Good morning Angels fans, how wet are you today? It RAINED yesterday! Is that even legal? Have some links as you dry off.
News
Angels signed an OF to a MiLB deal with a spring training invite? Wait, does that mean ST is going to happen? Maybe?
There is some confidence that this will not result in lost games. If the Verlander deal getting done is any indication, this means that the two sides are indeed closer to a deal than we think.
MLB owners seem to have forgotten that they always lose when they lockout the players. Hopefully this means that they remember and this doesn’t happen again.
Could MLB return to Montreal? One guy is trying to make it happen.
The future of announcers? Someone made an AI to call a game.
In case you missed it, Jeff has made his own plan for a new CBA. He would be a much better MLB commish than Manfred.
The old CBA wasn’t an all equal one, as some teams had some specific provisions due to location. A’s get no revenue sharing, ha!
Cam Bedrosian was signed by the Phillies to a MiLB deal, with an invite to Spring Training. That seems like a bad idea. Sure, the Phillies need bullpen help, but Subsoil?
If you have the Athletic, Sam tries to piece together what other moves could happen for the Angels when Baseball comes back. Mike Trout CF yay or nay?
Jeff got Trey Cabbage to talk. Make sure you go back and read that, there isn’t much new news lately.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
Erp Nerp! The MLBPA and owners won’t have serious economic discussions until they’ve all flown first class to visit family and opened their 24 caret diamond cell phone cases and solid gold He Man statuettes, then safely arrived home swaddled in their Siberian tiger skin ponchos so they can finally focus on saving pitchers with 4.20 ERAs grandchildren from ever having to work a day in their lives while the owner’s grandkids hunt plebes in their private game forest.
Who saw that coming?
just now seeing the Hall of Fame balloting. Very early. The only ones over 75% are Bonds, Clemens and Ortiz. What do they all have in common? That’s right! Pure @#$%$^ski with zero votes.
http://www.bbhoftracker.com/2021/12/2022-bbhof-tracker-summary-and-leaderboard/
I think it’s gonna be a little weird if the HOF let’s in a bunch of “very good” like Oliva and then has Bonds and Clemens, arguably the two most dominant players of an era, out. Bonds, Clemens, Palmiero, Ortiz, Petite, McGwire… they are all likely getting in at some point. Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez are already in. I don’t think it’s that big a deal. It’s not like, sans steroids, these guys were Erle Combs or something. Besides, even after they make it in, the whole world knows they used the juice, and there will be plenty of stink fists out there for decades to come ready to rail and wail every time their name comes up. So they can be part of the ever flowing river of baseball history… and everyone will always know that that bend in the river flowed past a chemical plant, and that’s why everyone’s stats looked all crazy for a while there.
And then life went on.
We’re just starting to see newbie writers come along who are ambivalent on steroids are just voting on stats. I suspect Bonds and Clemens being on their final year on the ballot helps the focus attention as well. I’d prefer the Veterans Committee decide on the PED abusers and anyone who showed up on the Mitchell Report.
My Ultimate AI Announcer dream
Have Chick Hearn calling Laker games again
lakers.wav – Chick Hearn after a Laker game: “I don’t think, that the Lord and all of his disciples could have stopped the Lakers.”
offair.wav – Chick Hearn: “We gotta get off the air.”
You sound like a Jim Healy fan.
idid.wav – “Yeah I did.”
I got to meet Suns broadcaster Al McCoy at the Phoenix airport years ago- the guy in front of me said something to the gate agent and I recognized his voice. Got to shake his hand and told him he was my second favorite broadcaster only because I grew up in LA and worshipped Chick Hearn like a living god. He seriously laughed at that.
Chick Hearn was also great calling boxing. He was a pretty big fight fan, picked up on adjustments and subtleties and had his patented great delivery. He called Fight Night at The Forum for years.
He’ll forever be the voice of the Lakers, but I’d honestly put him in my top 3-5 all time favorite boxing commentators. He was really that good.
I remember a story about Chick… he had been calling a Laker game, and the Lakers were stinking up the Forum and he called them out on it.
Jack Kent Cooke called Chick up to his office, and complained about that. Chick just asked him, “Did you see tonight’s game?”
Yup.
Chick Hearn’s greatest accomplishment — hosting Bowling for Dollars.
Does anyone remember the first Laker’s line that Chick started after the regular home broadcast. I heard the first call, they had the dump button and 7 second delay, I believe back then, but it was kind of new to Chick. Chick took the first call and the guy says “Hey Chick, F you” then click. You could hear Chick all confused for the first time in his life but he didn’t hit the dump button so the wise ass got his call put out over the airwaves
Mine would be Dick Enberg / Don Drysdale in the Angel Booth
And the Rams booth, too!
My ass would be a better commish than ManBearFred
Yes, a donkey makes a great pet and smart Commish!
Exactly!!!! I mean, I am a Turtle, after all.
That donkey is living its best life right there.
Christmas List for GPB. At my age I’m well aware that this is just pretend and made up, but I need to state that for the serious types. But on the other handwell let’s just say I Believe.
A new Toyota Tacoma 4×4, but my wife says it won’t fit in your bag this year. But your elves can drive it and then park it in the driveway. Santa can leave the keys underneath the Christmas tree. Oh a white double cab 6 cyl would work just fine.
So second on the list would be a new Christmas Story that would be about Story playing SS for 5 years. A trade with the Guys dressed in Red for Gray or Castillo or both would be sweet as See’s Nuts and Chews. A couple back up Catchers who would go on to HoF careers. So whatta ya think Santa Baby?
Since there appears to be nothing new then you missed nuttin’ but buying that new Toyota Truck I asked Santa for, do you deliver.
While I dislike Manfred to the 10th degree and agree with you Jeff J. would be good at the position Jeff would serve well being top guy with the MLBPA. He would rip the owners a part with the facts (just the facts ma’am.).
While Cam has not done well in the past year as his Velo dropped a lot, I wish we would have signed him to a minor league deal just in case he returns to his old self. Now Seashells is a whole different deal. I have never seen as I recall another pitcher allow so many of other guys runners allowed to score, but his runners not scoring. I hope he has signed else where so that PTP does not get interested.
At 7226 feet in elevation 10 inches of new snow and easy to shovel. Channels 2 & 7 thought we would see 1 – 3 feet, instead we got rain, a lot of rain too. Being that we needed it, what a welcome sight. Wind gusts hitting 60 mph, now that was wild. Electric was out for a couple hours then restored.
Good luck with all that wild weather.
I’d never considered being the head of the MLBPA. That might make a fun article.
Yes, many of the facts are bad for the owners. But as a guy with business experience who grew up with a small business owner stepdad, I think I might get the players to try to understand some of the business side that they miss.
I genuinely think in all walks of life we have far more in common than separating us. Understanding that commonality and why we see some things differently is the key to progress.
I heartily endorse your search for consonances in preference to dissonances.
I was just over in Yucca Valley and there is a little dusting of snow on he peaks south of town. The mountains behind Rimrock and Pioneertown are covered. Beautiful but windy and chilly day.