Pham is 30 and due a pretty massive raise in arbitration. I'm guessing they didn't want to pay a guy who's going to hit .250 with 25 HR that money with O'Neill and Bader available on the cheap.

For once, this team needs to go out and pay legit money for a closer. Go get a Craig Kimbrel, Cody Allen, Kelvin Herrera or Familia for big bucks (all are FAs). Every offseason, this team tries to get sneaky with a "value" closer and we end up with Brett Cecil, Greg Holland, Bud Norris, Luke Gregerson, Seung-Hwan Oh, Jonathan Broxton and Steve Cishek as a crap-tastic poo poo platter closer. Do what the Cubs, Rockies, Indians, Yankees, Red Sox and other teams who have had closer issues over the past few seasons have done - spend money on a legit guy and look for value in your setup guys. If you get burnt, so be it - but I can't take another season of these crap bullpens. Knowing Mo, we will begin next season with Tyler Clippard as our closer "because he was a great value" :banghead:

Tyler Cippard.. LOL!!!


My guess is Hicks will go into the closer role next season, but I agree with you.

Norris hasn't been bad this year at all. The rest of the bullpen sucks but Norris has done pretty well. And I'm not sure anyone would have predicted Hollands season. That guy was elite for Kansas City and Colorado. Hindsight is 20/20 but he just got the yips after some rough outings.

I agree that Holland was worth the one-year gamble, but he had a bad finish last season. Plus, the waiting to save a few bucks ended up with him missing spring training (which helped facilitate the yips). It’s pretty rare that the big money closers with a track record fail. Wade Davis, Chapman, Kimbrel, Allen and even Morrow have all gotten paid off a good track record and done well. You get in trouble when you promote 2nd/3rd tier guys without the track record. There are some of these top tier track record guys available in FA and the Cards should get one.

Brandon Morrow isn't what I'd call a guy with a "track record." He came basically out of nowhere last year to be a lockdown guy for the Dodgers, and while he was excellent for LA last year (and has been such for the Cubs when healthy this year), his track record has been one of injury, not performance.

The Cubs gave 2/$18 with an option for $12 million to a 32-year-old guy with one healthy AND productive year in the last five. That's just as much a gamble as going for a "value" signing at the position.

True, Morrow wouldn't really qualify. I forgot that Toronto made him a starter for 3-4 years in the middle of his career. He was more of a gamble. The positive is there will be 4-5 track record guys in FA and I'm hoping the Cardinals finally add one.

25 years ago, the great Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura incident happened.

Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura infamously brawled on Aug. 4, 1993

Sorry Mets fans.

It's true. The Mets would do well to lift themselves out of the rut that organizations like Boston, Houston, the Cubs and the Dodgers have found themselves in.

What's Dave Stewart up to?

In all seriousness, I think the lesson learned from the Mets is building around a young pitching staff is a very flawed way to build a team in today's game.

Bats and gloves are far more reliable for development and health.

I haven't looked into the numbers but a local radio host was throwing out some crazy numbers on the Angels injury troubles the past two seasons.

53 players have appeared in a major league game for the Angels this year, almost all due to injury. That's a whole other roster.

12 starting pitchers have hit the DL this year. 30 pitchers in all.

The original projected rotation:

Ohtani (UCL sprain; unlikely to pitch again this season)
Shoemaker (two starts and on the DL for a forearm nerve irritation problem--same thing as last year)
Richard's (UCL tear-- TJ surgery)
Skaggs (on DL currently and was DL'd earlier this season)
J.C. Ramirez (UCL in spring training; TJ surgery and never even reached the regular season)

Ramirez's replacement Tropeano (on DL 3 times this year)
Heaney started the year on the DL and has been the "healthiest" of the guys to end up in the rotation

55 players is the team record for most players the Angel's have played in a season-- set last year, when they were also devastated by injuries.

In addition to the pitching injuries, Trout just hit the DL, Pujols has missed time, Cozart is out for the season, Simmons hit the DL, Valbuena, Chris Young, Calhoun, Ohtani of course.

It's absolutely nutty that they're even a .500 ballclub (and almost were last year too).

Yet one metric rates them only the third most impacted by injuries this season (based on lost time & some undefined that I see "pre season roster value" per player)

Top 5 in impact?
WAS, NYN, LAA, LAD, STL

Dodgers, Cards, and Rangers tops in DL stints (regardless of player)

My point isn't that the Angels haven't had a tough injury year, but rather just more along the lines of "there's a lot of this shit going around".

See: St. Louis Cardinals

Yea my numbers were only based on what the local guy threw out and wasn't an overall comparison to other teams. I do know from also being local that the Dodgers were getting killed by injuries early in the season, so I am not surprised they are there.

