Anthony Rendon taking Sundays off might be an ongoing situation. Joe Maddon says it is because he is coming off surgery. It might simply be a stomach bug, though. Ryan Tepera returned to Houston after angering the Astros fan base last year by saying they were probably still stealing signs.
The Reds signed left hander Ross Detwiler to a minor league contract. They reported that Mike Minor is shutdown due to a setback in his recovery from Shoulder soreness. Meanwhile the Giants signed lefty Daniel Tillo. Jake Arrieta officially retired from baseball. Andrew Heaney is apparently good again, for the time being.
The Oakland Athletics just placed six players on the COVID IL. Sam Selman is one of the replacements that were called up.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is set to begin his rehab today.
Here is a really weird triple play brought to you by college baseball.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
The A & W Boys have been reunited.
https://twitter.com/LAAngelsPR/status/1516535850259009537
The “Salt Lake Roster Roulette Shuttle” is officially up and running it’s daily flights.
“Do or Do not. There is no Try.”
Signed Elizabeth Holmes
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1516541234927398922
Failed execution. Meanwhile the Astros pulled off two great bunts and pushed across a run.
The difference between success and failure at this level is so small.
Nobody will ever accuse Joe of beign obsessed with fundementals.
nerd alert: Do not sully Yoda by quoting him in the same sentence as that charlatan. /nerd alert
This diagram can’t be right. That’s because the community consensus here was that it was a bad play call by Maddon. And the people here know more than Joe and must be correct !
I blame Arte. How? who cares? Dig deep (or stretch a shit) enough and this was somehow his fault.
Nice – a doubleheader first game that plays the 8th and 9th innings…and it’s tied so it’s going to extras!
And then we get a ghost runner pffft
Once I heard the players were the ones that asked for it I kinda dropped my opposition to it…for this year.
Next year with no forced double headers it should be gone.
That was a fun game tho!
What I want to see is actual data on game length with the ghost runner. It seems to me like games are ending faster. And it obviously brings immediate drama.
I like both.
Still no Trout in the lineup. No Altuve, either.
What are we gonna do about him?
You know everything. Why don’t you tell us, instead?
Or maybe, we’ll just use our time machine to go back in time and draft him.
Throw a pitch at his hands. That seems to work for other teams that are sick of a particular guy fisting them on the reg.
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1516479575777107969?s=20&t=tcE0Q3rooXKOuRerjn7XSg
Billy’s draft classes of super athletes always seem to be super hurt.
Another of the JeDi’s treasures bites the dust Braves Designate Sean Newcomb For Assignment, Option Huascar Ynoa
Perry has had a good look at him, throws heat and he’s only 28 – maybe bring him home.
Others thinking the same,
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1516499146332536835?s=20&t=tcE0Q3rooXKOuRerjn7XSg
Newcomb is looking at a minors deal wherever he lands. Generally guys signing minors deals are primarily concerned with their path to major league money.
The Angels have a nice starting 6 but nothing behind it. Then there are teams like the Twins and White Sox who have more immediate needs.
The Oligarch is the real GM.
Something about Marsh concerns me and I ain’t disclosing a damm thing about it either.
Did you pick up this secret info at The Gathering?
Great trade by Billy Epps! Wasted no time in discarding this guy with Erick Aybar for an amazing 26-year old, pre-peak, shortstop, Simba. Worked out well and Sean never did turn into much. Lessons to be learned.
Tony Reagins should be a Chavez Latrine to assist with the dedication. Seems like the perfect sponsorship for that place.
https://sports.yahoo.com/padres-unveil-jersey-advertisement-dodger-181704701.html
Montreal Padres?
I sure hope Trout plays tonight. We have a tough enough time with Houston.
Yes, and Valdez who shut us down on Opening Night is pitching for Houston. We might not score more than two or three runs again.
Hmmm, a 5-2-3-3-2 triple play?
https://twitter.com/JPosnanski/status/1516437212275032076?s=20&t=IH2eei6bL3IDuPXTqHDq0Q
Every MLB writer likes the NL better because of pitchers hitting and the St Louis Cardinals as a model franchise.
You really are stuck back in 2002.
I wuz the one who suggested that MLB not let pitchers hit anymore and institute the tie just like other sports do. That 2019 game between the Angels and Orioles was just stupid (both losing teams WTF). How about MLB start caring more about the future of it’s game and stop hemorrhaging fans to the NFL and NBA. Chop off one inning (yeah maybe we cut down on injuries to pitchers) and we drop 30 games from the regular season and start the postseason after Labor Day while it’s still warm outside.
💪 💪 💪 🤘 👈
I’ll say it right now. I’m making a prediction. Mark this so that you can laugh at me at years end.
Rendon will have a 3+ WAR season this year. He is going to be just fine.
I predicted similarly for Duracell last year when this site was ready to throw him to the wolves after 15 games.
I wasn’t ready to through Iggy to the wolves. I was the first person who praised that trade and was the first person to say we should extend/resign him.
So it was you!
