To add injury to insult during Saturday’s loss to the Red Sox, Nolan Schanuel fouled a ball straight into his groin. They say he is day to day. I know it is a little early for the Christmas in June promotion. I am sure Schanuel doesn’t want this to become his first bobblehead. I don’t believe Robert Stephenson will come in to save the day any time soon. Kenley Jansen blames embarrassing baseballs for why he struggled yesterday.
Jon Berti made onto the ten day IL with his left groin strain. Brock Burke punched a wall on Friday and broke his right hand. The Rangers have him on the injured list. Spencer Strider of the Braves had elbow surgery and will miss the rest of the 2024 season.
The Marlins DFAd Matt Andriese. Tommy Pham is probably going to the White Sox. Julio Teheran is now going to the Chicago Cubs.
The head agent of Bad Bunny’s new agency has had his certification revoked by the MLBPA for providing improper benefits to players. Speaking of agencies, Scott Boras got fired by Jordan Montgomery after Boras had a disastrous off season. Montgomery is now with Wasserman.
#42 is getting the win tonight – put money on that.
Patrick is due for a good game.
O’Neal?
Both of them.
The difference between winners and losers is clear.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39929304/atlanta-braves-spencer-strider-injury-move-forward-adversity
Yes, and it’s the difference between having and not having a plan, and having and not having a vision. The Angels seem to start over every year, which is why they never get anywhere.
And many people on this site want to can Perry so we can start over yet again.
Just sayin’.
Understood but at some point you have to recognize that what you’re doing isn’t working and make a change. I don’t believe that swapping out Perry will make any difference as long as Arte owns the team. With Trout getting older and Ohtani gone, it’s hard to see us ever being good for the same reason. It’s also difficult to see any spending taking place until Anthony goes off the books in two more years after this.
Arte has zero impact on the free agents turning into absolute shit when they join this team or the shit show risp/lobster fest every season.
Actually he has a huge impact. He hires the people that make all of the decisions, in addition to the ones he makes, regarding the drafting, developing, and acquiring of the players in the organization.
But it’s not like the people he has put in charge of his baseball operations and let go have had any real sustained success elsewhere after they left. All 4 of them were first timers that were either elevated from within or hired away from other organizations. Reagins has not had any jobs since getting fired here (told to resign) in 2011, Dipoto has been in charge of the Mariners baseball operations for over 8 seasons now and they have exactly one playoff appearance, Eppler got the Mets to the Playoffs in 2022 but his tenure there last year was a complete disaster. And now there’s Perry who seems to be learning on the job more than any of his predecessors.
So who would Arte get to replace the Platypus that would even make a difference? He’s not going to hire a real live POBO (Not sure who we would be available that would be worth a shit) and elevating another mid level candidate from another organization or from ours is now a Golden Sombrero 0 for 4 cant wait for a platinum
That was exactly my point.
Rendon being off the books would only be $38mil that Arte is saving
That’s 20% of the payroll
With that rumor of the Angels being out “early” on Ohtani, even though Ohtani and his agent said they went back to the Angels after the Dodgers’ offer because they wanted to still see what the Angels would do, (who really knows what’s true at this point, and if the real story will ever come out).
Did Arte (or his people) already know, or have some inkling, that the shit will hit the fan re: Ohtani and Ippei? And that’s why he was out “early”?
It doesn’t matter as Ohtani’s camp had to know Arte would never match what the Dodgers could do. Arte is a known quantity throughout MLB.
Exactly. Ohtani gave Arte a chance knowing he wouldn’t match it.
And even if he did, there’s no way Arte would build the team and farm system the way LA has. So it wouldn’t really be equal.
Ohtani took the easy way out, joining an already-made WS contender. How bravado of him. Kevin Durant style when he went to the Warriors. Ohtani will be Mookie’s wingman instead of Trout’s. Once Shohei punched out Mike in the WBC, he knew he had to have a new leader with whom he could count on to get him to the playoffs. Now, I hope it all collapses.
I can only imagine how outraged many here would have been if Angels spent even $500 over 10 years for someone that might never pitch effectively again.
