There wasn’t much news on Adam Jones’ market this winter, though ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the Giants and other teams were interested in the veteran outfielder earlier this winter at a price tag of around $2MM-$3MM on a one-year contract. Jones was looking for more at the start of the offseason, though ultimately landed a contract in that range, agreeing to a one-year, $3MM deal (with $2MM more available in incentives) with the Diamondbacks. The Giants were a logical suitor for Jones given their unsettled outfield, and San Francisco ended up landing a number of veteran outfielders (Gerardo Parra, Cameron Maybin, Craig Gentry) to minor league contracts, rather than give Jones a guaranteed Major League deal. Given the timing, it seems like the Giants decided to move on from Jones rather than wait to see if his price dropped.
Here’s more from the western half of the baseball map…
- Felix Hernandez is entering the last season of his seven-year, $175MM contract, and while the veteran righty obviously won’t receive anything close to that salary in his next contract, it increasingly seems like it will be his last year altogether with the Mariners. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times puts it, “neither side seems interested in continuing the relationship” beyond 2019, creating the possibility of an awkward exit for one of the franchise’s greatest players. After injuries hampered Hernandez’s effectiveness in 2016-17, the 32-year-old suffered through the worst season of his career in 2018, posting a 5.55 ERA over 155 2/3 innings. As a result, Hernandez has been dropped to the fifth spot in Seattle’s rotation, thus ending his streak of 10 consecutive Opening Day starts. There appears to be some hard feelings on Hernandez’s part about missing the opener, admitting to reporters that he was upset about the decision, though adding “I’ve got no comment to that,” when asked to give further details.
- Mariners rookie right-hander Gerson Bautista left today’s game after suffering an injury to his upper arm and/or pectoral muscle. (MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those to report the details.) There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury, though Bautista left the mound in visible discomfort. Bautista was part of the trade package acquired from the Mets as part of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade, and the 23-year-old has been making a good case to win a bullpen job during an impressive spring.
- Top Angels prospect Jo Adell will be out of action for 10-12 weeks after suffering both a Grade-2 right ankle sprain and a Grade-1 left hamstring strain, the team announced (Twitter link). Adell was a consensus top-14 prospect in preseason top-100 rankings, with Baseball Prospectus going as far as to rank Adell as the second-best prospect in all of baseball. The outfielder was expected to begin the year at Double-A, though Adell will now be force to miss a a big chunk of his third pro season.
- Tyler Skaggs missed today’s scheduled Cactus League outing due to forearm fatigue, Angels manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group). As worrisome as any forearm issue is for a pitcher with Skaggs’ Tommy John history, the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious — Skaggs merely overworked himself while experimenting with a new pitch. An MRI revealed no problems, and Skaggs is expected to be back on the mound in a few days’ time. (A follow-up tweet from Fletcher even showed a picture of Skaggs playing catch after his start was shelved.)
Skaggs hurting is a blessing in disguise.
Please elaborate
Skaggs is and never will be better than a fifth starter at best. First he is always injured. Second, he cannot consistently pitch deep into ball games. Which means, he consistently makes relievers pitch a lot of innings. In 24 starts last season, Skaggs pitched only 125 and 1/ 3 innings. That averages to only 5 and 1/3 innings a start. Maybe with him and Heaney both already having arm issues, the Angels go out and add another starting pitcher or two.
Mystery team for Keuchel anyone?
Don’t a large % of starting pitchers no longer go deep into games? Skaggs is damn good when healthy. Certainly better than a 5th starter.
You don’t know much about baseball. Actually, you don’t know anything about baseball.
You can say Skaggs in injury prone, that’s understandable, but when he got hurt last year his ERA was in the mid twos.
Skaggs has shown he is a 3 when healthy. So I don’t know what you are rambling about.
Skaggs has shown he’s a #2 when healthy, and even that may be selling him short.
He was healthy at the beginning of last year. He tried to pitch through a groin injury last year, he didn’t make it. His ERA the first half of last year was 2.57.
