Good morning Angels fans. Have some links.
Angels News
The Angels finally found their last coaching hires. Barry Enright the 2023 NL Champ Sneks coach will be the Pitching coach. He spent time with both places as a pitcher. And the Angels decided to try mixing it up by getting an Offensive Coordinator, Tim Laker. That’s like 3 different sports right there. Now all we need is a Goalie.
Promos for the first half of 2024 have been announced.
Around Baseball
FA is heating up so fast. Gibson, Lopez, and Lynn are now off the board along with Nola. We are just getting our Perry Articles written, come on baseball, that is mean!
Willie Hernandez passed away at 69. He was an MVP and Cy Young Winner for Detroit and spent time with the Cubs and Phillies as well.
Former Angels manager Brad Ausmus is now the Yankees bench coach. Phil Nevin did not end up as the Padres manager but could end up a Mets bench coach.
Padres get Mike Shidt as their manager. No, not the Phillie, the former Cards manager.
Ichiro Suzuki pitched a CCGO against Japanese High School Girls. Apparently he does this every year.
Blue Jays are renovating their stadium some more. Yes they did one last year, so now it is time for second renovation.
Who would you vote for the 2024 HOF? Here is a sample ballot, go nuts.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes.
Thanks for the link to the Ichiro-Dice K all stars vs High School Girl All Stars! I watched the whole game and post game! Wife acted as Ippei. Both Ichiro and Dice K were struck out. HS girls made some great plays in the field, they just couldn’t hit Ichiro.
Have you wished that your team could get the same results from it’s pitching staff as the Astros and, more recently, the D- Backs? Will Brent Strom not quit his job and come to your team?
Maybe go out there and hire his #2 guy then? No?
Have you admired the way the Dodgers develop hitters but the Dodgers won’t give you their top prospects? I dunno, maybe hire their MiLB Hitting Coordinator?
Good idea? The answer is Perry is stupid and ARTE. Plus maybe a splooge of Rendon.
I am actually mildly curious to see how this coaching staff melds with the players. We’ve got a pretty old man for a manager at 71. Catching coach Jerry Narron is ex-manager and 68 years old. Eric Young Sr is 56. Bo Porter, ex- manager, is 51 years old. Laker is in his 50s. Hitting Coach J Wash is 39. Pitching Coach Enright is 37. Infield coach Goins is 35 years old and was just recently a player. Ray Montgomery may still be around and be the guy who translated Platypus for everyone esle…. he’s in his 40s.
It looks like the Angels are trying to build a pile of experience at one level, then a pile of guys who have “been around a few blocks” in the middle. The guys who will be interacting the most with players are all fairly young.
Will this mix help the players?
Probably not. I don’t see how this will overcome the collective Angels fan’s small dick energy. But it’s an interesting cross section of baseball brains they are bringing in to go with all those Driveline and Braves/Dodgers/Blue Jays FO guys PTP never hires.
The year is 2046. The Angels have missed the playoffs 30 years in a row. 80 year old Carol Moreno and her 35 year old pool boy husband parade new manager Logan O’Hoppe to the tens of fans in attendance. O’Hoppe grins and thanks the Morenos as well as the John Carpino A.I. algorithm installed in 2028 for choosing him to lead the Halos.
Will this be the year? Deep down Carol knows the truth. No amount of Moreno Magic can overcome the small dick energy of the fans. When will these ingrates realize? Surely the legendary fans of Atlanta or Tampa Bay could have big dick’d Gary Matthews, Josh Hamilton and Joe Blanton into their true selves. Just imagine Vernon Wells and Tyler Anderson in front of the Dallas faithful.
Carol lets out a sigh and presses on. Godspeed Logan.
Go Lakers!!!
Oh shucks, new coaching hire, sorry about that.
Is this just a salary dump by the JeDi or is this no-stick catcher that Premium?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/dbacks-trade-seby-zavala-mariners-catcher.html
HIs young core is getting more and more expensive to keep together. So I think it’s a bit of cap room allowing him to fill a need for a back up C.
Salary dump, although the pitcher is an intriguing power arm that could be useful if the control issues can be fixed.
Reading some of the choices by others on HOF, I suppose if all the players people want to get in, they should just change the name already to the Hall of Very Good. Beltre is the only name on that list that is a Hall of Fame player. A case could be made I suppose for A-Rod. Torii was an excellent player, but not HOF worthy. A better case might be made for K-Rod, but even being 4th on the all-time saves list just seems thin.
And Utley can eat it unless Bobby Grich is in.
I agree that Beltre should be the only easy one in this year. Everyone else is either roided up or a fringe case.
Although I would like K-Rod in due to being an Angels fan, I do not expect him to make it.
I like Billy Wagner.
I remember seeing someone online run the numbers to claim that Abreu was equivalent to Suzuki in batting.
There is no one on this years ballot that is HOF worthy
It looks like the Angels have signed another one of Perry’s retreaded Pets.
https://twitter.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1727361064839553284
Cats and Dogs…is he a cat or a dog?
Speaking of Hall of Fame ballot and Ichiro Suzuki, he is eligible for 2025 class. He would have been eligible for 2024 if it weren’t for his cameo appearances at the start of Seattle’s season In Tokyo in 2019.
Thought to be first year ballot Hall of Famer; the only question is if he will be voted unanimously like Mariano Rivera. I bet that he would. If Las Vegas had a line on it, I would spend a few dollars on that.
As far as him pitching against all star high school girls team, he has done that for past 4 years. He has been giving his time to mostly underserved high school teams (all boys), and some of the teams have made it to the famous Koshien tournament. I am certain that he has been approached by many to be NPB manager, but he has always maintained that he is not a manager type.
I have been to Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown when I went to upstate NY college, some 40 years ago. I may be there for the second time to hear Ichiro’s inductee speech in English. Apparently he has been practicing it.
I’d vote for Buehrle, but then I’d be out on Wilson.
Is Granderson available?
I wonder if they tried to woo Dan Haren but were rebuffed, and settled on Enright.
Or Haren didnt want a full time gig.
I suspect Haren, like many retired successful ball players with career earnings over $80 million, want to be nothing more than a special assistant to the Head baseball Muckety Muck.
Just popped in to fulfill my due diligence as long as Shohei is still mysterious as to where he will play. Former Angels Kole Calhoun (aka Red Baron) apparently texted Ippei to get the inside scoop, but no deal.
According to Nikkan Sports, Joel Wolf of Wasserman, who represents Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a zoom conference with Japanese media. He mentioned that in his 25 years of agent career, he has never had a player who attracted this much attention. His best years are ahead, as he is only 25 years old. He denied the rumor that Yamamoto would be interested in west coast teams, and he would be open to any team. Apparently, somewhere between 10 to 15 teams are ‘very’ interested. Furthermore, Yamamoto would not be opposed to playing with another Japanese player. He is expected to announce which team shortly after the winter meeting in Nashville in early December.
I think he will be equivalent to Masahiro Tanaka or Hiroki Kuroda, who had pretty good career in MLB. But, the first set of tests is how he will handle the 5 man rotation, long flights, and more games in a season. He has not had TJ surgery yet.
Yamamoto will land somewhere in the AL West…..not the A’ss, not the Angels….trAdition.
Assuming the Angels have no shot at landing Yamamoto is off base for numerous reasons:
1.) The club has a track record of paying big ticket FA’s.
2.) The Angels are a West Coast Team which is attractive to players from Asia.
3.) The Angels are one of the few (only?) squad that has employed a 6 man rotation.
4.) The Angels now have a recent track record of working with (and accommodating) big ticket Japanese ball players.
Are the Angels the front runners? That’s doubtful, but I’d wager that we’re in the top 10 of potential suitors and if Arte is looking to make another big splash, we could do worse than a 25 year starting pitcher with filthy stuff.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not remember Angels signing any big ticket NPB player. I don’t think Shigetoshi Hasegawa was that expensive, and neither was one year of Hideki Matsui. As you remember, Shohei came before age 25, so he was paid MLB minimum for his first 3 years.
My thought is that Yamamoto would sign with New York Mets but MFYankees will raise the price closer to $250 million.
However, if Angels sign Yamamoto, that may increase Shohei resigning with the same by another 5%, which adds to Jeff Fletcher’s odds (30%) to 35%. That still does not beat the Doyer’s odds of 50%; they are still thought to sign Shohei, Yamamoto, and Snell.
No way Dodgers sign all three.
I do think they’ll get Shohei and Snell as well.
My guess is that Yamamoto will go to somewhat of a surprise team, the Red Sox !
Here are my predictions on big name FA’s :
Ohtani : Dodgers (we’ve all known this to be the most likely scenario for quite some time now)
Yamamoto : Red Sox (I think this would be a bit of a surprise but not a huge one)
Snell : Dodgers (the main thing that held them back last year was the starting pitching. They had injuries there, of course had lost Bauer, and it may finally be time to transition Kershaw to the bullpen or send into retirement … LAD need SP badly and this fits the bill)
Bellinger : Yankees ( it is generally known that NYY are looking for a left-handed power bat. They need protection for Judge and Stanton has been injured so much he is not the best full season bet. The short RF porch awaits !!)
I regard Ohtani as a big ticket Japanese signing, but they are consistent players in signing high profile free agents writ large – meaning they are typically not spending averse and Yamamoto is obviously an expensive FA.
Beltre, Colon, Frankie Rodriguez, Billy Wagner. I’m on the fence regarding Abreu, Torii, and Rollins.
