The biggest, and really only news, out of Anaheim this week was Arte Moreno announcing he’s holding onto the team.
In his mind, I’m sure it played out like this:
In reality, the reaction was a far cry from that. One great thing about social media is the instant feedback it provides. No need for group studies or think tanks, it is right out there.
Taking a look at the reactions to the official team Facebook posting, there were 1100 angry emojis, 400+ crying ones, about a hundred laughing, and 80 hearts.
Or take a look at these responses including one by Weaver.
Perhaps, just perhaps Arte has turned a new leaf late in life. After all, Perry has an increased budget and Angels minor league staff are now paid competitively. While I don’t expect people to change, I don’t generally give up on them either.
I think Dylan Hernandez of the LAT lays out a good plan for Arte winning the fans back.
Yes, winning back. Most fans liked Arte early in his tenure. Of course he inherited a great team, spent money to add to it, and dropped beer prices. It is since his college buddies took over the team that his failures have come to light.
Ironically, I posted a list of guys I’d like to see added just prior to his announcement and the best two are still out there.
The Cubs apparently read the article and took my advice.
From around the league, Scott Rolen became the newest member of the Hall of Fame. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about him.
Last week I linked a piece on players under 30 who might join Rolen in the Hall. Now let’s take a look at the guys 30 and over who are making a case.
If seeing Mike Trout on that list made you feel old, you’re not alone.
A HOF class of one isn’t going to draw a huge crowd to Cooperstown, a city that relies heavily on tourist dollars. The Hall needs as many past inductees as possible to attend for the health its hosts.
That last link isn’t super long, but it fits the type of article I try to find for long form. Something interesting, with a heart, and about baseball but not really about baseball. Go to that one with your coffee.
MLBTR has been churning out chats with former MLB players. Great way to keep content going during the slow news cycle.
For years people around here, including me at times, wanted Cesar Hernandez at the keystone and atop of the lineup. Those days are past but I always look for his name on MLBTR. He went to Detroit on a minors deal.
Jeffrey Springs signed a contract extension with the Rays that has quite a few escalators in it.
Guess who else raided the Atlanta Braves front office for their new GM? The Houston Astros named Dana Brown, formerly of Atlanta, as their new GM yesterday.
Just a bit over a fortnight until pitchers and catchers report. Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed.
In the meantime, enjoy this bad boy one more time:
Best tweet of the night:
Angels OF Mike Trout is at the Eagles-49ers game today.
Rare chance for him to see a playoff game in person
Well, maybe he should try staying on the field for a full season.
And not be a bystander by going 1 for 12 when he does go to the playoffs.
Mike Trout must be very happy his Eagles gave the Santa Clara Whiners their ass whooping’. I know I am.
https://razzball.com/los-angeles-angels-top-10-prospects-for-2023-fantasy-baseball/
Heres a Top 10 prospect list from a good fantasy baseball writer. I agree with him that the Bachman pick made no sense. I agree with him the Neto pick was excellent.
Define “good” cuz he lost me with:
Other than that comment which makes no sense.
Bandwagon hoppers, come one, come all.
https://www.mlb.com/news/best-bandwagon-teams-for-2023
Sam Bachman Lettin’ Ride https://twitter.com/PRPBaseball101/status/1619407905635332096
You know what guys; I have an idea. Let’s pool our resources to make a pitch to Arte to buy the team, perhaps we can sway him.
I got $18.59 for the kitty-Who’s with me?
Is this going to be an Eephus pitch?
I could likely scrounge up a few bucks from the cup holders in my car, will that help?
IDK. Could that buy us a legitimate short stop?
Probably not. But we could get a few McDoubles and a soda.
Today was a hot market for Duffy’s.
The were plenty Americans on the over 30 HOF list and essentially the same as WBC team 2023.
The only American on the under 30 list is……..
Bobby Witt Jr?
Top 100 MLB Prospects for 2023. Didn’t see this anywhere yet, so apologies if they were:
https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/
53.Logan O’Hoppe
89.Zach Neto
Both ranked lower on the MLB list than Baseball America’s.
I missed that. Thanks.
By the math, ever team should have 3 guys on the list with a few teams having 4. We’re at 2 which is better than our usual zero to one, but still not up to snuff.
I’ll predict Quero to be on that list mid season with O’Hoppe falling off because he’s a big leaguer.