I don’t know if he’s going to be healthy, but he has a chance to be a very very good pitcher if his health allows.
Tyler Skaggs has never posted an ERA under 4. If you can with a straight face tell me he’s proven to be a #2 starter. There’s a serious problem. Sometimes we need to remove the homer glasses because that is ridiculously inaccurate. He’s never pitched more than 128 innings in a season. You’re a #2 starter because you consistently put up results. I can find you 100 pitchers who posted a great 2 months. That doesn’t make them a #2 starter.
I think you need to put on glasses. Are you not trying to see what he did last year? I WROTE WHEN HEALTHY!!! That word is a big deal. Why leave it out? I never said he’s going to be healthy.
Name one year Skaggs has been healthy? Name one year he’s stayed healthy?
Last year he gets hurt then posts an ERA of 9.22 over 27 innings before getting shut down. If that’s what you want to concentrate on, then so be it. But you shouldn’t be evaluating pitchers.
Skaggs is very good when healthy. The problem is he can’t stay healthy.
And you’re basing that off of what less than half a season last year? Are you going to ignore ‘16 and ‘17? Like I said he hasn’t proven to be a #2. 2 month sample sizes don’t change anything.
If you want to have a dialog, I love dialog.
This is absurd an comment and this comment started this thread. “Skaggs hurting is a blessing in disguise.” I don’t see how anyone can agree with that statement.
I’m basing my opinion on many things.
1) Every talent evaluator thought Skaggs was better than Corbin.
2) He has a 11% swinging strike rate, an 83% zone contact rate, Both are on the very good side of good. Not elite, But a little better than good.
3) His K :BB rate is more than 3 to 1.
4) When he was healthy last year, he was better than good.
5) I tend to ignore people’s seasons when they are coming back after Tommy John surgery. Control almost always stinks. I’m not really going to pay all that much attention to the 85 innings after TJ surgery. No one would.
He can’t say healthy. He pitches hurt and when he pitches hurt he’s terrible and he admitted that.
6) I’m thinking he’s smarter now. Because he said it. Maybe he’s not,
Skaggs can’t stay healthy. He may NEVER stay healthy. But if he’s healthy, I expect him to be good.
I like Skaggs. I think he has talent. I don’t agree with the guy up there who said he’s a fringe 5. He just has not demonstrated he was a #2. That was my issue with your argument. A few months of good pitching doesn’t put him there. The Corbin jump is an exception not really the norm. I like Skaggs as a solid middle of the rotation guy if he’s healthy. But you know hes kinda proven he can’t be healthy. There’s potential there. I think Skaggs compares favorably to Heaney. I could see Skaggs chalking up a season like that if he’s healthy. ERA in the high 3’s 180 innings 180Ks etc.
I have no issue with anyone who thinks Skaggs wasn’t a number two the first half of last year. He didn’t pitch enough innings and he didn’t pitch deep into games. His first 19 starts, he allowed more than 2 runs three times. I think he was better, but I get it, it was only half a year.
But when he was in there, he pitched very well. He has good stuff, he has a big pedigree, And if he’s healthy, I’d bet on him. Of course there are a lot of pitchers I wouldn’t bet on being healthy.
I say so many time! Angels have worst head athletic trainer in game! How does online degree mill masters from California University of Pennsylvania get job so important? Doctor of Physical Therapy or legitimate degree person could help team not lead league in broken players!!!
Reading your comment, I’d encourage you to pursue a degree – online or otherwise – in English composition.
Get over yourself. Talk baseball, not degrees.
Agree. But he has a point…
How many number two or three starters can’t pitch 6 innings? He is consistently around 80 pitches in the fourth inning. No most pitchers don’t go deep into games anymore. Skaggs with the Astros or Roid Sox, would be battling to be there fifth starter. With the Indians or Nationals, he would be battling, for a spot in the bullpen. Hell if Skaggs was with the Rockies, he would start the season in the minors. What do all those teams have in common? They all have a Legitimate chance not only to make the playoffs, but to make a run in the playoffs.
