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Well, that was tight. After the Mariners opened scoring int he 1st inning to take a 1-0 lead, the Angels came roaring right back with 2 of their own. But the pitching couldn't hold the lead, and the Mariners scored 3 in the bottom of the 3rd to retake the lead 4-2 and walk off with a win. As punishment, Mike Scioscia turned loose Alex Meyer and Daniel Wright to serve up 5 innings' worth of batting practice to the Mariners, who scored 7 more runs in the simulated game. If you were doing something silly, like keeping official score, you would be tempted to record the evening as a total shellacking, 11-3 in favor of the M's. But that would be just preposterous.
That Ariel Miranda who bested Alex Meyer last night? Turns out that Billy Eppler had the chance to trade away Hector Santiago for Miranda rather than for Meyer/Nolasco. Eppler chose Meyer over Miranda as Meyer is considered to have a higher upside. Last night notwithstanding.
Have some Time To Man Up In Houston Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
Mike Scioscia found a way to prevent Mike Trout from getting on base in a baseball game. Keep him out of the game altogether. Take note MLB, it's your only hope. Not. Trout was sat due to hamstring tightness. That shouldn't be alarming. It happens to top flight athletes all the time. What IS of interest, to me anyway, is MLB reporter Maria Guardado's language: "Mike Trout has been dealing with some hamstring tightness." Has been, as in not just a thing that popped up overnight. Which might explain some commentary I made this week, about Trout not laying out on that Carlos Gomez triple last Saturday night............
Trout Porn: Consensus April AL MVP........And sitting atop the Top 100............But the Bryce Harper debate is back. Call me in October when, unlike last year, BOTH have played well for a full season.
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Everywhere In Baseball
Dave Stewart, failing UP............
Is Joey Votto going to short lengths to fight back against low strikes?...........
Manny Machado kisses Fenway goodbye. And we can all move along, at least until June 1 when Baltimore opens a series against the BoSox for 4..............
In tracking this report on home run activity throughout baseball so far (still high, and rising), I was looking for a chart on "home runs per ballpark". It was not included. And I am still dubious of Aaron Judge's early power number that I went looking for more. And I found it. Oh hell yeah. Yankee Stadium (where Judge has played 14 of his 25 games, but hit 10 of his 13 homers) is off the charts.............And I am far from the only one noticing Judge's prolific production. It should fade back to normalcy in June/July when the Yankees have a higher percentage of road games............
But watch out for these Yankees. They DO get to play in that stadium. And they WILL grow into their talent.............
Ick. Jered Weaver, whose ERA was down to 3.91 after 4 starts, has had a couple of tough outings. 15 runs scored - 10 earned - in 9.2 innings across his past 2 starts...........
How going above and beyond the norm to reach the far corners of the globe can net you a baseball gem from Africa..........
How about an anti-Tebow tale? Not "anti" as in spiteful. No, "anti" as in opposite of. Donovan Tate, ex-Padre prospect (drafted ahead of Mike Trout LOL), is going back to college to try his hand at football.............
SunTrust Park is in play, and baseballs are flying out of the place at a pace unheard of at Turner Field. Why is this? Well, one small reason might be the odd way that winds work throughout the architecture...........
Could it be? Could the Rangers sell off Yu Darvish rather than work to re-sign him, with Darvish becoming the highest-priced of rentals in 2017?..........
Cord cutting WILL hit baseball. It will hit the mega-TV packages that have fueled most franchises this past decade. That's the down side. But what about the upside? What about a hard-working, imaginative and creative franchise creating its own streaming broadcast service that can enroll subscribers from anywhere on planet frikkin' Earth? How hard is THAT to figure out??..............But if you are going to go cord-cutting, you might want to get informed.............
Public Service Announcement: we wish to remind you that Jerry Dipoto blew a wad on Roberto Baldoquin, tacking the Angels out of any possible chance at young Vladimir Guerrero, Jr..........
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The Duffle Bag
.188 BA? I have more left in my tank than Ryan Howard does........Phillies used a bizarrely scored double play to extend the Cubs, with their right-fielder playing 5th infielder and turning the pivot. And the very next inning they lose the game, by doing this............Curt Schilling. About as painfully reliable as ingrown toenails.............Love this. Speedster Reds baseballer Billy Hamilton wants to race newly drafted Bengal footballer John Ross for charity, and for fun.............Total ouch. Bat flies and clocks two in the front row. Everybody ends up checking out Ok..............A link just for the ladies. Ladies get to laugh. Dudes, not so much............Boston bar having fun being Boston.............Banning the hidden ball trick. With tongue planted firmly in cheek..............
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