If ever there were a game where we can say we missed Justin Upton and Shohei Ohtani, last night’s game was it.
I have about as much energy and cohesiveness as the Halo offense last night, wasting a pretty good bunch of pitching - including that of starter Matt Harvey.
So let’s just put it to rest. Angels lose in 14, 4-3.
And I am punching the ticket on these Never-Ending-HaloLinks:
A Little Bit Of Angels News
I suppose this is one of those things where stat folk wish to inform us that we need to be patient and that it will all work out over the long haul. The Angels offense refuses to strike out.....It’s true. They have the fewest K’s in all of MLB at only 130 on the season going into yesterday’s games. The Mariners led all of MLB with 245.....If only counting strikeouts was what wins games. Because these same Angels ranked 19th in runs scored at 96. Those Mariners led all of MLB with 160.....At that moment, the Mariners had won 16 games, the Angels only 9..........
Make no mistake about it, the LAA starting rotation has sucked......And the LAA bullpen, once off to a fantastic start, has not fared all that much better AND is being burned a lot more innings per game because of that starting rotation. That probably explains a lot when it comes to those wins we are missing out on.........
And you have to feel for Skipper Brad. These are the pitchers that he was dealt. Griffin Canning and Jose Suarez are not coming to his rescue any day soon..........
In this week’s edition of Mike Trout Monday, USA comes to the realization that Mike Trout is a Velociraptor...........(By the way, BBR did update their WAR numbers over night from Monday to Tuesday. Mike did move up a tad, and that will be reflected in next week’s Linkage.)..........Have an LAA locker room chat with Mike..........Sigh. Who remembers way back, once upon a time, when skinny Mike was almsot the fastest sprinter in MLB? (again, h/t reddit)..........
Ummm...because Mike Scioscia was not one of MLB’s biggest fans of The Shift?..........
File this under the Department of Bad Timing. Yesterday Halos in DE posted a notice that Baseball Digest pillaged Angel Stadium, ranking it at a lowly 27th out of 30. They also ranked Dodger Stadium 6th. Well, on the same day an ACTUAL baseball fan took the time to post on reddit how, as a life-long Dodger fan, he was truly impressed by the upgraded ballpark experience of Angel Stadium..........
ShoheiCam............
Everywhere In Baseball
Baby Vlad is coming, and he knows that he is totally ready, but it looks like the Blue Jays need to demonstrate that they were not manipulating his service time, by manipulating his service time well beyond the minimum point of manipulating his service time. (They only needed to hold him back for the first 2 weeks of the 2019 season.).........All this has Bob Nightengale confused. (h/t reddit)............
Hey, Craig Kimbrel! The Mets are willing to sign you, as long as you are not the one making the managerial decisions on behalf of the team............
That offensive hole at 3B that has gone untended for 15 years now? Turns out that the solution was right there for the taking just a couple of months ago..........9th most productive 3B in all of MLB so far...........
Ah, sweet music to these Old Guy ears! Pitchers put the ball in play because they have great defenders, and batters put the ball into play to create and sustain rallies. A long time ago that was called “National League style”, and it won a 2002 World Series. These days it’s called the Pittsburgh Pirates. 1st place in the NL Central.......Although this silly accident will probably put a dent in things. Stuff like this ain’t supposed to happen in big league baseball..........
Just because the LAA starting rotation has sucked to the extent that it might have THE lowest barrier to entry for any new starting rotation candidate, it doesn’t mean that the national media has noticed. Your ideas about Gio Gonzalez are not being shared back east..........Well, OK, they are in SOME places back east.........Keep in mind that my ‘lowest barrier to entry’ comment is meaningful, because Gonzalez needs a very low bar..........
As powerful as the MLBPA might seem, they can really be pretty toothless. The Ozzie Albies deal proves that. There is little that the union can do anywhere throughout the process other than de-certify an individual agent after the fact. And the result of such an action (never invoked) would only see the MLBPA get taken to court and shredded because they would be making claims about how things might have been and not how things actually are. I am also surprised to learn that MLBPA rules and powers over player agents are codified within the CBA, which is primarily an agreement between the union and the owners. Seems to me that there should be only minor language about such things in the CBA, which would compel ownership to hand over paperwork, but that everything else concerning the business relationship and activities between any union member and that member’s agency be codified in an agreement between the union and agency directly...........
Man, I wanted to do this large Tampa Bay Rays are the 2019 bomb paragraph, and this FiveThirtyEight study was my core link. But then we get to this week and the Rays have just gotten done losing 4 straight...........
Come on. Admit it. Had Billy Eppler signed Nathan Eovaldi this past winter, this news of Eovaldi going in the IL for 2-3 months would have been your proof of the Indian Burial Ground curse..........
J.D. Martinez, the Free Agent mega deal bargain. A unicorn out of the mists of time from way back in another era. I did NOT believe that he had this in him, and this is the kind of result that fuels winter frenzy year after year. Martinez should be used to measure all the other failures, not as proof that Free Agent signings are great deals............
I think that Ramon Laureano has been fantastic so far this season. But this hyperbole boggles my brain: “Ramon Laureano can do things you’ve never seen before.” I have seen many outfielders already do what Laureano has done, and that’s just talking about other outfielders on the Angels. Have we already forgotten about Vlad Guerrero’s arm? Mike Trout’s home run robberies? Jim Edmonds catches? Torii Hunter everything?..........
It turns out that you can blame half the MiLB stunt team names in American on just two guys from California..........
The Duffle Bag
Dammitalltohell. How soon before some form of driver assist that also detects impaired operator becomes standard in all new vehicles? A young college ballplayer from Alaska was killed by a 16-year old drunk drive in Torrance...............Those Minor League bus rides are not always as boring as you think..........Because we are officially now in Game of Thrones season..........What’s more cool? Good dog plays soccer really well...or...other good dog simply plays fetch, but it’s baseball-related?..........Bryce finally goes full Harper for the pleasure of Phillies fans. (Sorry, Bryce, but you got caught looking at a good pitch.)..........The only thing I ever find in my piano is the awful noise that occurs when I try to play it...........Chris Sale takes advantage of a rainout and plays some catch in the Fenway concourse, and it does not appear as if any of the fans have the faintest idea.............