Beastie Rod Carew • LeapDay Halolinks

Once Every Four Years I do the Wednesday Halolinks...

• Minnesota Twins: Rod Carew talks hitting . . . and Beastie Boys Q: I've been waiting to ask you this for three years; the Beastie Boys name-checked you in a song. Was that cool? A: It was. You know they invited me to come on "Saturday Night Live" when they were performing that song, but I was on my way to Japan, so I couldn't go. I wish - you know, it would have been kind of neat to be there and meet the guys. Q: It's neat because it's a reference to your ability as a hitter. ... A: I hadn't heard it, and everyone said, "Have you heard the Beastie Boys song?" So when I first heard it, I thought, "OK, they thought that much of me to put me in their song because they knew I was good at the plate."
• Dodgers evaluate Angels' pesky Rally Monkey ''I kind of like the Rally Monkey, I do. It's funny,'' said Mattingly, beginning his second season as manager in Los Angeles. ''I try and tell guys, `You guys should like the Rally Monkey because when the Rally Monkey comes out, then you've got a lead.' I'd rather have a lead than be behind. I like the Rally Monkey. Think about it. When you see the Rally Monkey, you're usually ahead. I like it when he comes out.'' He's got a point.
• For now, at least, L.A. is truly the city of Angels "On paper our team is built to win right now," Angels starter Dan Haren said. "We still have to go out and get it done, but the product that [owner] Arte [Moreno] has put together and put on the field, you know there's a reason why we draw three million fans a year. One, the atmosphere in the ballpark. Two, the product that we put on the field is pretty good."
• Parking Lot Viewed as McCourt Bargaining Chip There are seven groups left in the bidding process but "it is my guess that not one (of those groups) will agree to submit a final bid if McCourt is adamant about retaining the parking lot," said one of the people with whom I talked. "No one wants McCourt to remain involved," this person continued, "and there is too much money and there are too many options involved in ownership of the lot to give that up as a McCourt tenant."
• Angels targeting 162 games for Pujols Here's one thing he has never done, though: play all 162 games in a season. But yet, 162 was a number Angels manager Mike Scioscia volunteered when talking about his new first baseman recently -- as in the number of games he's counting on Pujols' bat to be in the lineup. Pujols may be getting up there in age -- he turned 32 in mid-January -- and may have missed time on the disabled list last year, but now that he's in the American League with the designated hitter as a resource, Pujols has an added avenue to keep himself fresh.
• Objective PMR, Third Baseman "Objective PMR, team third baseman, 2011. Model built on data from 2005-2010, visiting teams only." The Angels ranked sixth in in the major leagues, while Alberto Callaspo ranked 4th overall.
• Vernon Wells must hit to remain in Angels' lineup Wells is a good man and a wonderful teammate. He also is a hitter with holes, worrisome habits, a suddenly searing inability to reach base, and a contract that would paralyze a majority of franchises. But, he clings to the good, to the promise of tomorrow.
• Wisconsin man who collected Ryan Braun’s urine sample issues statement “to set the record straight” Shortly thereafter, someone who had intimate knowledge of the facts of this case released my name to the media. I am issuing this statement to set the record straight.