In the fight game, there’s a certain class of fighter called a gatekeeper. These fighters are good enough to beat most guys but not good enough to beat the champions and real contenders. These guys are used as measuring sticks for prospects. Beat one and you get a lot of buzz about being a champ, lose and your ceiling has pretty much been established.
As of today, the 2023 Angels fit this profile to a T. After getting beaten down by actual contender Houston last weekend the team came home and beat up the Chicago Cubs.
A clean sweep of the Cubbies has the Angels 4 games over .500 and in the periphery of a Wild Card.
What could push us into Top 10 or even contender status? Mike Trout playing like Mike Trout.
He robbed a homer then cracked this blast Wednesday night:
Who would have predicted a starting outfield of Luis Rengifo, Mike Trout, and Mickey Moniak at the beginning of the year? Yet it worked with all three having great games on Wednesday. This is what depth looks like.
With Hunter Renfroe slumping and Moniak looking like a first overall pick on both sides of the ball, fans are calling for more Mickey Madness and less Renfroe.
With catches like this, Moniak is making fans all over the place.
Speaking of Renfroe, he’s about to experience the greatest joy in life: becoming a father. So welcome back to the big leagues Jo Adell.
Sam Blum did a remarkable job looking at Trout’s career. This is behind a paywall so I’ll show the Twitter tab.
Not behind a paywall, but a site worthy of support, FanGraphs looks into Mike Trout’s cold start and the fact that he is still great.
Speaking of the Mike Trout of old, remember how epic this was?
Voting is now open to send Mr. Trout and Mr. Ohtani to the All Star Game. I’ll add one more name to that list: Mr. Esteves. He’s 16 for 16 in save opportunities as I type this and a big reason the team is above .500.
I commented the other day that the Angels hid their Pride Night festivities. On the day of the event, they showed more support by changing their logo on their social media feeds to a rainbow background and sending out some tweets like this one:
I will say I had a blast with my friend at Pride night. It helps that he’s a huge Angels fan and a great guy, but I really looked around our section and chatted a bit with those around me. All I saw were people enjoying a night out at the ballpark. A couple of die hard, chant leading fans. A few folks who were just there for the fun, and a lot somewhere in between. In short, it was just like any other game.
There was one remarkable thing: smiles. A ton of them. More than usual and all game. Folks seemed genuinely happy to be invited and accepted and enjoying a night out. I’m already looking forward to joining the same friend again next year.
I know that story and my comments have the possibility of eliciting comments of the political and/or religious variety. Let’s please avoid that. I’m stating here’s what happened, here’s what I saw, and moving on.
Former Angels reliever Justin Anderson signed with the Royals yesterday.
From around baseball:
I love to see a hyped prospect debut, especially for a small market club. Elly De La Cruz announced his presence with authority this week.
Pitch tipping paranoia is taking over baseball. Jose Suarez is the cover shot here but it shows several other guys have changed their deliveries. Using video feeds to uncover pitching tells is a slippery legal slope.
Those are two links that go best together. In the aggregate, that’s your longform read.
If I asked you to name the worst offense in the league most of you would guess Oakland. But, no, it is Cleveland. What is happening there?
Yes, the A’s are still in Oakland and the possibility of being stuck there is growing larger. Their most recent stadium financing deal is being met with skepticism in the Nevada Senate. Having to go back to the Bay Area would be humiliating to say the least.
Did you catch much NCAA baseball last weekend? It was incredible. That Tennessee vs. Clemson game was one for the ages and joined by several other incredible games.
Now the tournament is down to the Sweet Sixteen, which is dubbed the Super Regionals in hardball. Some great matchups are on deck and this is a great primer.
Have a great weekend and link what I missed.
The Rangers lose tonight. TB 8-3.
Anyone having problem with sound on Apple TV+?
Can’t be worse than the ultrasound noise with Bally.
I don’t get any sound at all. Not the worst thing in the world. Get closed caption, and the reception is much better than MLB.TV.
I am curious to see if Shohei chooses City Connect Uni today. If he is superstitious, he will wear City Connect tonight.
He is not superstitious. He is wearing non City Connect Uni today.
As a big fan of MMA & boxing, I appreciate the “gatekeeper” analogy and the Angels a bit like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone thus far.
