Happy Monday!
LA Angels Monday DIY Links
62 Comments
Super Member
17 days ago
I’m just saying more than likely MLB empires got an email and the on deck circle will be enforced.
Editor
Legend
Trusted Member
17 days ago
This is Communist thinking. Americans always play to win, even though it makes us lose. (A bit of sarcasm here,)
Trusted Member
17 days ago
I do think the waiver wire is a good place to pick up talent, two times a year. End of season when the contenders had to pull up prospects trying to win. Also teams have to add back the IL guys at year and add any Rule 5 prospects they want to protect. And at the end of ST when other teams have to finalize their rosters.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
But the Athletics have 50 on their 40 counting injuries. So they may have their own roster crunch on November.
Member
17 days ago
Sorry to nitpick but the Angels have not clinched the 3rd worst record. The Giants can still pass us, right? And that would suck if they do, even though they can’t pick above 10th.
Legend
17 days ago
Excellent article Jeff. Possible waiver wire pick ups could net them more solid role players with a chip on their shoulder, ala Wade Meckler.
Super Member
17 days ago
Dropping 2 to the A’s and then taking 3 from the Mariners should be perfect.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
It’s a point of pride that the Halos have never lost 100. For me it’s not worth it for a slot higher on the waiver wire or a 1 slot higher draft in the second round.
if they can end up with 99 wins and worst in the league, I’m fine with it.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
BA names Jake Munroe Minor League POY for the Angels…
Editor
Legend
17 days ago
the more I watch Munroe the more I like him. Not going to be the huge slugging third baseman but a line drive guy who makes steady contact is still huge for this lineup.
Super Member
17 days ago
If the glove is good and arm is strong and I’m cool with a hitter like that
Legend
17 days ago
Kikuchi tonight. He might also pitch the season ending game. We’ll get to see Detmers, Wally, GrayRod, Johnson, Sori one more time
Author
Super Member
17 days ago
I don’t think there’s a game today.
Legend
17 days ago
Thanks. I looked for LAA, not realizing how light the schedule is today. Just 3 games total.
Editor
Legend
17 days ago
So I’ll take post game, ha ha.
Super Member
17 days ago
From the Daily Bulletin: Angels go from worst to 5-th best walk rate.
On the day the Angels fired pitching coach Mike Maddux last month, they had the worst walk rate in the majors, at 11.1%
Since then, they are fifth-best, at 7.7%.
There have been five games this season in which the Angels didn’t issue a single walk, and four of them have been since Leveque took over on Aug. 11. Two of them have been in the last week.
Before Leveque, Angels pitchers threw strikes with 62% of their pitches, which ranked 29th in the majors. Since then, they are at 65.2%, which is third. The Angels ranked dead last in the majors in first-pitch strikes (58.5%) before Leveque, and since then they rank fifth (63.2%).
Legend
17 days ago
I wonder what the offense would have done had we got rid of Brady Anderson.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
Probably little change unless Leveque can hit.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
The same. The stats show that we had/have pitching talent. I don’t think the same for the offense .
Member
17 days ago
That’s incredible that only 3.2 percent separates 3rd from 29th for strike percentage.
Legend
17 days ago
Man, how did we get through a whole day without someone busting out crying about both Judge and Ohtini being hurt?
Is baseball even worth it anymore?
It actually bugs me because I want to see the Rays or Brewers knock the Doyers down…. or hell, dream big, the Guardindians. But now if they do it it will be because Ohtani was hurt…. cause the Doyers haven’t bought all the other players, it’s just Shoehei and a pile of scrubs.
Legend
17 days ago
Can Mike Trout get a Silver Slugger? I think so.
Legend
17 days ago
Dbacks have a better record than at least half the AL teams but will miss the playoffs
Legend
17 days ago
Phillies close out with MIL and TB- pretty brutal wow
Legend
17 days ago
No. 8. If Sal Stewart, 1-behind Burleson (who had him on their bingo card?) and PCA and Alonso looming from behind, can win the MLB RBI chase, he’d only 1 of 3 major leaguers ever to win the RBI title as a rookie. Last happened in 1950.
I enjoy tuning in for exclusive rarity achievements.
