Tuesday Halolinks: Jerome Williams Goes To Hospital, Angel Hitters Go On Break

Like sands through an hourglass, the continuing saga of the disappearing offense:

• No news yet as to what caused Jerome Williams to pass out after leaving last night's game: Angels' Williams taken to hospital after start - Yahoo! Sports. "Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said Williams ''passed out'' in the clubhouse after leaving the 5-3 loss to the Giants in the fourth inning. ''I found out in the fifth inning when the trainers came down and told us that Jerome was on his way to the hospital,'' Hunter said. ''It was a tough thing to hear. We didn't know what was going on. We knew he passed out in the locker room and had trouble breathing. At that point, all you could do was say a little prayer. Hopefully he's doing all right. I hope all it was is that he was a little amped up for the game.'' It seems somewhat serious since they kept him overnight: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Angels - June 18, 2012 - MLB.com. "Because while in the Angels clubhouse after his second-shortest start of the season, Williams experienced shortness of breath and was taken to a local hospital, where he stayed overnight to undergo further testing Tuesday morning. "Unfortunately his outing wasn't what he anticipated or we needed, but now we're dealing with a bigger issue," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Hopefully he's going to be fine." As of late Monday night, the perception was that he would be."
• Remember when Jered Weaver pitched a no-hitter earlier this year and then did the Top 10 on Letterman? Well, Matt Cain got the same treatment: Cain is far from perfect, but he wins again - Yahoo! Sports. "Here's his Top 10 list on what he'd do after the perfecto:
  10. Throw a perfect game with my other arm
  9. Convert the mound into an organic vegetable garden
  8. Discover a cure for groin pulls
  7. Open my dream salon
  6. Catch a line drive with my mouth
  5. Fix the economy ... Just kidding. That's impossible
  4. Pitch an inning without my pants
  3. Appear on Jay Leno's Ten at Ten
  2. Throw a hole in one
  1. Win the contest to replace Regis Philbin
• Okay Barry, thanks for the kind words, but don't get any crazy ideas...San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Angels - June 19, 2012 - MLB.com. "It's a great place to play," Zito said. "I don't really know how it is to pitch here, but it's just a great place to play. It's definitely in my top-three stadiums. I'm excited to be here." I wonder if C.J. Wilson is a Star Trek fan: Giants-Angels Preview - Yahoo! Sports. Here he is doing his best Doctor McCoy, "I'm a pitcher, not a statistician" Wilson said."
• The news is still good: Weaver set to return to Angels' rotation Wednesday - Yahoo! Sports. "Jered Weaver will come off the disabled list and rejoin the rotation Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. Weaver will be limited to between 80 and 90 pitches in his first start since leaving the May 28 game against the Yankees with a back strain."
• I like Rev's thinking in his post regarding the status of the 40-man roster, but it doesn't look like the Angels will be adding Kevin Youkilis: Kevin Youkilis trade talks picking up momentum - FOX Sports. "Youkilis, 33, is viewed by many evaluators as a player in decline, but he has value as a right-handed-hitting corner infielder with a grinder’s ethic and extensive postseason experience. Also, some people in the industry believe Youkilis could be rejuvenated by a change of scenery. He doesn’t have a good relationship with manager Bobby Valentine – dating back to Valentine’s public criticism of him in April." But Mark Saxon writes Youk isn't coming to Anaheim: Angels should be shopping for ... pitchers? - ESPN Los Angeles. "The most available commodity, the Boston Red Sox's Kevin Youkilis – being dangled around baseball these days, according to reports – is not a fit, according to a source with knowledge of the Angels' thinking." Booooo.
  
• I bet an attendance drop wasn'tt what the Angels' front office and ownership thought was going to happen: Angels join MLB in weekend attendance spike - angels.com. "Coming off a season in which they signed Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, putting their payroll at an all-time high of $154 million, the Angels rank 10th in the Majors with an average of 36,012 fans per game. That total is on pace to be the lowest since they won it all in 2002, but attendance usually picks up throughout the summer." Also within this link is a short article about Garret Anderson and the 2002 Angels, and this tidbit regarding the Halos' catcher: "Chris Iannetta was supposed to go on a rehab assignment last week, representing his final hurdle before a return from right wrist surgery, but he experienced tightness in his forearm while throwing. Iannetta got back to throwing Monday, but there's no telling when he'll begin a rehab assignment."
• I'm not sure if this post is behind the paywall, if not, enjoy: Western Front: Angels Rush in Where Rangers Fear to Tread -Baseball Prospectus. "Remember the "Rangers are running away with the American League West" narrative from April, when it appeared that they were, in fact, running away with the division? Well, that narrative broke and has been replaced by the ever-popular "it's a long season" and "that's why they play the games."
• This is pretty wild. Hopefully there's nothing wrong with Dave Barnett...other than having to work for the Rangers: The Strangest Moment Of Dave Barnett's Broadcasting Career -Baseball Time in Arlington. "So, for everyone asking about what in the hell happened to Dave Barnett during the bottom of the eighth inning of Monday night's Rangers/Padres telecast, here is the raw audio of what can only be described as an unintelligible string of words, where Barnett begins rambling about the go-ahead run being on fifth base and a botched robbery and henchmen and other stuff that makes zero sense within the context of a baseball telecast" Deadspin also has video: Rangers Announcer Dave Barnett Starts Speaking Nonsense During Broadcast, Claims Go-Ahead Run Is At "Fifth" Base. "The bottom of the eighth inning of tonight's Rangers-Padres game from San Diego turned weird during tonight's broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest as longtime broadcaster Dave Barnett appeared to completely lose his mind, claiming a runner was at "fifth" base and then trailing off into a story about a "botched robbery."
  
• And his amazing run continues: NY Mets' R.A. Dickey throws second consecutive one-hitter, shuts down Baltimore Orioles in 5-0 win at Citi Field - NY Daily News. "The 37-year-old righty also remarkably hasn’t allowed an earned run in his past five outings (42-2/3 innings), while working at least seven innings in each appearance."I don’t feel like it’s a dream, but I do feel like it’s fun and enjoyable," Dickey said. "And I’m glad to be able to celebrate it in this moment."
• I have zero interest in this story, but I know there are some who have been following it. For those: U.S. law 1, Selig 0 - NYPOST.com. "A jury of Clemens’ peers acquitted him yesterday of all six counts of perjury, false statements and obstruction of Congress, giving the seven-time Cy Young Award winner a last, hearty laugh in the 4 1/2-year witch hunt against him." Doesn't seem like some are convinced however: NEWHAN ON BASEBALL: Roger Clemens, and Another Bonehead Decision. "The chemists will always try to stay ahead of the tests, but the rash of no hitters and perfect games are pretty much indicative that the wheel has turned."
• Today's lesson in baseball physics: What "Rise" Looks Like on a Fastball - FanGraphs Baseball. "If you’ve ever watched even maybe one baseball game in your entire life, you’ve probably heard the term "rising fastball" used by a broadcaster, coach, or player. In point of fact, insofar as gravity is a thing that we have on earth, the notion that a fastball can "rise" is a misnomer. Like any object, a baseball is drawn toward the earth at 9.8 meters per second squared." You just know it's a good baseball article when a sentence ends with the phrase, "9.8 meters per second squared"!
• Why I Lie: An Athlete's PR Guy Comes Clean - Deadspin. "I can't count anymore how many times I've had to say I was out with one of my clients, when I was really just lying on my couch eating cereal. But when a wife hasn't heard from her man, I'm second on the call list."