Angels vs. Nationals Game 3 Gamethread – Crashing the Pearly Gates

Member

Phil

14 hours ago

If you believe the Angels should be sellers by the trading deadline (which I am), this game, and this 3-game series against the Nationals was a thing of beauty.

Game 1: Soriano was given a 3-run lead. He responds by giving up 8 ER in 4 innings – to a last place team.

Game 3: a below average defense rears its ugly head – not just by errors (thanks a lot, Newman!) by also by not making plays a decent fielder would make (thanks Schanuel).

Then, there’s the decision to rest Trout (when Monday is an off-day) and Neto, only to have Neto play in the infield in the latter innings of the game. If Trout needs 2 days off, what’s going to happen in the last 2 years of Trout’s contract – do you play him every other day (M, W, F) and then give him Sat/Sun off?

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to Phil

“Thing of beauty” ?

Clearly you are rooting against the Angels and are not an Angels fan …. You should jump on gitch’s boat and go root for the Rays and Royals.

Last edited 14 hours ago by JackFrost

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Member

Phil

14 hours ago

Reply to JackFrost

An Angels fan knows when a team should go for it (by trading prospects for rental players in the hopes of strengthening a team for the playoffs).

And, an Angels fan knows when the season is likely hopeless.

Look at 2023 – executives traded prospects for rental players in the hopes of making the playoffs, an the team responded by going 73-89.

That team is similar to this team (except, no Shohei): average-to-below average in pitching, hitting, and defense.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to Phil

There is no good reason to say the season is hopeless or even likely hopeless… This team has showed it can beat top teams and go on winning streaks. At the very least it is a team that as constructed can be competitive in their own division and be amongst the top 3-4 teams battling for a Wild Card spot.

People rooting for them to lose so they can a) get a slightly higher draft pick b) somehow be “forced” to give away their best players not under team control past this season for pennies on the dollar to help East Coast favorites, or c) simply just accumulate largely meaningless lower level MiLb garbage, are not fans.

They should be playing Fantasy Baseball because the idea of making a trade, any trade, gets them more excited than their team winning games and trying to do something they have not done for over a decade — make the playoffs !!

Last edited 14 hours ago by JackFrost

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Member

Phil

13 hours ago

Reply to JackFrost

An executive has to weigh the odds: do we have a team that is capable of making playoffs?

In 2023, the team routinely couldn’t drive in runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs. A team that, with bases loaded and 0 outs, usually managed to score 1 run max. A relieving corps giving up 3+ run leads in 7th inning or later. And, an average defense.
All of that — happening in April, May, June — gives you an idea that the team is not going to do well (especially, given the Angels had a soft schedule in the 1st half, and a brutal schedule in the 2nd half)
So, the executives gambled, traded prospects, and in the 2nd half, the Angels performed even worse than in the 1st half.

For 2025, I don’t want to see executives trading prospects to bring in rental players in the hopes of making the playoffs.
Because this team has below-average to average pitching and hitting, and below-average defense.

So, unless you’re bringing in top-tier pitchers (replacing Anderson, Kochanowicz and/or Hendricks), and you bring in players who can hit and field (replacing Rengifo, Soler, and O’Hoppe), you’re not strengthening the team.

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Legend

JackFrost

13 hours ago

Reply to Phil

There is a difference between not being sellers and being “buyers.” While I also don’t necessarily want the Angels to be “buyers,” I definitely don’t want them to be “sellers.”

Because I know what that entails and what that means 95% of the time …

If this team can get healthy (get Moncada and Stephenson back) and stay more or less in the position they are now by the break then I really DO think they can be in the Wild Card race at least, up until the very end. And because of that I would not give away Ward and Jansen for essentially nothing.

Actually, I would not give them away for nothing even if we weren’t in the Wild Card race.

Last edited 13 hours ago by JackFrost

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Trusted Member

CAoldskoll

14 hours ago

Gee, who is the choke today for a very winnable game. Newman, Schanuel, or silly Montgomery

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Member

Phil

14 hours ago

Reply to CAoldskoll

Montgomery – for playing Newman, then for not playing Neto until the latter innings, and resting Trout (even though Monday is an off-day, and all he has been doing is DH).

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Super Member

AllenB

14 hours ago

Wild card my ass!

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Super Member

Brent

14 hours ago

pAthetic

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Super Member

PedroCerrano

14 hours ago

What is this “shorten up” you speak of Gubi?

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Trusted Member

Simba

14 hours ago

Are there bunting stats somewhere? Angels seem to fail when they try.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to Simba

They rarely even try …

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Super Member

AllenB

14 hours ago

Swung through 3 perfectly straight pitches. Come on guys, do better.

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Member

Omahalo22

14 hours ago

Lol. Average your team will not be. So close. Hope I’m wrong.

Last edited 14 hours ago by Omahalo22

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Trusted Member

ErSTAN

14 hours ago

JUST FOOKING BUNT! So frustrating.

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Super Member

ryanfea

14 hours ago

Reply to ErSTAN

Bunting down 3 would be absurd lol

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Trusted Member

Simba

14 hours ago

Reply to ryanfea

Probably referring to previous inning.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to ryanfea

They were tied in the 10th — a single run would have won the game …

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Trusted Member

ErSTAN

13 hours ago

Reply to ryanfea

Yeah my bad. Was walking out in disgust. 10th inning…

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Super Member

AllenB

14 hours ago

Reply to ErSTAN

Should have done that in the 10th.

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Super Member

PedroCerrano

14 hours ago

Remember BOTG from HH?

Lots of that to go around but I’m looking at you Schanny.

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Super Member

tanana40

14 hours ago

Reply to PedroCerrano

We should bring back the Panther (if not the BOTG).

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Super Member

AllenB

14 hours ago

They had their shot in the bottom of the 10th. Got greedy and cost them the game. Gonna go from a potential win to being blown out.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to AllenB

Yep.

Rengifo should have been bunting to start the 10th….

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Super Member

tanana40

14 hours ago

We like to be at .500, not terrible, not showing off….and we lose so many day get away games, it seems.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to tanana40

Angels had a 10 game losing streak in day games prior to Wednesday ….

And overall I think we were 9-15 in day games coming into today’s game …. This is now 5 straight Sunday home losses for Angels. That is pathetic.

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Super Member

tanana40

14 hours ago

Reply to JackFrost

We seem to rest key players on Sunday day games.

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Reply to tanana40

That wasn’t the reason today … we were three outs from victory going to the 9th …. Kenley blew the save. Though I can’t be too angry with him since he was 15 for 15 in save chances prior to today ….

After gitch and Jeff the BOTG goes to Montgomery for stupidly letting Rengifo swing away to start the 10th…With Schanny and Ward following Luis should clearly have been bunting there…

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Legend

JackFrost

14 hours ago

Game Over.

Blame of Game on gitch and Jeff for predicting a series win in pregame thread ….

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Super Member

PedroCerrano

14 hours ago

Reply to JackFrost

Funny, I hadn’t seen your BOTG post.