:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54253245/usa-today-10007183.0.jpg)
I was totally jammed at the office yesterday and lost all track of baseball, So when I saw reports of the Angels losing to the Rangers 8-3 I was convinced that these were still reports of the Wednesday night game. "No problem" I thought. "Can't wait for the game tonight". What a bummer that I missed all the excitement. Looks like the LAA bullpen did, too! I hope there's more baseball this summer.
Relax and have a nice weekend. It's neither the time to make playoff plans, nor time to panic. It's not like we are Seattle, or some such. Me, I am having visions of household cleaning utensils in our favor.
Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
The LAA starting rotation is the worst in all of MLB. So it's not a great leap of prognistication on anybody's part, mine or the LAA coaching staff, to project that it's due to improve.
Trout Porn: Ask a bunch of 'experts' which player is the most fun to watch, and listen to all the attempts at being cool and insightful and elite. And then listen to one guy snap back to reality and say "The answer is Mike Trout. He might be the best player any of us have ever seen, and he does it in a super entertaining way, with line drives and stolen bases and leaping catches. On Wednesday night I tuned into the Angels game in the fifth inning, at a time when I should’ve been getting into bed, and watched Trout hit two doubles, score the game-tying run and rob a homer. Sometimes the simple answer is the best one: Mike Trout is baseball’s most fun player to watch."............It's even more obvious when you are a kid. Mike Trout is simply the bestest.............
Joe Posnanski sees that it's time we found a way to brand Mike Trout. He wants a new nickname. I dunno. It seems to me as if Posnanski almost gets there. Right there at the end. A 3 syllable word and all............
Even MORE Trout: The Phillies have only themselves to blame. Having the World Series in 2008, they were denied a high draft choice in 2009. They ended up getting to pick at #27, using compensation from Seattle for losing Raul Ibanez. Trout was taken at 25. So of all the team whining about missing out on Trout and hoping to trade for him, Phillies followers are the bottom of the pile.........And, more fun, even Trout's own agent was once drafted at a higher slot than Trout!..........
Today we see J.C. Ramirez take a start instead of Garrett RIchards. That in itself is not a sign that Richards is worse off than reported. He was put onto the 10-day DL just 7 days ago. He was never going to take a start today. Nope. The reason to be worried is because we are hearing that his work program to get back is behind schedule............
I don't agree that this Andrus deke actually cost Maybin a base. Stealing second includes a serious commit to the bag and Carlos Gomez was doing good job of backing up on the overthrow. Not saying Maybin wasn't fooled. Just saying he wouldn't have gone to third even if he knew.............
______________________________
Everywhere In Baseball
Joe Sheehan, guest at FanGraphs, offers an enlightening perspective on the pace of play issue. He makes a compelling argument that the game is getting longer because the game is getting harder. Human athleticism has raised player strength and baseball velocities. and this can be traced all the way back to the very roots of the game. They are not new problems...........
Jeff Passan realizes that he obvious issue here is that baseball is a game without a clock. So let's get one. Too bad if baseball is hard. It doesn't have to be perfect. It does have to be entertaining............
Nobody's perfect. As good as Billy Eppler has been, I still score Daniel Murphy as one of his misses..............
John Lackey just got his third WS Championship ring. He may have just lost that ring to his wife if he wants to keep the peace at home..........
Yeah. Kyle Schwarber isn't a very good outfielder. And this was a bobble against the wall, not a catch. But what the hell is with the ivy in Wrigley? Is there some drought going on in Illinois that I missed? Is it always so dead in April?............
Put a fork in the Mariners? Already?..........I guess Toronto (1-8) might want to mail it in, too.
Sam Miller tweeted a memory to an article from a year ago, worthy of repeating. Sam Miller has too much fun at this............
Anybody wondering what Tony Reagins is up to these days? You might be surprised that he is a spearhead for good things..............
Necessity being the Mother of Invention, cables companies have hit upon a radical new idea: create channel bundles for subscribers that are not burdened by sports channels - most especially, the costly E$PN. Methinks that had they not been so stubborn for the past couple of decades, their current situation might not be so dire..........
______________________________
Season Update
The Royals were the last team to pick up a win in the 2017 season. They claimed it Friday night, at 10:22 PM local time in Houston.....
The Orioles were the last team to lose a game. That happened Sunday afternoon at 4:57 PM local time in New York City......
______________________________
The Duffle Bag
First we heard of Madison Bumgarner rejecting a request from the Hall of Fame. Now we learn that the Hall of Fame is low on the priority list for showcasing Cubs memorabilia from the the 2017 2016 (oops!) World Series............Have hte Mets won any World Series lately? No? They sure are wasting Yeonis Cespedes............Lou Brock is being treated for a blood and bone cancer...........The Braves finally open their new stadium tonight............
OT: So that meme about Millennials thinking that they are Masters of the Universe? That news is already so last generation..........
______________________________