I saw some article that said we had 3 in the top 100 MiLB players. IDK….
Baseball Americas Top 100 has
No. 47 O’Hoppe
No. 77 Neto
No. 89 Quero
Which is the way it should be.
Really? I don’t see Quero…
I see:
42.Logan O’Hoppe
53.Zach Neto
Sorry, not sure why I can’t attach the picture. But the picture that I was trying to attach is from here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasybaseball/comments/10fe3tg/baseball_america_top_100_prospects_20230118/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/mlb/angels/.amp/news/angels-news-three-halos-among-top-100-prospects-in-mlb-nc2000
He is off the charts good. 😂
This is probably what would happen.
For what it’s worth, I believe this is on Baseball America’s list, the commentary is that Quero just barely missed making the cut. So as long as his play doesn’t fall off the cliff, we would most definitely see him make the Top 100 sometime this year.
I do hope another Angels player eventually makes the list this year as well. A pitcher would be nice.
just read that Atlanta has none. It’s a bit irrelevant, I think
Hey, Arte has extended Shohei!!
Oh wait, clarification, apparently Arte extended his subscription to Showtime.
Well, that’s at least some news.
its because after the first inning of watching the Angels game, he’s saying:
“hell with this ….. what else is on?”
Lies! It was HBO Max.
Hmm… I might start calling Stassi, HBO!
or Max the HoBO
Max is HoBo-phobic when it comes to hitting.
So besides actually selling and going away, which won’t be happening now, what are the things that Arte needs to do to win the fans back? Sign Shohei, continue bolstering the baseball side of the org and let them do their jobs…i’m sure the list is plentiful.
Step #1: Replace Carpino and Kuhl.
Best answer ever!
Agree….I’d previously settled for just keep them away from baseball ops but now, just keep them away.
If he just did that or (more realistically because I’m not a dreaming child) kept them as “executive advisors for bullztits” or something and hired guys from the Rays/A’s/Cardinals/Braves or someplace to run things it would make me happy.
Everything else takes time or depends on Shohei’s mom’s intuition or players not having sex on game night. But Arte has total and immediate control of where Kuhl Poohno sits.
i just dont care about two suits. who are these guys? they aren’t baseball guys, do they work in the ticket office? do they take care of the concession stand?
its Arte->Perry->Phil
maybe if your hot dog is cold, they might be the one to talk so you can likely find them at the Anaheim Kiwanis Club, but simply don’t care if they aren’t baseball deciders.
Arte lives in Arizona. Carpino and Kuhl are his proxies in Anaheim that are the authority on day-to-day operations of the organization.
One can assume they do not pick up a phone and call Arte regarding every single decision made every day. He has outsourced the stuff he doesn’t care about to them.
So yeah, turning over the guys who have overseen the deterioration of the entire organization’s reputation and become the butt of jokes or controversy seems like a logical thing to do if you’re showing people things are going to be different now.
All that i blame on Arte himself. i’m here in AZ too – he’s responsbile.
i just dont see these other suits.
This is really my biggest criticism – and it’s a significant one. Everything else is arguably somewhat out of Arte’s control. But Arte does have control over who makes baseball decisions. To put Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum at or near the top of the baseball Org chart is just terrible oversight of a baseball team.
If those two want to spend all day deciding how to market the team, how many more video boards to install and the decibel level of the music cranked into the stadium- bully for them. But to have them actually involved in baseball ops – that is just plain ole stoopidity and/or nepotism.
I get the sense that this is largely what they do, BUT I have read Carpino’s name attached to stuff involving FAs and what not, so they’ve got to be in that mix, and that is lame.
It’s well known I’m not a fan of the “just do something to make me feel good” move, but in this case it’s pretty much all I’m looking for. Even if they did the token shit most teams do that people around here seem to think matters and make PTP a Executive Holder of Executive Title So Much More Than GM and then bring in another GM I’d be happy for it. Just let me know there’s another baseball department brain in the meetings. This would let me know that the FO is invested in MOAR INFO enough to pay a guy to be there.
I’d love it Kuhlpino went away. On the other hand, I understand that guyz who own companies hire their friends. Lots of people do that. So OK, they may never get gone, but they can be diluted.
As to your last point- yes. But that is also why I was excited for Arte to sell.
Yep. This is the one that would make me happy.
