If you are around my age you danced to this little diddy which I think Trout should use as his walk up music tonight. He’s too humble to do so.
Yes, the news around baseball is the return of Mike Trout tonight in Detroit.
The wunderkind is no longer a kid and it has been a while since we’ve seen how wonderful he can be. Thankfully we’ve had the greatness of Ohtani to tide us over, but it never hurts to look back at some of Trout’s greatest moments.
I’m already stoked to go watch Team USA take on the world in the World Baseball Classic. Trout is the captain of the team and some serious thunder has committed to playing with him.
Unfortunately Ohtani’s greatness was not enough to single handedly overcome the Mariners this week. The Angels were swept, which does help with draft position next year.
If you’re looking for quality, winning baseball take look at the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
And in case you’re wondering about the O’Hoppe kid. Well, he’s crushing it with the bat and pulled this off.
There are already plenty of intriguing arms in Rocket City. On the year both Brett Kerry and Coleman Crow have over a hundred strikeouts. After the draft, Perry sent the hardest thrower in college baseball there.
Yes the system is low on position player prospects, but with first round pick Neto joining the Thicc King and O’Hoppe what we do have is in AA. It is also noteworthy that outfielder Ryan Aguilar is leading the league in on base percentage with a whopping .411. He might profile as a fourth outfielder but I’ll take a fourth outfielder who gets on base any day.
So while the current Angels are a tough team to watch, keep an eye on the Pandas. They have the best home win percentage in the minors and the 5th best overall winning percentage in the minors. The next wave of Angels success could be in Huntsville right now.
And guess what? I’m recording an interview with Trash Pandas manager this morning.
The Trash Pandas aren’t the only Angels affiliate doing well. The Inland Empire 66ers are in first place in the South division of the Cal League and some young talent is starting to perform.
Want to know why young Edgar Quero is climbing up the Angels prospect lists? Check out this sweet swing from the 20 year old catcher who already has 14 bombs on the year to go along with a .319 batting average and a .429 OBP.
One final thought: Arte cares about actual payroll and cash flow not the annual average value used to calculate the luxury tax. So with the luxury tax threshold going up next year we could see a heavily backloaded Ohtani extension that would hit the Angels luxury tax calculations harder than it would hit Arte’s wallet. That would likely set up a problem later when Trout and Ohtani are past prime and pulling in huge dollars, but since when did Arte look long term?
Kevin Maitan rule 5 joke from Eppler
😆 😆 💪 💪
Hey look… Jose Soriano is back in the org after getting swiped by the Pirates in the Rule 5 and subsequently blowing out his elbow. Performing very nicely in rehab and maybe a bullpen candidate in the near future?…
https://www.milb.com/gameday/acl-brewers-blue-vs-acl-angels/2022/08/19/710200#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=710200
“July 28, 2022Salt Lake Bees sent RHP Jose Soriano on a rehab assignment to ACL Angels.”
“ACL” Angels. Seems like an appropriate place for rehab.
Simba!!
Whuttup Dude……..Haven’t heard from you since May.
Meanwhile I’m still here providing honest assessment on the state of the Angels.
💪 💪 💪
Trout over Duggar?
Glad I don’t have to make that call.
🤣🤣🤣
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1560676401837051904?s=20&t=kIir8M16f5VRE_YQ25diZQ
Apparently I’m not your age. But I’m digging that right hand drive 500 SL in the video. `;~}}
I’m excited the Trash Pandas are looking good, but sadly, it isn’t like all of those players can jump over AAA to the MLB, which means we are probably looking at a lot of filler contracts on aging veterans and unlikely rebound candidates for the next 1-2 years.
OK. We will try not to be a little happy then. Thanks for rescuing us from possible hapsphyxiation. That’s why this board’s so awesome. So many heroic people making sure no one poisons the mind with frivolous joy.
When I think of how my life could have turned out…….
Hey, we’ve spent years building the atmosphere of doom and gloom on this website and I will not let you and Grandpa ruin it with optimism.
