TEMPE, Ariz. – For the past six years, no matter how early the Angels players and staff arrived at Tempe Diablo Stadium, every morning they saw a crowd of Japanese media standing on Tempe Butte Mountain overlooking the team’s spring training complex. This was not a recreational sunrise hike. Every camera was zoomed in, waiting for the arrival of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

While spring training means early mornings for players, coaches and reporters, the group assigned exclusively to Ohtani made everyone else think twice about their red flags. Ohtani Watch started at 5am, when most of the Cactus League was still asleep. There were no free weekends and no wiggle room: everyone was looking for that one shot, every day, for the entire six weeks of camp.

“Good luck beating them here,” Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon said of a group that routinely consisted of 50 reporters and could swell to more than 70 for special Ohtani occasions, such as his first-ever press conference during spring training, that the team had to keep. stay in an off-site hotel for crowd control.

“They said they had to be here,” Angels bench coach Ray Montgomery said, shaking his head. “I asked why, and they said in case Ohtani showed up early.”

Ohtani’s enormous celebrity and the attention that came with it never calmed down. When he came to Tempe in 2018 as a 23-year-old Japanese star, no one was sure how Ohtani’s talents as a pitcher and hitter would translate. There is no doubt that the three-time All-Star, two-time AL MVP, two-time Silver Slugger and Rookie of the Year is a generational talent.

Ohtani’s star power now resides 26 miles away at the Dodgers camp in Glendale. If you’ve been living under a rock, the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract last offseason. If you’ve lived near Tempe Buttes, the view just got a lot better.

So what happens when the mountain is empty again? What is life like when the Ohtani circus leaves town?

“Someone said in recent years that maybe this was what it was like to be with the Beatles,” Rendon said. “You don’t get used to (the attention), but you expect it. Now it’s like being kicked out of the band.”

The biggest change, other than the fact that no one saw the team members getting in and out of their cars, happened in the clubhouse. It is and has always been the players’ space. But when Ohtani was there, that huge contingent of reporters made some Angels players feel like guests in their own home.

“It’s nice to get our space back a little bit more,” Angels outfielder Taylor Ward said.

Losing a nine-WAR player doesn’t make any team better. But it made them breathe a little easier.

“Sometimes players were intimidated by a lot of media,” said Carlos Estévez, the Angels’ veteran closer. “A few younger guys. They said, ‘I’ll stay away.’”

Pitcher Patrick Sandoval was one of Ohtani’s closest friends, but even he acknowledged it was a “weird dynamic” to have the Japanese reporters ask him one question about himself, and then 10 more questions about Ohtani. If cameras even caught you nodding to the superstar, the media would ask you to talk about it.

“I always felt that (players were wary of us). We are actually here to cover one man, but we are trying to get other cases related to that one man,” said a Japanese reporter who has regularly covered Ohtani for years and requested anonymity to speak freely.

The Angels PR staff, often inundated with requests, tried to rotate which players they asked to speak about Ohtani, who usually limited his media availability until after his mound had begun. Angels communications manager Grace McNamee, who speaks Japanese, would take notes on Ohtani’s unique schedule and coordinate photo opportunities.

With Ohtani gone, “I’ve never seen Grace so relaxed,” Montgomery said.

A year ago, there was barely enough room to walk down the alley-like hallway in the Angels’ spring training locker room. Now catcher Matt Thaiss and fellow backstop Chad Wallach have enough room there on a March morning to toss a football back and forth as part of an impromptu fielding drill.

Gone are the Ohtani signs and stadium paraphernalia from the stadium and around Tempe. But if you’re one of the thousands of fans who made Ohtani’s jersey the bestseller in all of baseball last year, fear not: It’s still in active Angels circulation.

Ohtani’s number – the famous red and white number 17 – now belongs to…drumroll, please…non-rostered invitee Hunter Dozier, who has a career minus 2.6 WAR, or wins above replacement. Dozier wore No. 17 for almost his entire seven-year career with the Kansas City Royals and signed a minor league deal with Anaheim in mid-January. In the weeks before spring training started, he started wondering: Would the Angels give it away so quickly?

He got his answer on the first day of camp. The 32-year-old utility man emphasized that number 17 has no special meaning for him; it was exactly what the Royals gave him when he started his career.

Now, that number could make him one of the hottest non-roster invitees in Tempe Diablo Stadium history.

“There could be a lot of 17s (in the stands),” said Dozier, who has already been transferred to minor league camp, meaning he won’t make the Angels’ Opening Day roster. “Just don’t look at the last name, but at the number.”

And don’t look too close in the left corner of the clubhouse.

Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers was surprised when he arrived at camp expecting to be in his normal locker — only to find he was given Ohtani’s old space directly to the left of the clubhouse door. Each end spot in baseball clubhouses is typically occupied by veterans and stars, allowing for plenty of room (they often use the locker next to it for overflow) and a quick exit from the media.

“It was a bit sad,” Detmers said. “But at the same time it was pretty cool. Obviously it’s a great locker, and Shohei was incredible. Great guy. Easy to talk to. Talk to him about anything. It is special to have his old locker.”

What has quickly lost its appeal are the incessant questions about The Guy Who Ain’t Here. The Angels players, who were still dealing with daily Ohtani questions all spring, had much bigger questions heading into camp, such as: Will there still be sushi?

Each spring, the Angels send a survey to players to gauge their nutritional wants and needs for the upcoming season. Without Ohtani, several players feared that the steady flow of Japanese cuisine would slow to a trickle, leaving the question: “Are we still going to eat sushi?” a common registration question. The answer was yes. Ohtani wasn’t actually the biggest daily sushi consumer on the team; that title probably belongs to Mike Trout or Logan O’Hoppe.

