Trading Taylor Ward for a pitcher only to turn around and pick a corner outfielder from free agency would be a very Angels move. They don’t seem to like spending big on free agent pitchers who still have something left in the tank. Troll question of the day: would hiring Justin Verlander for one year at $20 Million be a typical Angels move?
So now Logan O’Hoppe got his first full season under his belt and he knows what to expect going forward. He was apparently dealing with some knee soreness down the stretch but he ended strong.
Bleacher report says the Angels will probably dodge the bullet represented by spending stupid money for Pete Alonso. They think he will stay in Queens.
Fernando Valenzuela passed away at the young age of 63 years old.
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn had a minor surgery to remove a cyst from his hand. It is not expected to affect his off season. In other Cardinals news, they hired Brant Brown to be their hitting coach and Robert Cerfolio as Assistant GM. The Astros will be hiring Tony Perezchica as their third base coach.
Oh. Somebody just paid about $4.4 Million for a baseball.
The automated strike zone should arrive to MLB within 4 years, says Rob Manfred.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Damn it Perry! YOU DO NOT LET A GENERATIONAL NEED LIKE WANTZ GO FOR NOTHING! I am so tired of cheap Arte and this clown org! I so hurr durrr!
Solar Sox 4 Scorpions 1 WE WIN!!
Next game manana vs Javelinas.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/solar-sox-vs-javelinas/2024/10/25/787598/preview
R.I.P. Rudy May.
he was good and a key rotation arm
I find it odd that he is remembered more as a Yankee than an Angel, he was pretty good.
I have his autograph on a baseball that I also had Rick Burleson sign. He said he was a pretty good pitcher
Saw him pitch many times. He would have fit right in with our current club. He was notorious for being dominant for 3-4 innings and then falling apart. He pitched much better for the Yankees than he did for us. I enjoyed watching him pitch though.
The entire 2024-25 Free Agent list.
https://www.mlb.com/news/2024-25-mlb-free-agents-by-position
The players we chose from is much deeper than the MLB free agent listing. The Platypus also shops for minor league free agents, Mexican League free agents, undrafted free agents, California Penal League, retirement list, hospitals and public health clinics.
Don’t forget the dumpster crew!!
I loved Nishiogawakun’s question yesterday: “How old were you when you became an Angels fan?” It really got me thinking about my own story, so I thought I would share it today since no one reads yesterday’s comments except for me!
I grew up following the Big Red Machine and the Dodgers of the 70s because my stepfather would take me to games. I always liked Tommy Lasorda’s style; small ball and gritty play. The American League always seemed more about the big swings to me. But when Scioscia came over to the Angels, I saw that same grit he brought from the Dodgers, and it reminded me of the Reds and Dodgers teams I loved.
I started paying attention more and more. Soon, I was going to games, and before I knew it, the players and the stadium had me hooked. For a while, I stayed a fan of both the Reds and Angels, but the Reds eventually faded for me. The Angels just felt like my team. I guess sometimes you do not choose your team, they find you.
Gambling on Sports….
I’m not in favor of sports betting, especially when it comes to baseball. I’ve seen how it can ruin lives, like a personal story where a family lost everything due to a gambling addiction. It’s heartbreaking, and it makes me uneasy seeing big corporations and casinos sponsor the sport I love. Baseball is about strategy, skill, and history, not a quick fix or a bet on an outcome. Casinos take advantage of the elderly, slowly draining their savings. I personally lost a relationship to a woman whose mother had her house paid off, then gave it to the casino for free rooms, dinners and endless nights of pushing a button on a slot machine. That woman now knows she lost a good relationship as well as her home, to her mother’s gambling. It feels wrong for MLB to profit off something that preys on vulnerability.
well i was born in Los Angeles County in mid-December 1960………….
its six weeks till the franchise and me turns 64
will you still need me? will you still feed me?
There is a user on the car guy forums I frequent with an avatar of WhenIm64.
I get it… too lengthy, but it’s those stories that I love about baseball.
