Phil Nevin got himself suspended for a game for talking smack to the home plate umpire after the game last night. This concerned one of the called strikes on Michael Stefanic. Jordan Romano is on the IL now with some back problems. Alek Manoah pitched for the opposition today. Let’s see if we get the rookie ball version of Manoah.
Matt Chapman, of course, thinks most of the Angels can’t hit. Well, can they? Can Chapman hit?
In the second inning, the Angels loaded the bases with two outs for Luis Rengifo. He flied out to center.
Detmers gave up two walks while getting three strikeouts in the second inning. One of the walks was to mouthy Matt Chapman.
Finally, the Angels loaded up the bases once again in the fifth for Taylor Ward who got an RBI hit by pitch. 1-0 Angels.
Ward had to leave the game. He was hit in the face. We might be looking at the concussion protocol on this one. We will probably hear more by the game tomorrow.
In the bottom of the fifth inning Alejandro Kirk singled and Santiago Espinal homered to make it 2-1 Toronto.
Mickey Moniak struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth to leave the Angels behind 2-1. Reynaldo Lopez pitched well. In the seventh, the Angels went three up three down with three strikeouts.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Aaron Loup allowed a homer to Alejandro Kirk to make it 3-1 Toronto. Kevin Kiermaier singled and Whit Merrifield doubled to make it 4-1 Toronto. Bo Bichette committed the rare batter’s interference out to bring up Vladdy Jr. who was intentionally walked to bring up Matt Chapman. Rather than simply hit Chapman, Loup walked him. The Angels brought in Jaime Barria to see if he could do more damage than Loup did and Barria got George Springer out on a fly ball to Rengifo in left.
Danny Jansen singled and Alejandro Kirk homered yet again to make it 6-1 Toronto in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The top of the ninth inning came along with pitcher Yimi Garcia who got the save last night. Luis Rengifo led off with a base hit. Shohei Ohtani struck out looking. Mickey Moniak hit a deep fly ball out to center. Trey Cabbage struck out swinging to end the game. The Angels lost their second in a row. The sky is falling.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Andy Fletcher–yesterday’s HP umpire–was in the 5th percentile in terms of accuracy. His consistency was in the 10th percentile.He had 76% called strike accuracy (12 of 49 called strikes were true balls). Interestingly, though, his calls were not heavily weighted toward or against the Angels.
7/28’s umpire–Mike Estabrook–added an estimated 2.11 runs for Toronto because of bad calls. Estabrook weighting the game towards Toronto places him the lowest possible percentile for favoring one time over the other. Accuracy was in the 37th percentile.
It may sound dramatic but the season depends on this game. If the team puts up a good fight, regardless of the outcome, you let it ride.
But if the team is flat and looks like it has given up, Perry needs to consider trading Giolito and Lopez. We need to restock our farm system. Otherwise things are going to be even worse the next few years.
Why not just get real and trade Ohtani if they get an offer they can’t refuse.
If the Braves offered Acuna for Ohtani (I know) Arte would still say no since he’s in total denial of where the team is at and thinks that Shohei will want to hang around for another five or six years.
Were the last two games considered putting up a good fight? My understanding is that they scored one run in both games. I’m not sure what putting up a good fight would mean.
Hardly
If Perry doesn’t acquire an outfielder in 2 days, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Arte reverses course and start selling. I’d like to see Tommy Pham or Mark Canha waiting for us in Atlanta.
Way too little too late. Other teams would know they’re selling from a position of weakness just trying to recoup what they spent already.
Grichuk is another one in case Perry is afraid Billy Epps will pick his pocket again. Michael Taylor and Jurickson Profar are a couple of other ones from teams who are tanking. Not having great years but should be easy to pry. Cutch with the Pirates likely to stay and ride it out.
Out of this mess, Canha is probably the most well rounded OF but he’s a tool.
Why is Canha a tool?
Started shit with Shohei.
