Brandon Drury with the go ahead homer.
Not only did the Angels reassign Adam Kolarek to minor league camp, they optioned Jack Kochanowicz. Zach Neto is getting attention for his “scorching spring training.” Jackson Kowar, of the Mariners, will be having Tommy John surgery. They just signed Ryne Stanek, though, so they are pitcher neutral on the deal. Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca was hit by a pitch and sustained a fracture to his right hand. Reds prospect Noelvi Marte was just suspended 80 days for using Boldenone. Trevor Bauer set out to prove he was one of the best pitchers in the world on Sunday. He did pitch three effective innings and reached 99 MPH on the radar gun.
Ok. Things are becoming clearer. Adell still cannot play OF well enough. Moniak isn’t quite there yet either. The OF is Trout, Ward and Hicks.
Neto is a talent. Rendon is healthy again and went 1-1 with 2 walks. When healthy, he’s effective. Drury is quality.
O’Hoppe is still a bit of a question at catcher but we will hope for the best.
Schanuel will get some hits. But he might be in the lower tier in the league at 1B.
Rengifo?? Who knows? He likely doesn’t know himself.
Pitching?
Sandoval cannot be trusted. Joyce is a question mark. Pomerantz comeback is a no. Same with Strickland. Zuniga to AAA.
Anderson looks like the most dependable starter. That gives the Halos one of the five worst starting rotations out there.
Time to fill in the gaps front office. You can see them.
Bauer and Urias would give us one hell of a one-two punch
oh, I see. A little joke.
…. or not time.
Maybe next year is time. When there are better options. And we are more ready to move forward to compete.
We already really screwed the team over last July by going all in when we shouldn’t.
Let’s not go all in with the money we have available now in order to sign a pitcher for top dollar who isn’t really solid.
If commit to another bad multi-year contract this spring, then next year that means we’ll have that much less cap-space to spend on free agents that we’d much rather have.
Noted, but if you don’t want to spend money on a two time Cy Young winner who is still a decent age, who are the Angels going to be lucky enough to spend it on?
Almost any free agent pitcher they could get in the next three years will look no better than Snell and may be worse. Young stud pitchers in their prime don’t come along often in free agency and then a monumental overpay is required. If a guy like Dylan Cease gets on the market, it may take 6-7 years and $250 million to sign him.
This year’s remaining market is slightly more of a buyer’s market than expected. Take advantage.
Fair debate. I disagree, and think that Snell’s record is pretty inconsistent and a red flag. A mediocre pitcher some years, and Cy Young others. And all along, not going deep into games. I’m not sure if “young stud in prime” is totally accurate, either.
It will be a big mistake to sign him to a short term expensive contract, especially if there are opt-outs. That would be ridiculous, to pay big money, give up a draft pick and slot money, to have him pitch for us for one year. Teams that are on the verge of a WS do that… not a team that is expected to have a losing record.
I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t see anything significant until Rendon is off the books. I think things are going to look much the same for the next 3 years. Rendon is effective only from the standpoint of getting on base. He doesn’t hit much or hit for power. I think there will be some highlights but it will be a long year and we have a very tough schedule the 1st month.
“Moniak isn’t quite there yet either”…. ?
And what are you basing that on ? Hopefully not just a couple dozen AB’s in Spring Training. Not sure why you are ready to hand over the starting RF spot to Hicks over MM.
I still feel like Mickey would put up equal or better full season numbers than Hicks. We’ll see what Washington thinks… maybe he starts as the 4th OF’er and after raking a few games gets the starting nod.
Sooooo…..
De Gromme
Giolito
Ohtani
Verlander
Cole
….. and many many more….
….. how many hundreds of millions of dollars of payroll spent on unpitched innings will it take before we can start making a bunch of preachy bitch bumper stickers about how someday kids will have all the money their teachers unions want to “educate” them and baseball teams will need bake sales to waste money on starting pitchers?
And Sooooo…..