And this is where the narrative goes off the rails. It wasn’t “The Dodgers offer”, it was structured by Ohtani and Nez and offered to all interested parties, deferrals included. The Giants were said to be in along with the Dodgers. Arte and the Angels, passed.
I know it doesn’t match up with “traitor Ohtani” but it’s what’s been widely reported, and generally ignored.
Rays have had our number in recent years. It will continue in this series as Tampa Bay takes 3 out of 4. At some point this team will learn that you have to come through in the key moments and win those games that hang in the balance in the middle innings… There will be games that you are not even in, so those close ones become more important. We lost one of those (and the series) to Boston yesterday. Same thing happened in Anaheim to these Rays last Wednesday.
Angels always get worn down..1 AB, 1 inning at a time.
Pretty sure we get at least 1 and possibly 2. 4 game series are unique.
I said we’d get 1. I don’t think we’ll get 2 though …
Today’s Lineups
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/angels-vs-rays/2024/04/15/745106/preview
——- No Hicks up.
but we get Sano. At least Adell gets a start
We get Sano-tized again?
Cant wait.
Not just Sano-tized, but cleaned up as well.
Without Logan and Rengifo the line up looks really weak.
Even….
True, but even worse without them. Rengifo is our 4th best hitter right now, he really should be playing everyday, or at least from his good side. I honestly don’t know why this is so hard sometimes. Wouldn’t you want to play your hottest hitters, especially when there is a big disparity between the top 4 and the rest. I mean Wash made a big deal about saying he was going to do that and he’s been doing the opposite.
With Logan and Rengifo the lineup looks really weak
That was a fast comeback for Nolan. I thought he’d be out a good week.
Interesting to see Trout at #2. More ABs is the play at this point, I guess. Same for Ward.
When will Wash eventually explore Logan at #4? I understand he wants to lighten his workload, but it’s gotta be tempting as well, with Logan’s offense so far.
I would be tempted to move Logan up behind Ward. I would be good for now with Rendon and Rengifo 1 & 2, followed by Trout, Ward, and O’Hoppe.
Detmers should end the season like a #1 or at least #2 with Barry Enright’s guidance. Anderson won’t be an ace but may lurk as a serviceable #4 with peaks as #3. Silseth, I had a ton of hopes for him, but he may be our sacrificial elbow which is a real blow. I thought he would settle in a #3. He’s the opposite of Sandoval. Canning I thought would be a mediocre #5 but all the predictive metrics really had him showing out this year as a sleeper. He doesn’t look right and is throwing slow. That leaves Sandoval as the only way to balance the rotation. Which is terrible.
Perhaps Davis Daniel, Andrew Wantz or Rosenberg can fill in the Canning spot. Soriano has to fill the Silseth spot. This rotation just lacks a real #2 which should have been Lorenzen.
I really wish Sandoval was traded in the off-season for a power righty like Edward Cabrera. But me thinks Arte has an infatuation considering he’s one of the big posters outside the stadium for no damn reason.
Anyways, if it were me being cheap, I would’ve gone.
Detmers
Lorenzen
Cabrera
Silseth (now Soriano)
Anderson
Way more potential and still cheap ish
Wait…. why are the Marlins trading us a 23 year old pitcher? And why are we trading for a pitcher that was on the IL till today? Can you imagine CtPG Guy’s huge AH MAH GERD if PTP traded a starter for an injured starter heading into the season?
A real el-blow
Still hoping for better performance by the team, however reality is a bitch and what we’ve seen thus far will represent the season.
I do think the bats of Neto and Schanuel will come around, but I have little faith in the starting pitching beyond Detmer.
Perry screwed the pooch by not deepening the SP talent pool on the team. The lack of depth will be a detriment all season
Perry or his boss? Perry doesn’t decide payroll.
He needs to resign if he has responsibility without authority. If he continues to fail in his current role, he won’t get another job. Not that I care.
Perry got 3/33 approved for Stephenson.
I’m all for bashing Arte, but in this case Perry simply bought the wrong guy when there was an obvious need for starting pitching and a healthy supply of it.
That’s actually my point. He’s not doing the right things, and at a certain point, where’s his self-respect. I think it’s sad how desperately he wants to hang on to a job he has no chance to succeed at. This is aside from all the bad moves he’s made, (including every single deadline trade he made last year, stripping the few usable players from our minor league system).
