Not much in baseball is more fun than having the vaunted MFY and their front running fans show up and get swept. And it was a resounding sweep. The first game was a nail biter but the next two were never in doubt.
Starting pitching was the story of the week. Griffin Canning struck out 12 and hit a new career high in pitches.
Patrick Sandoval took a look at the bullpen on Tuesday night and said he wasn’t coming out of the game. Both he performance and his desire to go that extra inning were stellar.
Those two strong performances were followed by Chase Silseth’s best outing in his young MLB career. Silseth struck out 10 Yankees while pitching into the sixth inning.
Production was spread throughout the lineup with Mickey Moniak really shining this week. On the year, he’s been the best surprise in baseball. Check this out:
I obviously love some hard data, but there’s nothing like the emotion of the game. This rare show of emotion from Ohtani was a joy to watch.
While I enjoyed watching the sweep and somewhat shutting up the MFY fans, as I stated in the post game thread I’m not sure if this means the Angels are good or that the Yankees are just really bad right now.
The sweep wrapped up a 1 and 5 road trip for the Bronx Bombers and their offense has taken a nosedive with Judge out.
For his part, Yankees manager Aaron Boone says “we stink right now.”
And while a Yankees reliever treating a cooling fan the way Big Papi roid raged on a dugout phone is getting all the publicity, I think this is the far more interesting video clip. Fans will laugh at the obvious frustration of a player who wants to win. But turn on the fans, especially in New York, and it will get ugly fast.
And now for the more sobering news. The sweep brought the Angels winning percentage up to .505 Currently, the Astros and Blue Jays are sitting in the last two Wild Card positions with winning percentages of .552, which projects out to a 90 win season for each of them. For the Angels to get to 90 wins they need to go 41-24 the rest of the way. In short, we need to be the Atlanta Braves for two months.
The good news is the next two teams on the schedule are Pittsburgh and Detroit. If the Angels manage to go 5-1 against those two struggling teams, the task becomes a more manageable but still difficult 36-23 down the stretch which means we need to be Tampa Bay for two months.
That might become a little more likely with some improvements on the health front. Jose Suarez is staring a rehab assignment and check out Logan O’hoppe on the field at the Big A.
One follow up on Logan:
That sounds pretty much in line with Brandon Drury:
But still the math is daunting and has the internet abuzz with trade proposals for Ohtani. Just like I love this place as a respite from political garbage, I think I’m going to state the obvious and move on. If you want Ohtani trade coverage you can find it everywhere. In reality, we have no idea what will happen and at this point neither does the team.
From around baseball..
There were runs scored all over the place on Tuesday, bringing back memories of baseball’s chaotic past.
The San Francisco Giants are hot yet again and breathing down the Dodgers necks. With a UFO slider and eclectic collection of arms, have the Giants surpassed the Rays in staff wide variation?
Something I love to see, Baltimore and Tampa Bay share the AL East lead as they head into a pivotal series this weekend.
The Orioles made an early move, adding Shinarto Fujinama to their bullpen. The Angels absolutely crushed him opening weekend but he seems to have settled into a bullpen role of late.
Meanwhile, Ryan Tepera has been DFA’d again. This time by the Cardinals.
On a personal note, I signed the boy up for Fall Ball. Moving up from tee ball to something called Farm. I’m looking forward to more time on the ball field with my son and pizza parties with his new friends.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed below.
Just noticed that in the calling all angels video – the only Rendon highlight is his press conference. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
lol That lefty home run was pretty sweet. I would get that in there
Watching this Doyers vs Rangers game so much situational hitting execution its gross. Guys moving runners.. Sac flys not chasing and taking walks to pass the baton with RISP. Sickening.
Silseth is giving a pre-game interview. I like him a lot. He really wants to crack the rotation, he says he doesn’t have the head to be a reliever.
Oddly honest..most of them just regurgitate generic blah.
One of the questions that Sho is going to be asked tonight may be:
Q:Tonight may be your last outing as Angels pitcher tonight. What kind of emotions did you have tonight?
A:Last time I checked my contract, I am still an Angel. I will continue to do my best to contribute to Angels win.
The same question will be repeated on next Friday in Toronto IMHO.
“No changes today on Brandon Drury and Anthony Rendon.
Drury is still taking some swings and working out on the field, but not ready for game-speed velo.
Rendon is still not doing baseball stuff on the field.”
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1682517948240642048?t=pOF7EHGZ2KgxILW_KWkoPQ&s=19
According to CincyOrtho, bone contusion can take 4-8 weeks to heal.
https://www.cincysportssurgeon.com/bone%20contusion-knee-orthopedic-surgeon.html#:~:text=Most%20bone%20bruises%20slowly%20heal,may%20take%20longer%20to%20heal.
