Tuesday Halolinks: Angels Attend Red Wedding Hosted By The Astros

Holy crap, I didn't see that coming...

I can't decide which was worse, the Angels getting gutted at home by the worst team in the American league, or watching the bloodbath of the Red Wedding on Sunday night's "Game of Thrones". Both events came out of nowhere, providing some shockingly gruesome plot-twists, but if you're a fan of the show, be sure to check out the reaction-video included in this link: The Red Wedding: HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Reveals Its Latest Twist - The Daily Beast. "Yes, that actually did just happen. Jace Lacob on the latest shocking twist on HBO’s Game of Thrones, and why the disturbing outcome of the Red Wedding was crucial for the series." Now imagine the shocking reactions you would have captured had you had the foresight to record Angels fans and the end of this 4-game series.

• Yeah, you've probably already heard Manager Mike called a team meeting to either tell the club to turn the page, or to sell them some Amway products. Either way, does anyone think it's going to make a difference? Astros beat Angels to earn series sweep - Yahoo! Sports. "For the Angels, it couldn't get much worse. A four-game sweep at the hands of the team with the worst record in the American League prompted manager Mike Scioscia to hold a team meeting after the game. "We talked about a couple things," Scioscia said. "You want to keep the focus and the approach where it needs to be. We obviously didn't play well these four games. We're a better team and I think we're going to get there." You don't ask the guy driving the bus for directions after he's gotten you lost, you toss him in the back and get the fella with the GPS on his iPhone to take over.
• First clue the meeting probably won't work? Scioscia was serving spiked punch at his soirée, because Albert is obviously drunk: Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels - June 3, 2013 - MLB.com. "You guys are treating this like it's the last game of the season or we're out of the playoffs," he said. "You still have a lot of games left." Um, no not really: AL West: pretty much what we thought going in. "It could be the sample size, or just plain bad luck, but the fact is the Angels will need one of Hamilton's hot streaks—one where for an extended time he is the best lefty hitter in baseball—if they hope to make a serious and sustained run at the Rangers."
• Poor Joe, he doesn't deserve this: Last-place Astros complete 4-game sweep of Angels - Yahoo! Sports. "Joe Blanton picked up his AL-worst ninth loss for the Angels despite matching his career high with 11 strikeouts and allowing just three hits in eight outstanding innings." But neither do us fans, and that's why they're not showing up at the ballpark: Angels find the bottom as Houston completes four-game sweep - latimes.com. "The 2-1 loss before the smallest crowd at Angel Stadium this year prompts a closed-door meeting by Manager Mike Scioscia with his team. He says move on and don't wallow in what happened this series."
• $weep! Astros ($24 million payroll) take four from Angels ($127 million) - Yahoo! Sports. "Houston's starting pitchers sport a 1.85 ERA against the Angels, but against every other team, it's 6.29. That's just ... weird."
• Regardless of how this season is going, I'm still looking forward to seeing two games at Wrigley next month. The next two games might be a preview of what I can expect: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Angels - June 4, 2013 - MLB.com. "Chicago's off-days on Monday and Thursday are sandwiched around two games against tough Angels starters. The Cubs will face Jered Weaver on Tuesday in his second start since returning from a fractured left elbow, then will face the consistent Jason Vargas on Wednesday." This is encouraging: Cubs-Angels Preview - Yahoo! Sports. "Weaver seemingly has a good opportunity to keep rolling against another NL team Tuesday. He hasn't lost an interleague start since falling to the Dodgers on June 20, 2009, going 8-0 with a 1.94 ERA over his last 12 outings." Plus, the Cubs have to face the Angels' hottest pitcher: Angels left-hander Jason Vargas named AL Pitcher of Month for May - angels.com. "In six May outings, Vargas went 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA, striking out 31 and walking 14 in 43 innings. That earned him his second Pitcher of the Month Award, as he also took one home last July, when he was with the Mariners. Among AL hurlers who logged at least 27 innings in May, Vargas finished first in wins and second in innings and ERA."
• I'm having a little trouble getting excited about this:Angels Mike Trout leads American League outfielders in All-Star voting - angels.com. "When the first American League update was released on Monday, Trout led all outfielders and ranked third in total fan votes with 1,190,676. Only reigning AL Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera (1,500,165) and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano (1,235,230) had more." Or believing this: Josh Hamilton says he’s "never, ever" struggled this long - HardballTalk. "Take a poll of every player in this clubhouse and see if I’m going to come out of it or not. The proof is in what’s gone on in the past. I’ve struggled at times and always come out of it." The Halos Heaven poll is below.
• Well, now I feel better: Trout believes Hamilton, Pujols will find their groove - angels.com. "People always say the numbers are going to be there at the end of the year," said Trout, batting .294 with 10 homers after a scorching May. "Josh, he's in a little funk right now, but I'm pretty confident he's going to come out of it. Albert's still having good at-bats, and he's going to get his numbers, too."
• If you've grown tired of watching the Angels' follies, you can always relive their glory days: Getting Lost in the MLB.com Classics Channel on YouTube - The Triangle Blog - Grantland. "Suddenly, you could watch more than 200 full-game videos, perfect games, no-hitters, All-Star Games, World Series, and more, some of them dating back more than 60 years. When you launch the MLB.com Classics channel, it opens to the telecast of Game 7 of the 1952 World Series, with sweeping shots of Ebbets Field and Mel Allen and Red Barber on the mic. Let that sink in for a second. This was baseball fan heaven." Here's the direct link to MLB's YouTube channel: MLB.com Classics - YouTube. Oh, here's the glory I was talking about: 2002 World Series, Game 7: Giants @ Angels - YouTube. "San Francisco Giants 1 at Anaheim Angels 4
• Within the above Grantland link, there was a mention of this: Adrian Beltre - Ranger GIFS - Imgur. These GIFs were created by LSB's Dshep. This one is my favorite:
  
• What's sad to think about is this could have happened in the Angels dugout had the team been able to sign Beltre and had not made the disastrous Vernon Wells deal. Oh, and speaking of Mike Napoli: The six most colossal home runs of May - Yahoo! Sports. "Two of them are from Boston Red Sox slugger Mike Napoli, who seized the top of this list on May 1."
• This is sad: Ramon Ortiz walks from pitcher’s mound in tears - Yahoo! Sports. "His greatest success came with the Angels, logging back-to-back 200-plus inning seasons in 2001-02. Ortiz also started and won Game 3 of the World Series in '02, which the Angels won against the Giants in seven games."
  
  Deadspin has the video: This Is The Face Of A Baseball Player Who Just Felt His Career End. "Last night, in the third inning of what would be an 11-inning Blue Jays win, Ortiz injured his elbow while throwing a pitch to Chase Headley. His reaction is heartbreaking:
• Is anyone NOT surprised? Former major-leaguer Milton Bradley convicted of abusing wife - CBSSports.com. "Bradley was found guilty on nine misdemeanor charges. Authorities say Bradley pushed his wife against a wall and choked her after she asked him to stop smoking marijuana in front of their two children."