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Mike Trout leads the new roster of position players onto the fields off Tempe. Trout, Pujols, Simba and Calhoun will be joined by Kinsler, Cozart and full season of Upton. Come Monday, things are going to be crazy!
Until then, I am taking the weekend off so that I can watch the Olympics and enjoy myself some downhill Super G slalom halfpipe bobsled baseball. It’s a thing. I will pick up the rotation modeling series next week.
Have Some Undefeated-So-Far-Offseason-Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
Never forget that pro sports franchises use accounting schemes that would make Hollywood blush. So when Arte makes the statement that he lost money the past two years, take it with a large grain of that salty Josh Hamilton contract. Those would be the same 2 years that Arte paid out $53 million to a Hamboner that didn’t even play for the Rangers, much less for the Angels.............Arte also made it clear that he is not a tanker. His reasoning is in support of his fan base, so that is lovely to read. I can’t help but think that he also knows that it ain’t a sound way to run a shared business enterprise, either. It cannot be lost on him that he takes a hit at the gate any time a tanking team comes to Anaheim for a series. Think of all the tankers in the AL this year, and all the home games that will be stale without the excitement off Trout and Ohtani (and Pujols chasing milestones). Who, really, is going to make a point of going out of their way to see the Tigers when they come to town Monday through Thursday, May 28-31??..............
Shohei Ohtani had his first bullpen session in an LAA uni. This cannot possibly be MLB showcasing him. And this absolutely cannot be the Angels own video crew showing him off. And don’t be fooled, this is NOT a video from Pedro Moura of Shohei Ohtani throwing a bullpen session. Because FOX has the “EXCLUSIVE” video of Shohei, as they make very clear..........
Before I leave Ohtani, this picture is simply beautiful. Especially when you already know the backstory..........
We won’t have Cliff Pennington kick around anymore...........
Ouch! I haven’t noticed this before. LAA ST ticket prices have jumped an average of 44% this year?............(yes, H/T/ Fansided)..........
H/T redditer: the Big A got a new coat of shiny red paint. I hate it when that thing fades to pink.........
Everywhere In Baseball
Great question, Sam! Sure, we all dream of the glory to be attained by getting a chance to suit up and play in a real MLB game that counts, even if for a single game. But reality is a harsh bastard. When all is said and done the downsides of immortal humiliation are huge and guaranteed, while any upside is tiny and hidden within minuscule odds. So, knowing that, would you still do it?..........
Rob Manfred held a presser yesterday. It should not come as a shock that he spent more than a little bit of the time lying to everyone. First it was the lie about player salaries keeping up with rising revenues..........Then he twisted the English language in order to lie about juiced baseballs again..........Oh, and he also took a shot at Scott Boras. Because, after all , the Commissioner does not serve the players or their representatives, nor does the Commissioner serve us fans. He only serves one master, and that master is the ownership..........Pace of Play changes are coming, being force-fed on us all, and should be announced in the next week..............
The best take of the day concerning all this angst over Pace of Play and the marketing of the game to younger generations..........
Bud Black, now managing the Rockies, probably needs to put his entire bullpen in a humidor to expedite rest and recovery among his pitching staff..........
King Felix might lose his regular Opening Day gig for Seattle?...........They have already lost their 1B for a spell..........Maybe Dee Gordon can pitch? Or play first base?
Tampa Bay has a couple of pitchers getting a little chippy with one another..........
Because broadcasters prefer to promote that which the consumers choose to pay attention to, Boston radio listeners get the radio they deserve. And, boy are they ever a mess. WEEI is so bad they have to take time off the air today for a mandatory all-employee sensitivity training session. And that comes after one of their guys was canned, so we are talking about the employees who are not as bad as even that. So, yeah, I can see why even the Red Sox are ashamed..........The Red Sox are, after all, total drama queens..........
As a son of parents who tried very hard to keep Little League finances in line (my dad was an internal bank auditor and also LL treasurer on multiple occasions) I know first-hand that parents can get screwy with large amounts of loose money. So this news about the Holbrook Little League is old news to me..........
No sense beating around the bushes. We know what Disney/ESPN are up to. Disney/ESPN know that we know. So they just come right out and say it. They are taking their content and bypassing the cable carriers and going to collect their money directly from the cord-cutting consumer. This lets them cut out the middlemen. Money shall be saved. I am here to tell you that it won’t be your money that will be saved. It will be their money...........
Hot Stove
Another way to look at this article would be that the entire AL Central is competing hard for the first 5 picks of the 2019 MLB draft Only 1 of them can take the prize, assuming they lose better than the Marlins are primed to lose.............
Jaime Garcia with a 1 year $10 million deal to pitch for Toronto. That’s a little bit above forecast, but for a shorter term. But it could get Garcia back into the market next year when things are expected to be more phrenetic. Worse case is that he gets back the year after when some teams are still licking their wounds having lost the previous off-season and Garcia will still be in his early 30’s.........
This is why the arbitration process is something to be avoided. In arguing either side, things are going to be said that are going to piss off the people across the table. Especially the players. Players have more delicate psyches than business people and they are not going to like hearing their Front Office say not-nice things about their game, most very especially when your game is fantastic. Case in point: Marcus Stroman.........
Tim Lincecum getting back his velocity?..........
True story: the first time the missus and I ever sat in front of a financial planner the planner asked me who much money I wanted to have at retirement. I was about 30, so this was a long way off and I honestly didn’t think I could possibly know what the economy and inflation and everything would do to money over the upcoming 30 years. So I told her that I really didn’t know. She prodded and poked and forced me to answer, so I said “$10 million.” She looked at me like I was some special kind of idiot and told me to get real. And asked again. Again I said “$10 million.” This went one a few times until she conceded enough to allow me to engage in a real dialog. There is a reason I relate this tale. Yesterday Tony La Russa was quoted as stating that the players & agents own some of the blame for their failure to sign by not being realistic with their expectations. While that is true, what is more true is that it’s totally fine for players/agents to ask for silken moonbeams full of cotton candy gold dust. But things only move forward when BOTH sides work together to get to a realistic middle ground. It’s not a one-way street. From either perspective..........
The Duffle Bag
I would find this amazing as well, if only I believed it to be true. Looking at the BoSux depth chart, it does not appear to be. Take outfielder Bryce Brentz, for example............Here’s the Roy Halladay memorial patch. Nowhere near as nice as our Fregosi patch (which are in the mail, guys). ..........Ken Rosenthal picks the opening of Spring Training to have surgery? Has the man learned nothing about the timing of off-season medical procedures?! We need this guy to maintain his laser focus on Ohtani. Because we can’t count on anybody else in the MSM to be paying attention.............Next up, changing the stadium name to Simply Orange Field..........