The Angels won a couple of games over the weekend. It’s good to be back to winning. Taylor Ward has a “neck stinger” and will be having an MRI. He’s day to day.
The Mariners signed Justin Upton.
Josh Donaldson called Tim Anderson “Jackie Robinson” In a White Sox/Yankees game and it eventually led to a bench clearing incident.
Max Scherzer will miss six to eight weeks with an oblique strain. Mike Clevinger is on the 15 day injured list with a triceps strain.
The Dodgers extended Blake Treinen.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Houston lost.
1 GB
Yay Indiguards!
I mean, not that it matters. If we play on any more Sundays or Maddon ever rests any of our good players or Iglesias pitches, or Tepera, or Loup, or Hegert we’ll fall back 5 games in one game and the season will be over.
they’re 5-5 in their last 10. We’re 5-5 in our last `10. Texas is 5-5 in their last 10. Both Seattle and Oakland are worse.
I noticed the only A.L. team that is hot right now is the Minnehaha Twinkies at 8-2 in their last 10.
And Here’s another Crazy Perry 2021 All pitcher draft success story :
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1528830201462894592
Eh. But there are pitchers in the system that are not doing well probably, so PTP still sucks. And why should we care if a prospect’s doing well when he’s almost certain to starve or die of exposure before he reaches AAA?
Another to add to the list of 2021 PTP well’doers……Ryan Costeiu
https://www.milb.com/player/ryan-costeiu-695065
Another pen arm doing well. These guys drafted as relievers are great and have a bonus up side for the org because if they develop fast it allows the Angels to keep some of the young starter prospects down on the farm longer. Guys like Bachman, Bush, Oltoff and Marceaux can have more time to perfect 3rd pitches and master the strike zone if they need it if guys like Murphy and Costeiu advance fast.
But now the Angels are converting and stretching out Costeiu into a starter at TriCity, especially now that Olthoff has been promoted. Ryan’s last start was yesterday. He pitched 5 shutout 1 hit innings where he walked no-one and struck out 8. So he may not be that far behind from a promotion himself.
Another nuking of the narrative:
https://twitter.com/trashpandas/status/1528806925407764480
https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1528799425681842178
This is the best worst farm I’ve seen since the flood of 1929.
But wait there’s more.
https://twitter.com/steve_wendt/status/1528816083439788032
Perhaps, but is the the best worst farm since the Dust Bowl of 1931?
If I had told you in February that we would be 1.5 games out of the division late in May you’d all call me delusional.
We should all be SO HAPPY right now.
Enjoy the off day, revenge on Texas begins tomorrow.
Doomer.
You know she’s going to call you boomer
Ok, Karen
Since I’m a boomer, what in the hell is a Karen?
one of the funnier things I’ve read this year was some Karen complaining that all this “Karen” business was offensive and demeaning to Karens. And by that, I don’t mean women named Karen but the type known as Karens.
So your saying that boomers are Karens
Anyone can be a Karen. She is within us all.
I think I was better off when I was ignorant of the whole thing
Most definitely
Mia’s just upset that us boomers won’t let her hang out on our lawns.
If things keep going the way they’re going in CA, none of you will have lawns soon enough.
Even Whoopi Goldberg is Caryn Johnson.
Wait. Now I’m confused.
It’s Doom, Dr. Doom.
Add that Canning hasn’t played who had a shot at being pitching depth, though not needed, and Fletch not playing much and Adell back in the minors, I didn’t expect this record. Kudos to the SP. Still mad they didn’t go after Rodon, but hey this team has potential.
Anaheim mayor resigns
Oooops, back to square 1, start all stadium sales negotiations again.
I wonder if they will run negations back? You know Arte, gets pissed and loses patience.
hes already priming the attorneys.
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/05/21/anaheim-pressured-to-approve-angel-stadium-deal-deadline-given/
I believe this was before the resignation
And how does that change their position?
Just helping establish a timeline
…the bribes and kick-backs have to start over?
…and another multi-million dollar contract down the drain
TrAdition
I remember the deadline Arte gave Adrian Beltre.
Yah… I’d expect this. Hell, I’d do this. I mean, what are the Angels supposed to do?
