September 19, 2017 Page 1 of 24 - MLB.com

[Pages:24]September 19, 2017

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Clips

(September 19, 2017)

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Today's Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIME (Page 3)

One thing Mike Trout hasn't hurt is his MVP chances Angels mailbag: Looking at the last two weeks FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 7) Uber-talented Justin Upton brings bulk to Angels' lineup Vladimir Guerrero thanks Angels, fans for recent Hall of Fame honor Cleveland Indiands juggernaut rolls into Anaheim after historic streak FROM (Page 12) Trout's defensive marks limited by chances Inbox: Angels OK if Upton becomes free agent Looking to gain WC ground, Halos face Tribe FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 17) Red-hot Clevinger, Indians take on Angels FROM (Page 19) From wild-card chases to MVP races: Your guide to season's final two weeks FROM SPORTING NEWS (Page 22) AL MVP: Jose Altuve is clear favorite, but race for second is star-studded

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FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

One thing Mike Trout hasn't hurt is his MVP chances

By Pedro Moura

One afternoon at Angel Stadium last week, Mike Trout tossed a large foam football around the clubhouse with some teammates. At one point, Trout fired the football in a tight, perfect spiral across the room to Garrett Richards, his housemate and the Angels' ace. Richards returned the throw on an uneven path. Trout sent him another spiral. Again, Richards returned the throw with a slight wobble.

"Garrett!" Trout exclaimed. "Make an adjustment!"

That's the paradox: Improvement is typically attributed to adjustments. But Trout, on the verge of registering his best season to date, maintains he has made none.

"I haven't changed a thing," Trout said. "For sure."

The Angels' center fielder and reigning American League most valuable player is contending for the same award this year despite missing nearly seven weeks because of a torn thumb ligament.

Trout, 26, is walking more, hitting for more power and striking out less than ever before. Based on his plate-appearance pace, he should qualify for the American League batting title on Friday, a technicality that will allow him to appear on standard leader boards.

He will then take a sizable AL lead in both on-base and slugging percentage. New York's Aaron Judge will be next-best, ahead in each over Houston's Jose Altuve, who is thought to be the current MVP favorite.

Trout, who also won the award in 2014 and finished second in 2012, '13 and '15, could become the first player to finish in the top two in MVP voting for six straight seasons. However, he declined to discuss his own candidacy.

"I'm just gonna try to finish strong," he said. "Guys are having great years. With Judge, Altuve, even [Jose] Ramirez from Cleveland is having an unbelievable season. I'll keep going to the end and see what happens."

Trout said his outlook is the same for the Angels, who sit 1? games out of playoff position with 13 games to play. Though he never has won a postseason game, this will be the fourth time in six major league seasons that Trout has had at least a chance to make the playoffs in the season's final days.

He called each remaining game a "must-win." Had he not suffered the thumb injury in May, the Angels' circumstances might be different.

"Being hurt switches up some things," Trout said. "But the beginning of the year was a good start, the start you wanted coming out of spring. At the end, you want to be in it, still, which helps a little bit. It's been a crazy year, obviously."

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For him and for the league. On Tuesday, Major League Baseball will break its record for homers in a season with nearly two weeks to spare. Theories abound as to why, from increased temperatures to intended or unintended changes with the baseballs that are being used. Trout thinks it's because pitchers are throwing harder.

"I can't see anything else," Trout said. "People say maybe the balls are a little tighter, but I haven't noticed anything. I just think guys are throwing harder, for sure. I think that's why strikeouts are up.

"Other than that, I'm speechless."

Pitchers are actually not throwing harder. Fastballs, sliders and curveballs are all down one tenth of a mile per hour this season compared to last, according to Statcast data captured by .

But Trout is correct that the game around him is changing. Since the year he debuted, 2011, home runs are up 34%, walks are up 6% and strikeouts 16%.

So, some of his improvement -- what shows up in statistics -- can be attributed to him swaying with the sport as it has changed. Some might be reflective of how pitchers now approach him, and, he says, his understanding of those approaches. The rest is limiting slumps.

"The biggest thing is, with all the walks, my timing just has been on," Trout said. "When my timing's off, that's when my strikeouts are up, when I'm swinging at bad pitches. You want to limit it to a game, limit it to an at-bat, or even pitches within an at-bat."

On recent days in the Angels' clubhouse, strength and conditioning coach Lee Fiocchi has approached several players about planning offseason training regimens. When he went up to Trout last week, the franchise player playfully pushed back.

"I'm getting old, man," Trout told Fiocchi to laughter across the clubhouse.

"Man," 36-year-old second baseman Brandon Phillips said, "come on."

