Shohei Ohtani repeats as American League Player of the Month. Meanwhile, Raisel Iglesias is the American League Reliever of the Month.
Jo Adell came up with Chris Rodriguez. He was scratched from the lineup card just before the game. Chris Rodriguez got the start.
Sam Selman was added to the Angels’ active roster on Saturday for what that’s worth.
The news remains bad about Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout, although the outlook for Jared Walsh and Shohei Ohtani is much better.
Bleacher Report thinks the Angels are going to be able to get Kevin Gausman this coming off season. He’s another splitter guy, although presumably a lot more expensive than Alex Cobb.
Links From Around Baseball
Japan beat the United States in the quarterfinals of Olympic Baseball. The United States now faces an elimination game against the winner of the game between Israel and the Dominican Republic.
More death threats are being leveled against a relief pitcher and his family over a blown lead in a baseball game. People are completely out of control.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is back on the disabled list. It’s his shoulder again.
Tyler Glasnow, of the Rays, will be having Tommy John surgery next week.
Josh Hader is now on the Brewers’ COVID list.
Waiver Wire Claims
The Mariners claimed Marcus Wilson from the Red Sox.
The Rangers claimed DJ Peters from the Dodgers.
The Mets claim Jake Reed from the Rays.
The Astros claim Jacob Wilson from the Athletics.
The Pirates claim Anthony Banda from the Mets.
The Tigers claim Nivaldo Rodriguez from the Astros.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Well. Matt Shoemaker is available. Anyone still beating that drum?
Probably better than Slegers.
2002 maybe ???
What’s our rotation? Detmers is now the ace, I think, unless it’s CRod. Ohtani, if he’s really going to pitch. Suarez, Barria.
We might as well have the kids pitch. If we were talking about replacing Quintana then there might be a discussion.
Detmers is ‘now’ the ace? Sarcasm? Sandoval is our current ‘ace’, at least for the rest of the week.
Zero expectations from here on out. Let’s see what the kids have to offer.
16th rd 2011 MLB Draft by the Chicago WS 😫 😥
who is this? Mark McGwire?
American League leader in wins ( beat Reid Detmers on Sunday 11-3 record ).
Wins??? Lmao
I’m still drawing a blank
Chris Bassitt….you know, the guy that slipped to 16th round 10 years ago.
That figured things out finally…..the Angels should have known this.
As well as all the other teams that did not take him, lol.
This guy beat us Sunday
https://www.mlb.com/player/daulton-jefferies-641726
You need serious therapy.
Walt Weiss?
no silly Eppler looked like WW, LOL!!!
The type the Angels don’t typically develop after they draft. The fact he was a 16th rounder shows that every single club passed on him a minimum of 15 times. To say you had the foresight to see his breakout this year would be silly.
Those ears….clearly a Ferengi
That’s Taylor Ward!
So you’re saying you had him on your board before the the 16th round? Hindsight drills are dumb.
Fasten the seatbelt. 2002 has hundreds of these……
No, I’m saying that A*te was OK with these guys working as scouts and coaches in our system. As long as they were cheap. 2010-2020 hopefully Perry’s doing something about it. Bottom line it ain’t happening overnight or in one season.
So every other team was equally idiotic when they passed on him at least a dozen or more times? Your schtick is weird.
And why does this mob keep bashing the field skipper?
We’ve been though this for 4 years ( Scioscia, Ausmas and now Maddon ).
I don’t think I’ve criticized any of these field managers including Scioscia more than 5 times. I put my criticism where it’s deserved ( at the top of the food chain owner & GM and then the farm system director, same reason why CEO’s who suck are voted out by a committee or bad generals are relieved of their command…….whether by Apple or by the US Army in WW2 and both John Scully lll and Lloyd Fredendall got sacked for being lousy leaders ). Wars are usually won with superior training, preparation, and strategy.
This is totally true. The issue everyone has is that NOT drafting a hindsight All-Star in the later rounds isn’t an example of this. Years and years of NO 1st round pick to sign FAs, THEN not spending on scouting to nail good players in rounds 2 and 3? That’s an example of what you’re talking about.
Ding ding ding.
Process matters. Results matter too, but results based analysis is not very helpful.