“Don’t worry about our past deal, you politicians just take your time, we don’t mind going through this whole process again. It’s inexpensive and what ever you decide we’re sure will work great. There’s no way any of you will start grand standing and making everything you can out of this. Just call us later and tell us what you’re thinking.”
It’s going to get messy before it gets resolved. Arte certainly has, at the very least, a signed MOU, if not a contract. That puts the City of Anaheim in a bad position. Now if there is criminal activity that is proven in a court of law, then Arte loses leverage. What a damn mess.
Time to bring out the big guns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2HH7J-Sx80
I think I would move the team, f-it. Revive the Long Beach discussion.
$1mm plus bribe to be returned to Artie?
We don’t know if the bribe was paid yet……intrigue at the big A. Stay tuned.
Yeah, I still don’t know who did the bribing. Honestly, I just assumed the Angels were bribing someone. Who builds something this huge and doesn’t have to bribe people? Here in Santa Barbara you have to bribe someone to widen your driveway.
Apparently they missed somebody or you wouldn’t have had Confidential Informant #1
It’s all good man.
Holy shit! Call the media! That one was actually relevant!
Bullpen questions….
Archie Bradley will be back soon
Lefty José Quijada. AAA or on MLB roster? Should be ready to go somewhere.
Barraclough with a 1.17 era, plane ride back to Salt Lake?
Silseth? Another start, back to AA or AAA?
Suarez?
Buttrey last 4 outings 1 inning and all 0’s. Only runs allowed were in back to back games on 4-30 and 5-6, every other app. was a 0 runs. WHIP 1.20.
Suarez and Chad optioned, Rojas dfa’d, Bradley and Stassi activated
Quesadilla time soon. Didn’t know out of options (CB26 pointed out).
Agree with him, likely the Bear Claw.
Bullpen Complications:
Quijada has no options left. If we dont put him back on the big club we will lose him to waivers.
Buttrey’s strikeout numbers are still down because his fastball velocity is down . Even though apparently his Velocity is increasing, I still think hes a month or 2 away from returning to Anaheim. . Sam Blum did a great story with him last week.If you have a subscription to The Athletic its definitely worth a read https://theathletic.com/3326507/2022/05/22/ty-buttrey-angels-return/
The Angels will have to reduce their pitching staff by one pitcher by the end of May. Since they will probably keep going with 6 pitchers in the starting rotation someone from the bullpen will get jettisoned. only Ortega, Herget or Barraclough have options left so without the advent of the phantom injury you know the Angels will probably prefer a Quesadilla over a bear claw .
The Angels also signed LHP Grant Dayton to a minor league deal when he elected free agency from the Marlins last week but I suspect there are probably some provisions that he will be called up fairly shortly
Lastly, I suspect GG will get the open bench position spot by next week but someone is coming off the 40 man to make that happen.
Hold on. We have enough bullpen arms that there will be tough decisions and possibly a guy lost?
Crazy how much has changed lately.
More than enough. Here’s some long lost Billy trade chum thats now knocking on the door again. https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1528492823472852992
I remember him. Had high hopes. Then he blew out his elbow in Spring Training.
Very cool.
I think what you mean to say is that this farm system sucks and PTP has no idea what he’s doing.
No apparently Jedi didn’t even thoh hee lefft uss withh
Ward, Walsh, Edman (dammit I meant Fletcher) cue the GIF PLZ of the Angels drafting Taylor Ward
You know I can tell midway through your first sentence when the bath salts kick in.
Why can’t we have a “Bear Claw Quesadilla ”
Get that sweet/savory thing going?
Do you mean an empanada
Churro…with cheese dipping sauce
I guess, but don’t empanada’s usually have meat or veggies inside ?
If your making it you can stuff it with whatever you want
Even pan dulce ?
But of course
All I know if our pitching is trash and we have no one.
All I know is that the Angels are a failure as an organization for not having signed the greatest free agents every year! I know this because I’ve seen their pictures posted here. If I can see the pictures how come the FO cannot seem to be able to identify and then sign them!