Tomorrow we sign Snell probably
New 3b available
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/giants-release-j-d-davis.html
Intriguing
In a few weeks, Rendon will have to play every day. He has all of 16 plate appearances so far in which he has just 2 hits. The team’s coverage at 3B is mind boggling and batting him at clean up is beyond comprehension. Regardless of his contract, almost anyone would be an improvement. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the team will do anything even if he has a lengthy IL stay. The position player roster isn’t likely to change. What is puzzling, is the contract they gave Stephenson under the circumstances.
Your sense of dramatic syntax is flabbergasting
I’m glad you enjoyed it. It might not be an exaggeration though. 🙂
All ours for the low low price of $6.9 Million although his defense at 3B is probably even worse than Rendon or Sano.
Now that we waited until he’s cleared waivers he is a free agent that can negotiate with anyone for probably a lot less money if there is any interest . id rather just roll with Sano there if Rendone keeps Rendoning
I love JD Davis…. he came out of my Little League…. but yeah, he’s not a very good 3B.
Suck it Jer Jer.
https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1766938324122386630
Prediction- Scotty will be the first manager fired in 2024, then it will be Davy up the street.
Scotty goes, Eat it Jerry gone too.
Davey goes, laptop computer stays.
Bauer-take a chance. I’ve now committed to the previously unthinkable. 🙃 😵
Yes, G-Pa, I also finally gravitated over to that darkside…
Ain’t gonna happen as long as Bauer keeps trying to shame teams into giving him a roster spot. He just can’t seem to get that its his mouth not his stuff keeping him from getting back in the MLB.
Rex calls it “Snell Bells”-funny stuff. Look up this guy’s record with only two decent years which both landing a CYA and the rest he was injured with no serious staff leading numbers. Lucky or good? Look at walks, free passes that ramp up the WHIP. This is a meltdown coming. But it is the way the Halos operate.
Why are Carpino and Kuhl still around? Because Arte is involved, and he know jack shit about running a team. Why would he invest in the future when today he thinks only of tix sold. You have heard of the 3 blind mice right, or the three Stooges.
I predict The Snell Smoke will now quickly dissipate as he ends up in pin stripes by mid week.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/yankees-rumors-gerrit-cole-mri-elbow-injury.html
But there are still starting pitchers on the market if Snell turns to the dark side – Montgomery, Clevinger, Lorenzen.
Yes there are . And our season opener is 2 weeks from this Thursday. Good luck getting any of them ready in time without rushing them into an injury
They don’t have to be ready for opening day, but having more arms in the rotation is useful for the team. What are our backups if anyone (god forbid) go down to injury (let alone not taking that planned step forward)?
We have Daniel, Plesac, Wantz, Rosenberg, Suarez and Mederos. Is that the depth we need? We used 14 starting pitchers last season. We no longer have Barria, Diaz, Giolito, Davidsen, and of course Ohtani.
Thank God.
It feels to me that these late hold outs never really catch on to have stand out seasons. Another reason to pass along with the injury threat.
And btw, Silseth yesterday was the best start by a starter this Spring- ugly start, but then sent down 12 of 13.
Today’s Lineup
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rangers-vs-angels/2024/03/11/748006/preview
One correction, Hicks scratched for “body soreness”, Calhoun gets the start in RF to replace.
Calhoun’s body is probably incapable of feeling soreness . Kind of like Homer Simpsons’s Jello exterior
I have to get use to thinking “Willy” instead of “Kole”
Willy ate Kole
That’s ok, I keep wanting to call Aaron Hicks Willie Mays Hayes.
Don’t steal home without it!
So you’re saying Neto is neato?
Yup. Neato Neto.
Thank God Neto is not Forgetto
strange that Neto was singled out when Marisnick is hotter.
The athletic:
Since the start of spring training, new Los Angeles Angels pitching coach Barry Enright has pressed the organization’s higher-ups to deliver an important technological improvement to the club’s player development and training facilities: dedicated hitting and pitching labs.