SHOHEI – nicest guy in MLB.
Ahhhh, yeah, F that. He’s a tool, then.
Still early part of Sunday morning, while I am thankful that I can watch Angels game earlier rather than later, I am in the mood for mentioning some zany rule change.
When a player is removed due to HBP injury (whether it was intentional or not), the team that sustained the injury has an option to remove any player from the offending team. (I noted that Blue Jays pitchers were pitching close to Angels batters throughout the game yesterday.)
This also applies when the plate umpire deemed that the pitcher intentionally threw at a batter. The current rule ejects the pitcher and manager. I would say, keep the manager, but give the opposing manager to eliminate a player from the incriminating team.
Now, I am going to take my mind-stabilizing medication.
Well, they kept our hopes up until almost August. Trout still out, Neto still out, O’Hoppe still out, Urshela( remember him?) still out, now Ward goes down. Meanwhile Rangers pick up Scherzer and are in the market for more pitching. Now, The Angels did make a move ………. in all three levels of their minor league system, the BEST they could call me up with is Kevin Padlo! Kevin freakin Padlo????? That is some true “waving the white flag” stuff right there.
Seriously why Padlo again?? Do they not know he’s awful? Try someone else … anyone else.
Padlo joins the Mayfield Brigade littering the roster. Do something, Minasian. It’s slipping away on you.
Both Tommy Pham and Mark Canha were mentioned earlier. Will not be surprised that one of them join the Angels in Atlanta. Not too far from Queens, New York to get to ATL just by hopping on a plane from La Guardia, approximately 50 non stop flights daily. Also the same EDT zone, another plus.
We desperately need someone like that. We also need another infielder to get Rengifo back to the bench and Velasquez off the roster.
Let’s give Perry 24 to 36 hours and see what he can come up with.
Time is running out. Each loss reduces our slim hopes.
I posted the same thing about the Mets OF’s without even looking at your post first. We should do a tag team GM podcast. 😊
Actually I got the idea from your earlier post. I would be happy to be your assistant, though. 😉
Good Pennsylvania to all of you!
Peacock Baseball Sunday Leadoff lineup:
Rengifo 2B
Ohtani DH
Moniak LF
Moose 1B
Thaiss C
Renfroe RF
Escobar 3B
Cabbage CF
Squid SS
Salvage this early morning game, and we still have a chance to end up with 4 out of 6 after Braves series however daunting it may seem. Go Halos!
Mr. Padlock is in Toronto. Hopefully, he is an updated push button style rather than old turn at least 3 times clockwise to hit the first number, then turn counterclockwise to hit the second and turn clockwise to reach the third number.
https://twitter.com/LAAngelsPR/status/1685648043868401665
Indiana right back atcha!
Taylor Ward – Heads to IL with facial fractures
The Angels placed Ward on the 10-day injured list Sunday after he was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures.
Impact According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Ward has been released from the hospital after he was struck in the side of the face by a pitch in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. Manager Phil Nevin is expected to provide an update on Ward’s condition later Wednesday, but based on the initial diagnosis, the 29-year-old can be expected to miss well beyond the minimum 10 days. The Angels selected the contract of infielder Kevin Padlo from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Ward on the 26-man active roster.
Unbelievable. I feel terrible for Ward. I sincerely hope he can come back from the physical and mental impact of the injury. His season is likely over regardless of what Nevin says.
The timing of Ward’s injury is devastating. Kevin Padio is not MLB replacement level quality. There is no replacing him from within the farm system, and the lineup we’ll be trotting out there will likely mean that Ohtani doesn’t see any pitches remotely hittable until Trout returns.
There is potentially one thing that could send a message and motivate the team and fanbase: Ohtani extends his contract. I know it won’t happen, but it’s likely the only thing that could inspire the team to do the impossible….and win the whole damn thing.
This is the type of injury that ends a career.