I think this is a little bit of a wild take.
There are only 30 MLB GM jobs in the world. Perry is going to take the job unless he’s really fighting with the staff (like Jerry) or he is forced to wear underwear on his head while giving press conferences.
YAR BUH DEFINATIVE NEGATERV STAY MINT BOUT AN GUY DOIN JOB AH WOOL D SHIT MYSELF TRYIN TAH DO DAY ONION!
Perry obviously saw the need for a quality reliever which I can’t disagree with. He blew the load on getting the best reliever he could (by the numbers). Arte clearly did not want to spend beyond that – presumably because his golden goose was gone.
And then Angels Fan Shit JuJu went to work…. and Stephenson entered our “magic kingdom” of players who get injured before they even get going for us.
Stephenson joins the other abandoned Sega games our shit attitude took a hammer to because dad…. err Arte…. didn’t buy us a Nintendo. We’re Jews in the desert baby.
Question (I’m 2GA to research this right now)… did the Stephenson thing happen before the Ohtani decision?
Perhaps pre-Ohtani-decision, Perry figured he’d spend the 3/33 to make the bullpen much stronger to make it more competitive and look better for Ohtani to return (and not spend so much that it blocked Ohtani money)….
But after the Ohtani decision, Arte said screw it and he isn’t spending any more money this off-season.
No It was announced much later.
It’s true Perry doesn’t set the payroll budget, I have to believe he still determines how the available player payroll budget is spent.
If he doesn’t determine how the budget is spent, he should have resigned.
Like DiPoto
The pooch was screwed in 2022 when we didn’t trade Ohtani. And it was what most of the people on this site wanted. CtPG cheered “Screw that pooch!” and now we’re all just bitching about a dog that hasn’t walked or shit right since.
Or even 2023 at the trade deadline when there was still a huge haul to be made over an Ohtani trade.
I remember the reaction I received to my first Ohtani trade package piece. Some level headed takes and plenty of angst.
In looking at the speculated returns, we’d be better off today but not by leaps and bounds.
I think the Mackenzie Gore + Jake Cronenworth package would’ve been the best for 2024.
Baltimore 1-2
Roid Sux 1-2
Rays 1-2
Roid Sux 1-2
Miami 3-0
As of now this team is playing pretty much how everybody expected. Not good enough to beat decent teams but talented enough to beat bad teams and avoid getting swept too often.
And while Stephenson is shut down, Lorenzen will make his season debut tonight for a division rival.
And looking at that data set, Miami is the definition of an outlier until there is more data. Especially when you consider that they are one of the worst teams in BB right now and very much unlike the other 4 teams we’ve played.
For sure. And it is important to note we are catching TB at a time when they are dealing with multiple injuries in their rotation. This isn’t the full strength version.
They have a -14 run differential which says they may be a team we can beat.
Using Boston as a rectal thermometer to gage the Angels core temperature…almost 1/2 their wins came against us. 9 wins, 4 vs the Angels.
Red Sux’s, series before us, 0-3 against the O’s.
Red Sux’s in our 3 game series, 2-1
Today against Cleveland, they lose 6-0 with only three 3 hits.
Coincidence? Uh, no😀
Free Suarez!
Free Sano from hitting, let him take Suarez’s BP spot!
Suarez is so bad, he’s should jump on board and use the quality of the “embarrassing balls” as an excuse. We let Barria move on, time for Suarez to pack his shit and get the F out, seen enough….Let “Jim Regret Herget” come up and
suckpitch or some other bum.Free Suarez.
Free the SL shuttle to John Wayne
Es un bandido.
He’d need to be placed on waivers before being sent down. I can’t see anybody claiming him right now, though.
I hope anyone will take him so Minasian isn’t tempted to keep him.
I have a feeling if Suarez was set free into the wild, he’d find his way home, he’d be back, 2 weeks or 2 months. See Soto as the most recent example…..he’ll be back too.
If I could, I’d link Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home.”
Or this….its all trAdition
https://youtu.be/Dj4gqJzlIvc?si=o2ao4YpUn-9jGrn6
I am not a fan of that group. That guy has the Griffin Canning mustache.