Trout is also the only current Angels player who remembers Life Without Ohtani, and the fact that Ohtani’s arrival in 2018 didn’t actually result in more sushi, or any other food at the team’s spring facility. Ohtani had a nutritionist in Japan who communicated with the Angels staff during an early meeting. During the season he often brought his own food. In Tempe, one of Ohtani’s first English statements to staffers was: “I’m good.”

After a disappointing 2020 season, Ohtani used blood analysis to determine which foods produced his best results and optimized his recovery. The timing was equally crucial. Working on a fairly tight schedule, his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara often sent order requests ahead to the Angels’ kitchen staff so that Ohtani’s food – a rotating menu that always included lean proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates – would be ready when it was needed, which was rarely . during the players’ lunch rush. Ohtani’s schedule was so unique that he often ate with just Mizuhara and infielder David Fletcher.

Still, Ohtani’s absence will be felt in the dining room. Last year he brought Japanese Wagyu beef to the kitchen a few times to cook for the team. Several angels mourned the loss.

Aside from potential iron deficiencies, everything is a little calmer for the Angels post-Ohtani. There is plenty of parking at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Tickets are easy to obtain. The signature lines for players entering and leaving the stadium are minuscule compared to previous years. The Angels’ senior guard focused much of his attention on Ohtani and the crowd of fans and reporters entering and exiting his court. Even Mizuhara often had fans with signs waiting for him as he exited the team bus. As one player described it, there is much less commotion now.

“He brings such an audience, not a bad thing, because of the way he handled himself on the field,” Trout said.

‘I’ve never been around someone so big. I don’t think baseball has seen anyone that big,” Rendon said. “It was weird, right? In hotels and other places, many people would try to find him.

Now the eyes that track Ohtani’s movements have been shipped to Los Angeles. Just a short drive, but a world away.

(Top image: John Bradford / The Athletics; Photos: Aaron Doster/Getty; Michael Owens/Getty)

Gen Z’s latest lifestyle craze comes in the form of a male cherub doll wearing nothing but a quirky hat.

Created by Japanese toy manufacturer Toru Soeya, Sonny Angels was first launched in 2005, but thanks to social media, the dolls have witnessed a surge in popularity.

TikTok fans have been unboxing the quirky figurines online, showing off their impressive collections, which are being marketed as ‘little friends’ that can ‘bring healing moments into your everyday life’, rather than being aimed at children.

The brand works with blind box packaging, meaning consumers don’t know what they will receive until they buy one. There are more than 650 variants available.

Prices start at £10, but the ultra-rare, in-demand dolls, such as the ‘Golden Pig’, can sell for more than £2,000 on second-hand shopping sites such as eBay.

Japan, Taiwan, the US, Hong Kong and Korea all have Sonny Angel stores, while UK fans buy the naked dolls online or from retailers.

Although the designs of the dolls vary, they are all distinguished by fun headgear that resembles fruits, vegetables, animals or flowers.

The trend also extends to celebrities. Supermodel Bella Hadid previously shared a photo of the dolls on her Instagram story, while Iris Law has done the same.

The website describes Sonny Angel as a “little angel boy who wears a headdress, will continue to watch over you, provide healing and bring more smiles to all of us in the world.”

It continues, “He is always by your side to make you laugh. Sonny Angel provides healing moments in your daily life.

‘It is a welcome presence at the entrance to your home, next to your bed, on your desk and in so many other places.’

The Instagram-friendly element of the toys means it’s no surprise the brand has a presence on social media, with people sharing their love for them online.

And on TikTok, #sonnyangel has been viewed 41.7 million times, with fans taking to the platform to show off their extensive collections.

A woman named Kayla, a 24-year-old college student from New York, has 65 Sonny Angel dolls and runs an account dedicated to them on Instagram.

The social media star, who attends doll-swapping events in the Big Apple, shared Nylon that they help others ‘escape the mundane’.

“Loving Sonny Angels has especially become publicly accepted because while they are indeed silly toys, there seems to be a common understanding: they bring us happiness,” she explained.

Elsewhere, another fan called Destination19, from California, took to TikTok to share her collection.

In the clip, in which she referred to the dolls as her “babies,” she raved about her cohort, which included more than fifty dolls.

Another enthusiast, Kristyhas taken her love for Sonny Angels to the next level and bought clothes for her dolls.

Kristy bases a lot of her content on the dolls, showing off the ‘jorts’ and shoes she was looking at in one clip.

Student Kyra Maxine Gomez, 22, from the Philippines explains republicasiamedia.com that she discovered the dolls through TikTok and Pinterest and feels like they represent her baby.

“I thought, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be so cute if my boyfriend and I had a little baby version of ourselves and took it on dates?'” she recalls.

In the meantime, Kimberlyfrom Britain, has started a Sonny Angel series on TikTok, where she unboxes her new items.

Collectively, the series of her first Sonny Angel dolls has been viewed more than 140,000 times.

Viewers took to the comments section to share their thoughts on Kimberley’s videos and Sonny Angels, with some even claiming they were “spending their savings on it.”

“The apple is my dream, I want it so bad,” another added.

“Stop that, that’s so cute,” said a third. ‘Look at the belly!

“No, I’m obsessed,” one person added.

“Now I want one,” another insisted. ‘They are so cute!’

