LA Angels Weekend News Crash: Signs of Life

Playing exclusively on the East Coast this week, the Angels split a 4 game set against Tampa Bay while dropping their usual 2 of 3 in Fenway. 3 wins and 4 losses isn’t a great week and it dropped the team’s overall record to 9 wins and 10 losses. But the Angels had legitimate shots to win both games they dropped in Tampa Bay and the last game in Boston.

Anthony Rendon had a great week slicing singles around the yard and getting on base for Trout and Ward. He also had a huge hit in Wednesday night’s game.

Reid Detmers is turning into everything we hoped he’d be as a first round draft pick. Tyler Anderson has rebounded nicely. And Griffin Canning turned in a solid effort yesterday, going into the 6th allowing just 2 earned runs. More importantly, he kept the ball in the yard and had his velocity back to normal levels.

Also showing signs of life this week was Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel. After bruising an area you don’t want to bruise he hit over .300 on the road trip and showed some baseball IQ on the basepaths.

The highlight of the week comes from Logan O’Hoppe. While everyone loves a good hitting catcher, and so do I, there’s nothing better than elite defense.

With all this good news, how did the Angels not go 7-0? Really, a defensive brainfart by Jose Cisneros on Tuesday night and a lack of clutch hitting by Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout on Sunday afternoon. The slightest amount of execution in those 9th innings and we’re talking about a 5 and 2 week and a first place club.

Taylor Ward is leading the league in RBI because Trout keeps all the baserunners on for him. Yes Trout had a nice 2 run bomb in Monday night’s win but on the year he’s a measly .133 with RISP and only 2 RBI in those scenarios.

Those guys aren’t the only ones struggling. Thus far it has been an off season of utter failure for Perry Minasian.

Yes, the one guy Perry spent good coin on will not pitch all year. $33 million on the prayer he could replicate a brilliant 3 month stretch in Tampa Bay was bad enough. Now he won’t even pitch this season.

Speaking of struggling, the Rays closer Pete Fairbanks is off to a rough start and gave an epic post game interview.

Tyler Anderson takes the mound tonight in Cincy, the final 3 games of a 10 game road trip.

I need to see this Elly De La Cruz kid live. I tried catching a Reds Spring Training game this March but we got rained out.

From around baseball:

The Astros are activating all time great whiner Justin Verlander tonight. The Astros are currently in last place and it would make me sooooo happy if they somehow finished the year there.

Surprisingly, the outfield up the 5 has been very bad this year. The difference is one Mookie Betts.

Meanwhile, the almost written off Padres are still very good.

Jackson Holliday is a very talented player and like most talented players he’s getting his butt kicked as he transitions to the Major League. He’ll be in Anaheim next week and here’s why you shouldn’t give up on the kid.

Trevor Bauer is facing an uphill battle to clear his name. I’ve obviously bashed him plenty. But he’s on the right path now. One of his accusers was indicted on fraud charges this week.

And I’ll leave you with this. Baseball broadcasters hold a special place in the game and a very prominent one stepped down this week. Enjoy a clip of some of his best calls.

With the season in bloom, there are plenty of links so please make sure to link what I missed.

Great game on Wednesday night. Our boys battled back with 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to win the game. Most had no idea of the score, but it was fun. My boy went 3 for 3 with a couple of 2 out hits and RBI last Saturday and was awarded a game ball. Seeing the kids have fun and improve is a joy.

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steelgolf
Legend
9 months ago

Well, looks like I will be at Monday night’s game in the lovely nosebleed section of 524. My son is going to be playing music on the field pre game. Rocking the clarinet. Hopefully he can channel his inner Benny Goodman! 😂

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  steelgolf

Awesome! Have fun and congratulations.

Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  steelgolf

Awesome! Enjoy

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

I like this lineup. Adell getting reps and O’Hoppe batting in the 6-8 range is where he should be, even if he’s raking.

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2GA2Join
Super Member
9 months ago

I just looked at the Athletic’s fantasy pitcher rankings, and that was sobering.

The entire Mariner’s pitching staff ranks ahead of the highest Angel on the list, Detmers.
I think almost the entire Rays pitching staff too.

Angelstan
Trusted Member
9 months ago

The fact that the Reds who already had major injuries to position players are hitting their young phenom sixth isn’t a great sign for his development. It’s a little off TBH. Let’s light up that Halo tonight.

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  2GA2Join

I thought this guy was dead. Doesn’t he already have a SAG pension? Now he wants a MLBPA pension too?

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

Looks a little more respectable with only 1 person hitting under .200 instead of 4.

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago

Against TBD?

