Tuesday Halolinks: Angels Insult Torii Hunter, Another Reason Mike Trout Is MVP

Another week, another day, another Halolinks:

• The story coming out of this post surprises me. If the Angels had no interest in re-signing Hunter they should have had a face-to-face conversation with the free agent RF explaining their stance. Instead they gave him an insulting offer. Hunter always seemed like a classy player, and he should have been treated better than this: Tigers may be best fit for free agent Hunter - CBSSports.com. "He hasn't heard from the Angels since they checked in with a token one-year, $5 million offer on Sept. 17, the day before the Rangers came to Anaheim for one of the final showdown series of the summer. "They never offered me anything worth considering," Hunter says. "It actually was very disrespectful, what was offered." At least he understands one of the reasons the Halos aren't as interested in signing him as he is (or was) in returning, "Vernon Wells' contract [which still has two years and $42 million remaining], the bullpen ... that's the reason they offered that," Hunter says. "At the end of the day, they’re still businessmen up there."
• Rob Neyer takes a look at what the Angels will like if they lose out on two for their free agents (without making a lame name joke!): What happens to the Angels if Zack Greinke and Torii Hunter leave? - Baseball Nation. "If Zack Greinke doesn't re-sign with the Angels, they'll have lost three-fifths of their starting rotation, with no top-shelf replacements in sight." I agree with Neyer about the how crappy the Angels rotation will be if they lose Greinke, and how crappy it could be if they do re-sign him. What's also interesting about this post is Neyer's opinion about moving Trout to LF (he thinks it's a bad idea), and how the Angels' outfiled would be better with Hunter rather than Bourjos...or Wells.
• In this post from Deadspin, ESPN Is Worth $40 Billion, we find out a couple of interesting tid-bits, "ESPN and ESPN2 combined command $5.81 in per-subscriber fees from cable companies, and are available in more than 100 million homes. For comparison, TNT and TBS combined get $1.80, Fox News is 90 cents, and CNN is 60 cents." This one really made my jaw drop, "What's another way to look at it? The combined worth of every NFL team is $35 billion."
• Although I haven't seen the new Bond picture yet, Daniel Craig ranks #1 on my list as the best Bond. However, if the voting was based on who "looks" more like the James Bond in my mind, that would be Pierce Brosnan: Wezen-Ball: "Skyfall" and Baseball's Golden Age - Baseball Prospectus. "People have been making the argument for years, as they look back at history and try to re-evaluate everything they took for granted growing up. The time has come, however, for us to do the same for James Bond movies. "Skyfall" shows us that, with a deeply personal and dramatic theme, a strong script, great acting, and wonderful directing, a James Bond movie can be something more than just a campy spy movie or a showcase for ridiculous gadgets that just happen to predict the exact peril their owner will face this week." The best thing to come from this post is finding this YouTube video:
  
• I literally laughed out loud a couple times while watching this video: Dave Cameron Blink Watch: Cameron vs. Rob Neyer - NotGraphs Baseball. "One thing Cameron hasn’t resumed is blinking — although mostly because he did little of that sort of thing in the first place."
  
• "Let's see...what should I write about? Hmmm...I got it, pop-ups!" Batter Traits That Cause Infield Fly Balls - FanGraphs Baseball. "The infield fly ball is the second worst outcome for a hitter besides a strikeout. With almost 100% of all popups turning into outs, a hitter, who is prone to skying the ball into the infield, will generate more outs and therefor a lower batting average. Several factors make a pitch more likely to be hit as an infield fly ball, but the key factor is the batter’s mechanics." Actually, this post is pretty interesting.
• Let's hope he pitches like one: New Kansas City Royal Ervin Santana feeling like a rookie - ESPN. "It's like I'm a rookie now," Santana said between meetings. "It's a new team." Yep, glad you got the memo.
• Another look at why Mike Trout should win the MVP: IBA Ballot: MVP - Walk Like a Sabermetrician. "1. CF Mike Trout, LAA 2. 3B Miguel Cabrera, DET 3. SP Justin Verlander, DET"