The Detroit Tigers claimed Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Angels and designated utility player Nick Maton for assignment. Taylor Ward had his arbitration on Friday and the decision is expected some time this week.
The Kansas City Royals extended Bobby Witt Jr. for at least 11 years and $288.7 Million, unless he exercises one of his four player opt outs. The Dodgers signed right-hander Ryan Brasier to a two year deal worth $9 Million.
On the official MLB page we have an admission that Brandon Wood was a total whiff on their biggest prospects lists.
Here is a cool article about Satchel Paige for Black History Month.
In sad Angels news, Bill Lacheman passed away over the weekend.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Kershaw returns to the Dodgers on 1 year deal. He will pitch somewhat limitedly apparently but is looking for a ring.
Altuve, age 33, signed a 5 year extension with the Astros. $25 million per year. He has one more year left at $29m.
get him dammit Perry!!!!! We need a DH now that YKW went across town…….
💪 💪 💪 BYE!!!!
We have no use for a DH now that the Diva Unicorn is gone.
😠 😠
signed with the A’s.
Thank Gawd
Now We can pound him this year as part of our few hard fought victories .
Can we just sign Urshela and get on with it?
Works for me.
One of Jerry’s old kids just got shitcanned . https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/mets-designate-austin-adams-for-assignment.html.
Maybe Jer Jer will bring him back for the third time.
RIP mr. lacheman. His son was a pe coach at my hs (chino 99 – 03) and I always knew that was his dad. He would joke and say his dad was a trash truck driver until he finally caved in and admitted it to a few of us. Good times.
Above .500 or below .500 this season? I already know. Cellar or just above cellar? Be honest. It’s cellar. If you need a night out to watch baseball then cool. If you want to watch a winning team you’re in the wrong place. Keep giving Arte your hard earned money. It’s fantastically absurd the way this team is run but hey Mike Trout isn’t going anywhere.. Yes, I root for the halos so F me. All I have is hope for this team. I will happily eat crow but history suggests I won’t.
Below .500 72 to 78 wins. 2016 continues.
This.
Hopefully younger players = less injury downtime and new bullpen = better than last year’s blowpen, but there’s no real reason to consider the Angels to be improved vs. recent years.
Only six more weeks of having to read comments that are 90% the same shit sipping complaints we’ve already been making for eight weeks with just a Roman dash of delicious “here, I’ll say something kinda hopefulnice” salt tossed into the stew of beige whining about “having to” root for this team.
Followed by the same basic response by you.
And then the same basic response from me.
CtPG guy. All missionary all the time…. with minimal eye contact… and minimal time all the time.
Come March first we can start with the same “I knew this team was gonna suck at E@@#F” comments every day.
I do not envy you your even keel Jeff.
Let’s lose 100 and give em something to cry about baby!
Yep, pretty soon you’ll get to hear repetitive complaints about the guys that are sucking at Spring training and complaints that the guys doing well at Spring training will likely start sucking once the season begins.
And lots of the same “thinking man thinks thoughts” quips over and over. “trAdition. Deck chairs titanic. Chess not checkers. You will win and lose 100 games and 13 of them are blah blah. Greatest trick devil ever pulled. Those Frank Thomas pills don’t work….”
If this was 2003 there’d be a bunch of Sun Tzu quotes….
This is gonna be a great year to pay attention to the Reds.
If we notice the team has been below .500 for years should we not mention it?
If we notice Perry’s moves are based on a restricted budget should not mention it?
If we notice, once the season begins, that we’re falling behind….?
If we notice there’s no plan to improve the farm system…?
I’m not sure what kind of posts you’d like to see but sometimes I get tired of your slagging fans
Sure, notice things, mention them, and then move on. It is the incessant repeating of those observations that gets tiring (not you in particular).
my goal is to say the same things when the mistakes are repeated and hopefully to do that in a fresh, amusing way
A replacement level (0 WAR) team is expected to win 48 games.
I see the offense being good for around 20 WAR presuming everyone stays relatively healthy.
