In a lost year like this one you might as well see what you have on the farm. And that’s what the Angels are doing right now.
Last night it was friend of the site Davis Daniel getting his first taste of The Show. Kid went three scoreless innings. Not shabby.
I have interviewed Davis Daniel twice. Once here and once at some place that used to be cool but is gone now. Give the one here a watch (or at least a listen) as it has been a couple of years. Good dude.
The most interesting on field story of the last few weeks has been Nolan Shanuel. He’d reached base safely in every game the last time I wrote Weekend News Crash. And he’s reached base safely in every game to this Weekend News Crash. That’s 16 straight games getting on base, breaking Darin Erstad’s rookie record of 15.
But will Nolan ever absolutely truck a guy like Ersty? No way. Hopefully he can be under the ball the next time we have an “Erstad says he’s got it” moment.
Beyond Davis and Nolan, Kyren Paris got a lot of playing time this week. He’s shown some really nice defensive ability and speed and tied the game up last night.
I’ve tried to arrange some interviews with Paris and it has never worked out. His agent has been super cool to me and described Paris as the nicest kid he’d met about a year into Kyren’s career. Think I’ll reach back out to them. We lost momentum and never picked it back up.
Shohei Ohtani hasn’t played much this last week. He has oblique inflammation. I’m surprised he didn’t break his back trying to carry this franchise for the last two years. But he might be back soon.
Meanwhile Luis Rengifo strained his biceps last night and it looks like he’ll miss time. Getting hurt in the on deck circle is as Angels as possible. Perry really should sign him to an extension if he’s going to symbolize the team like that.
Last night was the fifth walk off win for the Angels in 2023. I could’ve sworn I heard the TV guys say “first” last night. Sorry about the mistake in the post game write up.
From around baseball:
The Dodgers love them some woman beating pitchers. His first incident was a shove. I really hoped he was young and learned from it. But violence tends to escalate. I really hope the victim isn’t too bad off.
The Texas Rangers have gone from division leaders to potentially missing the playoffs. The beat down Houston laid on them made the Rangers path a lot more difficult.
SI did a nice piece on Washington’s rebuild. Rebuild? What is that?
Enjoy the weekend, folks. I was really thinking I’d head out to the game Sunday but the boy started Farm Ball and we have our first game Sunday at noon. I’m not missing my boy’s game. I plan on taking my customary spot as the first base coach and giving high five’s to every kid who makes it there. Although, really, is there any spot that makes you want to hug your son more?
Link what I missed.
Trout asking to sit down and discuss the Angels’ future plans while having played in approx 1/3 of games over the last 3+ seasons bothers me. He has collected close to $150m during that time. He has become somewhat irrelevant due to the combination of injury and then decent (but not great) play when playing. To me, Trout should be focused on getting healthy and contributing as opposed to questioning the direction of the team.
I think Perry will step down after this season if he is not fired. His future prospects as a GM look bleak the longer he hangs on here in Anaheim.
My guess is that the organization will completely crater in 2024.
I think Arte will sell. (That will be good for the future)
I think Perry and others will be gone.
Ohtani not coming back.
No spending in free agency because of uncertainty, so we’ll win 65 games next year.
Trout will request and get a trade.
We’re the A’s but with fewer future assets and an enormous payroll consisting of injured or useless players.
Looking at today’s line-up, it’s not hard to imagine that 70% of the starting 9 + pitcher will not be on the roster next year.
Damn…..
With all of the injuries that the Halos have endured, it’s not hard to wonder if it’s due to a common denominator, such as method of coaching, the training staff, daily routines, this kind of thing.
Arte is known for being a cheapskate, a penny pincher, and not taking the best care of his player personnel, especially in the minor league system.
The alarming number of injuries we’ve seen over the last several years seems way out of proportion to what would be normal for an MLB team.
Maybe the injuries are all just random, not just for this year, but for the recent years as well. It could be possible.
But, if a discernable pattern is there, it’s usually there for a reason.
It’s easy to understand WRT the pitchers – they’re all expected to throw at max velocity with insane spin rates, unlike early when finesse was still a thing. I think with the hitters it’s all the weight work that makes them bulked up and not flexible.
The red flags were already there in April and May.
We were still only beating the (A’s and the Nats) the bad teams and we only beat the Mariners because they got off to a bad start at the time (lost Robbie Ray to a season ending injury, Julio Rodriguez was hurt, so was Eugenio Suarez, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo both got off to slow starts. In the last two seasons they lost Kyle Seager to retirement and Mitch Haniger to FA, believe me when I say that I ain’t happy about this ). Believe me also when I say that unlike most of CTPG we really ain’t that far from being a WC contender (Rays, Giants, Brewers) we just ain’t the Braves, Astros, Dodgers or Phillies yet.
I’m with some of you hoping/thinking Sho goes to SF, not Dodgers which would be slap to Angel fans. Unfortunately I don’t think he honestly has any conception of jumping ship to cross town enemy. It’s like Judge signing with Boston/Mets, Kershaw going to SF, Altuve to Dodgers. Would not happen. But most predict LA, so the rich get richer.
Because Angel fans project their own feelings into the Ohtani speculation. really has nothing to do with where he has a chance to win, or even factual information. It’s just “I don’t see Ohtani in blue due to me hating the Dodgers because they were mean to the beloved cowboy“.
Damn right they were.
By the way, why don’t we hate the Padres? They’re owned by an O’Malley. Grandson of mean, evil Walter O’Malley who apparently held a gun to the beloved cowboy and forced him to pay up.
Because San Diego is our cute little sibling to the south.
Their stadium rocks & their fans don’t act like douche bags.
Shohei’s mom will decide where he goes.
Autry, funny. Guess you don’t care how much bs some Angel fans get from the fans in blue about how great they are and we suck. Which would not want your star player hoping over to the other side. Oh, and Sho to Padres would be great, or even Arizona. Would be nice to see some competitiveness in NL west instead of same team winning it every year.
I loathe SF. Anywhere but there.
Agreed. Nothing but cultural rot emits from that cesspool.
and lots of brown tootsie rolls.
I agree, and I live there.
I can relate. I spent over 80% of my life in LA.
GO GIANTS
no sho.
pc: Erica Weston Twitter
Team Tank is very, very happy with that lineup.
Its getting weaker by the day but I have to say it was fun watching Schanuel , Paris and even Phillips hit last night ( and run the bases- The lost dimension)
What a formidable lineup.
I guess that I’m the only person that is excited about this lineup. Throw Moniak and Neto in there and it’s more balanced.
Yep.
This lineup wins 60 games next year.
.143, .158, .125.
That’s what I see first. In the early part of the season we remarked how we didn’t have that kind of lineup, unlike in 2022. Well now we do
Well what I see in those 3 same players is a combined 5 for 11 with a walk and 2 stolen bases in the last game they’ve played in a Angel Uniform.
We’ll revisit this after tonight’s game
Well I dont keep coming back here for the fine cuisine.
2022 2.0
[insert .300 lineup pic here]
Sho-gone
Tough break for Davis Daniel – after throwing 3 shutout innings, he gets optioned to Salt Lake. But such is life when you have options.
Jordyn Adams was recalled in place of Davis. Moniak’s back may be more serious than what was let on. I would have thought someone like Livan Soto would be called up in place of Heefo.
This probably means Silseth is making his next start.
Adams? Oh boy…
Adams’ calling card is his speed, but so far I’ve been more impressed with Kyren’s ability to steal bases
It’s a good thing he’s sent down and Loup stays up.
Interesting:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10088757-shohei-ohtani-rumors-world-series-caliber-teams-are-priority-in-fa-over-geography
If nothing else, it’s a smart negotiating tactic by Ohtani and his agent. There’s no point in telling 90% of the league that you’re not interested in playing for them due to geography.
If winning is the primary consideration, he should strongly consider Atlanta, but in the end, I think he ends up in LA or SF.
Funny line here. It might be about the money.
“… as long as a team is willing to at least match the best offer he receives in free agency.”
He’s not a socialist.