If pain continues, then there is 1-2% chance of osteonecrosis, which then require additional 3 to 6 months rest. Hopefully, that’s not the case.
That would be sad and totally on par for Anthony Rendone.
Let me know when he’s Rendone for the season
From a big supporter of Anthony Rendon, he’s done. It just 2023 but beyond. Baseball has never been his desire and it shows. This was a key year and he has failed beyond my shittyess predictions. 5 more years of serious baggage. I’d “Upton” him. Probably can sign Urshela for cheap next year.
Let’s get Drury back soon and let’s go.
Thank you for recognizing the obvious.
“Mike Trout had the stitches removed from his left hand on Wednesday. Said he has to wait for the cut to fully heal before swinging and then he’ll get a better feel for a timeline. But said he feels good”
https://twitter.com/RhettBollinger/status/1682506010144169985?t=0pvF8h3jWHFsHMYu9cuNjA&s=19
My guess for Trout’s return remains August 11th @ Houston.
No Trout birthday homer this year? 😢
ahhhhh 😭😭😭
I guess the Angels could not sneak two Rens into Yankees chartered flight. But, maybe the last 3rd Ren may show up in Gotham City. We can always hope, right.
https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1682500271870730241
Go Halos! Make that Sho No Trade Before Deadline Magic Number to 4, tonight!
Wow Phillip is going to let Thaiss catch Ohtani? I hope they let Shohei’s Mom know
I am not 100% certain but BannedinLA predicted the similar lineup two days ago, and I think he had Thaiss on it. He is onto something.
Remember…Phillip thinks Th’ice is the best catcher in MLB. His words.
It took long enough to install Thaiss as the full time catcher.
Excited to watch him catch Ohtani’s no hitter tonight!
This is Nevin putting his best players out there, regardless of personal preferences. The urgency is palpable.
At this point, Chad’s 0-fer far outweighs his “advantage” as Shohei’s personal catcher.
All the credit goes to Thaiss, who has through hard work continued his growth into serviceable catcher. He has not had any more interference with the batter, and he had 9 allowed SB for May and June. This month (yes, less games because of ASG break), only 3 so far. And, his bat will be much better than that of Wallach. So, Nevin using Thaiss to catch Sho today is no brainer if he wanted to win.
Yeppers.
Nevin was given autonomy and that got us to 5 games back of the WC with too many baffling losses to count.
Perry told Phillip,
“Hey dum dum, you will do what I tell you from now on.”
I never understood what the big deal was about who catches Ohtani. He calls his own pitches so as long as you can catch the ball and throw it back to him it really doesn’t matter who’s wearing the gear back there.
I will be curiously watching if Thaiss wears Pitch Com push button device on his knee like he did with Sandoval and Silseth. If he does, then he can send signs which would come via Wise/Nevin.
Yeah, the O-fer-The Summer is pretty ugly.
Not sure that is correct though … The success/failure of your starting pitcher has alot more to do with you winning the game than any one batter in your lineup …
Rengifo?
Better hope for a lot of K’s from Sho tonight.
Do not like the look of that INF defense outside of Neto.
Everything will hang on tight with Sho’s middle finger. Isn’t it poetic?
Defense has been horrible and is undermining the pitchers chance of success. Perry has failed miserably here in bringing the right guys in.
😂
I’m glad Pittsburgh broke their losing streak in their most recent game. It wouldn’t have boded well for us if they came into this series otherwise.
Is past tense boded or bade? 🤣
Bodey Miller
Agreed. I hate playing a team on a losing streak.
Unless that team is us?
Or the Yankees. They kinda shot this whole “bad team means we get our asses kicked” thing to hell.
That being said – one game at a time and if we lose tip cap, turn page. Let’s stop the Pirates TONIGHT.
I think you get it. No overreaction to a loss or win. Just keep the focus.
Totally agree.
That said, I don’t like the fact that they’ve been cold so long… They are a much better team than they have shown recently… In fact, I would not be shocked if they took 2 out of 3 in this series… I feel like tonight is a very dangerous game.
The Angels are coming off an emotional series vs Yankees (we always get up for those games) and thus could be due for a let down… also, we have not been good coming out of off days (which is the case here)… I could see a 3-3 game going into the 9th tonight ……
This will be a tough game tonight, I think.
So Glad we had a Day Off to slow down our momentum.
The flipside to that coin is that our BP can always use the breather.
Ditto for guys like Neto, Moniak,
Moose, Ward and Shohei that play everyday.
