10...Albert sits next to Vernon Wells on the plane.

9...Albert is waiting for a consistent starting lineup.

8...M I C K E Y Hatcher

7...Albert has 240 million reasons to swing at balls out of the strike zone.

6...Albert sits next to Vernon Wells on the bus.

5...Albert wears Angel uniform #5....the shirt fits!

4...Albert cannot sleep! His cell phone goes off all hours of the day and night. Artie's lawyer won't let him leave what he wants to say on voice mail.

3...Albert is too old to learn anything from Mark Trumbo.

2...Albert is too busy reading and memorizing Small Ball by Mike Scioscia [10th edition].

and the number one reason.....

1....Albert sits next to Vernon Wells between innings.

Feel free to change the order, delete, rest or otherwise manage this list into the cellar.

It is time to give up the fantasy that Vernon Wells has within him some last hurrah, some magical ability to turn his stressings into blessings and once again hit like he hit in 2006, or at least dial up a hot streak that will make him momentarily tradeable. The fact is that since 2010 -- an All-Star season for Vern, let's remember -- he has been utterly consistent away from Rogers Centre. And by "utterly consistent" I do mean horrible:

2010 .227/.301/.407
2011 .219/.249/.406
2012 .223/.250/.384

Adding up those thousand-plus plate appearances of suck, and you get .222/.265/.404 since April 2010. That is replacement-level performance, it is who Vernon Wells is, and there is zero reason to expect him to be any better given his age and trendlines. It is also worth mentioning that Wells has put up a remarkably awful -2.4 Wins Above Replacement on defense for the Angels since 2011.

Meanwhile over that same period of time, Peter Bourjos -- the best defensive centerfielder in baseball -- has produced better offensive numbers: .249/.300/.413.

Unless there is a left-handed starter on the mound, playing Vernon Wells in front of Peter Bourjos is managerial and organization malpractice, needlessly messing with the head of a cheap 25-year-old with great upside so we don't offend the sensibilities of an expensive 33-year-old who no longer has the ability to increase his team's likelihood of winning.

There is no way Jerry DiPoto doesn't know all this. That's why there's only one solution to the problem of Mike Scioscia making this team worse through lineup decisions: JUST CUT VERNON WELLS.

Poll

What would you do with Vern?

42%

Cut him

404 votes

8%

Keep starting him until you can get at least a Rookie-League ball boy for him

80 votes

22%

Have him start against lefties

208 votes

26%

Bury him on the bench and make him sad, out of spite

253 votes

945 votes | Poll has closed

To the Team: Alright guys. It’s not as bad as it could be. I spend a lot of time swearing at my computer screen, or in the car, or in bars while watching and listening to your pathetic excuse for a start to the season.

Let me direct the rest of this rant post to individual people:

Mike Scioscia: Let me let you in on a little secret. Players who get regular playing time get in a groove and start hitting. I know you don’t realize this when Pujols is only person actually playing everyday. Small sample size. P.s. I’m mad at you for maybe the first time as a fan. *Cough* Play Bourjos not Wells.

Albert “No El Hombre” Pujols: Envisioning your first season with the Angels I thought about the worst case scenario and imagined this season. Only thing, I imagined it happening 4 years into your contract. This is beyond worst case right now. Get your act together. You deserved to get booed at home.

Bobby Abreu: Thanks for leaving (whoops you didn’t have a choice)

Vernon Wells: Break something, please. Please. PLEASE.

Mike Trout: Thank you. Thank you for being decent so far. Thank you. I don’t think the fan base could have handled you struggling too. While you’re at it, could you lead our offense as a 20 year old? Yes a team with Albert Pujols is asking you to be burdened with this task. But, I think you’re up to it.

Dipoto: You chose the right player to extend in Howie, then you got all extension happy and Aybar’s gonna be here too long. If you trade Bourjos I will disown you.

Peter Bourjos: It’s not your fault. Peter, Peter listen, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. Peter, it’s not your fault.

Erick Aybar: Start hitting, you're better than this, not much, but you are.

Mark Trumbo: You are in one hell of a crappy situation. You should get everyday playing time with the rest of them (except Vernon).

Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick: You’re doing your job and that’s all I can ask.

The Bullpen (not Scott Downs): You sons of *#I)#(*&)%&)#. Sorry. Didn’t mean that. Frustration took over. Working on the temper these days.

Scotty Downs: Can you pitch three consecutive innings after Haren or Wilson extend their pitch count please?

Mickey Hatcher: Please see Mr. Trump in his office.

Jered Weaver: Straight up ballin. Keep it going, Cy is calling, I can hear him down the road. I like you even more because you're not Jeff and if you were Jeff right now we might be the Twins.

Arte: Almost time to go all Steinbrenner on these guys.

Chris Iannetta: I hate you for getting hurt. An offense catcher with regular playing time, never thought I’d see the day with Scioscia at the helm. Now its gone again…

Bobby Wilson: You look like a power hitter, but you’re not. What’s up with that?

