Joe - in the opening of this piece from the 11th, you said there was a big announcement for Friday, the 14th. Now it's the 24th and I can't seem to find any big announcement. What's going on?
As an A's fan it is always nice to see the Angels lose. However, I do feel bad for Mike Trout. He is the best player and he is getting very little support. He did carry them to victory against the A's last night with 4 hits including 2 homeruns, but it took all that plus an uncharacteristically poor pitching performance by the A's for them to get the victory. It was also a characteristically poor pitching performance from the Angels, which is why the final was 10-9.
Sigh. Yeah. I could quibble with some of the details, but this is about right. The Angels are a mess, and I think it starts at the top. I'm convinced they won't be able to build a functional roster until Moreno is gone.
As a lifelong Detroiter I have to say your Barry reference is spot on. The main difference is that Barry would get 20-25 touches a game, and he did get to the playoffs 5 times in his 10 years. And we KNEW the Lions would never get to the Super Bowl, not really, with the same certainty we have now so we could appreciate him for what he was, which was must-see TV. All I can say to Angels fans is to enjoy the crap out of Trout, because there's a real good chance you won't see another one like him again (although the Lions came close with Calvin Johnson, a man among boys)
It is a shame, and I thought some of the same when I put the Angels game on the other day, in hopes of getting to see Mike Trout do Mike Trout Things. Alas, the Angels could not capitalize on their opportunities (including three walks and a wild pitch in the 8th that somehow did not lead to a run) and Trout popped up to end it in the 9th.
But I do think you're underselling the Angels' success formula in the 'aughts. For one thing, you forgot to mention Bartolo Colon, who won the Cy Young one year, even if he was only healthy for two of his four years with the Halos. Garret Anderson was, if a little overrated, a star in his own right, leading the league in doubles a couple of times, and averaging .299 with 30 HR and 120 RBI from 2000-03, before age and injuries started hampering his game. Glaus was a wonderful young player, a three time All-Star with the Angels, though he too was hurt a couple of seasons there.
Jarrod Washburn, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana, etc., while not "stars" were far more than just "useful" in the rotation. Troy Percival was as good as any closer this side of the Great Mariano for a few years before K-Rod took over those duties. Torii Hunter "brought his star with him" to quote Reggie Jackson, and actually played better for the Angels than he had for the Twins, despite being 32 when he started his stint in Anaheim.
Sure, none of these guys had the profile that Guerrero did, but who does? He was one of the greatest players in history. But calling them "useful" is a little disingenuous.
As a Mariner fan, I feel no sadness for the Angels and their fans, though I know their pain. The Mariners are another franchise that were absolutely terrific (116 wins!) with a team that was mostly good players plus a couple stars. That 2001 still had Edgar Martinez and an amazing "rookie" in Ichiro, but didn't have Junior, or Randy Johnson. Jamie Moyer and Freddie Garcia were our star pitchers. Yet we didn't win the pennant.
Owners and GMs can drive us crazy. Very much looking forward to the latest endeavor. Worried that you're burning 12 candles at both ends and your brain will go kerblooie at some point (and your body... take care)
Another piece of excellence from JoePos! Totally agree with you on Barry - I am a Browns fan living in Michigan. Watched Lions games 'cause that's what I could get - and because watching Sanders was astonishing. It's always fun to watch humans turn the laws of physics into a pretzel. He put butts in seats, so the Lie-downs never felt the need to build an actual football team around him. Also agree on the sadness that is the Angels. I don't understand why Albert doesn't retire, and it is agonizing to watch the best player in baseball toiling for such a snakebit franchise... and I can't help but wonder if Ohtani would have been much better off somewhere else.
Because he loves the game of baseball. Because he'll have 30-50 years of life left after he hangs up the cleats for the last time. Because he is one of the 30-50 best to ever play and even in his diminished state is still one of the 1,000 best in the entire world.
I've always admired the Julio Francos and Rickey Hendersons who just keep showing up to the ballpark as long as anyone will give them a jersey, long after their skills had diminished and long after they had earned enough to for their grandkids to never have to work. They kept playing because it is as much fun as you can have with your clothes still on.
I agree with dlf completely. Albert wants to play, and he still can, a little bit. We can argue about whether baseball players truly "earn" or "deserve" their million dollar salaries, but according to the economics of major league baseball, he earned every bit of that giant contract the Angels gave him. Unfortunately, he earned it with St. Louis while the Cardinals were grossly underpaying him.
It's up to the Angel's manager and front office to remove Albert from the roster if they don't think he can play any more. It's up to Albert to show up every day and play as hard as he can for as long as they'll let him, and I believe he's doing that. He's just too old and injured to be effective any longer.
There's something truly tragic about seeing a transcendent player's career wasted by organizational ineptitude. Barry Sanders was the first one I thought of too. Maybe there is an idea there for a series of columns? :-)
Joe - in the opening of this piece from the 11th, you said there was a big announcement for Friday, the 14th. Now it's the 24th and I can't seem to find any big announcement. What's going on?
Arte Moreno is the Daniel Snyder of Baseball.
Mr. P.
