The news continues to be kind of ambiguous about whether Anthony Rendon will return this season. Phil Nevin says Shohei Ohtani can take over a baseball game like nobody can. Jared Walsh says he feels better after his thoracic outlet surgery.
The Yankees outrighted Ryan Weber and he rejected the assignment and opted for free agency. This is the fourth time this scenario played out so far this season. Infielder Wilmer Difo rejected his outright assignment from the Diamondbacks and is also a free agent. The Rangers claimed Drew Strotman off waivers from the Twins. So now David Price says he is retiring after all.
There was a relatively sedate bench clearing incident between the Mets and Pirates. Both sides just got warnings. Pete Alonso, who had been plunked, apparently had a few things to say to Oviedo.
Scott Harris, the General Manager of the Giants, will be the new President of Baseball Operations for the Detroit Tigers.
The San Diego Padres are hiring a Data Engineer.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Well, none of you will be complaining about Suzuki as our catcher next year…
I say! That is quite exciting! Perhaps Knowles can deliver some bats when he arrives in his lorry.
Hopefully not in a Michael Lorri Scioscia – although he is the size of a truck!
God save the
QueenKing!!The last three spell A.S.S.
Don’t need to see Rendon back as there is 0 upside to the move. Rest the wrist and come back next year with a new hitting coach and manager.
being activated so he can serve his suspension is upside
There are two potential upsides. The obvious is serving his 5 game suspension.
However the greater upside is allowing Rendon to have a normal off season routine. The more I’ve talked to guys about Spring Training the more I’ve come to realize just how important and regimented the off season is for most of them. Rest, recovery, reactivation, baseball drills, report.
At Rendon’s age and position the more he can do to show up to Tempe in a good physical and mental space, the better.
3rd potential upside. More time to recover from his inevitable – unknown injury while playing out the season.
This is where someone needs to comment about it not mattering cause Rendon… or injured is normal… or it’s the motion of the ocean not the size of the boat….
Arte
Center of some folks’ universe.
I just saw that Maury Wills passed away. He was, I think, one of the good Dodgers. I liked him and his base swiping.
RIP Maury Wills.
One item in his obit caught my eye – he won his MVP in 1962 over Willie Mays (10.5 WAR) mainly because he broke a long standing record (SB).
sounds like 2022
Sure, it’s just like 2022 as long as 10.5 – 6 doesn’t equal 4.5 while 8.9 – 9.6 doesn’t equal -0.7. I don’t care if Judge hits 62 HR. I actually don’t even care if Ohtani catches up to his WAR total. If he crosses 10 WAR it’s OK for them to give him the MVP. It’s not a crime. Unless we see Ohtani have 2 WAR more than him or something we don’t have to be a bunch of Red Sox fans about it and find a robbery that isn’t there.
What’s next? We start making the Kirk Gibson “Charisma” argument?
It’s ironic the posters who put up over and over Trout’s WAR and claimed WAR IS KING! and the ONLY thing an MVP should be considered on are backtracking. Ohtani does spectacular things we haven’t seen before. But if Judge gets the MVP I won’t cry, I guess because I don’t believe the powers of the BBWAA conspire to keep us from having nice things. Nor was I butthurt because there wasn’t an “Angel Cap” in the HOF.
WAR is king – the problem is that Ohtani is a 2-way player and pitching WAR is open to negotiation.
The arguments are honestly wasted breath as Judge is pulling away by my Lylin Eyes. 210+ OPS+ – the dude is unconscious right now. Same time – Ohtani’s bat has cooled …
Still a few games left but to dig in on this one way or another right now is wasted time. Both great seasons Judge better as of 9.20.2022 at 1:55pm.
I’m not even sure how negotiable pitching WAR is. I haven’t seen anyone have a problem with it that isn’t also having a problem with “their guy” not getting something.
I think it’s just a matter of pitchers not being on the field that much. Far fewer innings really does mean less value. You can see it in some of the crazier high WAR pitching seasons. Carlton in 72 (346 Innings/12.1 WAR) Clemens in 97 (264/11.9) Gooden in 85 (276/12.2) or if you want to see crazy guys like Walter Johnson in 1913 (346/15.1).
And before anyone says “Yar but Pigeon WAR is surr impertent!”, yes, they know. How do you think a guy manages to get 12 WAR? That’s pretty friggin high for a guy who played all year much less fewer than 400 innings.
I like WAR because, as apposed to always standing in opposition to our Lylin Eyes usually it serves to confirm it. I watch a season. I see some players I think should be the MVP. I look at their WAR. Low and behold…. they are usually #1 or 2 in WAR. Uncredible! And usually they win too.