Hollywood star Ryan O’Neal will be reunited with Farrah Fawcett in heaven, his son has said, as the world remembers how one of Hollywood’s greatest love stories began. 

The iconic star, who was both a matinee idol and an award-winning actor, died at the age of 82, his son Patrick confirmed via social media on Friday. 

In a heartfelt tribute alongside a photograph of a sunset, he wrote: ‘So this is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to say but here we go.

‘My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us. He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop’. 

He also spoke of his father’s on-off relationship with Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett, who died in 2009 at the age of 62 from cancer. 

‘Ryan never bragged’, he added. ‘But he has bragging rights in Heaven. Especially when it comes to Farrah. Everyone had the poster, he had the real McCoy. And now they meet again.

‘Farrah and Ryan. He has missed her terribly. What an embrace that must be. Together again.’

O’Neal was known for his high-profile relationship to Ms Fawcett which lasted decades; they never wed with O’Neal once saying: ‘Farrah and I have no plans to marry – nor do we have plans to separate. Don’t fix what ain’t broken’.

They were partners from 1979 to 1997 after he stole the bubbly blonde beauty away from her husband, Lee Majors of The Six Million Dollar Man fame. 

Together they had a son named Redmond, 38, who had trouble with the law, even serving time in jail.

Their relationship was tumultuous due to Ryan’s infidelity, and their relationship ended when Ms Fawcett found him in bed with actress Leslie Stefanson. 

But, they reunited in 2001 when O’Neal was diagnosed with leukaemia, with Ms Fawcett nursing O’Neal who soon went into remission. 

But in 2006, the roles were reversed when Ms Fawcett herself was diagnosed with cancer, and O’Neal dedicated himself to taking care of her. The couple remained together until Ms Fawcett’s death in 2009. 

Following her death, O’Neal described her as his ‘forever Valentine’ telling People: ‘I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much’. He later said ‘there was never a day’ that he ‘didn’t love her’. 

O’Neal was famed for his personal life as his films – romances with Barbra Streisand, Joan Collins, Diana Ross, Bianca Jagger, Angelica Houston, Ursula Andressalso dated Anjelica Huston. She would accuse him of abusing her in her tell-all book.

The pair met through O’Neal’s friend and Fawcett’s husband at the time Lee Majors. Fawcett was known for her time on Charlie’s Angels and O’Neal was still best known for his 1970s Oscar-nominated role in Love Story. 

The pair began a relationship with Ms Fawcett when Majors suggested Ryan take her out for the evening while he was away from home.

O’Neal recounted the moment when Majors suggested the pair have dinner in his 2012 book, Both of Us: My Life with Farrah, writing that Majors had said: ‘Why don’t you take her to dinner one night?’

Just days beforehand, he had seen Ms Fawcett after a trek up Antelo Road near Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles with Majors. He described her as ‘delightful’ and ‘full of childlike warmth’ in his book. 

O’Neal stayed for lunch and Ms Fawcett asked him to come back that evening to watch a boxing match in their home. 

‘They were saying the marriage was over, and I was saying they were terrific together,’ O’Neal later told Vanity Fair. 

It wasn’t long after this that Majors had asked O’Neal to take Ms Fawcett to dinner. 

Just a week later, he took her to a Ry Cooder concert, writing that Ms Fawcett eventually agreed to go with him, having talked it through with Majors beforehand. 

‘I let him know that Ryan asked me out. He said, ‘I told him to. But you’re not going’, he wrote. 

Majors and O’Neal’s relationship then began to break down, with Majors calling his house and hanging up, finally telling him to ‘stay away’ from his wife. 

But, O’Neal, who was previously married to actress Joanne Moore and later Leigh Taylor-Young, had fallen for Ms Fawcett, telling Vanity Fair: ‘It was a situation I’d never been in  before- committing to a woman before I’d even talked to her about it’. 

Ms Fawcett and Majors went onto divorce in 1982.  

Tributes have flooded in for O’Neal, who also had two children with his first wife. 

On Friday, his daughter Tatum O’Neal shared a statement with People reacting to the news. 

‘I feel great sorrow with my father’s passing,’ she shared. ‘He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and know he loved me too. I’ll miss him forever and I feel very lucky that we ended on such good terms.’

Barbra Streisand, who worked with O’Neal on What’s Up, Doc? and The Main Event, and Marisa Berenson on Barry Lyndon, shared a tribute to the late star on X, formerly known as Twitter, upon hearing the heartbreaking news of Ryan’s passing and shared a black and white image of the pair taken in the past.

The actress also typed, ‘So sad to hear the news of Ryan O’Neal’s passing. We made two films together, What’s Up, Doc? and The Main Event. He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered.’ 

Mia Farrow also uploaded a tribute by sharing various throwback images and penned, ‘Rest in peace dear Ryan.’ 

The two notably costarred in the series, Peyton Place. 

Sharon Stone also paid tribute with a black-and-white photo of O’Neal from his later years. 

‘It’s w deep sadness I post this. RIP Ryan O’Neal,’ she wrote, adding a heart emoji.

O’Neal was last seen being aided into his vehicle from a wheelchair by a helper in Brentwood, California on November 6, 2023. O’Neal was wheeled down the sidewalk and had two caretakers got him into the front seat of his car, lifting him from under his arm. 

O’Neal was best known for his movies in the 1970s, which included Paper Moon, costarring his daughter Tatum. 

The acclaimed film, which was directed by Ryan’s What’s Up, Doc? collaborator Peter Bogdanovich, earned the young girl the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress when she was just 10, making the budding star — who had turned nine during the production – the youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar.

