March 28, 2017
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
March 28, 2017 Page 1 of 19 Clips (March 28, 2017) March 28, 2017 Page 2 of 19 Today’s Clips Contents FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3) Angels' opening-day roster isn't set quite yet Angels pitcher Jesse Chavez shines as Angels top Diamondbacks FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 5) Catcher Martin Maldonado wows Angels with 'cannon' arm Jesse Chavez sharp in Angels' victory over Diamondbacks FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 9) Free agents could be valuable at Deadline Relievers Guerra, Valdez among Angels cuts Pujols backs Chavez's strong start Angels cautious with Simmons' stiff back FROM THE WASHINGTON POST (Page 13) Angels’ Mike Trout convinced a coach’s son to drop $1,500 on ‘Clash of Clans’ FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Page 13) The New Testament: An oral history of Mike Trout's greatest moments to date FROM ESPN.COM (Page 17) Predicting Angels’ 2017 record March 28, 2017 Page 3 of 19 FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES . Angels' opening-day roster isn't set quite yet By Pedro Moura Less than one week from opening day, the Angels roster remains an incomplete puzzle, much like the order of their starting rotation. Manager Mike Scioscia may have offered a hint about the rotation Monday when he said right-hander Ricky Nolasco would start in a minor league game Tuesday rather than pitch in the Angels’ game against Oakland. The Angels open the regular season against the Athletics; it stands to reason they’d like to avoid exposing him to a division rival a week ahead. So, pencil Nolasco in for one of the first four starts of the season. As for the roster, the Angels are not yet saying. “I’m very pragmatic with decisions,” General Manager Billy Eppler said earlier in the spring. “I like to wait until the 11th hour all the time.” Similarly, Scioscia often resorts to a familiar quip: “Do I have to tell you now?” He will have to say soon. Noon on Sunday is the deadline to submit a 25-man roster to Major League Baseball. That roster changes, of course. In 2016, the Angels added four players in April and 10 in May. By year’s end, 53 players appeared for the team, and at least one more dressed in uniform without getting into a game. The Angels on Monday did reveal six players who will not make their opening roster: catcher Tony Sanchez, infielder Rey Navarro, outfielders Eric Young Jr. and Shane Robinson, and right-handers Jose Valdez and Deolis Guerra. However, all six will remain in major league camp and travel with the team to the Freeway Series. Another player, utility man Dustin Ackley, said he met with staffers and concluded his best path was staying in Arizona to bat regularly in minor league games while the team plays the Freeway Series. Ackley will then break camp with triple-A Salt Lake and head there in advance of its April 6 opener. He has not played in the field while recovering from surgery for a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. He can opt out of his contract to pursue another major league opportunity, but he has to first play a position to prove his health. Those seven decisions solidify the Angels’ lot of position players. Catcher Carlos Perez, outfielder Ben Revere, and infielders Jefry Marte and Cliff Pennington will formulate the opening-day bench. Six right-handers appear still in the running for three bullpen spots: Bud Norris, Yusmeiro Petit, Blake Parker, Mike Morin, Kirby Yates and Austin Adams. March 28, 2017 Page 4 of 19 And there are a myriad conditions to consider. Norris and Petit can handle multiple innings in a game. Petit’s minor league contract has an opt-out clause. The latter three men are already on the 40-man roster. The first three are not, and would require the removal of a player who is. Among the six, only Morin can be kept in the organization without exposing him to waivers if he does not make the roster. But, in left-hander Andrew Heaney and right-hander Nick Tropeano, the Angels possess two pitchers on their roster who will go on the 60-day disabled list when the season begins, and thus no longer take up a 40-man spot. So, every combination of the pitchers is possible. Norris, Parker and Yates said they have not been told of the team’s plans. Norris has made seven consecutive opening-day rosters, so the uncertainty is new. For Parker and Yates, who teams have long treated as fungible, it’s quite common. A year ago, with the New York Yankees, Yates packed his bags for the flight to New York for the season but learned his future only upon boarding