Yes certain dates instantly take on meaning. In my lifetime those are 9/11 and the one listed in the byline, January 6th. Two very dark days in our history and we’ll always remember where we were when they happened.
There are plenty of places to talk politics or indulge your favorite conspiracy theories around the web. So while we personally reflect on today, let’s keep the chat below on baseball.
Noted nutjob Trevor Bauer will dominate the news today as it is the deadline for the Dodgers to activate or cut him.
Bill Plaschke says exactly what I think. Dude was handed the largest suspension for violence against women in league history. Hard pass.
In better news for our blue neighbors, Julio Urias is considered the captain of Team Mexico in the WBC.
The biggest news around Angels land was the formal announcement of Wayne Randazzo as our new play by play guy. I think we’d all agree last year’s broadcasts were horrible so this is a positive development.
Looks like there will be a full crew on Bally Sports. Wonder what the payroll for that is.
There weren’t any roster moves, but FanGraphs came out with projections for the Halos and pulled no punches in talking about the franchise.
Ownership news? Not really anything we don’t know here but there is chatter.
The owner of the Warriors confirmed his rumored interest in buying the team.
But let’s not stop a lack of facts from leading to rampant speculation that not only in Ohtani leaving but that he’ll also land a $500 million deal.
Former Angel phenome Frankie Rodriguez is making an interesting case for himself and closers in general for the HOF.
If this site is correct, it will be an epic year for baseball in this area:
Tom Verducci pens some predictions for 2023 and seems to be quite happy with the new rules.
One guy who won’t be playing ball here is Rafael Devers who got P-A-I-D by the roid sux to the tune of 11 years and $331 million.
Still not getting paid is Carlos Correa. What is going on?
My thinking all along is that Cohen made him an offer knowing Correa would fail the physical, giving Cohen all the leverage to hammer that deal down. Carlos doesn’t have much of a market left and he wouldn’t want to venture into it with two failed physicals. Cohen didn’t get rich by playing nice or playing by the rules. These two deserve each other.
Also in New York, all the former GM’s belong to the Yankees who brought in Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean in the same week.
Since the inception of the strike zone, framing pitches has been a big part of being a catcher. But with an automated strike zone looming, what will change for the catching position? Not my best lead in but a quality article worth a read.
Last but not least, here’s a chance to hang out with great guy David Fletcher and raise money for some kids who really need it. Tickets to his poker tournament will sell out, so click here and buy one.
Goodbye…Guby Tuesdays….
Why is that?
Cryptic? Maybe he should include a photo with his posts like 2002….
Still, I’m gonna miss you
Don’t question why s(he) needs to be so free
Apparently Manfred just said that it is unlikely Angels will be sold by opening day. I guess that is a bummer, because it won’t allow us to do anything significant during the offseason with the new owner in place. Including something one-way-or-another with Ohtani.
Opening Day always seemed too soon to me.
We’re probably done for this off season other than minors and maybe a small MLB deal or two.
Sad because, as usual, a couple more pieces could make this a decent team.
The only hope is that they are finalizing a deal and the new owners OK an increase in payroll so they take o er a good team.
Source?
USA Today, Nightengale. I accidently said Manfred… should be Nightengale. Just a report. We’ll see what actually happens when it happens.
Stopping by to say hi y’all! Here are my hopeful predictions for 2023.
– Ohtani Signs Largest Contract Extension with Angels 11 years 550 million Guaranteed with No Trade Clause
– Mike Trout Wins 2023 MVP 307 Avg 57 HRs 133 RBIs
– Shohei Wins 2023 CY Young 2.02 ERA 19 Wins 222 KOs
– Angels 2023 World Champions
– Phil Nevin 2023 Manager of the Year
– Rendon has aHealthy Season with 157 Games Played 300 Avg 30 HRs 122 RBIs
How much for an ounce of what you are smoking?
😂
Rest in Peace Nate Colbert and Bill Campell. Baseball just got better in heaven.
Bauer has crossed the line again with telling a story that the Dodgers told him they would play him in ’23 and the next day they released him. Dodgers have come out and said flat out that they never planned to hold on to him. Serial liar along with being past perverted and kinky. JUST SAY NO!!!
Not defending Bauer but the Dodgers are weasels. They had a chance when this shit broke to make a forceful statement and they failed, big time.
Integrity has no need of rules.