Well no, the real proof we are a clown show is that we don’t draft every single good player, nor do we know when players who are meh for three years are about to become good. We also don’t find good pitchers for $8,000 like all the other good teams. Those are the headshots that are really meant to drive it home to you.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.-FMaCvGKtG3EUlPFUFVvIAAAAA?pid=ImgDet&w=320&h=320&rs=1
Not a good team anymore……..Italy isn’t a superpower anymore either (Roman Empire)
💪 💪 💪 👈
Yes they are so awful they are soon to pass Jer Jer Jinx and the Emerald City turds in the AL West standings.
I cannot let the Mariner failures go by. Jedi’s loyalty to his manager buddy, Scott Servais, is doing him no good and should cost both of the their jobs if they continue to flounder. Scott made a blunder this past series which would make our beloved manager, Joe Magoo, envious. Servais, being an ex-catcher, what was he thinking of.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/mariners-manager-scott-servais-moving-forward-after-mistake-in-fridays-loss-to-red-sox/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_inset_1.1
Jedi’s seat has to be getting warm. Took on some big salary over the off-season and he has been going down hill since being stomped on my Billy Eppler to sign Ohtani. Sure feels good.
2002 will be crushed if Jerry gets canned. He might be OK if he quits in-season I assume.
I hope they keep him. But it would horrible for them if a 3rd organizational re-build is necessary under his watch.
Eat it Jer-Jer.
Can trader Jedi find a trade for himself? LOL
Damm are yah happy with the Mets (having their payroll might help BTW and not having THE OLIGARCH meddling in your job.) Did he draft Matt Thaiss and Jahmai Jones like a Gus Fring in real life?
Mariner’s 2022 payroll $105M
Mariner’s 2021 payroll $83,877M.. Mariners are a small market team not the Mets, ChiSox, Astros, Giants, Phillies, or Braves, OR US EVEN THOUGH THE OLIGARCH WANTS US TO BE FOR TAXATION PURPOSES. He likes seeing the Anaheim parking lot full of Land Rovers, MB’s, Beemers, Volvos, and Cadillacs.
So Jer Jer’s BFF did a Cookie Rojas? Priceless.
Guys have underperformed in Seattle. Did you think Robbie Ray would stink this bad? They didn’t add more SP or upgrade the bullpen, but they have a multitude of problems. I don’t blame everything on Servis. Mistakes happen.
PTP Should have signed this guy. Farhan Zaidi should have signed this guy. Emoji emoji durr dee durr Oligarch purr purr sunk cost misuse.
Watched Q pitch against the Doyers recently, stripped them of their manhood like a yacht from an Oligarch. His hatred of Arte must have been why he sucked last year.
Yeah, he was on to the cabal of evil that exists on Katella, same as Shohei’s mom, and he decided to get INSIDE the evil and damage it from within.
But I thought The George was on Orangewood?
Patrick Sandoval game 1 starter playoffs….Time / date TBA.
Sandoval has clearly snatched the No. 2 slot behind Shohei. If he can just trim his walks down a little more, solid. To be a MLB front runner, teams need nice finds like this.
He doesn’t even need to be a #2 to be incredibly valuable. I am thrilled we stole him from Houston for nothing!
Machete ain’t nothing.
Half of a losing season of him. Don’t pretend we had a lock on signing him beyond that contract.
Not even a Premium catcher…..right.
Well, Maldonado was involved I think.
Houston also signed Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, and Framber Valdez for less than a California 1000 square ft house.
Less than guy we had for the MLB min who didn’t win a game for us.
Apparently they must have a very competent and decent farm system plus a OWNER WHO WANTS TO WIN, NOT JUST MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.
They probably richly rewarded a bunch of busceros, while the 3 Astro pitching stars’ families had to drink toilet water and eat food scraps along the way.
I would venture to say that Arte has a helluva lot more scruples than the lying cheating Jim Crane ever did.
You should switch your allegiances to Astros then since Obviously that owner is someone you idolize.
Did Jim Crane ever veto a Jeff Luhnow trade?
As far as I’m concerned, your schtick is old.
Although correct, unfortunately it’s not just 2002
I’ve only been doing this for 5 yrs going back to HH and YT vs a former politician/USFL team owner’s supporters in politics. BTW our owner supports this guy. If I think you’re wrong, I’ll let you know what I think.