John Hester: I don’t know much about you, but I’d recommend trying to draw a walk during your AB’s. Someone has got to make up for No El Hombre.

C.J. Wilson: Living up to every bit of the hype and I’m diggin’ it.

Ernesto Frieri: We need you to be something that no other Angels relief pitcher has been this year. Semi-decent and healthy.

Ervin Santana: You didn’t expect this team to score runs for you, did you? *Scoff*

Jerome Williams: You’ve shown enough good to have a spot until at least the All-Star break. Seriously, there’s no one down there going to take your spot.

Alberto Callaspo: Dude you’re probably the most underrated lower-tier player in the league. Sorry there’s no space.

To the Team #2: Gotta say, it could be worse. Surprised to look at the standings and see we’re 3rd in the West. Things are looking up, and there’s time left. However, you can only say it’s early for so long. I’m still cheering, and I always will, you guys just need to start justifying it this season.

I have a 30-team dynasty sim league at dynastybaseballassociation.com, where you start out with your team, and the Angels are available. It is a free league and no trades have been made. Email me at padres4221@hotmail.com, or go on the chat at the bottom of the page to join or ask questions, here are a few rules from the league so you guys get an idea for how the league works.

Introduction

This is a 30 team simulation league. The simulating program will be ootp. I plug the rosters and lineups and manager tendencies, etc. into the program and it simulates games based on projections, past performances, and various other factors. You could start any prospect, though it might hurt their development. It will even simulate injuries, so I hope you have the depth for a 162 game season plus the playoffs!

League Rules

PENALTY POINTS:
You may receive penalty points if you break the rules. The league is allowed to reduce and give penalty points at their disgression. They reset at the end of each year. If you receive 7 points, you will be released from your position. You will not be allowed to become a GM until the end of the year when your points clear. If you are hired as staff and bring the total to 10 points in that year, or a released from your position of GM again, you will have a 2 year ban from the league. Then an additional one year ban for being a GM.

1-4 points:
Warning

4-5 points:
10 million CAP reduction

6 points:
1 month ban/vacation. AGM takes over.

7 points:
Dismissed from your position. SALARY CAP:There will be a hard salary cap. It will be determined at the start of the league. Transactions that take you over CAP will be rejected. Exceeding
CAP is worth one penalty point for every month. You will be required to spend half of your CAP at ALL TIMES. Any cap you do not spend, you may keep 10% of it
for the next year.

PERFORMANCE:Every year you go under .500 you get one penalty point added on to the end of the year. The worst team receives 2. If you repeat
as worst, you get 4. If you three-peat as worst, you get 6. If you finish as worst a 4th time, you are automatically dismissed. Every year you go consecutively under .500 under the same regime is an additional 1 point.DRAFTS:There will be two, possibly up to four drafts annually.SUPPLEMENTAL

DRAFTS:
There will be drafts
SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT:
This will be a live draft. You will submit a list if you cannot make it. If you do not submit a list or can't make it, you will lose your selection. Any
unowned minor leaguer may be selected. For the inagural draft, there will be a list. Anybody you select with your 1st round selection will be added on to your
40-man. If you skip your selection, you may make no more. You will receive 5 minutes to select. If you take longer you will have your pick skipped. All minor
leaguers that are not selected become free agents. The order will be determined by last seasons place in the standings.

AMATEUR DRAFT:
This draft is of high school and college players, to be held after the MLB draft. You will receive 5 minutes to select. If you take longer you will have your pick skipped. If you are skipped on a 1st or second round pick, you may pick in next years compensation round. Anybody you select with your 1st round selection will be
added on to your 40-man. The draft will continue. You may trade draft picks and you may recieve various picks due to free agent compensation.

EXPANSION DRAFT:
TBD

RULE 5 DRAFT:
TBD TRADES:
You may trade players.

TRADE DEADLINE:
The trade deadline will be August 1st. At 9:00 PM Eastern Time. This will allow those MLB addicts to be hoping for their team to acquire that aquisition for 3 prospects that will put them over the top without having to deal with fantasy baseball on that day.

CASH/PICKS/CLAUSES/PTBNL
-You may trade cash in any deal, or even cash for a player.
-You may trade ameatuer and supplemental draft picks at any time. Even during the actual draft. If I want to move up from pick 28 to pick 17 to draft Kevin Gausman, to snatch him from the Pirates, who sit at 18. and I trade my 2nd rounder, and my 1st for the Giants 17th overall pick, we would both have to PM the commissioner, and the draft will have a 5 minute "Trade Delay".
-Clauses in trades must be approved by the commissioners office.
-If you trade a ptbnl, the teams must agree on a list, a date, and who gets to choose the player. You may not trade a person on a list at that time. EX:
LIST:
Andrew Brackman
J.J. Hoover
Bill Bray
Rays to pick by 5/1/2012.

