Welcome to your Wednesday links, The Angels lost big yesterday but today is another day I hope. MLB says no sticky stuff. We’ll take care of that for you. Michael Lorenzen will soon be back from his groin injury.
The Mets Tommy Hunter is now on the 15 day IL with back spasms. Austin Hedges went on the 7 day concussion IL. Both Johnny Cueto and Joey Wendle also went on the injured list. Fernando Tatis Jr. is rehabbing in El Paso and will soon finish out his PED suspension. The Phillies selected McKinley Moore and designated Jhailyn Ortiz for assignment.
One stat I remember in my younger days was that the 1990 Reds were never shutout on their way to winning the WS. Last night, after seeing the Angels down by so much, my silver lining was that they scored two runs. Nothing but positive here.
I just found that posts are still happening on this site…I guess if you’re not logged in nothing new shows up on the front page?
That might be a YOUR BROWSER CACHE issue and not a SITE LOGIN issue
i checked that yesterday – it isn’t device related
Several people had similar complaints in yesterday’s links. Something is going on.
if you aren’t logged in, it shows updates just through Monday – nothing since.
its a common issue across all 3 my devices iphone, iPad, Windows laptop
Once I logged in then everything refreshed. I cleared the catch and cookies and that still didn’t work
Cleared my cache but had the same issue
My kids clear my cash.
Let’s score some runs for Shohei for a change.
Best possible lineup for runs to be scored.
I have a bias preference for Fletcher, but I concede that neither is hitting just yet.
so i thought Fletch was a guy who got subbed out for defensive purposes in late games, and that he was more bat-first?
Now Fletch is a late inning defense replacement? Or is it just because he’s hurt?
At any rate though i agree – Rengifo is better offense at SS than Fletch.
Right now, Rengifo is getting on base because of BB, between the 2 they are not scary with the lumber. I do not recall Fletcher ever being a liability in the field. I am puzzled by his missing bat though, but we are only 5 games in.
Fletcher on the pine = good, the most competent bats (minus Anthony) are in the line-up
minus Walsh as well.
His fielding is not MLB level at SS. We have too many 2B right now. One is going to be gone by trade deadline. Fletcher on pine = no good.
Fletcher and Rengifo are equally unproven at SS. Fletcher can’t hit his way out of a paper bag for quite a while now. Hopefully he picks it up soon, otherwise he’s Phillips if Phillips were an unproven CF.
And yet the optimism for Fletcher to have a “bang-up bounce back” season is overflowing at CTPG. It’s been a season and a half, so I don’t get the great hope? Could it be Ecksitholm Syndrome?
I want him to bounce back too, and I actually think he will sort of. I just don’t understand why Tepera can actually have a solid 2022 and he’s radioactive while Lil’Davey gets to be either meh, crap, or hurt for just about as long as Rendon and he’s still kissable.
My theory is that morons, deep in their stupid pink hearts, still think we should have somehow signed Wheeler or Cole and gone with…. OH! David Fletcher was our primary 3B in 2019.
David Fletcher…. CtPG guy really ruins the poor fella for me. Like Jeter fans… but pathetic and dumb.
St. Louis manager Marmol going unorthodox in publicly throwing a player under the bus so early in the season – seems out of line. He now has a toxic clubhouse.
I’m guessing at the end of the year, it’s O’Neill who will still be in STL and Marmol will get a boot.
Remember back in the day when managers kept issues in the clubhouse……
Yes, waaay before social media.
And kids knew better to walk on my lawn.
Hear, hear!!!
Honestly, I prefer my managers much like I prefer my assassins. I don’t want to know anything about them. Temperament, zany quirks, the name of their stupid dog, which players they are happy about, do they like the GM, is he tough or wussy, blah blah blah. In the clubhouse let all that out. Outside those doors I want the manager to be a bland, cold, game winning android killing machine that pisses off the press with his lack of good quotes.
and if he is able to raise two sons to be MLB players, that also speaks volumes.
Bill Belichick says hello.
