Wednesday Halolinks: Jered Weaver All Set To Dominate, Mike Trout In GQ

Although I'm a bit worried about the Angels pitching staff, it looks like Jered Weaver is ready for he season to start. Diamondbacks lose 3 to injuries in win over Angels - Yahoo! Sports. Weaver struck out three and walked one while facing 25 batters. ''That's a terrific outing,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ''They had some good hitters in their lineup and he was just working spots all night and did a great job. The fact that he got seven complete and did it in real economic fashion is important.''

After the big December signings in 2011, I was excited about the start of the 2012 season, but that doesn't even compare about how excited I am for this season. This season is going to be FUN! Projecting the American League standings for 2013 - ESPN. "Only a lesser back end of the rotation keeps the Los Angeles Angels from being the projected best team in baseball. I wouldn't like paying for the end of Josh Hamilton's contract, but the Angels will like paying for the front of it, even if the park change makes his raw statistics look a bit disappointing next to his Texas numbers." It's going to be fun mainly for this reason: Mike Trout: The MLB Rookie Super Star: Profiles: GQ. "Killing time, Mom asks me, wholly earnest: What makes you so interested in talking to Mikey? Here's what: Baseball has never seen anyone like him. When Trout returns to Orange County this month to lead off an impossibly stacked Angels lineup, he will be, at 21, the brightest-burning star on a team built to win the World Series and for which anything less will be a total bummer. " Must-read interview. Go there now. We'll be here when you get done.

Of all the players, Josh Hamilton would seem to be the most interesting to talk to. He might not be the most entertaining, but his outlook on life and thoughts on how things work would be fascinating: Josh Hamilton says his return to Cincinnati and Texas early this season are no coincidence - angels.com. "God takes you back to places where you've been and where he's brought you out of to remind you of what he's brought you through," Hamilton said. "I think it's pretty cool that we're in Cincinnati and Texas. Because Cincinnati is a reminder of where I was at that time and what it took to get back, what I had to do. And the biggest thing I had to do was surrender -- everything, every aspect of my life. And so then, going to Texas, totally different chapter of my life. It's just pretty cool to get it out of the way. And it being back-to-back ... yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence."

The two headlines for the following stories are funny. Although the posts state pretty much the same thing, the headlines are the complete opposite: Angels boast flexibility with Wells trade - The Orange County Register. "In the meantime, the Angels have a less-experienced bench. Kole Calhoun likely moves up to become the No. 4 outfielder. A backup shortstop (likely Andrew Romine) and a backup catcher (likely Chris Snyder) will take two of the spots, leaving infielders Brendan Harris, Luis Jimenez, Efren Navarro and Luis Rodriguez and outfielder J.B. Shuck in the mix for the last spot." Wells' departure complicates roster decisions - angels.com. "Fourth bench spot: This is where it gets tricky. With the other three spots, the Angels will have a catcher, a versatile infielder and a left-handed-hitting outfielder. The fourth spot will depend on Scioscia's preference. If it's a defensive first baseman, since either Albert Pujols or Mark Trumbo figure to be the designated hitter most nights, then Navarro could win a spot. If it's a right-handed-hitter, then Jimenez has an upper-hand. If it's an extra infielder, giving Scioscia the freedom to use Romine as a pinch-runner, Rodriguez and Harris could get extended looks. The Angels currently have four spots open on the 40-man roster and general manager Jerry Dipoto said the team will fill out its bench in-house."

And speaking of Wells...this will probably be the last time he's mentioned within my Halolinks...it's good to see he's at least consistent: Astros 4, Yankees 4(10) - FOX Sports. "Wells went 0 for 3 with an RBI groundout in his debut with the Yankees, and the Houston Astros and New York played to a 4-all tie Tuesday night in 10 innings. The Yankees completed a trade with the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the day to get Wells. The 34-year-old outfielder flied out twice and had a hard grounder during a three-run sixth." Indeed, the irony is compelling: Vernon Wells acquired by the New York Yankees from the Los Angeles Angels - ESPN New York. "Wells was given a locker next to Bobby Wilson, a teammate in Los Angeles."

There's been a lot of news regarding ticket prices and venues for which to purchase tickets recently. Here are a couple: Toronto Blue Jays Tickets To Be Amongst The Most Expensive In 2013 - Forbes. "Overall, tickets to baseball games are becoming more expensive, which some may use as proof of the general health of Major League Baseball. Year-over-year MLB ticket prices are up 5.87% (2012-$75.08 vs. 2013-$79.49), but not all teams will benefit from what may portrayed as solidified interest in the sport." Brewers nine-game ticket plan offers upgraded seats for each victory attended - Yahoo! Sports. "Every time the Brewers win, you exchange your Bernie's Terrace ticket for the next game in the plan for just $2 to the next best seating area. You remain in that seat location until the Brewers win the next game in the plan. If the Brewers don't win, you simply exchange your Bernie's Terrace ticket at no cost for a seat in the same section where you last advanced — no backsliding."

The Screwball Economics of Major League Baseball - Miami New Times. "Inside broadcasting's executive suites, the Holy Grail has a new name: "appointment TV," considered the last defense against a fierce and fast-encroaching enemy, the DVR. The problem for networks is that viewers are no longer showing up with they're supposed to. Instead of planning Tuesday nights around, say, Justified, people are recording shows to watch at their convenience. And unless they have a fondness for commercial interruptions, they'll be fast-forwarding through their daily regimen of Geico ads. Which makes Justified less valuable to advertisers. Human nature, however, isn't partial to watching a baseball game three days after it's played. Viewers still want to see it live, even if it means opening their homes to Flo from Progressive."

I thought this was very cool: A wonderful life for a fine old ballpark - Baseball Nation. "And I can say, without any reservation, that if I lived in Indianapolis this is where I would want to live. Hands down." So would I.

MLB rumors: Jose Valverde, Francisco Rodriguez to sign soon? - MLB Daily Dish. "Valverde, 35, is just one season removed from a fifth place finish in the AL Cy Young voting, but is coming off a terrible postseason, which may be more fresh in the minds of prospective suitors. Boras told Rosenthal that Valverde had lost 18 pounds and was regularly hitting 93-95 miles per hour on the gun, but that may not be enough for teams to overlook his strikeout rate, which plummeted all the way to 6.3 batters per nine last season (down from a high of 12.7 per nine). Rodriguez, still just 31, posted career worsts in ERA (4.38) and K/9 rate (9.0) in 72 innings for the Brewers last season"

Keep ‘em or send ‘em out? - The Hardball Times. "Deciding whether a prospect should make a major league roster out of spring training involves much more than whether that prospect is one of the 25 best players in camp or the best option at his position. That fact often gets muddied in the onslaught of spring training coverage and attention that comes from our desperation for some kind of substantial news, especially toward the end of March."