Last week I went to Phoenix for my annual Spring Training trip. Family, friends, baseball…it was just what the doctor ordered. The atmosphere at the World Baseball Classic was incredible and seeing the USA lineup in person was a treat.
As always, the best part was spending time with my dad and my son. Having both at a ballpark is a blessing. Ranking right up there with that was meeting up with Jessica and her family and having some of our friends join us on the trip. We wrapped up our weekend with a picture perfect day at Camelback watching the Angels take on the White Sox. A great group of families on the outfield berm, under the shade, watching our kids have fun.
Speaking of the WBC, Team USA is moving on up to the next round thanks to a big night from Mike Trout. I can honestly say he received the largest ovation when lineups were announced before the Great Britain game. On Wednesday night he put the US on his back and carried them to victory.
Trout is loving the experience of being the captain of the USA. He’s clearly all in on this team.
While Trout justifiably gets a lot of credit for the win vs. Columbia, the US bullpen was lights out. The bullpen is a 15 headed monster that could get better as the tournament rolls on.
Sorry for the back to back links from The Athletic but they are doing great WBC coverage.
Trout is far from the only Angel impressing in the WBC. Patrick Sandoval’s performance against the USA impressed Phil Nevin and a lot of viewers.
And, of course, there’s Pool B MVP Shohei Ohtani who threw his fastest pitch ever against Italy.
Ohtani did have one hiccup, against friend of the site David Fletcher:
Perhaps the most incredible number I can throw out regarding the WBC:
This just goes to prove the “baseball is dying” narrative is lazy reporting. Honestly, I’ve seen the same in boxing forever. The sports are not as big here as they were a generation or three ago, but that is more than offset by growth internationally. 55,000 attended the Japan/Korea game and it pulled in that rating.
The Information Age has changed things. Ratings for everything are down, including most NFL games. But to say sports that are selling out the Tokyo Dome, Wembley, and Stadium Azteca with broadcasts reaching tens of millions beyond American borders are dying is folly at best. They are just changing and becoming more global. Which leads to more global talent entering the sports, perpetuating the cycle.
The Edwin Diaz injury will sadly overshadow this great tournament. It hurt to see, but please don’t change the WBC due to one unfortunate injury. There’s your longform reading.
All this WBC talk takes away from the fact it is Spring Training and there are some battles for playing time going on.
Chase Silseth struck out three and is getting more comfortable with his new cutter.
Griffin Canning is healthy, showing improved velocity, and pitched three solid innings in that Angels/White Sox game we attended.
This might all be for not as the out of options Tucker Davidson is pitching well this Spring.
Pretty cool to have a battle of guys who deserve to be in MLB battling for a spot. That old adage of the Angels not having enough pitching is starting to change. We have 4 of the top 100 starters in our rotation.
Matt Thaiss and Mickey Moniak are the guys who are really seizing the day IMO. With Thaiss also out of options, I think he’s in the drivers seat for the backup catching role to start the season.
And now for something completely different…
Diamond Sports Group filed BK as expected. Their goal is to restructure $8 billion in debt that was taken on when they acquired the sports networks. Buy it, promise to pay, file BK, don’t pay. Seems solid, right?
MLB has been gearing up for this and sources say the current plan is to stream games for free.
Bally, for their part, says they plan on operating as usual during the process and that broadcasts should not be interrupted.
The bottom line is that somehow, some way we should be able to watch the Halos.
In one last bit of bad news, Doug DeCinses son was found dead in Irvine yesterday. Dude definitely had his demons but he also leaves behind a young daughter.
From around the league:
The Steinbrenners are lower than Cheap Arte. The Yankees are one of only two teams to charge their players for in flight wifi.
The best way to wrap this week up is by posting the best thing I saw this week:
Enjoy the weekend, the Madness, and maybe even a little sun.
Arte seems to have an interesting understanding of what it takes to make a full ballclub.
Here he asks Perry:
“I said, ‘You mean you need more than just Turner?'”
Yep. At least this time he listened.
I laughed when he called the fans who wanted him to sell a โvocal minority.โ
Mexico vs. Japan for the semifinals.