You dip shit I’ve been bashing Angel field managers since Bobby Winkles was the manager back in1973. Hell Gene Mauch was the poster child of getting criticized. In his second stint at the helm he was so worried about getting booed at home games he’d send out the pitching coach (Marcel Lachemann) to make the pitching changes.
So please take your paper asshole pontifications somewhere else.
The minor league home run leader!
That’s Annie’s boyfriend…..I wonder if the Angels have an Annie that works with our players…….maybe she should be fired
[insert Angela GIF here]
We aren’t mathematically eliminated yet, but I’m giving up now. The news of trout and rendon was the icing on the cake. Those 2 won’t be back until april 2022. It’s frustrating being a fan of this team.
watch these two instead…..
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1422341867891351552?s=20
Let the Kids Play!
Forest Gump and Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue?
Someone asked if Marsh is Gump does that mean Adell is Bubba when Marsh got called up
If the meme fits…..
I find it odd he’s carrying Adell across the threshold – not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Marsh is Jesus, carry Adell through troubled times. All of those Strikeouts
It’s in the tea leads
I threw the towel in on this year a couple of weeks ago. But unlike so many other fruitless Angels years this one actually has some intrigue as youngsters are being given the chance to make next year’s squad.
I actually do hope they can still find a way to battle and get to .500
Rec for use of “Elf” meme.
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1422642642131865606?s=20
Selman on the roster is worth less than zero.
Trout and Rendon are nursing muscle injuries, neither has had surgery, and neither have broken bones. They should be traveling with the team and making contributions in the development of team.
Bleacher Report is full of crap.
Have a great day!
Very little info on Rendon.
I found this little nugget (if you want to call it that) on mlb.com:
So, what else is new?
Sounds pretty bad if he’s not able to take any strides or even one next step.
Why is Selman worth less than zero?
Because Sell-man! 🙁
IMHO – he’s an organizational arm, he’s not someone we build around
That…doesn’t mean he’s worth less than zero?
Fair point.
You need to build around one of three players we got for an aging relief pitcher we got for little money a week before the season?
Who did you expect to get for Watson – Scherzer and Trea Turner?
How did you know? That was exactly the return I expected from Watson: Scherzer, Trea Turner and Tina Turner.
At 81, Can she pitch?
Absolutely. Her spin rate on all pitches is off the charts.
Remember…we need hitters now.
Can she hit? Is Ike still alive, he’d know.
She’s had a lot of hits in the past…
She has decent pitch under the Thunder Dome.
Prediction: Ohtani will not three-peat as American League Player of the Month.
I suspect he’ll be sitting alot of games in August (between pitching starts).
dang. It’s August 3rd. That means two games have been played in August. My prediction: Ohtani will end August with 45 HRs. That might not be enough to get player of the month, even with a few pitching Ws but it’s still going to be fun watching it happen.
Holy shit, did not realize Rendon’s contract was 7/245… 5 more years of this with him?I tried looking for the CtPG post about signing him but looks like it wasn’t around yet so I found the post on HH (with 610 replies) and it was generally favorable. Lots of funny replies though about go and get pitching now (then). A lot of playoff expectations/hope that day.
I said I just hope he doesn’t turn into a Freese 2.0. And, well,,,
And for you added pleasure Rendon’s contract was totally backloaded. After this year, its a 5 year/195 million extravaganza with next year being a whopping $36.6 million. Couple that with Trout’s $37.1 million and J Up’s $28 big ones thats over $101 million for 3 players. Arte claims that he doesn’t just go by the CBT threshhold that he has some internal annual budget amount. So even with Grandpa coming off the books, known increases to Ohtani & Fletcher and the big 3 will eat up most of Grandpas 2022 salary savings. It makes you wonder what we will be doing at shortstop next year fer sure.
no problem at short. We can wait until one is released in late March, then swoop in and sign him.
Thanks for pointing this out. Most people are saying with Pujols off the books the Angels can sign some serious free agents.
Not the way Rendon’s contract is structured. It is essentially a lateral move. Fortunately 2022 is the last year of Upton.
We desperately need a couple of cost controlled starters to emerge, hopefully some bullpen pieces. That’s why I’m happy the kids are getting to play the rest of the way this year.
Really, the money Perry will have will come from Bundy, Quintana, Cobb, Heaney, the two Iglesias, Suzuki, and Cisheck. Pretty save to say Sandoval and another kid will take over for Bundy and Quintana, saving $13 million. But we’ll need to replace all these guys otherwise.