Until he got hurt, Nine of his last 12 starts were 6 innings or more and during those dozen games his ERA was 2.38.
Skaggs would start the year in the minors for the Rockies?. You’re crazy.
I don’t think Ejemp2006’s first language is English. I think – my apologies if I’m wrong – it might be Korean – from previous threads. So maybe chill out a bit on the perfect composition.
Regardless – his/her point is valid. Why do the Angels shred arms like literally no other team in baseball?
As an A’s fan I’m not always disappointed by the above but when in 2014 the Angels played scintillating baseball down the stretch.- but reached October with – guess what – a shredded rotation – is it not correct to question the medical staff involved?
And to then question every season since then?
Oh… the what if’s of 2014. Two out of the Angels first three starts were great.
If Richards doesn’t go down and the Angels had any kind of bullpen, that’s a different year. But woulda, coulda, shoulda.
You can’t go anywhere in the playoffs without a bullpen,
unfortunately, angels still have a weak pen.
Hello Mac,(don’t know whether you’re a halo’s fan or not?)
90% agree with you about the BP. But I went from being in awe of the Angels to knowing (that if we (the 2014 A’s) got past KC in the WC game) that we’d win the ALDS against the Angels.
I don’t know whether things will be better for the Angels now that Scioscia has chosen to move on. Personally I always had a lot of time and respect for Scioscia. I know a number of Angels fans wanted them to move on earlier than they (or he) did. But like King Felix (in this thread) everyone be he a coach or a player wants one last shot, one last fight….
Ah what was my point? Oh – yeah – the smaller the bridge (to the bullpen) the less likely you are to fall off it. I don’t know what the Angels winning % was during Aug/Sept 2014 (I’m guessing .750) but in 15 years of being an English baseball tragic – that was the one team I have been totally afraid of.
Ejemp brought up degrees first, Mack. Maybe read or see yourself out.
I can’t defend their pen.
I think Scioscia not being here is going to help a lot. He couldn’t manage a pen to save his life. Without Scot Shields he would have been fired a decade ago.
It’s no coincidence that when Shields career ended the Angels stopped dominating the division.
The Giants are trying to get younger while waiting out the existing bad contracts. Signing Jones makes no sense at this point. He was one of the worst defensive players last year and playing RF in SF would not help those numbers this year. They may try and trade for a younger outfielder with a couple years of control left. Short of that, don’t think they’re going to do much until they see how the present group performs. I’m happy they did not sign him.
The giants are most likely going to be giving significant playing time to Gerardo Parra/Cameron Maybin. You don’t have 2 prospects who are going to be playing in the corners. You’ll be lucky to find one out of your group of guys who sticks this year. He definitely made sense.
Williamson will play left and yes, I agree with you that Parra and someone else will be in right. Not sure Maybin makes the squad with his dui and .200 spring BA. maybe Slater, younger, user team control for a while. I could see a move for an older guy if they were somehow in contention at the trade deadline. Giving 3-5M for a poor defensive player when you’re trying to get younger and more athletic doesn’t mesh
I think they want slater to be a multi positional utility guy right now – or I imagine if they can move the longoria contract to be a regular player at third –
I think it’s definitely worth it for SF to see what they have in Mac Williamson.
… said every March for the last three years.
@jbigz12 It makes sense if you want a guy who can’t play defense anymore and is slowing down as a hitter manning right field. They got that already now with minor league contracts and don’t have to guarantee squat.
He didn’t make sense. People through batteries and called him the N word when he played in SF. Him going there was never an option for him.
I don’t think one guy going rogue in SF throwing a banana is what nixed that move. Unless you think that’s how SF, a notoriously liberal City, truly feels. I don’t see how he’d be any different than having Cameron Maybin out there. Jones knows that.
It honestly would not have hurt to have signed him – inevitably parra will probably make the roster as a blanco – like platoon guy but anyone on a one year deal doesn’t hurt anyone’s chances on the future. I think if they have veteran guys that they can stash on the bench or in AAA all it does is give insurance if mac doesn’t pan out since he is out of options or if they can turn it around a little – guys that they can flip for some low level prospects at the deadline.