Not a rainbows & puppy dogs person. BTW I remember you from HH.
Let’s see how Thor rebounds. One poor game doesn’t move him down, in my estimation. I’ve still got him second behind Shohei, then Sandy.
I’m just glad we have some starters to argue the merits of instead of just knowing they all suck.
This reply is everyting. The fact that we have 4 starters that I believe in is a great start in the right direction
I’m interested in what the city connect jerseys will be. Maybe most of all the hat. I imagine it will be revealed shortly?
Me too. I hate our current stuff so I am hoping it’s something I actually want to blow money on.
It needs to have a Cowboy hat and a beach on it
it needs to *be* a cowboy hat.
here they are…
https://www.ruckfitt.com/products/circle-one-mens-premium-crew-neck-t-shirt-army-green
Funnily enough up top that’s all I pretty much wear now-a-days. Plain, unbranded, Hanes t-shirts in a variety of colors. No pants though, just trying to fit in around here.
Welcome to CtPG, where pants are always optional!
Sometimes you wear stretchy pants.
It’s for fun.
I don’t. Not my style. I do wear a kilt every now and then for the pants-optional lifestyle.
Last two Angel wins were great!
I do have to admit that the A’s have cobbled together a pretty good pitching staff.
Guess what…they will be in it come Aug/Sept.
Because for forever they always Fricking are.
Donaldson is a garbage human being and needs to be suspended for the rest of the season.
Plus, there’s this.
https://twitter.com/CST_soxvan/status/1528423132222177280
TA is an idiot for comparing himself to Jackie Robinson in the first place, too
If you read the article, it was specifically only in the context of ‘having fun’ like Robinson.
The paragraph after those making the rounds is:
Donaldson knows this – and he is trying to rib an opponent. He has been making this same joke since 2019? He tries to pretend it is an inside joke (like between them), but rather it is the continual insult of someone trying to bully Anderson – and using a race-based context to do it.
So, finally, Anderson makes a real case about it (with the backing of his team) and suddenly Donaldson doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about? No f*ing way!
So far only white people have said it was race based. Anderson just said it was disrespectful. It was La Russa who dropped the racist card.
As of now Donaldson has been in the league over a decade and no racial stuff has come out about him. If that changes, so will my tune.
As of now it looks like Donaldson made fun of a stupid comment that happened to be made by a black guy.
Again, if anything else comes out, I’ll change.
Jeff, if you dig hard enough into anything, even the Coke/Pepsi debate, or whether a person prefers Ford to Chevy, there is always racism somewhere in there. Racism is the shitty prize that’s always there to be found in the cereal box of life. Even if it’s not there, it’s there, just keep digging.
So it’s the Cracker Jack prize of baseball?
La Russa used this whole thing as a bulletin board material situation to galvanize his fledgling team.
To me thats more of a race exploitative move than anything Doofus Donaldson did.
What!?! Old white people using racial outrage for their own ends? Nevah!
It’s not racist if you just divide and conquer them via the caste system. What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?
Shhhhh. Don’t tell people my plan!
Sounds like Donaldson tried to play the “I was just joking” card.
Nice try douche, but nobody is buying it.
Donaldson is a major league POS but suspending for the entire season for making stupid comments? Seriously???
Donaldson is a dick, but let’s be real. Anderson publicly stated he’s “the modern day Jackie Robinson” so that takes away the inside joke angle.
You can’t say something that stupid in a public setting not expect to get teased about it. I’d tease my best friend about it if he said something that dumb.
I’m sure he’s heard about it from other guys, but Donaldson is the type of dick to really twist the knife and piss you off.
This is actually an example of a larger issue. People seem to not tell their friends to not be a dumbf*** anymore. If any of my friends started describing themselves as the modern day Harvey Milk or Jackie Robinson or Gay Tupac I’d laugh my ass off at them and tell them they should STFU before they make a fool of themselves.
But it seems like no fewer people want to do that because if I do it, then my friends will do it to me. But it’s a good thing to have friends that alert you to the fact that you will be mocked mercilessly for a bad idea. I started referring to myself as the modern day white Shaka Zulu a while back…. thank gah my friends stepped in and told me how stupid that was.