Opening Day 1961, Wrigley Field, I was 8 yrs old. It was a warm day with seats in the sun and the bench seating with sticky paint on our Sunday best for the celebration with mom going nuts with 4 of her 7 kids laughing, learning, and eating having a blast until she saw the humor in it all. Dad pointing out all the players he knew, and we all had a blast. When the team moved over the following season to Dodgers Stadium we went to a lot of games because Dad loved the American League being from New York and the tix were cheaper too. we always sat second level third base side. It’s fun to reminisce as those were enjoyable times. Thank you for bringing it up.
Until age 10, I lived in Santa Ana (down the street from Foothill High, if you know where that is). Therefore, the Angels were my team.
I moved to LA when I was 10, but I kept the faith.
Weave yes,,,roid boy NO!! Weaver can teach the young ones how to pitch like an All Star.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/angels-news/2-mlb-legends-hanging-out-with-angels-at-instructional-league-01ja6j89vxz5
Hi yall!
Does your mind ever wonder like mine into an alternate universe where Trout, Ohtani and Rendone actually worked out like Ohtani, Betts, Freeman or Judge, Soto, Stanton?
Aw Yes, the if they could stay Healthy Wish.
It started in the Garrett Richards/Matt Shoemaker days of wishing that our pitchers could stay Healthy. If only our pitching staff could stay Healthy? Angels pitchers would drop like flies. Jealous of the Notorious reputation for pitching injuries the position players started to drop like flies.
And here we are today with a good combo of both on the IL. Tommy John has put his Stamp on the Angels and Dr Nick is our best bud. I’d list names like Chris Rodriguez and Tyler Skaggs (self inflicted fatal injury) but the list would never end.
Maybe we would have a plethora of Playoff appearances. The Dream of a Healthy Trout, Ohtani, Rendon and supporting cast could have produced a few WS berths. SoCal and West Coast baseball would be the story lines today.
Health is not the Angel way. Even our Young core have health concerns.
Some believe Arte is our biggest problem. Maybe a more expensive medical staff would help. Maybe players taking better care of themselves in the offseason vs taking the offseason off would help. Poor Pujols never could do that with offseason surgeries every year. Yes Arte is to blame but Health is the Angels Kryptonite.
Kendrys morales injury derailed the angels franchise. He was supposed to be their next big thing at 1st. That injury after hitting a walk off is wild and made arte want to sign pooholes.
I, 100% agree with you on the Morales assessment. Had he not gotten hurt I believe he would have been the first baseman that would have allowed the team to avoid the Pujols debacle. What could have been…
Yes, the day the music died….
It should have happened, Sadly injuries kept that trio from ever forming any team chemistry. Throw in our hopeful ace Garret Richards blowing out his arm and that added pitching doom for a few early years. We are the opposite of the Dodgers, everyone they get, even older guys that suck magically play better (cept Thor).
Having Rendon, Trout, and Ohtani all producing on the Angels would indeed be fantastic, but it would only address part of the problem. The team still lacks pitching depth, which has been a critical weakness for years. While a strong core of hitters is great, a competitive team needs solid pitching and a healthy minor league system to remain consistent over time.
Without those, even if the stars are firing on all cylinders, the Angels might struggle to contend. Building a competitive team usually means filling in around those stars with reliable arms, better player development, and creating a sustainable farm system. A productive Trout, Ohtani, and Rendon could have attracted better talent or allowed the team to invest in pitching, but as we’ve seen, focusing too much on just a few players doesn’t guarantee success.
IMHO, Logan O’Hoppe was overused in the catcher position, period. Having a sore knee comes as no surprise as you could see it coming back in June as he was given little rest even with Thaiss to spell him. Sore knee on a catcher is paramount to sore elbow or shoulder on a pitcher.
Both Trouty and O’Hoppe should work out together with a First Baseman’s glove over the next few months and thru Spring Training, it will keep their bats in the lineup and save overuse of body parts possibly.