Anyway, the Fan graphs piece on Mike Trout is thorough if not slightly depressing.
Father Time remains undefeated.
Since you are boxing fan, what do you think of Naoya ‘the Monster’ Inoue? He was supposed to fight Stephen Fulton in May, but delayed due to his injury, now scheduled for July 25th.
The Phightin Phis are Phreakin cheaters? https://theathletic.com/4596804/2023/06/09/philadelphia-fast-pitch-clock-phillies-mlb/
One would think cheating is to benefit the home team somehow, unless the Vast International Umpire Conspiracy to Only Screw the Phillies has been suspended.
All time great home run calls: “OHHH MY! THAT BALL HAD A FAMILY!”
The Reds aren’t gonna be crappy much longer. The thing is they have to (and are trying) to go full Braves and lock down some guys. Trouble is, they are so broke that if even a couple of those long term lock downs bomb they will be to poor to absorb them. Their GM is fairly smart though. If they get hot while the rest of the NL Central is weak they may pull an “Indians” type move where they sell out a lot of games for a lot of years. If they do that and manage their spending well they could sustain a good team.
Screw his opinions, cause trust me, you don’t want to know what 90% of ball players actually think about 90% of things, but should we maybe pick up Anthony Bass? His numbers are down this year, but usually he is serviceable. Just sew his mouth shut.
Yordon Alvarez is hurt! Let’s go bad Astros JUJU!
I would also recommend surgical closure of Bass’ anus. According to Shohei, Bass’ fart is worse than that of skank.
Well that was definitely TMI
Trying to find Uranus scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but I failed. Instead I found this.
https://youtu.be/OSWszdSHkyE
Pluto is getting ripped off…it’s a planet!!
WTF is going on with this conversation ?!?!?!?
Lulz
That is the hazard when join in the middle of a highly technical exchange of political information regarding suspensory ligament of penis. 😆
There used to be a boner thing on Halo Heaven…we need it back.
LOLBAH baby!
Jeff Fletcher is back on the scene. Drury with the day off putting Gio at 1B.And of course Phillip has Ward leading off. aargh.
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1667280033323565057
You won again by predicting Shohei in 2 and Trout in 3 hole. I got only Rengifo in 5 hole right. We were both wrong on Urshela and Ward starting.
As long as Angels win, who cares who starts or what position in the order they hit. Go Halos. Get that first win of the series tonight!
Rengifo in the 5 hole was a good get. This will be only the third time this year hes started in the 5 hole. hes 1 for 9 so far there this year.
But when you’re hot you’re hot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rdF7o08KXw
I don’t know it was Nevin’s thing or Maddon, but I remember they used to like alternating left and right in their lineup. So that’s why I put Moniak in 1 hole, Shohei in 3 and Rengifo in 5.
Urshela is out. Walsh is in. Urshela has back spasm.
“Back Spasm” TrAdition code for TJ next week.
In order to complete TJ surgery, one must harvest tissue first such as palmaris longus tendon from the forearm, hamstring tendon or big toe extensor tendon according to John Hopkins Medicine website. For back spasm TJ surgery, suspensory ligament of penis is the best tissue according to Angels medical team.
Another MLB player bites the dust for posting inappropriate twitter message against LGBTQ. Anthony Bass, who used to be a teammate of Shohei on Nippon Ham Fighters has been DFA’d by Blue Jays today. He has been terrible this year, but no other team will touch him even with a 10 ft pole.
https://youtu.be/rY0WxgSXdEE
Funny how teams will cut someone on moral high ground when they are underperforming?
I tried to embed twitter which featured Bass asking Shohei to sign on the Nippon Ham Fighter’s jersey that they won NPB championship with. Bass’ twitter account is now removed.
His apology was basically “I’m sorry I shared what I shared but I’m not sorry I believe what I believe.”
Well at least he’s honest.
Agree or don’t. I AM actually glad to see some human being actually not put on the whole Star Chamber “I love ________ and watch how I _____ to show you I have _____ and don’t ______ anymore because I see ______ . Please don’t send my kids to Siberia.” act over the harshness of Twitter pressure. Even if it’s Bass.
Our day needs a little more Evil Knievel….. or John Waters.
You can be a distraction to the team when you pitch like Mariano Rivera.
Not so much when you pitch like the Anthony Bass of recent.