The Dodgers got Kasten as part of their ownership group. He was part of a ridiculously consistent and competitive baseball club that never really stepped in it. And since he’s been in LA the Dodgers are ridiculously consistent and never seem to step in it.
Find someone of that ilk. Steady, principled and not in over their head.
Thats an easy one:
https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5a741c10-6332-4a16-b1c9-13aa562ca36d
that the only thing that gets it done
Change his mind again
Duff Man to the Royals on a minor league deal.
Have to imagine for a lot of guys like him Spring Training location is important.
Unfortunatelytlast year, our Duffman was really a Duffer
Funny that “The SImpsons” Duff Man has the opposite build of our former Duff Man, who was built like a toothpick !
Probably doesn’t drink enough Duff beer.
11 of those are probably from gitcho and his 10 cats.
Hey, now.
And while yes, Gitcho loves to be a contrarian. I will take Arte over several owners out there.
That may actually be a fun exercise. Go team by team, without any caveats like “hurr durr market size”, and see whose various owners we’d rather have over the last 20 years. No “these guys for these years” BS. Just which team’s owners would you rather have been stuck with since 2003? Why?
I have not done it, but I bet if I did it for myself Arte falls somewhere between 13 and 18. I bet some of it would be based on personal tastes. I for one would have probably enjoyed being a Rays or A’s fan the last 20 years even if I wouldn’t ever have my dad, I mean owner, buy me a champiham sandwich.
And for all the gnashing of the teeth that happens, it seems everyone forgets who we could have had owning the Angels. Arte outbid a guy from Boston named Frank McCourt.
But at least that long national nightmare would have already been over.
Without even needing to think about it.
Pittsburgh and Oakland have owners who obviously are in it just to pocket the revenue sharing money. Cincy’s owners are both cheap and tone deaf (“where else are you going to go.”) Colorado’s owners are just nuts and equally meddlesome into baseball affairs. Miami’s suckage knows no end.
Those are easy.
There are the obviously better owners in LA, NY, SD, Milwaukee, St. Louis.
Then there’s the lump of meh owners like Arte.
Marge Schott- NOW there was an owner!!
you just never know.
D-Backs are pretty meh. They’ve traded away Goldy – in your brain maybe it makes sense but it would of been akin to us trading Trout.
Astros owner. Meddlesome.
Connie Mack…now there was an owner! Made himself manager, kept himself on even through the 49-105 years
And sold off all his good players. The A’s have been doing this forever!
Speaking of an owner of the A’s, i’d love to see Charles O. Finley the owner of the Angels. Too bad he dead.
We need a crazy guy billionaire like him and he won too.
I was bored at work for an hour so I pooped out my thought process on figuring out which teams I’d maybe rather have been stuck rooting for from 2000-2022 and submitted a Fanpost.
I tried to think as though I didn’t grow up with a regional bias, can attend games anywhere, and didn’t grow up an Angels fan. I ignored picking and choosing “This team w/ this owner” and just had to choose a single team’s whole body of work etc for those 22 years. I wanted a big chunk of time cause most teams can pull off a few good years out of 22. Lookin at you Pirates.
So if you’re bored, maybe think about who you’d like to have been stuck with in an alternate universe and how they stack up to the Angels 2000-2022.
I would too. While I don’t think he’s the devil incarnate like some do, the team could certainly use a different and better owner.
I don’t fault Arte for everything that’s wrong with the franchise. He spends, and spends big. He just spends it on the wrong places (and players). I don’t fault him for players’ injuries, but I fault him for not having developed a system in place that would alleviate that (strong minor leagues). I think it’s time for the team to have a new owner, but it is what it is. It’s his team, 100% of the decision when to let go is entirely his. And I’ll always hope for a better season than the last.
I don’t even need a super good reason for him to go. There aren’t any super good reasons for him to stay. So I’d be fine with a new owner just to see what they do.
Several Owners? I’ve only got:
Reds
A’s
Marlins
Pirates
Rockies
D Backs
Astros (Just cuz they’re a bunch of assholes)
And probably the Royals, Tigers and the Nats
Congratulation Angel Fans, that still puts Arte in the bottom third of Major League Baseball Teams
the seattle owners have to have jelly between their brains letting JAR JAR Quitter run things and giving teenagers billions of dollars.
Seattle’s owners are a puzzling group. They gave Dipoto runway to build a great farm but now that their contention window looks to be open, they don’t push to really capitalize on it.