Griffin Canning is scheduled to pitch in the Inland Empire 66ers home opener this Thursday. It is an away game against the Dodgers’ Low-A team, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Speaking of RC, the first time I saw Mike Trout play, it was at a Quakes home game (back when they were an Angel affiliate). He had just been called up to the Quakes (who were High-A back then), and I knew I had to hurry and get to a game before the phenom got called up to Double-A.
In one of Trout’s at bats, he hit an exit-velo buster that hit the outfield wall on the fly in the CF-RF gap. I was watching the ball fly to the wall and I thought that Trout better hustle to second base if he wanted a double since he hit it so hard, it just might have to be a single.
I watched the CFer quickly pick up the ball that ricocheted off the wall. I watched the throw as it came in to second base for the bang-bang play, but Trout wasn’t there.
I looked over to first base, but he wasn’t there either.
He was over at third getting up from his head-first slide.
This puts Griffin on track to pitch on April 12th, the first day we’ll need a sixth starter. Of course a roster move would need to be made.
But the Angels have clearly designed it so Griffin can seamlessly replace Davidson on the roster.
I think it depends on his Rancho pitching game. Odd man out I think will be Barria. Shohei going 6, then Davidson brought in. If Trucker goes 4 and looks good he will be brought in one more time before a decision is made.
Yeah, if Tucky D actually lives up to my ridiculous level of hype while Suarez and Barria both kind of suck he may be spared while one of the Burrito Training Table guys gets soft tossed off the roster… mainly because they will be more likely to pass through waivers.
And they look bouncy.
Well the GOAT’s too fat to do that now.
It seems to me that the Reds didn’t get much for Luis Castillo in their mid-season trade last year with the M’s. They got two young Low-A infielders, a Double-A starting pitcher who had a 5.28 ERA at the time of the trade, and a Low-A relief pitcher.
The highest regarded of these four minor leaguers was Noelvi Marte, a promising slugger with decent OBP skills and a weak glove.
It’s tough to see a divisional rival make such a significant upgrade to their regular roster, but I can imagine the Reds passing at an Angel infielder package of Livan Soto, Kyren Paris, Jeremiah Jackson, Luis Rengifo, with a couple MiLB pitchers thrown in.
Marte is an excellent prospect, a Top 30 overall on some credible lists. A good fit at 3B for a rebuilding team.
A Kyle Kubitza just shuddered through my body.
Here’s a trip down memory lane. Looked like rghan had him figured out early:
https://www.halosheaven.com/2015/3/18/8219973/kyle-kubitza-top-angels-prospect-performance-of-2014
Jerry the deck chair rearranger extraordinaire.
It’s a rule that the superstar for a bunch of prospects trade favors the superstar side, but every once in a while one of the prospects work out, and Marte has more than a non-zero chance of being one of them.
Yeah, I was gonna say, Noelvi Marte is a prospect we just didn’t have to trade if we wanted to last year. Arroyo is also a good prospect who will likely stick at SS. Between De La Cruz, Marte and Arroyo, Cam Collier, Matt Maclain, Spencer Steer and Encarnacion-Strand they have pretty much gone the “we will have our IF of the future” rout and they will move some of those guys to OF (along with Jonathan India perhaps). It’s not the worst plan.
Rocket City unveiled its roster today: https://www.milb.com/rocket-city
Surprises:
> Almost of all last year’s banner bullpens arms are back (i.e. not in AAA). That’s weird. What do Torres, Joyce, Murphy et all have left to prove at this level?
> Neto, Jackson and Paris are back. Again, think AAA would have been a more logical fit for all but season is young (and middle infield playing time is finite, so there’s that).
> Edgar Quero and Calabrese are here, skipping high-A completely. I think that shows that the org regards Tri-City as a bat-killer. (Also demonstrates their bullish thinking on Calabrese, who was getting late spring at-bats and looking like an elite prospect.)
People say that the raised red threads of a pitcher’s spin rate have nothing to grab onto in the SLC air, which results in flat pitches. Maybe that makes Rocket City a better Petri dish for developing pitchers who are on the cusp of contributing to the MLB team.
But if they can face better hitters at AAA in a more adverse environment (Not all parks in the PCL are high altitude) why wouldn’t you want them developing at the highest minor league level?