Donaldson’s an asshole. We all know it. But he shouldn’t get in any extra trouble for this.
Exactly. I can’t imagine my friends letting a crack like that go by. I was in a fraternity in college and often a stupid thing you said would become your nickname for years. I’m willing to bet pro clubhouses have a lot of the same culture as fraternity houses.
I’m willing to bet Donaldson said it because he knew it would piss Anderson off. But Anderson set himself up for it.
If someone refers to themselves as Jackie Robinson….
A) They are not Robinson because they referred to themselves as Jackie Robinson.
B) Someone needs to piss them off…. or rather, take the piss out of them.
I have to sigh and admit I’m team Donaldson on this.
There is a definite difference between being compared to someone (Ohtani to Ruth) and comparing yourself to someone else (Anderson to Robinson)
Jeff, apprecaite that you can always see through the smoke, agree with you, this is nothing. Folks just grabbing at sound bites.
Take a deep breath everyone and exhale slowly.
Well, none of us were there, and as far as I can tell no media outlet has printed or stated what was actually said. So, really we don’t know exactly what was said. I did hear La Russa in the postgame presser and he sounded pretty upset, saying that “racial comments” were made.
I don’t think he would have said that if it was just an inside joke. And yes, spare me your jokes about La Russa not being a reliable source cause I know folks are loading their guns with those…
Anderson said it was disrespectful. yeah, the entire point of making fun of somebody is to disrespect them.
La Russa was the one who said it was racist.
I do think that distinction is important.
Yes, you are right. If Anderson’s comments don’t match La Russa’s then obviously it is Anderson’s view that matters since he was there and the target.
But I still have not heard verbatim what Donaldson said. It would be helpful if Anderson came out and just went “Hey, here’s what he said ……” and then let us judge for ourselves.
I pretty sure that if you want to judge for yourself then you’re racist.
Your friends want you to “keeps it real” and be an original. The white Shaka Zulu already existed.
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/basketball/2013/10/01/chris_andersen_how_birdman_got_catfished/chris_andersen_looking_pensive.jpg)
You are still missing the context of the interview.
That context was his batflips – his energy – all of which Donaldson knew. And the entire ‘Jackie’ framing, including Anderson’s ‘energy’ has always been a racial context.
The entire conversation was based on his growing up, and facing challenges of being an African-American in a sport with fewer and fewer such players, and growing up in an environment in which playing baseball was the outlier sport (compared to football and basketball).
I’m still not understanding his comparison to no 42. Now if TA is claiming he’s a black woman then he might have something there .
Well, in an interview on SI, he talked about growing up in a neighborhood where all of his peers played basketball and football – games in which enthusiasm and celebrating vehemently were not only commonplace but expected.
He wants to bring that energy to baseball – and feels that this represents a breaking with tradition. He described that ‘breaking barriers’ to how Jackie broke barriers (but partly because they had already talked about him and Jackie – and partly because the interviewer had compared his uniqueness in choosing baseball to Jackie being othered in baseball), but he meant in how him bring energy would shake up the game.
Anderson has often gotten criticism for being enthusiastic (like the bat flips) and even those MLB officially backed him up (Manfred wants the game more exciting too, right?), there are plenty of ‘old school’ guys that don’t appreciate Anderson’s style of play.
Guys like Donaldson know that calling Anderson out for such a comment will push his buttons (when you have always been called out for being different, you get sensitive to it) – but it also calls him out for acting like those he grew up with (who, low and behold, are mostly black) as opposed to the traditional old school baseball crowd (who, roughly, aren’t).
Anyway, Anderson isn’t the only player that feels microaggressions from fans, other players, etc in baseball (Torii Hunter talked about it too, so did a bunch of guys playing in Boston) – and this is just another one.
Liam is awesome!
OH NO! Sensitive content! I better tighten my mindfulness girdle, check that my victim/survivor badge is pinned firmly to my lapel and make sure the escape rout to my safe space is clear of obstructions.
My sum up…too many fourteen year old kids who never had the opportunity to get their asses kicked for running their mouths off. If one of those two guys takes issue they should be the only ones to know and they can handle their own business.
two guys fighting on their own? No one jumping in? I would like to live in your dream world
Good morning. Ohtani and Trouty came through and I feel great. Any time we beat the A’s I feel like Tony the Tiger. The Halos now have a Tiger in their tank.
