Another week closer to spring training. Have some Halolinks:
- The Arizona Fall league is still going on, and they're even having an all-star game: Fall Stars Game to feature assortment of top talent - angels.com. "The Fall Stars Game, formerly known as the Rising Stars Game, will take place for the eighth year, on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz. The game, which starts at 5 p.m. Arizona time and will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com, will bring together the best of the best in terms of Minor League prospects on one field." The game will feature three Angel prospects; Cam Bedrosian, Taylor Lindsey, and C.J. Cron.
- The Angels lost one of Jerry Dipoto's top scouting guys:
- Here's some HUGE breaking news from Buster Olney:
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Changes coming to MLB bids for Japan players - New York Post. "In the most significant recent examples, the Red Sox, with a bid of $51.1 million, won the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Rangers, with a bid of $51.7 million, won the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish. Teams still have to sign the player after winning the post. Both MLB and the Players Association were hoping a system could be forged in which the post was not quite as expensive as a way to keep the money here for players." The Rangers signed Darvish to a six-year, $56M contract for a total outlay of $107M
- I thought this was pretty bizarre: When bats attack — Daniel Nava’s broken bat shard flies at his neck - Yahoo Sports. "Nava was batting in the top of the fourth inning with Ortiz at first base. He connected with an Adam Wainwright pitch, breaking his bat and sending a shard toward his neck. Nava is playing in place of an injured Shane Victorino in right field. Last thing Red Sox manager John Farrell needs is for his other right fielder to get his neck sliced up. Seemed like Nava was OK though."
- And this was pretty funny" San Diego State baseball team plays game in Halloween costumes - Yahoo Sports. "The San Diego State baseball team held their third annual Halloween game on Sunday afternoon, and some of the costumes worn were absolutely outstanding."
- And finally, this was pretty funny in a bizarre sorta way: Barry Bonds asks for reconsideration of felony obstruction conviction - ESPN. "Bonds is asking the court to assemble a special panel of 11 judges to rehear the case. The court seldom grants those requests. It would take a majority vote of the 27 active judges on the court to reopen Bonds' case. If the appeals court turns down his request, Bonds' next and final step would be to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case."
- Too bad Patrick Swayze wasn't alive to see this: This Is Possibly The Biggest Wave Ever Surfed. "Early reports from yesterday's competition have Burle's wave as high as 100 feet. Wave heights tend to be exaggerated, but even if you knock off a few feet, that would still shatter the current mark of 78 feet, caught by Garrett McNamara off the same Nazare beach in 2011. McNamara was in attendance yesterday, but decided not to ride. "It was too big for me," he said. "I didn't feel safe."
- Red Sox take a 3-game to two lead: Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals - October 28, 2013 - ESPN. "Lester enhanced his reputation as an October ace with every pitch. He allowed one run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven without a walk. Nearly the same line he had in beating Wainwright in the opener."
Corrigan is returning to the Twins. Here's an article shortly after Dipoto took over as the Halo GM: Special-assignment scouts Larry Corrigan and Tim Schmidt crucial to Angels' success - angels.com. "Dipoto can recall a conversation he had with Corrigan at the Winter Meetings about 10 years ago. Corrigan, never afraid to speak his mind, challenged Dipoto to tell him what the average on-base percentage in the American League was the previous season. Dipoto assumed it was between .336 and .338. "And he looked at me with these mystified eyes and said, 'You're guessing,'" Dipoto said. "'Yeah, it was .338, but you're guessing. You gotta know.' ... I never forgot that, and in the years since, I've made it a habit to go into the room knowing, so that when the information is asked, when the information is pivotal to a decision, that you either know the answer or you know where to look."Larry Corrigan, special assistant to GM Jerry Dipoto, is leaving #Angels to return to #Twins, according to a source.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) October 28, 2013
The Angels want pitching,and sources say they've indicated a willingness to other teams to trade Peter Bourjos or/and Mark Trumbo to get it.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 29, 2013