As a long time fan of The Swingin' A's, I'm glad for the Angels absurd inaptness, despite my love for Trout and Andrelton Simmons.
I'm still sore that the Angels out-maneuvered the A's in scouting (and eventually signing) Trout, with the A's opting for Grant Green instead:
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/athletics/how-angels-stopped-picking-mike-trout-back-2009-mlb-draft
The Angels' ineptitude since then has been the saving grace.
As an A's fan it is always nice to see the Angels lose. However, I do feel bad for Mike Trout. He is the best player and he is getting very little support. He did carry them to victory against the A's last night with 4 hits including 2 homeruns, but it took all that plus an uncharacteristically poor pitching performance by the A's for them to get the victory. It was also a characteristically poor pitching performance from the Angels, which is why the final was 10-9.
Sigh. Yeah. I could quibble with some of the details, but this is about right. The Angels are a mess, and I think it starts at the top. I'm convinced they won't be able to build a functional roster until Moreno is gone.
As a lifelong Detroiter I have to say your Barry reference is spot on. The main difference is that Barry would get 20-25 touches a game, and he did get to the playoffs 5 times in his 10 years. And we KNEW the Lions would never get to the Super Bowl, not really, with the same certainty we have now so we could appreciate him for what he was, which was must-see TV. All I can say to Angels fans is to enjoy the crap out of Trout, because there's a real good chance you won't see another one like him again (although the Lions came close with Calvin Johnson, a man among boys)
It is a shame, and I thought some of the same when I put the Angels game on the other day, in hopes of getting to see Mike Trout do Mike Trout Things. Alas, the Angels could not capitalize on their opportunities (including three walks and a wild pitch in the 8th that somehow did not lead to a run) and Trout popped up to end it in the 9th.
But I do think you're underselling the Angels' success formula in the 'aughts. For one thing, you forgot to mention Bartolo Colon, who won the Cy Young one year, even if he was only healthy for two of his four years with the Halos. Garret Anderson was, if a little overrated, a star in his own right, leading the league in doubles a couple of times, and averaging .299 with 30 HR and 120 RBI from 2000-03, before age and injuries started hampering his game. Glaus was a wonderful young player, a three time All-Star with the Angels, though he too was hurt a couple of seasons there.
Jarrod Washburn, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana, etc., while not "stars" were far more than just "useful" in the rotation. Troy Percival was as good as any closer this side of the Great Mariano for a few years before K-Rod took over those duties. Torii Hunter "brought his star with him" to quote Reggie Jackson, and actually played better for the Angels than he had for the Twins, despite being 32 when he started his stint in Anaheim.
Sure, none of these guys had the profile that Guerrero did, but who does? He was one of the greatest players in history. But calling them "useful" is a little disingenuous.
As a Mariner fan, I feel no sadness for the Angels and their fans, though I know their pain. The Mariners are another franchise that were absolutely terrific (116 wins!) with a team that was mostly good players plus a couple stars. That 2001 still had Edgar Martinez and an amazing "rookie" in Ichiro, but didn't have Junior, or Randy Johnson. Jamie Moyer and Freddie Garcia were our star pitchers. Yet we didn't win the pennant.
Owners and GMs can drive us crazy. Very much looking forward to the latest endeavor. Worried that you're burning 12 candles at both ends and your brain will go kerblooie at some point (and your body... take care)
Another piece of excellence from JoePos! Totally agree with you on Barry - I am a Browns fan living in Michigan. Watched Lions games 'cause that's what I could get - and because watching Sanders was astonishing. It's always fun to watch humans turn the laws of physics into a pretzel. He put butts in seats, so the Lie-downs never felt the need to build an actual football team around him. Also agree on the sadness that is the Angels. I don't understand why Albert doesn't retire, and it is agonizing to watch the best player in baseball toiling for such a snakebit franchise... and I can't help but wonder if Ohtani would have been much better off somewhere else.
*I don't understand why Albert doesn't retire*
Because he loves the game of baseball. Because he'll have 30-50 years of life left after he hangs up the cleats for the last time. Because he is one of the 30-50 best to ever play and even in his diminished state is still one of the 1,000 best in the entire world.
I've always admired the Julio Francos and Rickey Hendersons who just keep showing up to the ballpark as long as anyone will give them a jersey, long after their skills had diminished and long after they had earned enough to for their grandkids to never have to work. They kept playing because it is as much fun as you can have with your clothes still on.
I agree with dlf completely. Albert wants to play, and he still can, a little bit. We can argue about whether baseball players truly "earn" or "deserve" their million dollar salaries, but according to the economics of major league baseball, he earned every bit of that giant contract the Angels gave him. Unfortunately, he earned it with St. Louis while the Cardinals were grossly underpaying him.
It's up to the Angel's manager and front office to remove Albert from the roster if they don't think he can play any more. It's up to Albert to show up every day and play as hard as he can for as long as they'll let him, and I believe he's doing that. He's just too old and injured to be effective any longer.
There's something truly tragic about seeing a transcendent player's career wasted by organizational ineptitude. Barry Sanders was the first one I thought of too. Maybe there is an idea there for a series of columns? :-)
Nice story. One glaring typo though. It's "Little" David Eckstein.