We’re doomed already.

TrojanBoiler
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

Cy TBD

Angelstan
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Except for Sano — who is a 6 hitter now but is batting fourth— this might be the best lineup for the Angels.

2GA2Join
Super Member
9 months ago

Livan Soto on the RedSox now…

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  2GA2Join

He’ll work his way be back here…

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  2GA2Join

I think you meant the Redstockings not the Red Sox GA.

MarineLayer
Super Member
9 months ago

Lance Brodkowski, who is a big pitching expert on the Internet, says that Soriano could turn into an ass if he would get away from his fastball, which is his worst pitch even though it goes 100 miles an hour and focus on the breaking stuff. If this is true, where is our genius staff helping, Soriano make the transition. Lance says it hurts his soul to see how bad his current pitch mix is. is. If he does, Lance feels like Edward Cabrera is a comp.

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  MarineLayer

Not sure the Angels want our pitches to be asses. If so we would have already signed Bauer.

Last edited 9 months ago by Cowboy26
Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

What kind of Ass? We don’t want Sad Ass this year.

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gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  MarineLayer

If this is true, where is our genius staff helping, Soriano make the transition?” (question mark added)

When you type out statement questions like this do you flex your biceps while you do it? How does that work?

To answer your and the experts question with a question…. are you seriously asking why, in about three starts, the Angels coaches haven’t managed to get a 25 year old rookie to throw his 100 MPH fastball less? Are you sure both of you are as expert as you think you are?

MarineLayer
Super Member
9 months ago

Actually, I see you flex your biceps every time you post. You like Baltimore Orioles fans better than posters on this site. Congratulations to you. .

OK I didn’t post that I am an expert, I am quoting an expert who has gone over the data and sees that his fastball is his worst pitch even though it goes 100 miles For many pitchers, the offspeed is their best pitch. So far, I haven’t been seeing much improvement from at least three of our starting pitchers. Our bullpen has been awful costing us many games.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  MarineLayer

comment image&ct=g

MarineLayer
Super Member
9 months ago

Pomeranz opted out of his Doyers contract. Maybe we should give him another chance given our terrible other options.

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  MarineLayer

Pomeranz pitched in 5 AAA games for the Doyers this year. In 5 innings gave up 7 Hits 6 ERs I BB but struck out 7. he’d fit right in back in this organization

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend

I will be torn this weekend. I really like the Reds. Always have. And this year they have a shot at the post season, so wins matter. Buuutttttt…. maybe they can go ahead and play really well YET they manage to get swept by the Angels THEN they go on a ten game win streak? Yes?

I also follow the Rays to a lesser extent. I don’t know why we’re supposed to be unhappy about losing the season series to them for 8th year…. they are good. Always are. And yes, Sad Donkey, they are missing some guys. Thing is, they always are and they are good.

See, they have bad injury luck, though not as bad as ours. But they don’t have any shit sipping bad fanbitch ju ju cursing them….. because they have like 72 fans.

I also check in on the Orioles once a week. No one’s giving up on Jackson Holliday over there cause, guess what, they aren’t a herd of sad donkeys that turn on their prospects as soon as they fail to explode into all-stars in their first 100 ABs. And possibly most shocking of all for Sad Donkey, they have actually had crappy/cheap ownership for decades, and they mostly manage to avoid being total Dix & Doomers over there.

If we can get home from Cincy and then survive the next home stand and still be a little under .500 then huzzah! We’ll be poised for a season of OK baseball with the kids, maybe even a sniff of contention if the rest of the division continues to falter.

TrojanBoiler
Trusted Member
9 months ago

I love how angry you are. It brings me joy reading most of your posts lol. And that’s an honest compliment, thanks for being you.

gitchogritchoffmypettis
Legend
Reply to  TrojanBoiler

It likely brings you joy cause you get the joke…. in reality I’m not sure how much voodoo has to do with baseball

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

Pssst, if has EVERYTHING to do with baseball….

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  TrojanBoiler

But Im not feeling the patent Gitcho anger on this particular post, my fellow Boiler

TrojanBoiler
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

I think it was the combination of this post and his response to MarineLayer above.

Are you a Purdue alum too?

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
9 months ago

Re Trout: he’ll get his RISP up. We’re talking 15 at-bats so far. But besides the 2 for 15 he’s also walked 5 times.

Consider this mind boggling stat. Ward has 12 rbis in situations that a runner was on 3rd. Trout has 1. Ward’s been phenomenal so far with RISP.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Jeff Joiner

It’s been brought up recently and a lot…he appears to be trying to hit it 550 feet in those situations, every time. And sometimes he does.

