Good morning Angels fans. Yeah it is really bad, have some links.
Angels News
So, Angels lose again. Which is no shock to anyone anymore really. They have been losing a ton since August 1st and may end up even worse than last year somehow.
Which means there isn’t much to talk about besides the Angels screwing up their team photo because Ohtani couldn’t make it. Yep. They failed THAT as well.
Wait, is Rendon in the photo? Or is he too busy speaking bad Spanish to avoid talking to reporters?
Ugh, anything good here? Well, Squid is gone. He is a Brave now. Yay?
Actual good news, Luis Rengifo won player of the week. We are wasting his prime!
Around Baseball
Hey remember when the Angels dumped a bunch of players? Usually that means they will get good, but one of them instead made history. Lucas Giolito has now become the first player since the 19th century to give up 8 runs for 3 different teams in 1 season.
Despite all the injuries, Stanton is the 4th fastest player to 400 home runs. Will he stay on long enough to hit 500? Who knows.
Astros now lead the AL West for the first time this season. Can they just not?
Texas really could use more pitching. Too bad they traded away a good pitcher for Chapman. How good? Leads the league in ERA since the trade deadline good.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes.
I don’t understand sending down Stefanic for Philips. Why not give Stefanic an extended look and see what he can do? He’s 6 walks to 4 strikeouts
I agree. Doing this is telling Stefanic he has no chance ever with this team. Plus, if there’s not a better OF option than Phillips, we truly have the worst system in baseball.
Arte is going to save 100 grand in this move. He saved 150 grand keeping Terry and Langs home for away games. A penny saved is a penny earned. JEEEEEEEZ Sell the fing team already.
Yes please!!
Stefanic is close to leading the PCL in hitting. He has never been given a consistent chance to in Anaheim to pass/fail. Give him the last month in this failed year to show something, not one game a week. He signed as an undrafted free agent and it is obvious the FO doesn’t think much of his hitting .300+ everywhere he has played.
If we go 4-19 from here on out: 68-94, exactly as I predicted:
https://crashingthepearlygates.com/2023/03/30/ctpg-predictions-for-the-2023-season/
I think I have a chance…
Forgot about that. I said 72-90
Stupid me, I said 85-77, so I’m out of the running.
I said 82-60 or 83-79 so I’m pretty much out of it too.
https://x.com/trevrosenthal/status/1699391827537715254?s=46&t=3pP7Z-kN6oKfFrW3jqFGhA
Truth be told, Rendon doesn’t want to be here anymore than most of us want him here, just cut bait and release him. I would like to believe that Arte is done signing Free Agents and that he can’t be dumb enough to think he knows what he is going, Right?
So he’s trying to be such a $&(#(# that He’s option we give him his money to just go away.
Investigate him. Find some contract clause he violates and cancel him out.
No shortage of Angels news out there today. All of it makes you think about drinking the Jones Kool-Aid. Many authors and blog writers and newspaper columnist know how to fix the Angels, with some all the way too many being the same who (Like I, the Kool-Aid was good until it wasn’t.) posted or wrote that the Angels were going to place second in division and make the playoffs (Que Mora). Can the Halos be fixed? Yes, they can imho, but it will take at least 4 seasons to pull it off and very few injuries and some luck (No not Andrew).
Grichyuck for free, gotta be at least one taker, right? Give the guy his outright release and let him find his own deal this time should no one bite.
We are fans of a sinking team, but forgive me for being redundant, we have seen in the last 10 or so years teams tanking and turning it all around. Royals, Braves, Asstros, Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Seattle, Diamondbacks come to mind. The Angels are the definition of STUPID. We should tank and lick our wounds and rebuild.
We don’t need a part time Trout or a wore out Ohtani to finish 4th, we are good enough to finish below the A’s all on our own.
Yoy and Double Yoy?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/angels-select-brett-phillips.html
The Angels must really believe that Grichuck is going to get upchucked this time.
The original Kabuto handler/presenter. Does that mean Sho will be back in the lineups?
Phillips can take over the gunner position. Tank is at full throttle.
A key element to Arte’s “unfinished business.”