Just remember. It is impossible for an optimist to be pleasantly surprised.
Nice to wake up without the sting of a loss from the night before
We will all get a lot of those mornings from October thru April.
Indeed…3/4 of our rotation has no business being in the Major Leagues.
Who is the pitcher who is 1/2 in and 1/2 out?
Detmers and/or Sandoval.
Just asking because 3/4 of a 6 man rotation is 4 1/2 pitchers.
Okay fine…2/3rds.
So true. Why would a team that’s been begging for starting pitching for years want to keep a guy who’s WHIP had been below 1.35 till he took a beating the other week and a rookie with a 1.074 WHIP in 94 innings including a no hitter?
I mean, all you really have to do is look at their ERA+ to gauge if they “belong in the MLB”. If they are over 100 they are above average. But why do that when you can just be Demanda Champ and cry about something on the internet?
Up next, “Arte is a toxic male”. Discuss….
GGOMP could be a charter member in the Arte’s Toxic Male Club.
With all the complex syntactic insults he and his buddy Putin use!
Maybe CtPG should start a special section to highlight these gems?
Also incredibly true. I just can’t stop gushing about how awesome Arte is. This comment has made me realize that Detmers and Sandoval have no business being in the majors. Very good.
And yes. We should highlight my Romancing the Stone sized gems.
I’m glad I talked some sense into you.
You, Putin, and your ego…what a team.
The three musketeers.
Arte. Toxic. Angels. Bad. We Sad 😥
Will there be a “Pining for POBO” thread sometime soon, or should that be for the long off-season?
That’s the off season.
Are POBOs related to fjords?
None of those 3 were hired by a OLIGARCH!!
Every time I see POBO, I think of sandwiches. So for me the pining is all season long.
So GM means cars and Frigidaire refrigerators then?
The Dodgers, Rams and the Warriors are all such pathetic organizations. I’m expecting all of them to fire Andrew Friedman, Les Snead and Bob Myers in 2 months……..WHAT MORONS!!!
BYE!!!!
😆 😆 💪 💪
Aw, man… too bad Perry didn’t see your flip, half-thought-out comment before Sandoval tossed the four-hitter last night. Maybe he can waive Detmers before it’s too late.
Numbnut.
yep just like 4 months ago we thought the world of that backup OF in Philly (Brandon Marsh).
😄 💪
Strange take. I’m more concerned with lack of decent relievers.
Agree…same situation!!!
relievers are like tech stocks
You have to have them around at the right time.
Great starters are like Walmart, and Amazon however.
Reality returns with a vengeance on Monday.
Next 10 games vs TB, TOR, and the Yankees.
😢 😢 😖 😫
Hi, everybody. I haven’t posted lately. Last week I lost my wife, SWMBO, my dearest Deb. She didn’t care about baseball until I started watching games with her and explaining esoterica. She worshipped Big Daddy Vladdy, and, without knowing diddly about prospects or draft order, picked Trout as her boy because he was going to be amazing. Her last game in person was last year, to see Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays.
If you know anybody with diabetes, tell them to get serious about it. She was taken from us by vascular dementia, like lots of little bleeders in the brain. She died far too young because she thought she could just take her insulin and that would fix everything.
She loved going to the games and loved watching her Halos on TV, and she adored her Mikey.
Man … so sorry to hear of your loss. Thanks for the PSA and keep on keepin on. You have an Angel in heaven buddy. 🙏 👼
Sorry for your loss, and may you always treasure the good times you had.
My sincere condolences Jim.
My condolences.
Prayers for your loss. I recently got serious about my A1C…diet and walking everyday.
Jim, I’ve mentioned on FB how sorry I am for you, but I’ll say it again here.
Also, if you need help, please please please don’t hesitate to reach out to someone, either here or a professional (actually, I’d recommend a professional first). I remember how badly I needed help when Mrs. red passed away. If you need the help, please get it!
so sorry, Jim. Words can’t express the sympathy we all feel. RIP Deb.