O’Neal is survived by four children: Tatum O’Neal and Griffin O’Neal with Joanna Moore, Patrick O’Neal with Leigh Taylor-Young, and Redmond James Fawcett O’Neal with Fawcett, and his five grandchildren. 

De voor de hand liggende paradox van elk laagseizoen: de Giants hebben een ster nodig, maar ze groeien niet aan bomen. Nou, er is Chet Lemon, maar hij is al een hele tijd met pensioen. Darryl Strawberry telt niet mee, en Norm Cash zeker telt niet. In de bazaar buiten het seizoen zijn er honderden kraampjes, maar slechts één daarvan biedt een ster aan. De rij is twintig meter diep en de man die het hokje bemant, neemt een pauze in de badkamer. Ja, de Giants eindigen vaak als tweede voor premium free agents, maar denk eens aan alle teams die als zevende eindigen!

Je voelt je niet beter.

Dat verandert niets aan het feit dat de Giants er gewoon niet op uit kunnen gaan om de vrije agenten te krijgen die ze willen. Deze spelers hebben keuzevrijheid; het staat precies in de naam. Ze kunnen kiezen waar ze heen willen. Farhan Zaidi kan een spandoek van 180 meter lang bestellen met het gezicht van Shohei Ohtani, deze op de Salesforce Tower slaan en eronder gaan staan ​​met een gigantische nieuwigheidscontrole ter waarde van een miljard dollar. Het is nog steeds geen garantie dat Ohtani naar de persconferentie komt.

Nee, sterren groeien niet aan bomen. Maar soms zijn ze in de oceaan te vinden. Ik heb zelfs dubbel gecontroleerd of dit waar is.

De Giants hielden van Mike Trout toen hij een middelbare scholier uit Jersey was. Het is tijd dat hij thuiskomt bij het team dat hem in een alternatief universum heeft opgeroepen. Er is meer dan één manier om een ​​vis te villen die niet aan de bomen groeit.

Het is tijd om te kijken of er een plausibele manier is om Trout on the Giants te krijgen.

“Als jij de Engelen bent en gelooft in jouw vermogen om een ​​winnend team op te bouwen, dan kun je dat doen met jouw samensmeltende kern.”

BK duikt in Mike Trout en de jonge lichting Angels-talent. #MLBNu pic.twitter.com/katwiMhmrc

— MLB nu (@MLBNow) 13 november 2023

Vraag #1: Zouden de engelen forel verhandelen?

Waarschijnlijk. Hij heeft de komende zes seizoenen een schuld van $222,7 miljoen. De Angels hebben de afgelopen drie seizoenen 486 wedstrijden gespeeld, en Trout speelde daar in 237 wedstrijden. Het idee dat forel wordt verhandeld, is niet alleen dat ik iets uit mijn lagere regionen haal; MLB-netwerk heb net een heel segment over het idee gemaakt. De Angels gaan hoogstwaarschijnlijk (hoewel niet definitief) Ohtani verliezen, en Trout verdient een zesde van de loonlijst terwijl hij de helft van de wedstrijden speelt. Het is niet zo dat dat team dicht bij een Orioles-achtige renaissance staat, hoewel de Orioles er een paar seizoenen geleden ook niet uitzagen alsof ze bijzonder dichtbij waren.

Arte Moreno wil misschien honderd miljoen dollar besparen, hoe dan ook. Misschien zelfs tweehonderd miljoen, afhankelijk van hoeveel contract Trouts nieuwe team op zich neemt. Dat is het soort geld dat gebruikt zou kunnen worden om de volgende Anthony Rendon te krijgen, dus je weet dat Moreno jeukt.

Vraag #2: Zou Trout verhandeld willen worden?

De grootste vraag. Hij heeft vetorecht, en zoals we bij Giancarlo Stanton zagen, oefenen spelers die macht soms uit. Dat zou hij absoluut kunnen doen Liefde Middeleeuwse tijden. “Je eet met je handen!” hij vertelt het aan iedereen die wil luisteren. ‘Ze spelen! Kerel, heb je dat gezien? Ze zijn gek steekspel!” Dat soort entertainment kun je niet krijgen in de Bay Area.

Trout voelt zich misschien ook terecht op zijn gemak bij de Angels-organisatie. Het is de enige die hij kent.

Net als een vrije agent kan Trout bepalen waar hij heen gaat. Net zoals het niet zo eenvoudig is als naar de Ohtani-winkel gaan, is het niet zo eenvoudig als naar de Trout-winkel gaan. Als hij niet wil gaan, wil hij niet gaan. Discussie voorbij.

Vraag #3: Zou Trout goed passen bij de Giants in 2024?

Het is moeilijk om je een betere match voor te stellen, zowel wat betreft het zorgen voor de Giants als de zorgen op het veld.

Wat betreft merkovernames staat Trout nog steeds bovenaan de lijst als het gaat om spelers die fans kennen. Het is een korte lijst. Er zijn misschien drie of vier spelers met een meer algemene naamsbekendheid in de sport, maar niet veel meer dan dat. Trout is nog steeds de ster van een ster, zelfs als hij 80 wedstrijden speelt. Als de Giants op zoek zijn naar een manier om aan te geven dat ze het proberen, gaat Mike Trout in een San Francisco Giants-uniform een ​​lange, lange, lange weg.