Now that might be coming to pass. According to Enright, team officials told him that they plan to add the labs to the complex.
“We’ve been told that two days after we leave, we’re going to break ground on a brand new clubhouse, five-tunnel pitching lab, with hitting tunnels in there too,” Enright told The Athletic. “It looks great, I’m excited for it.”
That seemingly straightforward news would seem like cause for mild celebration. But when it comes to renovations to the Angels’ beleaguered spring training facilities, years of promised projects never coming to fruition, or beginning and then being abandoned, have forced many within the organization to adopt a believe-it-when-they-see it approach.
Team sources beyond Enright have confirmed that renovations of some sort are expected to begin just days after the team breaks camp on March 23. Even high-ranking team officials, however, say they are unclear on exactly what will be renovated, and where the renovations will occur.
Meanwhile, when officially asked for comment, the organization declined to confirm what the renovation plans are — or if renovations are happening at all.
“We are keeping the plans confidential at this point,” Angels president John Carpino told The Athletic.
The Angels have conducted spring training out of their minor league complex for the past four seasons, as much-needed renovations on the complex have been delayed for years.
The scope of work has changed over time. At one point, ground was broken on renovations to improve the clubhouse situation at Tempe Diablo Stadium. However, construction was soon halted. Other potential iterations have been discussed. No renovations have actually happened yet.
If work does begin soon, there is a hope that the outdated clubhouse can be upgraded. Additionally, adding a kitchen is believed to be a priority. Currently, all the players’ food is prepared in a trailer near the clubhouse and then transported to the food room.
Many changes are needed, though a pitching coach can only control so much. So Enright is determined to make sure the team follows through on its pledge to add pitching and hitting labs.
“It’s huge. Guys are starting to ask about it now,” Enright said. “And again, it is only a tool. But it’s a big tool to have. … I’m on them every week to make sure that this is happening.”
Enright was consulted on the plan, in part, due to his experience using a pitching lab with the Arizona Diamondbacks, for whom he served two years as the assistant pitching coach. More and more teams have added labs in recent years as part of the baseball arms race. They can cost upward of $10 million to build and maintain.
The Angels would have five tunnels in their theoretical lab, Enright said. Two would be dedicated to pitching, three to hitting. They would be equipped with cameras, TrackMan and other technological measuring tools to assist players in their development.
The various tunnels would also allow them to simulate various scenarios in their bullpens in a way that has to be done more manually now.
“It is only a tool. But it’s a big tool to have,” Enright said. “Being able to see and change arsenals. Being able to see and help with mechanics. We all pride ourselves on having good eyes and (being) able to do that with our eyes as well.
“But having the tech to either confirm that or tell us, ‘Hey, our eyes were off at that time,’ is big. Being able to monitor all those things is humungous. Not only for our free agents. For our guys who roll through there all the time.”
The Angels have long lagged behind other major league clubs when it comes to standard amenities and technology. Former coaches have said that, before 2019, there was basically no state-of-the-art technology available to them. And while some improvements have been made, the Angels still trail most of the league.
The team has made it work in their current Arizona setup. The clubhouse is old, but it is kept clean. The food is prepared in a different building, but there are few complaints about the quality. In past years, the Angels’ weight room was in a tent next to the stadium.
Making additions like pitching and hitting labs would represent the type of important investment that has long been lacking.
But those around the team will remain skeptical until it’s actually built. Just last year, an Angels spokesperson told The Los Angeles Times that renovations would start after last spring training. That never happened. And Angels owner Arte Moreno has always been a frugal spender, particularly in areas outside of the major league payroll. For those holding their breath, Moreno did say publicly earlier in spring training that renovations were coming.
There’s also skepticism that there is enough time to complete the changes. Players will likely start arriving for 2025 spring training about nine months after camp ends.
Additionally, it is unclear how any renovations would interrupt the year-round operations in Tempe. The club has a contract with an old San Francisco Giants facility in Scottsdale that runs through the early summer. That’s where minor league camp has been conducted in recent years. The Angels could continue utilizing the space until the contract expires for players and coaches who need to remain in Arizona.
