Thursday Halolinks: Angels Continue To Win, Scioscia Blames Chemistry

Beware. I got a little GIF (pronounced "jiff", but I don't care...I still say "giff") happy today. Animated Halolinks:

• Angels firing on all cylinders after 4th straight win. "They didn’t get much of it in April, but now, in the season’s eighth week, the Angels are beginning to see what they can do when all their parts are flowing. They’re scoring runs and throwing well, and any sense of concern they once had has virtually faded." Um, I wouldn't say our concerns have "virtually faded". More like "somewhat faded". No wait, "surreal-ly fading". "Kinda going". "Literally sightless". "Figuratively dispelled"? Screw it, we have still have concerns, and they're real.
• Damn you Scioscia! Are you some sort of evil genius? Wilson shines as Angels pound Mariners 7-1 - Yahoo! Sports. "I thought I was going to pass out in the first inning, I didn't feel good today," Wilson said. "I ate too much pasta last night or something."
  
• Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels - May 22, 2013 - MLB.com. "In the third, Aybar's single -- his third hit in his past five at-bats after a 4-for-24 slump (all from the lead-off spot) -- brought home Callaspo for the Angels' seventh run of the afternoon.
  
• Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals - May 23, 2013 - MLB.com
  Santana is 3-3 with a 2.77 ERA in eight starts for Kansas City and will face the Angels for the first time. Joe Blanton, who replaced Santana in the Angels' rotation, will be searching for his first win when he takes the mound on Thursday. Blanton is 0-7 with a 6.62 ERA in nine starts. He allowed 15 baserunners in just 4 1/3 innings in his last start against the White Sox.
  
  
• Angels-Royals Preview - Yahoo! Sports. "I think we're seeing much better at-bats from our team as a group," manager Mike Scioscia told the team's official website. "We're seeing much better team chemistry right now." Oh, now the Angels have better chemistry? What changed...oh, yeah, they're playing better.
  
• Looks like Jered Weaver is ready to rejoin the Angels' rotation - CBSSports.com. "It has been six weeks and one day since the Angels placed ace Jered Weaver on the 15-day DL with a fractured left (non-pitching) elbow. His return was expected to take four-to-six weeks."

Weaver's line from extended spring game: 5 2/3 innings, 1 run, no walks, 9 Ks 75 pitches, 62 strikes vs. D-Backs. # Angels

— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) May 22, 2013

Hopefully, whatever was plaguing Weaver and his velocity prior to his DL stay has been fixed too: Angels' Weaver faces minor-leaguers - Yahoo! Sports. "Weaver made just two starts this season before he was injured when he landed on his left arm while trying to dodge a line drive on April 7. He is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA on the year.

Scioscia says team will make a decision on Weaver this weekend but it's possible his next start could come next week against Dodgers#Angels

— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) May 22, 2013

• Madson had a setback?? On comeback trail, Madson dealing with setback - angels.com. "Madson pitched an inning for Class A Inland Empire as part of a rehab assignment on May 13 and felt inflammation in his right elbow over the following days." I'm shocked! SHOCKED!!
  
• Offensive decline leads list of 10 early-season trends to watch - SI.com. "Keep this in mind when you think about how urgent the season has become for the Angels, Dodgers and Blue Jays: In the 17 full seasons of wild card play (1996-2012), there have been 153 teams that were five games or more below .500 on May 31. Only seven of them made the playoffs -- a 95.4 percent failure rate."
  
• Angels 7, Mariners 1 - FOX Sports. "''You have to have an owner that's committed - not only to bringing in new guys, but also retaining guys,'' Wilson said. ''I think people look for the big splashes like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton and myself as free agents. But we saw Jered Weaver, Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar get the long-term deals, and we also have guys like Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout who are going to be keystones of this organization going forth. Those things are essential as well. So Arte's going to do what has to be done.''
  
• It seems like this Bugs & Cranks guy knows about the Angels. There's even a Buttercup reference: Bugs & Cranks " Angels Promotional Giveways Need a Boost. "Joe Blanton’s The Least Interesting Player in Baseball Poster "I don’t always pitch well, but when I do, I still manage to lose the game."
  
• Umpires are still making shit up: Angel Hernandez and crew review call that doesn’t seem to fit replay criteria (Video) - Yahoo! Sports. "In a head-scratching moment during the Colorado Rockies 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday afternoon, the umpiring crew that includes Angel Hernandez took time to huddle up and then review a fair-foul ruling that would NOT have resulted in a home run regardless of their determination, was not interfered with, and never came close to leaving the field of play."
  
• Neat:Casual and calm Giants fan snatches foul ball while holding baby (Video) - Yahoo! Sports. "What I liked most about this play, though, or more specifically the man and the child who we might assume is his son, is that the two were wearing what appear to be similar or matching caps. Sometimes it's those little things that stand out the most."
• Gross: Ball park food on bathroom floor. "Cell phone video shows a ball park snow cone vendor sitting on a toilet in a stall with an entire box full of the products he’s about to sell. They sit on the bathroom floor right next to him."
• Nifty graph: Visualization: Handedness through history