Almost Postgame

The preliminary stuff: Nolan Schanuel was a late scratch with a boo boo on one of his digits. Willie Calhoun started at second base instead. Both Matt Thaiss and Logan O’Hoppe were in the game. Matt Thaiss was the designated hitter. Jose Soriano was the starting pitcher. Clint Vondrak was the umpire behind the plate. Man! That guy should have a monocle and a falcon on his forearm.

Inning 1

The Angels were retired in order. It was two fly balls and a strikeout (Ward). The Mariners led off with a J.P. Crawford double. A base hit followed which only drove Crawford to third. Julio Rodriguez then walked to load ’em up. Cal Raleigh hit a sacrifice fly to put the Mariners up 1-0. Dominic Canzone lined out to center but Ty France hit one that bounced out of Pillar’s glove to score two more runs. 3-0 Mariners. They awarded France with a double. I will call Pillar “Almost.” Mitch Haniger struck out.

Inning 2

Willie Calhoun pop flied to left for the first out. Kevin “Almost” Pillar flied out to center. Logan O’Hoppe struck out. Am I detecting a pattern here? Two fly balls and a strikeout. Bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see how it pays off for ’em.

Luke Raley reached on a Luis Rengifo fielding error. Dylan Moore flied out to Kevin Pillar in right. Luke Raley stole second base without drawing a throw and then J.P. Crawford flied out. So did Josh Rojas.

Inning 3

Matt Thaiss singled but Zach Neto flied out. Luis Guillorme went ahead and hit into a double play to end the top of the third inning. Julio Rodriguez grounded out to short, as did Cal Raleigh. Dominic Canzone struck out.

Inning 4

Luis Rengifo grounded out while Mickey Moniak and Taylor Ward both flied out. Ty France singled and Mitch Haniger struck out. France made it to second on a wild pitch. Dylan Moore grounded out softly to Soriano.

Mickey Moniak made a cool catch in here somewhere.

Inning 5

Willie Calhoun didn’t waste any time grounding out to second. Everybody grounded out. That was messed up. J.P. Crawford doubled to begin the Seattle part of the fifth inning. Josh Rojas grounded out to the pitcher. Julio Rodriguez popped out but Cal Raleigh singled to drive in Crawford. 4-0 Mariners. Dominic Canzone popped out.

Inning 6

Matt Thaiss singled through to right on the ground while Zach Neto hit his single to left, also on the ground. Luis Guillorme managed to ground into a double play to keep it at 4-0 Mariners. Luis Rengifo lined out to short. Jose Soriano was still out there. Ty France walked. Mitch Haniger then singled which sent Ty France to third. Luke Raley made an out. He flied out to center. Woo hoo! Thankfully Dylan Moore grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Inning 7

Mickey Moniak struck out. Taylor Ward walked. Willie Calhoun doubled to right and Taylor Ward ended up at third. Kevin (Almost) Pillar reached on a fielder’s choice with Ward out at home. Logan O’Hoppe walked. Jo Adell hit a grand Slam. 4-4 tie. Zach Neto followed this up with a single. Unfortunately, Luis Guillorme continued his bad night with a strikeout. Luis Garcia came in to pitch. J.P. Crawford grounded out. Josh Rojas was hit by a pitch. Julio Rodriguez struck out then Cal Raleigh flied out.

Inning 8

Luis Rengifo flied out to second base. Mickey Moniak struck out swinging. Doh! Taylor Ward struck out looking. Matt Moore came in to pitch. He got Dominic Canzone to ground out to second. Then he got Ty France to homer on a fly ball to left. Wait. Does that mean it is 5-4 Mariners? Mitch Haniger grounded out. Luke Raley doubled to right. Thankfully, Dylan Moore struck out.

Inning 9

Willie Calhoun came in to face Andres Munoz. He struck out swinging. Kevin (Almost) Pillar singled on a grounder through to center. Logan O’Hoppe struck out looking. Jo Adell was batting, but it was moot because Almost got caught stealing second. The Mariners won this game 5-4 in a heartbreaker.

Photo credit: Rex Fregosi

51 Comments
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Eric_in_Portland
Legend
9 months ago

I’ve learned today that the White Sox are ineligible for the #1 pick in 2025 so that means we’re currently sitting second with only Miami being in a “better” position than us.