Super Member
17 days ago
Verlander final start. Yawn? Man I’d love to be able to be there.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
Arte can buy himself a nice pocket watch on his way out.
Legend
17 days ago
To show how bad the AL West has been this season:
At 60-96 the Angels are “only” 18 games out of 1st in the AL West
In the AL East they would be 35 (essentially double) games out of 1st.
This was an opportunity year in the AL West and the fact that the Halos will end up losing somewhere near 100 games in that Division (after playing 1/3 of their games within the AL West) really speaks to how crappy they are.
Editor
Legend
17 days ago
I spent a game a few weeks ago talking with a guy from the Sporting Tribune to see if we could create a team from the entire AL West that would be on par with the Dodgers, Brewers, or Rays and we had a tough time.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
That might be the best case for a salary cap/floor that I’ve heard in a long time.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
Cap/floor isn’t why the Dodgers built a top level farm system, though. Certainly they threw some money at scouting, etc., but others with far less money have also top level farm systems. And there are orgs like Arte ran that did not spend on scouting or farm to the same level.
I think it says more about the bad season the AL West has had.
Super Member
17 days ago
I’d sure love to see Yordan hitting behind Trout.
Legend
17 days ago
What we all don’t want…is for BOTH Houston and the Rangers to make the postseason. We’re stuck with one and hope it stays that way.
Super Member
18 days ago
Editor
Legend
17 days ago
Rada has still received the overwhelming majority of CF appearances at Salt Lake – 90 this season – but they’ve been testing Raudi Rodriguez out there a bit more in Aug/Sept. 20 starts to date.
I doubt it’s an indictment of Rada’s CF defense as much as stretching out Raudi to see if he can play all OF spots in a future reserve role (probably as soon as 2027).
Editor
Legend
17 days ago
This was a season, btw, that it would have been really nice to see Rada given a couple months in CF/LF in Anaheim over guys like Siri, Lowe and Paris – as SLC is really no laboratory to sensibly evaluate him.
He basically has two liabilities – he struggles to hit LHP, and he has very little over-the-fence power. He can, however, lace doubles around the field and is very selective at the plate, taking his walks. He steals plenty of bases at reasonable efficiency.
Whether he can do all that vs MLB pitching is an open question, and one the team can only assess by giving him a 150-200 PAs to try.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
As mentioned before, I have not watched many games but his speed makes up very quickly for some slow reads off the bat. If all he does is cover centerfield like a MLB player, he should start in the majors next season. Probably the team ERA will drop 0.25 just having someone catch those “singles” and keeping singles from becoming “doubles.”
Super Member
17 days ago
It’s too bad he doesn’t struggle against RH pitching then he would be a perfect leadoff platoon with Meckler. We need some guys who can hit LH pitching.
Legend
18 days ago
Very cool. That honestly seems like a great gig. Michael deserves to watch some quality baseball. Hope it comes soon.
Also SoCal sports franchise PA news, the Lakers PA announcer, Lawrence Tanter, retired this year after 40 seasons. I’ve been so used to him announcing the players with his deep voice delivery. I have his voice during deep in my brain calling Kobe’s buckets.
Legend
18 days ago
Next up, a 2-game set with the Athletics. The Athletics have been on a nasty slide, losing 6 in a row and threatening to overtake the Angels in losses. The mission for the Halos, “do not sweep.’ Need to get all the rift raft into the starting line-up, Teo, Siri, Moore, Heineman or d’Arnaud and Lowe.
Trusted Member
18 days ago
Great idea. Let Moore lead off and d’Arnaud DH in the cleanup spot.
Super Member
18 days ago
I hope the Halos win out the rest of the season (will never happen). They are locked into one of the three worst spots, so it’s not going to matter at this point. They have the same percentage as the other two teams.
Legend
18 days ago
It does matter more than you think. I’ve drake a lot of ale to analyze this but I do anyways. Couple of things:
First. If the Angels and the As were to not be selected in the lottery phase, their draft position would fall at pick 7 and 8. Thus, the team record is in play as to who would get 7. Very small chance of this occurring but not impossible.
Second. For rounds 2-20, draft position is strictly in reverse order of record.