He’ll get another job. Probably on a minors deal to let the heat blow over for a bit then he’ll get called up if he’s performing well.
In the mean time he now sleeps with the other fishes.
I hope our fish starts playing better.
Perhaps he teams up with Lance to form a super group.
Well he wont be teaming up with Mayor Karen anytime soon.
He will probably clear waivers so that he can declare free agency, where he will not cost his new team a draft pick and can be had for league minimum. Bass will still collect his $3MM(minus league minimum) from Blue Jays, right? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Bad player or not, it’s good to see the Jays acting decisively. Hope the Angels don’t have anyone like that on the team.
Not defending what he said as I have very little information about specifics but PC group think might be great until you’re personally deemed inappropriate. Young men say stupid shit all the time, it’s part of being young. The Jays have the right to fire him but I struggle to believe that morality is their motivation. Personally I’d like to see people practice real kindness and it only requires a clever devil to use the right
words.
Well it is Canada you know.
I;m sure that MLB (and his team) had made it quite clear to him (and all players) that this kind of crap will not be tolerated. He chose to ignore that, and is now paying the price…..good.
What crap is that?
He said some stuff. No say stuff or fascist.
They do.
Everybody has a dark side full of biases, etc. At least most Angels players keep it to themselves now that Simba is gone. He was prone to saying some weird things at times.
Exactly. I want baseball to go back to celebrating almost nothing and saying absolutely nothing. I want absolute opacity, silence and peace.
But is it ok if chicks still dig the long ball?
Yes. Hell, dudes can dig the long ball just like chicks. We just don’t need a special night for it for everyone to get sassy over.
Memorial Day. Mothers Day. Fathers Day. July 4th. Labor Day. World Series. The End.
2023…. where “inappropriate” is an opinion
“inopportune” a bit better choice?
Kind of amusing/bemusing how people are loudly agitating to hand Moniak the everyday job on the strength of 60 ABs this season. Even when he was raking in AAA, his numbers against lefties (.217.250.304) were pretty abysmal. He’s found a good spot. Comfortable, warm. Leave him alone.
So we may ultimately be building a MoniAdell in right field?
Soon as hunter Renfroe is gone. At the trade deadline or October.
I’m intrigued by that…
Jo hits righties much better than lefties, tho… at least this year.
https://www.milb.com/player/jo-adell-666176?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2023
It looks Jo has always been subject to reverse splits. The bigger issue is Who will be the DH next year? If Shohei doesn’t resign then I would think a rotating DH allowing MNT more non field days would allow us to rotate 4 full time outfielders.
But I am curious what Adell’s true trade value is. I wouldn’t be shocked either way whether Jo ends up as a bust or an Allstar. Is there a team out there that would give us anything in value back? If not I would probably keep him and try to make a go of it next year rotating through the outfield positions.
Adell’s best value to the Angels would be as a competent replacement for Renfroe, freeing up about $11 million to throw at Ohtani.
Then where is Moniak going to play?
Good point. These things tend to work themselves out, though.
Having 4 guys for 3 spots is never a bad thing.
Having a resident DH sure makes it harder when you have great depth. But I guess these are good problems to have.
Disclaimer: Delusional Hyperbole portion of my brain has overtaken me. Shohei is making $30MM from Angels and $40MM from endorsements, making him the highest paid athlete in the world this year according to Forbes. Obviously $40MM will not go against the luxury tax, so is there anyway to pay Shohei reasonable market rate x 4-5 years (Ohtani has option in year 2 and 4 and no trade clause) with Arte working behind the scene to increase his endorsement value, thereby allowing Ohtani to stay in Anaheim with the BIG assumption that Angels make postseason this year.
Arte could try to sell his Billboard customers the idea of paying Shohei to lap his face on their products and maybe that would bring Shohei more yen/dollars. 💰
There’s that whole winning thing that mucks up your scenario
The trade simulator has him at almost dead neutral, like someone you would toss into a trade involving some other guys. Kevin Maitan is the same.
I have no idea why I thought of this when you said MoniAdell. Sorry if I offended those who are politically homeless.
Yep. Don’t Mess With Duh Mick!