The struggle to get Angels players and staff a big league-quality facility has been long and frustrating for many involved. And now, with just two weeks before it’s all supposed to finally start, there are still questions about exactly what type of facility everyone will return to one year from now.
And so, Enright is making it clear he wants the organization to follow through and get them the technology this team needs.
“I know that free agents that we will attract over the next few years will be excited to hear that we have this as well,” Enright said. “But I’ve seen the plans, and I can’t wait for it to come to fruition for us.”
You’d think a club that makes it rain on free agents and didn’t really replace Shohei’s salary wouldn’t have a hard time with a one time commitment to some pitching development stuff that may save the club tens of millions of dollars in free agency?
If Arte is sticking around this is the type of stuff that has to be rubber stamped without Carpino dancing around it like they’re still evaluating the cost.
Carpino is the biggest douchebag of them all. Honestly, I bet this kind of stuff never makes to to Arte’s desk because Carpino just torpedos any ideas that actually make sense, or that causes him to actually work. He’s the laziest, most out of touch guy I’ve ever avtually met, and honestly, I’d prefer him leave more than Arte selling the team. (They both should go, but this is the cancer that needs to be gone now)
Exactly. It’s Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum team of Crapino and Kuhl that are responsible for this
Let us not forget the evil that Molly Jolly brings to this team. 😀
A quick Google search indicates Morenos net worth is $4.9 billion. While I am not sure how accurate that amount is, for the purposes of this discussion, lets assume it is. At that amount, he could spend $42 million on the complex in Tempe and it would only amount to 1% of his net worth. No idea what $42 million could buy in terms of renovations but it can certainly buy these pitching tunnels it seems. At some point you’ve got to spend money to make money.
Gotta spend money to save money. Developing pitching saves hugely over free agent purchases.
I think he should spend but there’s often a big difference between net worth and available cash. While his net worth may be $4B his liquid assets are almost certainly not even $100M.
Arte’s money is mixed up with other commitments in addition to the Angels. You need to look at the Angels revenue year over year which was around 38 million at the end of 2022 if I’m reading this correctly.
Forbes Angels Valuation
That said, Arte could always loan the Angels a couple 100 million for improvements.
Christ people like you are stupid. Yes. Jeff Bazos is worth 100 Billionz or what ever IF HE WERE ALLOWED TO SELL ALL OF HIS AMAZON STOCK, TANK THE NASDAQ AND SUDDENLY DIS-EMPLOY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
Same with Arte. The stuff he owns is worth billions. 42 million is not 1% of the actual money the man or the team has.
By your standards my public school teacher brother and his dented KIA minivan is a millionaire.
This.
Arte is cash poor. His net worth is in stuff that has to be sold to generate cash. That’s one of the reasons why he operates the baseball team on such a tight budget. The baseball team has to generate that cash that it spends.
Question: WHY should Arte (or any team owner) spend their personal wealth? Because YOU want him to? Remember all those touching “Cowboy opens his saddlebags” stories were tinged with a tiny curtain – Angels always made profit. Jackie “Small Market” saw to it. And that’s why 1979, 1982 were blips, and of course Gene Mauch shitting the bed, the infield, and the entire stadium in `86.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Penny wise and pound foolish properly describes the Angels Org under Arte.
That is an interesting article but this one offers a counterpoint on why maximizing athletic output may only work in the short term. 100% efficiency comes at cost.
https://theathletic.com/5325032/2024/03/08/elbow-injuries-mlb-pitchers/
Looking back on my youth, I’m very thankful that I got to play multiple sports, had a life outside of baseball and was never told I was “elite” until I actually was.
It was an interesting article but There was not a general consensus on pitching arm injury trends though between the various surgeons and experts in the field.
I like how, as I read this, I was able to accurately predict just about every comment that followed it.
Here’s to another 30 years in the wilderness Halo Honks!
Go Halo!!