Mike Trout, onze geliefde #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/l8CCXxWVay

— Los Angeles Engelen (@Angels) 9 april 2023

In termen van prestaties op het veld zou Trout’s slechtste WAR in zijn carrière (1,8 in 36 wedstrijden in 2021) hem tot een van de meest waardevolle spelers bij de 2023 Giants hebben gemaakt.

In 2021 speelde hij 36 wedstrijden.

Het is natuurlijk ingewikkelder dan dat. Hij is 32. Het ene jaar krijg je misschien 36 games en 2,2 WAR, en het volgende jaar 20 games en 0,1 WAR. Trout’s recente blessuregeschiedenis maakt hem tot een riskante aanwinst. Maar in termen van volgend jaar, en alleen volgend jaar, is hij meteen de favoriet om de Giants te leiden in elke aanvallende categorie die je maar kunt bedenken. Vorig seizoen plaatste hij de slechtst gecorrigeerde OPS uit zijn carrière (131). Dat zou tweede zijn geweest op de Giants van 2023, net achter Wilmer Flores (136). Stel je voor dat hij gezond is. Stel je voor dat hij zelfs maar gezond is.

Vraag #4: Zou Trout goed passen bij de Giants in 2030?

Het is moeilijk uit te drukken hoe weinig het me kan schelen.

De langetermijngevolgen van Trout’s contract zouden toekomstige seizoenen beïnvloeden, maar dat kan mij niets schelen. Neem bijvoorbeeld Giancarlo Stanton. Als de Giants hem hadden kunnen overtuigen om vóór het seizoen 2018 af te zien van zijn niet-handelsclausule, zou hij niet de redder zijn geweest. Het zou niet dichtbij zijn geweest. Stanton is sinds 2019 minder waardevol dan Mike Yastrzemski, en het komt niet eens in de buurt (3,9 voor Stanton, vergeleken met 11,9 voor Yastrzemski).

Maar als Stanton op de loonlijst zou staan ​​voor de Giants van 2024, zou het niet moeilijk zijn om goede dingen voor te stellen. Hij is een bizar indrukwekkend honkbalexemplaar. Zelfs als hij ouder wordt, doet hij dingen die de meeste honkbalspelers niet kunnen. De Giants zouden blij zijn om Stanton volgend seizoen op de selectie te hebben, ook al zou er wat fantasie voor nodig zijn om te hopen dat hij weer een All-Star zou worden. En zijn contract zou de Giants nog steeds in staat stellen dit seizoen buiten het seizoen door te brengen. Misschien niet genoeg om het Ohtani-discours te domineren, maar de Giants zouden met Stanton niet helemaal buiten strijd zijn. Hij zou ervoor kunnen zorgen dat het team van volgend seizoen meer wedstrijden wint, zonder te voorkomen dat de superster van de volgende generatie zich bij het team voegt.

Forel is veel, veel meer dan dat. Stanton is een historisch gezien afwijkend honkbaltalent, maar Trout zit daar twee niveaus boven. Trout’s composities zijn Ted Williams, Willie Mays en Hank Aaron, en dat is geen overdrijving. Kijk hoe die jongens ouder worden. Ze hadden jaren vol blessures die leken op Trout’s 2023, en daarna rolden ze diep in de dertig. Wed altijd, altijd, altijd op de honkbalfreaks van de generatie. Niet de werpers, die vertrouwen op labrums en bossprites, maar de hitters die de bal beter zien en de bal beter besturen dan bijna iedereen die hen ooit is voorgegaan. Ze zullen meestal beter verouderen dan je zou verwachten.

De Giants zouden nu opgewonden raken door een overname van Trout, en waarschijnlijk zouden ze de komende jaren productie krijgen. De taart zou gegeten worden en de taart zou gegeten worden. Er zou nog meer taart komen. Iedereen krijgt een stukje forelcake! Wacht, waarom rennen jullie allemaal weg…

Eerlijk gezegd geldt die Yastrzemski-vergelijking daarboven nog meer voor Trout. Zelfs als Yastrzemski slecht is, is hij goed. En als hij goed is, is hij geweldig. Forel is zo, maar exponentieel nog meer. Als hij slecht is, is hij geweldig. Als hij behoorlijk goed is, is hij geweldig. Als hij geweldig is, is hij een van de beste honkbalspelers die je ooit zult zien.

Mike Trout met een duikvangst!

pic.twitter.com/UF3qmAEfxE

— Praten over honkbal (@TalkinBaseball_) 31 mei 2023

Maak je geen zorgen over zaken als: “Zal hij in 2030 nog steeds een speler met vijf overwinningen zijn en het geld waard zijn?” omdat hij dat niet doet. Hoogstwaarschijnlijk. Denk aan dingen als: “Kan hij jarenlang een inconsistent betrouwbare bijdrager zijn, terwijl hij een paar jaar van absolute genialiteit heeft waardoor je je herinnert dat hij Mike Trout is?”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto zal de komende zes seizoenen ongeveer $227 miljoen ontvangen. Kun je me met absolute zekerheid vertellen dat hij de komende seizoenen een betere keuze is dan Mike Trout van in de dertig? Wie kies jij voor het betere seizoen in 2030: Yamamoto of Trout? Houd er rekening mee dat ik absoluut in de tank zit voor Yamamoto.

Het antwoord is forel. Hij is niet zomaar een man. Hij is niet Bobby Abreu, Will Clark of Keith Hernandez, de groten aller tijden. Spelers als Trout krijg je niet zo vaak. Albert Pujols was de laatste, en het is grappig om te erkennen dat zijn grootheid ervoor zorgde dat de Angels in een rampencontract terechtkwamen, en dat is precies waar we hier voor pleiten.

