We are down to the final two weeks of the MLB regular season. 14 days from now we’ll be posting playoff threads and watching post season baseball.
Those threads will be for other teams as the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention for the 8th straight year on Tuesday. That’s doubly tough when you consider Mike Trout was on all 8 of those teams and Shohei Ohtani was on 5. You have to really suck to pull this off.
How badly must you suck? Of the 18 active players who have won an MVP, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are the only two to not win a single playoff game.
And although he took yesterday off, Ohtani is having an absolutely brilliant season. Here I thought he’d never be able to surpass last year.
There are some major, major questions surrounding the Angels this off season. More than any other off season I can remember.
Obviously who will buy the team is the largest question and Google is getting more and more full of rumors.
The owners of the Golden State Warriors? Should be the favorites for those wanting to go back to California Angels. How about Golden State Angels?
While we love to mock Forbes here, they explain why the team might sell for more than its estimated value. In short, Arte has mismanaged the franchise to the point its valuation is lower than it should be.
Now let’s have some fun. The Rocket City Trash Pandas are in the playoffs and my 2020 prospect crush Luke Murphy is killing it in AA.
I better be seeing this young man in Tempe next March. Hopefully in Anaheim next summer.
The Trash Pandas are 1-0 in the playoffs as I write this and have a chance to move on with a victory Thursday night.
Also kicking off in early October is the Arizona Fall League. Two weeks of games featuring the best prospects in the game. The rosters are absolutely loaded with talent.
And look at the Angels prospects getting highlighted in that piece. Not getting mentioned are these two promising bullpen pieces.
MLB will start using the new rules in the AFL. So we’ll get our first look at a lot of talent and the way the game will look next season.
I was worried the expanded playoffs for 2022 would result in a lack of down to the wire races and intensity. So far, that has been the case.
Perhaps the best thing I’ve seen around the league this year is Joey Votto sitting in the stands and watching the game with fans. That is what it is all about Joey, great job.
Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols are both chasing HR milestones. Here’s all you need to know and how to watch them. Yeah, he was a huge bust here but I’m rooting for the old man to get 700.
While I can’t always find a worth long form article, this week’s makes up for it. Take a look at the minor leaguers who spearheaded the unionization effort. That’ll take at least a cup or two of coffee to get through.
Enjoy your weekend, folks. Please link what I missed.
Unless Ford in auditioning for next year, why not roll with Gatewood? Gatewood is younger at 26 and seems to be the same player as Ford is. Give him some at bats to see what we have. Ford isn’t doing much but taking up a roster spot.
Tanking up a roster spot.
He’s just an emergency stop gap because Walsh is out for the season. We can’t trade for anybody decent right now and nobody better has shown up on waivers. A guy up from the minors couldn’t be much worse, I suppose.
The weather is crappy in Minnesota tonight. It’s possible they’ll postpone the game until tomorrow, and make it a double-header. I hope they do because I want Shohei to have good pitching conditions.
aw crap … pujols vs Andrew Heaney tonight… should reach 700 HRs today. didn’t buy my ticket in LF yet.
all lefties for the Dodgers this weekend vs Cardinals. Heaney – Kershaw – Tyler Anderson
Heaney, 2.66 ERA. Despite giving up 12 HRs in 61 IP
my hope for tonight: Ohtani gets win #14 with at least 4 Ks to get to 200 and Trout ups his average with 2 hits.
I am excited about our minor league prospects from AA down. Our minor league system is rated low but I have some hope. This is going to be an interesting off season, to say the least. The Angels have a lot to do but you wonder what they will do before a new ownership group takes over. Also, doesn’t it make sense for Moreno to keep Ohtani as he increases the value of the franchise?
Not if it makes it easier to sell the team if the teams value is lower. Or if a new owner wants a clean slate and not 100M+ a years dedicated to two players.
if I were a super-rich owner type I would want both Trout and Ohtani on the team because, as a super-rich owner type I’d be willing to spend money on the payroll. If I were to pay $2.5 billion to buy the team I think I could also afford an additional $35-40 million for Ohtani. According to my calculator Ohtani’s projected salary would equal 1.5% of the team cost. 1.5%, not 10%, not 5%. 1.5%, or pretty much a cheap tip.
It just depends on the new ownership group. Do they want to tie up so much money in 3 players? No? The player that can actually be moved is Ohtani. Do they want to keep Trout/Rendon/Ohtani for looks (the “giant” profit they generate is also a far smaller % of 2+ billion than you’d think)? They can, for 120M a year.
