Wednesday Halolinks: Jerome Williams and Torii Hunter Are Boss

Can someone say "winning streak"?:

• The one thing the Angels can usually count on is a quality start from their rotation. Last night, that quality start came from the least likely of spots. That's not to say Jerome Williams stinks, it's just that he's surprising a lot of fans considering how long and how far he's come in his baseball career: Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels - May 1, 2012 - MLB.com. "Against a Justin Morneau-less Twins lineup, the 30-year-old right-hander and his heavy sinker got 15 outs on ground balls, allowed only five balls to leave the infield, allowed just one runner to reach second base (on defensive indifference in the ninth), struck out six and worked 11 0-2 counts." And if that's not enough to impress you, there's also this: Angels 4, Twins 0 - FOX Sports. "Williams (2-1) threw 109 pitches, striking out six and retiring 18 of his last 19 batters to finish in an economical 2 hours, 10 minutes. "I didn't realize what was going on until I had two outs in the ninth.'' The man with the pink glove did alright.
  
• The Angels get the chance to put together a 3-game winning streak for the first time this season. If the Halos do win their third straight, it'll be on the back of Torii Hunter: Twins-Angels Preview - FOX Sports. "Weaver is 5-2 with a 4.19 ERA in 11 starts against Twins. He has a 4.45 ERA in five home starts against them, but is 4-0 in those contests. Though Albert Pujols went 0 for 4 and began May the same way he went through April - without a home run - Torii Hunter homered and drove in two runs Tuesday. The ex-Twin, who has four homers in five games, is batting .477 (21 for 44) with three homers and 11 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak against his former team.
• Could it be the Angels haven't benched Peter Bourjos because of his slow start, but because they are giving Vernon Wells enough rope to hang himself? Giving Wells a couple hundred at-bats to prove to everyone, included Wells, that Bourjos is the better option may be a smart play. This will allow Scioscia to bench Wells in favor of Bourjos without creating too much clubhouse drama: Slumping Bourjos again not in starting lineup - angels.com. "Is it better for Bourjos to temporarily go down to Triple-A, where he can play regularly and work on whatever it is he needs to offensively? Asked about whether the club is considering such a move, though, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said: "Not right now."
• Also in the above post, there's more on the Mickey Hatcher tongue-slip. "Albert and me already talked," Hatcher told MLB.com. "We're not going to get into that. It was a misunderstanding with the guy who wrote the article. We talked about it, no big deal, and he does not want me talking to the press because they're blowing everything out of proportion. We're fine, as a team." Hatcher then scurried off to get Pujols his latte and foot cream.
  
• Here comes the next big thing we're all going to be talking about; Will the Angels stay in Anaheim? BOB: Angel Stadium issues - The Hardball Times. "They have the chance to opt out of their stadium lease in 2016. Ironically that will be when Angel Stadium turns 50. If they don't, they're locked in until 2029, so many are speculating that it'll be the Angels that jump into downtown Los Angeles. Back in 2005, when the Angels and the city of Anaheim were fighting, owner Arte Moreno said that they'd need to make the decision on a new ballpark four or five years before 2016." Hey wait a minute, 4 or 5 years? Good God! That's now!
  
• Yeah, he's a stud: Bryce Harper of Washington Nationals is real deal despite hitless home debut -FOX Sports. ""It’s refreshing. With all the hype and everything, it can go to your head. But he plays the game the way you were taught to play growing up." You know, with eye-black dripping down your face. Yep, we all did that growing up. Oh, and we skipped out on our last two years of high school so we could start working at the mill. Doing that milling stuff. With eye-black on our faces. Yeah.
  
• I've often wondered, not so much what people or players think of what's being said about a relative, but what the players think of the broadcast. They know, and I mean KNOW, what's happening on the field and if what the broadcasters are saying is correct and accurate. Justin Upton Rips ESPN 'Sunday Night Baseball' On Twitter Over Criticism Of Brother, B.J. - Huffington Post. "Last night's Sunday Night nationally televised game featured the Rays and the Rangers. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton's brother BJ Upton plays for the Rays. While watching the game, Justin had some harsh words for the ESPN broadcast team after the announcers criticized his brother's play..."
• Frank Deford on the state of sportswriting - Dave Krieger "If newspapers or whoever are not going to pay people to spend time really digging up facts, then we're all going to suffer because we're not going to get information, we're just going to get people shooting their mouths off. And unfortunately, that happens all too often." Hey, I do the best I can with what little talent God gave me. Lay-off you old fart!
  
• Dennis 'Oil Can' Boyd says he used crack entire '86 season - ESPN Boston. "Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who pitched eight of his 10 major league seasons with the Boston Red Sox, says he used crack cocaine every day of the 1986 season while with the Red Sox, including one day in Oakland when he smoked in the clubhouse before one of his starts and had the drug tucked in his cap while on the mound." I had a bad DeCinces habit back in '86. I was able to kick it in October of that year.
  

• Nice grab: