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Well, howdy ho, spots fans. On a night when Nick Tropeano did his very best to pitch batting practice to the Kansas City Royals, the Angels bats came alive themselves. Trop struck out only 2 batters in the first three innings as the Royals sent a total of 16 guys tot he plate. 7 of those guys reached base. 3 of them actually scored. Nick got through a clean 4th, but not the 5th. The 5th went thusly: double, walk, fly out, wild pitch, double, Alex Gordon being Alex Gordon (K), Tropeano departure.
But the LAA bats were alive and well. Some unusually so. Jefry Marte was 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, the latter being a 6th-inning solo home run. The Angels were actually down 3 times in the game and came back each time. The big innings were the 6th and 8th, where they scored 3 runs each. Those were after KC starter Danny Duffy took a seat and THAT infamous KC Royals bullpen took over. And, yeah, Mike Trout was in the middle of it both times. We even had a minor extra bit of fun as Shohei Ohtani came in to pinch hit for RF Chris Young. Ohtani singled with the bases empty, coming around to score later. We did NOT get to see him take the field as a defender, however. Michael Hermosillo went out to RF and later grabbed an at-bat, drawing a walk and scoring himself........
In the end, we had ourselves a nice come-from-behind, come-from-behind again, come-from-behind a third time series-opening victory, 9-6. And I can’t wait to get up in the morning and see Trout’s new WAR numbers..........
Have some Is-There-A-Draft-In-here-Links:
A Little Bit Of Shohei Ohtani News
The comeback from Japan’s POV...........
A Little Bit Of Mike Trout News
Mike Trout is soaring again. He is in now in his prime years and had he not injured himself last season the world would have caught on to this by now. But this is the new standard for him for the next several years. We knew we would get to see this when when started watching Mike years ago. It is here. And the world is agog............
Going 3 for 4 with a walk, scoring 3 runs and driving in 2 others while playing strong defense (like this from Sunday) is the kind of thing that amps up that WAR tracker and is what makes the jaws drop on those scribes...........
Trout’s love for weather is not just a passing fancy..........
A Little Bit Of Angels News
The Los Angeles Angels (“of Anaheim”, as spoken by idiot Rob Manfred!?! Gargh!!!!) led off at #17 with Jordyn Adams. Last year it was Jordon Adell. A., Jordon versus A., Jordyn, get it? The key will be whether or not they can actually sign him. It’s a risky move. The second pick, at #57, they took a pretty notable mountain man. Ok. That’s not him. This is him. The kid has some serious upside and seems pretty excited at the chance to skip his college commitment..........And, once again, we don’t get to have a credible power bat with enough defensive chops to fill 3B. It’s not as if they don’t exist. We just don’t get to drat them anymore..........
Keith Law likes what Billy Eppler did yesterday...........
The best line in this article? “Scioscia in only 59...”...........
Here is something that I forgot to share yesterday, which I observed at the game Sunday. $10 million in new video boards and they cannot afford more than $10 an hour to operate them correctly?
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Everywhere In Baseball
With the first couple of rounds of the June Draft done, there are surprises and recaps everywhere............But remember, at the end of the day it’s an awful lot of guessing. And even the biggest hopes can fail to pan out............On the other hand, what if those guys that the Angels DID guess currently on, had actually signed with them?...........And the kinds of things that Front Offices can think about go well beyond the numbers game. For instance, how difficult it is for tall pitchers to get pitches thrown low in the zone to be called strikes?............Oh, and that Logan Gilbert guy we did not get to draft because Jerry Dipoto took him? 29% of his collegiate career were games where he threw at least 115 pitches..........
A couple of interesting cats in the draft worth following. Anthony Seigler was taken by the Yankees at #23. Seigler is not just a switch hitter. He is also a switch pitcher.....At #9, the A’s took Kyler Murray. Murray is lined up to take over the reigns of Oklahoma University’s football team as starting quarterback. With an even higher pick and an even more compelling reason to choose college over MLB, Oakland has made an even riskier gamble than did the Halos.........
Joe Torre, MLB henchman, now off to lead the charge and swindle taxpayers on behalf of MLB’s silly-assed arguments. “ ‘The fans trust us in baseball and I’d hate to jeopardize that. That’s too important,’ said Torre.” Kind of like how strongly “we trust you” to not screw minor league players? Or how we trust you to not screw with the rules? Or we trust you to not play word games with what you are doing to the baseballs? Or to control PEDs on a level playing field? Or not ramrod the Players’ Union into such a tight corner that a strike is inevitable? That kind of trust?..........
Has there ever been a race towards the first +$300 million MLB contract that featured three superheros having such a middling final lap? Manny Machado is doing Ok by most standards, but not phenomenal. Not for is contract showcase. And Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw are practically invisible............
Ah. So THIS is how The Athletic is able to scoop up all the great baseball writers in America. They are well-funded..........
JD Martinez WANTS to be an All-Star. And he is tired of you people failing to choose him..........
How do the Dodgers keep finding these guys? Max Muncy? Really??..........
Three more guys whose fans in the press box and the stands wanted to be the replacement for Mike Trout as king of the hill, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Altuve and Cody Bellinger, are actually demonstrating exactly why Trout stands alone. Trout was already better, staying consistently better, and actually improving on what was already better. And these guys show how easy it is to fall off the MVP train............
Remember that Matt Kemp guy who was practically dumped by multiple NL teams using him as a payroll cash play? Yeah. NL Player Of The Week...........
The Yankees are pretty pissed off at ESPN. I suppose all families have their little spats. In this episode, ESPN uplifted a July 8th game as the Sunday Night Baseball feature, right after the Yankees had agreed with MLB to do a make-up double-header on what will be the very next day. So ex-ESPN broadcast commentator turned MFY-skipper Aaron Boone is threatening to withhold any interview access to ESPN or that game. Everybody is all in a tizzy..........
This is obscene. When I was a kid and Little League was a wood bat game, I could ride my bike to Orange Sporting Goods and pick up a nice 32 ounce for allowance money. $450 for “approved” bats today? Absolutely obscene............
A sad twist to what was initially a tragic story about a hero............
R.I.P. Bruce Kison..........
The Duffle Bag
This has to be the ultimate evidence that Boston is one of the most sophisticated sports scenes anywhere, right? Red Sox and Astros face off in the 2019 World Series!..........(h/t UniWatch) Sneak peek into All-Star Game uni looks..........You go, Eric Young, Jr. Baseball needs more fun..........Nice reddit catch of lightning outside Houston’s stadium. I hope they had the roof closed up...........Sandy Alderson getting the last laugh, on a joke............