Good list. I’d vote yes on Torii as well, based on character and leadership.
You would have to consider Beltre a steroids guy even if he never got caught. KRod isn’t a HOF type guy. Wagner is a fringe guy who could get in but doesn’t really move the needle versus all relievers ever plus the limited number of relievers who get in. Abreu and Torii were really good players but I don’t see it. Rollins is a wildcard.
I’ll take the no-roids position on this, only because that’s the trend, and I’m a follower and the roids guys will not be voted in. Beltre is a no-doubter. Then I’ve got Helton, Jones, Mauer, and Wagner.
By the way, Jimmy Rollins was one of my favorites and hard for me to leave off.
Don’t even consider voting for Chase Utley until Bobby Grich finally gets in
Who should get in and who will are different questions. I probably disagree with alot of people here in that I feel A-Rod should get in. Alex is one of the best three right-handed hitters ever. He’s sort of in the same boat as Bonds in my book in that he was arguably Hall of Fame worthy before roids came into the picture …Unlike McGwire and Sosa his case does not depend totally upon steroids. And you can’t argue with the numbers …
I also feel that Frankie should get in as a dominant closer for a decade. He also still holds the All Time MLB record for saves in a season with 62. Am I a little bit biased ? Probably. But here are the numbers: in addition to the record of 62 in a season he has 437 career saves, a career ERA of 2.86 and a career save percentage of 85%. He is more than worthy.
I disagree with you on McGwire. He set the rookie record for HRs in a season pre-steroids.
I could agree to putting A Rod in the HOF but only as a Centaur.
I agree. At some point we have to stop popping a vein over roids. It happened. It was part of the game back then (and now I’d imagine). Sure, there are some guys whose numbers (and contracts) were greatly inflated by the roid era. I’m not saying to let Brett Boone in. But Bonds? I hate the guy, but obviously he is an all time great. Roger Clemens…. has anyone taken a look at what that guy did lately? Holy crap. That guy is a Hall of Famer. Same with A-Roid.
Even guys like Palmeiro, Sosa and McGwire…. there was a seven year period where pretty much all the best players were on roids…. as were mediocre players…. but it’s stupid to play like a guy with 500+ HR and 3000+ hits isn’t qualified. Or that Andy Petite and Roger Clemens were the only pitchers on roids back then. Sammy Sosa has 600+ HR. It’s not as though the man was going have Tim Salmon (who also could have been roided up for all we know) type stat lines sans the juice.
Really the issue is a bunch of old raisin balls sports writers (all of whom made bucks covering these players) have to feel that last drip of powerful sap in their trunks and “guard” baseball from these guys getting into the HOF.
PS…. Beltre was also likely juicing…. or just got magically huge.
EVERYONE accept fans in Mongolia knows there were steroids involved. It will get mentioned even more if these guys get in. It’s OK Old Man Baseball. No one is getting a free pass here. Things like the single season HR record can be asterisked and negatively immortalized by highlighting them in the HOF itself.
But Beltre never wore a cup down there at the hot corner. I think That negates any penalty for steroid use right
Apologies but I don’t understand your post. The vast majority of the guys on the full list are “steroid” guys even if some didn’t test positive. It’s hard to draw the line — and we don’t know the list of all players that ever tested positive because the first testing results are secret.
Mauer was a great player with the Twins who might also have been a steroid guy like the others. But being a catcher, he transcended many during his playing years. Most others are classic steroid/HGH profiles. Beltre being a leader as to same. There is a reason the Dodgers didn’t re-sign him after his big bust out year way back when. Also a reason he didn’t perform well in Seattle before coming back when moved to cities with other Roiders.
Okay, well Manny, A-Rod, and Pettis I didn’t include because they are all HOF worthy statistically in my view but all were known users. My actual vote would be to rescind Selig’s Hall status. He didn’t get in that position by being too stupid to know guys were juicing which to me means he essentially defacto encouraged it. Nobody was more responsible for the steroid era than Bud Selig. Nobody. A-Rod is one of the best players of all-time in my opinion (top 10), but his performance is indeed tainted. Beltran as a player is a fringe for me, but too many players better that aren’t in. I’d probably loosen up over the next few years on him but he’s associated with being the brainchild of the trash can. In fact, he probably was better by some statistics than Manny, but Manny was Manny and had 555 jacks. I agree we don’t know how many were taking them and didn’t get caught, and there lies the problem. No doubt there are hundreds more users that never were busted.
But yes, I’m following with the trend with what I’m posting, but I’d probably vote most of the best players in if I had a vote. Pete would be in. Clemens would be in. Schilling would be in. Bonds would be in. All of them if it were my vote.
I misread the July 12 giveaway as “cork bat” and wondered whether they were giving out the Sammy Sosa or Albert Belle models.