Maybe it’s time for the Angels to get a different AAA affiliate.
Third time’s the charm….Edmonton Trappers here we come.
LA Angels (2023–? )
Anaheim Angels (1999–2000)
California Angels (1983–1992)
Whats wrong with Vancouver?
A rarely smiling Garret Anderson shares your sentiment:
I thought Neto would be SLC but it’s Soto, Velasquez at SS.
To get Neto to SLC, what would you do with Squid?
you’d have to cut him and I thought they would.
in general it would mean cutting AAAA players at SLC to get AAA playing time for our more elite utes.
would you do that?
In a heartbeat!
Yes, cut him yesterday! I don’t ever want to see him in an Angels uniform again.
I prefer Neto seeing breaking pitches that actually break. That doesn’t happen in SLC.
There is gonna be a big At Bat crunch between all these guys on those two teams…. guys will have to start playing out of position some, not the end of the world. Stephanic is the type of guy that disappears when these “problems” arise.
They can promote from AA as easily as AAA, happens all the time.
AA has always been regarded best level for top prospects
NO! I need easily understandable progressions so I can be critical of moves!
AAA is at insane elevation, creating a Coors Field hangover effect for players coming from AAA.
I’m on board with keeping the real prospects at AA where the playing conditions better mimic Anaheim.
I wish they would move that AAA team…. but where? They could actually make RC their AAA team eventually, the new stadium there can expand easily and the area is growing. Then find a smaller venue to take on being AA… or just do Mobile again if they ever actually renovate the Bears stadium.
Yeah, Calabrese surely had a “HEY! OVER HERE!” spring.
Myles Straw almost held onto the title of best player in baseball for the second day in a row.
In yesterday’s game against the Oakland As, Straw got a single in his first at bat. He walked in his next two ABs, showing just what it takes to be the best in the sport, but then alas! He made the final out of the visitors’ ninth inning. It was the last at bat the Guardians would have before losing the game on Tony Kemp’s walk-off single.
So who is the reliever who struck out Straw and wrested the title of MLB’s Best Player away from him?
Trevor May.
Looks like the cover shot for MLB The Show 2024!
Look into my eyes.
I like this “boxing ranking” version of baseball.
One of those games that got away from the team early. Hopefully these types of games will just be few and far between.
Let’s go win the series tonight!
better start earlier than that – game is 1pm
The key for an Angel victory later today is “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1” by The Flaming Lips.
Do you realize? You’re rooting against Jer Jer?
https://youtu.be/5zYOKFjpm9s
she knows that
it’s demanding
to defeat thoooose
evil machines. 🎶
Also, DiPoto was given a raw deal during his tenure with the Angels. I am glad that he got a second chance with the Mariners to show what he can do if given an unfettered opportunity.
The natives are getting restless over at “Chicken of Sea” or what ever they call their fan site…some are not happy with Jer.
Maybe they need a gitchogriffeyoffmypaciorek over there to get them to stop their sad-sack complaining already.
Mariners fans are meant to be sad donkeys.
I’m glad too. This way
TraderTraitor Jerry can prove once and for all that it wasn’t just Evil Arte that has led to his 11+ years of unsuccessful Baseball operations oversightJedi reminds me of a less successful version of Lebron. I wonder if he will walk out on the M’s 2 weeks before the draft if things don’t go his way
Angels will win some 13-3.
Angels will lose some 11-2.
The games that REALLY matter at the end of the season are the 1 and 2 run games.
Angels will win some. Angels will lose some. If the ratio stays the same, it will be a good season.
BUT THE ANGELS WILL WIN SOME GAMES?
Let us consult the wisdom of the sage. TAME has said it and it is so: We will win some games
Fun Fact. I saw a Subaru at Taco Bell at like 12am the other night. The license plate read TAME. Lot’s of Santa Barbara County Guy wisdom bumper stickers. I was giddy. I got out my phone to take a picture. But there were people in the car wondering what I was doing so I was crestfallen and I put my phone away.
Every game they don’t loose is a guaranteed win. The math checks out