The team is grasping at straws.
he’s in the lineup tonight. Phillips. that is. No Ohtani again
Phillips. Oye.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, Shota Imanaga will be posted by Yokohama BayStars (where Trevor Bauer has been thriving)
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/yokohama-dena-baystars-to-post-shota-imanaga.html
-He is 30 year old lefty, who throws fastballs in low 90MPH. Also uses slider, cut balls especially to righty, curve and change ups. I think he is pretty aggressive around the zone with better command, and does not walk too many batters.
-He was the starting pitcher against Team USA in WBC though he only threw two innings and gave up a solo homerun to Trea Turner.
-He has had at least 3 arm and shoulder ailments, which landed him on IL in 8 year career in NPB.
I presume he will be a solid #3 or 4 starter in MLB, but, as this applies to all Japanese imports, it will be interesting to observe how he will handle the 162 game season, frequent long distance flights, and 5 man rotation.
Is Shiggy available ?
Grichuk back on waivers.
Nightengale via Glum Sam Blum.
If someone grabs him, do we get cap relief?
Sure. But he won’t be available to any team’s playoff runs, thus making the investment less attractive to some … possibly.
That didnt squeeze out Squid from latching onto a playoff contender.
In the minors, I believe.
Reading your comment and CB26 below..all I saw was “runs”, “squeeze out”, and latching which I thought was “leaking onto” and immediately thought we were back talking about the Dia-Barria on the plane. And then I started thinking about Bundy vomiting on the mound. And how after the rare times our players get a hit, they smell their fingers in a swiping motion, not sure why………but, good times being an Angel fan!
Free Think Tank
Since todays theme involves air travel here’s a story involving Bundy barf. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/air-canada-vomit-apology-scli-intl/index.html
Ha! I didn’t know Canada knew how to fly planes.😀
Yes
Then it makes sense to try again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1TmIhddn0c
“History Repeats Itself”
First time I had real good visual on his playing ability, nothing that stirred by drink
I thought you preferred yours shaken, not stirred.
The foundation Building Materials’ keystone of the game for the Angels tonight against the Orioles is “Erase/Rewind” by the Swedish band, The Cardigans.
We’re all ready to erase and rewind. The movies we taped on this video cassette turned out to be crap.
Let’s just lose a bunch of games here, score a couple juicy draft picks, and start over again at spring training. Then we can dream of a healthy Angel squad, a core of young players doing exciting things, and picking up a couple of players to help keep the Halos in contention until the last week of the 2024 season.
https://youtu.be/6WOYnv59Bi8?si=xjX8VlLRk35kyjGZ
If Arte wasn’t embarrased enough to sell the team last year, surely he has to sell this year… right? I mean… COME ON!!!!!
As long as he has a couple stars on his roster to promote, he will always have some unfinished business to complete that will keep him hanging on.
2024 will be Trout and….??
My IIWPM will be easy because I won’t be trying to put together a good team. I’ll try to anticipate what Perry will actually do. I’ll simply see who was good in 2019 and “sign” them
The reality is, it’s a two way street. What player will want to sign a contract to play in a high-tax state, for a failed franchise, with a know clueless owner who runs a less-than-organization?
The only way would be to re-sign Shohei, or make significant trades to upgrade the roster….not possible with a farms system that is at the bottom. Or he will need to significantly overpay who ever decides to sign here. And that will take away from his self-imposed salary cap.
I agree 100%
Arte being embarrassed at the W-L record and that creating the impetus for him to sell? He doesn’t give a shit about the things that apparently would create the desire in some to sell the team and walk-away.
If anything, it would be more likely for Arte to sell AFTER making a run in the playoffs than by finishing under .500 yet again. It’s too easy for the ego of the Platypus and Arte to play the “if it wasn’t for the injuries” rationalization that it’s not them.
If you were a billionaire, would you want to go out like this?
The Arte Era of Darkness is just beginning.
He probably heard what Jerry Reinsdorf said when they asked him if he would sell the team and was probably like “Amen Jerry” unfortunately.
The man has “unfinished business” to take care of. It takes time to finish it.