Deepest sympathies Jim
I join the others in expressing my deepest sympathies to you.
My condolences sir.
sorry to hear Jim.
Trout will hit one far tonight.
Sorry as can be for your loss. I’ve been taking insulin now since last December and worry everyday about if I am doing enough, thank you for sharing and giving some of us a heads up.
I’d get one of those arm dot blood sugar readers that sends your data to your phone. Watch the hell out of your diet, and walk every day. Thanks, GPa.
Sorry, Jim. I just started insulin, too. I do have one of those blood sugar readers – so helpful. You can really see the trends throughout the day. I stopped eating breakfast cereal as a result – got a huge spike every time after eating (and these were low sugar cereals).
Very sorry to learn of your loss. I hope you and your family find peace in this difficult time.
I have the Big D (also have neuropathy because of it).
Will probably be using a walker in 5-7 yrs.
Probably just setting myself up for a buttercup moment… About 15-20 years ago I remember reading that the Angel’s minor league teams were winning. Is it possible that Perry see’s that the glaring problem of the Angels for the last ten years has been player development or a weak farm system and has started to actually do something about it? (That would answer a lot of prayers for me)
“Prospects will break your heart” Brandon Wood
“Prospects will break their bodies” Dallas McPherson
Prospects will break your chair. Paul McAnulty
Gold.
Angel prospects are future MVP’s: Premium
This prospect is going to win several batting titles before he is done: HK, who got lot of hate for not being Brett/Carew rolled into one, altho HE never said he would win any.
He was really great.
Have y’all been following Neto in AA? He’s absolutely tearing it up. We may have finally hit big on another draft pick.
how about that pujols.
heads back to the land of khaki shorts and polo shirts, dumps his wife and everything comes up roses for him!
Better living through chemicals…..
Yes, what does that say about us and our culture?
Heaney leaves and flourishes with the Dodgers, and now Pujols in St. Louis has found the fountain of youth:
10 from 700!!! Albert Pujols SMASHES grand slam to put him at 690!! – YouTube
MGTOW strikes again.
Pujols is a crap human being. When it came down to it he was all hat and no cowboy when it came to his man of God/real baseball player bullshit. He deserves to get to 699 HR and then get clipped by a car…. or just have a stack of his own money fall on him.
MGTOW?
Somehow, I’m just not excited that Fatboy is returning, watching him strikeout is just not at the top of my must-see list. I hope he’s ready for a steady diet of high fastballs. On the another hand it’s not like I can’t watch because I have something better to do. I hope he can go 3 for 3 tonight with a walk and it gets his head back in the team and he enjoys playing again.
I agree. Everytime Trout returns from an injury, the clock resets and the count down begins until the next injury that will keep him on the shelf for a few months. Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad he can return from the injuries thus far, but he’s just not reliable to count on being in the lineup anymore.
Fatboy?
You must be new.
Like really new.
I wouldn’t say I’m new but I’ve never noticed. Been reading since HH.
Back in, I think 2013-2014, Trout spent the offseason adding muscle. The media articles reporting on his bulkier frame expressed concern he had gotten fat, and the community has rolled with it ever since.
I got a dollar that says Michael Nelson Trout get hot and finishes strong!!!
I’d bet Grandpa’s retirement check that Trout is shut down before the end of the season
Yeah Trout with his lifetime 1.000 OPS is such a predictable hitter and easy out. Keep popping those Aricepts.
I am actually hopeful that Arte might sell the team sooner than later. After the frustration of the stadium and land deals falling apart, the lawsuits, the public criticism over the minor league conditions, the poor performance of the big club and his children having no interest in owning and/or running a team, the thought must have crossed his mind. He’s 76 years old – at that age why be constantly frustrated? His investment has grown 15 times. I could see easily see him make the decision to sell. Here’s hoping.
His time is really up, and he should move on imho. He has won squat in 20 years because he does not want to be anything but a meddling owner who wants to be respected for knowing how to run a franchise. OR;
Arte’s kids hold on to the franchise and hire people who have a clue of what they are doing, and not just collecting baseball cards.