Je pleit voor een franchise met fans die een high five kunnen geven als ze de naam van Barry Zito horen. Zwijg over toekomstige verplichtingen en hoop dat het allemaal lukt.

Vraag nr. 5: Maar serieus, hoe zit het met de recente blessuregeschiedenis van Trout?

Het is een functie, het is een bug, het is ingewikkeld. Als/wanneer Trout op de geblesseerde lijst komt, zouden de Giants een stal jonge outfielders hebben die klaar zullen zijn voor de kans. Het is nog moeilijk om Wade Meckler en Luis Matos als starters op de openingsdag te projecteren, maar als noodscenario voor het geval Trout naar de IL gaat, zijn ze meer dan behulpzaam. Het zou een manier zijn om Meckler en Matos de kans te geven om vooruitgang te boeken als normale twintigers, terwijl ze ook een uitgebreide smaak van de grote competities zouden krijgen.

Of Forel zou gezond kunnen blijven en niets anders zou er toe doen. Tel de OORLOGEN terwijl ze voorbijdrijven. Alle oorlogen.

Ik ben geen fan van het verwerven van spelers van in de dertig met een aanzienlijke blessuregeschiedenis. Maar zorg voor een uitzondering voor spelers als Trout, die waarschijnlijk ouder worden zoals Mays dan Evan Longoria. Dit is een kans om een ​​onmogelijk zeldzame honkbalgod laag te kopen. Gooi de zorgen over de salarisadministratie en IL-tijd in de verbrandingsoven.

Vraag #6: Wat is er nodig om Trout te krijgen?

De raarste vraag om over na te denken. De Angels zouden kunnen zeggen dat ze niet geïnteresseerd zijn in salarisverlaging, en dat ze nog steeds de beste vooruitzichten willen. Ze nemen Kyle Harrison en Marco Luciano, en jij neemt een 32-jarige speler met nog $222,7 miljoen op zijn contract. Overeenkomst? Laten we schudden.

Dat zou echter duidelijk niet werken voor de Giants. Of misschien willen ze $100 miljoen van dat contract besparen en een team toestaan ​​een topperspectief, enkelvoud, aan te bieden in plaats van topperspectief, meervoud. Misschien overwegen de Giants dat.

Neem het hele contract, en misschien kun je rondkomen met Ross Stripling en een lauwe kom mosselvissoep.

Ik heb geen idee wat de Angels zouden willen, en dat veronderstelt dat ze überhaupt openstaan ​​voor een ruil, wat we niet zeker weten. Ze zouden om allerlei onrealistische dingen kunnen vragen, omdat ze hem willen behouden als franchise-icoon en veteraanaanwezigheid voor het wederopbouwproject. Of ze kunnen vragen om Carson Whisenhunt, Heliot Ramos en 150 miljoen dollar salarisvrijstelling en verder gaan.

Hoe dan ook, de Giants konden het zich veroorloven. Ze kunnen zich de hoge en de lage kant van dat spectrum veroorloven. Ze zouden waarschijnlijk niet bereid zijn om spelers te ruilen die dit seizoen een bijdrage zouden kunnen leveren, maar daarna? Zeker. Open het prospectchequeboekje. Het is letterlijk Mike Trout.

Vraag #7: Zou het niet lastig zijn voor Trout en Ohtani om weer samen te zijn in een ander team (de Giants)?

Ik denk niet dat ze er een probleem mee zouden hebben.

Uitspraak

Als de Engelen het serieus zouden overwegen – een grote ‘als’ – zouden de Giants er helemaal overheen moeten zijn. Kijk niet naar de gemiste wedstrijden. Kijk eens naar de consistente hulp van Trout vloer. Zijn OORLOG sinds hij zijn eerste volledige seizoen in de grote competities speelde:

2012: 10.5 OORLOG
2013: 8.9
2014: 7.7
2015: 9.6
2016: 10.5
2017: 6.9
2018: 9.9
2019: 7.9
2020: 1.8
2021: 1.8
2022: 6.3
2023: 2.9

De lijngrafiek ziet er niet geweldig uit, maar de afgelopen drie jaar herinneren je eraan dat zelfs een slechte forel een goede forel is. Het is mogelijk dat zijn lichaam hem niet toestaat om op een hoog niveau te blijven presteren, maar als ik de Hall of Famers in de binnenste cirkel overweeg, verwacht ik een achteruitgang die niet lijkt op de typische middelbare leeftijd voormalige All-Star.

Zou Trout het idee überhaupt overwegen? Zouden de engelen? Zouden de reuzen? Er is bij alle drie genoeg onzekerheid om het uiterst onwaarschijnlijk te maken dat er iets gebeurt, zelfs niet één miezerig, overtuigend gerucht.

Voor mij vertegenwoordigt Trout echter een unieke kans, zelfs in abstracto. Misschien bestaat er een kans dat deze superster uit de generatie deel uitmaakt van een team dat het contract kan overnemen en hem op de markt kan brengen bij een ontevreden fanbase. De pasvorm kon niet beter zijn voor het overnemende team. De externe krachten zullen hun zegje doen en waarschijnlijk de uiteindelijke beslissing nemen.

Het is een schande. Een echte schande. Ik ben van mening dat de Angels Mike Trout gewoon aan de Giants moeten geven.

(Foto: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

A Hell’s Angel who worked to improve the group’s reputation has been jailed for removing a murdered rival at a commandeered crematorium, at the end of a trial that exposed a culture of torture, rape and mutilation.