I think the Dodgers also deserve a caveat in that they use the DL to get around roster spot rules

As do several teams these days however. And the number of uses would not be a major factor on the impact computation I mentioned.

Not MLB, but minors.



Check out this finish. 6-4 home team down, last of the 9th. 0-2, 2 out bases loaded. Batter strikes out. Home team wins.



You may never see this again.

Gotta love baseball

That was awesome!

That was infinitely more exciting than the Timber Rattlers' habit of playing the Spongebob Squarepants theme song in between innings, yes.

So the Dodgers have now lost 5 straight games in the 9th inning. Coincidentally, it's been 5 games since Kenley Jansen had to leave the team because of heart issues. I don't even know what to say anymore. It doesn't matter who they have throwing in the 9th. wtf?

Was hoping the brawl would have inspired the Dodgers and it kinda did, but when the team's mental spirit is broken, not much you can do to over come that

I would suggest that the Marlins just go ahead & get Urena on a plane without waiting for the team charter.

He's less popular in Atlanta right now than Al Qaida.

If Urena got suspended for a year, it would be too short. Such a crock of shit.

He's gonna have to bat sooner or later.

Brandon Nimmo just got hit by a pitch and taken out of the game. The Mets really can't have anything nice.

Most fucked up part is it was a chance to see history. Just bad for the game.

Acuna didn't register an AB so his streaks continue

Throw a 97 mph pitch deliberately at someone in a situation where he couldn’t have possibly be expecting it, just because he’s been playing well and embarrassing your AAA level team, and you get what is essentially a one game ban.

Quite simply mind boggling. You would have thought this would be completely impossible to fuck up that bad.

Way botched. Should have been at least 3 starts. Even if you just fine him 6 game checks.

Id make him start the nest time they play.

Naah; Five or six games is pretty consistent for an intentional HBP. Acuna's got to figure out how to turn in towards the catcher and let the pitch hit meat rather than bone anyway. A year? That's just crybaby shit.

Rangers had a 5-4 triple play against the Angels last night. Not one you see very often.

106 years is what I think I saw, does that sound right?

Being appalled at someone deliberately throwing 97MPH heat at a batter is "crybaby shit"? Fuck this stupid tradition, it's barbaric and bad for the game. If this happened on a street corner instead of in a baseball game he'd be looking at possible jail time.

I'm an "unwritten rules" guy by & large ... but hitting someone -- not brushing them back or coming in on the fists, straight up throwing at them -- just cause you can't get them out doesn't fit that as I know them.

If he'd been an ass about his hot streak, I can give leeway. If there was any sort of reasonable quid pro quo deal on it, I could give leeway.

None of that exists here.

This was nothing more or less than an uncontrolled outburst from a two-bit prick that didn't believe he could get the guy out and was unwilling to even TRY.

The only explanation I can come up with is the psychology/intimidation of hitting the guy, making him uncomfortable in the box, and hoping that it makes him less effective going forward. Not a justification for actually hitting him given the chance of real injury in doing it, but that's the best I could come up with.

Now, why you can't get there with a few brushbacks or just, you know, being better than your opponent, I don't know. He's basically telling everyone he's not good enough to beat the batter. That's the only real message being sent.

Not only that, but this wasn't even an attempt to back him off the plate. It wasn't a curve ball that hung up and didn't break, this was an out and out beanball. At least he didn't go head hunting.

Looks like the political insanity infecting Washington today has infected the Nationals too-several deals to be announced today-with the Cubs, Cards, more?

But is it insanity or simply reality?

Just 3-7 in their last 10, now 7.5 out of the division, 6.5 out of the wildcard, they ain't exactly burning things up with those guys. It looks & feels like pulling the plug to me.

I agree the Nats are pulling the plug on the season. But it was a good salary dump.
The Nats still have to find room for Robles and sign Harper. There has to be more moves.

Im not sure what the Cards are going to do with Adams. He is a 1B guy. This team has enough of those. I guess Carp moves to 3B to get Adams at bats.

Yep I agree Jon. They had even placed Harper on waivers only to pull him back when he was claimed, apparently by the Dodgers.

No sense in really letting him go because he will surely turn down a QO

Are the Nats grooming Robles to replace Harper?

If that's true it probably means they had a deal worked out with a team with a better record than the Dodgers. When the Dodgers claimed him they must not have been willing to give up anything or at least anything with enough value so the Nats pulled him back.

I was hoping it was the Cardinals. :p

Me too :)

Dodgers bullpen really choked this series from the Cards. Yeeesh

Yeah :(

I've gone from not-really-worried-they'll-be-fine to ... uh-oh.