AUGUST WAIVERS:
In August, we will have trade waivers. You will be allowed to submit any player on your 40-man through revocable trade waivers. Anyboby who clears may be traded. Players off your 40-man may be traded. If the player is claimed, the team who put him though waivers has three options:
-Trade the player to the claiming team
-Let the claiming team have the player
-Revoke the player off waivers
FREE AGENCY AND EXTENSIONS:
You will be able to extend your players at any time.

EXTENSIONS:
If you put your extensions in the transaction center, I will post them on the forum. They will be voted on the forum. With a 50%+ approve rate after 48 hours, the extension will the upheld. They will vote as if they were an agent, not as if they were voting for fairness.

FREE AGENCY:
You will be able to bid on free agents. For now, we will use the "best offer system" so if it is an old player and you offer him a 5/50 contract, and someone offers a 1/15 contract, 5/50 wins. This system will be redone by the time free agency starts.

You will be allowed to tag players for compensation in the form of draft picks.

ROSTER STYLE:
You will be given a 25/40/100 style roster, when you have your 25-man which is active players you may use in the games. You may call up and send down anybody on the 40-man onto or off the 25-man. If you want to move someone onto the 25-man that is not on the 40-man, you call them up to the 40-man. To take someone off the 40-man, you must DFA or release them. If you DFA them, they go onto waivers, and if they clear, they are outrighted to the 100-man. COLLUSION:
If you are found guily of collusion, all guilty parties shall recieve 7 penalty points. MINIMUM ACTIVITY:
You will be required to chat or make a roster move or lineup change or respond to a league PM or PM me once a week, or else be awarded one penalty point. You may email me ahead of time if you will be unable to.

AMENDMENTS:

Amendment I

If you are inactive for 2 consecutive weeks, your AGM will transition to your position gradually over the next week, before assuming full control by the end of the 3rd week. You will receive your position back if you can make it back in time before maxing out in penalty points.

A few months back, I started volunteering as the social media guy for an organization in my area called the San Diego Space Society. We are a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about developments in space exploration, with a particular focus on the rise of the "new space" or private spaceflight industry. We operate a storefront/outreach center in the South Park area of San Diego, where we have meetings, host events for the public, offer science and math tutoring to local kids, arrange trips to areospace companies in the area, and things of that nature. Basically, we feel that this is an exciting time for spaceflight, because the birth of this new industry could open up space to the general public and provide a much-needed boost to the national and global economy in a relatively short amount of time...and we want people to know about it and get involved.

Continue reading this post »

Second up in our 2012 series of the Halos Heaven invention - the Baseball Flow Chart - is the updated 2012 Lineup Decision Tree for Mike Scioscia. Oh yes, perhaps the longest awaited concept piece of all. No other aspect of the thinking process that goes into running or playing the game of LA Angels baseball gets as much attention, discussion and causes as much confusion and consternation.

The science behind this research was thorough. The analysis, detailed. The peer review, exhaustive. And now, I absolutely MUST turn it over to all of you before my brain is too far gone to recover...

Don't even try to read this little bitty version. Just click on it to open it up into a larger window. And you can click on it again within that window to expand full size.

Over at Baseball Prospectus, writer Sam Miller did a piece on possible DiSar Award candidates for the 2012 season via his Pebble Hunting column (might be behind pay-wall). The Disar Awards were established by Joe Sheehan and named after long-time Angels shortstop Gary DiSarcina.

So, what is the award for exactly?

Continue reading this post »

Having just listened to the last few inning of Baltimore's 17 inning win over Boston with first baseman Chris Davis notching the win...I wondered...which Angels position player has the stuff to step up in that situation? I don't recall the Angels being in such a situation recently nor do I know who was the last Angel to position player to do so. The wisdom of the Halos Heaven veterans will reveal the answers. Thanks in advance for your replies!

I wrote this piece below in response to the fans that were indulging is the act of baseball treason, who attack the greatest baseball player of our generation for his humanity. The player that chose this team above all others...

I think the reason many of us love baseball so much, is because there is something about the game that transcends sports. It is unlike any other sport in terms of how even the mightiest slugger, may at some points struggle. It teaches humility, patience, faith, and determination, this game we grasp by the seams.

Like all droughts, eventually it ends, the rain falls, the dead earth springs back to life, and we light that halo up. For those who keep the Angels baseball faith. I salute you. Congratulations Mr. Pujols.

I reposted this section because I wanted it to be read by the fans that would refuse to even look at the boo-jols thread, forgive my repetition, I feel strongly about this.

Continue reading this post »

via l.yimg.com

If you are like me, you're frustrated right now with the Angels in general and with Pujols in particular. Albert's line of .194/.237/.269 is approaching Mathis territory (no wait, Jeff is batting .250 with two home runs and an OBP of .400) and there are no signs of relief anytime soon. His swing is loopy and his stance is constipated.

Feel like venting? Take a moment to write a caption for this photo. Go on, give it to him.