Brandon Wood. BRANDON WOOD! : Halolinks

For the Angels' Brandon Wood, it is time - latimes.com
The power-hitting infielder for the Angels will turn 25 on March 2. He starts spring training Tuesday with a new beginning, not merely a new season.

Let us rejoice...hallelujah!

Weaver open-minded to two-seamer - The Orange County Register
On the right is Joel Pineiro, coming off the best season of his career last year with the Cardinals thanks to a new-found commitment to a sinking fastball that resulted in the best groundball ratio in baseball. On the left is Jered Weaver, curious about the two-seam grip Pineiro uses to get that downward movement on his fastball. "You gotta ask when someone is getting that kind of movement," Weaver said.

Check out the photo that accompanies this story.  If Pineiro can teach his sinker to Weaver, and Weaver can master it, Pineiro just earned half of the $8M the Angels are paying him this season.

Ex-Padre Finley strikes out as restaurateur - SignOnSanDiego.com
Finley was unable to save the restaurant. His former wife, Amy Finley, helped him run it. Toward the end, the restaurant tried "gimmicks," such as having women dressed as angels dancing on the bar to create a nightclub atmosphere, Steve Finley said.

Good lord, where do I start?  Angels dancing on the bar?  Italian cuisine and no "Reserved for Mr. Scioscia" table? 

Ridin with Rod Carew: Part 3 -  The Orange County Register
We’re at ESPN Zone in Los Angeles, and we just had lunch. I had a sandwich, Rod Carew only had a few cookies.

This just in!  OC Register writer eats a sandwich!  And his name's not Whicker!

(MORE AFTER THE BREAK....)

Rodney's goal is to close as a champion - angelsbaseball.com
"I was looking for a team that can win the World Series every year," said Rodney, who signed with the Angels as a free agent. "Maybe this is the team. These guys are good."

Maybe?  Maybe??  Fix your goddamn hat.

Torii hits ground running ... but not into walls - angelsbaseball.com
"I'm not 100 percent," Hunter said. "I'll never be 100 percent. But I feel good. I've been working out [in the Dallas area] with young NFL combine players, baseball players, doing sprints, cutbacks. It was Brian Fuentes, responding to a question last year, who said that Hunter was the unquestioned leader of the club even if he didn't carry the official distinction of captain. "He's a true professional in everything he does, the way he carries himself on and off the field. He earns a lot of respect from his peers, wherever he goes. It just seems like he does the right thing all the time -- and it's genuine.

Baseball Nerd: Swinging At The Future; Whiffing At The Past
There's also something in here about Rickie Weeks blossoming, but I think that may have been accidentally left over from the 2009 edition. Or the 2008. Or the 2007. Or the 2006...

The second part of Olbermann's article is actually more interesting than the Baseball Prospectus (which has been beat to death recently) commentary.  Click through to find out how not-to write a historical baseball book.

My daughter pretty much nails the baseball card industry - HardballTalk -  NBC Sports
So I'm opening up the packages and I'm looking at them this morning when my six year-old daughter comes into the room. She picks one up -- a Nick Markakis "relic" card with a scrap of one of his game-worn jerseys in it. "Why is this one different than the others," she says. "Well, it has a little piece of his uniform in it," I said. "Why?" Anna says. "Because some people like to collect stuff like that." "That's pretty stupid," says Anna, "People should just be happy with their own shirts." And thus I am reminded why I haven't bought any baseball cards in nearly 20 years.

I like Craig Calcaterra.  I want to be his friend. 

February 23 - BR Bullpen
1986 - Although he loses his arbitration case, Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs receives the largest amount ($1.35 million) ever awarded by this process.

I mention this for two reasons; 1) last season, Ryan Howard set a new record for a salary set through arbitration when he won his case and was awarded $10M, 2)  MARGOT!

Happy birthday....
1941 - Ron Hunt, infielder; All-Star

(I was going to make a joke about Ron Hunt's brother named Mike, but decided to show some class)

This series by former GM Jim Bowden is kinda cool, but...

...is it just me or does Bowden's haircut remind you of anyone?

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=25789e2d-f44b-452b-a90d-86baa273c81e&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_cp_mlb" mce_href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=25789e2d-f44b-452b-a90d-86baa273c81e&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_cp_mlb" target="_new" title="GM's Corner: Week 3">Video: GM's Corner: Week 3</a>