Inside Pitch

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JJEzXDdi1FoAVCxpssrNq04unxs39JIJg6CRn-IPM1c/pubhtml

What was he getting the K's on?

The only thing the Angels were identified with was failure and talk of curses. MS is the single biggest reason why people grew to expect more and not simply be satisfied with "just winning the division". He's the one that came on board and told them they should expect to win and not just "hope things turned out okay". Anyone that was a fan prior to the golden age of Angels baseball remembers all too well when the talk in preseason was always 'Well, if we catch a few breaks and things go our way we might blah blah blah". That shit stopped the day Lasagna showed up and taught them how to win. Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and pretty much every Angels player that was here before he got here has said as much but you know.... Lasagna...

Harper is looking at a future where he might be the third most exciting OFer on his own team behind Soto, and Victor Robles .

Used to be a FB that sat around 90-92 and touched 94 -- he had a cutter, not sure he's still throwing it. IMO his slider was his best pitch and he used to tinker with a change. He had really wonky mechanics when they first drafted him -- they shifted him to the pen last year and he was awful before making a total 180 this year. Maybe Scotty or Doc can say if his stuff has played up since being moved to the pen full time.

82..... 79 was Baltimore

Power is typically the last tool to develop. His HR/of rate was pretty much at league average in High A, he's slightly above it in AA where he 4.0 years younger than the league. Physical maturity and experience will push those numbers up. He can always do better but he's in a pretty good place development wise.

People have a tendency to obsess over triple slash numbers which is a nice simple snapshot when looking at MLB players but offer less insight as to how minor league hitters are progressing. The focus in both cases should always be on the predictive data, but even more so with minor leaguers three levels away. Jones' walk, swinging strike, and K, rates all came in as above average (when compared to league). He was putting up a career high LD%, his pull rate was on par with his career high, his pop up rate was improved from last year .... and he did all of this while being 2.3 years below the league average. Basically he was doing everything you'd want to see only it was being suppressed by the babip as has been referenced by you and others. Brandon Marsh is another guy where the triple slash numbers aren't telling us everything... Marsh's predictive data has been has been static after moving from A ball to high A, but he too outperformed the league in key areas while also being below the league average age. With him right now it's a case of him needing to show he can turn on balls... His pull rate on FBs is a bit weak, whether that's a case of his making a CJ Cron like effort to go the other way or just him not yet tapping into his power is hard to say without watching him get everyday at bats -- this is the primary area where Jo Adell was absolutely wrecking house. Both guys have shown growth and legit improvement despite not having put up gaudy triple slash numbers. It's nice to see Jam Jones enjoying success after what may have been a trying season in high A. You can't teach perseverance .... If you could maybe Brandon Wood may have had a happier ending.

But what about the coaching and scouting at the MLB level?

The reality is there is nothing to gain at this point.... Service time and years of control only come into play in the first couple of months.... If the plan is to gain a year of control, then they will need to hold them back NEXT year.... If the intent is to play them from day one next year, then calling them up now would have no impact.

Poppyfaux!

Maddon was still chasing a ring and he got a much later start on his managing life... I think Mike may just go into the booth somewhere, we may finally see more of this personality.

Supposedly has a place in OC, but still does. Im sure at 60, he's tired.

Lol.... It really was a bunch of gibberish...

MS has always been good about knowing his place when it came to certain things and he knew the best guys to police other guys are the players themselves. The thing I've heard most from people about MS vs Naps wasn't so much that he disliked Naps as much as he felt he was too big of a slapdick for the leadership void that was created when Lackey left. People gave Lackey shit, and the dude was easily the guy leading the party when he was in Anaheim, but that dude flipped the switch when he got to the ballpark (Weaver too). Lackey could be counted on to get on guys If they weren't following suit, Naps not as much. As far Sheilds goes... Everything I've ever heard is that as great as he was in the pen he was even better at keeping guys from going to far when they went on their benders. The Dean Martin in the Angels version of the rat pack.

I don't think people know how much you speak to the players and how different the perception of MS is .vs the reality of MS. Bingo.... Unfortunately for some people with MS it's always about Napoli... And for some the name change is all they care to consider when talking about Arte.

There was no power struggle in the dugout... The former player turned GM went into the dugout and was told to go pound sand by the players.... Mike Scioscia never questioned the quality of the players handed to him. Never voiced a negative opinion of the trades made. Never once complained that the MLB staff was barred access to what was being done in the minors.... Meanwhile, anyone notice how all those mysterious leaks to the media started then ended once Jerry Dipoto left? There was a definite attempt to undermine during those days.... You have to be a real dullard to still not know who the guilty party was.... and for those people reading this while sporting a dunce cap.... It doesn't take insider access to figure that out... Unless you're a moron.

Why would I bother when your response reads like a guilty plea. Have your day.

As usual.... Someone with no insight other than reacting to body language in the tv is lecturing others about fantasy land. Physician heal thyself...

Rosenthal isn't a rumor monger..... I've read the article, it reads like MS has basically said he's done, or feels like he's done. It further states/seems that all the info he's getting is that it's not coming from anyone other than MS.

Are you really expecting class, intelligence, or perspective.....from someone sporting a "team dipoto" avatar? That's like betting on the kid wearing a dunce cap to win the spelling bee. Today is a great day for MS haters, best to let them have their day. Say what you will, they have been wanting this a long time.

Yes..... Narratives.....

Definitely Greg as Derek is still on the Giants

I'm rather ignorant of the various Mexican league designations, but it's wherever that Urias kid came from.

Different Holland