I signed up with the Devil/Apple TV. I just have to remember to cancel before Aug 7. I feel it is my public duty to leave with a link. Please click at your own risk. Also you can choose to listen to Terry Smith and Mark Langston duo.
https://redeem.apple.com/mlbfnb2motvus?origin&itscg=203206&itsct=s_mlb_pddis_fnb_lp_srvs_en_fy23frida559&mttnagencyid=c1a&mttnsiteid=102315&mttnpid=MLB&mttnsubad=SRVS-spo-366631462-191378832&mttnsubplmnt=&mttncc=US
The FBM keystone of the series for the Angels against the Seattle Mariners this weekend is “I Made It Through the Rain” by Barry Manilow.
The Angel bullpen didn’t give up a single run in the series against the Cubs. The starting rotation sans Anderson is solid-to-great. Trout is going to heat up now and thrill us with both his defense and hitting. The other bats in the lineup are going to catch Trout’s fire. The Angels finally have a legit shortstop.
I feel it in my bones. The roster is loaded with youngsters, and they are all getting comfortable playing at the MLB level. The veterans are getting locked in. The team has finally fixed that misfiring cylinder, and they are going to fly down that drag strip all the way to the playoffs.
https://youtu.be/mnLWw25KMYg
With Adell cranking at AAA and unloading yesterday, I’m hoping this is a sign of good things to come.
It seems the Halos now have a logjam with 5 guys who can produce at the outfield spot.
The only option is to make a trade to solidify the starting rotation or 1st Base with Walsh struggling.
Who goes?
I am guessing Renfroe or Adell. And keep the core of Trout, Ward, and Moniak.
Renfroe or Ward would be my choices as trade bait.
Walsh and Anderson seem like the biggest problems on the Angel roster right now. While an automatic out lately, Walsh has still been solid defensively. Drury/Urshela do a fine job filling in, but that thins our vaunted depth a little.
I wish the Angels could find a viable alternative to Anderson in the rotation. I would love to see Anderson in the bullpen where he can let his pitches fly and not be concerned about conserving his energy.
It’s a conundrum. Everyone agrees that Walsh is the best 1B, and he stabilizes the infield defense. But how else can Walsh improve his bat unless he is given chances (i.e. going down to SLC). Would Nevin ride on this winning pattern of starting Rengifo and Walsh coming in for defensive purpose only?
Anderson is a finesse type lefty, trying to emulate Jamie Moyer. Unless we acquire a stud starter (like Marcus Stroman) either from within or by trade, I think Nevin will continue to keep Anderson in rotation with relatively short leash.
PTP signed him for 3 years, so he will start this year anyway. PTP would have to eat too much money to release him, so he stays for now. The signing was bad from the gate and keeping him for 3 years may have to be a write off. A fastball that does not break 90 is tough, but when your other off-speed stuff drops into the low 70’s, look out. You can fool some of the batters some of the time, but never all the batters all of the time. 🕧
I am a bit biased because I was a huge fan of both Jamie Moyer with 82 MPH fast ball and Mark Buehrle with 85 MPH fast ball. Were they just better because they seemed to know what the batters were looking for and changing location and speed enabled them to pitch to contact and rely on their defensive support?
I was not a fan of WTY with his 82 MPH
Movement > Velocity
Renfroe won’t net too much nor Adell but Ward might. Angels really need a playoff seasoned No.2 starting pitcher. I’d gladly move Fletcher and or Drury too.
How about Marcus Stroman? He has 1-1 record post season. Pitched in 5 games back in 2015 and 16. He is 6 win and 4 loss this season, but this is probably because he is pitching for pitiful Cubs. He almost pitched no hitter (just one hit) complete game shut out against the Rays not too long ago,
Possibly, he’s had a real good year thus far same with Tigers Eduardo Rodriquez.If the Indians continue to falter, look to Orange native Shane Beiber as a possibility. Indians like to move players prior to their UFA year. Shane is a goner come 2026. Another arm I really like is Corbin Burnes. If Brewers go in decline, pounce on him. Brewers will want to control costs. Jack Flaherty a rising star before he got hurt is a UFA next year, he might be able to get back to where he was before the arm injury. I’m focus on non-playoff teams who would be willing to make some deals.
From what I gather, contending teams are expecting slim pickings at the trade deadline this year. if thats the case they’ll be a few massive overpayments for a very limited supply.
I’m curious what the Angels could get for Ohtani but I doubt we’ll ever know.