The issue is, these will be businessmen. We probably won’t get a 200 Lb hard on like Cohen as an owner. Balmer, Allen etc? It’s not like they just shot their pay roll up into space. Beg all you want, it’s far from likely that “new guys” will look at how much they spent on the team, shrug their shoulders, and up the payroll to 250M. If they keep Ohtani it’s more likely they just up payroll to 215M or something and we all complain about the same shit. Or they BIG SPLASH us and max out a payroll for the duration of Rendon’s contract but then start easing back…. post Pujols Arte style.
I’d still like to see the new owners gut everything, start over with a 50M payroll, watch the team get built (with solid financial backing), and watch CtPG sit through the rebuild we so richly deserve.
Then be “The Rays with Money” for 20 years and win 11 championships.
They could lower beer prices and that’s it.
Ok, now I’m sold.
So many different angles the new guys could take.
Obviously one is to spend like a drunken sailor and try to win with Trout and Ohtani.
Another is to wipe the slate clean and start over.
In between those two is looking at the likely all homegrown pitching staff of Detmers, Sandoval, Suarez and that crew in AA and think a short term splurge could be recouped by a team with mostly cost controlled players in a couple of years. Perhaps we need one bigger free agent addition, but still that’s some savings.
I think most businesspeople realize they are going to take a loss early on.
I hope they go with a massive payroll, convince Ohtani to stay, pick up some stars to fill our holes, but develop wisely. Like the Dodgers model… which worked pretty well.
My second choice is trade Ohtani immediately and build for 2024 or so.
I don’t see any new owner wanting to trade Ohtani. The media attention and fanfare is too good of a global marketing tool.
What might be worth considering, attach Rendon with a prospect or two to get him off the team.
If they keep payroll up through Rendon’s contract, that is also the bulk of the Trout window – scaling down by hoping for prospects to hit and paying younger guys is likely doable after that, even keeping Ohtani.
I’m excited about AA and low A but nothing else. If you take a look at our top 30 prospects per MLB you will see that’s where 26 of them are. I might be wrong on a low a or high a assignment or two but no more than that.
I have to imagine most of the IE team gets promoted to High A together next year. That will weed a few out but show others are legit.
Plenty of the AA bullpen guys will get looks at the big league level in 2023 and 2024 but I do expect Thick King and others to play AAA. Thing is pretty much all the talent other than the king, Neto, and O’hoppe are on the pitching side.
But, yes, I do expect better days ahead.
I wouldn’t expect a promotion for the thicc king. He has struggled after a decent start. He’s not even start atm
I’d expect a repeat at AA for him and Neto. O’Hoppe I think goes to AAA to start
I’m OK with that. I guess a guy can get drafted one year and play in AA for a little while the next and I won’t write him off as a total failure just yet.
The obese 1st baseman is just a novelty to me, I don’t see a major contribution forthcoming.
Do we have anybody interesting and ready (or close to) worth a 2 week look before the season ends? I’d personally would like to see Silseth up again, maybe some lotto ball relief pitchers? I don’t think any of us need to see Duffy, Ford, Loup, Quijada, Davidson, or any of the other stink Perry has put on this team again.
Better for the AA team to go through the playoffs together IMO.
While I think a couple of bullpen arms could make decent showings in the bigs, there’s no reason to rush them.
Fair enough. My counter argument to that would be Duffy/Ford/etc. have no future here and/or potentially the league after this season. Hate seeing MLB at bats and experience go to waste.
Unfortunately, the Trash Pandas lost 4-2 last night in Angelic fashion. Neto hit a homer to tie the game at 1. Leading 2-1 in the 6th with Silseth pitching, an error put a man on and Silseth was relieved by Ingram. The next batter singled and the one after that homered. Yes. TrAdition.
Game 3 tonight. The winner advances
I’m getting excited for Luke Murphy. I just recently got a numbered card of him.
I have the following biases when it comes to college baseball:
So when we drafted the best closer in the SEC and he came from Vandy I was immediately smitten with the pick. Hence my often stated prospect crush on Luke Murphy.
Murphy is pretty dreamy. For all the “Booo Hooo REEELEEEF arms” whining on this site there are about 10 arms at AA or below that I think can fill the five heavy usage spots in our bullpen for a long time to come. If both Murphy and Joyce work out we could have a crazy good pen.
Joyce overthrows his fastball, high risk in blowing up his arm again. Does not rely on his lower body like the Nolan Express.
Yeah. His delivery makes me feel tired watching it. But we can enjoy him till he explodes.
i heard a lot of this about Frankie Rodriguez.
