disarcina

yes. really have to agree with Sheffield on that........kind of an interesting comment coming from Sheffield. I am amazed that Sheffield -- 1.) is a TV commentator/ analyst and 2.) looks pretty comfortable and good doing the analyst work. to me, Sheffield is a guy who had amazing athletic ability, was a very good ballplayer who could have been really great but let his attitude issues make him more of a journeyman player who bounced from team to team........ despite the attitude issues and being bounced around, Sheffield, at the end of the day, put up close to HOF career numbers in several stat catagories and could have had even better stats had he been able to settle down as a ballplayer and play with one or two organizations....... he came up with Milwaukee and then went to San Diego -- the early years and promise he showed there were amazing.........to be fair to Sheffield he got traded from San Diego after putting up some near MVP numbers as a 3B and it was the owner's salary dump and complete payroll / player sell off more than anything else -- so to hear Sheffield calling out Hamilton for kind of dogging it on attitude is an incredible thing -- but I still think Sheffield's right. Angels should have left Hamilton OFF the post-season roster -- his AB's tonight looked terrible.

well utilized by KC..........

TroutBaseball -- excellent stuff -- a lot of Royals fans don't like Yost His in game decision making is very poor. I also have mixed emotions about the upcoming series........ Danny Duffy is from our area, went to my high school (a 'few' years after I did). My kids played little league ball with him and I played little league ball with his father (we were on the same team). I ran into his father down at Scottsdale this past Spring Training and we talked about the old little league days -- at the time, his kid, Danny, was in the process of losing his rotation spot to Ventura and was going to pitch that night (at Surprise) against the Cincy Reds.......we all went to the game........Duffy was warming up in the pen to come in the next inning when Salvadore Perez hit a line shot back through the middle that struck Arnoldis Chapman in the face........the game was halted (as it should have been) and Duffy didn't pitch that night - he was later sent out to Omaha to start the season........ so I have mixed feelings about the series -- I really like KC's scrappy manufacture run type team..........but I am not a fan of Ned Yost. Here's to Angels in three games!

I think Ernie Johnson is pretty good but even for these MLB telecasts they should team him with Charles Barkley and the rest of the NBA crew. Would be more entertaining........ actually, I remember one Monday night game when King Charles was in the booth with the Monday night guys, they weren't showing the booth much on TV and tuned in the game late......I'm half watching/ half listening thinking -- 'that sounds like Charles Barkley' -- well, it WAS Charles Barkley --- and he did a darned good job as a football analyst !! so bring on King Charles and the NBA guys for the Halos-KC series!

yk9001 --'didn't realize Ripken was in the booth until they showed a shot of the booth' LOL!! I was thinking the same thing last night -- for a 'commentator' he sure was quiet.........

I liked Vargas when he was with us -- did everything we pretty much asked of him. Angels didn't want to give him a FOUR year deal for the money KC gave him so we lost him -- not too upset about that -- but Vargas has pitched well for KC this year. no hard feelings vs. Vargas..........we left him, he didn't leave us.........he got a better deal from KC an organization on the up-swing and do so at a time when not too many other teams (certainly not the Halos) was seeking to give him a FOUR year deal and the money he was asking........ good for Vargas, good for KC -- now let's go out and beat him Thursday night.

There's a rather large segment of KC Royals fans who don't like Yost or his in game decision making. hey, his penchant for the sac bunt isn't something that's a negative to me -- I thought KC worked that angle of the game perfectly last night vs. the A's and the Royals have guys with the speed to make it work......... Yost's pitching decisions often defy logic and plain common sense, however.

also on Duffy -- he lost that one start he made in Anaheim and Trout hit a dinger off him early in the game.........that could be part of the reason as well.

anyone watching that Royals- A's game Tuesday night could see Ned Yost's poor in game decision-making up close. even before Pedro Martinez went on and on during the post-game show about how dumb (actually inexcusable) it was for Yost to replace Shields in the sixth inning with rookie Ventura -- who has never really pitched in relief before -- maybe one game -- and has no playoff game experience instead of the three trusted arms the Royals have in the pen who have been, perhaps the best bullpen during at least the second half of the season (Herrera, Davis, Holland and then a September addition -- sort of like K-Rod in 2002 --Finnegan WOW was he something or what? reminds me of when K-Rod shocked the Yankees back in 2002)........and he goes with Ventura..........Pedro Martinez went on about a thirty minute rant on this in the post-game show (and justifiably so). Another less commented on move but just as bad, was pinch hitting journeyman infielder Jason Nix for Moustakas in the 11th and then having the less able defender Nix take over for the smoother fielding Moustakas at 3rd.......it made a difference - the A's then tried their small ball game (not nearly as good as the Royals - GEEZ, do the Royals have that get the lead off guy on, sac him to second, or steal second and then have the speedster at second ready to score stuff -- they really did that well last night and most of the second half of the season) so the A's sac bunt, the ball goes slightly airborne but because Nix isn't positioned properly at third and not very good down there, the ball drops, potential tie-breaking run advances to second and scores on a base hit.......if Moustakes is still in, that sac bunt is caught in the air, the potential tie-breaking runner is doubled off first........ dumb stuff. But the A's continuing collapse (Gregerson and Doolittle doing their part) continues. the A's starting catcher getting knocked out in the third inning had a huge impact on the game as did Crisp leaving the game late. One wonders if Fuld was in LF and Crisp in CF whether Hosmer's fly ball triple 1.) is caught by Crisp (probably not) or, at least, 2). played better off the carom by Fuld (probably)........ oh well, at least the A's personnel changes there came as a result of injury instead of because of some dumb in game move by the manager. all of this makes me think we really need John McDonald on the playoff roster but that's probably not going to happen. pitching and defense wins playoff games.........I guess Beckham will do, but I keep seeing Freese at 3B in the late innings of close game and the Angels losing the game on a two run ground ball that winds up in left field instead of in McDonald's glove with a sure throw to first for out number three..........