I may be the only one, but I would consider it a MAJOR victory if, after not trading Ohtani when we should have last July, they actually max out the thin trade market and get a similar return for him now as they would have had last year.
Then I’d god-tier PTP and Arte if they came back around and signed him as an FA too. That’s baller.
That would be the ultimate “have my cake and eat it, too.”
Yep, but all we see are reports how they won’t trade him.
I’m concerned we’re going to “hang in” with a .500 record and convince Perry that he needs to “go for it”, resulting in an 85-win season and Ohtani walking out the door.
I’m willing to wait longer into July, but if the evidence looks like it does now, we need to trade away everything expiring this year and maximize value.
It is uncanny that all pitchers you mentioned are in either NL or AL Central teams. Except for KC, all teams are still contending for division title, therefore playoff spot. So, it is entirely possible that none of above pitchers will be available (or even all of them will avail themselves). Most likely scenario, however, is that some teams will falter enough to render them willing to discuss trades as we near the deadline.
Does Fletcher have any value?
Very little….sigh.
The Angels scored 16 runs against the Cubs in this three-game set. Here’s how many runs each Angel produced, by hitting home runs, by moving runners over who eventually score, or by moving yourself over by stealing a base and then eventually scoring:
3.75 Rengifo
2.25 Trout
1.75 Ohtani
1.50 Moniak
1.50 Ward
1.25 Drury
1.00 Adell
0.50 Wallach
0.50 Thiass
0.50 Neto
0.50 Urshela
This is the first time Rengifo has led the team in Actual Runs Produced. Renny was involved in half of the runs the Angels scored in this series. Trout and Ohtani near the top of the list. The supporting cast putting up solid numbers. A surprise guy in the number one spot every so often. This is what the ARP is supposed to look like after every series.
And here is the updated Actual Runs Allowed per Batters Faced for our fine Halo Hurlers this year:
0.00 Soriano (11)
0.04 Bachman (28)
0.05 Estevez (111)
0.05 Moore (94)
0.09 Ohtani (284)
0.09 Barria (154)
0.10 Sandoval (260)
0.10 Devenski (71)
0.10 Joyce (20)
0.11 Canning (204)
0.11 Weiss (9)
0.12 Detmers (250)
0.12 Wantz (85)
0.13 Silseth (84)
0.14 Anderson (262)
0.14 Webb (32)
0.16 Herget (54)
0.17 Davidson (106)
0.19 Suarez (123)
0.19 Loup (73)
I am really liking this pitching staff. A little fat needs to be trimmed off of the bottom of this list, but this is good, and it can even get better. Moore, Weiss, and Wantz should be coming back at some point, there are some good looking pitchers in the minors still to call up to the show, and who knows, maybe Minasian has a surprise trade that he will be pulling off.
Cubs announcers were talking about how Giffy destroyed them this series – nice to see your numbers confirm it.
Staff needs a clear No. 2 starter. Thus far, Sandoval and Detmers have not filled those shoes. In a short playoff series, Angels will be at a disadvantage.
Canning and Barria have been building a case lately that they can handle that job.
Just another Halo victory!
Castillo vs. Ohtani tonight. Second Friday in a row it has been Ohtani vs. an AL West ace.
The Mariners hitters strike out a ton. This could be a good thing for Ohtani.
the last time we faced Castillo was on April 4th in Seattle. he dominated us with 5 2/3 shut innings striking out 6 walking 2 while giving up 2 hits in en route to this 11-2 drubbing of Suarez and Barria. Our starting lineup was :
Ward LF
Trout CF
Ohtani DH
Renfroe RF
Lamb 1B
Drury 2B
Rengifo 3B
Thaiss C
Fletcher SS
Any predictions for tonight?
Every Angel dog will have its day. Shakespeare said it way back when, and it will be even truer tonight.
I will bite. Ohtani, Trout, Rendon, Wallach, Neto are sure ins. It will be permutations of Moniak, Ward, Rengifo, Thaiss, Urshela, Adell, and Drury for the remaining spots. Slightly Moniak>Ward>Adell, but I would love to see Adell start, too. If Rengifo starts, then he will play 2B, but I don’t know who would be best at 1B among Urshela/Thaiss/Drury. That’s all I got for now.
Again, as long as Angels win, who cares who starts. Just win, baby!