Indeed
Eric Kay…….no throwing stones in glass houses PLZ….
yea now I want Bauer on this team to watch all these sanctimonious angel fans to spontaneously combust.
Please observe the three syllllaabble….sillliable…easy words rule on this site.
I think Bauer will be out at least this year if not forever.
Difference between this case and most of the other ones listed is those had a legal outcomes. The DA office chose not to take this to court because they believed they could not obtain a conviction, which results in everyone being free to have an opinion and not be wrong based on the law.
This means every city the team that signs Bauer, the 1st questions they will be answering will be about Bauer instead baseball. I don’t see many owners wanting their brand associated with the never-ending dumpster fire that is Bauer.
It won’t be this week or maybe the week after, but he’ll be with a new club before pitchers and catchers report .
Maybe in the Mexican or Independent league but doubt it’s with a MLB/MiLB team.
I really thought it was going to be the California All Penitentiary League.
You thought!!! LOL 😆 😂
I’ll go “TAME” for a moment and simply say that “no GM will sign him until one GM does sign him”.
Perhaps an injury in spring training creates a job for him.
No, a need for pitching will create a job for him. Character doesn’t count!!
Yeppers!!
Kobe went to pre-trial for rape, Ray Lewis went to trial for murder, Michael Vick killed dogs and Joe Mixon was shown on camera slapping a woman into next week. They all resumed careers in time. Believe it or not, there will come a day when Bauer pitches and it won’t be mentioned. Maybe not this year but it will. The sports world is very forgiving of you can still produce.
Different situations
All of them had (except Mixon, no clue who he is) good lawyers telling them to STFU while the investigation/triial were happening & said all the right things after their cases allowing the issue settle.
i don’t think Bauer has it in him to not be toxic. That’s what will keep him out of sports.
I have no doubt Bauer had good lawyers, he just didn’t STFU like they said.
Valid point
It’s Saul Goodman
He didn’t call Saul, he called Tyrone….
Mike Tyson went to jail and resumed boxing.
…and kept crapping ear parts.
see Deshaun Watson in the NFL…..next!!!!
You can go see Deshaun Watson, Toots. he’s almost ready for his post game massage.
I’m sure the Browns are ecstatic with this signing especially after they guaranteed all $230 Million and after 5 games his numbers have been below replacement level in every category.
In fact based upon this example we should go sign Trevor Bauer as its obvious he’ll perform at his previous all star caliber level despite all of the allegations and legal proceedings and the continued flippant ill will over the last year and half.
https://youtu.be/8UVNT4wvIGY
perfect 80%er tunes…….. 😆 😆 😂 😂 💪 💪
Stupid, whiney shrill sounding noise…….like sirens to dogs.
Amazing. You just perfectly described every post I’ve ever read of yours.
Justin Herbert has a nice voice….I didn’t know.
Holding out hope we sign Bauer but I doubt Arte is going to spend any more this offseason.
Arte would never green light a Bauer signing. Who knows if the new ownership would.
Of course not. Why spend more money when he’s in the process of selling the team. He probably could care less how the team performs this season.
Shhhh Jake, he’d only pay Bauer minimum MLB wage.
Yeah, that is the key. I doubt that would be a first impression any new ownership group woud want to make.
Well, let’s see… As it stands right now, we’re a .500 team at best. We’ll be lucky to finish 3rd in our division and Arte already has several bids to buy the team. So yeah, I don’t think he really cares about spending any more money at this point.
That makes no sense once Bauer passes through waivers the Angels can sign him for league minimum which is I believe around 770K, no team is going to trade for Bauer why pay his 22 million owed when you can get him for 770K. But Arte is not going to sign Bauer because of the optics especially since he is trying to sell the team
He may not have committed crimes you can prove in court, but there’s no question the dude is an absolute freak. There’s rough sex, and then there’s what he did.
The Angels image is bad enough with the Skaggs drama that we don’t need any more shadiness around the team.
Hard, HARD pass.
I really don’t care what one does on their own time. He wasn’t charged with anything and the case was dropped. But I respect your opinion. I still would be happy if we signed him because I think he would make our rotation that much better and give us a realistic shot at making the playoffs.
It’s never going to happen anyways because Arte isn’t going to spend any more money especially on someone like Bauer who will want 30+ mil.
I don’t believe the world is that black and white, but same, I respect your right to hold the opinion.
I just couldn’t root for him, or the team that employs him.
