Thor'sLinks: Angels Lose on an Off Day

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ANGELS ON DECK

The Upcoming Series:

Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels - Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA.

From the official team Game Notes: "RANGERS ON DECK: The Angels open a four game series against Texas on Thursday night…Last season, the Angels won the season series 12-7, marking the third time in the last four years that the Angels have claimed the season series."

The eyes of the baseball world are on the Cubs right now and expectations are monumental. Sorry Joe Maddon, but this would be a great time to remind everyone that we are still talking about the Cubs.

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Everywhere In Baseball

Weave The Elder: Once upon a time Jered Weaver was the young white knight who claimed the mound and mowed down the opposition. Father Time is taking it's toll, and we can all see the impact using nothing more complicated than a radar gun. Weaver refuses to accept that. He insists on raging against the dying signaled by the coherent light. Good for him. I just hope he takes inevitability as optimistically as this guy...............

Ji-Man Up: Those who know him from his past think that there is still hope for a non-juiced Ji-Man Choi. But that upside is still fairly middling...........

CYA Upselling: Ignore Tuesday. Garrett Richards is going to reap huge rewards with Andrelton Simmons now playing behind him. Long term. As in over many games. Money quote: "Richards allowed 100 groundballs to the left side last year and batters hit .280 on those, up from a disgusting .127 on 63 chances in 2014 (Aybar’s second-best UZR ever) and easily the highest of his career. Coming into the season, batters hit just .196 on groundballs to the left side of the infield so the .280 really stands out. In fact, up the middle and to the right, batters only hit .210 off of Richards, so that left side was a major sore spot."..........And this Richards thing is kinda important, what with Heaney on the pine. After all, "But as members of an uninspiring rotation, Heaney, and certainly Richards, have to be satisfactory. If not, the Angels could finish as the worst team in the American League."..........

Slip Slidin': Man, we are starting to parse baseball slides to such a degree that, combined with instant replay, if we don't watch out we are going to turn into pro football. We have had a few plays that, in at least some manner, touch upon the new Slide Interference rule. And we already have a plethora of commentary and review. This is the path that leads to the dark side, people, and all the testosterone reactions are a distraction from the core problem..........

Merchant-dizement: The Mets recently auctioned off a Mike Piazza game-worn jersey and Piazza is pretty pissed about it. The auction itself preyed pretty heavily on the emotions and sentiments surrounding 9/11 (it's all there in the auction description). If you are doing that to make a buck that is pretty slimy. At the end of that description the auctioneers suggest that maybe if the winning bidder were to consider possibly donating back the jersey to the 9/11 Memorial Museum it would be cool and all, and the winner could claim a tax deduction. Just a thought, mind you, but please bid high and often! So, yeah, slimy. I am unsure as to how Piazza has any special claim here, but it's worth noting that his pressure has prompted the Mets to try and track down the new owner and see if they can get it back...........

Good Ol' Dog Days: There are some rate count markers that used to define the sport, which are now probably extinct. 75 stolen bases, 250 innings pitched, 100 innings of relief, 40/40 (hell, even 30/30), that kind of stuff. So, OK, yeah, baseball has changed and those highly accessible milestones are no longer part of our conversation. And by "accessible", I mean how readily fans are able to keep track of them and project any player's seasonal campaign as a mental exercise. That doesn't mean the game is any worse. It's certainly different, yes, but that is because the players are different. They are bigger, faster and more athletic (Pablo Sandoval being an exception!). They are more capable. It's all relative to be sure, so the rising tide has floated all boats and in most ways the game still measures like it used to. But there are just some things that are less worthy of pursuit when matched up against elite global athletic competitors. Who the hell wants to burn a $200 million investment by forcing that investment's arm to churn through 250 innings every 6 months?? We are more aware of the risk versus reward by attempting to steal bases, and we have a lot of cannons with outstanding reflexes, agility and technique behind the plates. So why the hell do we want to run ourselves out of scoring opportunities in pursuit of legacy glory holes? Let it go, people. We have new yardsticks. We just need to find the way to make them accessible to the common fans..........

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In closing...Rest In Peace, Merle Haggard

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