Lead singer on this tune is totally underrated in the industry.
Ask and you shall receive.
https://youtu.be/FJIuzl1jx7w
Favorite all time Winwood tune.
https://youtu.be/KQRuu_PghAk
Suarez favorite Winwood tune…
“Bring me a Higher ERA”
Made me laugh!!!
Definitely Post of the Day Twebs
But Clapton is God.
“To the German Commander, NUTS! The American Commander.”
It’s only been 15 games, about 1/11 of the season, and so far we have some big holes in RF, SS, 1B, and maybe DH. Hopefully as the season goes on Neto and Schanuel find themselves which would mean for next year we would need a RF and a DH, assuming Rendon continues to hit. It’s also possible that Mickey or Adell break out but that will be difficult with Hicks playing in their place. That also assumes you play Rengifo at 2B which a lot of people don’t like. There will be a lot to address going forward and those things will become more clear as the year goes on. Hopefully ARTE will sell. I would be more comfortable if they were committed to playing the kids, which they are in the infield but not in the outfield.
It’s possible that none of these guys breakout and they are waht they are, just guys not potential all-stars or even above average at their respective positions. Need to give them a chance and find out which players are to be carried forward. #LetTheKidsPlay
Exactly, and we’re doing that with O’Hoppe, Neto, and Schanuel, but not with Moniak and Adell. Neto and Schanuel are not even replacement level hitters right now and I agree, we should play them all year so we know what we have.
He might not be a team favorite, but not sure why Moniak is not in there against right-handers at a minimum. Playing Hicks over him is hard to understand. Wash is old school and wants his guys mentally prepared and this could be the area which Mickey is substandard. We don’t get to see the in-between game preparation activities.
I think Adell needs full-time ABs to determine if he is just a guy, anything else will hold him back. He needs to know he’ll be in the line-up.
Washington’s problem may be that rather than being old school, he may just be too old. Playing Hicks instead of the kids, and using Suarez when the game was still on the line are two examples of his bad decision making, I don’t have patience for crappy decision making. I thought he would be better than Nevin in this area.
I have no complaints thus far with Wash’s decision making. He is getting the more from the team than any of the last three managers ever did.
Let’s face it – the team just doesn’t have the talent to really compete. There’s potential on the roster – but it’s unrealized potential and in development currently
Also true.
Are you cool with the way he uses Hicks and Suarez and doesn’t use Moniak and Adell? Or the way he didn’t have Cimber come out for the next inning after picking off the runner before he retired a batter in the previous?
No, it’s a mixed bag for me.
Fair enough. I don’t like how it’s trending. I hope he is learning from his mistakes.
We also never actually know everything that Wash knows day-to-day.
On any given day, we don’t hear things from players privately like “my hamstring felt a little tight during workout today” etc etc that Wash uses to make decisions. They keep lots of aches and pains quiet so as not to give away anything to opponents.
Fair and true.
Except Schanuel. That one couldn’t be hidden. 😀
I’ve got Wash’s WAR at -2 so far
Neto has looked talented since he came up. I’m not watching him right now wondering who will be the SS later this season or next. It’s him barring injury or something totally unforeseen.
Schanuel is a little different because 1B is a power position and he doesn’t really have power. Otherwise, I suspect he will make adjustments and hit decently. But whether that’s good enough to stick is an open question.
Neither Moniak nor Adell are really young anymore and they both have had prior chances. Maybe one will emerge but I’m more on board with seeing if they can emerge as part time players with favorable matchups than every day. Guys that don’t stand out early have to pay their dues. If they cannot succeed via same, it might never happen.
O’Hoppe looks fairly legit. I expect he is.
I’m not sure what “looked talented means. If you mean he has been very solid defensively, I would agree, but he hasn’t hit since he arrived. He was a good hitter in college so I am currently optimistic he will develop. They don’t have another major league shortstop right no so they are stuck regardless and I agree with you that he is the shortstop for the foreseeable future whether he hits or not.
Schanuel has yet to hit with any power and this year so far he is hitting .108/.292/.189, and like Neto, the club doesn’t have another every day major league 1B so he’s it for now. I honestly have no feel right now if he will ever become an everyday player long term. I really like him personally, so I am rooting for him.