Zaidi has said recently he does not believe in bringing in veteran players in the middle of spring training because they do not usually produce during the season. Apparently there is data to back this up.
His excuse to be cheap. He’ll still fill the roster with even worse veteran pickups to block rookies since we’re not going to be competitive. He’ll try to flip those guys midseason, then begin a rebuild. For him, this season really doesn’t count.
Felix Hernandez is in for a very rude awakening. If the Mariners didn’t have him under contract already this season, there’s no way he’d have received anything more than a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Even the MiLB contract would probably only have come from a couple teams. Expecting an opening day start after his last 3 seasons shows a lot of arrogance.
Agreed. Felix is lucky to be in a starting rotation at this point. Barring an unforeseen bounceback this year if he continues playing he’s almost guaranteed to be on a minor league deal.
He’ll be DFA’d if he does produce soon.
His attitude is terrible. Since day 1 in ST. A bunch of snarky remarks being made often. I’d honestly DFA him at this point. Run a thank you Felix add and in season honors and call it. It’s over.
You’re not at all wrong, but I’d be snarky too if I wasted a pretty incredible career on the post-2001 Mariners.
Nobody put a gun to his head for $175mil extension. He choose to stay.
And ownership chose to have bad management for roughly the entire run. Not Felix’s fault.
Felix spent his first 6 years before agreeing to stay. Gladly took the 175 million. Sorry it didn’t work out but that contract is the only thing keeping him in a starting rotation at this point. He shouldn’t have anything to say now
He liked the massive contract and the idea of being the big fish in a small pond.
As much as he mightve wished to not have spent his more promising years with the mariners teams that came together, I’m sure the mariners wish they hadn’t been saddled with the last 3 years of his contract (and counting).
I’d demote him to the bullpen for mop up duty if that attitude continued.
Felix chose to be a Mariner, and he enjoyed being the king. Maybe he preferred that to being on a winning team. He certainly is clinging to it now.
A decent starter instead of Felix last year could have meant going to the playoffs. Maybe the Mariners have already shown him loyalty for a year too long.
As the trade deadline approached, a lot of fans thought the team should get another starting pitcher. While I also saw that need, I thought, “Who will they replace? Dare they replace the “King”?” All of the others were doing a good job.
If I was the Mariners FO, I’d give Hernandez the spring and a couple of starts before making that decision, but yes, if he pitches like he did again last year, DFA wouldn’t be a bad idea just to get him out of the clubhouse.
This. Give him 5 starts. If he doesn’t show any spark or seems to not be trying/caring then cut him loose. You have to eat the money either way and might as well see what you have with someone else rather than wasting a spot.
Athletes are full of self belief. It’s what helps them become great athletes.
But it also makes it difficult to recognize when they no longer have it. And Felix appears to be at that point. Which is why it rarely ends well.
One of the best I’ve ever seen live when at his best.
Poor Bautista…the Mets injury curse strikes again.
Felix in his prime was so damn good….it’s real shame the Mariners worked him like a pack mule, pitching him over 1200 innings before he was even 24. The expected decline happened, of course – but his peak is up there with the all-time greats, especially when adjusted for his era and league. But yeah, Divish, when recently interviewed about Felix, told about his disappointment about not opening the season and that he’s hurt by the Mariners decision on his future. Felix doesn’t seem to understand how bad he is now. It’s a little crazy to think his career was pretty much over at 29, much like Koufax’s was.
One thing I found very interesting about him was his velo. Obviously we all know it’s gone. However, he came into the league with a 95-96 MPH heater with an 85 MPH changeup. His velo has declined down to ~89 MPH at this point yet his changeup remains at 85 MPH. He has almost no separation between his changeup and fastball at this point. If he’s going to have any kind of career from this point on he’s going to have completely reinvent himself.