Isn’t threshold AAV, not actuals?
Yes, but we think Arte caps actual payroll.
Certain Arte looks at actual payroll rather than AAV. Which makes sense as a business owner in a lot of ways. But it sucks as a fan.
Rendon’s AAV won’t double this off season but his actual payroll number will.
With Gpa coming off the books, our CBT number will actually go down next year despite the big numbers. Its unknown how the new CBA will impact those calculations, but if Arte does his own internal budgeting , Other than paying a tax/penalty, I’m not sure how relevant the CBT really is to him.
Re : Gausman
Of course if we got him next year he would be another in a long list of Buttercups.
Not surprisingly he is having a career year in SF. He has career lows in FIP and WHIP. We could expect that with us he’d regress to his career mean and probably have a FIP around 4.00 and we would not see anything like the 3.09 (2020) or the 3.01 (2021) that he has put up for the Giants.
Winning culture and environment will do that.
He’s also regressed heavily since the sticky stuff ban, IIRC.
I usually avoid succumbing to hate but Angels baseball has been bad enough that my biggest interest will be at Chavez Ravine.
Looking forward to seeing the other team destroy the cheaters. No mercy and please don’t allow cheaters anything which MFY failed to do.
Sorry, but I hate the Dodgers more than I hate the Astros.
And it really is not close. I will not be rooting for the Doyers in this series.
Oh of course there’s that.
Have seen sincere hate in that direction but must confess that
I had no idea which you hate more.
Everyone should do anything they can to screw the Dodgers (who probably also cheat) and their fans. Also, f*** the Lakers, I mean Yankees…. I get them mixed up. B-List and small market teams all the way baby!
Angels, small market, or am I confused that this is another non committal comment that you will try to wiggle out of?
Nah. Angels are B-List…. like the Mets. It’s fine with me.
Clippers should B on that list…
the Portland Trailblazers say “hi”
It’s wanting to watch good baseball and hearing good announcers that drive me to that Spectrum of the universe.
But I never root for no team but the Halos
Root against teams as much as I root for mine.
Screw them both. Screw Houston who definitely cheated and their bandwagon, ass hat fans. Screw the doyers who almost certainly cheat and their front running, know Jack shit about baseball history fans.
I’m hoping the ground opens up and swallows both teams tonight.
Jeff, my ancestors were swallowed up by an angry volcano when they failed to supply it with a human sacrifice and copious amounts of Sunkist soda.
Be better Jeff.
Were your ancestors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan?
No. 2013 26th Round pick in the MLB draft. Could have been ours! Oh no! Fondue Trend = 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪 hee hee! Lickity poo I covered in goo! Eppler can’t hop like a frog!
Career cut short with chronic hemorrhoids.
And don’t forget 2013 all of our scouting focused on signing Baldoquin. So we missed on Abe.
Do you have Brain Cloud or something, Wally?
Just a movie called Joe vs the Volcano
I will be rooting for the Giant Meteor.
Ha ha. Yes, take them both out at the same time !
I did that during the Bosux-Doyers world series too.
For me that was the nightmare scenario: the two teams I hate the most in the World Series, which meant of course that one had to win !
Only Series in my lifetime I didn’t watch. I caught a few innings in that crazy extra innings affair and that was it.
how did your knees hold up?
Hey not too giant . Some of us have family that live near that shithole.
OK, How about Moderately Sized Meteor?
Just don’t let it be that old master(Alb…. Puj…) who strikes.
Yup, basically this. Dodgers have a lot of likeable players! Hope they beat the Astros as long as it’s not Pujols who does the damage.
Poo-holes update:
He is still hitting substantially better with the Dodgers (110+ OPS) than he has with the Angels since 2017. He has appeared in 52 games with the Dodgers but started only 31 times, so he is being utilized as a pinch hitter/1B sub in almost half of his games.
He’s hitting .311/.349/.602 against LHP and .182/.237/.281 RHP this season, so his greater success with the Dodgers (.268/.311/.464) is almost certainly entirely related to increased at-bats against left-handed pitchers.
He’s probably getting more playing time with the Dodgers than he would as a role player with the Angels, but it is still infuriating that he complained about potentially being restricted to a limited role with the Angels only to gladly accept a limited role with another team.
