Well, that escalated in a hurry. Obviously, they didn't keep their head on a swivel. Have some Halolinks:
- So it was all Joe Mauer's wife's fault! Herrmann's 10th-inning slam sparks Twins - Yahoo! Sports. "What happened was that the wife of Joe Mauer, the Twins' regular catcher, went into labor with twins, and Mauer was scratched from the lineup so he could fly back to Minnesota. Herrmann stepped in, and then he stepped up." I could take the low road and write something about Mauer's wife not being very good at blocking the plate...just like Hank Conger: Another missed chance for Angels in 10-3 loss - latimes.com. "The old-school catcher would have blocked the plate. The new-school catcher minimizes the risk of injury by setting up next to the plate and relying on the swipe tag." Nah, I'm too mature to go there.
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Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels - July 24, 2013 - MLB.com. "As for the Angels, at this point in the season, there isn't much room for error. Manager Mike Scioscia is hopeful his club can begin to piece together the same type of turnaround that the cross-town rival Dodgers have during the past month or so. "If you compare it to what we've done, we've shown stretches of that," Scioscia said. But [we] haven't been able to lock in on a consistent basis, as they've obviously hit their stride, and that's what we're searching for." At least the Dodgers have hit something.
- Let's see read a few interesting tidbits: Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels - July 23, 2013 - MLB.com. "Since the Angels scored 13 runs in Chicago on July 11, they have scored just 18 runs and hit 6-for-55 with runners in scoring position." And: Twins-Angels Preview - Yahoo! Sports. "The Los Angeles Angels haven't won a game started by a pitcher other than Jered Weaver or C.J. Wilson in nearly three weeks" Annddd...Minnesota Twins vs. Los Angeles Angels - July 23, 2013 - ESPN. "Scott Downs, who hasn't given up an earned run in 32 career innings against the Twins spanning 31 appearances, completed the sixth after walking his first batter. The left-hander hasn't been scored on in his past 29 appearances overall, one shy of Francisco Rodriguez's franchise record."
- Watch it Cole, you might piss off the fatman: Prospect Calhoun launches three homers in Triple-A - angels.com. "Calhoun, the No. 5 prospect in the Angels system according to MLB.com, went deep in each of his first three plate appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake, on a night when Spring Mobile Ballpark shot fireworks and more than 14,000 people showed up. He hit a two-run shot to left field in the first and a solo shot to right field in the third. Then, to lead off the fifth, he lofted a high fly ball that just cleared the right-field fence." To which Scoiscia commented: "I think we've created some situations, but we're not cashing in and tonight was not a good night for us with runners in scoring position," Scioscia said. "We can't sit back there and just live and die with the home run. We have to have more." (Yeah, that was taken out of context.)
- I'm a little disappointed we didn't get to see a return engagement: Francisco Rodriguez traded to the Baltimore Orioles for INF Nick Delmonico - Brew Crew Ball. "In return, the Brewers get a prospect that was rated #6 in the Orioles system according to Baseball Prospectus (h/t Fred Hofstetter), and #4 by Baseball America (h/t Ken Rosenthal). Nick Delmonico is a third base prospect with some experience at first and second. He has spent the year at High A Frederick, posting a batting line of .244/.351/.471/.822 with 13 HR, 30 RBI, and 5 SB."
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Sam Mellinger: Santana is too valuable a commodity for Royals to miss opportunity - KansasCity.com. "(Ervin) Santana is scheduled for what might be his last start for the Royals at Kauffman Stadium today. This might be his last start for the Royals, period. He has a 3.18 ERA while allowing just a smidgen more than one base runner per inning, and that's the kind of guy who can not only push a team into the playoffs, but help that team in the playoffs." He makes about twice as much as Joe Blanton.
- This will be the second day in a row where I compare the Halos to the Dodgers. Sorry, but if a team is doing something right, in the exact opposite of the Angel's wrong-doings, I'm going to point it out: Dodgers sign Cuban SS Alexander Guerrero for 7 years/$32 million, according to reports + videos - Chad Moriyama. "Guerrero has been one of Cuba’s best players the last few years, hitting .338/.408/.641 in 2009, .343/.414/.583 in 2010 and .310/.400/.599 in 2011. Between the three seasons, he delivered 60 homers in 886 at-bats. One imagines that if the reports are true and he eventually becomes a free agent, he could take over as a starting shortstop or second baseman for an MLB team in short order." The Dodgers will have this guy playing 2B for them next season, costing them much less than the Angels' 2B Robinson Cano.
- Since when did Josh Hamilton wake up? Angels' Josh Hamilton on how he injured his ankle: 'I woke up' - latimes.com. "He said the ankle first stiffened on him when he awoke Monday morning."
- Don't let Joe Blanton into the 20-loss club; he's not good enough - latimes.com. :"Detroit's Mike Maroth was the last 20-game loser, finishing 9-21 a decade ago. Think about that: Blanton would have to go 7-8 down the stretch to match that mark ... and the Angels would be so thrilled they might extend his contract two more years!"