Would love to see the RBI total go up and the HRs go down.

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Jeff Joiner

And in 2022 MNT had a slash line of .234/.380/.554 with RISP’s . Career wise with RISP hes still at .306/.455/.598 so I’m not sure if hes developed a choking syndrome or just small sample sizes that will improve over a full season

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Jeff Joiner

The BABIP with RISP should improve if for no other reason than Trout is striking out less.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Jeff Joiner

🤣🤣🤣

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Jeff Joiner

I’m sure like everything, not the first or only coach, player, executive, whoever to do this…
I trust this new Angel coaching staff to land the plane safely, over the last door plug failing group.

https://x.com/aviationbrk/status/1781201950928687496

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

Not sure why this is a shock to anyone. From what I gather United Airlines has a lot people in the cockpit impersonating pilots these days.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Cowboy26

“Joey have you ever seen a grown man naked?”

https://youtu.be/n2A194yTWoQ?si=L0GwhnWdZUkV5PtM

MarineLayer
Super Member
9 months ago

Hers some optimistic news from a fantasy baseball site—
Anthony Scull, OF LAA(8 GP, .355/.412/.484, 1 HR, 5 R, 1 RBI)
Out in the California League, you have some big names playing right now like Lazaro Montes and Colt Emerson. With those big names come big price tags to acquire so let’s pivot to Anthony Scull. The 20-year-old Scull stands 6’0” and 165 pounds batting from the left side. In his second stint in the Complex League in 2023 Scull played in 48 games while slashing .300/.377/.453 with three home runs, 31 runs scored, 30 RBIs, and stole 10 bases in 11 attempts. At the plate, Scull showed discipline walking 6.3% while only striking out 21.4% in his 192 plate appearances.

I’m a big fan of what what I have seen from #RepTheHalo outfield prospect Anthony Scull, good frame, good mover, i think he’ll hit for some pop as well pic.twitter.com/8hPH99q7mk

— Rhys White (@RhysBWhite) April 6, 2024

The promotion to Low-A Inland Empire was well deserved and the early results gave the Angels the same thought. In just eight games played Scull is slashing .355/.412/.484 with one home run, five runs scored, and one RBI. The 35 total plate appearances are a small sample size to look into but the early results are indicating the changes Scull made in his second stint in the Complex League in 2023 are sticking. Hopefully, we will see more power output from Scull he has the frame to get to 15 plus home runs early on if he can elevate. We saw some of the raw power come out last season as 15 of Scull’s 51 hits were for extra bases. Anthony Scull is currently 0% owned on Fantrax so he is a solid waiver pick-up early on.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  MarineLayer
grichmanpoorman
Trusted Member
9 months ago

“An all-encompassing suck.” My new favorite non-Angel!

clover_black
Super Member
9 months ago

greinke vibes.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Oh yeah, and I got King Fish as well. Still crappy lettering, but looks ok to me.

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Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

1 of the 3 Dodger OFs (Hernandez) is doing quite well, the 2 others are like our RF.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Got my Ward shirt from Fanatics yesterday. As far as the lettering goes, it’s even worse than the NHL shirts.

I am still so disappointed that the Angels are only going to have Trout and “the current Doyer player” available as shirts this season (I asked multiple places). The quality of the jerseys at Anaheim stadium left much to be desired, so I was a hard pass.

Even though the lettering is crappy, I still want to get a Detmers next.

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Eric_in_Portland
Legend
9 months ago

That’s really terrible marketing coming from an organization that cares more about marketing than winning.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Besides Trout and “The Doyer,” the only other jerseys they had were O’Hoppe and Neto. The guy working at the main store at the stadium didn’t know how to pronounce O’Hoppe and called him ah-hope.

I was hell bent on getting Detmers and Ward, but was denied. They couldn’t even make me a custom jersey if I wanted one (the Kings have no problem doing it).

Last edited 9 months ago by AngelsFanInHell
steelgolf
Legend
9 months ago

Weird, they used to see it n numbers and a name recognition got there in the main team store. You could get any name you wanted as long as it wasn’t a vulgar word.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Great article Jeff. Thanks.

Fansince1971
Legend
9 months ago

Jeff – sounds like the Angels might need to immediately sign your kid and elevate him from t-ball to the big leagues.

Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago

City Connection jersey article:

I really like ours!
NYM – awful
PHI – awful
PIT – not good
BAL – bad (not the MJ bad, bad bad)
CIN – bad
SEA – pretty, pretty good
TX – meh
ATL – A+

Past releases:

SD – I like it but kinda has miami/GTA vice vibes
MIL – A
Angels – Å
COL – meh but ok
KC – not good
HOU – bad
WSH – meh but not good
Doyers – the worst of the bunch
SF – bad
ARI – good
Cubs – not good
White Sux – bad
MIA – meh
Red Sux – meh

Yanks & A’s only teams without one now

https://www.espn.co.uk/mlb/story/_/id/39776958/tracking-mlb-city-connect-jerseys-uniforms

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

I wish the Angels would go with the City Connection full-time. Very cool looking and not too much “stuff” on it.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

They are bland and boring. If it is intended to be reminiscent of the beach, make it look actually like the beach.

Ocean blue lettering with white tips so it looks like waves, make the halo brighter like the sun shining down, and turn the “l” into a surfboard.

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

I prefer neat & clean over garish & cheesy. Red is a core color for the Angels BTW.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

A thematic design can be done tastefully without being bland. There are plenty of ocean-themed fonts that would look fine, and they could even be done red.

This sunset font would great: ocean wave lettering – Google Search

Or here is a wave font closer to what I suggested: ocean wave lettering – Google Search, maybe just do the A with the waves, because the whole word might be a bit much.

As is, the only reason to pick the City Connect version over the regular uniform is if you want less red.

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  AnAngelsFan

We’re debating our opinions on aesthetics. We disagree. I find the CC to be clean and neat and the font exudes SoCal in my opinion. The jersey is dope IMO.

Which CC jersey do you find most appealing?

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

I think the DBacks CC is solid.

JackFrost
Super Member
9 months ago

The City Connect jersey’s SUCK.

Plain and simple. They look like ice cream parlor uniforms.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  JackFrost

I like ice cream parlors

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  JackFrost

I haven’t been a fan of them, but their popularity is shocking. I couldn’t think of what they reminded me of, but you nailed it.

Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago

There are a lot of them at the park. Was meh at first on them but I really like them now and have 2 of them. Yes, I know Nike sucks.

What uni do you like best through the years?

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

These are two of my favorites. Couldn’t get into the periwinkle at all, although Erstad wore it well.

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Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago

Way. Bigger fan of the Carew one there than the weaver one. Weaver one sure got off to a great start there in ‘02 and anything was better than the Disney jersey (worst in our history)

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

I always liked the blue and was kind of bummed when the Angels switched with Texas and went with red. I would love to have the CA worn again.

Fleckstein
Trusted Member
9 months ago

I liked the 95 unis

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

The Carew on was also really nice

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

Do those things still exist? They’re from a bygone era. Now you can only find FroYo and Boba spots.

AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Can’t deny that these weren’t dope.

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AngelsFanInHell
Trusted Member
9 months ago

I wore this when I went to the game last week.

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Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

Love the font and CA

2GA2Join
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

I accidentally left my favorite Angels hat on a train in Rome. I was so bummed.

So some dude in Italy is wearing a sweet California Angels hat.

Or it has been turned into a place where he spits all his sunflower seeds to carry them to the trash later.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  2GA2Join

Bummer. Sorry to hear that.

Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago

I’d vote for the CA to be the road uni and Carew one you have to be the home uni. City Connect for the alternate. That would probably go over like a fart in church/elevator but would certainly be a nod to all the generations of Halo jerseys I’ve lived. I like the OG LA Angels and other ones a bit too but more for throw back once every year-ish

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

I like the CA logo/font, but not the blue tops.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

The CA uniforms were my favorite and in my opinion, the most classic looking.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

81-85 and the CA uniforms in the 90s prior to Disney are my two favorites. I like the old school font on the CA unis in the 90s. 79-86 was my favorite halo era as far as the team and players, should have been in two WS in 82 and 86. The 81-85 unis were clean and classy but my favorites were the pre-Disney ones in the 90s.

AnAngelsFan
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

I absolutely agree on 81-85 and early 90s being the best.

Angels2020Champs
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  JackFrost

We’ve had a few looks through the years, which is your favorite and why?

TrojanBoiler
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Interesting to see how everyone else feels about each jersey.

I really like Houston’s actually. Probably my second favorite after San Diego (although I agree it gives me Miami Vice vibes). Also like the Angels, Braves, Red Sox, and Mariners.

I can’t stand the ones that just look like normal jerseys. White Sox and the Dodgers are terrible. I would rather see an ugly attempt at something unique than not trying at all.

Fleckstein
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  TrojanBoiler

I hated the Boston ones

Marcotor
Trusted Member
9 months ago

Every time they wear those all I see is Nesbitt’s Orange Soda.

Marcotor
Trusted Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Marcotor

Like this

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