Sandy likely starting.
Shohei like “I’m really gonna knock your balls.”
This team looks pretty damn solid. But not ready to go 5-7 rounds with the Astros, etc. The only big hole I see is at SS, just like everyone else. The future is also a large hole.
What if we could get the Cleveland Cave-Ins to GO FOR IT ALL while they still have Beiber and Ramirez at full go and their division is weak?
What if we traded Ohtani to them to pair with their solid roster and star pitcher and hitter?
What if we got Triston McKenzie, Ahmed Rosario and say prospect arm Justin Campbell back in a slight overtrade? McKenzie isn’t quite Ohtani on the mound yet, but he’s no slouch. If he takes a 2 WAR step forward this year he is Ohtani on the mound. He’s also not even in Arb till 2024. Plug him in with Detmers, Anderson, Sandoval and our future arms? We’d be lookin pretty good now and in the future.
Take our current line up. Use Urshela/Drury at 2B. Then plug Rosario in at SS with his .715 OPS and 18 steals. Urshela/Drury/Rosario + an open DHs flexibility will most likely provide us the offense that Ohtani takes away from last year’s line up.
Trade Rengifo because he has value and get another pen arm. Fletcher becomes utility.
Take the massive pile of money Ohtani was going to get. Extend Ward, Sandoval and Rosario… maybe Detmers too.
THAT is a fairly young team with a lot of talent locked in for a few years. It will cover the rest of Rendon and most of Trout’s tenure while we’ll have the you arms to replace Anderson when his contract ends.
Win many games for many years. Root freely for the Guardindians to win it all in 2023 before Ohtani tells everyone it’s been every little Japanese boys dream to play for the Dodgers and Beiber reveals he always was a Yankees fan as a kid.
Tucky D wins Cy Young award as Angels make it to ALCS and lose to those hated Indiguards. Angels win the 2024-2030 World Series.
I get a cookie. Huzzah!
No? Get to watch Ohtani for six months is a better long term plan? Basically the team we have now, but Renfroe, Urshela, Walsh, Sandoval, Ward soon leave to go get paid… better?
I’m just sayin, our iron is heating up. Stand pat?
Stand Pat
I think Fletcher will be fine, he was on his way to a 3rd straight season of 715 OPS or greater in 2021 before a horrendous 44 game stretch at the end of the season.
715 OPS (333 babip) with 11 stolen bases through 1st 113 377 OPS (166 babip) with 4 stolen bases through last 44.2022 he suffered a core injury in spring training & played injured or rehabing the whole year.
Even if we re-sign Ohtani, there’s a ton of money coming off the books over the 4 years.
Committed Money
2023 – $226,751,6672024 – $130,991,667 – 7.5 possible club option decline2025 – $110,408,334 – 7.5 possible club option decline2026 – $92,708,334 – 8 possible club option decline2027 – $58,208,334 – 8.5 possible club option decline
If the MiLB teams starts producing productive players on a regular basis again, resigning Sandoval (FA 2027) & Detmers (FA 2028) doesn’t seem that much of a reach.
Ward (FA 2027) will probably end up being trade bait due to his age (currently 29).
Everything is contingent on the farm.
I’d love to get McKenzies but he’s from New York so obviously he wants to go back there to pitch for the Yankees, no chance he’d report even if the Angels traded for him.
Guess the bullet points don’t work. ๐
At this point, stand pat.
We donโt need a SS apparently- we have Fletch!
I wanted a SS, I wanted Turner. So did Arte- he wanted Turner too, but PTP said โNo Arte, you canโt have him.โ
Stoopid Perry- everyone everywhere knows we need a SS.
We roll with Fletch and see where we are in June.
If youโre from my ge station, Griffey will always be The Kid.
Fun to see him coaching the WBC.
https://twitter.com/mlbpa/status/1636790816281600003?s=46&t=e2madw4iRuMhY-mGsL6oCA
no WBC thread yet, so….
Urias getting clobbered in the 1st inning. Yikes!
Good thing team Mexico has Sandoval to lean on. Eat it Doyers.
I completely dropped the ball today. Sorry all.
Been a few years since I checked in here, happy weekend all.
