Tuesday, April 03, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Tim Crews LAN b. 1961, played 1987-1992, d. 1993-03-23
Miguel Garcia CAL b. 1967, played 1987
Wally Moon LAN b. 1930, played 1959-1965, All-Star: 1957, 1959. All due respect to the First Cambridge Company, there is a place to every career under heaven, some more so than others. Left-handed Wally Moon was born to hit in the funky confines of the Coliseum, where the Dodgers first played when they moved to Los Angeles; with the 42-foot-high fence in left field only 250 feet away from home plate, a left-handed hitter with an inside-out swing could get a lot of mileage out of the park. As a result, he posted a career high in average while getting a solid-not-great number of balls over that fence, "Moon shots" as they were known at the time. Dodger Stadium probably didn't hurt him as much as age, and he retired after 1965.
Gary Pettis CAL b. 1958, played 1982-1987. A Top 100 Angel, which probably tells you more about his speed than his bat; the latter was terrible, and after 1986, a year in which he posted a .258 average, he was never as good in the batter's box again. He did manage to draw some walks, though, with his best season coming for Detroit in 1989. He was a great base stealer and a tremendous defensive centerfielder, but too much of his value was tied up in his legs and glove for him to be an everyday player. The Angels traded him in December, 1987 for Dan Petry after it became obvious that Devon White was the Halos' future in centerfield.
Hawk Taylor CAL b. 1939, played 1967
Minor League Rosters Finalized
Here they are:- No surprises at Salt Lake (aside from Curtis Pride starting the season in AA), as Brandon Wood, Kendry Morales, Jeff Mathis, Terry Evans, and Nick Gorneault all feature in the Salt Lake lineup. Stephen Smith seems to think this is because the Angels are going to try out one or more players (Kendry Morales?) in the outfield.
- I covered the Travs roster yesterday; one interesting wrinkle Smith suggested is that the Angels are easing Curtis Pride into a coaching role. Nick Adenhart, Nick Green, and Sean Rodriguez will all start their seasons at AA.
- Hainley Statia returns to Rancho; Amalio Diaz and Jordan Renz are among the promotions. Of course, Rancho will kick off their season with Bartolo Colon pitching on opening night and Jered Weaver back in his familiar Friday night slot, both rehab assignments.
- Trevor Bell, Hank Conger, Sean O'Sullivan, P.J. Phillips, Ryan Mount, and Warner Madrigal will appear for the Kernels. Mark Trumbo will repeat his 2006 at this level; watch him carefully. The Angels may just want to put him back on the mound. Also, Pedro Borbon, Jr. will be the team's pitching coach.
- I'm still looking for a roster for the 51's, the 66ers, and the Great Lakes Loons, but while that goes on, the Suns' roster reports Scott Elbert, Chin-Lung Hu, Justin Orenduff, Mike Megrew and Zach Hammes will all be on the 24-man, as will Wilkin Ruan, Anthony Raglani, and newcomer Xavier Paul.
I Always Did Like Arte's Horse Sense: Just Says "No" To A-Rod
Sure, he's a special player, but not at those prices:"Alex Rodriguez is a special player, and he's probably going to break every power number out there," Moreno said. "But eventually, there is a ceiling economically. There are only X number of teams not limited on what they can spend and still put 25 players on the field."
Scot Shields, Gambling On Baseball?
Seriously, why isn't the commissioner looking into this?With Bartolo Colon making a rehabilitation start in Class-A Rancho Cucamonga's season opener Thursday and Jered Weaver pitching there Friday, the Angels are liking the Quakes' chances in the California League.Let's hope he's just joking."Actually, I'm going to put some money on them," reliever Scot Shields said. "Bart on opening day and then Weaver? I tell you what, it's going to be a treat for those kids to play behind them."
Bigbie Back In Vegas, Other Roster Notes
- Larry Bigbie is back in Vegas and Matt Kemp is with the big club partly because Bigbie couldn't find another team interested in his services.
- Furcal's sprained ankle got worse during the flight over to Milwaukee and is liable to postpone his return date.
- Yhency Brazoban is ahead of schedule and may pitch in a minor league game in a couple of weeks.
- Hong-Chih Kuo will return to the team Monday and begin a throwing program.
- Eric Gagne could return from the DL as early as April 13.
: 4/03/2007 11:00:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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