Heard that rationale a lot with Kobe and the Lakers.
You know, at the height of my Lakers fandom I was a rabid Kobe fan because I didn’t really understand what happened with his case because I was a kid.
I don’t think the fully formed adult version of myself would be able to root for him now.
Wrong, sorry Mia. Kobe did not rape her. She bragged the next day about how she banged Kobe in a large group at a bar and gave explicit personal details. Kobe’s legal team could not let us know how long her “..counsel tried to communicate with Kobe’s counsel” aka the beginning of a money grab before she went to the police.
Kobe’s “Accuser” also rec’d a hefty pay off.
And Vanessa received a LARGE carat diamond
1995 is calling and asking for its excuses for rape back.
It’s amazing how people still believe he raped her. He was never charged with rape and like you said she even bragged about the encounter. Oh well, we live in a society where allegations are considered automatic guilt.
He wasn’t? What was that arrest and all the jetting back and forth to Colorado for a trial about then?
I’ll have to remember in the future when posting about controversial players that all of you here consider allegations as automatic guilt.
Don’t want a cancer on the team. I was at the game Jose Guillen lost it when replaced for a pinch runner. Loved Jose Guillen’s baseball skills. Don’t want headcases on the team, don’t want to win at any cost.
I like rooting for players like Trout, Shohei, Fletch and Rendon.
Yep, we don’t want to be the “Raiders of MLB”
Ironically, Scioscias & Guillen’s actions ended up galvanizing the team after that incident and led to a 7-2 finish a AL West championship.
He’s not going to get much more than the league min if ANYONE signs him. Dodgers are paying him $70 mil so he can’t command anymore money from any team
Whomever signs Bauer this year only pays him the MLB minimum salary for a veteran: $720 K.
The Dodgers are on the hook for the prorated portion of his salary – $22.5 million.
I don’t want him on the Angels, but his arm would be the perfect addition to the rotation. An excellent righty to balance us out? Hells yeah.
BUT, Mia is 100% right. This franchise can have nothing to do with him, and I personally can’t root for a dirtbag like him.
I imagine Trout would openly revolt if you brought in Bauer
Would you want someone like Cap Anson? I wouldn’t
Nor would because he’s dead
“someone LIKE Cap Anson”. Of course that could mean some other dead guy.
Or, based on his Twitter, Bauer
Let’s all remember, this isn’t 1950s, there are a plethora of woman in MLB management, noy just secretaries, that would not feel comfortable around this creep.
Incredibly important point.
The 50 shades of Bauer.
Somebody will definitely sign him. No question. If he could get along with his teammates, Angels should sign him. But the Angels don’t have a strong clubhouse leader to keep him in check so I don’t see him coming here. Also, Perry is a big chemistry guy and does not step out of his rotund shadow.
Guessing Padres, Reds or Rangers as potential landing spots. Rangers are aggressive as hell and Bauer really liked his time with the Reds. AJ Preller and Peter Siedler are desperate to get to the World Series. Machado would bitch slap him if Trevor got out of line.
Machado doesnt strike me as a bad ass that could police anyone let alone himself .
The absolute last person I’d be holding out hope for his signing is Trevor Bauer.
Cool.
Bauer can be had for minimum wage. The Dodgers are on the hook for the big bucks this year.
It’s not the money. It’s not the one case that got all the publicity.
It’s the fact 3 women have all said the same thing on top of his long history of attacking and cyber bullying women on twitter. Dude has issues
Correa with a grudge starting at SS in ANA
get.it.done!
Ummm…
No.
I was reading a book called “My Greatest Day in Baseball”, a succession of interviews with old-timers from the early days. I think the book came out in 1947 so the old guys were from the teens and twenties, with an occasional 1932 reminiscence. Lots of forgotten names there.
Which reminded me of Adam Ottavino saying he’d whiff Babe Ruth. Maybe he would. Then I got to thinking that today’s players must suck compared to those who’ll be playing in 2100. Guys like Ottavino tossed softballs in their day (the people of 2100 will say). Nobody could even reach 110. I’d like to see Trout hit a 125 mph reverso! And they were so small. Judge was actually considered a big man! Can you believe that? Those 2020s players couldn’t even compete with high schoolers of “today” (again…2100)
Yep. Crazy.
I can throw that reverso now!