Yazz! Weekends for everyone!
Swing by more often.
WBC giving Trout and Ohtani a taste of playing truly meaningful games similar to playoffs. Maybe it will be a source of further motivation for 2023.
By the way, I have a new saying for this year as an Angel fan and my state of mind:
โ23
We will see
Or
โ23
Wait and See
’23
our last year of Ohtani
23 and hopefully Me
We have not four but five pitchers in the top 100.
Ohtani (7), Detmers (47), Sandoval (58), Anderson (67), Suarez (97).
so who is pitching the 8th and 9th?
Its not Esteves.
who is the April closer?
Nice, I could see Sandoval and Detmers turning the corner over the past couple of years. Still expect some more growth.
Yes, my mistake.
No worries. I am just happy to see it. Few teams have 5 in the top 100 (though at least one has six, even after losing Verlander).
All I can say about the WBC is if there had to be a WBC-related injury, I vastly prefer it happened to someone on another team. I’d be pissed if it were Trout or Ohtani.
Perry keeps adding talent. Evan Marshall on a minors deal.
He was good for several years until he got hurt. He’s 16 months post TJ. I can see the logic in the gamble. Now lets see if it works.
I agree:
Minimal risk,
? reward
Exactly. Costs nothing. Could be something. But having Webb, Rosenburg, Marshall, Garza, C Rod in AAA along with whoever goes down out of Canning/Suarez/Silseth/Davidson (if he clears waivers)…. this is very nice.
Perry is starting to put a โPTPโ stamp on this organizationโฆIs it possible the Angels actually screw the Phillies in this trade? Could be nice found Lotto ticket. Interesting to see what happens.
A New trAdition?
https://www.mlb.com/news/mickey-moniak-trying-to-earn-opening-day-roster-spot-with-angels
This is why I am all for stocking up on “pedigree” prospects that failed. Why I also don’t want to ditch Adell.
One of the best things about baseball is, through brute skill development, a less gifted player can become a useful major leaguer. This is cool. But there is still the fact that some guys are just naturally gifted. These guys tend to be first round picks, or high priced IFAs. But they can flop by not developing.
BUT, at least some of these guys are incredibly talented and just can’t get things to click till they are 24 as apposed to 21. If your system is not stuffed with top 200 prospects, why not stash a few of these guys in AAA and see if they figure it all out? That’s how you blunder into a solid starter or an outfielder with 60 grade speed and power.
This will require some of these guys getting looks in ST instead of darling new guys. But I think it’s worth it. That’s why I’m OK with a pile of Adell, Moniak… guys like John Lamb or Meyers a couple years ago. If they click, we win. If they don’t, it cost us nothing but style points. People around here like to freak out like bringing a guy like this to camp is INSTEAD of signing what ever Max Scherzer dream they had, but it’s not. It’s a separate thing and it’s fairly smart, mostly because it risks very little.
How hard has it been to find a solid CF capable 4th OF who isn’t an offensive black hole? If we can get that for just dumping Thor’s salary, which we were gonna do anyway, that’s awesome.
I really like Phillips. But I am really starting to root for Mick to just plain outplay him for the bench OF spot out of camp.
why do you like Phillips? Is he an incredible plus defender?
So I hearโฆโฆReputation for excellent glove, great arm, good character/clubhouse guy, pitch runner with speedโฆTeam first guy thatโs not going to need to play muchโฆ.good Tweeter follow is the word on the street. High Team Grit Rating.
As PTPโs personal assistant GM, Iโd give him the 4th OF spot. Hope heโs nothing but our go to pinch runner and defensive replacement for Ward when needed.
Give Mickey Mantle Moniak and Adell more development in all 3 OF spots at SL. First OFโer goes on the DL, one of them comes up and starts.
I’d give Phillips about a month while Moniak and Adell get reps in AAA.
Trout isn’t getting any younger and doesn’t have a replacement. We need somebody who can spell him on the grass a day or two a week and not be a black hole in the lineup.
If Trout replaces Ohtani at DH, we’re already down one bat. If Phillips replaces Trout in center, we’re substantially weaker.