Owning a sports franchise is the ultimate status “toy” for the uber-rich. Who has ever sold ownership in a major league (any major league franchise) because they were “old”?
Maybe Arte’s heirs will dispose of the asset after he’s passed, but until then best be making plans on how to succeed under Arte’s regime.
Wild thought… Gugenheim buys the Angels and makes them a farm team for the Dodgers.
Totally random, just popped in, not that I want it to happen, but couldn’t the Dodgers afford to do it with at least the Pirates or A’s?
Wild thought…..hit the bong harder and re-think the possibility of that happening.
Wild, you’re the second person that’s told me that today. I swear I haven’t had anything but a lack of sleep.
That’s me 36 years ago…One Day at a Time.
😂 😂
Ha!
Is that GIF real? If so I have a cat that we rescued from a crackhouse and he has synaptic process issues for sure. We call him Phoo Fricker!!!
It kinda depends. If I were him, I’d be asking myself, and my kids, do I want to own a baseball team or a huge land development? He almost got both, and that would have been cool, combined with the Ducks, etc.
But that’s toast. If he sells the team he can get into big piles of land. If he keeps the team, he may get a stadium built, but honestly I’d consider moving the team too. If Arte has proven one thing in his time it is that Anaheim is NOT Los Angeles… it’s a pathetic second cousin to LA. He either needs to move into LA or move to a city where he will have the only team.
Of course, if I were buying the team, I’d also do so thinking that I will move it. Why buy a team AND be on the hook to buy land and build a stadium all in a short period of time?
Anaheim is DEFINITELY not LA. I agree 100%. I think your point on a new owner moving the team (or Arte moving it) is spot on.
The other owners will never agree to letting the Halos leave as attendance is historically high and it creates TV $ for the league and MLB. If the Halos left town, the mad rush to fill the void would be just crazy.
Over/under he looks at Las Vegas as a possibility since the A’s are beating around the bush in their situation.
What should really scare any fanbase with a team that may need a new home is the fact that the Knights and Raiders are already testing that market, AND their stadium for the Aviators can convert and build up to be an MLB park. It was designed that way. I even read a guy there saying that it technically has a planning stage where they can triple it’s capacity and put a roof on it… don’t know if that’s true.
But yeah. Vegas is pretty much ready to take someone’s team.
Probably the A’ss unless they get the Howard site approved.
I’m genuinely curious. Where have you seen that Arte’s kids have no interest in owning and/or running the team? Or are you just assuming?
I have read that. I’d have to find the article – but it’s not just an assumption. It’s is something I read.
It’s also a safe assumption. If Arte were tailoring a kid or two to succeed him don’t you think we’d have heard of a couple of them doing things by now? Like maybe helping Carpino gather his things and leave?
True, at least one of them would be in the organization as an executive like Jerry Jones’ Son, Virginia McCaskey’s son, Al Davis’ son, and Peter Angelos’ two kids
ungggg… maybe we don’t want to see his kids involved….
Duggar optioned to Salt Lake
Who’s the next contestent in PTP’s revolving door of “Has been’s, never were’s, and wanna be’s”?
O’Hoppe hitting the ground running has removed some serious sting of that trade. A 2025 tandem of Quero and O’Hoppe sounds pretty damn good to me.
And yeah, maybe the org feels a random like Aguilar or even Jordyn Adams is not far off from being a serviceable 4th OF to fill that Marsh role of cheap, controllable defensively capable depth OF.
Forgot my point was that even though we’ve cycled some AA scraps through the big league team, it’s not unheard of for one of them to stick.
Calhoun, Fletcher, Walsh come to mind as guys that were never considered prospects but became staples.
our non-prospects work their way up. Perry’s grab of non-prospects immediately get put on the active roster.