Trout – 5 WAR
Ward – 2 WAR
Rengifo- 2 WAR
O’Hoppe – 3 WAR
Neto – 2 WAR
Rendon – 1 WAR
Schanuel- 1 WAR
Drury – 1.5 WAR
Moniak – 2 WAR
Hicks – 1 WAR
The rest – 1 WAR
Pitching
Anderson- 1 WAR
Canning – 2 WAR
Sandoval- 2 WAR
Detmers – 3 WAR
The rest – 3 WAR
That’s 32.5 WAR or 80 wins. I see that as best case.
Realistically I would take 10% off that and be at 72 wins.
I’ll go win 68 to 74 wins with most likely 70 to 72.
Good realistic estimates. If Schanuel plays all the time he will likely be worth 2 WAR, and all the OFs have the potential to be better, but not everyone will hit their mark, and they don’t have Ohtani, so it’s hard to see improvement over last year. They look like a team team that wins 70 something games. It’s possible the bullpen and starting pitching are better this year but it is unlikely the offense is even as good as last year when it was like 15th out of 30. The big concern for me is that they are razor thin in the infield. The good news is that after this year, they won’t be able to say, we don’t know about so and so. They’ll know exactly what they have and be in a position to move forward if they want.
And I’ll take that last statement as the real win for the year.
If the young guys get enough experience to really prove themselves one way or the other and a core emerges, that’s a big win for the team.
Yah. If the Neto/Shanuel/Moniak/Adell/Rengifo/O’Hoppe pile can somehow generate even 8 WAR amongst a mix of them I’ll be happy. Similar case with the young pitching.
If that happens it means we’re in a fairly good position to go out and spend some money knowing we have some cheap depth. That’s not a wasted season, it’s good.
Agree. I think if everything goes right and everybody plays totheir potential and there are limited injuries, this team could win something like 83 or 84 games. But I seriously doubt all of those things are going to happen.
How does this math work? A team made entirely of replacement players is projected to win ~48 games?
Not trying to sound like a smartass, I honestly don’t know how you are translating WAR to wins and I am genuinely curious.
Yes, a team made up entirely of replacement level players is expected to win about 48 games. Pretty sure it used to be 50, but something close to that.
So a team comprised of all replacement level players plus Mike Trout should win 53.
Ultimately the WAR math and the actual win/loss total rarely actually match but it is a good ballpark.
Correct. I don’t think Bill James was attempting to create a perfect system. that scientifically would accurately predict the number of wins. But it is a good estimator and yes, a team with all replacement level players only is estimated to win 47 or so games.
All these projections are reasonable.
The hopeful part of me remembers other teams in the past that have stunk and I got used to seeing them stink, and then all of a sudden things clicked for them and they started really contending. Then I’m like “wait, I thought they stunk, how did they get good suddenly?” I can hope that at some point that will be us.
Sounds like most of the 60’s 70’s, 80’s and 90’s with this team.
All the way through 2002 but then came the expectations that come with winning.
Above/below .500 should not be the question. The team has been built thus far to finish below .500
The real question is whether the team will exceed 2023’s win total. As of today, I expect the team to finish with less wins than 2023 version of the Angels. My reasoning is that the team has done nothing of meaning to address the loss of Ohtani’s production.
I think we build on the youth this year and improve our record slightly and maybe make a run on a WC spot. This is based on continuing production from Neto, Moniak and O’Hoppe and continued progress/growth by Schanuel. Of course a good showing by Trout.
It’s never too late to just become a Dodgers fan.
Never to late, just out of the question.
HERASY!!!
Pitchforks, tar, and feathers.
Well you cant win them all. But maybe the fallout from this crushing defeat will mean an immediate sell of the franchise by Arte?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/taylor-ward-wins-arbitration-hearing-angels.html
I’m going to hope that is a sign Ward is recovered enough to start the season. The Angels had a stronger case if there were questions as to whether Ward can play.
lets hope. The sad part was after an abysmal start to the season. Ward seemed to have figured it out again. In his last 200 Plate Appearances right up to the point of the injury on July 29th he was hitting .288/.377/.541 . I’d take take that all day long.
Considering all the garment rending people did when he was drafted, he’s been working out OK. I hope he is not totally psyched out.
Ward is actually a guy I am really interested in. I really hope he bounces back and even signs an extension with us. He has stood before wave after wave of SDE Angels fan bad juju and adapted to overcome. If he gets a little better he’ll be a legit support player on good teams and I’d love that to happen for him…. and us too.
