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In a game that started the LAA scoring with Mike Trout's 2nd home run in as many games, and ended with Kole Calhoun finally getting back on the field only to collect the game-winning RBI by watching the first pitch of his at-bat sail over everybody's head, the Angels ended up winning 5-4 late and swept the Phillies right out of Anaheim.
Did you notice that I wrote how Mike Trout hit his 2nd HR in as many games? Since he has returned he has played in 17 games, and gone hitless in only 2 of them. Over the last 5 games, he has 9 hits, 2 as HR's, and 5 walks. And it feels like he is still only just heating back up.
Here comes Oakland. And here comes back Tyler Skaggs.
Have some Mike-Trout-Gets-His-"T"-Back Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
Fun pull by Taylor Blake Ward on the success that has been the J.C. Ramirez reclamation project............
Categorizing the Angels as a Seller here is, quite accurately, full of qualifications. The TL;DR version would be that Eppler made a move that won't make a damned bi of difference..........
Cameron Maybin off to rehab............
Yeah, no. No way Richards comes back in 2017.............
Josh Mayhood's Library of Mike Trout Hagiography
Mike Trout is awesome. And nobody knows it but Josh. Which is why this guy is complaining.............
This is a riff on a reddit post. I count 61 players who have made their MLB debut this season, and were born before Mike Trout. Sort the table based on Date of Birth, ascending, and travel all the way down to Yandy Diaz. Yandy was born August 8th of 1991. Mike was born August 7th. So everybody from Caleb Smith (#61) on up is just getting started, and is older than a guy who has almost already solidified his HoF credentials. I am ignoring the Age columns, since that involves weird MLB math tracking, which is why you get a different result. I stuck just to birth dates...........
Now that Aaron Judge has dismissed his own case, Buster Olney is squirming his way back onto the Trout bandwagon. Here he tweets how Mike shines on FanGraphs.....The FG chart itself is one where Olney changes the Minimum PA away from "Qualified". So the proper way to interpret the chart is to realize that it represents Trout against the rest of MLB, after spotting everybody else 30-40 games.....But Olney is not finished. He follows that up with a look at Mike when pitchers find themselves trapped in a hitter's count against him. Basically, he is Doom..........
Good catch here. Gubi commenting on how Trout has never hit a home run against his boyhood favorite Phillies, and just as Gubi finishes his sentence you hear the crack of the bat on Trout hitting his first home run against his boyhood favorite Phillies..........
Victor Rojas, using the historic run of Trout to educate the masses on OPS+..........
So many people outside our world simply assume that Trout is gone at the end of this contract. Among them, Phillies fans are the biggest of the dreamers. Considering that in 2020 the Phillies might be the Astros of tomorrow, they may have a right to feel good about the temptation they will be able to dangle........But Mike knows how to say all the right things to both fan bases..........
BBR giving a shout out to Trout for his awesome return since coming back from injury. The hilarious part is that in his first 47 games BEFORE getting hurt, Trout was even better than he has been in the 16 games since..........
Mike Trout, The Ultimate Big Brother............
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Everywhere In Baseball
Oh, Joe, nice timing. Joe Posnanski, legend, has decided that it is time to start thinking of Dusty Baker as one of our great managers. Because Wins...............Lucky for us we got, at the same time, this reminder about Baker's in-game management skills. Sam Miller using Baker as his example of a manager failing to leverage his Challenge rights, allowing his team to slip from being down 0-1 to being down 0-5.........
reddit saves you a log on with BaseballAmerica and also summarizes the BA Farm rankings, post-Trade Deadline. Consider yourself appropriately cynical if you happen to notice any relationship between tanking and trending toward the top of that list..........
And to think that just a few years ago I was getting push back that the age of the prototypical power-hitting high WAR third baseman had come to an end. (Because I kept whining about us not drafting one while we were busy drafting all those catchers.) Well, look who was not wrong after all..........
Holy crap. THE Jamie McCourt is being considered as our national Ambassador to the entire country of France? What with her financial track record here in LA, I would have thought Venezuela to be the more fitting opportunity to get her out of the couuntry..........
The President of the Hall of Fame doesn't want to see steroids users enshrined. Amphetamine users, though, they are Ok. Oh, and no bat-flippers. And then there is this: "I think you would be hard-pressed to find anybody in that gallery that doesn't belong." This is just intentionally choosing to remain stone deaf ignorant on all the commentary concerning guys who have no business in the Hall. Guys such as career bWAR Rick Ferrell, who was voted in by mistake..........
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The Duffle Bag
One UN-official Rangers' official social media outlet put this up, garnering lots of ridicule for the official Rangers organization. It IS hilariously bad. But THE official Rangers organization broadcast analyst clarified. It was NOT aired. It was just a mock-up placeholder on a monitor..............Even I can strike out looking way more chill than this..........Terry Francona is second only to Joe Maddon in being the coolest manager dude in baseball...........Aren't stupid non-baseball injuries supposed to be things that happen in Spring?..........Freddie Freeman, El Mo grad and sunflower seed Maester-in-Training............Yu Darvish thanks the Rangers fans. Except those who are whiners, which pretty much means every one of them..........Sonny Gray thanks the Yankees fans. But Sonny has yet to feel their boos..........Chris Christie, a hero in his own mind because he chose to eat his nachos rather than use them as a weapon against a detractor..........
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Jordan Serena Destiny Watch
Serena was not in the lineup last night, because...............
In a pair of farm moves, Brennon Lund was moved out of Serena's way and promoted to AA Mobile. Lund started the year in Burlington and has been crushing it. Look for him in Tempe next Spring.........
Dammit. LF Brandon Diaz was moved to the 66ers, where he can take the place of Lund in blocking Serena. Wait. How is that possible? Diaz is with the Brewers organization. But that's what it says here. Well, he USED to be in the Brewers org, and NOW he has been signed into the LAA org........
That link also says that the Burlington Bees and IE 66ers flipped pitchers Joe Gatto and Emmanual Ramirez............
Michael Hermosillo was also promoted, moving up from AA Mobile to AAA Salt Lake to make room for Lund. Hermosillo started the year with the 66ers and is now on the doorstep to Anaheim........And Jesus Castillo was moved up from IE to Mobile. In 15 starts with the 66ers, Castillo carried an ERA of 3,62 and a .270 BA against.........Next, moving up from Orem to Burlington are infielder Leonardo Rivas and right-hand pitcher Chris Rodriguez. Keep an eye on Rodriguez..........
So how did it all go?
With Salt Lake, Michael Hermosillo went 0 for 3, scoring 1 run and taking down 1 K. It should be noted that RF Cesar Puello (.327) went 4-4 with 1 BB, 1 run scored and 2 RBI. Puello es en fuego. That makes him 21 for 49 (.429) over his last 10 games with 8 RBI and 12 runs scored. Salt Lake lost to Colorado Springs 10-6...........
In Mobile, Lund (.500) got off to a quick start by going 2 for 4 with 1 K and 1 run scored. Matt Thaiss (.317) was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Taylor Ward (.294) was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jose Rojas (.258) was 1 for 4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Mobile defeats Mississippi 6-4...........
With the 66ers, newcomer Brandon Diaz (.250) was 1 for 4 with a K, Jahmai Jones (.306) 1 for 3 with 2 Ks, Brandon Sandoval (.400) 0 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1K. The 66ers topped San Jose 5-1...........
In Orem, Brandon Marsh (.438, with an OPS of 1.262) with an RBI. Orem defeated Missoula 4-2...........
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