worst -- as the original post states - -that's easy -- RICHARDS going down. the best -- hard to say -- I think we had SEVERAL and a few I cannot pinpoint the exact dates/ game but as Casey Stengel used to say 'you could look it up' -- the 2014 start sometime in April, perhaps May -- where it became apparent that Garrett Richards was stepping up to be a bona-fide rotation guy and a legitimate candidate for the All Star game. Not sure which start it was but I am confident looking back you can pinpoint the start where everyone said: Garrett Richards has arrived as an MLB starter and near ace quality. --the 2014 start sometime in August where it became apparent that Shoemaker was going to step up and pick up where Garret Richards left off filling a HUGE void in the Angels rotation. --the acquisition of Hutson Street (and the deletion of Frieri from the roster). Once the pen got solidified with a reliable closer it stabilized the entire pen, allowed Smith to become a set up guy, made Morin and Jepsen better and even Grilli came over and initially had some quality outings. Plus we were no longer plagued by Frieri's poor performance which just killed us in June/ July. -- MAJOR OFFENSIVE MOMENT -- the insertion of Kole Calhoun in the lead-off spot sometime in mid-July/ August -- that move (and the acquisition of Street) seemed to combine to provide the team chemistry in the line up that was previously missing.......everyone seemed to play and hit better after Calhoun assumed the lead off spot in mid July/ August.

I'd take Arte's business experience and background over others -- and it's not limited to billboards as noted above. One HUGE advantage (and it's fairly significant when you are talking about real estate acquisitions and development) Arte has over some of the corporate entities mentioned (Disney, Irvine Corp. -- no slouches there for sure) is that ARTE's turnaround time on decision-making. Arte can make a decision NOW, TODAY. If he likes it, he likes it and pulls the trigger on the deal -- if he doesn't he doesn't. TODAY. Remember when Disney ran the Angels ? They had to seek approval from one corporate department to another to do anything and one department obviously knew nothing about baseball operations and it became apparent the communication between departments was poor to non-existent. (To be fair to the Disney years -- they did make major improvement to the ballpark and invested the dollars it took to reach agreement with the City of Anaheim to keep the Angels in Anaheim. Some may forget -- but the Angels have seriously considered re-location previously).

I have not been impressed with his performance at all -- so his name would not be on any post-season roster I'd suggest. but as the only LHP, we'll see -- of course, Scioscia has never been a big fan of the situational lefty stuff --

Victor Rojas and Gubi reporting VERY positive news about Shoemaker's bullpen session today. It appears that Shoemaker will be ready to go for the ALDS. That's certainly the biggest WIN for the Angels today......... suddenly feeling a little better about the playoffs for us. Our bats are going to have to stay hot (like they have been the last few weeks) to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Lester's pitched well for the A's -- really helped them get to the playoffs and IF he wins the play in game, Billy Beane's gamble pays off. with that said, I STILL DO NOT LIKE THE CESPEDES deal.

well, if that's close in the AL -- just give one Cy Young for both leagues this year and name Kershaw MLB's Cy Young Award Winner....... talk about dominance........

nice to see Felix Hernandez to get the standing O from the M's crowd. He's the odds on favorite for the Cy Young and probably wins it -- although I think Kluber is going to give him a run. I think today's game helps King Felix regain some of the Cy Young momentum he lost there for a bit with that Toronto game last week followed by Kluber's excellent performance this week. 1.) Hernandez 2.) Kluber 3.) Sale 4.) Weaver (18 wins -- he'll get some votes and should).

M's had a nice run -- no one expected them to be very competitive this year......... A's melt down since the Cespedes trade amazing but Billy Beane's gambit may be paying off not that they are in the playoffs (by the skin of their teeth). They now have a decent rotation for the playoffs and IF Lester wins the play in game vs. KC -- then Beane's gambit has paid off....... I still don't like that deal -- but I think there's more news to come from Cespedes this off-season.

Oakland.........KC has played some great baseball down the stretch and in the second half generally....... the A's have been tanking for five weeks plus now and pretty much have barely avoided a total collapse out of the playoffs. only an M's mini-melt down in that series at Toronto prevented the M's from over-taking the A's -- King Felix's getting bombed in that start in Toronto last week is the reason they're not either headed to the playoffs today or at least in a one game playoff to BE the second Wild Card team with the A's. KC has a dangerous young team and a great bull pen.

he got it. great catch in OF for final out preserves first no hitter in NATIONALs history

I hear there's a rally in an empty Angel Stadium for him..........ah, enough of this -- I am done on this thread. important topic, though.

which brings up a point about the negotiations with the city of Anaheim over the Angel Stadium lease........ City of Anaheim is approaching this all wrong........they should replace the city council members that are negotiating on this with folks like: Hamilton, Gary Matthews Jr., Scott Kazmir, Kevin Appier..........perhaps there are few others. City of Anaheim might get a lopsided deal in their favor in no time with this line up of negotiators.

contractitis...........when player gets huge contract, poor performance and disabling medical condition often follows....... watch for drop off in production followed by series of DL stints.......

good stuff........... good to see this. remember when Torii took about a week off and missed games to deal with some 'personal' issues involving his son (while his son was playing high school football in Texas)? the matter got resolved and, the younger Hunter moved on to Notre Dame...........

Eric -- -well you are right and I don't know what his contract status is --- but if I were in the shoes of the TBS announcers -- you bet I'd be talking about Ichiro's MLB accomplishments today.......

emulate his style stance --if they immolated they'd be ON FIRE - literally LOL! Spell check --typos ah......