I guess he hasn’t completely destroyed the franchise and moved it out of state yet. #goals
He just needs to hire a goon that is more discreet about soliciting bribery.
Which current goon was less discreet?
https://twitter.com/razzball/status/1699191722130264266?s=21&t=QQEkyNmT8JoC91LGhy4yeA
Eduardo Escobar, dirt-surfer extraordinaire.
We always crash and come up short.
trAdition
Short. SHORT?
Short is a couple of games.
The Angels are in a different area code from the good teams.
Meaning short in every way. Every game, every 1/2 inning, hitting, pitching, catching, GM’ing, scouting, medical, training…..everything is usually short of that day’s opponent. This adds up to our present-day suckage. It’s short every day, in every way.
Our trAdition
My first thought was that this is a Jabari Blash flashback
A Blashback? Oh the horror.
It my college allumni night at the big A tonight. It’s a date with my wife, but I feel like we are heading to watch a train wreck. How do I get through tonight sober?
If you leave by the 3rd inning, you should be fine. If you choose to stay beyond the 3rd, sobriety will not be possible.
You guys are doing it wrong. Consuming alcohol at the game increases Arte’s per caps. Fail fail fail.
Good point. Bootlegging is preferred.
Buy no beer, no hot dogs. But always wear your hot dog pants or coat. And protest the state of the Angels. Enough is enough!
?v=1660360472
https://twitter.com/CatchUpFeed/status/1696116376979783796?s=20
Leave before the call to the bullpen?
I also suggest drinking heavily.
You should listen to him. He’s pre-med.
Louie-Louie…I’ve read your book godammit.
What school?
Concordia Irvine
😀
Just get the soda in the souvenir cup, you can ask for an Ohtani one, then you can remember back in the day, when he was on The Angels! Stay sober- check, souvenir for memories of the greatest season by a player ever- check.
Oh last night hurt…..
I hope you’re OK- not sure if you were in a back-alley brawl or something.
But the Angel game didn’t hurt at all – it was the expected result.
A whole new layer of worse has become fun and interesting.
Always assume the worst, and nothing bad can happen.
Free Chuck Finley
Free King Fish Tim
Free Rengifo MVRen
Last Ren standing!
Nolan is the Angels’ only top 100 prospect in the MLB list, slotting in at exactly #100.
I missed that O’Hoppe has graduated from prospect status. I think he was still there back when he was injured.
Hard to believe that there are 99 better prospects than Nolan Schanuel, who is sporting a .439 OBP thru his first 66 MLB PA, but what do I know?
With a .308 slugging percentage? Why yes there is.
Is that bad?
-David Fletcher
He has a bad case of the ShINGLES
The way I’m reading that is “slugging percentage can only go up from here”.
Each team only gets 27 outs. There’s a lot to be said for someone who doesn’t make them very often. Especially on a team full of players who are out machines with .300 OBAs or lower. Considering how long it’s been since Money Ball, I believe the skill is still highly undervalued by MLB.
Like Mickey Moniak?
Schanuel fits the profile of a player you’d find on this season’s Rays, Mariners or Orioles.
I am much more impressed with his ability to get on-base than I am concerned with the lack of pop from a 21-year old, a few months removed from college ball.
Obviously, we all hope the power comes eventually. If it does? We have a perennial all-star. If it doesn’t? We still have a good baseball player.
I just hope though that if he indeed develops his power eventually, that he doesn’t sacrifice his OBP and cheap hits skills for power, like Trout did.
All his hits are cheap hits. No cheap hits then you got dick.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/52d545df-949b-4f7f-b71b-7d1f1eae55ef
Really? provide those comps because I aint seeing any profiles in the current MLB rosters that match him.
In fact Im having hard time in the post dead ball era finding players that compare to him that weren’t speed burners.
Far from a perfect comp and baseballsavant isn’t the end all be all, but these profiles look awfully similar to me. The main difference clearly being SLG and barrel %.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/adley-rutschman-668939?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/nolan-schanuel-694384?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
From like what, 30,000 feet?
Adley has a .434 slugging percentage in 1,057 PAs
Nolan has a .308 slugging percentage in 66 PAs
Thats not even in the same solar system.