That’s what bugs me. Also that he’s likely older than he says. Also that we’re paying his salary.
We may hate the guy, but you have to admit he’s gotten the last laugh thus far.
Only reason Pujols has gotten any starts is due to Dodgers injuries. Once they’re fully healthy I expect Pujols to be a PH in the vast majority of games.
Be prepared to see at least a couple late inning clutch hits by Pujols in the postseason. I’m getting ready so I’m not as mad when it happens.
Kind of like choosing between anthrax and bubonic plague.
Ah yes, I had the Ebola.
I’m old school. None of these newfangled tropical viruses for me!
The Trout and Rendon thing really confuses me and, I must admit, pisses me off a bit. Over $600 million is committed to these players and I just don’t see the fire to get healthy and return. I realize I’m looking at the issue through “fans” eyes but with so little information provided it’s easy to let the mind wander. For example, what is Rendon’s diagnosis? His status? What is he doing to get better? What discomfort is Trout having? What therapy is he receiving? What is his status?
Neither are traveling with the team – why?
Maybe a message to the fans once in a while?
The lack of transparency can make it very easy to perceive that these players are collecting their money and not really caring.
I’m pretty sure Trout would like to do two things: win a WS and obtain stats proving he is the GOAT. At this point in the season, the first isn’t going to happen, but I’m pretty sure he would rather be on the field padding his stats than not playing.
Trout’s injury is career threatening. I know because I had a calf strain about 7 years ago. To this day there is a visible difference in my calf muscles and I sometimes can’t run because I feel it about to tear again.
If Trout comes back too early and makes it worse or tears something else, he could lose the ability to play any position other than DH and could lose his leg power, making him worthless as a DH. It is far better for him to miss the rest of the season than to come back too soon just to appease fans.
Ooooorrrrr…. he and Rendon are soft, he’s just collecting money and the team is hiding it from us because Arte is a narcissist. Arte doesn’t care about winning, just butts in seats, and he knows thousands more fans will attend a game if they aren’t sure how long a star player will be on the IL. This is the most likely scenario. I lay the fact that calf strains, turf toe and busted knee caps take forever to heal squarely at Arte’s feet.
Where did you get this from the OP’s comment?
Sounds like he is being sympathetic towards Mike Trout’s injury, and not once did I read Mr. Moreno’s name.
RE-LAX
Hy Per Bowl Eeee
It’s all Andrew’s fault.
We’ve been totally on to him for years. Thank Gah that guy on HH revealed the Angel’s private Q-ANON info to us! Now those of us who know know…. you know?
I know.
So ANDREW is the guy who keeps Trout and Rendon from doing more rehab?
Point of my post is that we, as fans, should be given more information. We get essentially none which is frustrating.
That I won’t argue with.
Your personal experience with a calf strain really has no relationship to Trout’s.
There are all sorts of degrees of strains. I also had a partial tear that spontaneously popped as I was running the bases – I’d estimate about a third) of my medial gastrocnemius (fancy words for the fat part of the calf). I had to wear a boot for 1-2 months and was on crutches for another month or so. Maybe out 3-4 months before able to return to the basepaths. But the recovery was 100%.
So, in short, if you don’t hear anything from the Angels PR operation (who notoriously gives out little information), your take away is that the players don’t care?
Do you know any professional athlete that would rather just sit around than play the game? It takes immense fire to play at an elite level.
Josh Hamilton? Okay, he is the exception that proves the rule.
Unless your name is Kendry’s, your rehab trainer is your cousin, and little chocolate donuts are a big part of your training diet.
Again – the point of my post was that it’s easier for ones mind to go there without transparency from the organization. I thought I was clear on this but, if not, that’s what I was saying.
I get you. But considering how unreliable information from this organization is, I’m fine with silence.
Consider that Maddon has directly stated all of Upton, Rendon, Fowler, and Walsh were dealing with minor things that shouldn’t keep them out more than a couple of days and you realize just how worthless official information is here.
THAT’S the only thing I’d change. “It’s been an hour since the injury happened and I’ve been managing a baseball game for all of that, but I DO wear glasses and read hipster books, so I’m pretty close to being a doctor. Now let me tell you that this injury isn’t anything to worry about….”