O’Hoppe will be an Allstar as a hitting catcher sooner or later.
Adell and Moniak are only 25. Taylor Ward didn’t get the opportunity to play everyday until he was 28. Not sure again what “don’t stand out early” means. Moniak had a 114 OPS+ for 311 ABs last year. That’s a better than average hitter and he was a plus defender. He deserves to be playing RF every day until he proves differently. Adell has had a rough time and never stood out but this year he has shown enough potential that he should be looked at for at least for a month so you can see if he has any promise. I don’t know what playing Aaron Hicks does for you as he and Mickey are approximately the same player so far for their careers except that Hicks is 34 and Mickey is 25.
It is highly unlikely the Angels will be competing for a playoff spot this year so it is a great opportunity to evaluate your talent in preparation for moving forward.
Exactly.
I read a comment on twitter that basically said Rendon is a better left handed hitter than Hicks. I laughed but at this point it is true.
We know what Hicks is. The jury is still out on Moniak. Play the kid.
How long a leash for Hicks? Not seeing anything that says he should be getting ABs over Mickey and Jo (assuming they want to see if these two are the future). The 5th outfielder thing isn’t going well if you ask me.
Same for Sano.. One of them needs to go? Or both?
I’d return him to the shelter as an adoption that didn’t work out.
Sano
Moniak was drafted first overall by another organization and already flamed out there. He was drafted about six or seven years ago — that’s what I mean. Adell was drafted a long time ago here. He has grown into his body but he lacks instincts. It is what it is. Marsh was the reverse. Odd body but major instincts.
Ward’s issue was he didn’t as drafted as a catcher and they kept trying to figure out what position he played. Adell has been an OF all along. I hope the younger guys improve and become good. I’m just not expecting same.
Adell has less than a season of ABs in his entire career. He needs to be given a real chance given we have nothing on the farm.
Agree – Sano needs to go.
You can make that argument. Of course how many mistakes does he get? He’s an athlete that lacks baseball instincts. The coaches see him daily. It sounds like you are looking for a beyond all doubt standard to prove he ain’t up to snuff. It doesn’t really work like that. Hope is great and I have some. But Adell needs to do well with the opportunities he gets. He isn’t now and hasn’t really before. It’s a shame.
The chances they’ve had have been pretty short. Adell has never had a long look in the majors. Moniak has only had one (last year) and looked really solid doing it.
Moniak just played his 162nd game. It’s not like he’s been getting a ton of playing time.
Charles – damn this headline is funny. Thanks for a much-needed Monday morning chuckle.
Thanks. I am trying to be a little irreverent as we once were but without getting myself canceled.
Maybe I should have Photoshopped an Angels logo on the dancer’s uniform.
I’m still surprised that the Angels’ record is what it is. With all of the teams the Angels played so far, I was expecting a record closer to what the Marlins, Giants, or heck, even what the Mariners and cheaters have.
The Giants are especially confounding because they spent big this past offseason. And it’s not like the Doyers are running away with the division either. You’d think with the super-super team they just formed this offseason they’d be at 20 wins already. Instead, they’re just 4 games above .500.
Overall, the team has exceeded my expectations so far.
Curious decision to not walk Trout yesterday with 1B open, but the Sox are obviously just going by the stats. Ward has been BETTER than Trout in situations with RISP. Facts are facts. And I’m happy for Ward that he’s gotten himself to this point, considering there were talks of if he will even be able to get to playing again.
And as one of a lot who thought of Rendon as done and washed up, really happy to see him start hitting well, and even having productive outs, and that news of him being the first on the field for infield drills is also good. A healthy and well-playing Rendon can only help the team.
I wouldn’t worry, there’s plenty of time for this team to meet your expectations.
We actually are like those teams except for playing the Marlins. We’re 4-8 otherwise. Playing that Marlin series early has sort of kept us from seeing who we really are.
we’re actually like those teams whenever Detmers isn’t pitching.
Well, it’s not like the Halos started with Marlins, ChiSox and A’s. Every team has tough stretches. Marlins were supposed to be good. Other teams will struggle at times. It’s been a representative schedule and lots of road games.
