Okay, that's two games down, a minimum of three more to be played.
Links. Links for everyone! Halolinks:
- OH NO! The Sassmaster is gone! Phillies To Sign John Hester – MLB Trade Rumors, "The Phillies and catcher John Hester have agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation’s Daily Dish. The 31-year-old is a veteran of 93 Major League games over parts of four seasons with the D’Backs and Angels."
- Okay, this is kinda good news, at least when there's no other news going on. However, I'm not going to get too excited about this. I mean, small sample size? Halos' Hinshaw fulfills leadoff duties perfectly in Fall League - angels.com, "A leadoff man's role is to get on base and set the table for the middle of the order, a task Angels prospect Chad Hinshaw excelled at as he led the Mesa Solar Sox to a 9-3 victory over the Scottsdale Scorpions on Wednesday. "Today, I was just able to have a few quality at-bats and help the team by getting on," Hinshaw said. Hinshaw, the Angels' 15th-round Draft pick in 2013,was 2-for-3 with three walks and an RBI. He also scored twice and stole two bases." And this one too: Angels' Towey riding hot streak, offensive game progressing - angels.com, "The 24-year old is off to an impressive start in the AFL, and although his numbers in the regular season weren't overwhelming, his offensive success shouldn't be a surprise. After hitting just .258 in the first half of 2014, Towey hit .298 in the second half -- a trend that's continued in the AFL. Towey, selected in the 17th round of the 2013 Draft, finished the season with 10 homers, 63 RBIs and a .258 average in 128 games at Class A-Advanced Inland Empire."
- Royals top Giants in World Series Game 2: Quick hits - CBSSports.com, "Game 2 of the World Series featured a leadoff home run for the Giants, the Royals bouncing back to take an early lead, the Giants tying it up and then the Royals running away with it after a breakout sixth inning that even included a little spat between the teams." Yay!
- Hey look, two guys won some award:
.@Royals closer Greg Holland wins Mariano Rivera Award; @Braves closer @kimbrel46 receives Trevor Hoffman Award. pic.twitter.com/GYnSX5ntjG
— MLB (@MLB) October 22, 2014 -
2014 MiLBYs - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball, "The polls are open for the 2014 MiLBYs. Cast your vote for the best players, plays and performances of the 2014 Minor League season. Vote now!" Vote early and often.
- Here's a tweet from MLB Public Relations on Game 1's television rating. It's a great example of spin control:
Total avg audience for #WorldSeries Game 1 is 12.5 million viewers (FOX + @FoxDeportes), up from 12.2 million for 2012 Game 1.
— MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) October 22, 2014World Series Game 1 pulled an 8.0 overnight, down nearly 15% from last year's World Series Game 1 (Red Sox-Cardinals).
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) October 22, 2014 - Maybe the rating would be higher if fans were actually able to watch the game: World Series viewers in DC miss Game 2 fireworks due to emergency test- Yahoo Sports, "As it turned out, Infante launched a two-run home run that essentially iced the game for Kansas City. It also frustrated Strickland, who had just allowed his fifth home run in six postseason appearances, and he let those frustrations get the best of him. As Salvador Perez rounded the bases ahead of Infante, he took exception to Strickland as he stomped around the mound and apparently uttered some less-than-flattering words. This led to the Royals bench clearing and a few more unflattering words. The situation died down quickly and resulted in Bruce Bochy removing the 22-year-old right-hander, but it was arguably the most interesting minute or two in the World Series so far. Yet those poor fans in Washington were stuck with the message above." Actually, below.
The most dramatic point this far in the World Series and DC cable goes to an emergency alert test pattern. pic.twitter.com/Jw2T472Fn0
— Brendan Danaher (@bjdanaher) October 23, 2014 - Another hitting coach hits...the dusty trail: San Diego Padres fire hitting coach Phil Plantier - ESPN, "Manager Bud Black said he and general manager A.J. Preller decided that the Padres needed "a new voice" at hitting coach. Black said the Padres hope Plantier remains with the organization in some capacity. Plantier had been the sixth hitting coach since the Padres began playing in spacious Petco Park in 2004."
- Did Adam Dunn Ruin Baseball? – The Hardball Times, "It won’t surprise anyone to learn that the rise of the three true outcomes has generated a great deal of controversy, likely due to a pair of sizable spikes in the TTO percentage over the past two decades. The game is always evolving and, like many evolutions, this one isn’t universally adored. A wide range of fans, analysts and former players have raised concerns about the direction the game is headed and it’s a conversation worth having."
- Uh-oh, someone's not going to be happy Dan Haren's going to be one-handed for a while:
RHP Dan Haren underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left non-throwing shoulder this morning. Expected to be back to start Spring Training.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 22, 2014 - Too funny. Halloween Wizard Nose Looks Like A Hefty Set Of Dick And Balls, "We have some bad news for the makers of the Wizard Nose: This thing doesn't look like a wizard's nose, fellas. It looks like an old guy's unit."