The start of another week for me. Another week of speculation and rumors. And Halolinks:
- Here's a very good article from MLB's Alden Gonzalez. I tend to be somewhat negative with my comments on other writers and their posts (it's the lazy way to create content), but I'm very impressed with the Angels news Gonzalez has been providing. Such as this: Angels sizing up potential Hot Stove partners in hopes of acquiring pitching - angels.com. "Jerry Dipoto said there was "a fair amount" of interest in Angels hitters he's exploring trades for, namely Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and others." He lists 10 possible trade partners.
- I like these kind of articles too, and FanGraphs has been very good at putting them out: Killing Them Softly: Slowest Swinging-Strikeout Pitches of 2013 - FanGraphs Baseball
9. August 17 Batter: Dayan Viciedo Pitcher: Andrew Albers Pitch Speed: 65.9 MPH
This combo of hitter and pitcher was made for this list. A pitcher with a curveball that averages 67 MPH (a 21 MPH difference from his fastball) meets a batter with a 12% swinging strike rate. Mix the two together, stir vigorously, add a pinch of cinnamon and voila! - Some organizational news...sort of: Omar Vizquel, Wally Joyner added to Detroit Tigers' coaching staff - ESPN. "Vizquel -- the major league record holder for career fielding percentage by a shortstop with over 1,000 games at the position -- was the roving infield instructor in the Los Angeles Angels' minor league system for one season before joining Detroit's staff. Joyner was an assistant hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies." I wasn't so much wanting Joyner to join the Halo coaching staff, as I was expecting it. For some reason it seemed like a natural fit.
- I found two things in this post. One, it's always funny when the writer answers his own question, even though it's not the answer he was going for. First Cadardo writes he doesn't understand the outrage over Cabrera winning the MVP, and then points out Trout's higher WAR. Sure, WAR isn't he #1 reason a player should be MVP, but when all of the number are relatively close, WAR can put one player over the top: Red Sox could benefit from snag in Japanese posting system - The Boston Globe. "Couldn’t quite understand the outrage by some over Miguel Cabrera beating out Mike Trout for AL MVP. Does helping your team to the playoffs mean anything? Trout is the superior defensive player, plus has the base-running dimension with 33 steals. Cabrera’s OBP was .442 to Trout’s .432. His OPS was 1.078 to Trout’s .988. Cabrera hit .348 with 44 homers and knocked in 137 runs while Trout hit .323 with 27 homers and 97 RBIs. Cabrera also played hurt while his team was vying for the playoffs. Trout had a 10.0 offensive WAR while Cabrera’s was 9.0. So tell me, why the outrage?" Umm, because Trout was the better player? The second interesting thing in this post is this, "Chase Headley, 3B, Padres — There’s growing sentiment that Headley will be traded this offseason. There’s been talk about an extension, but the Padres, who are now willing to increase payroll under CEO Mike Dee’s leadership, are thinking that they can improve a couple of different areas long-term by dealing their third baseman. Dee is hoping to "win our fans back. We have to build trust with our fans that when we make a move it’s for the good of the franchise, a good baseball move rather than a perception that we’re trying to trim payroll. We need our fans to trust us as an organization again." Headley would be a great fit for the Angels.
- Some signings: San Francisco Giants agree with Tim Hudson - ESPN. "The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $23 million, two-year contract with the free-agent pitcher, who began his career with Oakland. Hudson had a physical Monday, and the team said the deal is pending the results of that examination." And: Rockies sign LaTroy Hawkins to work as closer - CBSSports.com. "The Rockies have signed veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins to a $2.5-million contract, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. As Nightengale notes, Hawkins for now is slated to work as the team's closer."
- And this interesting note about a small transaction: Orioles Sign Kelvin De La Cruz - MLBTradeRumors.com. "A Major League deal for a career minor leaguer is a rarity on the free agent market, but this is the second time we've seen this in as many days. The Royals inked minor league catcher Francisco Pena to a Major League contract as well, so it'll be interesting to see if these are two isolated incidents or this becomes a trend of the 2013-14 offseason. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com spoke with Orioles GM Dan Duquette, who told him that De La Cruz is about ready to pitch in the Majors and had multiple teams offer him a big league deal"