With girls’ softball games on the east coast cable channel that I have declared that I would never spiel at this site and watching ‘smart’ girls wearing face guard not only as batter but also as defensive players, I have often made fun of male machismo of not wearing whole face guard when playing baseball. (Partial chin flap was a good idea, but not sufficient.)
It is time that boys do the same, starting from boy’s little league games. If you start them early age, eventually they will get used to wearing them, like it happened with helmets/face mask for ice hockey players.
I don’t have any trust that Manfraud is going to do anything about it.
And then Ohtani plays OF when he’s not pitching.
(sorry, had a bit of optimism injection this morning upon waking up)
Not a bad idea DD.
Highly doubtful the Angels would put Ohtani in the outfield. For an inning, possibly.
I know. Just spitballing
There is a chance that Ohtani could renew his contract: 0.03. I mean, it’s still a chance. He hasn’t said absolutely not.
Much worse than I had initially thought. He’ll bounce back next year.
Did the horrific Ward injury take the wind out of our sails?
There’s still two and a half days to trade Ohtani…just sayin.
Would not surprise me if Arte reverses course and does it.
I believe Soto trade happened on the day of the deadline last year after Nat’s GM had professed to baseball media that he was not trading Soto just a few days earlier.
Trade No Sho Before Deadline Magic Number is still 1.
There Are 55+ Hours Left Before Deadline.
That is definitely what Arte Should Do.
It’s just not what Arte will do. He’s looking for that title….. the title of the worst owner in the history of MLB. I’m sure there are two or three others in the history of the league. But he’s done a heck of a job.
The fans jobs for end of the season…. come to the stadium with signs pleading with Arte to do what’s right and sell the team.
Fortunately, I missed this game due to having to work. I heard it was an umpiring debacle. Also, I heard that we were shitty with RISP. Nothing new there. Part of the problem is we have a lineup filled with guys swinging for the fences every at bat. That includes the likes of Rengifo, Velazquez and Thaiss. With their “first pitch hacking” approach, they are constantly putting themselves in a bad count. Word gets out and opposing pitchers use it to their advantage. No ability to work the count, use the field, move runners, small ball for lack of a better word. Instead of looking for a power bat for the lineup, go get a real hitter or 2. Maybe coach who we have to try and be better at actually hitting rather than home run derby. Numbers don’t lie.
Just my opinion but doesn’t sound to me like a team ready to make a run.
Sure, they can look like one vs. Pittsburgh and Detroit. If they end up swept today, not an impossibility, 1-5 vs Houston and Toronto clearly isn’t gonna get it done.
Arte and Perry were stupid not to wait until later, leverage the offers one vs. the other and HELP the team to get better. Next year won’t be a lot of fun, unless setting records for years missing the playoffs counts.
A lot of this is true. However, we DID have a guy like this, one who DIDN’T swing for the fences.
He’s a smart hitter. A good hitter. His name is Gio Urshela.
And he’s injured.
Another guy like that is named Drury. Though he has HR power he generally doesn’t overswing.
The injuries are the biggest story this year (other than Ohtani of course). Until we can keep our players on the field we won’t go anywhere..:
I respect your post for sure. I just did a post down below. I know the playoffs sound great, and people wanna go for it. But what would be better, getting to the PO’s, maybe winning the WC game and then going out in the next round, or setting up the team to be competitive for the next ten years?
I know what I would pick. I used the number 2.3% as the realistic chances of making the playoffs and then Shohei resigns. It’s just a number I pulled out of thin air. I think Perry is not doing his job as a baseball lifer to cave in to Arte’s ridiculous assumption that because he has so much money, Ohtani signs with the Angels. There is one thing and only one thing that interests Ohtani; Winning. And he’s not stupid. He knows that isn’t gonna happen any time soon in Anaheim. So, Perry and Arte can dream, but dreaming doesn’t create a winning culture. And Perry also needs to address poor drafting. Otherwise the system wouldn’t still be down at the bottom after all these losing years.