Or if Phillips replaces Ward or Renfroe late in a game and the bullpen blows it, we’re not having Phillips hit late in games or in extras.
I’m rooting for Phillips, but he’s early DFA material at this point.
Stick Ohtani in right field so Trout can DH one day a week
Why do you think he can play RF?
He played OF for Nippon for years (with a good defensive rating) and also played 8 innings in RF with the Angels (thus far).
(That said, I think it is up to Ohtani if he wants to play OF, and anything to keep him around long term (imho) should be done. We are better with him starting and at DH than any other such combination I can see moving forward).
In the last eight years the man played 8 games in the OF in Japan and 7.1 innings in the OF for us. He played some OF his rookie year in NPB because he only pitched 18 times. I’ve seen some video and his stats. It looks pretty “Upton”.
Maybe he can learn to be a good OF once he can’t pitch anymore.
This is likely what happens.
Oh no, I just like him as a guy who happens to be a plus defender. The only reason to have him around though is cause the Angels won’t likely need a 4th OF most of April, so why let Moniak languish on the bench? Send him to SLC to hit 4 times a day, but not because he failed in ST.
Fletcher looks amazing in that picture…it really is easy to forget just how athletic EVERY MLB player is – he looks like he could go 3 rounds with a middle weight boxer!
Nice to see the professor back on the board!
Sorry if I’ve just missed recent posts from you.
Kris Tiner was honored by CSUB. I was his first jazz band drummer. He obviously upgraded ha ha.
Oh shit! That’s cool! I was the Jazz director at BC before Kris. He and I came up together at CSUB – long time friend! Didn’t know you played drums for him at BC – like 2001/2002 ish?
Kris is a fellow Wasco high alum. I played for him in 92-94. I was his real first drummer.
I was far better at drumline than jazz. Give me charts to follow, don’t have me improvise. Fortunately with Kris we synced pretty well and I’d just lay a solid beat while he did his magic, occasionally hitting an accent with him.
Uh oh. My friend from Shafter is down on your Wasco enthusiasm.
With this comment, you’ve put us all into a Fowler mood
Nice. Gonna send me to a McFarland away?
You don’t Taft to be a jerk about it.
You know – hope springs eternal – so I’ll be here a bit until they give me a reason to do something else with my unbridled optimism.
I had no idea you play the drums. Drums build character and intelligence.
Made our first trip to Spring Training this past Sunday to Wednesday. Saw the Angels vs. Seattle on Monday at Tempe Diablo and then USA vs. Canada at Chase Field that night. What a day for baseball. That HR by Trout was indeed a BOMB! Chase Field was electric as he hit it.
Headed out to Salt River Fields and saw the Giants vs. Diamondbacks on Tuesday; what a facility! Makes Tempe Diablo stadium look like a cheap, fleabag motel.
Al in all, had a great trip and we will be doing this annually.
Nice. Love to hear it.
My dad is a Giants guy so we headed to Salt River for a Giants/Rockies game. It is nice. Almost too big, though.
Sports announcing is in it’s own right something that is very special. First you need a voice that is above all very special. Then you need to have the dedication to be the very best in the sport or sports of your choosing. Adding to it all you need to have the knowledge of the game you are working and the personality to sound special to the fans ears. Only a few make it to the top of the mountain so to speak.
This week Greg Gumbel and Jim Nance were given the news that they are being put out to pasture by CBS Sports. Greg Gumbel has called his last NFL game at CBS. This is a guy that has called two Super Bowls and is now going to just do NCAA Basketball studio work. After 30 years of work and in 4 sports in the business he is being put out to pasture. But he is not alone.
Jim Nantz has been the main voice for CBS in all of it’s sports programming for 25 years and has been told that his duties will not include the NCAA basketball Tournament after this year. The Voice of March Madness to be replaced is sad news.
Being on the National stage is the pinnacle, the highest you can achieve, but like all rides it will come to an end. We’ve through the years said goodbye to Curt Gowdy, Joe Garagiola, Vin Scully, Dick Enberg and Mel Allen to name aa few, voices that just stay with you that are special in painting the picture and of sharing anticipation with us.
