A home and home series to determine whether the White Sox set an all time MLB futility record or the Angels set a franchise futility record kicked off this week and it was a nail biter. A resounding White Sox win on Monday night was followed by a solid Angels win on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the clubs proved just how close they are to each other in a 13 inning affair won on a Jordyn Adams walk off single.
So that’s one game each and one game decided by the thinnest of margins. We’re not the White Sox, but we aren’t too far away from them, either.
Sliding into home plate in that clip above is local boy made good Eric Wagaman. I love late season call ups and getting to watch guys finally fulfill their MLB dreams. I was in the stands when lifelong Angels fan got his first career knock. The fact it was off Justin Verlander made it even sweeter. Small sample size and all, but Wagaman has been solid in his short time in the bigs.
Also looking really nice in limited MLB time is Jack “Silent C” Kochanowicz, who extended his run of impressive outings on Wednesday. He should get a few more starts at the big league level but so far he’s clearly punching a ticket to big league camp in Tempe next season.
And Silent C might have some decent competition in Tempe. Newly acquired George Klassen racked up an impressive 2024 campaign and is pegged as the Angels Breakout Prospect for 2025.
And will those guys have competition from Jose Suarez? Dude couldn’t look more fixed if he walked out of a vasectomy clinic.
Klassen isn’t the only first round pick pitcher from the Midwest in the Angels organization. Sam Bachman has been on the mend this season but did complete his bachelor’s degree over the winter. I saw him pitch a AAA game in Sacramento last month and while his velocity was down, particularly early in the game, his command looked better from my seat. Bachman’s numbers in AAA are not good and his velocity is still down, but I did find this interesting tidbit while looking him up.
In case you’re wondering about the state of the Angels minor league teams, well not much has changed since we were last at every level except AA.
Salt Lake is destined to finish in last place.
Rocket City has a losing record but will finish ahead of what must be a God-awful Reds affiliate.
Tri City finished dead last in the Northwest League.
Our local boys in Rancho Cucamonga are the highlight of the farm, finishing the year with a record of 65-65. Edit: Nope, our Inland Empire 66ers finished in last place.
Once again I feel like Dean Wormer reading the grade point averages to the Deltas.
To avoid ending on a bad note, take a look at first round pick Christian Moore.
And one more reminder that Zach Neto is a stud.
From around baseball:
Congratulations to the NL Central champions Milwaukee Brewers. Seeing 90 year old Bub Uecker celebrate with Jackson Chourio was a joy. I’d love to see Bob’s Brew Crew win the whole thing just once in his life.
The Orioles couldn’t fix Craig Kimbrel and had to cut him loose.
Jose Altuve had one of the most bizarre ejections in MLB history. Sadly, the miniature cheater was in the right.
While it hurts to see this in a blue uniform, Shohei Ohtani is a brilliant baseball player and the history he made yesterday is incredible.
Not only did he hit the 50/50 mark he had one of the greatest individual games in MLB history. Considering this was the first game he played with a chance to reach the post season, it makes you wonder what could have been had the Angels built a decent team around him.
All that said I hope Ohtani and crew get swept in the first round of the playoffs again.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. My son turned 7 this week and we will spend Saturday celebrating him. I swear ages 4 to 7 went by in about a month. We’re taking Fall Ball off and will hit the diamond again next Spring. For those of you returning to the field, enjoy.
