Those two bozo Yankee fans who grabbed Mookie Betts glove in the World Series are now banned from all MLB events in perpetuity. That’s a really long time.
The Toronto Blue Jays signed closer Jeff Hoffman to a three year deal. The Orioles had a problem with his physical.
Right-hander Jake Woodford got a minor league deal with the Rockies. Armando Alvarez got a minor league deal with the Twins. First baseman Garrett Cooper got his minor league deal with the Braves.
Scott Servais got a job as a Special Assistant with the Padres.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Gawd. I’m listening to Padre fans desperation for Sasaki right now. They are gonna be so bummed when he “shockingly” signs with the blue team that just won a title, can pay him a billion dollars in a couple years, is close to Japan, has been clearing it’s Intl FA budget, and has the Japanese fan market cornered. It’s almost as if they already had an agreement with him but he had to go get dinner bought for him by a few other teams first. But we will likely be assured this was not the case as soon as he signs.
Sasaki going anywhere other than LAD would be the upset of the year.
As a competitor, hard for me to want to sign where my contributions would be marginalized. Which is exactly what will occur if he signs with a team who is already set to play in the WS.
I can get that. It would also be fun to beat the behemoth head to head.
Exactly. I’d love for him to be a Padre but this was over before it started. Maybe just maybe they’ll get the Dodgers to trade for an extra million in international money or something.
I wonder which of their prospects they might dangle for the dough. That is what Perry and the other GMs should be eyeing.
How does a ban work if nobody is enforcing it? All these dudes have to do is print their tickets out and go to the game, nobody is going to recognize them.
“indefinitely” does not mean “in perpetuity”. It’ll probably end up a 1 or 2 year ban.
I was gonna say those two jerks look recognizably stupid but then…other Skank fans could be mistaken for them.
It’s really nothing more than a ban from buying tickets directly using a credit card or other form of identification. I can’t imagine some person at the gate holding up mugshots as people enter the stadium.
By announcing the “ban”, the authorities are only incentivizing those idiots to gain entry by any means possible.
I believe the real teeth is that they are trespassing if they enter an MLB facility so any further unruly behavior could result in trouble with the law.
Giants and Yanks are out of the Roki sweepstakes.
Betting line favorite has always been LA with SD the consensus backup so this isn’t huge news other than to the international prospects of those clubs.
Cubs DFA’d a reliever with great stuff, no command, and two option years.
As a rebuilding team with Victor Mederos on the 40 man roster, I’d grab this kid and see if some AA magic happens. Pure upside play but we need a couple of those.
AA? Let’s give this guy a big league bullpen spot right now.
he’ll fit right in here.
Yeah. Some may say “This is the kind of move our team makes” and be snarly about it, but I think we are totally at a point currently where we can take flyers on upside. Fails? Oh no, we will finish fourth. But if we hit on a couple we have found some cheap pieces.
is a special assistant special enough to wear a uniform?
All I know is the more special assistant and Presidents of Things you have on the payroll the more dedicated you are to being a big winner.
wonder how the JeDi-Servais bromance divorced, amicably or a bitch fight?
How could you NOT punch this face?
LOL
Just a thought. Seeing as how taking over islands belonging to allied nations is a thing now, could MLB buy Devil’s Island from French Guiana and use it as a holding tank for people that interfere with baseballs in play? Seems appropriate to me.
Let’s chill on this.
I know I made a comment yesterday that brushed the taboo subject so I’ll call myself out here too.
Baseball in Greenland is called Anaalerooq.
https://youtu.be/G0G4ca4sFjc
I hear evil Arte will start scouting and claiming a foothold in Greenland and The Dutch Farmlands. Those kids looked like they can run the bases better than us. Does Greenland have good LOBster?Their hitting needs work.
That’s cool. I hadn’t thought about games in Greenland.
Pretty cool how most cultures have some type of stick and ball game. The “I bet you can’t throw it past me” thing is pretty universal.
I’m pretty sure I’m the best swordsman on this site. But I can’t cast spells for shit.
Only if they can pitch.
Per mlb.com our top international signee…you all might not agree.
Angels: Joswa Lugo, SS (No. 6)
Lugo has likely surpassed Nelson Rada, even though he’s currently behind the outfielder on the current Angels Top 30. No. 37 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 international list at the start of the 2024 signing period, Lugo joined the Angels for $2.3 million. He had a strong debut in the Dominican Summer League (.301/.370/.466), and as a bigger infielder with a lot of pop who might eventually need to slide to third, he reminds some tools-wise of the Reds’ Noelvi Marte.
Taylor Blake Ward recently said Rada looks like a Denard Span type player.
I don’t know which one is better but I’ve been meaning to put these Rada highlights in weekend links:
https://x.com/trashpandas/status/1853531640359694418?s=46&t=e2madw4iRuMhY-mGsL6oCA
I’d take that in a minute.
Obviously Rada’s hit tool suffered greatly playing AA this year but considering he was only 18 years old for most of the season against a league with an average age of closer to 24 years old ( he did not face one pitcher his age or younger last year) he has time to develop properly if the Angels haven’t destroyed his psyche already.
Lugo is 18 months younger and played for the Angels in the short season Dominican Summer League amassing less than 1/2 of the Plate Appearances Rada received. While the Dominican Summer League Angels were one of the few of the organization’s teams which actually went to the playoffs, obviously it is a much much inferior league in terms of talent and age level. Of course How many of these DSL hot young prospects ever make it beyond low A?
Rada played center at a spring training game I attended last year. He definitely looked like a kid out there.
A fast kid with good routes to the ball.
Span would be an INCREDIBLE outcome.
We’re talking a career of 28 WAR.
