Wake me when they start playing catch Halolinks:
- The first Angels third baseman I remember is Ken McMullen, and taking a look at the B-Ref page for those 1971 California Angels (click the link to see how truly pathetic that offense was), McMullen led the team with 21 home runs! Western Front: A Haphazard History of Halos at the Hot Corner - Baseball Prospectus. The post runs through some of the players who occupied third base in Anahiem, plus points out the current warm body isn't doing too bad, "You know who I didn't expect to find ranked fourth? Alberto Callaspo. But there he is, ahead of Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Youkilis, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman, and every other third baseman alive."
- A couple years ago Ervin Santana made the list of most likely pitchers to be injured based on the amount of sliders he threw. Apparently sliders put the most stress on a pitcher's elbow and the frequency Santana threw the pitch was a concern to the club. And it still is; Santana not allowed to pitch in winter ball - angels.com. "Starter Ervin Santana recently asked the Angels for permission to pitch for the Licey Tigers of the Dominican Winter League, but they declined, general manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed." Within the article, DiPoto is also quoted as saying it wasn't just Santana who wouldn't be allowed to pitch in winter ball, but any of the Halo pitchers. He feels it's bad for a pitcher to ramp up in winter ball and then take a break prior to ramp up again in spring training.
- It wouldn't be the off-season without a list of baseball movies: The Lineup Card: 10 Favorite Baseball Movies of All-Time - Baseball Prospectus
- Was anyone else surprised by Colon's moderate success with the Yankees last season? Colon Continues Comeback In Oakland - FanGraphs Baseball. "Despite scoffs from most of the baseball world when the signing was announced, he was largely (no pun intended) effective in New York, posting a 3.83 FIP, 3.57 xFIP, and 3.60 SIERA." This could be a cheap and effective signing for Oakland. It at least fills in a spot in their rotation.
- If the Rangers sign Prince Fielder, in my mind they become the favorites in the A.L. West: Dreaming About Prince in Texas - FanGraphs Baseball. "The addition of his bat to the Rangers’ lineup would transform the second-best offense from 2011 (ranked by team wOBA) into a bona fide juggernaut next season."
- It's funny when the Yankees claim they don't have any money: Yankees might bring back Hideki Matsui - CBSSports.com. They say they only have one or two million to spend on a DH and Matsui might be that guy, "Heyman reports there has been some contact between Matsui's representatives and his former ballclub."
- Cool interview: An interview with Robert Creamer - Baseball: Past and Present. "I first became intensely aware of big league baseball in the summer of 1931, when I was nine. My big brother, who was six years older than I, took me to my first major league game, or games — it was a doubleheader between the old New York Giants and the old Brooklyn Dodgers in the old Polo Grounds on the banks of the Harlem River in New York, below the steep hillside known as Coogan’s Bluff."