I want nothing more than for you to be correct.
Barely played last year, coming off surgery, didn’t get his normal # of spring ABs…
There is reason to be optimistic. We’ll see.
Don’t you realize there is no room for logical, reasoned responses. SCORCHED EARTH or else! 😂
And reasons to be pessimistic. Age 32, hard hit rate declining the last 4 years…
I’m just not ready to be pessimistic yet.
We’ll see.
Tony 2 Bags is notorious for a slow start.
40 doubles, 25 HR
he will be solid – no worries at 3B
I will save this point and hope you are right. I’d be surprised if he’s above 2 WAR.
What did you think of Marcus Semien last year. Ask CB26 who thought his career was headed to Japan.
Japan? He ain’t Mr Baseball.
Semien is still overrated. I’m kind of glad he’ll be the Rangers problem for the next 7 years now.
The Rangers are going to need to trade one of their infielders for some pitching help.
And we have Fletch who hits 2 hr’s a year at SS.
Tommy Edman already has 3 this year after just one week of baseball.
BTW Fletch has just 12 hr’s total in his whole 5 yr career and Edman is also a superior base stealer too (30 last year).
💪 💪 💪 ☝
Does Tommy Edman’s mouth taste like strawberries or something? Why are you so into that guy? Sure, he’s a solid player and he’s had a hot 11 games, but you keep bringing him up like he’s Joe Morgan. He’s barely a 100+ OPS+ guy.
Or is this just your crank brain going “David Fletcher not good lately >>>>> Huurrrr >>>>> Tommy Edman was on my TV last fall >>>>> duurrr >>>>> he was drafted >>>> duurrrdeee >>>>> he was not picked in the first round >>>>> POP! HISSS! >>>>> we should have drafted him because he was in the draft >>>>> eat paste >>>>> Oligarch.”
I say he’ll be on pace for 3.5 – 4.0 WAR per 162 games, but will only have 2.5 – 3.0 WAR because of number of games played.
Was Heaney ever good in the first place?
His best Angels’ season was 2.0 bWAR. 🥱
According to trAdition , He probably already has that now
Heaney would show flashes of being good. He’d have a couple of starts where we could dream. Then he’d have a couple starts where he was a nightmare. Then he’d get hurt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuTviZDhXEE
National League will come down to Dodgers-Giants in the end.
Game 7 of NLCS – Heaney (LA) v. Cobb (SF)
There is not enough tequila in the world to get that bad taste out of my mouth if that were to happen.
Cue 2002 with their photos (as if we hadn’t seen enough of Heaney already ..)
He was either very good or very bad, hardly ever between the two, or at least it always seemed like it. Pretty much every time he seemed to have figured it out, he’d always disappoint by blowing up big time. We’ll see if he has finally figured things out. (Personally, I always did wonder if it was a failure of Angela’s pitching coaches that was the matter, but I also figure there aren’t many coaches who could straighten him out for good, though ..)
In order for Rendon to even come close to his contract he needs to be sharp with his glove and of his power erodes, start hitting line drives. That would make him 4ish WAR player at least over the next 3 seasons. However I was watching his Nationals highlights during the WS in 2019, and I see a totally different, more athletic player. To me, his bat speed looks slow. Is it laziness or his hip injury? The defense is probably the easiest way we’ll know since it’s hard to hide lazy on the field. So far he’s been error prone.
I think he’s slowed down in the field and his bat does seem slow. I don’t think he’s lazy, but he does give off the GA vibe of laziness, which is irritating. It’s been a Pujolisan disaster of a signing so far.
At least Rendon still has his good smile going for him.
I wonder how Austin Riley is doing in Atlanta, we’ll find out since the World Champs are coming to the Ravine this week.
Lorenzen won’t win 20 games for us and yes I’d still lament the fact that we missed on the 2020 AL Cy Young winner who was born and raised in the Anaheim Stadium parking lot and we still missed on him. UNBELIEVABLE!!
but hey, broadcast teams and bullpens matter more, right?
😠 😠 😠 😢
Riley K’s a shit load, you’re right, he would have fit in nicely with us.
Dude, trust me, this poopdick didn’t bother looking Riley up before he typed that. Riley’s had a great 12 games. I guess we were supposed to draft him… along with Beiber?
You know, in the Great Revisionist Draft of TootyToo.
What does Lorenzen winning 20 games have to do with anything? Who knows? In fact, what does his comment have to do with the one he is replying to? F*** knows. TootyToo is a special special boy.
Rendone is an anchor around our necks. What was Arte thinking signing anyone coming off a career year? 35 mil per is more than Albert money or JUp money. We just got to live with it. He is not going to be someone who is able to produce in his 30’s.
Fatboy is just one of the most injury prone players of all time and I feel really bad for him. Just imagine the numbers he would have right now if not for the dings and dents.
Lorenzen is now a mystery man. Two starts and he is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Today we get Sandy on the mound, with the line up getting hits in bunch’s we will score a lot today for him. I like our chances.