Short hop

The Angels announced they will begin to sell tickets to potential postseason home games Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. Tickets for up to three games will be available on the Angels' website or by phone through Ticketmaster.

Angels mailbag: Looking at the last two weeks

By Pedro Moura

Hello, Angels fans. Well, this is almost it. Your favorite baseball team is 76-73 and off today for the last time this season. With 13 games remaining in the regular season, they trail Minnesota by two games for the American League's second wild-card spot.

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So, the Angels' playoff destiny may not fully rest within their control. But, with good play, they can give themselves a reasonable chance to qualify for the Oct. 3 wild-card game -- or an Oct. 2 play-in game in Minnesota.

It begins Tuesday, when Cleveland comes to town for a three-game series. Luckily, the Angels will miss Corey Kluber, the Cy Young contender, and Carlos Carrasco. The pitching matchups follow:

Tuesday: RHP Mike Clevinger (10-5, 3.21 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Skaggs (2-5, 4.37 ERA)

Wednesday: RHP Josh Tomlin (9-9, 5.04 ERA) vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (6-14, 5.11 ERA)

Thursday: RHP Danny Salazar (5-6, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Parker Bridwell (8-2, 3.71 ERA)

Let us get to the questions.

If Upton decides to opt out what do you think he's fetch on the open market? Similar to Trumbo last off season? More?

Evaluators I've asked are torn as to whether Justin Upton could best the $88.5 million the Angels are currently obligated to pay him over the next four years. Most agree that, if he opts out, he is not going to crush that number.

Does it make sense to risk $88.5 million for an extra 10% or 15%? Maybe. Maybe if you know the floor is something like $80 million over four years and you can at least pick the team that will pay you that money?

I can tell you that he will not be opting out for Mark Trumbo money -- three years, $37.5 million. Upton offers a consistency that Trumbo did not. So while they are generally fair comparisons as bat-first corner outfielders, Upton is a better fielder, better baserunner, and a better and more consistent hitter. Teams value that.

Why do the Angels break my heart every year?

To paraphrase A. Bartlett Giamatti, the season is structured to break your heart, if you invest yourself enough in it. But, occasionally, you will feel tremendous, incomparable satisfaction. Or so I've heard.

Do you think Scoscia should replaced? do you think all the pitcher injuries R due 2 lack of knowledgeable training staff or just R bad luck?

I have zero desire to speculate about any person's job security. Mike Scioscia remains under contract through next season. To the latter question, the Angels swapped strength and conditioning coaches after last season, so the connection between the years is smaller than fans realize. As I've written here before, fans often overestimate the degree to which their teams are snakebit by injuries. Pitchers get hurt, all over the league, all over the world.

So it's not like other teams are staying healthy and the Angels are getting wrecked. But it's true that the quantity of arm injuries suffered by Angels pitchers in the last two seasons is abnormal, between Garrett

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Richards' elbow and biceps, Andrew Heaney's elbow and shoulder, Nick Tropeano's elbow, Matt Shoemaker's forearm, JC Ramirez's elbow, Andrew Bailey's shoulder, Huston Street's lat and rotator cuff, and Alex Meyer's shoulder. That is a ton of significant ailments, representing millions and millions in lost value.

The Angels do not allow members of their training staff to speak to reporters. We can still be certain that they are aware and concerned about the array of injuries.

As I wrote last year here, there are other possible factors besides training. It's not as simple as the wrong post-start exercises. This will be a topic to explore more in the off-season.

Is bridwell for real? What do the numbers tell us?

The numbers tell us that Parker Bridwell is getting lucky, to a degree. He has a 3.71 earned-run average, and his peripheral statistics do not support that kind of production. They also tell us that he belongs in the major leagues. The source of his success is simple: He pounds the strike zone, limits walks, avoids crazy homer rates, and allows the Angels' superb defense to go to work saving some hits. His fieldingindependent-pitching metric says he deserves an ERA of 4.56, which is not wonderful but certainly serviceable. Considering the Angels acquired him for cash in April and they can keep him for cheap for the next six seasons, he is an asset.

.@pedromoura Have your contacts deep within #Angels front office indicated possible run at signing Otani this offseason? Or diff options?

The Angels have not had an evaluator at Shohei Ohtani's recent outings. It's tough to predict where he will sign, especially since the differentiation within signing bonuses will be so small because of MLB's nonsensical rules, but they are certainly not a favorite.

How do you think the Angels' strength of schedule the rest of the way compares to the rest of the AL Wild Card contenders?

At this point, the chances are highly likely that either Minnesota or the Angels will win the second wildcard nomination. Most public playoff odds calculators peg the chances of one of those teams winning it between 90% and 95%. So, let's not even worry about Seattle or Baltimore right now.

