Thursday Halolinks: Angels Pitching Hits Low Point In Loss To Texas

West coast games typically start at 9pm for me, and end some time around midnight. I don't have a problem with this, it is what it is, but at least give me a reason to stay up. I got a lot of sleep last night.

• Last night's game was terrible. Yeah I know, you're thinking, "No shit, Capt. Obvious", but it was terrible for so many reasons...terrible pitching, terrible hitting, terrible broadcast, just TERRIBLE. Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels - April 24, 2013 - MLB.com. "When the Angels finally escaped the fourth, they had used a trio of pitchers and had allowed 13 Rangers batters to score nine runs on five hits, five walks and one wild pitch." Watching baseball is supposed to be fun, so unless you're some kind of masochistic fanatic, Angels' baseball is not fun. Darvish, Rangers beat Angels 11-3 with 9-run 4th - Yahoo! Sports. "Darvish (4-1) allowed three hits over six scoreless innings, struck out 11 and lowered his ERA to 1.65 after getting staked to an 11-0 lead. It was the right-hander's 11th double-digit strikeout performance in 34 major league starts." Okay, it maybe fun if you're a Darvish fan.
• This GIF is a pretty good analogy for what Angel fans are going through...
  

• The next four-game series will be won by the team that sucks less: Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners - April 25, 2013 - MLB.com. "Seattle will host the American League West-rival Angels for a four-game series starting Thursday, a chance for both teams to steady their footing in the turbulent division. The Mariners have won just six of their last 21 games after beginning the season 2-0, and they will have rookie Brandon Maurer on the mound against Garrett Richards in the opener." How bad are things for the Angels pitching staff right now? This bad: Angels-Mariners Preview - Yahoo! Sports. "Los Angeles (8-12) has a 4.88 ERA - 5.35 from the rotation - ranking ahead of only Houston's 5.19 in the majors."
• My turn to say "No shit": Angels' rotation is shaking off slow start - angels.com. "The new-look rotation did not get off to the start general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia were hoping for, recording only four quality starts in the first 14 games of the season."
  When Do People Start Getting Fired? - U.S.S. Mariner. "This team is going to get people fired. The question now is more when and who than if. And given how badly the team has started, I know a lot of you are hoping to see these changes sooner rather than later." Although this post is about the Mariners, it could easily apply to the team in Anaheim.
• Remember that time Hawk Harrelson was on "MLB Now"? That was AWESOME!
• This is going to be AWESOME! Hawk Harrelson to talk sabermetrics with Brian Kenny on MLB Now tomorrow (Thursday) - HardballTalk. "Everyone loves a good train wreck. Or, possibly, and epic beatdown. Or if things go sideways, everyone will probably take some sick fascination in watching Brian Kenny go insane. Any or all of which may happen tomorrow as Hawk Harrelson will appear on "MLB Now" with Kenny and Harold Reynolds at 4PM on MLB Network."
• The closer-by-committee thing doesn't really apply to the Halos, but the thought process of the team and it's management does...Ten years later, revisiting the merits of closer-by-committee - WEEI. "Epstein said. "I think anyone in the manager's chair, in today's day and age, would feel most comfortable having a clear-cut closer, an eighth-inning guy, a good left-hander and right-hander in the seventh. It just flows easier. There's less controversy, there's less questions to answer and there's less decisions to make. But I think it does show a lot of strength and conviction in the manager when he's able to not be bound by those rules and conventions and able to make decisions that make sense over the course of these games even if it might lead to a few questions. I think winning the game is ultimately the important thing." "It's just a balancing act," Epstein said. "If you have a manager who buys into it and relievers who buy into it, the way Jim Leyland does at times, finds the right matchup. If you have a great left-handed set-up guy and you have two or three left-handers up in the ninth inning they can close that day, you don't have to make a big production of it. One lesson learned is the less said about it the better. You assemble the most talent you can in the bullpen and let your manager figure it out and hopefully not be bound to make in-game decisions that don't make sense just because of convention."
• What's more important; Personality or performance? Red Sox Likely To Seek Trade For Aceves - MLBTradeRumors.com. "Earlier today, Buster Olney of ESPN said in a radio interview that he spoke to one big league GM who believes that he club won't be able to get anything in return for the troubled pitcher. The Red Sox might be able to get salary relief in a deal involving Aceves, however, and Olney pointed to a club in search of bullpen help like the Angels could be a fit."
• Do Teams That See More Pitches Win More Often and Perform Better Overall? - Beyond the Box Score. "The ability to work the count and be patient at the plate is a highly praised skill in baseball. But does it actually lead to more wins?"
• Frank McCourt's ex-wife wants Los Angeles Dodgers divorce settlement tossed - FOX Sports. "The motion filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Frank McCourt misrepresented the couple's Dodgers assets as worth less than $300 million during their protracted divorce. The pair's marriage was dissolved in October 2010, and Jamie McCourt received $131 million. The new court papers claim that after the sale and subtraction of relevant debts, Frank McCourt's assets turned out to be worth $1.7 billion, well over 10 times the amount Jamie McCourt received."
• Minnesota Twins join 'Moneyball' era behind mystery man - TwinCities.com. ""Most baseball operations have departments now that specialize in statistics and video and all those types of things," Ryan says. "It's just another piece of information that all of us access, and we do, as well. We believe in it. We believe in scouting. We believe in statistical analysis. We believe in information."
• Scout.com Player of the Week: Mike Trout. "From April 15-21, the Angels outfielder went 9-for-23 (.391) with four runs, three doubles, one home run, two stolen bases and nine of his 11 total RBIs."
• This is what good managers do...put players in a position to succeed: Can Anyone Explain Why the A's Are Good? - The Triangle Blog - Grantland. "No platoon served the A's, or any other team, better than the duo of Brandon Moss and Chris Carter. Manager Bob Melvin put both players in situations where they'd be most likely to succeed. Of the left-swinging Moss's 296 plate appearances last year, 234 came against right-handed pitchers. The righty-swinging Carter got 260 plate appearances, 151 of them vs. righties. Here's what Oakland got from those 556 PAs: 30 doubles, 65 walks … and a ludicrous 37 home runs. Carter hit .239/.350/.514 for the season, while Moss mashed at a .291/.358/.596 rate. ...The combination of Moss and Carter outproducing Albert Pujols for $11 million less wasn't the only reason the unheralded A's pulled off a shocking AL West title while the highly touted Angels missed the playoffs last year. But it was certainly one of the biggest." I'm not suggesting the Angels start platooning player, but rather, using the players they have smarter.