Tuesday Halolinks: It's All Josh Hamilton's Fault, Angels Travel to Houston

Hey, hey, what can I do? What'll happen if the Angels lose 2 out of three in Houston? Will they be thought of as the worst team in baseball? Halolinks, your door to baseball perception:

• I think it's interesting that the focus of the Angels' bad start is being put on Josh Hamilton by some people. And by some people, I'm referring to those from that non-baseball town in Texas: How bad has Josh Hamilton's start with Angels been? History says it might be his worst month ever - Dallasnews.com. "Hamilton's .548 OPS for April was the second-lowest OPS he's ever posted in a month during which he got at least 50 plate appearances. His only worse showing was in July 2009, when he posted a .513 mark. His 32 strikeouts in April were also second worst, topped only by the 35 Ks he had last June." Sure, Hamilton has been horrible, but he's not the reason for the Angels' woeful April...at least not entirely. Anyway, reading the thread about this post over at the Baseball Think Factory, many have pointed out Hamilton's start isn't even the worst by a newly acquired Angel in their history. The names Lyman Bostock and Reggie Jackson (by Matt Welch) are mention as other April non-performers (BBTF's Newsblog Discussion)
• It's funny how they're still butt-hurt in Texas: Texas writers still not letting go of the Josh Hamilton thing - HardballTalk. "I know a lot of local papers keep tabs on past stars — if a guy played one inning of a 20 year career in pinstripes New York papers will write "Former Yankee ____ dies" when he passes — but the DMN’s focus on Josh Hamilton shows no signs of letting up."
• The reason I've included this link isn't to make fun of Miami, that's just too easy, but rather to point out how much of a baseball town DFW is. Within this post, the author tracks some numbers: Why the Miami Marlins Could See a Historic Attendance Plunge. "It shows the average attendance prior to the new ballpark opening in the old ballpark; average attendance in the first year of the new ballpark; the winning percentage in the first year of the ballpark; average attendance in the second year of the new ballpark, and finally; the percentage of increase or decrease from the opening year in the new ballpark." Which team had the largest attendance decline following a stadium opening? Yeah, The Ballpark in Arlington, despite winning the division. "Come on Honey, let's go see that new-fangled building!"
• The Halos travel to where the stars at night are big and bright: Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros - May 07, 2013 - CBSSports.com. "The Angels dropped three of four to Baltimore over the weekend, matching their 31-game mark from their inaugural 1961 season. "We just need to win games," second baseman Howie Kendrick said. Whew! And here I thought losing was the whole point...thanks for clearing that up Howie.
  
• Then what? How about anything other than the current display. Fire Scioscia, Then What? - Bugs & Cranks. "Sack Scioscia. Maybe he’s the reason players come here and play worse (i.e. Pujols, Hamilton, Vernon Wells) and others leave and get better (Mike Napoli, Wells, every single relief pitcher ever). But maybe he’s not. Without an obvious upgrade, or at the very least replacement level quality manager, Scioscia needs to stay. Fire pitching coach Mike Butcher. Replace him with anyone. Relieve hitting coach Jim Eppard of his duties, write an apology letter to Mickey Hatcher and bring in Tim Salmon." What, give up the free postgame spread? Scioscia: No plans to quit despite struggles. "If you are among those critics hoping a horrible start would be enough to wear Scioscia or Moreno down into a rash decision, think again. Scioscia has a contract that runs through the 2018 season and is going nowhere of his own volition. And with Moreno said to be out of the country on business, it's unlikely that Halo management will be replacing its manager in the near future."
• The decline of mainstream media (Exhibit 1): Seeing what there is to see, and hearing too much, at Angel Stadium - latimes.com. "The Angels now have this special section, down by the left-field foul pipe, where you get Fish Sticks and a Trout Farm T-shirt with your ticket. It's in celebration of their boy wonder, Mike Trout, the best thing to happen to baseball since hot dogs met mustard." Foul pipe? Oh boy. But at least the guy noticed Trout.
  
• The decline of mainstream media (Exhibit 2): Winkeler: There's more to baseball than just numbers. "There was a time I loved talking baseball. It was easy to spend hours discussing the relative merits of Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Ted Simmons, George Hendrick, Mark McGwire and Adam Wainwright. However, thanks to sabermetrics, those days are past." Where do I start? This guy no longer likes talking about baseball because of numbers?? I no longer like talking about healthcare because of penicillin. Or traveling because of airplanes.
  
• This is an interesting observation: Anthony Castrovince: Strikeouts in MLB rising to historic levels - MLB.com. "In Mauer's case, his selectivity can encourage, rather than prevent, some of the strikeouts. He routinely gets himself into deep counts. Since Opening Day 2012, only A.J. Ellis (4.44), Adam Dunn (4.40) and Mike Napoli (4.40) have seen more pitches per plate appearances than Mauer (4.32). And an increasing number of those two-strike counts have led to strike three." Does more plate discipline lead to more strikeouts?
  
• Cool C.J. Wilson makes coolest cap grab of foul ball EVER look so cool - Yahoo! Sports. "C.J. Wilson cooly and casually catching a bouncing foul ball from the front row of the Los Angeles Angels dugout takes the phrase "act like you've been there before" to nirvana."