I finally found a cheap copy of "Community" on ebay and just finished the 7th episodes of season one. Good show. It looks like my search for season two and three are about to begin. Have some Halolinks:
- It may be an unpopular opinion among Angel fans, but I'm starting to come down on the side of the Halos keeping Wells as their 4th outfielder being the right decision: Angels must decide on a role for Wells - The Orange County Register. "He's played at a very, very high level his whole career," Scioscia said. "He struggled a little bit for us, but when he plays at his level, there's no doubt that he can help us." I agree with this, but if Scioscia can get over his propensity of using veterans rather than younger, better players, Wells could prove to be useful this season. However, if we end up seeing Wells in left and Trout in center with Peter Bourjos on the bench when the season starts, Jerry Dipoto will need to remove Wells from the roster just to get Scioscia to stop playing him.
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Big offseason has Halos looking like favorites - MLB.com. "To sum up: solid bullpen, solid rotation, good defense, very, very good lineup. At a time when the Rangers are in transition, the Angels seem to have virtually zero holes. Yes, we sang that tune around this time last winter, too." It's deja vu all over again: Deep Halos giddy for what new year might offer - angels.com. I remember being pretty giddy last off-season too. At least it looks like the front office and dugout have kissed and made up, "8. How will the Dipoto-Scioscia relationship evolve?
Losing has a tendency to stir negative press. And late in the season, as the Angels continued to fall short of expectations, reports circulated about the new-aged Dipoto and the old-school Scioscia being unable to co-exist, their relationship reaching a boiling point when Dipoto dismissed Scioscia's longtime hitting coach, Mickey Hatcher, in May. But a source said recently that their relationship "gets better every day." With Dipoto an up-and-coming GM heading into his second year, and Scioscia signed through 2018, that will have to continue for the Angels to thrive." - I link, you decide: A Distorted Reality's Now A Necessity: Does Lineup Protection Exist After All? - Bluebird Banter. "So, adding a good hitter to a lineup should (theoretically) at least slightly improve the hitters hitting in front or behind him." One of the questions that we talk about frequently is the subject of this post, but after reading it, I'm still not sure what the answer is.
- Good Lord: Source: Red Sox work out Bobby Abreu - WEEI. "According to a major league source, the Red Sox have worked out veteran Bobby Abreu in Venzezuela. As part of the workout, the team put the 38-year-old through drills at first base." Seriously?
- The meaning of "willing to listen" about Giancarlo Stanton - Baseball Nation. "As I've mentioned a few times, there have been only two untradeable players in major-league history: Babe Ruth in 1927 and Cal Ripken forever. You do have to listen; if you're a general manager and you won't listen, you're derelict in your duty." Is there an real offer the Angels would consider in order to deal Trout? Trout would have to be on that list of untradeable players.
- Good article: Exploring the players with no chance for the Hall. SportsonEarth.com : Joe Posnanski. "Let's begin by celebrating 15 players who I predict are making their one and only appearance on the ballot.
- Pitch Receiving and Pitch Types - FanGraphs Baseball. "The results are probably about what you’d expect. Fastballs are the easiest pitches to receive, getting the more favorable strike zones. There’s little difference between the sinkers, the two-seamers, the four-seamers, and the cutters. As pitches move more, we see less favorable strike zones. "