My thinking in posting was that if WAR is all that counts, then the MVP Award should be changed to “Highest WAR Award”.
Yes of course WAR is important in this era of advanced metrics. And OPS, OPS+, et. al. Judge is off the charts with the totality of the offensive season he is having. Ohtani is doing Ohtani things, dazzling us day after day. I’m GLAD I’m not a voter, because one can make a strong case for both.
It’s pretty simple. WAR measures value. So the most Valuable player will likely have the highest WAR unless there’s some other incredible reason to give it to someone else, like 25 game winning home runs or something.
Or being the only pitcher to win a game for a team for over a month straight.
Your photography skills are solid
I do kinda sorta understand if a guy gets it cause “winning team” etc. It doesn’t bug me as long as that guy’s not beating out some fella with 3 WAR more than him. But if guys are close, within a point of each other, I get it.
I also understand if a guy has a year like Steve Carlton had for that horrible Phills team before I was born, if it can be shown that a guy who is a couple points of WAR short of #1 literally hit the daylights out of their team’s competition for the division title and play off seeding and won them their post season spot…. that’s OK.
So WARs not everything. But “WARs not everything” is a lame ass excuse for begging on “our guy” seeing as how it’s pretty much the best VALUE measure we have.
Reminds me of the parents of stupid kids who always have to explain that the kids a genius but they suck at test taking…. you know, the things that measure what you learn and your ability to recall said stuff on command.
I’m bored so I’ll ask. Anybody have any ideas as to who they think would make a good POBO/GM (still don’t know the difference) once Arte sells and the FO’s assumedly cleared out?
You’d have to look up some people probably…. or you can just type something like JED HOYER! But I’m curious, what are we looking for, who is what we are looking for, who is available? How are they different/better than PTP? I assume the platypus is out like him or not when there’s a new owner….
Jed Clampett, maybe. Or maybe I don’t know enough about who these people are. But if Perry were replaced I’d like someone who was not an assistant.
So…. a guy who has failed and been fired (Jon Daniels?). Aren’t most people who get hired as GMs assistant GMs first? Aren’t most GMs just assistant POBOs? And aren’t most of these guys gonna be people we’ve never heard of (other than former players in an FO)?
If we get stuck with an assistant, what Orgs would you guys want to poach from?
If we hire a failed POBO/GM who do you guys like?
Clampett sounds like a great name for Arte’s wallet. Clampett closed … permanently.
hopefully somebody that looks good in a windbreaker and shades.
and a goofy hat to complete the POBO ensemble …
It would be sweet if we got a PGMOBO that dresses like Hunter S Thompson.
Obviously we should just sign Andrew Friedman. Give him the 10 yr/ $500 million contract that Shohei is seeking. He could probably win us a championship by Year 1.
Honest to Gah, if we could trade Ohtani strait up for Friedman I’d probably do it.
But then we’d get Ohtani headshots as “the one that got away” from someone on the reg
OK, then we trade Ohtani strait up for Farhan Zaidi. Then said reg will be too spent to bother us most days and will generally be too busy stalking him in his “blue collar” Toyota.
Though…. really…. has Zaidi done anything other than bring pitchers and a pitching coach together in AT&T field? I like our farm more than theres.
Ted Lasso? Track Hottie?
Lyle (because he’s watched 4,000 games)? The dude that was the “most recommended poster on Athletics Nation”?
I mean this is the Angels and there’s so many options for a franchise that is this f’ed up.
Cool. We should do that.
What possible reason would there be for not activating Rendon and having him serve his suspension in 2022?
Roster spot, I guess. That’s going to be a problem whenever he serves his suspension. 2022 has degenerated into tryouts at this point.
There are a number players I would be happy to terminate, especially if we could get someone to take on their salaries. Like Loup and Tepera.
He could reinjure himself again, assuming he is healthy, which he clearly isn’t. But whenever he comes back, he will get reinjured. David Wright thinks he’s injury prone.
I wouldn’t play him. Just activate and serve suspension. All it would take is to send one player with options back to AAA or AA.
I bet it happens the last few games of the season. He’ll have to play some, I don’t think they’re allowed to activate and then not play him just to serve the suspension.
But it’s worth it just to give the Mariners one more finger.
Activate him with 6 games left. He plays the final game of the season.
or plays the first day back, then serves the suspension. Either way, same effect
Well,,, looks like the Angels will take over the title of longest playoff drought in the AL West.
if both Philly and Seattle make the playoffs we’ll have the longest drought in the majors. Well, tied for it, with the Tigers. https://champsorchumps.us/drought/longest-mlb-playoff-drought
The team we all deserve.
WBC GER vs CZE first pitch in a couple minutes…anybody out there?
SLUGFEST!!!