One reason our fielding is not as sharp as Houston’s is because we have 3 players that play multiple positions and they do not drill everyday as long as they should at each spot. Duffy plays 1b, 2b, and 3b, Capt. Jack plays 2b, SS, 3b, and LF. Wade plays 2b, SS, 3b, OF. We missed a lot of Spring Training and that would have been a lot of Reps for these guys playing together.
Velcro made one heck of a play at SS last night going to his left stretched out and landing on his chest and belly and lickety splitley popping up and throwing to first. That was a Simba type play.
Umpires are a funny breed. Most take a lot of pride in what is their tough profession, others just coast as they boost about “Their Strike Zone”. But 11 games into this season we sure have seen some pathetic umpiring and calls. In last night’s game the plate umpire was not consistent with the high and low pitches. That just drives me crazy. When you miss the proper call, it sets up the catcher to change the pitch sequence and either the batter or base coach will know what is coming and signals the batter. So did that loose the game for us, no, but it did cost us runs.
Eleven games do not make a season and therefore I predict that this team will tighten up going forward and will start winning 2 out of 3 games. Though I do wish Joe would start allowing the players to get used to not worrying if they are going to play or not. Walsh needs to play everyday, so does Marsh and Wade and Fletcher upon returning. Twenty years ago Eck knew he would lead off and just knew he’d be in the line up. But this team will gel and then watch out and Kady bar the doors as the train will be rolling.
Have a great day today, and remember we will win tonight. 😀 😆 😃 😍 😃
I have been saying this about Rendon since the beginning, he’s the latest Moreno sunk cost.
I too am starting to get sick of Rendone.
You were saying it before others here, but the behavior is visible; laughing and smiling in the dugout on Opening Day after hitting into an excruciating double play that killed what might have been a game branding score in the bottom of the 1st.
His body language is just like somebody who is coasting; he got his ring, he got his huge contract (from Arte, who made it an ego thing and bragged about knowing of him early on having followed him during his days at Rice etc) and now he has come out to sunny California to retire with his money etc. Like so many before him he fits into the old Angels FA cliche. I think we could be talking about Rendone in a year or two the way that we talked about Pujols in the years during second half of his contract with us.
The body language I do agree gives off the IDGAF vibe and it is irriating. Compound that with his play, and here we are.
Same body language as Jimmy Edmonds . It’s just the way they play the game
Was the body language the same when he was with the Nationals?
Based upon my memories of the 2019 playoffs, yes.
Kinda have to disagree with that. He appeared much more locked in and focused in his AB’s with the Nats, particularly in the WS. To me he does not look the same at all other than his beard…
Totally agree. It is a bad vibe. I am not saying you have to be a loud guy or a rah, rah guy either. Not at all. I mean, Trout is a quiet guy, but there is a quiet intensity about him. There is a laser focus, both in the field and at the plate. Mike never gives away an AB and I have never had the feeling he was disinterested in the game. I get that feeling with Anthony alot. That I bring up for comparison sake.
You’ve taken the words out of my mouth, but have done so far more eloquently than I. If Captain Jack looked and acted like Rendon, he would be DFAed, but Rendon gets to cruise with that enormous contract.
Just to reiterate, Rendon is just the latest example of why it is absolutely insane to sign players to these long-term contracts. I don’t care who they are. Extend young players in the right circumstances – YES! Sign expensive free agents to contracts of more than 3 years – NO! I keep looking longingly at Tampa Bay, Oakland and San Francisco as examples of intelligent approaches to building competitive teams. Won’t be a popular take with this group but I see Jerry D implementing this approach in Seattle as well. I hope Perry and Arte are paying attention, and I believe they are.
I think David Wright might argue with you about ‘most injury prone player of all time’. Trouty will be fine.
Of course Trouty will be fine. Nobody said anything negative about Mike. In fact, I specifically mentioned him as the opposite of Rendone. Mike draws his motivation from within, not from external sources. He is a different kind of cat.
And I think Trout is one of maybe a handful of guys in MLB who have not changed their approach once they got the big contract. It takes a lot of discipline and internal drive to not at least subconsciously let up a bit. Guys like LeBron in the NBA or Mike Trout in MLB are driven to be great and the money they make really has no bearing on the effort they give night in and night out. But sadly, this is not the case for so many “normal” athletes.
I was referring to GrandpaBaseball:
I do agree with you about Mike’s approach, his love for the game, his work ethic, and his overall greatness (GOAT!).
Cool. Thanks for clarifying. I too think that Grandpa was waaaay off in that comment. But then Grandpa is way off about alot of things.
But he’s our Grandpa
TL:DR
I think this is true though: “Just imagine the numbers he would have right now if not for the dings and dents.”
Okay, so whatever it was; the month and a half he missed last season you add some stats to his totals. He has already amassed a Hall of Fame career. It is not like that time missed last year changes the optics on Trout.
It was an unnecessary signing and bad pivot from getting a star pitcher. Not to mention a terrible contact (on the team side).