I wish he’d be a little more “football” about it and just mumble that we won’t know how a hurt player looks till he tries to practice in a couple days.
I get that, but really your mind shouldn’t go there. You have watched Trout for how long now, how he plays, how he goes all out, all the time – and then decide he just wants to sit at home? It doesn’t fit.
Maybe you know lots of lazy people, but it doesn’t match with these guys – not as I have watched them play. If anything Rendon has been coming back too early, not phoning it in.
Very well said Fan. And I share your frustration.
We do know a little bit more about Trout. He did of course travel with the team to Oakland, but then he had that setback (if we want to call it that) where “felt something” in his calf. At least with him I understand and get the anxiety about the proximity of calf to achilles tendon and the frequent relationship between calf injuries and achilles tendon injuries…
Mike is a sports fan so he certainly saw and was aware of what happened to Kevin Durant and how his torn achilles was preceded by a seemingly small calf injury etc..Kevin Durant: What really caused his Achilles tear with Warriors? (clutchpoints.com)
So, at least with Mike I think one could justify this extreme caution. But Rendon? Things have been mysteriously silent with and about him. Like you I want to know more. And I agree that the “vibe” there is not good. I don’t sense a burning desire to get back.
I don’t want to ascribe motivations (or lack thereof) to a player and person I don’t know, but when it is a veteran coming off freshly signing a big contract and a recent Championship it is easy for a fanbase to think the worst, especially a franchise like ours that have seen more than our fair share of less than highly motivated high-paid FA’s come our way in the 2nd half of their careers; Josh Hamilton etc..Vernon Wells was of course a trade but he was also a high paid dud.
Your last paragraph is gold. I have to constantly remind myself to not judge the Renon through the lens of so many other bad veteran signings. I’m frustrated with his situation, but I have to be careful to not misjudge him based off of what’s happened with other players.
I am pretty sure he just needs a little off season arthroscopic surgery on that knee he thrashed.
**to not judge Rendon…
Don’t know how I botched that sentence so badly
What’s a bummer is, just based on Maddon’s vague comment, it sounds like Rendon’s not exactly enjoying being on the IL.
Exactly! Without any transparency it’s easy to go ‘there’.
But most extremely importantly, given that this is a person’s medical information, what right do you have to any of this? Most teams are as vague about this stuff as the CBA requires and most players aren’t gonna want to play for a team that blabs about their injuries just to keep nosey fans from questioning their “fire”.
Though, it is of note, when a player is really really lagging on purpose, a lot of the time the team finds a back handed way of expressing that. Still, that is almost always a player that has screwed the pooch so much that most other players aren’t going to hold it against the team when they do that.
You’re right. I have no legal right to the info. But with two star players earning around $70 million between them this season, there is a PR and optic aspect that I believe should result in some transparency. It’s frustrating for the fans so being kept somewhat apprised would be good public relations. Without it…..a mind can easily wander.
Yes. But with a CBA, and more importantly with HIPPA, not to mention the fact that injuries are fickle, it doesn’t matter how bad you want it, or if they make $17 an hour, you can’t have much more than vague guesses mumbled by our manager.
Besides, this is CtPG. As soon as they ever get “transparent” and declare the specific injury to a specific spot with all the severity info and treatment being done, then set a hard return date, everyone will shit themselves and some douche pile will collectively declare the Angels as medically criminal because THEY know what’s up, THEIR wife made them watch all the Grey’s Anatomy PLUS they knew a doctor once. Especially if that date gets missed. You’d be unhappy.
The way people are on internet boards like this, if they asked me to get specific about the color of the sky I’d say it’s specifically a light shade of fuck off. What actual benefit is there for the team or player in being “transparent”?
The question is, “Are the Angels a Covered Entity per HIPAA?”
Given that they have a team doctor, I’d probably say yes, they are.
Also, given that I’ve never seen any other team be all that “transparent” makes me suspect that they can’t be…. not without troubles.
Addiction
Honest question, because I don’t go looking at other teams’ issues unless they fall in my lap.
Do the other, any, organizations release more detailed reports about their players? I know the NFL, and NBA seem to be pretty vague, hush-hush, about what is going on quite a bit. What about the MLB? Are there rules forcing them to say more?
They purposefully lie in hockey so goons from other teams don’t target the injured region.