The Angels play seven road games and six home games. They play six games against good teams, four games against a bad team, and three games against a team that could be out of the race by the time they meet.

The Twins play 10 road games and three home games. They play six games against good teams and seven games against a bad team.

They're pretty similar schedules, really.

With this September, is Mike Trout wasting Mike Trout's prime?

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This month, Trout has more than twice as many walks as strikeouts and an .869 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Don't be ridiculous.

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Uber-talented Justin Upton brings bulk to Angels' lineup

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM -- When Eric Byrnes was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, hitting a ball over the batter's eye at the club's spring training home in Tucson, Ariz., was no trivial feat. Maybe a few times a spring, someone would connect well enough to launch one that far.

In 2007, though, a 19-year-old kid suddenly make it look easy.

This was Justin Upton's introduction to the big leagues.

"He was flicking balls over it at will," Byrnes recalled. "Taking one look at Justin Upton, I thought to myself, I would not be shocked to see this kid in Cooperstown one day. The presence about him. The way he stood in the box. The natural stance and setup he had... . When you look at a kid like that, you think, that's what they're supposed to look like. That's what I want to see from a first overall pick."

Upton has lived with huge expectations from the moment the Diamondbacks tapped him with the first pick in the 2005 draft, and all the way until the Angels acquired him Aug. 31 with the hope he could push them into the playoffs.

In Upton's first 15 games with the Angels, he has produced a .288 average, three homers and a .988 OPS. Slipped between Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, Upton has added bulk to the middle of a lineup that had struggled for much of the season. For the season, Upton has a .913 OPS to go with his 31 homers and 103 RBI.

"He's picked up where he left off," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He just changed colors from Detroit's uniform to ours."

Which is a familiar thing for Upton.

For as good as his career has been, what it has lacked is continuity. The Angels are his fifth team in 10 years. This move, his first during the season, was particularly hectic.

Upton changed teams in between a two-city trip with the Tigers and a three-city trip with the Angels. Besides living out of hotels and one suitcase for nearly three weeks, he also had to relocate his wife and 21-month-old daughter on the fly.

"I've always looked at it as part of the game," Upton said. "At the end of the day, you get to step on the field every day and wear a jersey and compete. Each place I've been, I've enjoyed."

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Upton, who just turned 30, will soon have the power to decide if he's going to pack up again, or stick around for a while. The deal he negotiated with the Tigers before the 2016 season included an opt-out following the 2017 season. After the World Series, Upton will have the choice of staying with the Angels, for four years and about $89 million, or becoming a free agent again. He would be one of the top hitters in a free agent class that would also include J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.

Without tipping his hand ? and it's likely he doesn't even know the answer yet ? Upton sounds ready to settle down.

"It would be nice to get comfortable somewhere," he said. "You never know with baseball. Baseball is unpredictable. You've got to play it by ear."

Byrnes suspects Upton will stay with the Angels.

"I talked to him right after the trade and he is stoked to be in Anaheim," Byrnes said. "He was really excited to be playing meaningful games and also to get back to the West Coast. It's been a place I think he's always felt really comfortable. He's pumped to be back there. ... I think he has a better chance of not opting out now that he's in Anaheim, than when he was in Detroit in that rebuild. ... If (the money) is relatively equivalent in his contract, I don't see why he would opt out."

Byrnes, who played with Upton in Arizona for three of the four seasons before he retired and became an analyst, said he still keeps in regular contact with him. He marvels at the player he has become.

"He's put together a very nice resume of consistency, which is something in today's game," Byrnes said. "You see a lot of guys having big years and then falling off. It's the most difficult thing in the game to do, year in and year out, especially changing teams like he has."

Ask Cameron Maybin, who has known Upton twice as long as Byrnes. Maybin, who is from North Carolina, and Upton, from Virginia, regularly played against each other in elite tournaments starting when they were 9 or 10 years old.

In 2005, Upton was the No. 1 pick in the draft, and Maybin was 10th. They then played together with the San Diego Padres (in spring training), Atlanta Braves and Tigers.

"It's fun to still be going at it," said Maybin, who just missed Upton with the Angels, having been sent the same day to the Houston Astros when Upton's acquisition rendered him expendable. "It's fun to watch. He's always been fun to watch. He's physically gifted."

The Diamondbacks obviously knew that before they used the draft's most precious pick to take him.

"You could tell right away, he was the best player on the field on any given night," said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who was the Diamondbacks' farm director during Upton's first season.

Hinch watched Upton make the smooth conversion from shortstop to outfield, reaching the majors after just one full season in the minors. When he got to the big leagues in 2007, "he had the weight of the

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