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“Angels–New Era Begins-Joe Maddon”

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He comes with great credentials.

A long time Angels employee returns, coming off tremendous runs as the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, then the Chicago Cubs.

Now Joe Maddon takes over an Angels franchise that has lots of talent, but has not been in the put season in a while.  Their World Series win was a long time ago.

He inherits bats, must find arms, and compete against a loaded schedule featuring the Astros-A’s-Dodgers and more.

He spoke about challenges on the field, and in the real world.

Joe Maddon’s comments:

..Everyone in this camp must buy-in
..Must be the best teammate in their life
..Do not become cavalier about this health issue
..We are tightening up the bubble
..Need to follow all the protocols
..Told players to opt-out if you cannot do this
..Did Zoom meetings with players before arrival-this is the law
..I want my players to make informed decisions
..Yes there is trepidation
..I salute MLB-protocols are well thought out
..There are alot of layers involved with this situation
..It will take time to deal with all that is uncomfortable
..I talked to players about the civil unrest
..Open zoom meetings about what happening
..Want players to participate and discuss all
..Be part of the solution
..Alot going on in this nation..help solve it
..Make sure something like this never happens again
..Extensive talks with Mike Trout about his decisions
..Mike Trout-very 1st child-very significant
..I want him to arrive at his own truth
..Think for yourself-not have someone else tell you
..Do not know if there is protocol to opt out and opt back in
..The rules will likely evolve
..Shohei Ohtani-all systems are go
..He is strong and dedicated to his craft
..We had 10-players not arrive for varying reasons
..Julio Teheran is among those not here yet.
..We are split squad…Angels Stadium-Blair Field-Long Beach State
..We are tied for 1st place in July
..Get your playoff hats on..be in playoff mode now
..Not getting overamped on anything I see right now
..There is no comparison to this and spring training yet
..Intrasquad games-control workload of pitchers
..Try some creative things-create situations in game
..Please with staff-alot of communications
..Don’t know what games will feel like once they start
..Not exactly sure the pure adrenalin rush will be same
..Our test results are all caught up
..Players uncomfortable about going to Texas-be empathetic
..Curious to see how players react to no fans in stands
..Players not playing will likely sit in suites and boxes uptop

The Halos have bats.  They may have to win their games 9-8.

But with Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols and more they should score runs.

They have pitchers with injury histories who will have to prove it.

Three weeks from the start, with a hard 60-game schedule infront of them, still alot of unknown questions, most of it pitching related.

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