Our own Tony (Two-Bags) is quietly on pace for a 4 WAR season (based on either fWAR (1.1) or bWAR (1.2).
At Fangraphs current calculation that is about 34M worth of production.
Even with his legs not quite under him, what is the big complaint?
At 4 WAR , Rendon is still not covering his 2022 AAV of $36,571,429. Last year was an unmitigated dumpster fire and we still have $154,300,000 and 4 seasons (Thats $38,571,428 per season) left to payout for his league age 33-36 seasons. I will venture to say that he will probably pay for himself in 2 of those 4 seasons but the other 2? Odds ain’t good.
I’m actually a Tony Two bags fan. His clutchiness will come in handy at some point even in the playoffs but looking at his future value and how it impacts other moves, That is a big big concern.
I agree that we won’t get $245M worth of WAR projection when the contract is completed. His contract won’t be the disaster that was “The Machine”, but it still won’t be pretty.
And as an added bonus I don’t think he’s a flaming asshole
He doesn’t seem at all like an a-hole, flaming or otherwise.
But I do think he needs to be a little less jovial in the dugout, especially when he is stinking it up at the plate (fortunately that has not been the case lately).
Shades of Jimmy Edmonds?
I guess the difference was that Edmonds teammates did not like him at all. They called him “pretty boy” and thought of him as a prima donna. In contrast I think Anthony is liked by his teammates.
Smoke=Fire When your own teammates publicly question if you’re coasting on fly balls so you can make a diving catches.
Well… Exactly. That is what he was doing.
And other pros are going to see that where the average fan would not even notice…
So he stopped coasting in Saint Louie or did La Russia and the boys just look the other way?
I wasn’t following his career that much when he was there.. Apparently he got along okay with Albert and the others…
But it could be that when he saw how it negatively impacted his relations with teammates that he stopped doing it so much…
Just speculating here…
Me too.
“Show me contrition when you displease me MLB ballplayer!”
“Go f*** yourself guy who has accomplished jack shit of note.”
I have no f_ idea what any of this is supposed to mean. Lol.
I can see that.
That means you can’t communicate for shit.
I communicate with shit all the time.
Yes but only shit can speak for itself.
It might be helpful if you point to the proper emotion Tony 2 Bags should express when he’s stinking.
https://images.app.goo.gl/NiEUvfNqWJiFPkeK9
This is funny. But the answer is none of these.
Look, I am not saying he needs to throw shit around in the dugout or go into the tunnel and self-mutilate with a pen-knife or something. He could have flat affect and that would be fine. Just don’t joke around and laugh.
Poor Tony. So lacking in grit. No fire. Not Erstad (I wonder if he smartly ran on a dropped 3rd strike would he be hated in Chicago, while we all knob-slobbed one another shouting Angels Baseball, baby!). Or Weaver. Or Percival. He must be extremely lazy like Garret Anderson, Angel leader in lots of categories and the very definition (here) of laziness.
The Anderson Paradox: GA was too lazy to be lazy.
I understand why fans feel this way, but I just don’t agree. Trying to act contrary to his personality isn’t going to lift him out of any funk.
I am not saying he needs to be phoney, just use better judgment.
Don’t laugh and joke around after you killed a huge opportunity be hitting into a DP. That is not the time to be laughing. I think that would be obvious to most. It is kinda the same thing as those NBA players who were criticised (and rightfully so I think) for laughing and joking around on the bench when they were getting blown out by 30 points. The optics are not good.
Yeah, I get why folks feel that way, but he’s probably not going to help himself my acting outside of character. High caliber athletes tend to have short memories. I get that fans tend to appreciate players that show their frustration, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the way it should be. I think the 30 point blowout is a bit of an extreme comparison.
I don’t feel it is an extreme comparison at all. The same argument you are using for Rendon could be used for those NBA dudes, namely, “they are just being themselves,” “they are being natural” (as if showing some decorum and restraint would be unnatural or inauthentic — I don’t see it that way).