Pirates are a bad team and are now back to playing to the level of success expected and are losing a lot. Tankers 101. Angels will take the series.
In non-baseball but sports-related news, the Washington Commanders just sold for $6.05 Billion!!! Worst franchise in the league, worst revenues, worst attendance, worst stadium…and still fetched 6B!!! NFL owners must be having a field day.
Arte officially moved up one spot on the “Worst Owners in Professional Sports” list.
He’s finally gotten that championship that has alluded him so long.
But they get the same amount of TV money as the best franchises.
Today being Friday and of course, the first MLB game of the day is on Apple TV+. I was little happier that the last time I used Apple TV+ to watch Angels game, for some reason the sound issue was gone. Even though they constantly display the odds of batter’s hit probability as each count changes (probably because that would assist online betters to place their money), I actually like the almost 4K resolution (much better than MLB.TV) and excellent graphics.
However, the sound issue is back again today, and Apple has not been helpful. I will stay with free subscription with Apple until next Friday when Angels play Bluejays, where Sho may pitch his last game as Angel. Next Saturday, I will bid adieu to Apple by clicking ‘end subscription’ button. If I could, I would turn around, kneel and pull my shorts down with my o’kole pointing toward them.
I agree. Baseball looks better on Apple TV, but everything else about their broadcast has a tendency to annoy me.
BTW, the Apple TV+ site actually lists all MLB games for the day and clickable. I have not tried it yet, but I assume that I would be taken to MLB.TV site or other broadcasting sites such as ESPN+ or TBS/Fox.
But, I will not be surprised that all Friday MLB games will be all turned over to Apple TV+, if not next season, in a few years. Their site is definitely built up for such purpose.
Has the broadcast team gotten any better? I watched the first Angles AppleTV game and never again’ed out of there.
Very obtuse of you. However, you may be right.
They have two teams, one is Randazzo/Dontrelle Willis/Heidi Watney and the other Alex Faust/Ryan Spilborghs/Tricia Whitaker. I have only watched the former team. Dontrelle being former pitcher is pretty good at analyzing pitchers well. I think he might have been on FS1. You know about Randazzo; I am neutral on him. I like Erica Weston, so it is probably unfair for me to rate any other side reporter.
BTW, I am quite happy that Apple eliminated most of their announcers from last year. They were the worst.
New lineup site…we will see if it’s early like Baseball Press.
https://fantasydata.com/mlb/daily-lineups?date=07-21-2023
Click bait?
😜😜😜😜😜
If I have to read one more braindead article saying the Mariners should trade for Shohei Ohtani by writers who clearly have no idea what they’re talking about, I’m gonna lose it
Have fun with the boy! I got roped into assistant coaching fall ball last year because they needed another dad. I loved being out there with my son. I was right behind the mound with him while he pitched his first inning ever. It was magical.
I coach both of my boys as well 8 and 6. Its a second full time job for sure as our league is 2 practices and 2 games a week. My college coach thinks I’m crazy. His exact words were work with them on the side and let some other dad deal with all the drama. But there is Never a dull moment and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a limited run you get when they are this little and fun.
That’s awesome.
That last line is so true. Possibly the best advice I was given was to enjoy each stage because when that stage is over, it is over.
My son is 6 in a couple of months.
That’s awesome. I assisted his tee ball coach.
I was the first base coach for his first hit off a tee and off a coach. Seeing him smiling as he ran down the line was incredible.
There will be countless speculative articles about trading Ohtani in the next two weeks it will drive us all insane, starting with this:
https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohtani-potential-trade-deadline-deals
This one at least had some science to it, not just random fanwanking:
Fletcher dives into the Trade Ohtani talk too, but gives a different perspective on PAST trades of a similar magnitude that have happened, and because of what happened in the past, why Arte is highly unlikely to pull the trigger, unless he’s truly blown away by an offer:
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/07/20/what-type-of-package-could-the-angels-get-if-they-trade-shohei-ohtani/
For those not on the paywall:
If Josiah turns out to be a long-term ace, then one could say that Nationals got something good out of that, but so far Keibert has been disappointing.
Looking at past trades, it looks like there won’t be any precedent that could convince Arte. The results below have been mostly unimpressive, and enforces the fact that prospects, even the highly touted ones, are still lottery tickets.
From those trades:
Gleyber Torres – mediocre-above average, so far. 6 years in the majors, best year was 2022 with 4 WAR. Probably the best of the bunch though for high-rated prospects moved, which isn’t really saying much.
Willie Calhoun – total bust
Yusniel Diaz – still TBD, if he actually gets to even play. But the trade was in 2018. Orioles have been waiting for a long time for the payoff.
