Wednesday Halolinks: More Home Runs For Pujols, More Hope For Wells

Pujols power Halolinks:

• As Rev noted in this FanShot, there's a new Angels blog out there providing some good content. In their latest posting, Halos Daily looks at Vernon Wells; What If Vernon Wells Were A Free Agent? - Halos Daily. Although I somewhat disagree with the conclusion (I think Wells would get more in free agency...a little less than Carlos Beltran's 2yr/$26M deal with St. Louis), the post does give us some hope for a Wells bounce-back, "Players typically stay close to their career averages in BABIP. Wells, for example, has a .282 BABIP over the course of his career. He’s finished eight of his ten seasons with a BABIP within 20 points of that career average. In 2011, Wells had a gruesome .218 BABIP, which clearly contributed to his terrible .218/.248/.412 slash line. This is a sign that we should expect Wells to bounce back significantly in 2012."
• One good sign that your post is good is when it gets picked up by another site. Halos Daily's Pujols piece was the basis for Sam Miller's recent posting: Albert Pujols and Angel Stadium and home runs - The Orange County Register. As noted in both articles, we might see more Pujols pokes leaving the field, "Albert Pujols in 2011 hit "a remarkable 16 balls that were either doubles or flyouts that would have been home runs if they were hit at Angel Stadium." Pujols had 37 HR last season, and if my 3rd grade math is correct,we may be watching the first Angels' hitter to blast more than 50 home runs in a season in 2012.
• Oh, and then there's the four-letter network guy who pilfers your post without giving you the proper credit: Will Angel Stadium boost Albert Pujols' power? - ESPN Los Angeles. Mark Saxon mentions Sam's article, but fails to recognize the genesis of the conversation at Halos Daily. Anyway, there is this, "According to ESPN's Park Factors under the "Resources" tab, Busch Stadium was one of only five major-league stadiums where it was harder to hit a home run than Angel Stadium."

• Trumbo, Conger to be present in HR Challenge - Gonzo and 'The Show'. "Proceeds from the event will go towards the Cory Hahn Fund, which benefits the SoCal product who was paralyzed from the chest down after an on-field injury while playing for Arizona State University last February." This event will be held Saturday at El Dorado High School in Placentia.
• This is the arbitration time of year in baseball and Baseball Prospectus fills you in on how the process works: The BP Wayback Machine: The Arbitration Process - Baseball Prospectus. "Thirty years on, the process endures. The onset of full free agency, in 1976, for veteran players would create three classes: those with no leverage, those with some leverage, and those with full leverage. Arbitration exists today largely to handle the second class." MLBTradeRumors.com has pretty cool arbitration tracker: Arbitration Tracker — 2012, but here is some additional news:
  
  Tim Lincecum asks for $21.5M in arbitration as San Francisco Giants offer $17M - ESPN, "Giants ace Tim Lincecum asked for $21.5 million in salary arbitration Tuesday and was offered $17 million by the club.
  
  K-Rod signs for $8 million - JSOnline. "It didn't hurt the Brewers cause when another Boras client, Ryan Madson, signed a one-year deal recently for $8.5 million to be Cincinnati's closer. Axford isn't eligible for arbitration yet and will make well under $1 million. So, combined, the two contracts aren't too bad to be able to lock down the eighth and ninth innings, if the Brewers do decide to keep K-Rod rather than trade him."
  
  Joe Saunders stays with D-backs for $6 million - FOX Sports. "Cut loose by Arizona last month, former All-Star pitcher Joe Saunders agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday." Damn, Saunders would've looked good in that #5 spot for the Angels at $6M.
  
• Chili Davis was one of my family's favorite players during his years with the Halos: Happy Birthday Boy! Chili Davis turns 52 - Yahoo! Sports, and this post highlights some of his playing and post-playing career, "Earlier this offseason, the Oakland Athletics named Chili Davis their hitting coach. Last year he played the same role for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox."
• Tigers' Victor Martinez likely out for season with torn ACL - Detroit Free Press. "The Detroit Tigers today announced that designated hitter Victor Martinez tore the ACL in his left knee during off-season conditioning last week and likely will miss the 2012 season. Asked today whether he will be looking to add a bat via free agency or trade, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said: "We’re open to it, by all means." There's a FanPost talking about how Bobby Abreu would be a good fit for the Tiger as a replacement for Martinez. I gotta say...I agree.
  
• Pujols, La Russa absent as Obama honors Cardinals - chicagotribune.com. "Two key figures of the championship season were absent. Manager Tony La Russa retired after the series. And star Albert Pujols signed a $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason." Was Albert invited?