Plus, he has that awesome video of when we drafted him.
Title picture from Fan Nation is scary.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/
Let’s go Tay Tay! Comeback player of the year!
There’s a football game coming up?
(Rams fan)
Super Bowl is fun for everyone I would think. It’s less about the teams and more about the food and drink. It’s like Thanksgiving in a way.
Yeah, if my social behavior was better I may one day be invited to a SB Party. Just kidding….my behavior will never improve.
Wood, Adel, TrAdition?
Technically Brandon Wood was only deemed a ‘Foul Tip’ – but the biggest regret with Wood was not trading for his perceived value when we had the chance.
He (and McPherson) are interesting lessons given how often we are trading away potential now (and gnashing our teeth over it).
DMac could play… when he was healthy. He was just made out of glass.
Darren McFadden, former Raiders RB? Haha
I’m pretty sure you’re joking, but Dallas McPherson
I thought it was Double Big Mac.
There was an alternate reality where we acquired Miguel Cabrera in his MVP-prime era for Wood/Ervin/Aybar/Kendrick
Even though the other 3 turned out to be pretty decent major league ball players, Cabrera was 25 at the time and referred to at the time by Bill James as the definition of a HOFer. We should have made that trade if it was really available.
That trade was reportedly available. Yes it was a big mistake to kill it.
Also not signing Beltre….
Our history might have been quite different had those happened.
Beltre was huge. It forced many bad decisions after that.
You mean the failure to sign Carl Crawford? That was actually the first domino.
We dodged a bullet losing out on Crawford but it started the BorAss rift that probably contributed to losing our on Beltre.
Not signing Beltre was a complete whiff by Carlton, showing up late , and Beltre already signed by Texas before he walks across the threshold.
You sure it wasn’t Evil Arte’s take it or leave it?
That’s how I remember it.
According to ESPN the trade package never included Wood or Aybar.
But Standpat Stoneman wouldn’t even make that deal
Ah, my memory failed me.
This package was even more of a slam dunk. Ugh
This is an interesting discussion. They are a handful of prospects the Angels should have traded before they expired but the danger of this is to have the trade go the other way. So what were the biggest mistakes the Angels have made in trading away players (or released) too early?
Bichette?
Thon?
Jenks?
Hernandez?
Napoli?
Clevinger?
Bradish?
I’m sure I missed some. Hopefully Marsh, Bush, Quero, Albright, Cooper or Marceaux doesn’t end up biting us in the ass.
It’s a mixed bag for sure. I don’t know if they got burned but none of those guys went on to become stars and it seems the Angels had a history of trading young players for relief pitchers who were not good for very long. Bichette was a better than average player for 4 out of the first 5 years after they traded him so he would have been a cheap better than average OF until he became a FA. Thon was only good for two years after they traded him and they never should have traded Napoli. I don’t think that trading the players in general was bad, just that they never really got back equal value. Clevinger would have been a decent SP for the 6 years he would have been under club control so he definitely would have provided value. Have to see how Marsh, Quero, and Bush do going forward. Big thing is they got little or nothing back for any of them. it would be nice to still have them as trade assets.
Lansford, Edmonds, Brunansky, Devo, all traded too young
While I absolutely agree with all of those wiffs, Edmonds had already logged almost 3,000 Plate appearances as a halo and Devo almost 2,500 so not sure I would consider those 2 to be lost prospects.
Those 4 were young guys, not prospects, yes.
Devo forced our hand with the suckage. Never understood the stupid Edmonds trade tho.
If I’m remembering correctly the pundit of the time were annoyed he wasn’t full of Erstads grit and claimed he was a primidone in clubhouse. There was also the whole missing 2/3s of the 1999 season due to having surgery 2 weeks before the season started.
So Edmonds was Rendon before being a primadonna was a cultural trait of the franchise?
Edmonds played and produced. That’s a big difference.
He was a prima donna. He also hurt himself weight lifting in the offseason and then waited months before finally agreeing to corrective surgery which is why he didnt start the 1999 season until August 2nd.
I still wouldn’t give AK back, not after 2002.
I love Marsh as a player, but the logic of dealing him for O’Hoppe makes sense.
I didn’t see Bradish developing as he did. If he remained in our org, he may not have developed as quickly.