Seth Beer – still TBD as well, but has been unimpressive in short stints thus far.
Awesome breakdown !
So many are sure that trading the best player in baseball will bring back a haul of young prospects to usher the Angels back to the playoffs.
What happens when those prospects are average or worse ? Yup.
The list of 3rd round MLB Draftees that made All Star.
Angels: Tim Salmon
Astros: Ken Caminiti
Braves: Craig Kimbrel
Cardinals: Ray Lankford
Dodgers: Alex Cora
Indians: Dennis Eckersley
Marlins: JT Realmuto
Expos: Gary Carter
Orioles: Eddie Murray
Padres: Tony Gwynn
Phillies: JA Happ
How do we know if that compensatory 3rd round pick is not going to be Angels next Tony Gwynn or Tim Salmon?
MLB Draft is a crap shot (Yo Eleven for 15:1 pay out) and not an exact science.
it makes you wonder the Angels should demand proven & cost controlled MLB players, even if they are not considered “blue chippers” talent wise.
I’d definitely go that route. Solid MLB production at minimum wage both fills position spots and saves on money for free agency.
The issue is teams who are in contention are going to want to keep the MLB team as intact as possible. Trading Ohtani in the off season would’ve been better for getting MLB talent back.
I saw one proposal with Atlanta where they sent back Max Fried. Essentially replacing their current ace with Ohtani for this year. Fried only has one year of control before he becomes a free agent and will cost $18 million next year, but that would be our ace for 2024.
More realistically, a team might trade a mid rotation starter with some upside and a few years of control as Ohtani will bump a pitcher off their roster anyway. Then there would be other players involved.
I think you’re correct here. About a minute after I hit “Post Comment”, it did occur to me that a
contender going all-in for Shohei,
would be hard pressed to part with proven veterans in exchange.
The Foundation Building Materials’ keystone of the series this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates is “I Won’t Let You Down” by OK GO.
https://youtu.be/u1ZB_rGFyeU
They have a new song out today! Finally!
Hope they defeat the cereal company as well
I Won’tNever LetYouMe Down…Angels….please.https://youtu.be/pCjeX08WdYQ?t=35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6XuRIPj8vI
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=snILjFUkk_A&pp=ygUkZGVwZWNoZSBtb2RlIG5ldmVyIGxldCBtZSBkb3duIGFnYWlu
Depeche Mode > David Bowie
Song throw DOWN about being let down?
https://youtu.be/Ud1X-k-U43I
I’m your Huckleberry:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E17hqs4Un-k&pp=ygUXZ29kc21hY2sgZG93biBpbiBhIGhvbGU%3D
Put this in your Vegimite
https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s
I appreciate the simplicity and silliness of 80’s music videos.
Oh yeah:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QrrEo3hZABU&pp=ygUaZG93biBpbiBpdCBuaW5lIGluY2ggbmFpbHM%3D
https://youtu.be/8ip8OsExLJs
BTW, every song I link is in my personal library:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jQbHkoXfhOI&pp=ygUicmlnaHQgZG93biB0aGUgbGluZSBnZXJyeSByYWZmZXJ0eQ%3D%3D
F’ing loved this song back in the day…..here’s to a game Winning Double “right down the line” tonight to bring home a run.
if we lose…..burn this shit down
https://youtu.be/_3eC35LoF4U
Rafferty was F-U-N-K-Y !!!
I see that you’re a fellow Gen-X’er
Yes..and heard someone say recently that Gen-X was the only generation that was 30 at age 10. And 30 at age 50. Some truth to it.
What no Beatles? This song is an S-Tier Banger, as the kids say.
https://youtu.be/NCtzkaL2t_Y
I wouldn’t let you down……as long as you Don’t Bring Me Down.
https://youtu.be/z9nkzaOPP6g
Bruce!
This is my favorite Depeche Mode song.
Probably mine as well and it’s even better live.
We just saw them this last March in Vegas.
Remember back in the 90’s them at the Rose Bowl with 100,000 and a 4 hours to get out of the parking lot.
10 games to go before deadline, and there will continue to be discussions regarding Sho’s trade or not, most likely all the way to August 1. This is a great example of shameless clickbait.
https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1682021708373561344
The sports media love it because that subject is singlehandedly maintaining their viewing number/rating without NFL or NBA. No disrespect to women’s sport or golf, but women’s World Cup or British Open are snoozers especially with huge time difference.
I am going to propose Magic Number for Shohei’s no trade. This is what I am going to assume. If they win at least 5 of 10, then the probability goes down to essentially zero. Another number that will reduce the Magic Number is when WC3 loses; in today’s case, it is Blue Jays.