Castiilo has traditional career platoon splits. This season is no different so I would think that bodes well for Moniak and Rengifo getting the starting nod tonight. . Rendon lifetime is 3 for 7 with 4 walks and 2 HRs against Castillo so Im sure that influenced the Angels decision to rest him last night. The biggest question is Walsh.In years past it would be a no brainer to start him but hes looking so awful I suspect the Angels will start Drury at first and leave Walsh and Gio on the bench ( Walsh is 1 for 5 vs Castillo. Gio has never faced him and Drury is 0 for 2 with a walk)
So Im going with:
Moniak RF
Ohtani P
Trout CF
Rendon 3B
Ward LF
Drury 1B
Rengifo 2B
Wallach C
Neto SS
It wouldn’t surprise me if they have Ward leadoff as with Phillip you never know.
Always liked Moniak as potential lead off hitter compared to Ward. Whatever the reason it may be, putting Ohtani and Trout next to each other has not worked well, so thought about pushing one of them down to 4 or even 5 hole with Rendon in 3 hole. But I don’t think Nevin will be that revolutionary.
Agree with Urshela on bench to replace Rendon and Thaiss to pinch hit in late innings as situations dictate. Still hoping to see Adell as pinch hitter sometime today. Here is my best guess:
Moniak RF
Trout CF
Ohtani P/DH
Rendon 3B
Rengifo 2B
Ward LF
Drury 1B
Wallach C
Neto SS
We agree on who will start. Slightly different batting order.
As long as Angels win, who cares who start or what position in the order they hit. Go Halos!
I expect a low scoring game and a good bounce back start from Ohtani. He had his worst start of the season last time vs Houston, but he is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 6 starts vs Seattle. My prediction: Angels 3 – Mariners 2
https://twitter.com/slbeesradio/status/1666971356611878912?s=20
https://twitter.com/noahascott6/status/1666987918014164992?s=20
But, more importantly, has he had any clutch hit or HR during the streak? I remember more of him striking out in RISPy situations or failing to advance first and second with no out scenario. Who cares if he has 8 game hitting streak if he cannot come through in those situations. Japanese newspaper reported that Shohei is on 5 game hitting streak. Again who cares if he repeatedly fails to hit in RISPy situation and advance runners when he should. For Christ sake, he is lefty hitter, it should be like using chopsticks to advance runner on 2nd with no out. Don’s start me with Trout. He has all but lost his clutchiness this season. And these are our 1-2-3 hitters? You gotta be f’cking kidding, Nevin.
That’s it for my morning rant. Felt good as well as when I cleared my constipation. Free Rendon, the only clutch hitter on this team.
Ward had a sacrifice fly yesterday in the second inning when Rengifo was on third base. That run broke the 1-1 tie.
You are right! Especially after Neto struck out. So, I will be less hard on Ward.
Regarding RISP, despite being on a 4-game winning streak, the Angels were 4-28 with RISP (0-10 last night). Angels benefited from some really poor Cubs defense among other things. The team is 6-7 in their last 13 games and hit 19-112 with RISP in those 13 games. So the question is: Is this a fluke and the Angels are about ready to break out and really do some damage OR, will the crappy RISP continue and the team continues to hover at .500 or get worse??
If I were forced to answer, I would have said it was Cubs poor defense and Angels taking advantage instead of the other way around. We also had fantastic defense with Trout (who probably prolonged Loup’s fizzing out tenure) and Urshela along with Neto’s steady hands. I am slightly encouraged that Nevin started to use small ball strategy like when Neto stole 3rd with Shohei at bat, resulting ever important insurance run last night. I might be blinded by the current winning streak, but it feels like Angels are on a slow but steady climb to where we want them to reach.
I hasten to add that we lucked out in not facing Marcus Stroman.
All I know is bring back the Game Winning RBI stat! And spats.
Sooooo…. complain when he plays? Got it.
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1667019025845743617?s=20
The squid 🦑 lives!
Hmmm, calamari. Yum!
Calamari and octopus are delicious, but after watching the documentary My Octopus Teacher, I had to quit eating octopus.
Thanks for the warning. I will avoid the documentary, for I love Sudako, which is vigegar/sugar infused octopus.
When I lived in Tokyo, used to score squid on a stick at the movie theaters. Oishii desune
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1667021600150151169?s=20
That is impressive.
