When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But unless life also gives you some sugar, that lemonade is going to suck. Here's some sugarless Halolinks (without the suck):
- This is an interesting suggestion, using Josh Hamilton in the #2 spot in the batting order: target="_blank" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130114&content_id=40950772&vkey=news_ana&c_id=ana&partnerId=rss_ana">Coveted No. 2 spot in Angels' lineup is up for grabs - angels.com. "One veteran scout, noting the flaws in each of the other candidates, suggested perhaps Hamilton would be the best fit to bat second." No two players are the same, but imagine what Hamilton could do with all of those fastballs we all saw Torii Hunter get while hitting behind Trout and in front of Pujols. I wrote last week how fun it'll be to watch a 3-4-5 of Pujols, Hamilton and Trumbo, yet a 1-2-3 of Trout, Hamilton, and Pujols would make me deliriously giddy.
- Anyone else confident Ryan Madson will start the season as the Halo's closer? A good comp for Madson is the Rangers' Joe Nathan. Nathan had TJ surgery in 2010 after posting a 1.87 ERA over the previous six seasons. Upon returning to the mound in 2011, Nathan's ERA fluffed up to 4.84 mainly due to a first half ERA of 5.82. Madson may return quicker than Nathan (Madson is 6 years younger), but to expect him to be the pitcher he was prior to surgery is probably unrealistic: Angels' new closer Ryan Madson is no stranger to pressure - latimes.com. "Madson said those Phillies playoff teams "played the game right, played it hard," and often with a chip on their shoulder, an attitude he hopes to see from the Angels, who have gone three seasons without making the playoffs and failed to live up to World Series expectations in 2012." I do like his attitude about attitude. The club does need to get pissed off and play like they have something to prove.
- If you were wondering who the Angels have running things in their minor leagues, Alden G. has the rundown: Angels announce Minor League staff - Gonzo and 'The Show'
- You would think this headline would write itself, but I'm just not clever enough: Trout catches grouper - HardballTalk. "You know it’s the offseason because some player’s girlfriend tweeted something interesting and I’m running with it. From the Twitter feed of Mike Trout‘s girlfriend, Jessica Cox" There's a picture of Trout and a really big fish.
- Today's Trout Porn:
- Which is it? Boras says payrolls are down: Scott Boras, Baseball Econ 001, and Kyle Lohse (etc.) - Baseball Nation. "Boras, who doesn’t let any baseball financial aspect escape him, has made a study of payrolls and has found, he said, that most teams have lower payrolls five weeks before spring training than their highest opening-day payrolls since the 2000 season. "Only about five teams have higher payrolls," the agent said. "Everybody else is below even though revenue is up by 200 percent and the value of franchises is up 300, 400 percent. What we’re seeing is not many teams are spending on payrolls despite the fact that their profits are extraordinary. You’d expect teams to have their highest payrolls but they don’t." Yet, the numbers show the opposite: Opening day MLB payrolls to exceed $3B for first time; Dodgers, Jays, Nats see biggest rise - Yahoo! Sports. "Baseball's opening-day payrolls will exceed $3 billion for the first time this season, jumping more than 7 percent from last season and redistributing the windfall from landmark local television deals across the sport, according to a Yahoo! Sports analysis."
- Jack Morris, the Tea Party, and WOW THE INTERNET - Baseball Nation. "How, exactly, should certain segments of the sabermetric community best present their case that Jack Morris was not, for example, as good as Bert Blyleven or Curt Schilling? Basically, in Rosenthal's world-view, it seems that it's okay to mention in passing that a candidate isn't quite good enough for the Hall of Fame. But if you truly engage the question, and do some ACTUAL RESEARCH, then you're engaging in some ridiculous ill-spirited crusade." That's because numbers lie and those spouting the numbers are arrogant nerds who never actually watch the games.