Without the Marlins’ softball it’s probably what you expected.
We should then petition the MLB to remove the Marlins’ series from the teams’ record, since it clearly doesn’t count.
The Marlin series does count but, at least for now, it needs to be recognized as an outlier and it will become a smaller and smaller part of our overall record, assuming we continue to play the way we are.
Outlier bummer – you are what your record says you are.
I’m sure the Rangers also think their consecutive series losses against the A’s and Cheaters are also “outliers”, but I don’t think anyone is saying if not for those series they would be running away with the AL West.
I’ll check back with you in 30 games.
I’m Rendon’s Biggest critic and I think he’s been fine this year.
Agree. I’ve been surprised thus far.
You’re being way to kind to Rendon but after all the criticism handed his way, maybe this is the Let’s be Nice to Tony Week. A .269 slugging average, less than .300 OBA, poor OPS and 1 RBI. And all of this is after his little hot streak.
Rendon’s decline is here to stay. He no longer drives the baseball, just puts loft under the ball for warning track outs. Does anyone disagree? Put Rengifo at 3rd and let’s be done with this chapter.
After all that’s happened with Rendon, in his entire time with the angels….today, I’d rather have him hitting, in any situation, than 75% of his teammates…..I also know that’s not saying a lot about his teammates.
This teams offense has an equal partnership in its Shittyness.
Free Redon from punching fans in the face.
Free LOBsters from their traps
Doyers are having bullpen issues too. I wonder if they could be a landing spot for Suarez?
If so he’ll win the Cy Young.
😂
Asstros and Jerry’s kids could both still go 6-14…who knew?
Maybe we will join them at 7-14?
How does Oakland have close to the.same record? Lousy hitting with men in scoring position and the starting pitching outside Detmers.
See my long comment on the postgame thread for yesterday (just added a minute or two ago..) about the Angels ongoing suckitude in RISP situations.
I’m not going to go back and check your post, but you were on to something.
2020 Team RISP: 19th Avg., 15th OPS
2021 Team RISP: 10th Avg., 10th OPS
2022 Team RISP: 26th Avg., 20th OPS
2023 Team RISP: 28th Avg., 26th OPS
2024 Team RISP: 28th Avg., 20th OPS
You can’t win games if you don’t drive in the runs, and with the exception of 2021, the Angels fail more often than most other teams when it counts.
Don’t disagree the higher the RISP the better the W-L record should be. How do we explain 2021, the year the Angels finished 10th but still had suckitude with a 77-85 won loss record? Maddon, most likely.
If a team is doing a good job scoring when opportunities arise and still losing, it’s either pitching, defense, or lack of scoring opportunities.
Let’s look and in 2021 . . .
Angels were 8th in runs allowed per game at 4.96. The league average was 4.53 RA/G. They were average in errors and double plays, so I’d guess pitching.
ERA+ of 96 (tied for 21st/22nd with Phillies) and 24th in WHIP, but they were actually 6th in pitcher-LOB, so even though they were bad at allowing base runners, they did strand a lot of them. In the end, they gave up the 8th most runs and the 9th most ER, though, so pitching was definitely a big factor in their losing record.
The hitting side did contribute, as the Angels were only 17th in R/G and 17th in total runs, and despite being 10th in AVG., they were 21st in OBP and 19th in OPS. That leads to a conclusion that they simply didn’t walk enough (sure enough – 25th in BBs).
Walks were also a problem on the pitching side (5th most allowed). Overall, I’d say it was bad pitching with mediocre hitting.
It’s all about the LOB’sters
With a nice, big Cup o’ Butter.
Bye bye .500 record.
True or false:
The Angels will se a .500 record again this season?
I’d say false.
Agree
Yep!!
I think there’s a possibility early on this season. For example, the Halos could win the next game and be at .500 again. But I doubt they will be .500 again by the end of this month.
Happy days aren’t here ever again….Happy days aren’t here again.
True. Sandoval gets a win tonight.
May is going to be rough, but there is a chance they could sneak back to .500 in July, or at least close enough to persuade Moreno not to be a seller at the deadline. They’ll fall apart in late July/early August to finish 72-90.
I said the same thing a few days ago and I was told not to be a fatalist
😀