Wednesday Halolinks: Angels Walk-Off With Win, Mike Trout Reaches Another Milestone

Walk-off Halolinks:

• Usually I love games like last night's. Exciting finishes on clutch hitting. However, for some reason last night's win pisses me off as I'm left with a feeling of "too little, too late": MLB Recap - Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels - Aug 28, 2012 - CBSSports.com. "The Los Angeles Angels were two outs from falling another game behind in the AL wild-card race. A stirring rally against Boston's beleaguered closer showed the Angels aren't giving up the chase just yet. Mike Trout and Torii Hunter drove in runs in the ninth inning against Alfredo Aceves, and the Angels came back for a 6-5 victory against the Red Sox on Tuesday night." I suppose I should enjoy it. There's only 33 games left in the season.
  
• What is cool is it seems we fans aren't the only ones who are enjoying Mike Trout: Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels - August 28, 2012 - MLB.com. ""When Trout's hitting behind you," Aybar said in Spanish, "you always think he's going to get a hit." And somehow, when the Angels need it most, Trout always seems to deliver. Aybar reached first on what could've been a phantom hit by pitch, stole second, watched pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo draw a walk and then started feeling pretty good as he watched Trout swagger towards the batter's box. "I just thought, 'Here comes the hit and I'm coming home,'" Aybar recalled. Then it happened."
• The special events just seem to keep happening in Trout's fantastic season: Aceves blows another lead as Angels rally past Red Sox - Yahoo! Sports. "Trout led off the game with a home run over the wall in left-center field, one of two first-inning runs against Buchholz. Just three weeks after his 21st birthday, Trout is the youngest player in baseball history to have at least 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases in one season, and he is the first rookie to do so." If you're going to reach a milestone, you might as well do it with style: With leadoff homer, Mike Trout reaches historic milestone - angels.com. "Trout's leadoff homer to left-center field was estimated at 445 feet by ESPN's Hit Tracker, making it the longest of his career. "
• If (and this is a big "if") C.J. Wilson can all of a sudden return to his early season form, this season may not be over just yet. Yeah, I know. It's been over 2 months since we've seen the pitcher we all got excited about, but if this season has come down to hopes and wishes, here's where we start: Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels - August 29, 2012 - MLB.com. "Posting a 0-5 record with 6.09 ERA since his last win on June 26, Wilson's last two starts have arguably been his worst. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in five innings of work on Thursday to the Red Sox for a no-decision." Red Sox-Angels Preview - Yahoo! Sports. "Wilson, who was 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA in five starts against the Red Sox while with Texas, had surrendered at least six runs in four of his last five outings."
• The answer to the question you pose is "YES!": Are the Angels already in must-win territory? - ESPN Los Angeles. "Reality -- the cold, hard version of it -- is everywhere for the Los Angeles Angels these days. The Texas Rangers are so far ahead in the American League West -- a cool 10 games with just 33 games to play -- it's not even worth checking their box scores after every game. The wild-card standings don't look much prettier with Oakland and Baltimore surging of late, pushing their lead over L.A. out to 4 1/2 games."
• This article is mainly about the Red Sox, but there was this depressing tidbit: Red Sox, Angels fade into September after failing to deliver on grand expectations - Yahoo! Sports. "And now, barely more than a month before the season is done, the Angels are left with this: If the Orioles and A's stumble along at .500 the rest of the way, and neither the Tigers nor Rays got overly hot, the Angels would have to win 22 of 33 games to catch and pass them. Over their last 33 games, they've won 15. So, a lot has to get better. And fast." Yikes.
• Three MLB Notebook stories: Downs placed on family medical emergency list - angels.com. "To take his spot on the roster, outfielder Kole Calhoun was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. It's not known how long Downs will be away from the team, but a player on the family medical emergency list must miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven. That means Downs will miss the entire three-game home series against the Red Sox and could be away until Sept. 4, at the latest."
  Serving as DH, Pujols goes 2-for-4 in return to lineup "Obviously I'm not where I want to be, but it's good to be back in the lineup," said Pujols, who hit third and served as the designated hitter during Tuesday's 6-5 walk-off win over the Red Sox at Angel Stadium. "I'm still going to be taking it easy. It doesn't bother me swinging, but running I'm still a little bit sore."
  Hunter: Angels aren't living up to their expectations "Not just from other people, but ourselves," Hunter said. "We expected to win. So far, it's been a disappointment." Yeah, no shit.
• Doesn't it seem like MLB is now basically printing money? ESPN's new MLB TV deal: Higher price tag, more rights. "ESPN has a new eight-year deal for $700 million per year that includes TV, radio, digital and international rights, up from its current $350 million fee for those rights." There are a couple changes to the agreement. One is ESPN has the right to have more top teams (um, Yankees and Red Sox) on Sunday Night Baseball. At least we'll get to see other clubs playing against New York and Boston: ESPN agrees to broadcast games of every team at least once a year in the new deal - HardballTalk
• Verlander hurt his Cy chances last night: Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals - Recap - August 28, 2012 - ESPN. "Verlander, the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, was charged with eight earned runs, matching his career high, in 5 2/3 innings. It was the third time in Verlander's career he had surrendered eight earned runs and first since April 6, 2009, at Toronto."
• Two things about this link; 1) Dick Enberg!, and 2) Of course she's cute too: Padres ballgirl snares line drive to save Braves bullpen (Video) - Yahoo! Sports. "More specifically, the ballgirl down the right-field line on Monday night who rose out of her chair to impressively snag a wicked line drive off the bat of Padres second baseman Logan Forsythe in the fifth inning that was ticketed for Atlanta's bullpen"
• The Giants play hacky sack: