Wednesday Halolinks: Ervin Santana Good Again, Rest Of Rotation Stinks

Stranger things can happen, but with Ervin Santana you never know what strange will be. At least your Halolinks are consistently strange:

• Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox - August 21, 2012 - MLB.com. "The Halos improved to 5-0 in Santana's last five outings. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA during that span. Since July 28, the Angels are 3-15 when anyone else starts. They entered Tuesday's game with a 6.51 ERA in August." Below are some stats for each of the starters over their last three starts. What's not noted anywhere is the susceptibility for giving up the longball; the four pitchers have given up 14 home runs in their 12 starts.
• If someone had asked you back in June, "Who's going to be the most reliable pitcher in the Angel rotation in August?" Would you have answered, "Ervin Santana"? Santana is suddenly carrying Angels' rotation - Yahoo! Sports. "Scioscia attributes Santana's rebound to some "subtle adjustments that have had a huge impact," related primarily to "a release-point issue" that had flattened out his slider and robbed him of fastball command. Santana just shakes his head when asked what adjustments he made to turn around his season. "I don't change anything," Santana said. "You guys know me since 2005. Same delivery. Same everything." That's funny, Scioscia says he's made a subtle adjustment, Santana says "What adjustment?"
• Over their last three starts, the Angels rotation has been horrible, with the exception of...Ervin Santana. Yep, the pitcher who just under a month ago was on the edge of losing his spot in the rotation, has become the most consistent starter the last couple of weeks. Check this out, over their last three starts:
  Weaver (1-2) 19 IP, 16 H, 12 ER, 5.68 ERA
  Haren (0-2) 13 IP, 16 H, 11 ER, 7.62 ERA
  Wilson (0-2) 16.1 IP, 21 H, 12 ER, 6.61 ERA
  Greinke (1-1) 18 IP, 21 H, 14 ER, 7.00 ERA
  Santana (2-0) 19.2 IP, 14 H, 7 ER, 3.20 ERA
• Another odd thing about last night's game; Aaron Cook had a total of seven strike outs this season. In the entire season. In 57 innings. Last night the Angel hitters struck out 4 times against him in five innings. And it's not like the Halo hitters are prone to striking out. They're a respectable 9th in the A.L. Baseball is sometimes a weird game.
• It's a good thing he's not "retreading", he can probably afford new tires. Angels' Mike Butcher is under fire but not retreading - latimes.com. "The team earned-run average has jumped for three straight months, from 2.99 in May to 3.66 in June to 4.52 in July to a major league-worst 6.76 in August before Tuesday."
• Why should he look over his shoulder, he's got new tires: Butcher not looking over his shoulder - The Orange County Register. "The Angels arrived in Boston to find headlines in the local newspapers about the firing of Red Sox pitching coach Bob McClure. McClure's failing? Allowing a pitching staff with more than $55 million invested in its starting rotation — including former Angel John Lackey, who will not pitch an inning this year while recovering from Tommy John surgery — to put up the fourth-worst staff ERA in the American League (4.30). The Angels' collective ERA has been gaining on the Red Sox quickly — 4.21 before Tuesday's game — with a $61 million starting rotation inexplicably leading the way." It was rumored McClure didn't get along with new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine. If that was true, he's being let go probably had little to do with the team's performance.
• Mark Trumbo's 30th HR helps Angels beat Red Sox and end 4-game skid - FOX Sports. "Mark Trumbo did that against Boston after getting just 14 hits in his previous 76 at-bats. His career-best 30th homer, a two-run shot, gave the Angels a 5-0 lead in the fifth." My GIF to you:
  
• Angels-Red Sox Preview - MLB News - FOX Sports. "Weaver looks to end his struggles in Boston and lead the Angels to a second straight win Wednesday night when they continue their three-game set against the stumbling Red Sox.Weaver is 1-3 with a 7.16 ERA at Fenway, his highest ERA at any park. He's also lost three straight outings against the Red Sox overall, and his five losses to Boston are his most versus any opponent not in the AL West." Weaver's struggles at Fenway may have something to do with his fly ball tendencies.
  
• Our thoughts and prayers: Michael Weiner, head of the baseball players' union, has a brain tumor - SI.com. "The 50-year-old Weiner succeeded Fehr in December 2009 to become just the fourth head of the union since 1966. He is widely liked and respected among players and management, and he has been credited for an improved relationship between sides."
• I really liked the way he handled the Perfect game fiasco, but now he's taken my admiration to a new level: Umpire Jim Joyce makes the best call of the year -- before the game - CBSSports.com. "Paramedics arrived while Joyce was administering CPR, but even after an initial shock from a defibrillator, Powers did not come out of it. So Joyce continued administering CPR while the paramedics did another round with the defibrillator."
• Pitchers. - Baseball Nation. Interesting Tweet about the Twins rotation.
  
• Source: Arizona Diamondbacks place pitcher Joe Saunders on waivers - FOX Sports. "Saunders, 6-10 with a 4.22 ERA, is owed just under $1.5 million for the rest of the season, after which he will become a free agent." Would you want him back? Is there a need for him?
  
• The Lineup Card: Nine Memorable Late-Season Call-Ups - Baseball Prospectus. "8. Francisco Rodriguez Before there was David Price sneaking onto a post-season roster, there was a 20-year-old kid dubbed "K-Rod." Francisco Rodriguez's career as a starter was felled due to elbow and shoulder injuries, so he switched to relief in 2002 and blazed through 83 1/3 innings of relief work between Double- and Triple-A. At the major-league level, the Angels were in the midst of a pennant race, but soon injuries took their toll on the bullpen, and Anaheim was scrambling to find a bridge to closer Troy Percival. Rodriguez got the call and made his major-league debut against first-place Oakland on Sept. 18. He saw action in four more regular-season contests, tossing 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and stating his case for a spot on the Angels' post-season roster."
• Willie Mays ’61 uniform sells for $31,000 on ‘Pawn Stars’ (Video) - Yahoo! Sports. "But here's one thing about the show I don't get: The reason most people go to a pawn shop in Las Vegas is for gambling money. They need the fast cash. But many of the items we see people trying to hock would seem to fetch a much bigger price elsewhere — like on eBay, for example. Or any auction with multiple bidders. In a recent episode, a man named "John" brought along what he said was an authentic Willie Mays game-used uniform from 1961, the prime of his Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco Giants." I don't watch this show very often, I have seen it, but the son (Corey) gets on my nerves. He seems like one of those fake bad-asses that need to be slapped. Anyway, I think it's weird too -- why take this kind of stuff to a pawn shop?
  
• CSI is on the case: U.S. Open Ref Is Charged With Murdering Her Husband With A Coffee Mug. "Goodman is alleged to have bludgeoned her husband with a coffee mug in their home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles in April, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Alan Goodman's April 17 death was originally ruled suspicious by police, but investigators could not determine if foul play was involved, according to the Los Angeles Police Department." I sure it happens all the time, a coffee mug just all of a sudden gets loose and bludgeons an unsuspecting old-guy. Either that, or she wanted de-caff.
  
• Ebay item of the day: BRANDON WOOD AUTOGRAPHED JERSEY RARE SALT LAKE BEES