It’s like the end of Trevor Hoffman’s career – once the fastball ticked down there just wasn’t enough separation between it and the change. Felix has also had some real command issues and injuries forced him to change his mechanics too. He’s a mess at this point. Last season the M’s put him in the pen as the mop up man for a while. I understand trying to be kind to one of the team’s all-time greats, but at some point you have to let him go. They did it last year with Ichiro.
They put him in the bullpen but were afraid to use him. He sat there for a while, then came in very early in a game when someone got hurt, then was back in the rotation.
The Mariners don’t think Felix can be an effective relief pitcher; they just didn’t know what else to do with him.
Ichiro still has a chance to retire gracefully, if he does it right after Japan. I hope he does.
Agreed. I said that as soon as I saw the ichiro signing last year. Nostalgia and respect is what made the move happen but it was clear how that would turn out. It’s pretty clear how the Felix situation ends too unless he buys into reworking himself. Which it’s pretty obvious he doesnt
I think Ichiro will play the Japan games, then announce his retirement but play one more game so he can go out with his well-deserved ovation.
Sadly, Felix has no one to blame here but himself.
Were many of Felix’s prime years wasted on bad teams? Definitely.
Did the Mariners ride him hard during that time? You bet.
Did that contribute to the constant drop in velocity he’s experienced over the past 5 years? Absolutely.
But that shouldn’t have stopped Felix from realizing what was going on and creating a softer landing spot for himself at the end of his big contract. He knew that his fastball wasn’t the same, but he did NOTHING to change his repertoire or approach to try to mitigate that.
His ego got in the way… he was “King Felix” and the King threw fastballs. And the batters swung and missed at his killer change-up that faded away down in the zone. The problem was (and still is) that there is very little difference in velocity between his fastball and change-up these days, and the hitters learned to lay off the change-up. They knew it was coming, the manager and coaches knew it was coming, I knew it was coming, the hot dog vendor knew it was coming. So instead they sat on his AAA fastball and that was that.
What he should have done is spend the winter at Driveline (conveniently located in Seattle) and reinvent himself. Adam Ottavino did it and he got a fat contract out of it. Josh Tomlin did it this winter, and he’s putting up great numbers with the Brewers in spring training. Felix also should have watched hours of video on CC Sabathia from the past 4 seasons and learned how he transformed from a power pitcher into an effective veteran.
Instead, it looks like he’ll lean more on his curveball (which is effective), but other than that, he’ll stick with the rest. And once again, his ego is writing checks his arm can’t cash for him.
The Mariners have tried to get him to change his ways, but as the former face of the franchise (he hasn’t been that for a few years; it’s Mitch Haniger’s team now), they obviously didn’t want to push too hard. The loss of the Opening Day start shouldn’t have surprised him, and it certainly shouldn’t have bothered him. Not only is he not the best pitcher on the staff anymore, he’s not necessarily worthy of a big league roster spot at this point. But the marketing staff keeps plugging the “King’s Court”, even though they haven’t come close to filling it in a long time. Even the crowd knows: the King is dead.
His emotions are getting the best of him, and it was on full display today, both in his interactions with the press, and his loss of composure on the mound. He was visibly upset with the home plate umpire’s strike zone from the beginning (Felix barked at him in the 1st inning), and in the 4th, he totally melted down, starting off the inning with two 4-pitch walks.
We’re probably seeing not just the end of Felix’s Mariners tenure, but also his Hall of Fame chances… and maybe even his Major League career. As many in this thread have pointed out, he’ll be lucky to get a spring training invite next year, and his last 4 seasons have gone from good to mediocre to poor to terrible. The only thing that might save him for the HOF is if he can stick around long enough (think El Duque), he’ll get to 3,000 K’s… but even that might not be enough if all he is going forward is a 4.50 ERA journeyman. And clubs with their advanced analytics aren’t going to believe in an arm and a head that simply can’t hack it anymore.
It’s very sad to watch a favorite ballplayer “lose it”; you know he wants to be the same player he was 5 or 10 years ago, but the body betrays him and he can’t accept it. It’s almost like the 5 stages of grief… only getting stuck in the denial phase in perpetuity. The ones who can move through that and make adjustments can stick around; almost certainly not at the same level, but enough to be effective and also a good teacher for the younger players on the staff. Felix isn’t that guy; his makeup is all go, no stop, and he can’t accept the fact that his stuff doesn’t play anymore.