Arte is better than several MLB owners. The criticism is pronounced because 1. Mike Trout 2. Shohei and 3. the Los Angeles market.
The team is *supposed* to be good and never is anymore. The crappy owners in Pittsburgh and Cincy and Oakland are running teams people expect to suck so the outrage is muted.
Its not just us. Fans and media get noisy when the Mets or Cubs or Giants or Red Sox embarrass themselves too. The teams with the resources to win shouldn’t suck for a decade.
Definitely. More “glamorous” team with generational players = bigger expectations.
The team has definitely underachieved since the Vlad Sr. era was over. That era bought a lot of goodwill for Arte as a new owner, and that goodwill has ran dry.
People in Oakland are just surprised when/if they go to an “A’s” game and actually return alive and possibly unrobbed to their house.
article today says Jim Dolan owner of the Knicks is using facial recognition technology at the entrances to Madison Square Garden, so as to deny entry to anyone he doesn’t like and his enemies.
Hows that for an owner?
you just never know
Radio City Music Hall does that too. What a world!
and guess who owns Radio City?
It’s all MSG properties. He’s getting flack for banning any employees of a law firm that’s suing him. Even if they aren’t working on that particular case.
A lawyer found out she was banned when she was chaperoning her daughter’s girl scout troop to a Rockette’s show.
There’s a difference between not being a near mindless bitch about something or someone and actually being in favor of them. It’s not that I love Arte, it’s that I don’t like CtPG guy. It’s hard to dislike Red Sox fan and Yankee fan but agree with CtPG guy.
So screw it. Put me squarely in the laugh category if I were a teenage girl on social media. Your man tears are delicious.
I didn’t have man tears. Sure, I was disappointed in the news but it is what it is. Arte has the power to hold his assets as he sees fit. That was my reaction post back when this news first came out (that, and what would happen to the two-way elephant in the room). Would I like a different owner? Sure. Was it a surprise that he didn’t sell the team? Sure. The news reported the aborted sale was far enough in the process.
But I also understand a lot of fans had more visceral reactions to the news. So what, let them vent. There was no right reaction, and you’re certainly not the arbiter of it. I generally enjoy your posts and takes about prospects and minor leagues (very much enjoyed your IIWPM piece), but you pontificating about how you’re not pathetic above all else and abhorring everyone just because they didn’t have the “right reaction” to something that happened to their favorite team, just because a lot of fans dare be more emotional than you was just so fucking exhausting.
I am glad you’re not crying. God hates a coward but He’s also not a big fan of a dude whose cheeks are always wet either.
I have been trying to be more pathetic so CtPG guys can feel more comfortable in their period pants while eating their ice cream and having a good cry, but I just can’t pull it off. Brilliance is a burden. Visceral reactions happen. It doesn’t mean you have to share it with everyone all the time. And I don’t abhor everyone, just the people who think differently than me. Finally, fun fact, any “hurr durr dee right doo dee durrr emotions ass exhausting…” statement that can be made is also what validates a meanie poo poo like me.
You do realize that after years of sad daddy issue bitching about Arte from these guys there are very few groups who deserve a good laugh more than these guys this past week right?
You also, I assume, are smart enough to tell the difference between saying “crap…. Arte changed his mind. That sucks.” and the keening bullshit that kicked off on Monday. Sure, everyone has the right to complain. CtPG guy is God’s special boy who’s actually worn that out and now he/she is only good for a joke.
Or you could admit that without “CtPG guy” you’d have no other way to fill your day. You post way more than anyone and in way longer rants.
You guys are like symbiotic parasites, both endlessly bitching but from different sides of the horseshoe.
I don’t know how to quit you. And I type fast. And my job is easy for me 90% of the time. So stay tanti.
My first response…I laughed….wasn’t surprised. Worried that the same old shit will continue, deficiencies in player/organizational development, his secretive meddling, stubbornness. Worried the apparent curse/pox on this franchise will continue. Worried that the bad luck/mojo/hate from the baseball gods continue.
Better owner than Dan Schneider…Better than Jimmy Haslem, A’ss owner Fisher, Spanos, Pirate owner Nutting, the children of Jerry Buss, Dolan Knicks, many others probably worse than Arte, lot of bad, egomaniacal owners..we could have a complete idiot like “Parking Lot King” Frank McCourt.