Sho’s No Trade Before Deadline Magic Number as of today is 5.
I am sorry that I ended up embedding the same Morosi’s twitter that Jeff has already posted. I need to triple check. I am still learning.
By the way, that particular Morosi twitter surpassed 1.36 million views, significantly higher than any other twitter of his.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
There is no news.
Jeff, that’s awesome, a great time to be a parent. Hanging out at the ball field,, snagging Abazaba’s from the snack bars, meeting all the moms and pizza parties. Score!
Nice shout out to the Giants, playing some good ball. You don’t need a megastar to compete.
Thanks. I’m loving it.
I also like the Giants. That’s my dad’s team. And they are fun to watch this year.
Grandson Winston will be 4 next month.
He is under orders to be an Angels fan!!
Told his Dad I will pay for all equipment.
First time I’ve posted a picture…it worked.
That’s cool.
My two young grandkids, Robby and Julianna, he’s 8 and she is 7, both went to Angels Baseball camp last week compliments of their rich uncle. That is them after camp in the picture to the left.
Jeff, you understand that there isn’t a single San Francisco fan that likes us.
It was a fun sweep for the Angels. The Pirates and Tigers are next. That might help also. All of those teams are struggling. After that, the Halos will be pushed into the deep end of the pool. They have shown this year they can beat bad teams. They struggle beating good teams and sometimes are non-competitive against them. That’s likely how this all plays out. We will see though. Hope for the best.
Oviedo is the projected Pirates starter today. This pitcher is pretty awesome despite his 3-10 record.
https://www.mlb.com/pirates/video/johan-oviedo-tosses-ten-k-s
Angels batters need to be selective when he throws his sliders low. Gotta be patient, wait for him to raise pitches higher in the zone. Otherwise, we will see Angels suffering double digit Ks from this righty.
Sounds like trouble for Renfroe. He has not been able to lay off the low and away stuff all year and every righty knows it.
Exactly. The slight ray of hope, however, is that he has started to choose to walk. He walked 6 times in last 5 games, including twice, one of them resulting in a run on Wednesday.
Regardless of the record, Tigers have a better pitching staff. That series will be a battle.
I agree. However, if they are swept by Padres this weekend, we may not have to face Eduardo Rodriguez and/or Michael Lorenzen next week.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/07/astros-rays-showing-interest-in-michael-lorenzen.html
Somebody taking Rendon’s contract almost makes losing Shohei almost palatable. Almost.
The Orioles take game 1 of the 4-game series against the Rays and now claim the best record in the AL.
The Rays have had a July that would make an Angels’ fan cringe, going 3-12 with 2 of the wins coming against the Royals. It looks like their hot start was partially attributable to a weak April schedule.
Hopefully they will rebound against Houston and the NYY at the end of the month.
Sam Blum’s latest article, Free to good home: Shohei Ohtani. (Disclaimer: Must take Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon too) – The Athletic, makes me wonder if he has a secret identity here. It might as well have been a long FanPost.
Let’s hope not . I wouldn’t the quality of the content on this site to take a massive hit.
Something I mentioned earlier in the week, if you were to trade Ohtani (which I give it a 3.5% chance in occurring) attach the other fat cat contracts, Rendon and Trout. This would free up capital to sign ready made talent in short term deals mixed in with our younger pieces. It would be so refreshing to move on from the mega contact mistakes. Sure, it limit the trade return but prospects are no guarantee. Anyway, good to dream.
I think this is definitely not the way to go. No more Cozart trades.
If we are going to trade away the most valuable chip ever, get the best players in return.
What is the point of freeing up money? That doesn’t do anything for our team to win games. It just helps Arte save money.
You might say “well then with that huge amount of money, he can sign huge free agents!” Haven’t we been through that already?
Serious? Arte salary caps, he won’t bust the luxury tax. He spends money up to a point. Check Sportac website and look at team salaries. We have to live with $75M+ of non-productivity for the next 5-years? The idea is, you free up capital for use on a different set/depth of talent. Shorter contracts, smaller deals, more quantity. Better to mix in these type of players with the up and comers that having Rendon hanging around and a Trout with his physical decline.
I would much rather get valuable young players than escape Rendon’s contract.
At the very least, DFA Rendon so we can add another young player to the active roster.
I think Blum on the whole is a good presence amongst the beat writers because he doesn’t sugarcoat the many real issues.
He does seem genuinely offended/surprised the Angels seem to single him out which surprises me. They are thin skinned and lame for having that posture toward him but articles like this are essentially clickbait kind of justify their opinion of him.