All sports are enhanced because of those that bring it to us in their very special ways.
Jim Nance will still do the NFL and Golf. Heโs not going anywhere. Poor guy, supposedly wants to spend more time with his family and play with his โwine companyโ. Needs more time to sit for oil portraits of himself.
https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2022/11/03/jim-nantz-ncaa-tournament-nfl-si-media-podcast
On the other hand, Grandpa, I have still never heard of anyone tuning into a sporting event because of who was broadcasting it. I won’t even get into the issue of stuffing the booth and the sidelines with totally superfluous (and overpaid) “talent”! But I gnash my teeth every month when it is time to pay my cable bill.
Only some. I for one, will be glad when the Bally Brotastic Duo is relegated to the back fields (preferably for another team) and the A-team finally moves into the booth.
Who is the “A Team” again? I honestly lose track of all the various broadcasters we hate for various reasons because they aren’t Victor “Truth to Power” Rojas. Which are the ones that don’t suck?
Imagine being paid 850 thousand dollars a season and a couple up around 40 million a season for up to 7 months of work and being charge around a hundred bucks a month for your internet use. The shame of it all. What’s next, having to pay for your meals and rooms, oh no say it ain’t so Joe. ๏ปฟ ๐ค ๏ปฟ
G-Pa, don’t forget MLB players also get $380 a day per diem for road games. That’s of course non-taxable.
If the standard practice of the industry you work in is to provide free internet while using the transport they are mandating you use but your employer chooses not to & you have no other options to travel, that’s petty BS by the Reds & Yankees.
The real question is, how did Arte and his cabal manage to force the Yankees and Reds to do this?
Andrew?
We saw the sun yesterday and we had a warm 46-degree day. Big Bear Lake has gained 8 feet of water since last Summer to be down only 12 feet and with more snow melt arriving daily. More rain and some wet snow forecast for Sunday thru Tuesday morning.
Trout and Shohei are sure having some good times in the WBC aren’t they, good for them too. While Keith Oberman may not like WBC, the rest of America is enjoying it the competition as games are from around the world are being followed at some un-Godly hours for North Americans, but it’s all good even if it is “Where your Mother got laid” according to Oberman. He always was an idiot.
Keith who? I didnโt know that guy was still alive
Yep and flailing to show more people that he is…..
Years ago. when he’d wax political on his “Sports show” I stopped listening or caring about what that troll had to say.
Ditto. Btw, he lost his sport gig at KTLA CH5 in LA because his mentions of politics during his reporting on sports, but he quickly turned up at KNXT CH2 doing sports.
Keith hates everything that is fun.
If youโre scoring at home. or even if youโre alone.
He funny and
intelligent๏ปฟGood morning to all, yesterday was a fun sports day with March Madness and Angels Baseball being some great entertainment with Keith Oberman providing the comedy.
Angels Baseball is exciting even without a rudder or two. Detmers did look good out on the mound and Walsh hit a lefty with a couple of hits. Adell gets a hit and then promptly gets thrown out.
UCLA Basketball has started out hot with a big win and USC plays today at 9am. Every year there are amazing first round upsets and yesterday was no exception as University of Arizona as a #2 seed went down to Princeton, # 15 seed, in an ugly game. Well there goes my Bracket (lol).
Why does Tyler Anderson only have one appearance (March 3rd) this spring…injury?
I was wondering that as well …
He pitched on the 9th against Team USA (regrettably), but yea not since then. Seems suspect.
Baseball Reference doesn’t show that second appearance…hmmm!!
WBC games don’t count for Spring Training stats – so it’s not really tracked anywhere aside from WBC boxscores…weird. But he did pitch that day. And got crushed.
Not listed as a starter today or tomorrow. Pitched only 7 innings in ST last year with the Dodgersโฆabout 4 innings this spring. He has a different ST routine or he is hurt.
2 weeks until Opening Day. We should see him at least once, hopefully twice before then.
There is the possibility he’s been in minor or sim games so the Angels can start setting up the rotation.
He must be at the secret camp, the same one that has CRod looking ready for opening day too.
Camp Best Shape of My Life
You mean Glamp?