Legend
18 days ago
Your second point is key. There is a “benefit” to the Angels having the worsiest record in all rounds after the 1st. I say “go for it” and lose all 6!
Super Member
17 days ago
Regardless of how it could potentially affect draft position, I can never root for my team to lose.
Being a Kings fan, I didn’t want them to make the playoffs last season because I knew they’d get whooped (which they did) and lost important draft positions. However, I could not bring myself to root against them, like so many here have openly rooted against the Halos this season.
Since I have zero control over what happens on the ice/field, I just feel better knowing that I still support my teams wholeheartedly.
Legend
17 days ago
That’s short term support versus long term support. There is an argument that losing these last 6 would be better for the team long term than winning them. I am looking beyond this season to the future. Any slight benefit in draft position is my focus with this lost season.
Now – if they had a chance to make the playoffs, I’d be rooting hard for them to win all 6 even if I knew they would lose in the first round.
With the playoffs not an issue – rooting for losses is actually rooting for draft position in rounds 2 onward which is a vote for the future.
Last edited 17 days ago by Fansince1971
Super Member
17 days ago
I completely understand the long term concept (as through my Kings example). But since nothing I do impacts the actual play and outcome of the games, I am going with positive karma and will continue to root for my team to win.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
Rooting for them to lose games so they can win championships later is where my mind is. My heart wants them to win everything all of the time.
Legend
17 days ago
I agree with you completely with respect to the Kings. Limped in to get the last slot. It was good for Kopitar swan song but they had no chance.
Like the Angels, I really feel the Kings need a FO overhaul. Time for Luc the Fluke to go. Owner is ok.
Super Member
18 days ago
Thank you for the clarification. I’m still learning how this baseball lottery stuff works. It is much different than the NHL.
I picked their record to be 64-98 at the beginning of the season, so my ego is in play here to be right.
Legend
18 days ago
Thanks for posting.
I was wrong about Moreno’s minions being given equity. It’s kinda funny that the 5% Arte owns is worth more than the 100% he bought 20+ years ago. Nice ROI.
Super Member
18 days ago
Good read. Thanks for the link. I normally never venture to that bird-cage liner known as the la times.
Legend
18 days ago
Robert Stephenson. 🤦 Such an Angels signing.
Legend
18 days ago
Anaheim should sell the stadium and parking lot property to Kroenke, then they will be off the hook for repairs. There has already been an audit of the lease terms and Arte was found to be in compliance with the lease. The major repairs still needing to be done is on the city. They entered into a not so great lease because the city ignored their responsibility under the lease and kept putting it off to save budget money. Well, that stuff they put off didn’t just go away, nope, it grew over the years.
Legend
18 days ago
As much as I love Angel Stadium and my childhood memories as well as my memories there as a season ticket holder from 1989 – 2019, it needs to go. It’s in absolutely terrible shape. It would probably cost nearly the same to adequately refurbish it and retrofit as to build a brand new jewel baseball park. I would love to see an entire new world of restaurants, bars and shops built in Anaheim around a gorgeous new baseball park.
Super Member
18 days ago
It is time for a modern stadium.
Legend
18 days ago
100%, bulldoze that thing
Legend
17 days ago
As someone who has spent over 40 years in the commercial construction industry, I can tell you that sometimes retrofitting a stadium, just to bring it up to code, can cost more money and take just as much time as a tear down and new build.
Trusted Member
17 days ago
I can imagine that adding modern touches and more opportunities for fans to spend money would require a brand new stadium. A la SoFi.
Legend
17 days ago
I think some smart guys actually looked into that a few years back. Updating the actual pipes and steel and wires and stuff of the place, not to mention that I think I remember the actual foundation/structure needing work… it was gonna cost as much as a new stadium back then.
I seriously doubt anyone is thinking of trying to stay in the Big A long term. They should just take the A sign and break down the rest. May not even get to do that if they have to work with The Heim to get stuff done. May need to move the team to Santa Clarita or Barstow or something.
Legend
17 days ago
Yep, a few years back, Arte ponied up the money and rebuilt all the area under the seats from the Rockpile to the bullpen gate, below the concourse. They was some early signs of structural issues. I looked at the job and priced it. I did not price it cheap because they had a very, very aggressive schedule with OT.
