disarcina

the days when we pretty much 'owned' the Yankees are long gone. At one point the very successful Yankees teams that won championships had a winning record (over the span of a decade) against every AL team except one -- the Halos.

LOU -- i think you and I were once in agreement that Boston Red Sox fans are far worse than Yankees fans.......

Shoemaker is the slowest pitcher in terms of average time between pitches than any other pitcher in MLB reports this week's SI. Pretty good SI article about MLB being very concerned about the future of baseball (despite it's good fiscal health today) for the upcoming generation as the game has become one of homeruns and strikeouts and not much else.(with many pitching changes and other delays) making for about 3 minutes of actual action in a 2-plus hour game. the social media I-phone unplugged Gen-X'ers are not going to wait around very long to watch that spectator sport.

Featherston was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2011 out of Texas Christian University. perhaps the best known player from TCU in the bigs these days is Brandon Finnegan -- not sure where he is these days? was drafted by the KC Royals. Now with the Cincy Reds? Not sure. Finnegan made history by being perhaps the first player to play in the College World Series and the MLB World Series in the same season.. BTW TCU had six players drafted in this year's draft.

Featherston played college ball at some place like Georgia Tech (probably have that wrong) -- he was, apparently, a very good college MIF with some pop. He never showed any part of that --'good MIF' and 'with pop' at any time with the Halos. Of course, he rode the pine (now there's the country-western tune lyrics right there -- 'my lone, long time on the lone pine') and never really got the chance to show what he could do. Yeah, yeah, Rule 5 guy and all - I think everyone understands the 'must be on the roster' all year. -- I think most of us get that -- the part that mystified me then and now about the Halos decision with Featherston - is that it makes sense to protect him on the roster all year if he's your starting 2B or SS the next year.........but he wasn.t. In fact, it took the Halos all of about 10 days into off-season (after the end of the World Series) to ship Featherston off in a 'not get much in exchange' trade. HUh? So we got a no name player for a guy who took up a roster spot for an entire season? If we were going to do that, why not give him back to the Rockies before trade deadline and open up a roster spot for a guy who could play a productive bench role down the stretch ? Oh well, water way under the bridge........still a move/non-move that made absolutely no sense to me -- and that's with fully understanding Rule 5 conditions.....

SlappyUtilityMIF: Fister left us, we didn't demand his walking papers -- Fister did. Fister had a contract that said if he wasn't on the 25 man big league roster by a date certain (June 20 ?) then he had the right to demand his immediate release. Angels wanted to keep him at AAA for about three more weeks to a month and Fister, per his contract term, said NO. He was released. As pointed out here by some other posters, another team signing him at this point may require Fister to serve a short minor league stint -- so not sure what Fister gains here. Oh well, part of the Halos' reason for not calling him up and risk losing him was that they are somewhat satisfied with how the patch quilt rotation is going right now. they probably would have called Fister up in about 10 days to two weeks and had he been inserted into the line-up the Halos rotation would have had the equivalent of Nolasco starting 2/5th's of their games.........

Angelsjunky -- you must be Scioscia's speech writer -- I think we're going to see Mike S. say something very similar at season's end.........LOL !!

Was looking over the MLB box scores tonight and ran across TAYLOR FEATHERSTON's name. He is back up in the bigs now with the Tampa Bay Rays -- he played 2B in tonight's game and hit a homerun. For those of you who don't quite remember Taylor Featherston, he's an ex-Halo who spent an entire season (2015 ?) as a Rule 5 guy (from Colorado). If you don't remember him, there's a good reason why, the Angels hid him in pain sight on their bench all season long. He hardly played the first half of the season and at one point I think he went something like 30 games between at bats............he may have gotten his first hit of the season just before the All Star Break. the Angels sent other guys out, and either cut, demoted or outright release some players who could have helped the club but kept Featherston and some would say, wasted a roster spot all season. If that wasn't bad enough, after doing that, and reserving a wasted 25 man roster spot on the guy - at the end of the season the Angels either traded or otherwise dumped him and got virtually nothing in return....... I know the Angels have made some whopper of mistakes on roster moves and free agent signings......but this one -- for all season long 2015 -- seemed to me to be one of the strangest roster moves I've seen them make over the year..........didn't understand it then, still don't -- and the guy hit one out tonight for Tampa Bay.......oh well.

Does this Halos season sort of seem like being a kid again in the back seat on a trip and asking your parents every five minutes -- "Are we there yet?" We're not even to the All Star Break yet and the season is seeming to drag on as if it's already the dog days of August and the meaningless games of September.

we could be buyers.........try to improve.......perhaps snatch one of the Wild Card spots for a one game (one and done) gamble with a .500 level team that would either be one game and out or perhaps out the next round. and we take on some lousy contract(s) that continue to box us in long term (meaning we get salary dump guys from other teams at deadline). better choice -- we're sellers (not that we have much to sell, but certainly some salary to dump) and try to start building for 2018 and beyond -- even if we don't have much to sell -- if we can add by subtraction and clear some space - roster wise and salary wise -- that would be moving forward.......