Yes, my concern now is for the lottery

tanana40
Super Member
9 months ago

The Angels finished 2-9 in one run games in May.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  tanana40

How’d we win 2?
It’s a miracle…

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

I looked them up. One was a comeback win against Pittsburgh, the other a 2-1 win over Houston with Anderson pitching

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago

comment image?w=620
Bullpens suck!!!
1971 Orioles=Success
Raisel Iglesias, Carlos Esteves, Robert Stephenson, plus the ill fated 2021 MLB Draft. Remember what that other smart guy (besides me) said about doing something stupid and expecting the same bad result!

Last edited 9 months ago by 2002heaven
Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  2002heaven

I didn’t know that (far right) Moe Szyslak pitched for the O’s back in the day.

IMG_2630.jpeg
Last edited 9 months ago by Twebur
steelgolf
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

He did, his strike out pitch was known as the “Flaming Moe”. True story.

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

comment image
Don’t invest in obsolete methods (bullpens)

Last edited 9 months ago by 2002heaven
FungoAle
Legend
9 months ago

Nice regional pitching matchup, Angel potential draftee, this AM, Chase Burns vs Trey Yesavage, The latter has the upper hand.

JJ, you on this game?

RexFregosi
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  FungoAle

Wake is baked.
Three Top 15 prospects = two-and-bbq

So definitely Yes to Yesavage

Big West holding on ok

RexFregosi
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

Pirate first basemen when they have a simple play at first on an infield grounder but contemplate going home 🤦‍♂️

RexFregosi
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

news flash- Wake is not baked, And Camden Minacci is happy

Good game – I liked Yesavage and he’s done with college

RexFregosi
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

Greenville Regional 🤯

FungoAle
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

Was stuck at Denver international airport this past Wednesday as planes were grounded due to wind conditions. Was sitting in a bar-restaurant and in came the West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team, about 7-9 players. Headed to the Arizona Regional. Was not too sure if JJ Wetherholt was one of them, felt it a bit corny to ask. I wanted to warn him about Arte in case he drops to the Angels laps. Wished them luck.

FungoAle
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

looks like he has recovered from the lung collapse just fine

Cowboy26
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  FungoAle

So maybe the Angels will draft him as This franchise sure knows a thing or 2 about collapses.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
9 months ago

This is the way, stay the course. Play the kids and the scraps (Pillar and friends) regardless of how ugly it gets.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago

Unfortunately it’s bad enough now, they don’t have a choice.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

I’ve said this before, but they’re so disingenuous it’s nauseating. Most people would have been fine if they came out before the season and said they wanted to put together a team that could make the post season while Trout was on it and the 1st step in that process was to evaluate their young players this year so that they could move forward intelligently next year. They may not win a lot this year but it will help them get ready to win next year. This would need to be followed by committing to putting a winning team on the field next year. It might even take 2 years. I realize I’m dreaming, but realistically, it didn’t matter how much you were willing to spend this year they were not going to win. I’m ok with what why’re doing as long as they follow it up next year with real progress. My personal opinion is that if Arte remains the owner, the team will not seriously attempt to be competitive until Rendon’s contract is off the books.

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

What’s there to evaluate concerning our young players?
Every year going back to HH before the pandemic hit, we’ve played our young players and they haven’t done the job. Anybody who has a speck of ability is already here (Schanuel, Neto, O’Hoppe, Soriano). That’s what happens when you go for quantity over quality and price over ability. We haven’t developed a great American HS player since #27 or Latin player since Ervin Santana and K-Rod.

Last edited 9 months ago by 2002heaven
Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  2002heaven

I’m not sure I even understand what you’re saying but since you knew which of the youngsters were going to pan out and which were not before the beginning of the season please tell us who they were now so we can compare to how they’re actually performing and then compare again to the end of the season so we can see if you were correct without having this season to evaluate them. Either that or everyone of them but O’hoppe and Moniak would have been in the minors this year based on their previous performance and Jo Adell would have been released. I don’t know how they will look by the end of the season. It made sense to do this because we weren’t going to win this year anyway.

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Roy Hobbs

Moniak and O’Hoppe came over from the Phillies.
Both are American HS players BTW, something we’ve proven that we just can’t develop these young under 21 yr olds anymore. Moniak can still play good outfield defense and has good foot speed if he gets on base. He is what he is already, at those point and I just don’t think he’ll get much better.
The answer to your question is we just don’t have anybody who is in our farm system now (MLB Pipeline said we’re the only team without a single player in the TOP 100!). Jo Adell first came up in 2020 also Matt Thaiss has already been around as well. Billy Eppler other than Ohtani was a trainwreck as our GM.

Last edited 9 months ago by 2002heaven
Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  2002heaven

I would agree.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago

I’m all for it considering the circumstances and the roster.