Yes. Had not read your comment when I wrote mine Charles, but you are right. The NHL is very similar to the NFL in this manner.
‘Upper body injury” isn’t specific enough for you?
For real, hockey players are probably the toughest athletes out there. They beat the crap out of each other every game and play as many as the NBA floppers do. No wonder it seems like half of them head to surgery at the end of their years.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=SEO—-&v=2003129129909675
Ha! NSFW warning! This video contains an F-bomb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lquU3KgFTs
Woah! That’s right. It shows when I’m logged in. I guess that’s my one for August.
I think it depends on the way their PR department handles things. Maybe the Angels are more interested in selling tickets to future games, so they do not want to reveal the realities of the injuries to these two highly paid star athletes. Again – that is speculation that occurs because of the lack of transparency. That is my frustration.
In the NFL in particular I know most teams are pretty vague about their injury reports. Each team is required to submit a full report each week, however, they are only required to list status as “probable”, “questionable,” or “doubtful.”
The reason for this in the NFL is pretty clear. Being a full contact sport if the opposition knew the specifics of injuries they would in many cases target those injuries. So there fans often don’t know much. Of course in baseball it would be hard for opponents to “target” injuries so there would be no real reason for an organization to not share the info with the fanbase. I will say I am not sure what language would be in the CBA about HIPPAA and injury info. Certainly the team itself would have to contractually have access to all relevant medical info or info that would effect his ability to play (I imagine even if a player goes to a doctor other than the team physician that he would be required to share diagnosis, prognosis etc ).
I am not a lawyer but would imagine that any injury sustained in play or in service of the club (training etc) would fall under this. Perhaps someone with a legal background could share details.
I am not asking for medical records. I would think there would be a way to keep the fan base up to speed without sharing the intimate details. For example, maybe they tell us now that it is unlikely Trout will return for the season rather than keep us guessing. Maybe something about how hard he is working abd how disappointed he is to probably not be able to play the rest of the season. Maybe something about how he is working hard to come back at 100% next year.
If I were Trout, and I hadn’t agreed to shut it down for the season (something I’m sure would make the news) and the team blabbed about my maybe writing off the last months, etc I would be PISSED.
In the case of Rendon I would agree. We have heard nothing to speak of.
Disagree on Trout though. We have actually heard and seen quite a bit with him, including video of him running the bases in Oakland and first person reports etc..
The NFL injured lists are purposefully misleading even. Keeps apposing teams guessing as to roster strength.
The Trout and Rendon situation confuses me too.
My guess is they’ve decided to rest both of our heroes until next season. Not only let them heal, but to save a few miles on the old treads at the same time.
These two are married to the Angels for basically the rest of their careers, so their future is more valuable than this year, particularly.
Also it’s another opportunity to let Marsh and now Adell get ready for their future potential roles.
We’ll probably see these guys (Trout/Rendon) make appearances later in the season in limited “rehab” appearances but not full time.
They’re professional athletes that want their body to be in a position to avoid re-injury before they come back. I’m good with that. Just because you aren’t getting info you want at the time you want it in no way means they are intentionally being lazy and just want to chill to collect their checks. To even assume that is just ridiculous and pretty disrespectful. You think Artie isn’t getting updates on his two priciest players’ health? And you think Arte would be cool if the dr told Arte that Trout is healthy and should be able to play just fine but seems to just not want to? Give these athletes some credit, they’ve lived and breathed this game for 90% of their lives and care about their legacies. Honestly this just seems like something a spoiled fan pulling a Varuca Salt “I want a golden injury update now daddy!”
I think I sorta split the difference between Fansince1971 and the other responses here. Nobody needs to commit a HIPPA violation, just give clear and consistent basic picture of what’s going on. Also strongly agree with JackFrost’s last paragraph above. It’s a matter of perception and frustration built up with this franchise over the past…decade or so thanks to other much more questionable players than Trout and Rendon.
We all have to have had frustrated thoughts like Fansince1971 this summer in one form or another. For me it comes from wanting to see this team succeed and getting screwed out of the opportunity yet again. We all invest far more time than normal people into this sport and franchise as evidenced by posting here, yet it’s like going to a show and half the bands on the bill are out indefinitely for vaguely defined reasons with few or no updates.