I remember a similar line in The Godfather. BarzettI talks of working together but that doesn’t mean splitting the profits. He says something like “after all, we are not communists “, which gets a laugh from the other mob bosses
OF COURSE it’s about the money. All these ridiculous narratives where we pretend we know Shohei and that he is loyal and caring about relationships etc. it’s about the money and winning and he can get both in LA.
My money is on SF.
Same.
Just watch – after screwing the pooch on keeping Ohtani and making trades to make a run at the playoffs, Arte will throw stupid money at Ohtani trying to undo the prior acts of idiocy. No other franchise will match, and Ohtani and Trout will be back with a collection of misfits to repeat the last 5 years.
This would be classic Arte.
I’m so there!
Unfinished business is good business
🤣🤣🤣🤣
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4744cc0c-2dc7-4396-b260-e6a32ee5954a
Herget DFA’d…..
from the Reds.
Wrong one. Herget about it
Mr Chan is noticeably absent today… He’s out scouting other MLB fan sites preparing for Shohei’s next home or the loss of our best player Rengifo was too much.
As Peter Cetera crooned “everybody needs a little time away”
After all that we’ve been through
we told him we will make it up to you, we promise to
but he’s going to be the lucky one
……following Shohei to his new home. 😥😢🥺😭
Who TF is Mr. Chan?
Kiyochan
My wife and I have been under the weather for last few days, and we have been resting/sleeping a lot. So, I could not participate as actively as previously. Yes, not having Sho on the lineup is a downer, too.
I hope you’re both on the mend. We miss you here.
Get well…
I was in Wichita for a short trip to the Cosmosphere museum and the Eisenhower Center. Was watching the Royals game while eating dinner- Rex the Wonder Dog is still doing color for them. Brought back some memories.
“The Kingfish swimming uuuup Stream”
Wichita?
Was your taxi driver proud of his town?
https://youtu.be/1fwfh4uq01Q?si=8xs1irKjb0H483zd
yeah. I caught part of a Royals game on mlb.tv a while back and heard him.
He’s a fellow Central Valley guy so I always kind of liked him.
Years ago we hired him to speak for a charity fundraiser for my sons’ small christian high school. He also spoke to the kids at a school assembly a few days later. The Wonder dog was phenomenal. Both events were jam packed as he was very entertaining impactful but also very gracious.
I remember I had to negotiate his speaking fee ( A whopping $500) with his “agent” whose real job was as a copier salesman.
That’s cool and funny. He was super cool to me when I met him. We ended up talking about high schools and who we knew from where.
He’s a Clovis guy and I had plenty of family up there.
His mom was a bad ass. He told me she was his agent when the Yankees drafted him in the first round out of high school.
I met Hud at an ALS event at the Big A. Kind and gracious, a true gentleman.
Always liked Hud. Phyzz, on the other hand, always sounded like he was auditioning for the MFY.
Here’s what they said on Razzball, my favorite fantasy site—
Luis Rengifo – Left the game after an awkward swing in the on-deck circle. Originally diagnosed with a biceps strain. Oh my God, I’ve realized what’s going on with the Angels. They’re cursed on the Rally Monkey’s paw and whoever is their top hitter that is active is always in danger of the curse. If Nolan Schanuel gets hurt on Friday, we know what I said is true.
If their right, that would mean Rendon is the top hitter on the team.
Last night, Team Tank received 5 Sad Donkeys. Be Wise, the worse we get, the better chance of meaningful change. Race to the bottom. More shame, more embarrassment. Keep hope alive.
You are a serious Angel fan if you can correctly guess who has started the most games at first base this year for the Halos without looking it up.
hint: this mystery player has logged 35 games this year as the LAA 1B
started or played ? Does this same mystery player also lead the team in games played at another position?
Urshella?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtKEMWX8OqU
Drury?
Wrong. The question is who, not which player.
Damon Mashore has started the most games at 1B for the Angels this year.
Ouch. Then I hope no-one asks the same question about third base.
Our best 1B is our starting 2B. Naturally.
My guess would be Jared Walsh
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4669c9db-a9af-4dc2-a846-a0f47b7557b2
David Fry and Brett Phillips performing an interpretive dance at home plate for the Big A patrons last night entitled The Mating Ritual of Two Fumbling Franchises.
