*Well congratulations to the Angels and Yankees - they are your 2017 Off-Season Champions.
-The Angels landed Shohei Ohtani, sending Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto into a murderous rage that he will have to trade his way out of. It got salty in Seattle (but the point stands):
Cannot think of a fanbase more deserving of this than the Angels, whose owner literally said he doesn’t care if lower-income people and families can make it to the park https://t.co/8PW4qTn6bG— Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) December 8, 2017
Jon Daniels: “We’re disappointed we weren’t Shohei Ohtani’s choice, but wish him the best in Anaheim. He impressed us on and off the field at every turn. However, had he asked our opinion, we would have suggested the National League."— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) December 8, 2017
USA Today's Jorge L. Ortiz talks about how Ohtani alters the balance of power in the AL West.
In a stunning bout of amnesia, Richard Justice says the Angels are MLB's Must-See Team. Jeff Passan writes about why the decision is so stunning. FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan says Ohtani is a game-changer.
A healthy Mike Trout should boost the Angels' offense (as will a healthy Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, etc) but by my calculations Ohtani would need to post a 22-WAR season for the Angels to catch the Astros.
-A few minutes ago the Yankees traded Starlin Castro and some scrubs to Miami for adding $250m in payroll and slugger Giancarlo Stanton. He still has the no-trade clause with Miami, so Stanton has to waive it in order to join Literal Giant Aaron Judge in the Yankees' lineup.
Joel Sherman says the Yankees were all-in on Stanton after losing out on Ohtani.
*Six years ago yesterday Jeff Luhnow became the GM of the Astros. He and Brian McTaggart did some light reflecting.
*Hey Astros Spring Training tickets go on sale today.
*
In Episode 85 of #AstrosAllAccess, host @Lo_Blackwell takes you behind the scenes of Jose Altuve's #Sportsperson of the Year photoshoot with JJ Watt! pic.twitter.com/Aw6URC2kP3— Houston Astros (@astros) December 8, 2017
*Jimmy Breslin's on-deadline column of the shooting of John Lennon.