Angelsjunky - pretty good summary -- explains a lot as to why we're about a .500 ballclub and more like a few games under .500 team. that (injury riddled) summary also provides an excuse/ explanation as to why Scioscia will return next season despite a 76-78 win season.

Jeff Fletcher's report tells the story -- Halos wanted more time to see how the current rotation was faring and wanted some more minor league starts from Fister and Fister said NO. And his contract allowed him to demand his release if not called up by June 15 or some date like that...... He'll catch on with some other team that will put him right into the rotation -- don't expect his numbers to be very good.......his most important number for some team may be IP.

expect the Halos to be active at deadline time..........expect a starter to get dealt, perhaps a pen guy (Norris has proven to be a decent closer -- he's on the DL as of today -- but he's going to be worth more to some team at deadline time than he would ever be again - deal him). Cron, etc.

I'd say we're sellers at deadline time -- not buyers. trade Bedrosian? It would make some sense but the post by Troll Daddy above gives the best reason the Halos won't do that at this point -- four years of club control for a pen guy who can be effective and perhaps even close -- well, his deadline trade date would be at least two years away, I would think. particularly where the Club is now -- keep players who can keep a somewhat competitive team on the field for the lowest cost possible for the longer period of time possible. Bedrock stays.........

well, Nolasco about at expectations.....gives up homeruns and pitches into the sixth/ seventh giving up 4 runs. that's about exactly what was expected from him.......and when a guy like that is your fourth/ fifth starter you are a barely .500 team that finishes out of a playoff spot. explains his soon to be 2-8 record. but then, remember, we're the team that had 2-15 Joe Blanton in our rotation that one year and he was aptly described as 'the worst pitcher in MLB' that year.........a few years later after bouncing around a bit, he winds up as a major guy in the LA Dodgers bull pen...........and I think he's still pitching in MLB somewhere.

Adell did well on his Anaheim premiere (which is usually in the TV press box first home stand after signing -- I remember seeing others do this routine -- I specifically remember the interview with Hank Conger -- 'from right here") But like all of these picks. Adell is a long way from Anaheim and The Show..........one step at a time. Gubi was giving him solid advice there -- although with all the All Star teams, traveling teams etc, special try out sessions.....it's sort of different these days - but Gubi harking back to his first years was telling Adell -- 'hey, you've been a star all your life, best player on the team, best player in the league, best player in the region. accolades all around, all the time, everywhere you go -- now you walk on to a professional ball field in Rookie A league ball in Arizona and suddenly there's a whole roster plus of players who are as good as yu are........for the first time in a long time, you're just another player until you show 'em otherwise.........

for those of you at the game -- must be a great weather evening at the old ballpark...........

Albert vs. KC -- I think he gets pumped up for these games knowing that the folks back 'home' are watching.......

yes - he give up dingers -- 4.81 not great but not like 'back in the day' when an ERA north of 4.00 got you sent down to AAA. 4.50 ERA (particularly in the AL) is fairly average............4.81 a bit below average but acceptable. Nolasco has met Halos expectations.......was acquired as an innings eater type 4 or 5 starter who can get through at least the six innings. I think he's done that............and, honestly, from the day the Halos got him - didn't expect much more -- can't quite remember now -- but didn't we get him in the deadline deal last year with Minnesota for Hector Santiago -- I thought and still think that was a pretty good trade for us -- not the trade of the decade obviously, but a move that made the Halos better and, I still think, we got the best we could get out of Santiago -- another pitcher who met / exceeded the relatively low expectations Halos had when acquiring him.

I think he's four or five and at times three-- he might be the only rotation guy not to serve DL time. so far.

Strahm is on a limited pitch count tonight.........75 to 80........Yost tends to do that to his young pitchers........I think Strahm may be coming off TJ surgery or some other arm issue.

Nolasco does give up dingers -- but what's his record ? 2-7 or something.....he's actually pitched better than that.........

fan_since 79 -- that's it !!! Marvin Miller the legendary player's association rep literally went to bat for Alex Johnson after he was traded from the Angels (I think he went to Philadelphia and perhaps St. Louis after that) -- Johnson's antics and angry attitude wore thin in team clubhouses and he was traded often despite his ability as a true professional hitter. Marvin Miller took the time to talk with Johnson and review his situation. He checked his medical issues and was able to get confirmation that Johnson was bi-polar and suffered mental episodes that would lead Johnson to outbursts of violent rage. Piersall may have been the poster boy for mental illness issues in MLB but the first player to be compensated by MLB for having a mental condition diagnosis and being unable to play because of it was Alex Johnson because of the behind the scene work and lobbying of Marvin Miller. On a side note, I there was a poster here (might have been pinetar -- author of Once They Were Angels) who posted here and may have written in one of his books as well, that despite the reputation Alex Johnson had and the well documented 'incidents' involving him (Chico Ruiz and the gun in the dugout incident for one) that as a player interacting with the fans, no Halos player was more accommodating and nicer than Alex Johnson who would sign autographs for kids and fans and be very nice to them.

Trout may be wearing number 72 -- who else wore that number (not for the Halos, but I'm fairly certain he's in the HOF). Hint, hint: 'Stay fair, stay fair, stay fair..........."

That Expos uni and cap will look pretty interesting in the Halos Hall.......