I have to think this affects the players themselves too unless they’re getting better info. I certainly hope they are because it has to be frustrating on some level to be David Fletcher or Shohei Ohtani carrying all this weight on your shoulders wondering when help is coming. I believe guys like Mayfield and Gosselin are trying their best, but should they be frontmanning the band indefinitely or are they really just touring guitarists meant to play backing parts here and there?
I don’t think Trout or Rendon are lazy or bad people at all, but the team’s really botched the PR on this, and in showbusiness, which sports are a form of, that’s kind of a big deal. Trout they at least made the basic situation clear in the beginning and there were multiple articles and segments detailing how serious and lingering calf injuries can be. Rendon…I don’t know that I’ve heard a clear, basic explanation of what his latest issue is until that OCR article linked above. How hard is it to say, “strained x muscle, 4 weeks minimum” and then add or subtract as that time nears? Instead it’s weeks past the initial estimate for Trout (did we even get one for Rendon?) and they’re basically being coy. We don’t need a copy of their medical records, just ask the trainer for a new estimate and put it out there. Simple as that.
I’ll just say again: it’s frustrating for fans who want to see and support the high art that is baseball, and probably for their teammates too, who are trying to perform for each other and for us.
Fair enough, I’m fine discussing displeasure regarding the team being vague with injury info. It’s when the players heart and commitment come into question where I roll my eyes.
The only problem is, most of us will not like the honest answer either.
Trainer – “We don’t know when they’ll be back. When shit doesn’t hurt anymore and their range of motion isn’t impeded. Could be days, could be weeks. We will know when we know.”
CtPG – Sets hair on fire. Desperately searching for someone to blame, declares GM a moron. Trots out some tired internet memes from 2011. Questions various people’s heart and grit and sack and what ever. Lays it squarely at Arte’s feet. Same as if no one said anything.
Who benefits from transparency in this case?
I think it’s obvious who benefits, Chris Basset. He’s got 11 wins FFS
This is exactly right. One can’t put a fixed timeline on a return from injury. We might thing ‘calf strain, grade 3, 6-8 weeks’, but those are averages and no specific injury fits exactly. He will be back when he isn’t risking injury, when he feels he can play all out, like he always does. That is the timeline, however hard that is for others to process.
Totally understand, but an organization like the Angels can still communicate the change in timeline in a professional manner. Six to eight weeks was the initial estimate. You can ask the training staff for an updated estimate. Doesn’t need to be totally accurate, can just be sort of a guess, can change again if needed, but it’s a lot better than being overdue and basically shrugging their shoulders like they are now.
Most of us won’t like it in the sense that a key player is out for at least (fill in the blank), but the clear communication and at least some sense of when they’ll be back goes a long way to keeping fans invested.
It’s just basic PR and stakeholder communications, something I deal with weekly as part of my job. If we don’t communicate clearly with the Hill or with contractors about schedule issues for example, things don’t get delivered properly and/or our budgets get impacted. Plus it creates bad faith for future business, especially if it’s something the trade press runs away with. For the Angels, the stakeholders are mainly fans…I guess media too and they’re not giving much of a reason to stay invested in the team. In fact, they’re kind of giving off an image of incompetence or even a little dishonesty (your earlier comment about Maddon needing to shut up when he doesn’t know is a good example).
In the end, the Angels would benefit from having a better image with fans than they do now on this front. And that may translate into more dollars going their way, for one example, or at least fewer questions and articles that make them look lost.
This post is short and sweet, hitting all the key requirements.
Pretty much the exact opposite of the Angels’ season.
Right now the Angels’ season is just plain not hitting. At least we didn’t have to watch Heaney give up four homers in an Angels uniform. There’s that.
Hitters gonna hit. Non hitters are just going to suck.
Yep. Don’t want to wish him ill, but I have to admit that it certainly would have bothered me if Heaney got to New York and immediately threw 7 shoutout innings in his first start or something like that…
At least now I feel confirmation in my view that we made a good trade, which we undoubtedly did.
Thanks, though. At times I wonder if I should type more editorial content into the links but I’m really just trying to let the links speak for themselves.
The links are great. Perfectly informative 🙂
You’re no Stirrups 😉
We you you got to Stir Up shit?
He may stir up shit, but he’s no Designatedforassignment. That dude is the most rec’d ever on AN.
He’s a legend