Merl Hefferman of the Fresno chapter in California was known for organizing charity events for children, but prosecutors fear he routinely turned victims to ash at a funeral home called the “pizza oven.”

He was sentenced Friday to four years in prison after a decade-long racketeering investigation that also resulted in the conviction of a Sonoma County department chairman for torturing a man who slept with his wife, tattooing his face and raping the victim’s wife.

Five Hells Angels have been jailed and five others are now awaiting punishment following an investigation that stretched from Boston to California, sparked by the 2014 murder of a former member who “dirted” a chapter head in Massachusetts.

“The Hells Angels followed an evil code of conduct and encouraged the beating, maiming and even killing of anyone who dared to thwart their criminal enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey.

“The defendants now face the consequences of their violent racketeering activities.”

The Sonoma chapter lived by the motto “F*** around and find out.” Ramsey’s deputy Nina Peng said this at an earlier hearing.

Former chapter president Raymond Foakes was convicted of racketeering in May after a jury heard he tortured the man who slept with his wife for four hours in 2016.

‘Foakes was the leading man. He was Mr. Hells Angel,” Peng told the jury,

“He gained respect by beating people, including other Hells Angels, into submission.”

“Foakes hit the victim with a baseball bat, forcibly tattooed the victim’s forehead and caused Nelson to hit the victim in the face with a gun,” Ramsey said.

“He was also convicted of witness intimidation, in connection with his assault of the victim’s wife while the victim was still being beaten in the Sonoma clubhouse and threatening her to comply with his demands and not report to authorities.” , he added.

The department showed it was willing to “kill its own country” after Sonoma member Joel “Doughboy” Silva was exposed by East Coast members during “bike week” in 2014 by Christopher Ranieri, the president of a friend of the Salem chapter, to threaten.

When Ranieri protested to his California counterparts, “they agreed that Silva should be killed” and lured him to the Fresno clubhouse, where he was shot in the back of the head.

Ranieri flew to Fresno for a party honoring the killing, but Hefferman, 54, was tasked with disposing of Silva’s body.

Levi Phipps, crematory manager at Yost & Webb Funeral Home in Fresno, testified that on the day of Silva’s murder, Hefferman and his stepson threatened him with a gun and loaded Silva’s body into the incinerator.

Phipps claimed that before Silva’s murder, Hefferman became “fascinated with the crematorium” and asked for the keys to the facility so that one day he could “make something disappear.”

Whistleblower Joseph Hardisty told prosecutors that Fresno Chapter Chairman Brian Wendt later admitted to pulling the trigger on Silva, saying “he used the pizza oven for five or six bodies.”

He also gave Hardisty a phone number to call and said he was “cooking pizza” if he ever wanted to use the crematorium himself.

Among those thought to have disappeared into the oven is former Hells Angel Robbie Huff, who disappeared in 2015 after allegedly helping to cover up Silva’s murder by setting his pickup truck on fire.

Another person named by federal prosecutors is colleague Arthur Carasis of Contra Costa County, who disappeared in 2016.

A third was named in court as Juan Guevara, who disappeared from Kern County in September 2015.

Jonathan “Jon Jon” Nelson, 46, and Russell “Rusty” Taylor Ott, 69, of Santa Rosa, were convicted of murder last June along with Wendt, 45, for their roles in Silva’s death and are awaiting sentencing.

David Cesena received 52 months in prison for home invasion robbery and Sonoma County member Russell Lyles received 63 months for racketeering after being accused of involvement in multiple attacks and racketeering plots.

Ranieri and Foakes have yet to be sentenced.

Sonoma member Jeremy Greer, 43, was sentenced Friday along with Hefferman to 84 months after admitting to multiple brutal assaults, armed robberies, home invasions and witness intimidation.

“Hefferman, Greer and other members of their criminal enterprise attempted to use fear and intimidation to get away with their crimes,” Ramsey said.

“I commend the witnesses who did not succumb to this group’s intimidation tactics and came forward to police.”

Former Victoria’s Secret Angels have revealed the hours of intense work that went into creating their glamorous runway image – one of them admitted that her own mother had trouble recognizing her.

Jasmine Tookes, 32, from California, and Josephine Skriver, 30, originally from Denmark, spoke candidly about their experiences when interviewed on the Real Pod podcast with 26-year-old presenter Victoria Garrick.

Victoria asked the models if they processed or understood the impact on people watching the fashion shows and how they felt about it now.

Josephine said, ‘It was a strange time because you realize there were so many eyes watching you.

“We just got signed when social media exploded as well, so it was this combination of everyone will know you for this glamorous side, two hours and an hour in hair and makeup, personal trainers, this whole situation.”

“Yet now you have the opportunity to take them behind the scenes and show them how more you really are.

“I felt like it was like overnight you just let people in and I don’t think I understood, especially in the beginning, how obsessed people could be with the little details.

“Like they wanted to know what kind of toothpaste I was using and I was like, ‘Really? That just seems boring.”

Josephine added that at that point they both realized how much responsibility they had and gave their fans a taste of how much work they had put into maintaining their physique.

Jasmine revealed that she sees comments on her Instagram “every day” saying “you’re always so good together” and “you’re always so perfect.”

She said, ‘I’m like, no I’m not! Not even the slightest.

“If you saw me waking up in my house in the morning, in the middle of the day, walking around with spit all over me from the baby, no makeup on, that’s my real life.”

Josephine agreed, saying that the glamorous side of her on stage was a version of who she was and likened it to a work uniform.

“Some people are told to wear a suit to the office – it’s just part of our image.