It all depends on how well a prospect responds to eating nothing but beets and turnips while sleeping on the floor.
Ol’CheapnEvil!
I’ll have a double wish sandwich please.
Air biscuits, with ketchup.
Roki Sasaki has until 1/23 to sign with a team. It won’t be us, but it could be us!
Strong winds, albeit less strong than last week, returning this week. Stay safe, LA.
CMo punishes meatball off loser, Tr*** Ba***. I’ve watched it at least 50 times lol
https://x.com/trashpandas/status/1878507872067141964?t=GgwFArkxrucUHjSAoeyzhA&s=19
C – Logan O’Hoppe
1B – Nolan Schanuel
2B – Christian Moore
SS – Zach Neto
3B – Ethan Holliday
OF – Mike Trout
OF – Jo Adell
OF –
DH – Vlad Jr.
If Washington takes Holliday, plug Jace LaViolette in that 3rd OF spot. Either way — need it, need it bad.
I watched the whole video… They had 10 at bats,, Moore struck out like 3 -4 times. A few groundouts , a double and that homer. Moore really struggled with high fastball and the curve. Like really struggled. I was watching that and I’m thinking he needs a whole season in AAA to pick up on veterans who know how to pitch and not just throw. Moore seems like a future 6 batter at his best. He’s going to be the opposite of Schanuel, all power and less contact.
K% rate is a concern, no doubt
Against a pitcher like Bauer, that plays for me. But yes, definitely needs some time in AAA.
Along with questionable defense.
I don’t think Moore seems like anything but a newly drafted kid. I agree, there’s no reason to rush him. He has a ton of potential but I don’t see how anyone can realistically expect him to go from the SEC, to a handful of AA at bats, to handling Devin Williams. Who does that? .001% of prospects?
Just bring him into camp. Let him get some video against upper level/mlb arms. Then send him to Madison and let him do some work. Field a little too. There’s no hurry, we aren’t simping for unicorns this year.
How we getting both Pineapple?
#2 pick = Holliday/LaViolette
I’ve been on the Vlad Jr. 🚉 for quite some time, and believe Arte is on it as well.
He’ll be 27 years old at the start of the 2026 season donning a Halo uni. Depending on how he performs this year, I’ll say we nab him in FA for 12 years, $450-500 mill.
Vlad Jr. will get ludicrous money – at least $600M. Arte may claim to “make a bid” and “be competitive”, but Vlad has too many options that can bring him more fame and fortune.
I may be wrong, but Arte and Vlad Sr. have a solid relationship, right?
King Arte will break the bank for the prodigal son’s return.
I’ve been dreaming a bit on Jr too.
And I actually think his lack of defense brings his price down.
Jr. wants to go back to 3rd too 😂😂😂
Not sure on the Vlad – Arturo bromance, I guess it could be real.
Man. Paying Vlad JR for 12 years…. that’s like marrying a 29 year old stripper with no pre-nup. There is NO WAY Vlad doesn’t become a very jiggly and demanding DH only player at some point and we shouldn’t be paying THAT 35M a year.
Spot on. Now batting for your Los Angeles Angels – Kandie Kane!
Walk up music: Cherry Pie by Warrant.
Thanks for picking up what I was laying down. I had a couple of roommates who worked at Patty Murphy’s in Santa Ana when I was in my early 20s. I was already engaged to my current wife and they would boiling strippers in the hot tub 3-4 nights a week after the club closed. It was way less fun than one would imagine as strippers have issues and I always needed to wake for work a few hours later.
Awesome. I promoted a club in Sacramento that was a late night spot open 11 pm to 5 am in the shitty part of town that also allowed strip clubs.
When the strip clubs closed a lot of the dancers would come to our club then our after parties.
And I need to stop typing now ha ha.
How’d you guys deal with the 2AM-6AM ABC booze ban?
Hood ornament: Tawny Kitaen (the former Mrs. Chuck Finley) gyrating on the hood of the car.
To be fair, he’s already fairly jiggly haha.
Jr. was supposed to be here, until JeDi decided to sabotage us with the Baldoquin signing.
Vlad Jr. will be coming home.
Doubtful, but really enjoy your positive vibes with Vlad Jr and Sasaki. Most Angel FA transactions seems like more of nothing, or No news is good news. It sure would be nice to have those two.
We are getting what we wanted here. There’s a notable lack of “big splash” the last couple off seasons. We used to beg for this. It’s good. Even when Rendon is done and Trout’s only got a few years of being a millstone left on our payroll I hope we stick with this to some degree.
When the team looks more complete it will be nice to have the relatively high income the team’s got. We can extend players we want to keep. We can go after those last couple “get over the hump” free agents. But I hope to never be in a position where we are paying three mega contract sized yearly salaries at a time again. We just aren’t the Dodgers.
We know Arte likes to spend. So I’m fairly confident that he’ll go after big FAs in earnest when it matters. Like, if we were an 84 win team this winter he’d have gone after Fried and Santander…
Oh do not fear Crashers theres still plenty of time to make a big splash and derail our tepid rebuild plans
The timing for a big splash might line up nicely with the rebuild as well.
Let’s take some hopium and say Moore develops a bit this year and the trade deadline nets us some nice returns for Rengifo, Anderson, and perhaps Ward.
We’ll have Mr. #2 draft pick (and hopefully #46) added as well.
At that time the future could look bright enough to justify a Vlad Jr. or Kyle Tucker one year early but if we wait just one more year, that talent above should be ready as Rengifo is off the books.
And looked completely overmatched for 30some other pitches.
Is “Special Assistant” code for potential replacement if we fire the manager?
It’s the same as being Vice President….