Nolan’s barrel % is literally zero. His EV is 5 mph below average. Rutschman’s EV is right in line with league averages and his barrel rate exceeds league averages. Even at his best (Max EV), Nolan’s most well struck pitch is 10mph south of Rutschman’s.
These aren’t remotely similar bats.
I’ll be honest, I posted that comp as bait lol. I don’t have the time right now to research find a similar bat, which may lead me to conceding this one to CB26.
With all due respect, I think this overgeneralizes from a very small data set (14 games). Let’s recall that Livan Soto came up at the end of the 2022 season for 18 games, and slashed a mean .400/.414/.582, but has spent most of 2023 in AA and AAA with a .680 OPS.
What analysts are looking at – and why many other prospects are ranked higher despite Schanuel being atypically rushed to the Bigs – is that 63% of his balls in play are groundballs, and he has not barreled even a single pitch since he’s been called up to the MLB. The MLB average hard hit % is just north of 39%. Schanuel’s hard hit % is 20.5%.
Live by the BABIP, die by the BABIP. Schanuel can hit almost anything, but it’s mostly crap contact – barely even a hint of projectable power at this point – and as rival teams absorb the spray charts, those singles are going to turn into outs. Not least because he only uses half the field. Depending on your reference source only 10-20% of his batted balls go opposite field – he continues to turf-knock balls down the 1B line or predictably to 2b.
In 166 plate appearances, he’s hit one HR (in AA). The knock on Schanuel all along was that, while his plate discipline is otherwordly, his contact quality doesn’t translate to power in the Bigs, and could eventually impact his hit tool as well. Despite an impressive OBP, the early batting ball data confirms, rather than contradicts, the doubts of scouts and analysts to date.
… mic drop….
We’re screwed next year.
😉
I mean, we’ve been screwed for a decade…Schanuel isn’t the make-or-break on that assessment. 🙂
And maybe the guy develops average power down the line. But I think AA is probably a good place to practice that.
Every now and then, though, my draft preferences do align with those of the Angels – we lined up on Zach Neto, Reid Detmers and Canning/Adell – top of my board when the Angels selected. Given draft position, even with injuries and development challenges, I think those selections all made sense.
For the Bachman draft, I pegged Sam as a bullpen arm (I think I got that right), and my “favorite” pick was the high-probability, high floor Jordan Wicks. The Cubs nabbed him in 2021 as well as Matt Shaw this year, so we must be on a similar wavelength. He’s rewarded that selection with a quick ascendancy through the minors, and a 1.80 ERA in his first two MLB starts this season.
With all due respect, Soto IMO is a poor example. the Soto’s MLB SSS was inconsistent with his minor league numbers to date. Schanuel, on the other hand, has done nothing so far in college or in professional baseball that has been inconsistent with his high OBP but extremely low exit velocities.
While I think there is some validity in the fan graph’s article that there is a strong possiblty that Schanuel can develop higher exit velocities, we maybe looking at an extreme baseball unicorn . of course the question will remain can a high .300’s low .400’s OBP ML first baseman with a mid .700 OPS and average to below average foot speed generate positive WAR for any major league team.
I’ve been trying to find historic comp projections for Schanuel. The closest I’ve found are
The former Brooklyn Doyer who was an integral in breaking baseballs color barrier. Eddie Stanky https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stanked01.shtml
Or the infamous human rain delay Mike Hargrove. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hargrmi01.shtml
Of course , Nolan is going to have to find a bit more power in his game if he wants compare to Hargrove.
The point of the Soto reference isn’t to suggest that Soto = Schanuel, but that BABIP can distort small samples. Soto’s BABIP in the MLB in 2022 was .500 (!).
I’d say Schanuel power deficit is actually inconsistent with his college 2022 season as well, but that’s wood bats and nastier stuff for you too. The more worrisome precedent with Schanuel is his performance in the cold weather Cape Cod league with wood bats: .272 SLG across 155 PAs in 2022, with only 1 HR.
One hopes that’s not predictive – but it’s arguably a closer hitting environment to what he’s seeing now than Conference USA.