Agree about Arte and the culture. That is at the core of everything. I have been saying that same thing for a long, long time.. It goes way beyond drafting. Arte prioritizes business concerns and then people wonder why we don’t win.
That said, I DON’t agree with your playoff take. Right now just making the playoffs and winning a couple games there would be huge… That would do quite alot to instill confidence in other players not named Ohtani… Especially the younger guys who are the future… Not to mention the fan base; we need it the most !!
I think going for it was the right move. You can’t keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to winning. The time is NOW.
Problem is, it’s over. The Angels get swept today since they won’t be able to score; Ohtani will be walked, Moniak is entering the slump that was long overdue, Ward just got hot, but now HE’S out along with Trout, Drury, Urshela, Adell, etc, etc…
It just gets worse. Time to call the American Indian Shaman they used in the Fall or Winter of 2001. We need him again.
RE: Problem is, it’s over.
I tend to agree … we were already razor thin on the “chances remaining” and now the only remaining hope is that Trout and Drury come back mashing – which has a really small chance of happening.
Even if they do mash all the teams in front of us have to start losing, including Toronto, Boston and New York. What is the chance of THAT happening ?
0.00
For better or worse, Pham and/or Canha are logical replacements for the OF
Is that a lot? https://twitter.com/Jared_Tims/status/1685481520344236032
What a trAdition. 😐
It was really low class of the BJs to pile on the runs after hitting Ward in the face. The courteous thing to do would have been to let the Angels just win this one game.
Don’t know if it’s been said already, but one player than can immediately help fill the void is David Fletcher. He has played left field in the past, can play three infield positions, and is MLB ready. No, he doesn’t have Ward’s bat, but he is a viable option until another trade is made or until one of the IL players returns.
Hate to say it but Fletcher is history. Whatever offense he once brought is long gone. Better to dig through the DFA scrapheap than to bring up another guy that you already know can’t hit.
yeah as much as I would hope that it’d be different with Fletch, it is what it is
The more I think about it, Minasian is like the team, about a .500 GM. He makes some good moves and some bad ones. Unfortunately, unless he’s got some kind of rabbit to pull out of his hat, at the end of the day he didn’t move the playoff needle. Sure, injuries. Curses. Bad umps. Still, no playoffs. Again.
OTOH, Texas is really going for it and they look to have turned it around very quickly. That pains me. Houston never left. And even Seattle seems to be pulling ahead. Ouch.
I’m not ready to write him off yet. I actually think he has done an amazing job with the major league roster. We are over .500 with more than half our starters out.
His fault is the shit heap coaching staff he has allowed to continue persisting. But that’s an easier thing to address than fixing the entire roster.
Imo, he absolutely should have stood up, Firmly, to Moreno and made it clear that on the 2.3% chance that they make the playoffs And Ohtani resigns with the Angels, the best move If He Is Serious about winning, is get some more prospects along the lines of O’Hoppe and Mondiak.
Yeah, despite our gaudy HR numbers (largely due to Ohtani) this team has a TERRIBLE approach when it comes to hitting…. We’re generally selfish and stupid. A bad combo.
Thames has to take a lot of the blame for not addressing the failure to adjust approach with two strikes , or especially with bases loaded or man at 3rd with less than two outs..
A couple guys like Ward and Urshela (both injured ironically) try to use the whole field, but mostly we have a team of pull happy power hitters…
What happened to the clutch bases loaded single ????
Gone missing I guess. It’s one of those things where really (as I see it) the whole thing needs to be a restart down to all of the basics: drafting, hitting, player development, etc.
The worst thing that happened to the team in the last year was Arte’s change of mind to not sell the team. If anything good is to come out of this latest mess, it would be that the fan base makes it clear to him, that we don’t want him to own the team anymore, we’re tired of the whole ‘Star’ thing, because while stars help, it’s a TEAM that wins. If you can’t make the playoffs with two of the greatest players to ever play the game, then you need to get real.