The Mariners are going nowhere this year (especially if Kyle Seager is going to be on the shelf for a while), and if they’re serious about “re-imagining” the team, they should set a hard deadline for Felix to prove that he’s worthy of a roster spot. Let’s say May 15, which is 1/4 of the season. If he can still contribute, then they should hold onto him. If not, then rip of the Band-Aid, release him, and let Justus Sheffield or Erik Swanson show what they can do.
But let’s not make any mistake about it… it’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN this will end badly.
That “crafty lefties” ad they made will have a short run or have Felix cut out of it. You’re thoughts are well put together and mirror mine from three seasons ago. Felix is for sure to blame for his lack of adaptability and his ego is blame for not asking for help. Bringing up CC is right on and I’d go a step further and say that he should have looked at tape of Jamie Moyer or Maddux. Felix 3 years ago was a maybe 2nd ballot hall of famer… now probably not at all.
Very well said. Guys that think their velocity will last forever are guys that don’t end up in the hall of fame. I remember when Feilx came up and I thought, wow, he throws hard, but with that changeup, he will be able to adjust when he loses that fastball. He should be able to adjust, but didn’t.
It reminds me of Adam Wainwright in a way. He also lost velocity, pitched when injured, and is not the player he used to be. And while he hasn’t been as effective the last couple years (really 2017 is the only year his FIP has been over 4 besides an incomplete 2018), every year he has made adjustments. Looking at what the other guys that lost velocity have done and tried that. Throwing pitches in different sequence to keep guys off balance. Heck, this year he even added a whole new pitch, a Splitter. He might not be effective anymore at all. He might have had all he can take. But you better believe as long as he has a say in it he will be adjusting to be able to compete.
It all comes back to your view on it. Wainwright sees the league moving and changing and sees that he has to adjust to it. Felix sees the league and thinks it should change to him, like it used to. But until he learns that that isn’t the case, he will continue to be beat up by the league’s hitters.
it doesn’t make any difference whether felix starts game 1 or 5 when the mariners are rebuilding and compete for 4th in the west.
What’s worse than a bad pitcher? A bad, delusional one.
There is no hope for Felix reinventing himself. He can’t even come to terms with the fact that he needs to.
It’s possible his next contract, or lack thereof, will drive home the need to reinvent. Maybe then he will come back after an off year as a different type of pitcher and see some success in a second career of sorts, different from trying to overpower hitters as other have said.
Or maybe it’ll be the end in mlb and he heads overseas?
he’s done after this season, u less he produces well. if he doesn’t get that he needs to reinvent things now, he never will
Felix would be a good add for Houston. As a baseball fan in general, I’d like to see them help him get back to what he was before, like they did win Verlander
Verlander was pitching just fine before he went to Houston. He should have won the Cy Young over Porcello. Houston didn’t have a whole lot of fixing to do with him. Don’t try to treat it like his success was some sort of miracle fix.
Verlander can still throw upper 90s, people need to stop with this assumption.
Verlander had a three year, unexplained, drop in velocity with Detroit, almost certainly because of some kind of nagging injury that eventually healed up.
Me thinks it was the well publicized Core Surgery he had.
There you go. I didn’t bother to look it up but that’s assuredly it. I think he’s also a Driveline client; his delivery now is different than his early Detroit days.
Felix Hernandez is making $25 MM to be terrible. He should STFU.
I wonder what Felix’s agent is saying to Felix right now. He’s probably telling Felix to shut his mouth and use the analytical advice that he’s been given. Felix is in such denial. It’s almost like a mental illness
I think it’s hard for pro athletes to be told they’re no good and they need to change. Ichiro still thinks he can play; I remember watching the sad decline of Griffey, Jr. ANd I’m old enough to remember when Pete Rose just kept playing, well after he was even replacement level. (He was chasing a record, of course, and had some, ahem, off-field interests in continuing his career). And we’re seeing it now with Pujols. I’m sure there are parallels in other sports, too; athletic careers are pretty short, and I know it’s hard to admit decline when so much of your worth is tied up in being one of the best athletes in the world.
