LA Angels Thursday News Crash: Callaway Canned

Our top story today:  Mickey Callaway is now on the MLB ineligible list through at least the 2022 season.  That second link is from the official Angels site.

He is officially fired. “Interim” is therefore no longer called interim pitching coach.

Comic Relief Link:

Bill Shaikin wasted a bunch of words writing about how Shohei Ohtani might go to the Dodgers after his tenure with the Angels

Links From Around Baseball

 Joe West broke the record for how many Major League games he umpired.  He says he plans to retire at the end of the season.  Woo hoo!

David Dahl smashed his ribs trying to catch a Jared Walsh homer and he is now on the 10 day injured list. 

Marcell Ozuna dislocated a couple of fingers and he will therefore miss at least six weeks. 

Dee Strange-Gordon signed his third Minor League deal in less than a year.  This time it is with the Cubs. 

Corey Kluber will be getting an MRI for tightness in his pitching shoulder.

Noah Syndergaard lasted only one inning in his recent rehab game and will have an MRI on his right elbow

Fight Club

The South Bend Cubs brawled with the Fort Wayne TinCaps.  They still have several more games to play this week.  It might get worse.

Top photo credit: Rex Fregosi. The other two came from the Angels official site.

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Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago

The bus Ohtani was on got stuck in traffic, Sandoval goes tonight and Sho tomorrow.

He’s hitting tonight, at least.

steelgolf
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

There’s no traffic in California!

Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago
Reply to  steelgolf

No one drives in Oakland, there’s too much traffic.

JackFrost
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

What the hell? What do you mean “the bus he was on?” On the road the team travels together. Why would he be on a different bus from the other players??

This is very weird if you are not joking. If you are joking it is not at all funny since this is like a playoff game. This news is horrible. Tonight now becomes an automatic loss !!

Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago
Reply to  JackFrost

Likely two busses, i’d think.

JackFrost
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

Why did you take down the comment you posted about Shohei riding BART ??

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  JackFrost

There are at least a couple buses usually, often more than two…. one’s early, one later etc. I can’t think of a harsher test of this system than the late bus trying to cross the Bay Bridge and then go a few miles on the 880 after maybe 330 PM.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

and yet only the 2nd weirdest story of the day. Will Craig’s Brain Lapse still #1.

steelgolf
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

For those that know the Bay Area, it took my wife over 2 hrs to get from San Rafael to the 580/5 interchange. And this was at 1:30 today.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  Cowboy26

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Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago

As my dad says, any port in a storm. He’d fit right In with his numbers, lol.

red floyd
Legend
3 years ago

Three snaps in a Z-Formation!

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Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago

probably too early to mention this but Shane Bieber has a no-hitter going today. Through 5 now, 7 Ks, vs Detroit

2002heaven
Super Member
3 years ago

Yay!!!!
4th rd pick in 2016 MLB…….BTW who did we pick in rd 3? 😫 

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  2002heaven

I went to the ESPN list of 2016 draft picks, saw there was a link for Nonie Williams, clicked on it and it came back “page not found”. That’s about right.

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago

Nonie is No more.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

Nolan “Nonie” Williams (born May 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.

Williams was home-schooled,[1][2] but took one class at Turner High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in order to be eligible to play baseball for their team,[1][2] where he was Kansas Class 5A Player of the Year in 2015.[3] He reclassified to the college class of 2016 and accepted a baseball scholarship from Louisiana State University.[2][3] After the Los Angeles Angels selected him in the third round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, using the 96th overall pick,[1][2] he signed with the Angels for an above-slot bonus and began his professional career.[4]

Before the start of the 2017 season, MLB.com prospect analyst Jonathan Mayo ranked Williams as the 13th-best prospect in the Angels’ farm system.[5] He was released on June 5, 2020.

Williams is a switch hitter.[2]

h27kim
Trusted Member
3 years ago

Another “athlete” straight out of high school (well, technically)…..

AKA_rmhalofan
Member
3 years ago

Above slot bonus. <sigh>

FungoAle
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  2002heaven

Just goes to show how unpredictable the draft is. In the 1st and supplemental rounds (did not look at 2nd or 3rd) 35 pitchers were selected. None of those arms come within a whiff of Bieber.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago

HR in the 7th ends the no hitter.

H.T. Ennis
Admin
Super Member
Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

That is a first for me – never seen that before.

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

I thought it must be the low minors. Pittsburgh must be really terrible.

H.T. Ennis
Admin
Super Member
3 years ago

I thought the Angels were bad!

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

even worse, there were two outs (I just read) so all the 1B had to do to *end* the inning would be step on 1st. Yikes.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
3 years ago

Oh wow! Which means throwing the ball to the catcher was the dumbest thing to do. The run doesn’t count if the batter never reaches first safely.

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

Do you think El Mago can do the same thing against the Asstros after he’s fitted with his new Angel uniform next year?

steelgolf
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

Little League magic.

AKA_rmhalofan
Member
3 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

That is …. awesome!

Twebur
Legend
3 years ago

If Strange-Gordon were a pitcher. He’d definitely be an Angel.

red floyd
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Twebur

Well, it would definitely be strange…

Fansince1971
Legend
3 years ago

The Texas series really demonstrates the impact the difficulty-of-schedule has had on this team. Angels can play with the lower tier teams who struggle with pitching. But the elite teams, with their great pitching, have generally dominated. Angels have played a top-3 schedule in terms of difficulty and it does not get any easier in Oakland.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

That’s pretty much the definition of a .500 team – can’t beat the good teams but wins against the bad ones.