The Doyers covet yet another original Angel Signee. Granted it’s been little awhile since he has donned a halo (just 10 years) . But it’s another example of we birth ’em and then they fix ’em.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/dodgers-to-re-sign-ryan-brasier.html
Trout and O’Hoppe will combine for 80+ HRs this season.
Spread the news
Ummm, I think more like 60 total
Trout = 33
O’Hoppe = 27
This is of course assuming Mike can stay healthy for close to a full season. If so I think he will just barely eclipse the 400 HR mark for his career.
I can take 33 HRs from Trout if his BA and his OBP are higher – .320/.375/.550. Go back to hitting cheap singles on RBI situations. I would also see prefer to see more doubles sprayed on all parts of the field.
I’m afraid though he will continue selling out for power. On a fully healthy season, with 140 games played, I wouldn’t be surprised with 40-45 HRs but with a slash of .270/.330/.575
Funny to hear this considering all the demands for Shamwow to lower his OBP for more SLG. I prefer getting on base and chasing pitchers; and get rid of the stupid yellow line in RF
Word. 60 dingerz for the NE Kids.
If is healthy enough to get 500+ AB’s, I would say that 40+ homers is a safe assumption.
The real question is his Avg & OBP. Will they be something in the neighborhood of .300 / .400 or .250 / .350 ????
O’Hoppe, for all the hype and athletic prowess is still a bit of mystery until we see him over the course of a full season, but 30+ homers over the course of a healthy campaign seems likely. Again, the bigger question is will he bat .250+ or .220 ???
You are spot on. The promising thing about O’Hoppe is that he started off strong and then continued to hit for power when he returned. But as you allude to, his BA was only .236 and OBA only .296, so he didn’t get on base even 30% of the time. If he gets 400 ABs, he will likely hit 30 HRs. He had 14 in only 182 ABs last year. On a good team, he would be a rookie this year. If he could hit .260 with a .350 OBA, he would be an all star.
It they get .260 / .350 from O’Hoppe, he’ll be an All-Star even if only hits 20 Homers.
Even if he’s not an All-Star, I would be glad to see that production from an Angels catcher, to make up for all of our suffering during the great Mathis era.
This Jeff Mathis?
Jeff Mathis .2 WAR 194/252/299/551 48 OPS+ over 17 years
Mike Napoli 26.3 WAR 246/346/475/821 117 OPS+ over 12 years and 267 HRs plus he was a legend at Goat Hill Tavern in Costa Mesa 😎
You are forgetting Mathis superior CERA over Napoli.
Hell yeah dude, hell yeah.
Trout and Ohtani hit 74 HR in 2022. I’ll take the under to your 80.
Even with 74 HR between them the Halos won only 73 games. That’s pretty mind boggling.
I’m curious how many of those 74 HRs are solo homers. Really wouldn’t help a team’s chances of winning if all that is being hit out are solo homers.
I’m actually shocked TrouTani’s high is 74.
Health, man. We don’t got it over here in Anaheim.
They never had more than 500 AB’s in a season together.
Trout has nose dived since 2019 and Ohtani didn’t take off until 2021.
I’ll throw out 2020 for obvious reasons.
So unfortunate.
I think 70-75 is much more likely as you suggest.
Peak Trout & Peak Ohtani were never formally introduced. Unfortunately.
It was always a tale of ships passing in the night. Or is up & down elevators the metaphor I’m searching for here..:
If Neto shows signs early that he is what we think he is – we should lock him up early. I think the Royals and Witt got a win/win. Witt takes the risk off the table, the Royals get a Superstar before he’s too old. And Neto won’t be nearly that high.
I don’t understand the signing. If he has so many optouts then he’s not locked in.
A bit surprised that the club didn’t negotiate at least one opt out for themselves. This contract is as player friendly as it gets.
Wow, ST is so close. I’m gonna go score some hopium. I got a cousin…..
To misquote Wildwill, “Hopium Abounds!”
Got my road trip starting on the 29th.
9 Days!!
“It’s 10 miles to Diablo, we got a full tank of bullpen, half a pack of offense and starters, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses.”
“Hit it.”
On a mission for Gawd!
Looking at Airbnb’s this week. Superbowl tradition