While Thaiss is not an everyday catcher, he is still a decent backup who was underused in order to save O’Hoppe some wear and tear.
Agree that Logan was overworked. Looking forward we need a legit backup catcher because Thaiss is not good.
Would be a wise decision. Move Schanuel to the OF. Trout needs to play and follow the path of Harper and pick up 1B to prolong his playing career.
I hope Perry sticks to his guns and makes Rendone earn his spot back or just move on.
This team needs an organization overhaul. Go back to baseball basics with solid coaching top to bottom, scouting and medical staff. Bring back the team culture vs marketing only. Winning brings the people. Plus they need some help in the staying healthy.
Schanuel is too slow to play OF, that would be an absolute mess.
Out of the box question: Does anybody think Schanuel could be a backup catcher? We’ve already seen the Thaiss sucks card played.
I don’t know if he’s smart and I don’t know if he can pop up and throw a laser to second.
Overused? Johnny Bench laughs at the perspective.
Scioscia too.
I may be biased but I think he was the greatest in my lifetime.
Pitching five innings per start for 25 starts and then becoming a free agent and signing for 25 mil for 5 more seasons, Fernando laughs at that too, batting .300 with 120 hits and fans thinking you’re great, Pete Rose would laugh, but there are exceptions, and the position of catcher is tough on the knees. Johnny Bench was one of the two or three best ever at playing catcher, but it caught up with him too. Bench to me was the greatest ever as although I too am getting older and never saw Dickey or Cochrane or Berra in their prime, they all caught a lot per season, but only Berra moved to LF so he could still bat. With O’Hoppe, he is a serviceable catcher and is not a natural behind the plate, his future is not really as a Catcher imho, and needs to share the duties with another to stay healthy and sharp. Like pitching, there is not enough good to great catchers around to give each team a catcher that can hit and field and call the game to go around. So Senator, I’d vote for finding a very good backup that field and PH when called upon to help out behind the plate. 😃
Thaiss is not good. That’s why he did not play much
I’m a firm believer your backup catcher needs to be strong defensively.
He sure does a lot of catcher interference.
R.I.P. Fernando, you will always be forever remembered. 😥
Charles troll question, Verlander would just be stupid money spent, and I doubt he would want to join a rebuilding and losing team anyway. 🤓
Can’t help but to think that 4.4 mil ball person has to be connected to Ohtani himself. What is that to someone raking in millions like him.
I bet the under, my Ippei inter voice directing me…. 🙃
I looked Ippei up just to see where he is at with the charges…not good.
Convicted of one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return. The Justice Department said Mizuhara has admitted he owes more than $1.1 million in taxes for 2022 and the IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating.
The sentence for bank fraud is up to 30 years in federal prison while filing a false tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison. Mizuhara could be deported as he is not a United States citizen, the plea agreement and the US attorney’s office said.
Am I wrong on this. You can murder someone and get way less than 30 years and isn’t the only person actually defrauded Ohtani? Oh, and there are people who have failed to pay way more than 1.1M in taxes and they’re still walking around. Not saying he shouldn’t be punished, just seems like a lot of irony.
I’m absolutely convinced there will be a big fat check waiting for him.
It’s only 4.3 million to him.
112 days until pitchers and catcher report to Tempe.
But how many days till we start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Which Perry signing does it? Does Perry come out Guns a Blazin with a Tyler Andersen type early signing? Do the Winter Meetings do anything but talk for us this year? Does the draft position in the Rule 5 excite us? Do we have to wait till Spring starts?
Early vs Winter vs Spring?
I’m going to take Winter for me. Winter Meetings have been boring but I believe I’ll get all warm and fuzzy about the Angels around that time. Christmas helps a lot.
I was warm and fuzzy about my 2025 Angels on September 29th.
It doesn’t matter what they do this off season…we will be horrible.
2025 Tank model…..more comfortable ride.
https://x.com/ClownWorld_/status/1848857479469555738