Glad to eat crow-Glad the dodgers chose the correct, though painful, path to deal with this pariah. Bauer’ll pitch in 2022, a few teams I am sure are already drafting a press release statement for when/if they sign him.
Now we wait and see if 29 other teams can pass on the cancer that is Trevor Bauer.
The Phillies will take him, they don’t care.
The Yanks have Domingo German, he beats women who don’t even want it.
And there’s always Houston. He could take Osuna’s old locker.
Yankees, Red Sox, and Astros would top my list as possible landing spots. Maybe the Phillies as A4E said.
angels only employ drug dealers, they’re not into fetish sex.
That’s true since Dick Pic Mick didn’t last here.
Trevor needs a team?
He Actually needs a therapist.
Dodgers organization basically quoted the LAT piece.
Speculation time. Who picks him up for the league min? I’ll go first… welcome to Philly Mr. Bauer
Trashstros
Seattle, Jedi will trade him at deadline.
Or Seattle, trades for him at the deadline…waiting for the heat to die down..then sign him to extension.
Yankees, Sabean and Minaya will be assigned to babysit him.
Nobody until mid-June.
Yep, their fanbase doesn’t care
#😍DYKSTRA
“While we are extremely in favor of having a bunch of creeps, pedophiles, domestic abusers and common criminals in our stands every night it is NOT the true blue Dodger way to have a superfreak in the clubhouse. We think it’s important to set the highest example possible for the good people of Los Angeles and especially Hollywood. To this end we are sad to announce we are parting ways with Trevor Bauer. While his actions would be fine if he worked for a major studio or was a politician or maybe the scion of a murderous mining family, we just can’t stomach such behavior from a man who throws a little white ball. We wish him the best. We are still friends. Thoughts and prayers.
Love,
The Dodgers
XOXO”
It will be interesting to see if any team out there is gonna just embrace being evil don’t give a fck bad guys and sign him to win a title. Like the Rays or something. No one roots for them anyway, might as well go full cold heart.
Shocked that the Padres haven’t already pulled the trigger…..hell, it’s been over an hour since the announcement.
Does anyone know if there are special rules for the sale of a team?
Specifically, does it need to be like a silent auction, where each bidder submits their bid secretly, and then Arte needs to choose the highest?
Or is it like FA, where it is wild and crazy, and Arte can go back and forth telling bidders “well he just upped his bid by $100MM, do you want to top him” and play bidders against each other Boras-style (allegedly)?
Generally speaking, Arte can establish whatever bid process he likes within certain parameters. In the past the league did not vet prospective owners until they were submitted for approval by a league Ownership committee.
There have been some instances where potential owners were rejected by the league , Jeff Moorad ( Leigh Steinbergs old partner) comes to mind when the ill will he accumulated during his agent days with other owners torpedoed his bid to acquire controlling interest in the Padres. I think that past situation as well as the difficulty in not prescreening prospective buyers when the team is bought out of bankruptcy ( Like Rangers & Doyers) now requires some sort of initial vetting before financial data can be reviewed and bids can be received. I believe there are also maximum debt to value ratios that cannot be exceeded by prospective buyers. But other than that it’s up to Arte to decide how he wants the bid process to take place and who he wants to negotiate with after receiving initial bids.
If I recall McCourt got the league to agree to allow Blackrock to prescreen bidders and receive proposals for the sale of the Doyers. While Rangers were sold through a bankruptcy court bid process including a stalking horse bid.
I’m not so sure the Lacob dude would be ideal for us.
He basically communicated “I’d much rather own the Giants or A’s, but they aren’t available, so maybe I’ll settle”.
He is popular in the Bay Area because of his connection with the Warriors. That might get tweaked if he buys the Angels and makes them good, and then they start coming up here and pounding on the A’s. I know to many this is a non-issue, but it might be to him.
I think it’s comparable to Paul Allen, a Seattle-ite, owning the Portland Trail Blazers, hiring Bob Whitsitt, another Seattle-ite who lived in Seattle (!), as GM. By the way, Whitsitt was reponsible for signing the guys called the Jailblazers. Anyway, my point is I’d prefer local ownership. Does it matter? Maybe not.
I don’t believe the Doyers would be considered local owners ( other than Magic of course) since Guggenheim is put of Chicago & New York. So I’m not so sure thats a concern.