—————
Is that a Leaping Lena?
The announcer did say first Jeff. You heard correctly.
Was it some weird conditional, like “first walk off not by a HR in regular innings?”
What I heard was that it was the first walk-off hit. I can’t remember anymore, but apparently Stefanic’s walkoff against the Yankees wasn’t a hit?
They are just making shit up….no one is paying attention. Probably use AI now to do research. Arte let them go to save money, hoping it would help against the luxury tax.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/02540167-82dc-457e-a21e-a05d024ef87f
First walk off hit in the ninth inning is what he said. The team has had others in extra innings.
Cool. And I see the part I missed by angelslogic.
At that time I was simultaneously writing post game, this thread, and submitting conditions on a loan file.
I also couldn’t remember a bottom of the 9th hit to win this year.
Gwen Stefani is not too happy with you right now Jeff.
She looks quite ecstatic actually:
Wait…… one of the loan conditions is that the borrower has to hit a game winning shot in the 9th inning? Man, it is getting tougher and tougher to get a home loan these days.
It could be worse. The lenders could require you to become an Angel fan.
This is an interesting report on the Taylor Ward injury:
https://sports.yahoo.com/taylor-ward-injuries-from-blue-jays-alek-manoah-beaning-included-a-loose-skull-212729505.html?
I feel horrible for him. I hope every player stars wearing a C-flap.
I wouldn’t be upset at Manoah either. I’d be much more pissed at the Blue Jays’ manager for leaving such a wild pitcher in the game when he had no control.
My son also got hit in the face with a pitch in HS and broke his zygomatic arch. He had reconstructive surgery and actually resumed playing three weeks later with a football cage on his batting helmet. He was an infielder and played in the outfield the rest of the season. He did not however have the nose issues or the temple bone issue that Ward has. My son’s repair also required only one plate and not three.
How’s he doing now?
I thought his career was over for sure…maybe not.
He’s doing great, thanks for asking. He’s 38 now and it happened when he was 16. He still has the small plate. He played 3rd base at El Toro prior to Arenado and Chapman. My daughter overlapped both though.
Wow. Glad he’s alright now. That’s the kind of thing that can change a kid.
Happened to me when I was six. Was playing pickup after school… I caught a ball with my face. Broke three teeth, including one “big” tooth.
Took me ten years to re-learn how to catch without cringing.
The Foundation Building Materials’ keystone for the rest of the series against the Cleveland Marathon Petroleums is “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Interstellar Version).”
Wise men at their end know dark is right, yet here we have Grichuk, Paris, and Phillips fighting against the dying of the light.
https://youtu.be/4eRTkP7LQKc?si=bY-hfEaFLjp9FzIb
Good morning, a fun win with some very unexpected players coming through. Reminds me of the bit where even a blind squirrel finds an acorn. The odd stat was the Angels arms only had 2 strikeouts against Cleveland. Now can we get back on the tank schedule?
I told you that reverse psychology works, wish for the losers and they will win. But how in the world could Cleveland not beat a lineup weaker than the A’s, well to start off with a relief pitcher with 10 blown saves, it shows that even an island of castoffs can and will come through.
Thaiss, Wallach, Moose are the only players who have been here for more than a month that have dodged the IL, not counting pitchers. Can someone explain why we have jettisoned decent pitchers only to keep Loupy around? We can off decent pitchers just so Loupy can go out and give up runs 4 out of 5 times he takes the mound, Ok that just does not make sense to me.
Have yourself a great day.
I’m assuming because no one would take Loup’s, or for that matter, Anderson’s contracts.
Would you?
Yes. How about you?
Then you need to get a Baseball Ops job for another organization.
I misunderstood your response to me. You’re right, I should get that job with the Doyers and claim both of them. 😀
You mention Anderson…..2 more years of him.
Unfortunately, yes.
Loup is integral to a truly epic tanking strategy.
Guys like Loup and Anderson are strong contributors to TEAM TANK.
Having them along with 3/4’s of the team out with injuries will make the “Quiet Quitting” easier, less obvious and less painful. Good times.
Blind nuts find a broken clock twice a day