a bus to the airport. Upon landing, he’d stay in town, not bus over to the team’s triple-A affiliate in Scranton, Pa. He made the team. Short hops Several Angels will leave for Anaheim after appearing in Tuesday’s Cactus League game, then work out Wednesday evening at Angel Stadium. … With his fellow pitchers surrounding him in the bullpen beyond the outfield wall at Tempe Diablo Stadium, Heaney threw off a mound Monday for the first time since his elbow ligament surgery in July. … Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was the only Angels regular to not start Monday. Scioscia said Simmons had been bothered by lower-back tightness this week. The manager expects Simmons to return to the lineup by Thursday. Angels pitcher Jesse Chavez shines as Angels top Diamondbacks By Pedro Moura The Angels defeated Arizona, 4-2, on Monday at Salt River Fields. They’re 17-13 in the Cactus League with two games to play. AT THE PLATE: The Angels scored a run on three singles in the second inning against Arizona right- hander Shelby Miller. … After back-to-back walks of Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout in the fifth inning, Albert Pujols banged a two-run double. ON THE MOUND: Right-hander Jesse Chavez threw just 73 pitches over six shutout innings. He struck out three, walked none, and allowed three hits. The PITCHf/x system installed at the stadium logged one of Chavez’s second-inning fastballs at 95.7 mph. He said he’d been paying attention to his velocity in his recent minor league starts and was pleased to see an uptick Monday. He expects to next start Saturday at Dodger Stadium, in the final exhibition game of the year. … In relief, right-handers Cam Bedrosian and Andrew Bailey threw scoreless innings, while right-hander Kirby Yates yielded two runs to scrap the shutout. March 28, 2017 Page 5 of 19 EXTRA BASES: Running from first base, Pujols successfully took third on a second-inning single. But, running from second base on a fifth-inning single, he experienced significant trouble slowing his lumbering body around third. Third-base coach Ron Roenicke had a stop sign up early, but Pujols appeared intent on running through it. He then tried to suddenly stop and nearly fell over. He managed to get back to third base safely and later scored on a groundout. … Trout, C.J. Cron, and Danny Espinosa each stole a base. UP NEXT: Angels vs. Oakland Athletics, 1 p.m. Tuesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. TV: FSW; Radio: 830. FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER . Catcher Martin Maldonado wows Angels with 'cannon' arm By JEFF FLETCHER TEMPE, Ariz. – Much as Ron Roenicke would have liked to see what could have happened, he instead took the cautious route when he handed the ball to Martin Maldonado on the mound. Roenicke, then the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, turned to his backup catcher to maneuver the final three outs of a lopsided loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in April 2014. And he gave him specific instructions. Just throw strikes. Forget the radar gun. “He’s got the best arm in baseball for a catcher and I thought he was going to go to the mound and try to throw 100 and I didn’t want him to get hurt,” said Roenicke, now the Angels’ third base coach. “It would have been fun to see what he could have put up on the radar gun, but you’re always concerned about a guy getting hurt.” Maldonado merely threw 82 mph fastballs in working a scoreless inning, saving his bullets for throws from behind the plate. That was fine with Roenicke, who is such a fan of Maldonado that last October he suggested to General Manager Billy Eppler that he try to get him. Eppler did swing a deal for Maldonado in December. In his first camp with the Angels, Maldonado has been impressing his new teammates with the arm that Roenicke saw for years in Milwaukee. “It’s unbelievable,” Matt Shoemaker said. “It’s a noticeable difference than most. It’s an absolute cannon.” Added Garrett Richards: “It speaks for itself. It’s a cannon.” Mike Scioscia: “A cannon.” Their lack of creativity aside, the point is unmistakable. March 28, 2017 Page 6 of 19 “His arm ranks with any of the best throwing catchers I’ve seen,” said Scioscia, a former catcher who pays special attention to the players behind the plate. “His arm strength is tremendous.” Fellow catcher Carlos Perez said “it’s a special arm.” Ask Maldonado about his arm and a smile crosses his face before the question is even out. Clearly, it is a source of pride for him, and no wonder Roenicke felt the need to order him not to overdo it in his cameo on the mound.