Does it really matter whether you play the Astros 9 times in the first two months or only 4? Eventually you have to play the Astros. I see your point to an extent. It’s tough to play the Rays, Dodgers, Astros back to back and then head off to Boston. That’s a lot of games in a row where you have to play your best.

On the other hand, in April the Angels got to face the Rangers, Astros, Rangers after getting 2 days rest from COVID cancellations. That’s the perfect chance to save your best for the Astros and steal an extra win. The Angels should have gone 6-4 over that stretch with a chance at 7-3. Instead, they went 4-6. They also dropped 2 games to the Royals and Seattle.

The only time the Angels have looked good was that first stretch when they went 6-3 against 3 teams that are all above .500 (combined 79-65). The rain issues in Toronto screwed them up and they’ve never recovered.

Fansince1971
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

I fully agree that’s the definition of a .500 or worse team. The next 4 games in Oakland will be the tale of the tape. Are the Angels starting to figure it out, or were the last two games just an indication of how bad the Rangers are?

My rational mind says the team scored runs against the Rangers bc the Rangers pitching sucks and Oakland will dominate due to their excellent pitching. But my fan- mind says maybe, just maybe, the Angels are starting to gel. Typically my rational mind is right.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

I fully agree this is a huge series. The Angels are coming off a 2 wins against Texas. The second was a day game so they could catch an early flight, and the flight to Oakland/SF is short. The A’s are coming off a losing series to a weak team (Seattle) and also had to catch a flight to return home. Thus, both teams are equally travel weary.

This is the chance for the Angels to make their bed. If they want to make the playoffs, they have to prove they can beat the teams in their division under circumstances like this series.

Fansince1971
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

Absolutely – because the Angels played poorly for most of May, this becomes a make-or-break series. Sweep or take 3 of 4 and the Angels are back in it. Get swept or lose 3 of 4 and the season is on the brink. Usually 4 game series in May don’t carry this import. But this one does because of how poorly the team played for most of May.

H.T. Ennis
Admin
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

Actually surprised that the game was early. I don’t think it had to be, according to time zone rules.

red floyd
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  H.T. Ennis

I think Arte decided to stop being a dick about getaway day games.

SC_Halo
Trusted Member
3 years ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

didn’t we have another good start a few years back then got the bad weather in KC?

Good take AAF!

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Fansince1971

And the Angels divisional foes have an inherent competitive advantage over us since they get play the Angels multiple times while we don’t (not officially of course)

eyespy
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

If the Angels did, they would go blind then get TJS to cure them.

GrandpaBaseball
Legend
3 years ago

Basitt pitches for the A’s tonight, which is not good as he beat us last week and he is their best starter in 2021. The A’s are a good team all right but they have a hard time pitching to Upton and Fletcher. I won’t be surprised to see JUp leading off again.

So tonight we will see Ohtani on the mound for us which is a good thing. Shohei had his fastball drop by 5 mph his last start but still he had 5 K’s in 4 1/3 inning. With their line up he has to be most careful with Olsen their best batter as he likes Angels pitching a lot.

If Shoehei was a 7 inning pitcher I’d like our chances, but he is not and that will bring in the BP early and that does not bode well for us as you know.

I think we have a chance at taking 3 out of 4 if our line up produces. Maddon and his crazy line ups are coming thru, but that was against Texas. Go Halos!

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago

And Oakland last Sunday

GrandpaBaseball
Legend
3 years ago

Bay Area here we come, do-dah, do-dah.

ihearhowie3.0
Super Member
3 years ago

Syndergaard getting hurt would be bad news for us in free agency.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
Reply to  ihearhowie3.0

His wife probably hates SoCal anyway…..

red floyd
Legend
3 years ago

Does she hang out with U-Haul’s wife?

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend

He’s Texan…. and he’s often injured…. so he’ll be the guy we finally land. Scherzer seems ageless but I’m not sure he leaves the NL or even the Nats. Other than him we get to go after gems like Stroman, Robbie Ray, Eduardo Rodriguez, Danny Duffy and Jon Gray…. all guys who could be good but also could be great to complain bitterly about.

Unless Syndergaard is all about the money, and we offer him a contract so big we probably shouldn’t be offering it, not sure why he’d leave NY though….. unless he’s secretly from the 1970s and dreams of living in Southern California. My secret belief is he goes to a team like the Braves.

Crap I hope we draft a boat load of pitchers this year.

Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago

The only way Ohtani goes to the NL is if they get the DH. He’s not gonna play RF every game he doesn’t start, look how fatigued he was last start.

He needs the DH.

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

And the NL will have the DH starting next year.

I guarantee it.

eyespy
Super Member
3 years ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

ManBearFred hasn’t brought it up, so it must be true.

Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

You’re gonna like the way it looks 😉

FungoAle
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  Mia

Can clearly see Ohtani examining his options. Eppler helped get him here and a team without a Japanese born player has a chance. I’m positive he wants to be seen as a winner back home.

Cowboy26
Legend
3 years ago
Reply to  FungoAle

Arte’s best bet is to buyout his last Arb year with a massive extension taking out a chunk of his ensuing Free Agent years. But because Shohei’s 1/2 of a pitcher, Arte will probably let him walk .

Mia
Legend
Mia
3 years ago
Reply to  FungoAle

People were positive of the same thing for Trouty

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  Mia

Yep. Trouts definitely out of here…. he’ll split time between the Yanks and Phils.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend

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