“No one wants to be in their work suits twenty-four hours a day, none of us want to be glamorous for twenty-four hours,” she said.

Victoria said that to audiences who would watch the shows or look at pictures of the Angels, it wasn’t immediately apparent that they were photoshopped or using body makeup.

She added that people weren’t aware of the fact that there weren’t that many filters and apps to edit photos at the time.

The host said, “I think it was given to us as this effortless thing and then I put on my bathing suit to go to the pool with my friends and the standard is to look like the picture from the magazine.”

Jasmine then said, “It’s just so crazy because I think it comes so naturally to me when you look back at our old US campaigns.”

Josephine added: ‘I was standing next to the big billboards on the street and I could stand there for 30 minutes and not a single person could bring the two people together.

“I feel like I don’t even look like my photos. Sometimes my mom would say, “Is that you? I didn’t even know you could look like that.”

“Even though you were constantly shooting underwear, I never really felt naked because we had two layers of body makeup and sparkles and glitter and oil.”

The angels would show up in their sweats before undergoing three hours of hair and makeup to make them look glamorous.

Commenting on Victoria’s Secret being more “inclusive,” Josephine said she found the old era of the company more inclusive in her opinion as an insider.

She said, “I got a little bit taller than I was with a 22 inch waist and now I was 24, 25, and they were the first to always [say]”Please don’t lose weight”.

“So for us, that was extremely inclusive from an inside perspective [compared to] when I worked with high fashion, who was the opposite.

‘But [we were] obviously in this very small framework that was the industry at the time, looking back now, not all encompassing.’

Jasmine praised the brand for recognizing the need to change their ways, but said it “definitely took longer” than it needed to.

“I think for me, with Victoria’s Secret, me and Lais (Ribeiro) were considered ‘the black girls.’ Laïs is Brazilian.

“And that’s all there was for years,” Jasmine said candidly.

When asked how she felt about that, the ex-Angel said, “To be honest I didn’t notice that much at the time, but now that I look back on it, I’m like, okay, that’s kind of odd that they only wanted me, basically as their only black girl.

“It didn’t affect me at the time, but I think when I look back on it, I thought, ‘That sucks.'”

MailOnline has contacted Victoria’s Secret for comment.

She’s been shot at, lectured by her entire family and dragged from her home at gunpoint, but the wife of Australia’s most recognizable motorcyclist says she’s not going anywhere.

Dayne Brajkovich and Jacinta Hill, like thousands of couples during the Covid pandemic, met on Tinder while the entire country was in lockdown.

Within a few days of matching on April 1, 2020, they took a walk around Perth’s picturesque Swan River.

It was love at first sight for the inky couple who got engaged just six months later.

Ms Hill, 31, moved into his million-dollar home with her daughter Audrina, now 11, before buying a new one together last September and marrying on the balcony on Nov. 12.

“Jancinta and I have been through a lot of hardship over the years and she’s still here. She’s always got my back, she’s what you call solid,” Brajkovich, 43, told Daily Mail Australia.

“It clicked because neither of us drink, smoke or do drugs.”

Mrs. Hill never flinched, despite her lover being the sergeant-at-arms of the infamous Hell’s Angels biker gang when they met, until he was kicked out early last year.

“I knew Jacinta was the one when she stuck around after the TRG (Police Tactical Response Group) surrounded the house at dinnertime with a Bearcat armored car out front and forced us out at gunpoint,” Brajkovich said.

“They even had red laser dots from their semi-automatic weapons aimed at us when a loud microphone told us to leave the house.”

Their romance almost ended in tragedy when rival rebel bikie Jason Kemp fired five or six shots at Brajkovich’s car in the driveway of his previous home in March 2021, while Ms. Hill and Audrina were in the front seats.

There were only six people at their wedding, including the celebrant and the photographer. Not even their parents have seen the photos.

Then they rode off on modified motorcycles with their names on the number plates – ‘DAYNE’ and ‘JACINT4’.

Ms. Hill shares her love of tattoos, with elaborate colorful ink completely covering her legs, lower body and right arm.

The pair look like a modernist painting on their tropical vacations, with Brajkovich’s famous tattoo on literally every inch of his body, including the names of Mrs. Hill and Audrina on the back of his head.

They had the wedding date tattooed on their honeymoon to Vietnam, he on his shoulder and she on her right hand, and Brajkovich drew her phone number on his arm so she could rescue him if he was locked up.

Ms Hill also testified in court that she applied make-up over her husband’s gang tattoos every morning before he went to work so that he wouldn’t be arrested for breaking Western Australia’s controversial laws prohibiting the prohibit public display of motorcycle badges and slogans.

Brajkovich later had the tattoos covered up with others because he was no longer a member of the club anyway.

But Mrs. Hill’s family has never accepted her undying love for her evil boyfriend, and relations haven’t thawed since they tied the knot. He is still banned from Sunday dinners and has not even met her parents.

“They don’t want anything to do with me, they prefer to read the papers and make their own judgements,” Brajkovich said.

“I tried, I went to Jacinta’s mom’s work once to let her know that Jacinta was undergoing a semi-major procedure at the hospital, but that didn’t get me any points.

“I almost had their daughter and granddaughter shot, so that’s fair enough.

“But despite what Jacinta’s family thinks of me, she decided to marry me anyway. I think she likes sitting in the back of the fast lane with me.”

Mrs. Hill promised that despite all the cost of marriage, she would never leave him – but there was one catch.

“If Dayne joins another [bikie] club, I’m not hanging around,” she said.