My soul source of baseball excitement these days is the Trash Pandas and to some extent the 66ers. I love young, hungry players who are super motivated and showing promise. Regardless of system rankings by publications, you can feel in your gut that something good is happening on the Angel farm. I haven’t been this psyched or interested in Angel minor leagues a long time.
You are giving me hope for the future and it’s been a while since that happened. Next year I hope you share great news coming out of SLC. Like the Jefferson’s song said, “Moving on up”.
It scares me to hope.
This is why I sometimes advocate for trading superstars for buckets of top prospects. I am actually jealous of the Nationals and what they scored from the Padres. It is fun to get excited about young talent and even more fun when that talent reaches the Bigs and sticks and that energy spreads to the whole club. . It really is one of the last things about modern baseball that is exactly the same as my youth.
When a huge FA arrives only a couple things can happen. He fails (for whatever reason) and the fans are mad/sad, or he does his job, which becomes ho-hum pretty quickly because it was expected, until he fails for some reason, then the fans are mad/sad.
Home grown guys are a lot better as far as building an engaged and supportive fan base…. well, most fan bases.
Some fan bases will take a home grown guy who was good for a couple years and decide he is not an MLB player after he sucks for three months, while, at the same time, hoping against hope that other homegrown guys who are showing signs of coming around fail because they need to be both a pile of bitches and right.
Thankfully, this bad ju ju usually doesn’t spread to other fan bases because the gods curse these fan bases, their team always mysteriously sucks ass, and the rest of the MLB world kind of just forgets they exist.
This is why it’s good we drafted the Thicc King and Nuke La Louche. Guys with some character that we can get attached to and root for.
It is true that Orange County is not St Louis or the Midwest or really like anywhere. Overall the materialism and the lack of deep roots to the community make a connection to homegrown baseball players far less here. OC supports superstars, storylines and winners.
I guess I’m a bit different than the average OC fan. My favorite thing about baseball has always been following a young player to the Bigs and watching him develop from a young kid to a contributor or even a star and then follow that player’s entire career. Tim Salmon for example.
I’ve never been a huge believer in Free Agent players. Guys you used to hate but now cheer for because they are wearing your laundry.
It’s so funny, it doesn’t even take much to get that going. I watched some Mempis Redbirds games, and some Chattanooga Lookouts games. Then I kinda kept checking in on them online. Now I actually get some enjoyment out of watching Harrison Bader (till Yankees) and Tyler O’Niel and Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson play. Like they are more “my guys”.
Of course Angels prospects are 100% more that way cause we even know when they are drafted, etc.
“the lack of deep roots to the community”
So many transplants here. I think those of us who grew up here feel differently. Loved it when a local like Jered Weaver or Mark Trumbo (my high school!) made it and succeeded with the Angels.
“or he does his job, which becomes ho-hum pretty quickly because it was expected, until he fails for some reason, then the fans are mad/sad.”
Vladi was an exception. Loved every day of his tenure with the Angels. His enthusiasm was infectious. Was mad/sad when he went off to Texas.
I love young hungry players until they actually arrive in Anaheim. Then I remember Arte owns the team. And I remember that I hate my dad, I mean Arte. So I savagely turn on said hungry young prospect as soon as they fail to be an All Star in six games. But I still hate my dad…. I mean Arte…. and I am still mad, which makes me sad. Thankfully there is always another hungry young player whose soul I can feed off of coming up next month.
Trout back in the lineup✅
Shohei pitching✅
Facing the Tigers✅
I am excited to see whether we can really lose 8-3 while Troutani doing Troutani things😂.
https://twitter.com/matttomic/status/1394498097254965249?t=AXdRjSGJq2rAS7WXwwQGJA&s=19
“Team Tank” does not approve of this message.
Arte’s tanks are cheap…
From a business point of view, more dollars in the future is better as future dollars are cheaper.
So, if we aren’t going close to the cap anyway ….
Or if actually paying Ohtani serious money in five years means being able to spend towards a higher cap in the short(er) term …
Yep. In 10 years players with the skills of Goose will be making $40M annually….
Spend that money, Arte! You only live once!