The players with the huge contracts don’t really have the option of retiring gracefully. Technically, they do, but when it means tens of millions, maybe the humiliation isn’t so bad.
Ichiro is in a different situation than Felix and Pujols. He isn’t tied to baseball by financial considerations, but because baseball is his entire identity.
I understand that but at this point Pujols’ and Felix’s remaining contractual obligations aren’t much in the grand scheme of things – both could probably be bought out although I think Pujols still also believes he’s good. If I recall correctly, Griffey Jr. retired, basically, in the middle of a game.
so, felix’s fastball speed has gone down. what has mariners coaching done to help him out?
By all accounts, they have offered advice that he doesn’t take. There are resources available to him – as someone mentioned above, Driveline’s HQ is in Seattle. Athletes are stubborn. Hernandez has been a major-leaguer since he was 19 and he was one of the best pitchers in the league for a half-decade doing it “his” way. It’s understandable that he’s having a hard time realizing he doesn’t have it anymore. Most players retire way too late; most players aren’t Joe Dimaggio, for example, who retired abruptly as soon as he realized he was declining rapidly.
He’s done NOTHING to condition himself over
The last 3 season. Last off season Nelson Cruz rented a gym for a month in Florida. 95% of the starting lineup came. Most of the rotation came. Felix posted on his IG going to concerts and buying new lambos. He doesn’t want to work for it and he’s tired now. Legs weak. Ack weak. Last season he refused to look at the data about his pitching. It’s really a sad end to an amazing pitchers career. He’s got his money. He’s got his entitlement. He’s mailed it in for the last 3 years and now it’s over.
The Giants are in Sad shape, and what did they do this off season to upgrade the roster, Z E R O, notta, nothing !! This for the most part is the exact same team that walked off the diamond at the end of last season, where we finished 72 – 90, and 4th in our division. We need at minimum 1 outfielder, but that wasn’t addressed and so far in Spring Training, no one is lighting up the boards. Going to be a very long year. The new GM we got, I assume he knows all this and might decide to do S O M E T H I N G, Anything except sit on his hands and collect a paycheck !!
You haven’t paid attention to the Giants during Spring Training.
Idk how jones is only making 3mil
Below average production last three years. Plus a crappy attitude. He has a name that may generate fan interest, but he’s on the downhill slope for sure. He sat out hoping for a multi year contract, but waited too long while everyone else filled their roster.
I agree with most of what you guys above have said about Felix. There are 2 points I disagree with. He is trying to reinvent himself this year. He is working on using his curve ball more. The game the other day he pitched fairly will. He blew up at the ump after he missed a wicked curve. It was just below the belt right down the middle. He also missed a lot of other pitches. I think he must be a AAA ump. He needs to have more composure while he changes how he pitches.
The other is his HOF status. Most voters are going to understand the teams he played on. The way he was overlooked on Cy Young awards should have 2 more. He was a 1st ballot HOFer before not unanimous but would have made it depending on the class. Now he is 2-3 years in before he makes unless his reinvention works out.
Felix is arrogant but how many pro athletes aren’t? I think you have to have some degree of arrogance to do that. He refused to change and has started late. He will probably struggle for a bit but who knows what he will be at the end of the season. I also think like someone said above Moyer could help him a lot. He spends time in Seattle and hopefully Felix will work with him.
I was in the stands when they announced Felix signed his new contract. It was a great time and exciting for the fans. Hopefully no matter what happens Felix can go out classy. It would be great if he could fix it and spend a few more good years in Seattle.
10 likes. that as a baseball fan.
i’m sooo effn tired of Angels’ pitchers and their physical woes. dump ‘em. Heany, Skaggs, Tropeano, et al. dump ‘em dump ‘em dump ‘em all. get site guys who can handle pitching. these guys have a proven inability to be available.