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Yesterday was our 3rd to the last off day. This weekend is the final time that the Angels play games outside of the AL West this season. There were only 4 games scheduled yesterday, and only 1 of those involved the American League. So almost no news and definitely no change in elimination status. Well, that would be except for Toronto edging 1 game closer to the grim reaper last night. Toronto and Minnesota now both have an excellent shot at greeting their seasonal tombstones this very weekend. For the Angels, we will live at least into next week. But I do hear the cloppity-clop hoof beats of the horse drawing the hearse for us.
Here they are, the Clinging-To-An-Elimination-Number-Of-Only-7-HaloLinks:
A Little Bit Of Shohei Ohtani News
Let’s go back to the ignorant rabble that grouses about pitching Ohtani this past Sunday and resulting in injury. basically, contrary to the opinions of those ignorant twitter thumbs, the Angels actually got lucky he finally tore his UCL now..........
A nice little factoid to break the hearts of SFG fans............
And as his pitching campaign has come to a very long pause, we can still reflect on the fact that the Ohtani Hype Was Real, and So Were the Injury Fears..........In fact, Ohtani has already been a major success..........
How about this? There are only 4 players with as many PA’s as Shohei who have at least as good of wRC+, and all 4 are MVP candidates...........
Jeff Passan goes into the medical evidence supporting Ohtani’s ability to play baseball next year while recovering from TJ......But let’s cherry pick out of that article the PITCHING glory that Ohtani has achieved in 2018. We did the HITTING glory above, but check this out...........
Therefore, we got a kid who pitches at a CYA level and, at the same time, bats at an MVP level. The problem here would still be the counting stats as he shares his field time between offense and pitching. I am unsure if he qualifies for stat leadership even if he never took time out for injury. And not being listed on the usual and customary stats leader boards cannot be helpful when it comes to recognition. But let’s keep pissing off Yankee fans anyway, because kicking at the three-legged stool of entitlement is fun. Shohei still has a very compelling case for RoY..........
A Little Bit Of Mike Trout News
Oh crap. Here we go again. Mike was HBP in Texas, catching one in the leg. his calf tightened up and he was held out of the Wednesday game. We have an update. Word is that “...Thursday’s off-day could allow Trout to return to the lineup Friday against the White Sox, so a serious injury appears to have been averted.” Here in HaloLand, that is how the franchise euphemistically says that Trout is lost for the season. (The guy has only played in 12 games since July 31st, and has been outplayed by David Fletcher in this stretch.)..........
This all to day that Billy Eppler may never again witness another moment in Mike’s career where his value is this far below GOAT (which, let’s be honest, is something much finer than the width of a human hair). Make him an offer now!..........
Meanwhile, Mike sends a note of thanks to the Commissioner’s office for setting up the LAA schedule properly that he can be present for the Eagles’ season opener..........
A Little Bit Of Angels News
Because you need to know that your continued faith is not going unnoticed: “There are plenty of long-suffering fan bases in baseball — the Mets’, Rangers’ and Mariners’ all come to mind — but the sleeper pick for most devastating, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking franchise? The Angels.”..........
On the other side, before you click and read you MUST agree to the condition that you know this is article is sarcasm! Ban the Angels from Major League Baseball forever! The guy is mostly mocking all those twitter users who have become self-proclaimed Dr’s of the Internet..........
Taylor Ward is getting a chance to get some work in at the MLB level. it’s a necessary step to figuring out whether or not he has a real chance to succeed out of Anaheim down the road. So far, it’s about what one would expect. Some initial good coming out of a hot time at AAA and being foreign to MLB scouts and pitchers. And he is doing moderately well at MLB 3B considering how recently he was converted from catcher. But he needs far more time and reps at this level to know whether or not he is Kaleb Cowart 2.0 (sorry, Kaleb, but I am guessing that your clock is expiring real soon). I see nothing that Ward can do, however, to displace the notion that Zack Cozart will the starting 3B next year. And I see nothing else that David Fletcher needs to do to prove that he deserves the 2B spot. So I am at a quandry to understand this infield analysis that is focusing on Taylor Ward for 2020. If I were to wager, it would be that Ward finished 2018 at 3B with the Halos, is in Tempe in 2019, but it moved back to SLC coming out of camp. He would be our utility guy on the 40-man who could do some MLB infield work on call, as he is prepped for his real shot, which will be 2020............
The Owlz didn’t move out of Orem and over to Colorado after all, and the Angels extended the development contract for another 2 years...........
But the Mobile Bay Bears? Huzzah! You CAN make this shit up! The team is moving from Mobile to Madison (still in Alabama), and the fans have won the make-it-up name contest. Our AA affiliate shall be the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Finally, a name cooler than the Fresno Tacos...........
Everywhere In Baseball
Once upon a time Mario Impemba was the radio play-by-play voice of the California & Anaheim Angels. He moved on just prior to the 2002 World Series, and ended up in Detroit. He is still in Detroit, still doing play-by-play for the Tigers, and is back in the news. For fisticuffs with his analyst sidekick Rod Allen. I can’t find any details here beyond claims being heavily denied, but the background is that these guys have never liked one another. Researching Allen, I find that he is merely 31 games more expert on MLB as a player than I am...........
Jon Heyman and Josh Donaldon’s agent are mixing it up. Both are playing at word games so there are no opinions to be rendered here. Just pass the popcorn..........
The Baltimore Orioles have announced that they will be the first team to wear uniform jerseys with player info listed in braille. It’s a lovely gesture, for sure. And it’s fitting for the sport of baseball, which need not be anywhere near as visual as other sports in order to be enjoyed. But let’s be frank, the gesture is for awareness only. Jersey names and numbers are exclusively 100% visual information for delivery of data at a distance. The point is to remind the lucky you of the challenges faced by blind people everywhere. Because you don’t get reminded enough by those braille instructions at the drive-through ATM machines. You know, the ones placed at the convenience of the operator of the vehicle?.........
Because baseball is such a part of the fabric of our history, old baseball gloves rarely go and die anywhere. In fact, the older and more weather-worn the baseball glove, the better tool it becomes. The only thing amazing, then, is that sometimes they find their way back home. Even after 40 years..........
And, yes, it is not a fairy tale that women still have to sacrifice to pursue any love of playing competitive baseball..........
Marlins Man outwits Derek Jeter again..........
Yep, Todd Frazier copped to cheating. Because, to paraphrase, everybody cheats. Otherwise, they ain’t tryin’!..........
Here comes yet another Dominican wunderkind. But he was signed by the Cards, so I am not going to be hyping him.........
Rumor has it that John Gibbons is gone as Toronto manager once the season ends. Gibbons has been doing Toronto off and on going back to 2004...........
The Duffle Bag
Baseball and bubblegum, forever...........Get off your phone, Charlie Blackmon! (Or, maybe, get your ass back into the on-deck circle so you can stop sneaking early looks at the pitcher.).........Crazy anti-doubles shift goes to waste as pitcher walks Alex Bregman..........Good son, good dad, good baseball moment..........This is how it should roll. Let the players invent the card decks...........WTF? The MFY don’t fly their own charter jets? How else could Andrew McCutchen lose his luggage on his 2 hour flight from Oakland to Seattle?...........