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

They’ve been “playing the kids” since opening day. Half the lineup and our entire rotation, save for Anderson, is comprised (or is that composed?) of the kids.

The only difference is that the vets we counted on (Trout, Rendon & Drury) are injured and we’ve gone dumpster diving to fill the void.

Basically any kid in the organization worth playing is playing and has been playing since March 30th.

Roy Hobbs
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Charles Sutton

Composed is the right term for banned.

RexFregosi
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

Sad to look at list of top 10 AL ROY candidates and not see Schanuel on it.

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  RexFregosi

He doesn’t hit the ball with authority
He’s 6ft 4in and keeps barely blooping the ball over the infield. He should be smoking missiles into the seats or down the corners. Right now he’s a big David Fletcher. 😥  😡 

2002heaven
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

Sounds like we’re stuck in 2018-2019 over Halos Heaven
Did Billy Eppler ever leave as our GM?

FungoAle
Legend
9 months ago

Yes. Just one more step in the plan, move the tradeable assets.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago

Rebuilding won’t matter unless they can learn to manage players health better. Everyone deals with injuries, but the Angels seem, like many things, to be deficient and near the bottom.

Right-hander Sam Bachman (shoulder surgery) came out of his first rehab outing on Thursday after three batters because of neck tightness. Bachman reported he was feeling “better” on Friday, according to the Angels’ medical report. His next outing is to be determined. …

Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) pitched three scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, on Friday in the Arizona Complex League. It was the first outing of his rehab assignment. …

Infielder Miguel Sanó (left knee inflammation) has been cleared for baseball activity, although he hasn’t yet returned to play in minor league games. Sanó’s rehab assignment was put on hold because of a burn on his leg from a heating pad. …

Last edited 9 months ago by Twebur
clover_black
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

We are tanking without rebuilding.

I’ll give it to the FO at least they got half of it right.

Senator_John_Blutarsky
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

Is Sano going Amish now and staying away from electricity?

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago

Angels are the only team in MLB that offers its young and injured players rumspringa. Very progressive.

Pineapple12
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

sooooo … playoffs ?

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

Bachman is perilously close to becoming one of those players that never “arrive” because he can’t stay healthy for more than 30 seconds. Injuries suck.

halofansince1978
Super Member
9 months ago

Will the good Detmers please show up tonight.

Pineapple12
Super Member
9 months ago

No-hitter loading…

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago

Adell had a nice moment. Good for him. Soriano had a workmanlike start. Not much else.

Looking forward to Trout returning & seeing what we do at the deadline.

UFC302 tomorrow night. Top 2 fights are really good.

Pineapple12
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

We are all rooting for Dustin (until he gets choked out by Islam).

Mickey played some incredible defense last night. Too bad he’s become a pumpkin with the bat.

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Pineapple12

Just hoping beyond hope that Dustin can keep it on the feet long enough to maybe locate Islam’s chin.

Islam is probably the best fighter on the planet at this moment. Grappling, control, excellent striking, high fight IQ, disciplined, etc etc etc. The only potential chink in the armor is his chin….

Pineapple12
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

That or Dustin somehow connects with a knee when Islam shoots for the takedown.

We know once it gets to the floor it’s over — see Dustin vs Khabib and Charles.

Twebur
Legend
9 months ago
Reply to  BannedInLA

Competitive.

Bend, frequently break, but not collapsing. Something to be said for that.

*This opinion does not include the 1st inning.

BannedInLA
Super Member
9 months ago
Reply to  Twebur

Sure. He had a rough 1st and the game had all the makings of a laugher, but he battled and gave the club six innings.

Mickey needs more at bats for the same reason that Adell is playing everyday.

Marcotor
Trusted Member
9 months ago

We lost because:

The International Umpire Conspiracy to Only Screw the Angels.
Perry is stupid.
Arte is cheap.
Washington is the worst manager in the history of baseball.
The coaching staff is the worsiest evah.

Pick any combination you like, rinse, repeat. Ignore players failing to execute while more than a couple are still learning the game. Nope, players are perfect, and if they are not it’s because of any two choices above. It’s always someone else who is at fault.

Last edited 9 months ago by Marcotor
John Henry Weitzel
Editor
Super Member
9 months ago

sigh

FungoAle
Legend
9 months ago

Small consolation but the Rockies beat the Dodgers

Eric_in_Portland
Legend
9 months ago

We’re on a pace to win 59 and change but the good news is it rounds up to 60.

Tonight we had some bright spots. Soriano should develop into a valuable starter and Jo brought fire.