I think he owns all of it. And he went along with it, maybe has hubris to stand with so many bad decisions. We needed someone stronger than him, but that was never going to happen, considering the ownership. A sad, dysfunctional situation.
I would like to see someone get fired up on the team though. Show some emotion. Don’t have any evidence it will help but I feel like it’s something we’ve lacked for quite some time.
Moose has been doing it but I imagine there’s only so much he can do
I vote for Ippei
I’ve got no problems with Moose, on or off the field, unlike the $38 million per year guy he replaced.
Rengifo will play some OF.
I wonder if the club opts to fast forward Drury in response to Ward’s situation….
Livan Soto is the only available position player on the 40-man roster that they could call up.
The cupboard is a bit bare, eh?
Old Mother Perry
Perry will likely make a move 2-Nite.
In for a penny. In for a pound.
I still haven’t seen it and don’t intend to. I hope we get some reasonably good news soon
Exhibit 1 why this team is dead in the water.
What’s the Angels average in important games hitting with the bases loaded? Recently they seem to be worst in the league.
Perry better be working that phone for a 3B. Escobar/Rengifo/Moose ain’t cutting it.
I wonder if this will be a quick call-up for Jordyn Adams until Trout and/or Adell comes back.
I will be watching to see if SLC Bees pulled Adams out from tonight’s game.
Oh jeez, I didn’t realize Adell’s injury is much worse than it initially sounded:
Adams is on the starting lineup. I don’t see Orlando Martinez on the lineup. None of the outfielders on SLC Bees are on 40 man list, so if one of them is on the way to Toronto or Atlanta, there has to be corresponding move to make a spot for him.
Right. No outfielder in the minor leagues is on the 40-man roster.
Rengifo and Cabbage can both ‘play’ the OF. Maybe we need to ditch Herget (or Loup?) to add Orlando Martinez or Adams.
We have 9 pitchers from the 40-man on the IL, and 8 (with Ward) position players. This includes so many starters. It is amazing our record isn’t like that of the Royals/A’s to be honest.
Such a bummer as this was the text book definition of “opportunity” for Adell with Trout on IL and Renfroe struggling.
The public address announcer said that Adams is batting leadoff.
I like Adams but he’ll be overmatched.
Compared to this band of whiffers how will you be able to tell the difference?
if the dude slaps the ball on the ground and runs like hell he’ll do better than anyone on this team right now not named Shohei especially with runners on base.
BTW in his last 23 games at AAA (110 PAs) JA’s only hit one home run BUT he’s been a doubles machine slashing .361/.436/.546 (A .983 OPS!) with 14 doubles 1 triple and 17 stolen bases ( and only 2 CS)
I thought temporarily that JA was Jo Adell
Texas gets Scherzer in exchange for #3 TX prospect Luisangel Acuna (#44 overall).
Now that Scherzer is gone, I won’t be surprised of a Verlander-cheaters reunion.
And this probably means the Mets are out of the Ohtani sweepstakes in the offseason.
Good pickup for Texas tbh
Indeed.
Also hot after Jordan Hicks. Got to like the aggressiveness.
Why would the Mets be out on Ohtani due to the Scherzer trade?
Likely makes them more interested. I still have Ohtani sticking on the left coast. anywhere but Seattle.
Because their biggest selling point before this offseason is their team is so loaded they’re were preseason/early season favorites for the WS, especially after playing in the playoffs last season.
Now that they’re dismantling this loaded power team, it’ll be hard to sell to Ohtani that this is a team built to win a lot, and win now.
Or clearing space for his $60MM/year
Hopium
They got Scherzer for less than we paid for the Giolito rental, with a higher salary.
How less? Luisangel Acuna is a prospect in the top 50s. Quero isn’t ( last I remember, 67). Bush isn’t in the top 100.
And we got what looks like an effective reliever in the process as well.