Sure. I just think Rendon’s slump isn’t the same level as an NBA team losing by 30 points. That’s all.
It wasn’t a slump I was concerned about, it was a specific very high-leverage spot in a game that he failed in. His response in the immediate aftermath was not appropriate in my view.
I guess we will just agree to disagree here. No hard feelings.
No harm no foul. Obviously it seems as I’m confused. Carry on, my friend.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that this topic came up before and I made the same or similar points. I was thinking that most people here would know what I was talking about since it was not new.. Sorry for the confusion.
I was referencing something that happened on either Opening Night or the second game of the season against the Astros. I believe it was Opening Night in fact.
Rendon killed the Angels best and perhaps only chance for a big inning in that game by grounding into a double play with one out after Trout had just been intentionally walked to get to him.
Right after that AB the cameras caught him in the dugout laughing and smiling and perhaps joking with a teammate.
I’m ashamed to admit I was listening to Lodge, but he said that Tony is batting like .400 with RISP and 2 outs.
To paraphrase Ted Lasso, high caliber athletes are goldfish.
Yes, I think that is true.
Optics are in the eye of the beholder. Usually they are also mostly the beholder’s problem too.
I for one don’t understand feeling this way.
All a player owes anyone is to go out and play to their best ability on that day. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they are not.
As long as you’re not showing up another player or cheating, IDGAF how the player acts whether they are successful or not on that given day/play/game.
On the surface what you are saying makes sense. And management/ownership are probably not going to chastise Rendon for something so seemingly minor as what I described…
But the job of the high-profile professional athlete does involve more than just performing on the field or court. It involves alot more in fact. There are alot of expectations that come with those big, fat contracts, and one of those is being a good citizen and all it entails; that includes interacting with fans in a healthy and responsible manner, and conducting oneself or comporting oneself in the community at large in a way that will not reflect negatively on the franchise or the league etc. This is one of the reasons the NBA instituted a dress code several years back.
I mean there is reason there are morals clauses in contracts. And yes, I do understand that there is a big difference between drunk driving and poor body language on the field or dugout. But I am trying to make a point, and that point is that guys like Rendon who make 30 + million per year are held to a higher standard than most “normal” people, or even most athletes. This is simply a fact. Guys have been let go for the secondary stuff before and it had nothing to do with their performance on the field.
Let me be clear, I do not think Rendon is a bad guy. From all appearances he seems to be a pretty straight-laced dude. My point is that the small things do matter. We can argue about how much they matter, but when you are making what Rendon does everything will be looked at and examined, by management and especially the fans. You can say it is not fair but it is the way it is.
You won’t get $245 million if you assign a straight value of Avg $/WAR like fangraphs does. However,that concept is ludicrous.
The average team WAR last season was 33.3, which equates to 1.3 per player on a 26 man roster. The average team WAR of playoff teams last years was 46.5, which equates to 1.8 WAR per player on a 26-man roster.
What this tells us is if you want to make the playoffs, you need to get more WAR from your players than average. Since most players will have near average or below WAR, there is a lower supply (and should be) higher demand for above-average WAR players.
What the above means, is that price you pay for each WAR needs to increase for each additional WAR a player produces. In other words, if Rendon puts up 4 WAR, that should be worth more than 32.5 million. The question is whether the Angels underpay him enough in the first 4-5 seasons to make up for when they overpay him at the end of the contract.
Simplified version:
Roster spaces are limited, so a 4.0 WAR player is worth more than two 2.0 WAR players and should therefore be paid more than double a 2.0 WAR player, i.e. higher WAR players deserve higher $/WAR.
So far Rendon has been underpaid in 2020 and overpaid in 2021. If he puts up 4.0 WAR for the next 1-3 years, there is a chance the Angels will get the appropriate total value for his contract by underpaying him now and overpaying him later.
So what you’re saying is there is WAR inflation to offset the backloaded contracts and $6.00 per gallon gas. . Got it.
No, I’m saying WAR has increasing marginal returns.
Hence the definition of inflation.
Inflation would be a year-to-year increase in $/WAR across all WAR levels. On a graph with $ and WAR as the axes, you would need multiple lines/curves, one for each year to demonstrate the effect of inflation.