Kroenke was from Missouri and still has operations there but has adopted L.A. (and Malibu) as his new home since 100% invested now in this area. Considering his attempts to buy the Doyers back in 2012 as well as the NFL’s restrictions on other Professional sports franchises outside of your NFL region I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
The Gug has a branch of the fam out here in LA. Primarily into real estate investment. I think they are the local reps for them as regards the Doyers.
Bauer was never arrested, tried or convicted of a crime. Bauer will lose more than $37 million in salary for the final 144 games of last season and for the first 50 games of next season, through May 23.
I’d consult with Ohtani, Trout and Rendon. If all three have no issues with Bauer in the clubhouse, far be it for me to create obstacles.
I sympathize with Bauer. From what I understand, he basically persuaded multiple women to engage in consensual, violent sexual acts that most people would find repulsive and that the women later regretting and yet he was punished more severely than people who engaged in non-consensual, criminal violent behavior.
That said, I don’t want to cheer for him and I especially don’t want my kids to cheer for him. Character should matter for celebrities, politicians and jobs that have influence over children.
My recollection was, at least in one case, he continued after unconsciousness. That could hardly be considered consensual, if true.
Rape is usually a he said/she said crime and therefore difficult to convince 12 jurors to find beyond a reasonable doubt. There’s a lot of smoke around the Bauer fire.
trivia
which Angels have won the ALCS MVP?
1982 – Fred Lynn
2002 – Adam Kennedy
2023 – Shohei Ohtani
correct – you got all 3
a cool baseball 1983 Lynn card article from HOF brought this to mind
And only one of those players won the MVP despite being on the losing team.
Dean Chance.
Speaking of poker, I hit a bad beat jackpot at Hawaiian Gardens a couple months ago, it was awesome. Had AK and the flop came out AAA. My opponent had pocket Qs. My AAAAK beat his AAAQQ boat…BUT, since he got the bad beat he won $12k of the $30k jackpot. I got $6k, and everyone else at the table got $2k even though they weren’t in the hand. Probably my single best moment of 2022 haha.
Incredible flop, heart must have been racing. You’ll never forget that.
For sure. Only downside was I only had about $40 left in chips, so the pot was rather small. The jackpot helped in that regard though, making it both memorable and my most profitable. My best ever hand was a straight flush, A-5 of diamonds, and I only won a couple hundred on it. So even though this wasn’t my best ever hand in a poker hierarchy stance, its my best hand ever.
Oh my Gah! Do you think if I wear his jersey and stuff David Fletcher will ask me out? I mean hang out with me and do man stuff? I wonder if he realizes how similar we are.
The Dodgers can eat a bag of dicks. Bauer may be down with that.
So…. where does Omar Minaya rank in comparison with the immaculate truth to power speaking potency of a real baseball man POBO…. which Brian Cashman isn’t because he’s just Vice with a smidge of GM thrown in…. and GMs are totally different than a POBO… if Brian Sabean is just an advisor to just a Vice POBO and also GM is that like being a “Czar” in a lame duck presidency? Is Minaya his bitch, or do they trade off? I bet the Yankees are 100% gonna win the WS now cause their FO has been stuffed with real baseball mans. We should all be Yankees fans.
Griffin Canning has just as much chance of helping our team as Michael friggin Wacha.
Not unless you want to be part of a Throuple.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj3VphK9AMk
Somebody pee in your Wheatles today? You seem more angry/sarcastic than usual. And that is saying something!
Wheaties are for pussies. I eat skull for breakfast.
Did someone piss in your skull?
That Fangraphs article was a little too spot on. While it’s cool to go see a game with friends to hang out, I think this “good enough” mentality wears on you after a while. Would be nice to see new ownership with a bigger drive for postseason wins. I’d even be okay with a full rebuild if it means being competitive in a few years.
Personally, I think the Japanese conglomerate would be ideal. They almost certainly would be well organized/run especially as regards having clear boundaries in roles, etc. And moreover one would have to believe that they would have a special interest and incentive to keep/retain Ohtani as it would be so good for business and probably present alot of cross marketing opportunities.
I felt the same with the article. Fangraphs nailed how I objectively view the team. The offseason is not over but fail to see the improvement needed, again. Got a couple of depth pieces but still nibble around the corners. Floor raised but not the ceiling. There are never bold moves made to acquire top or second tier talent. Still have ourselves in the uncomfortable spot, “if only Rendon and Trout can each get to 155-game, 600-AB mark.” Bring on the new owners and sweep out the front office.