He looks like a special player for sure. OBP for the year is > .400. That’s insane for a 17-year-old, high-school-junior-age player in A ball. Fellow Venezuelan Jorge Ruiz is also killing it for 66ers. He’s only 18.
https://www.milb.com/gameday/ports-vs-66ers/2023/06/08/724898#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=724898
If only the horrible angels system had players like that in it right?
The gatekeeper remark is very concerning. Right now the Angels are chasing the Astros, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rangers, Rays and Yankees. Here’s their records against each other.
Angels: 7-13
Astros: 11-9 (haven’t played Yankees or Orioles)
Blue Jays: 12-15
Orioles: 13-9
Rangers: 10-6 (haven’t played Rays)
Rays: 10-10
Yankees: 13-14
The Angels need to win more against contenders if they want to be a contender. They still have 31 games left against those teams (10 vs Rangers, 6 vs Astros/Rays, 3 each vs the rest), so there is plenty of room for improvement, starting with the upcoming Rangers series next week.
That 7-13 is exactly why we’re on the outside looking in. Until we beat teams at that level it is hard to say we are one.
We’d need to go 18-13 over those 31 games to be one game under .500 against that group on the year.
Highly unlikely.
Yuck. So I guess the Angels need to sweep the Blue Jays and either sweep the Yankees or go 5-1 against the Astros.
Also highly unlikely.
Halfway through watching Blue Jays vs Asstros last night. Toronto strategy against Framber was to be patient, not swing at his breaking balls. Hope that Angels do the same when facing Valdez next time. Yordan Alvarez left in the 3rd inning for abdominal muscle strain.
I think Angels have better chance of sweeping Yankees or going 5-1 against Asstors than Blue Jays. Blue Jays are legit, we would be fortunate to get a win from them.
Valdez absolutely dominates us. Has for the last couple of years.
Now that I finished watching the game, it was riveting. Framber was REALLY pissed off being taken out in 5th inning. He can be beat. Gotta be patient. Do not swing at the first pitch. Battle by hitting fouls after 2 strikes. Ignore breaking balls. Let him pitch more and get into trouble like Blue Jays did. I hope that Angels coaches watch the video.
It is yet another way of looking at playoff picture. As you mentioned, not everyone played each other, and the upcoming Rangers vs Rays will be my second watch after Angels series with Mariners this weekend. It is of note that Orioles are better than Rays in your sample, so Rays may have benefited from easier schedule in the early part of the season.
As far as the series with the Rangers are concerned, I feel split is a must. It will depend on our starting pitchers taming hot Rangers offense. If we can stay close around 6th inning in each game, with our bullpen right now being superior to theirs, then I like our chances.
I am concerned with Blue Jays resurgence, taking 3 out 4 from intensely close battles with Asstros. I have not watched replay of yesterday’s game, but Framber Valdez was replaced in 5th inning with 90+ pitches. I will be curious to analyze how Blue Jays offensive strategy knocked Valdez out. Right now Blue Jays have much better chance of grabbing WC spot than MFYankees, who recently lost Judge and Nestor Cortez.
Hoping for at least 2 out of 3 from Mariners to stay close with those teams above. Let’s go Halos!
We really need to take 2 from Seattle. Losing this series would put even more pressure on the series above.
Projected starters:
Castillo vs Ohtani
Woo vs Sandoval
B Miller vs Canning
As Cowboy26 mentioned earlier, Angels seem to have the knack of allowing rookie pitchers to look like Cy Young candidate. Mariners always play Angels close and hard no matter how bad they may be. Tonight’s game is probably going to be low scoring as predicted where a bloop single or miscue may decide the outcome. Encouraging is that Shohei is 5-0 in 7 games he started against Mariners.
For remaining games, our bats need to be patient , score early and often.
Too much time and energy with hypotheticals, just win tonight dammit.
That’s exactly what I want players to think to win tonight. Nothing else. However, for us casual (and passionate) fans, it is extremely entertaining to imagine (or sometimes hallucinate) and discuss all these permutations of possibilities.
You got to start by winning tonight and don’t worry about the opposition. Game at a time.
And don’t forget to turn the page after a particularly nasty or stinging loss:
We’d be better off with Mike, Dino and Alfredo at their respective positions.