Yeah, but Fungo’s right. His arm starts forward pretty early in his delivery and he gets out ahead of his legs a bit. That’s a lot of effort for his arm to put out…. though who knows? Maybe they’ll work on that? He’s also a big dude. If he’s not putting strain on his elbow/shoulder he may just not have a ton of stamina but otherwise be OK.
Exactly. For a tram with the Angels resources that would be fine.
Iglesias, Tepera, Loup, and Bradley combined to make pretty serious coin last off season.
Replace them with home grown guys who are just as good if not better and suddenly a stud shortstop is affordable.
Angels could be undervalued-you think……No one asked me, but; Why after 20 years does anyone think being in the top 10 team payroll is important?…..The Angels should not be rated in the bottom 2 rated Minor League rated systems…..Judge is the MVP now in my mind, isn’t change a wonderful thing 😀 ,…..Does it rather matter who the Angels have as manager?…..I can’t wait for the pitch clock…..I hate even thinking that Shohei maybe gone and no longer wearing a Angels uniform 😕 ,…..Over/Under for the Team’s price is 2.4 billion, what do you think it will be?…..Houston and Dodgers are heading for a repeat I think…..Everyone enjoy your weekend and stay safe.
I’ll take the slightly over on the sale price.
Being ABLE to have a top 10 payroll is important. It sure as hell doesn’t guarantee anything, but the top 10 teams are usually at least competitive and a lot of them aren’t even on that list because of Angels type FA overspends. If you have a lot of good players and you eventually start paying said players, you wind up in the top 10 (see Braves, Atlanta). But for most teams, being top 10 in payroll is a good sign.
It doesn’t matter who our manager is. Obviously we could have a bucket of fried chicken for a manager and a bag of wet hair for a GM but as long as we have a POBO and Arte isn’t the owner everything will be fixed. If that happens next year, and we’re good with a bunch of players from the Arte era, it will, of course, have nothing to do with Arte.
I have a lot easier time with the picture of Shohei being gone when I picture him at age 32, making 50M a year, with another 7 years on his contract and a no trade clause. It also helps to picture several shiny new players we get in return for him.
I have experienced the pitch clock. I love the pitch clock. MLB pitchers that can’t handle the pitch clock are clowns. Yes, I too do not understand how our MiLB farm can look so different from 2 years ago and be the same or worse in ranking… except that system rankings are kind of bullshit. Just ask all the Padres prospects that haven’t amounted to shit the last few seasons, or the Rangers and Mariners in the past.
Hot steaming take. The whole cheating Astros thing is long stale, and most of those players are gone, and I also just don’t care because at least three other WS contenders/winners were cheating at the same time…. they are just in media markets where we need to not look at that. I’ve been paying more attention to Verlander online this year and he actually seems cool, much loved by his team, just over-competitive sometimes. I wish he would grow a Rollie Fingers mustache because he looks like a classic old time circus ringmaster.
Houston. It’s not New York, Chicago, LA or Boston.
If Houston beats the Yankees and then beats the Dodgers to win another WS I will actually enjoy that. They may as well be good while we suck. Better them than the Rangers or Mariners.
Thankfully, this post season pretty much involves teams I kind of like other than the Doyers, Mariners and Yankees so there could be plenty of fun. I’m leaning Cardinals cause I like Nolan and Goldy.
The Steelers suck, so it looks like I will have a long off season of drinking Ghetto Grayhounds (Popov/Squirt) in a dark room and staring off into the abyss thinking about my life choices. The Celtics are still good.
i think mets or braves get doyers. feels like those 2 teams have put up a fight against the blue, unlike the NL worst. and don’t sleep on those cardinals, NL should be intriguing in October.
With their hitting and defense if the Cardinals even cobble together a passable post season pitching staff they will be very good…. and, for some reason, the gods like the Cardinals, probably because their fans are stupid and happy and supportive.
$2.4 is a great number. Just above the $2.2 valuation being floated around. So you agree with Forbes the team is slightly under valued.
As gitcho states being able to consistently have a top 10 payroll means the franchise has a solid economic footing. And that’s with Arte’s cronies doing the same tired promotions and not really being innovative in any aspect of sports entertainment.
Really, the Angels have everything needed to be a marquee franchise we just aren’t one.
Managers matter but not as much as NFL coaches. In baseball moves are like playing blackjack. You play the odds most of the time, take a gut hunch other times, and yet you’re guaranteed of nothing. Still better to play the odds, though.