Happy that Arte keeps payroll in the top 10, willing to spend (even the misguided spending), even ok with his budget. Happy he is making plans for a fan friendly new stadium/entertainment destination, corruption aside. Hasn’t f’ed us with parking prices.
Not all of this shit is his fault, lots of unexplained bad karma with this team……don’t try to explain it, just hope it changes….and hope nobody else dies. “Winning” would go a long way in pushing Arte into the background, where he seems most comfortable.
Just remember, the one constant that has been there for every failed season, every dead junkie player, every freak injury, every failed free agent is Angels fans.
Coincidence? Dig a little deeper my friend.
Morning from Waikiki Beach!
Morning from Santa Ana….I lose….
Nice!
Enjoy that well earned vacation.
I don’t know, i believe there was an unconfirmed sighting of Jim in Garden Grove this morning….
😆
Guess where they put the Angels? https://www.pitcherlist.com/risers-and-fallers-from-the-2023-offseason/
They didn’t mention Hunter Renfroe as a key add.
I noticed that. Or Urshela or Esteves. I’d rate all three of them as more significant than Drury.
IMHO I think Drury hits himself in the lineup as an everyday player.
I think Drury should start at 2nd and give him 500 ABs. Bat has a chance to be way more impactful than Fletcher.
With Arte still owning the franchise, the offseason grade is a C- at best. Arte is a known quantity, and there’s no basis besides “hope” that the next 5 years will be different than the past 5 years.
The waft of the stench of Arte’s decision to retain the team will seep through the dugout walls and hang on the players. C- is the proper letter grade.
Then we double down with a C- fanbase to boot….. I’m starting to fear for the safety of our players, like it’s gonna be Final Destination: Balls of Death out there or something.
C- for the fanbase? Nah, best looking chicks come to Angel games.
Well yah, when there’s dingerz. Chicks love the long ball.
“Hurr durr dee durr nah beeg names nah rub Shohei chub nah gooood.” Morons. Did the team get better? Deeper? Who cares? Vibes. Shohei speculation…. masturbation. Submit article.
my guess is they labelled us neither risers or fallers, simply ‘Floaters’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxiXGr9nFM
lmao funny stuff.
On the field product: Good offseason
Big picture stuff: Bad offseason
I’m skeptical Arte sticks around for the long haul. Feels like he wants to see if this team can make noise and take a swing at the stadium again. If both those things fail in 2023 I can see him selling the team in the next 2 years.
Trout swings extra hard and hits golf ball 400 yards. Somewhere deep in his back, costovertebral dysfunction is gathering strength. “Yes Mike. Good Mike. Swing harder Mike” it thinks.
Happy Friday Crashing the Pearly Gates and friends, you too Arte. 😄
Trout playing in more than 150 games in a season > Trout hitting a golf ball 400 yards
I miss Alex Curry. 😩
Win a World Series before Trout retires or you die, Arte. Then, and only then, will you redeem yourself after the shit show of a decade+ we just lived through with this team.
You wanna be the Dodgers?Prove it.
Alex was great. When Vic would host us in the booth she always was so nice to my family.
I miss that crew.
She was always so friendly the few times I ran into her over the years. Just a true one of a kind.
i saw Erica at Diablo her first few days of Spring Training and my first thought was ‘this chick is going to be a disaster’ but the way she delivered right out of the gate was impressive; she fit in, was comfortable with everyone and likeable.
I’d hate to have followed Alex but to be honest Erica surprised me and did splendidly
Erica was so good and so now i’ve been down to dreaming about Bubbles just 4 nights/week now.
That’s funny, I met Alex two years in a row at ST with my dad haha.
Erica has been great! There’s just the history the team has with Alex, makes me miss her.
Alex at least is talking about baseball again with Ben Verlander on their podcast.
Where’s the “I miss Mota post?”
Nice guy, team history, met him a few times at ST. Our Latin broadcast misses him.
Where’s the Love!
Never met Jose, but i’ve always liked him more than many around here. I enjoyed when he called games with Gubi a few years ago, he had a chill call.
Jose is very approachable and a really nice guy. I have a photo of Jose and my son, with Jose wearing the World Series ring. Also have a photo of my son and Alex.
Met Jose at ST one year. Hell of a great guy.
Lol. I do NOT miss having a broadcaster who can hardly even finish a complete sentence. I met him too and yes he’s a nice fella, just terrible at his job