Increasing marginal returns addresses the per-WAR value of different WAR values. On the same graph with $ and WAR as axes, it would change the shape of the curve from a straight line to a curve. Unlike inflation, it wouldn’t require multiple lines/curves.
Annnnnddddd….. you’re reminding me how friggin hard it was for my to get a solid grade in Marketing Analytics and Calculus, etc. I hate you now.
Not according to the Moneyball movie when Billy was discussing the loss of Jason Giambi. Doesn’t that mean Buzzie Bavasi was right when he quipped that he would replace Nolan Ryan with two 8-7 pitchers? LOL!!!!
Damn, I hadn’t actually thought of that, but it’s true… like certain value metrics for stocks get “more valuable” the further out on the positive end of a bell curve they get because their contribution to over all portfolio profits (wins) is far less easy to find than just “not losing money” or a solid P/E or P/B ratio.
That’s what I’ve been trying to say all along, but you are way more articulate.
Well, my point is that even with all the complaining – even with him not playing at full strength or anyone agreeing that this is a good Rendon season – he is still quite close to ‘earning his salary’. Even by your calculation if he ends at 4.3 WAR he is there, no? (which the 1.1/1.2 calculation actually tracks to).
But sure, you don’t have to have faith that he works out. That is up to you. I still remember (not terribly fondly) the black hole at 3B (Callaspo, Valbuena, Escobar, Cozart) before we signed Rendon. I am happy to have him manning the hot corner.
But does it help you be less happy if I remind you that we could have spent that money on someone we really needed Like Steven Strausburg or MadBum?
We could have signed Donaldson. I am sure he would have fit well into a clubhouse with Trout and Ohtani.
(Seriously, how did he win 2015 MVP over Trout? Looking at the stats and I can’t even squint my way to any logic.)
Oh man…some of the names mentioned here was exactly why I was good with the Rendon signing. Plus, we had zero 3rd base prospects in the pipleine, zero.
Thank you for reinforcing my apprecaition for Anthony.
We still don’t really have 3B prospects (I don’t count Mayfield or Rojas as ‘prospects’ in this case).
Maybe Blakely or Bonilla (in High-A) or Maitan? But longshots really.
Austin Riley agrees with you.
was making $18M last yr before retiring (35hrs 101rbi’s albeit a low BA of .212). Still a stellar gloveman too.
Well, dammit, clearly we should get him to unretire so WE can pay him $18MM!!!!
In real estate, sometimes we laugh at a a realtor who allows his client to bid way more than the value, when a much lower bid would do the job. With the Lakers, it was the ridiculous trades for Anthony Davis and Westbrook. At least Davis offered some value, but Westbrook is a toxic asset. For us, the two most recent examples are Pujols and Rendon. I am reasonably sure the next in line offer was nowhere near what we paid for Rendon. Even I won’t argue Rendon is a Westbrook, but the wasted money reverberates for years to come as Moreno imposes a salary cap on himself and we start or use league or below league average players at multiple positions. So I don’t hate Rendon, but I do hate the contract.
The Lakers did win a championship so I really can’t knock them for that. LeBron’s old and AD is just injury riddled now and that’s that. Looking back the Rendon and Pujols contracts, especially Rendon’s was bad because we were still a bad team.
With Westbrook?
Westbrook wasn’t a member of the championship team.
NBA doesn’t have a Oakland A’s/Raiders team that could fix veteran broken toys off the street like Dave Stewart and Jim Plunkett.
To me, this is the biggest issue with Arte. You want to waste money on a big free time agent contract? Sure have at it. It’s your money. But don’t neglect the rest of the roster or farm system because of your own stupidity. Salary Caps are for losers.
Agree. When owners negotiate for salary caps they are really looking for some device to protect them from themselves.
Exactly.
So why does it so well in the NFL?
except for Cleveland and Detroit
I’d love an MLB salary cap. Roster strategy would get really interesting… as long as there’s also a salary floor like in the NFL. I love that small market teams like the Bills and Bengals and Ravens all have a fairly good chance of contending if they are just run well.
Hell, my beloved Steelers are, technically, small market as are the Packers. I think baseball would be cool if the Royals and Yankees had similar payroll constraints.