I put in for 2013's vacations this week: April 15, 16, and 17 in Minneapolis. July 9 and 10 at Wrigley(!). And August 30, 31 and Sept 1 in Milwaukee. Who wants to join me?? Until then, here are a couple Halolinks:
- Every team has questions about their roster and as the 2012 Angels proved, even having one of the best teams on paper won't guarantee meaningful games in October: Retooled rotation now Angels' biggest uncertainty for 2013 - angels.com. "Hanson, Blanton and Vargas combined to post a 4.32 ERA in 583 innings for their respective teams last season and shouldn't make much more than $18 million combined this season. Greinke, Haren and Santana posted a 4.27 ERA in 567 innings last year and will make $37.45 million this year." Well gee, when you put it that way, what's the big deal? But seriously, you've got to be excited for the upcoming season. Jerry Dipoto and his staff have put together a team that is going to be ridiculously fun to watch.
- Don't you love it when one of the out of town baseball writers try to analyze the club? What I think happened with this post, is Nick Carfardo saw the Angels had 22 blown saves last season, so obviously that's their biggest weakness heading into 2013: The best rosters in baseball heading into 2013 - Sports - The Boston Globe. "4. Los Angeles Angels — Yes, there are still questions about the bullpen, but at least Ryan Madson (after missing a year with Tommy John surgery) will be the closer, and that makes Ernesto Frieri a set-up man, which is what he should be. Sean Burnett and Scott Downs are solid lefties, and righthander Kevin Jepsen has a great arm. The lineup is sick, from Mike Trout to Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Mark Trumbo, and the pure-hitting Howie Kendrick. There’s the defense of Erick Aybar and Peter Bourjos. The Angels came away with a decent rotation of Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hanson, Jason Vargas, and Joe Blanton, but that will have its challenges." As most fan understand, it takes a little more than a year for a pitcher to fully recover from Tommy John surgery, so to assume Ryan Madson will automatically be the Halo closer after having the procedure in the spring of 2012 is unlikely. That's not to say he won't be put in that situation at some point this coming season, but its probably not going to happen prior to the all-star break.
- I almost feel sorry for the big lug: Jose Canseco’s New Year’s resolutions are about what you’d expect - HardballTalk. "9. Do at least 100 promotional deals for good companies and products like Animal Rights, Human health, Environmental, and Beer companies". If only he could find a company that combines all of those things into one...Green Stray Pup Chiropractic and Micro Brewery.
- Since you've all been so good recently, I made you a present (left-click to make it bigger, right-click to save it):
- I don't know how I feel about this: Wade Boggs buys a piece of the Field of Dreams, plans to develop it - Yahoo! Sports. "Boggs is among a group that paid $3.4 million to Don and Becky Lansing for the 193-acre site that is mostly cornfields, but of course also includes a two-bedroom farmhouse and one of the most iconic baseball fields in history." On one hand, I'd hate to see the location change, but creating more baseball fields is almost always a good thing.
- You mean they don't play for the glory? The spirit of competition? To be part of a team? The girls? Sources: Lance Berkman talking with multiple clubs about a possible return - FOX Sports. "Berkman, who earned $12 million with the Cardinals last season. "It's awfully hard to make the kind of money that we're able to make doing anything else and I think I certainly have a realization and appreciation for that. So, if it comes down to it, there are definitely amounts of money that you just can't turn down." For me, I'd have a hard time turning down 20 bucks and a bag of seeds.
- About a two-hour drive from me:Target Field smothered by frozen white substance - Yahoo! Sports. My life sucks. True story (okay, not really).
- Some Red Sox predictions for 2013 - Red Sox blog. "Fans will come to like John Lackey. Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes, too. Lackey may not always say the right thing, but he goes about his business professionally and competes when he's on the mound."