Wednesday Halolinks: Zack Greinke Must Fall Before Angels Make Moves

There's nothing more important to an OCD-ite than getting back to their normal routine. And after a brief vacation to Florida the most normal routine-thing I was looking forward to was my own bathroom...and Halolinks. For everyone's benefit, I'll skip the bathroom tales and move right along to the links:

• With the end of the World Series (congrats Giants), it's now the time of year when we follow the falling dominoes of free agency and player signings. The first domino in the Angels elaborate concoction is Zack Greinke: Zack Greinke's decision to steer Angels in free agency - angels.com. "In a perfect world, the Angels would've already known where Greinke stands, allowing them to have a clearer picture of the other important decisions that loom -- like what to do with Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, how much they can afford to offer Torii Hunter, or perhaps even how aggressive they'll be with their bullpen." Depending on which way he falls or how quickly he decides where to land, leads the Angels to another decision...what to do about Dan Haren and Ervin Santana; Angels exploring trade options for Dan Haren, Ervin Santana - angels.com. "By 9 p.m. PT on Wednesday, they must decide whether to pick up Ervin Santana's $13 million option. By 9 p.m. PT on Friday, they must decide the same on the $15.5 million option in Dan Haren's contract. "We're making sure that we explore all the possibilities before coming to a conclusion and making a decision," said Dipoto. It very doubtful the Greinke situation will have a conclusion prior tonight, but the should at least have a feel for which way things are heading.
• It's interesting that before this news broke, there was no talk of dealing one or both of the Halo's free agent eligible pitchers (at least what I heard), but now it seems very likely: Expect Los Angeles Angels to make a trade involving Ervin Santana, Dan Haren or both - FOX Sports. "I think they trade both guys," one rival executive said Tuesday. One way to look at the situation is; if a team thinks Haren and Santana have value at their option price, why don't the Angels? In other words, a team dealing for Haren must think he's worth the $15.5M salary, do the Angels know something other teams don't? Also, what type of player(s) do the Angels think they can obtain by dealing either, or both pitchers? Either way, we should know what's up by Friday night: Angels have several contract decisions to make - latimes.com. "There are still a lot of possibilities," Dipoto said, "not the least of which is we'd exercise the options on one or both players, look to trade one or both or decline the options on both. And all are still in play."
• The OCR has put together a handy list of the Angels 40-man roster and contract statuses: 2013 Angels salaries and contract statuses - The Orange County Register
• And MLB Trade Rumors has the projected arbitration amount for each eligible MLB player: Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2013 - MLBTradeRumors.com. "Angels (4): Kendrys Morales - $4.8MM, Alberto Callaspo - $4.2MM, Jerome Williams - $1.9MM, Kevin Jepsen - $1.1MM and their list of other potential free agents: Non-Tender Candidates - MLBTradeRumors.com
• Curious as to how the new free agent rules work? Here's an article explaining it all: The Qualifying Offer and You - FanGraphs Baseball. "If a team wants compensation for a lost free agent, it must extend to that free agent a qualifying offer. If the player subsequently declines the offer and/or signs with a new team, compensation will be received. There are details. The qualifying offer is a one-year contract worth the average of the top 125 salaries. This year, that average is $13.3 million." So if the Angels want to receive a compensation pick for losing Torii Hunter to another team, they'd have to offer him a one-year contract for $13.3M...an amount that seems to be too high for the free agent right fielder.
• The truth behind letting Bobby Wilson go? Chicago White Sox A.J. Pierzynski files for free agency - ESPN Chicago
• Well I guess it's something: IBWAA Rookies - baseballmusings.com
  The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) announced its 2012 Rookie of Year awards Tuesday, electing Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim center fielder Mike Trout in the American League unanimously. Oh, and another bunch of geeks voted for some award called the "Gold Glove", whatever that is: 2012 MLB Gold Glove winners
• Here's a very cool story: A.J. Ellis makes a very special delivery - ESPN. "As Ellis merged on to the interstate, Cindy laid down the front passenger seat and turned to face out the rear window of the car. Writhing in pain, she got down on all fours and gripped the headrest." In my life, when this situation is described, a baby isn't born...at least not right away.
• Why do some people think that destroying property is the way to celebrate a sports championship? Don't they know that they're supposed to lower the passenger seat and grip the headrest? San Francisco police seek to identify man who triggered burning of $1 million city bus - Yahoo! Sports. "San Francisco police are hoping that someone will be able to identify this ne'er do well or some of the people standing around him as he smashed a giant barricade through a SF Muni bus window."
  
• Rob Neyer is becoming GIFtified: How NOT to catch a home run. - Baseball Nation. "In the top of the sixth inning, Buster Posey did pick on a hanging change-up from Max Scherzer and hit a home run that traveled 363 feet, then went between a Tiger fan's hands and bounced off his skull."
• World Series averages record low television rating - Yahoo! Sports. Michael Mulvihill, Fox Sports Media Group's senior vice president of programming and research said, ''This World Series gave us exactly what we expected: a top-10 show among all viewers and a top five show among hard-to-reach younger men. It's important for us to remain focused on the Series relative to today's competitive environment rather than bygone years.''