things safe. No drama from the other passengers. Traveled through Atlanta, looked to be maybe 60% of pre-pandemic crowds.
Atlanta? MLB says you need to stay away from that place
Just be careful. The variants are a concern. That said, if you have been vaccinated and get Covid, it’s unlikely to land you in the hospital. I think the recommendation to continue to space and be outside is a good one until they get a better handle on the variants and booster jabs are developed.
Based on my health profile if I get Covid now I’m incredibly unlikely to end up in the hospital. That said while I’ve long felt comfortable outside I still haven’t resumed boxing or spin class or anything indoors.
An airplane for three hours probably isn’t going to be the ice breaker.
Yep. It’s like getting back to 40% of life. Which is way better than it was.
CDC just said vaccinated folks can travel 2 weeks after their second shot but should still wear masks. That’s great news.
Definitely and we’ll all go about it a bit differently.
Glad people who really need it are getting vaccinated. Also glad my favorite things are all outside.
Here’s the CDC’s recommendations for vaccinated people: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
Unless you are 85 years old I think if you got no shots at all and didn’t wear a mask, pants, or a shirt you’d have a 99.995% chance of being totally fine. Even if you’re 85 you’d bump that risk up to only 99.95%. But who’s willing to take those odds when there’s a chance you could catch a really bad cold?
On Miggy – I loved the hustle and being content with a double. So many players are showboating when they hit the ball (and someone with his pedigree (MVP controversy aside) he might even have the right), but there he goes, running all out hoping for a double. That is good to see. Miggy (and even Pujols) playing well is good for the sport, especially combined by good play from Tatis and Luis Robert – baseball needs excitement (old-fashioned, good play, style).
You are right Jeff, the opposing coach shouldn’t run on that kid. Did you see his arm? He had him dead to rights. Not likely someone tries that again soon.
Well played.
That has to be the best video of the year, so far. Love that kid!