I understood what you meant on Soto. I was not shocked that his MLB debut numbers were never replicated.
I felt the same way about Nolan’s cape cod numbers even though he blamed it on an astigmatism
FWIW, while Schanuel remains an interesting player to watch, I’m sticking with the player who was top of my board at draft time, Matt Shaw – now in AA, and predicted to quickly make the MLB early/mid next season.
The Athletic profiled him today:
17 XBH, including six HRs and 12 steals since drafting.
Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America also with glowing reports.
I felt a very strong gut-level draw to this kid – to match a largely unimpeachable college and Cape Cod record – and he’s panning out thus far.
So when pundits were saying that Schanuel is the one with the “MLB-ready bat” among the prospects, were they talking about just his OBP? I find it hard to believe pundits will say he is the most MLB-ready bat when he has not shown signs of any power. I would think an MLB-ready bat has at least some baseline power to it.
If by pundits, you mean prospect analysts, we should remember that Schanuel was a very divisive prospect. Baseball America ranked him at #30, MLB Pipeline at #26. Few scouts doubt the contact ability – it’s just an idiosyncratic profile for a first baseman who’s power ceiling is very uncertain. Much like Matt Thaiss (who was ranked similarly when he was drafted). But w/o the catcher option.
If you’re going with a firstbase only type, you usually want high contact quality and power out of the gate – and the Cape Cod stats in particular were red flags for many draft rooms.
I guess that’s what really frustrates me about the Angels organization. The guys doing the evaluating and the drafting are supposed to know what they’re doing and especially more than the people on this site. And that is not a criticism of the members because I know that many or most of you are super talented and bright, but these guys do this for a living and, as much as I like Schanuel, they should not have used their first pick on either Thaiss or Schanuel. They’d be more successful just reading Turk’s posts.
Remember your sediments at draft day. Good shot to be an All-Star.
Wow I didnt realize you were so infatuated with Matt Shaw the other 4 times you told us.
I’ll give you periodic updates so you know my love is true.
Thats what the wife is for.
That Rendon image is my favorite JHW creation! Hahahahaha
Instant classic. Rendon’s enduring Angel legacy.
In addition to being a douche on a personal level, including but not limited to the scuffle with the fan, and his multiple clubhouse incidents with the media, including the one that couldn’t be reported and the no habla inglaise.
The flowers from Perry are a nice touch.
Julio Urias is arrested, once again, on DV charges.
I hope the Angels, whoever will be making the decisions next year, stay far, far away from this guy.
Dad of Vlad charges?
Dickhead Verlander
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Nope. Domestic violence.
DoV just had 4 million kids.
Do you think she said YES all 4 million times??????
Being an Angels fan is just like being a passenger on Delta flight 194.
You see the diarrhea dripping down the main aisle of the plane only to realize there’s no escape. You can see the liquid. You turn away and the stench overpowers your senses. You want to leave, but to do so means you are walking in the primordial fecal ooze. You could try to open the emergency exit, but you are at altitude.
You have no choice but to sit there and take it.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/apparent-diarrhea-incident-forces-delta-flight-barcelona-turn-back-rcna103550
I blame it on the Trout.
https://youtu.be/DkGR65CXaNA?si=FboD7GmZBWa1YpLh
Once again people, rule #2 ( appropriately) in “Steelgolf’s Simple Rules For Life”. It states : Do Not!!! Under ANY circumstances, eat the pork salad from a street vendor before a long journey.
That was supposed to be Pork?
Perfect analogy.
Another plane crash Angel analogy. Yet another season of disappointment.
A view inside the cockpit, as we all watch below. No need to [PULL UP!!!] [PULL UP!!!] [PULL UP!!!]
https://youtu.be/_nhxm5QEbYI
Team photo, that is hilarious, fake Ohtani! So lame, and pretty sure the photo is the last promotional give away Sept 30 !! What a joke
By the time they’re done photoshopping it good luck trying to find the fakes.
Im sure this happens all the time when players are missing.
I guess Ohtani cannot make the team photo due to tests being done on his obliques:
They couldn’t even find an Asian guy as a stand in.
