The February 22, 2016 edition of Los Angeles Angels news includes Jered Weaver entering camp in the best shape flexibility of his life, Arte Moreno talking down to fans yet again, and a whole lot more…
The Story: Jered Weaver determined to rediscover his form
MWAH Says: Not quite a Best Shape of His Life story, but close. Weaver spent his winter working on increasing his flexibility, which he hopes will help restore not only some of that lost velocity but also his stamina. I sure hope he’s right. I don’t think it’ll make him what he once was, but I’m optimistic it will help at least some.
The Story: Moreno says it’s “never been about luxury tax”, refuses to talk to press
MWAH Says: God, what an asshole. Apparently Arte is now only speaking to reporters from MLB.com, which is bush league. And the implication that Alden Gonzalez is not a “real” journalist but some corporate lackey an insult to Alden. Also, the idea that some budget they’ve never stuck to is the real cause for not spending is almost too absurd to address. If you’ve overspent your budget every year, then whatever you think your budget was has never been your actual budget. Like, c’mon dude.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs to work under 165-175 innings limit in 2016
MWAH Says: Ugh, innings limits are so dumb. Nothing wrong about being cautious with a young pitcher coming off major surgery, but at least use a meaningful measure. Innings can be as long as 30 pitches and as short as three. Almost none are exactly the same. Why not use batters faced or actual number of pitches thrown as a barometer? A fixed innings limit is about as useful as a DVD rewinder.
The Story: Lefty reliever Christian Friedrich returned to Rockies
MWAH Says: Something the Angels didn’t like showed up in Friedrich’s medicals upon reporting to camp, which allowed the team the rare opportunity to “de-claim” the left-hander and send him back to Colorado. The Rockies promptly released him, which is a bummer. An even bigger bummer, for the Halos, is that initially claiming Friedrich cost them Taylor Featherston. Kinda wish they could “de-waive” him.
The Story: Al Alburquerque brings power arm to Angels bullpen
MWAH Says: Well, that is if he makes the Angels bullpen. I’m not convinced he has a spot, and his non-guaranteed contract isn’t convinced either.
The Story: Joe Smith wants to stick around
MWAH Says: I want Joe Smith to stick around too. Make this happen, Angels.
The Story: Several Angels legends to serve as guest instructors this spring
MWAH Says: Vlad Guerrero, Scot Shields, Chuck Finley, Bobby Grich, and Buck Rodgers is one hell of a roster. Should be fun.
The Story: Hector Santiago seeks to solve mystery of his split season
MWAH Says: There’s really not much mystery to solve. He managed an absurd strand rate of 88.9% in the first half—better than anyone in baseball not named Zack Greinke—then regressed to his normal career rate in the second half. He made some real improvements over the course of the season, but he’s still more or less the same guy he’s always been. Not bad, not great. Always frustrating to watch.
The Story: Orioles, Yovani Gallardo agree to three-year, $35 million deal
MWAH Says: The Angels officially move up a spot in the 2016 draft order, to #16. That should result in about a $500k increase in overall bonus pool money. There’s still a chance they move up to #15 or #14, but only if the Mariners, Red Sox, Rays, Indians, or Twins sign Ian Desmond and Dexter Fowler.
The Story: Mike Scioscia says Angels incorporated analytics in previous years
MWAH Says: Of course they did. How else to you explain Scioscia going from being the king of calling pitchouts for more than a decade to suddenly being among the least frequent pitchout callers the last two years? He uses analytics, he just doesn’t use them or trust them to the extent Jerry Dipoto wanted him to. That’s probably both bad and good. Scioscia has his things he likes and think work, and, at least anecdotally, they mostly have during his tenure.
The Story: Billy Eppler has smoother path with Mike Scioscia
MWAH Says: All Billy Eppler has to do to have a leg up on Dipoto is not fire Scioscia’s favorite coach unexpectedly two months into their first season together. Shouldn’t be a tough to do.
The Story: Angels hire Ben Francisco and Brendan Harris as pro scouts
MWAH Says: I had no idea Ben Francisco had retired. Guess he did.
The Story: Albert Pujols selling house in Irvine
MWAH Says: Dude is selling his home after living in it for four years, and he’s looking at getting a more than $2 million increase on the purchase price. Guess the housing market is OK again.
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