Thursday Halolinks: Why Are People Talking About Replacing Mike Scioscia?

How long do I have to wait to take down my fake Christmas tree? How about after reading today's Halolinks? Too soon?

• Expectations mark beginning, end of Angels' 2012 - angels.com. "Mike Scioscia's job status came under scrutiny like never before in 2012, even if most of the questions -- or perhaps all of them -- seemed to come from the outside world." I feel I've recently been banging the same "Scioscia must go" drum. And when I given a little more thought, I probably shouldn't. I can't remember where, but I've read that managers don't really have much of an impact on their team's W-L record -- something like 2 or 3 actual wins. There's also the possibility that the guy replacing Sosh could be worse, although I don't see how (oops, there I go again). Anyway, I find it interesting that the conversation is even going on, before last season the idea of replacing Scioscia would seem sacrilegious.
• Here's a fun end-of-the-year list: Strange but true feats of the 2012 MLB season - ESPN. "Angels' Jerome Williams got a "save" in a game in which he threw 83 pitches, gave up eight hits and allowed five runs. How long had it been since any pitcher had allowed that many hits and that many runs, and gotten a save out of it? How bout June 6, 1973, says fabled ESPN Kernel collector Doug Kern, when Dave Goltz pulled off a 13-hit, eight-run save." I was thinking this could happen again in 2013 with the Angels high potency offense and somewhat average pitching, but then realized once a reliever came into the game, the score would already be 9-7. In the third inning.
• I feel like such a snob writing this, but it must suck when your big free agent signing is this: Mariners officially announce Raul Ibanez deal - Yahoo! Sports. "The Seattle Mariners officially announced their $2.75 million, one-year deal with outfielder Raul Ibanez on Wednesday, returning the veteran to where he began his major league career in 1996." Kendrys Morales must be elated to have Ibanez hitting behind him.
• Okay, I'm a snob. Bwahahaha: Jon Daniels says Texas Rangers still in market for bat, pitcher - ESPN Dallas. ""We're looking at that now," Daniels said Wednesday during a conference call with the media. "There's a decent chance we'll look to add somebody." Daniels said that could be through trade or free agency." Too bad they missed out on Ibanez, but Vernon Wells is probably available. Also, I've read this statement numerous times before about adding a new player, "could be through trade or free agency." Is there a third way to add a player besides manufacturing one in the lab?
• Douche: Chicago White Sox Blog - ESPN Chicago. "Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf expressed his love and appreciation for the departed A.J. Pierzynski in the form of a released statement from the team. "A.J. Pierzynski played a major role in many of the greatest moments in recent Chicago White Sox history. From reaching first base in Game 2 of the 2005 American League Championship Series, to his double in Game 3 of the World Series in Houston, to his performance behind the plate during the 2008 "Blackout Game" division-winning 1-0 victory, A.J. was a key contributor, often in his own very unique way. "
• For the fourth year in a row, I'm not on the list! The Year in Worst: Baseball Writing - Baseball Nation. "I asked my Twitter followers to nominate the worst baseball writing of the year. What follows are the top nominees, along with my best holiday sentiments ..." My missing the list must be an oversight, but I vow to continue my pursuit of bad.
• A couple of weeks ago, while dawdling through an antique shop, I came across this post card:
  
  I'm not sure how a post card from Anaheim Stadium's opening game in 1966 made it to an antique shop in Lacrosse Wisconsin, but I bought it (five dollars) and framed it. But before hanging it on my wall I scanned it and realized it was really close to a photo of the stadium under construction I had found on the internet. So I made this GIF: