Watching games right now is like pushing the “P6” button in the elevator. There is little joy to be had once the door opens. It’s gonna smell wet and musty. It’s going to be dismally dark and quiet. And the journey back up to the surface is going to be slow, tight, winding, confusing, and fraught with plenty of chances to scrape your car. And the only exciting part is holding that Mike Trout validated parking slip.
Jaime Barria was cool. Trout got on base a lot (although he has now gone 14 games with zero home runs, zero triples, zero doubles, and zero stolen bases). I always love an Andrelton Simmons home run. And for 8 actual outs the Angels had a real lead on the scoreboard. But in the end, the Angels lose for the 6th straight game, 4-2. But hey! We got a highlight!! Our third-baseman threw out a guy trying to get a base hit. Seriously. This is front page highlight material as I type this.
0 for Boston on the season, unless we face them in the playoffs (LOL). Now they go to Baltimore to face the Orioles. They should win at least one of those so have a great weekend, Ok!?`
Keep the faith with these Now-Five-Games-Out-Of-Last-Place-Links:
A Little Bit Of Shohei Ohtani News
Shohei dodges surgery. Well, let’s be very precise here. GM Billy Eppler is quoted as stating: “No doctor has told me that Shohei needs surgical intervention at this time.” And I can just as carefully state that no coroner has confirmed to me that Abraham Lincoln is no longer living. Using my own wife as evidence, I am a firm believer in the miracle of modern medicine PRP and stem cell therapies are wonders. But TWO UCL tears and no mechanical repair? I cannot be alone in thinking that it’s only a matter of time. Like any one of the every-three-week checkups. How about a compromise of DH for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019, with TJ surgery this October so that he can return to the mound in late 2019? Then with all this done and behind us?.............
A Little Bit Of Mike Trout News
All I got here is a little stat tidbit I worked up. In the 13 games that Trout has been DH, his slash line is .225/.426/.300 with an OPS of .736. (Yeah, that is a Slugging percentage of .300)..............
A Little Bit Of Angels News
Jake Jewell did NOT dodge surgery, and is gone for the year...........Zack Cozart did NOT dodge surgery, and is gone for the year. (Kind of tragic that Cozart is a SS moved to 3B, and injured himself while fielding his natural SS position while Simmons was recovering from a sprained ankle that Simmons got simply walking down a few steps to the dugout.)............And John Lamb officially hits the DL. This means we will get a new player in the role of SP in a few days. Can you name ALL 12 starting pitchers for the 2018 Halos at that point?.............
This might not be our year. Just in case that thought had not occur to you, too............
Everywhere In Baseball
Ah. Now we are hearing the other side of that Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Bosio story. His story sounds quite reasonable. But then we have the object of Bosio’s name-calling, Daniel Stumpf himself, is totally clueless about this nickname thing...........Bosio is going to sue to prove his point. So if the truth lies somewhere in the middle, it should come out...........
With Cozart gone for the year, the Angels could use another infielder. Somebody solid with a bat. Somebody under the radar so that he won’t cost a fortune. Somebody like Steve Pearce of the Blue Jays, coming back from the DL. Somebody we could pick up before the Red Sox take him..............
It smells like it’s going to turn into a buyer’s market at trade deadline. Too many sellers, with too many tasty players. The Mets, who did NOT start the year as a tanker, are putting out the For Sale sign even on their franchise pitchers. And they will have to compete trying to move their pitchers, because the Rangers are probably going to be hanging a shingle on Cole Hamels...........
Darvish, with his health luck, should have signed with the Angels............
This is NOT a message you want to hear coming out of your very best player. As an Angel fan, this is the kind of thing that I could lose sleep over..........
BoSux manager Alex Cora is betting the horde of beat writers that each of the next three games, all against the Yankees, won’t be less than 2 1⁄2 hours long. If they are all quick pitcher’s duels, Cora will buy dinner for the entire press corps, at a restaurant of their choosing. Now, considering that these are two top home-run hitting teams AND they have combined to win 13 of the last 20 games they played, Cora is making a pretty safe bet. (For the record, the Angels and Orioles are at the opposite end, having won only 6 of the 20 games they have played, combined.)..............
MLB All-Star ballots are entirely representative of just how bad MLB decision-makers are disconnected from their own game, and why expecting them to figure out how to connect with the bright young minds of the future is a mistake...........
I love thought experiments about messing with the way we do MLB playoffs and the regular season. Ideas are a dime a dozen, and all of them create fancy thoughts. Since none of them will ever happen, all of them are full of positives............
The call of Baseball is strong. For those with the skills to play at a high level, strong enough even to call away from the pulpit...........
This should come as no surprise, but as of right now the players would be in favor of a strike when the CBA comes back up for renewal. A lot of this blame can be placed at the feet of union leadership, which is something I have been arguing about for years now...........
Yesterday it was Tim Tebow tales. Today it’s Rafael Palmiero. Yeah. Because nothing gets a player ready to face down Clayton Kershaw and Jacob DeGrom like taking swings in an independent league...........
Oregon State rolled Arkansas 5-0 in the deciding game of the CWS, taking the title. Go West, young man!.............
The Duffle Bag
Joey Votto is pretty chippy these days, and early in games, too. But I can imagine that he might have said something about the bullshit of framing..............Rays pitcher Jose Alvarado, who was parked at first base on defense briefly as the Rays explore new ways to make use of their pitching staff, was awarded a gold glove for his efforts...........Sergio Romo, mini-me defender of the concept of respect, allows himself the luxury of picking and choosing when that applies. (image h/t UniWatch).........Pudge’s Pizza. Good catch...........steelgolf was walking through John Wayne Airport the other day, and we see who our new best-selling fan fave has become. Here and here.............