Admittedly, this team finally broke me and I’m not watching the games through anymore.
There is ample blame to go around for the collapse of this team, but Carlos Estevez deserves to shoulder a significant amount.
Since August 1st, 13 IP and 13 ER with soul crushing blown saves at home vs SEA, SF, and TB. Coincidently, it’s no surprise to wake up, check the box score, and see another blown save from Charlie Sheen.
Rengifo is a beast. Schanuel is an OBP-machine. Detmers finally started throwing his change-up, and Trout is up there with the slowest healers I’ve ever seen lol.
Hopefully Shohei can push thru his oblique discomfort and find a way to finish the season as the HR 👑.
When the Angels finally broke me, I came to the conclusion that until Arte is gone and there is Organizational change, I cannot really invest in the team. I still obviously care (a lot) but the reality has become clear to me. This team will be maddening/frustrating as long as incompetent baseball decisions are being made in the FO. I came to the conclusion that I could not put myself through such misery season after season.
I can accept losing and bad Organizational decisions if lessons are learned and the Organization or team improves in some way as a result of such mistakes. But this Organization under Arte does not learn or change. It is the same impulsive and egocentric dude at the top who refuses to learn from mistakes and is therefore doomed to repeat them.
Pineapple- welcome to the Matrix. You might not like what you know but at least you are no longer living in denial or with blinders on.
Did you possibly cut into Arte’s wallet by cancelling some season tickets or something? This story sounds faintly familiar.
Eh, I don’t let the acts of a narcissistic billionaire affect my enjoyment of Angels baseball to that extent.
I let Angels baseball affect my enjoyment of Angels baseball. The entire team is injured and we cannot win a game to save our life. It’s been the same script every year for the last decade and I’m perfectly content repeating the same cycle —
free agency, Spring Training, {excitement builds}, baseball games are played, {more excitement}, {buttercup}, {injuries}, {buttercup}, Angels fall 10+ games back, football time !
I still have 2 games left to attend this season and I will enjoy them without the thought of Arte Moreno crossing my mind. The day I stop enjoying Angels baseball will be the day I die.
The narcissistic owner and the baseball team’s bad luck, poor performance etc are inexorably tied together. Arte and his crappy Organization-from bad scouting, drafting, player development, strength and conditioning, nutrition etc These things are not priorities to Arte and his synchophants because they are not the focus of a marketing campaign. This is not bad luck or a curse. It’s bad Baseball Ops.
You make your own luck.
As Lucille Ball said:
“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”
Branch Rickey once said, “luck is the residue of design.” The Angels have a design defect in the name of Arturo Moreno.
John Wooden once said, “failure to prepare is preparing to fail”. The only kind of preparation Arturo Moreno believes in is Preparation H.
My only hope for 2024.
“We become smarter about being stupid”
here’s a better route:
free agency (expect all signings to flop), Spring Training, {ho hum – expect we will lose all our games}, baseball games are played, {enjoy, but keep them expectations in check, yo!}, {buttercup – laugh}, {injuries – what did you expect?}, {buttercup – laugh}, Angels fall 10+ games back, countdown to Spring Training pitchers and catchers reporting day.
Rengifo being the most consistent, injury-free, highest performing player on the roster is what broke me.
One day, I’m PolyAnna, next I’m a doomer. But damn, dude. This is terrible to hear you don’t watch the games all the way through. I thought you told us that you wore red skivvies.
I’m counting down the days I can delete my cable account and then have an extra 1.75 – 4.0 hours per day of free time. Until then, I’m stuck on a weeks-long flight with aisles of brown material blocking my exit.
I know, I know ! I’m such a fairweather fan haha
😂
This is the time to wear your gear. I’m in red every day. Wearing it when we’re winning is just lame.
I cancelled my Spectrum TV Choice streaming package yesterday. Took over an hour on the phone. Granted, Disney/ABC probably has them swamped, but if they have an option to upgrade your plan on the web account they could have the option to downgrade/cancel. Of course, that’s the point – they want to make hard for you to leave.
I have no other option (legal) to watch Angels Baseball. Probably would be cheaper to attend the games at this point.