MondoLinks: 2002 continues to haunt 2014

Attention Fellow Halo Heaven Travelers!

Mr. and Mrs. Stirrups are still on vacation until November. At this moment we are in idyllic Norwich, Vermont, enjoying the hell out what is left of the fall colors.  Today's MondoLinks will be an abbreviated edition. Normal MondoLinks will resume November 10th.

Also, our plans are to be in Sleepy Hollow for Halloween, and we shipped our own costumes ahead of us for the events. (Yes, Halloween is one of The Big Three holidays in the world of the Stirrups'.) So if I fail to deliver this upcoming Friday, even briefly, please forgive.

Let's get the obvious right out there, alright? With their 5-0 blowout victory last night, the Giants return the the American League home field for the final two games of  the 2002 2014 World Series holding a 3 games to 2 lead, and needing just 1 game to finish off the upstart AL Wild Card representative and take the title. They need to do this in no small part due to the exploits of that season's All-Star MVP Hero from Anaheim, Garrett Anderson Mike Trout, whose accomplishments in the ASG granted home field advantage to the AL. Who shall play the role of Scott Spiezio???

• Right off the top, Mike Trout was named the American League winner of the 2014 Hank Aaron Award given to outstanding offensive player. Mike takes over from Jose Bautista (2010, 2011) and Miguel Cabrera (2012, 2013). In the National League, their grate #2, Giancarlo Stanton, took the complimentary honors.

• Speaking of Trout, I started to read this article from the perspective of Trout and his evolving strike zone and plate approach, wondering how to frame all the information and all the results in a way that would make sense to young Mike. Then I started thinking about what I have heard/read young Mike himself say about his approach and I go, like, "nah".

• Joe Maddon lovers everywhere, take heart. Maddon is not worried about getting a new gig right away, so there remains lots of time for your own skipper to still screw the pooch that you may get to nab Maddon as your replacement. Of all GM's throughout baseball, I would think that the happiest to hear that piece of new might be none other than Jon Daniels, who should be kicking himself for pulling the trigger in Arlington so soon.

• Here is a fun thought process to dwell upon if you are having a slow day today: the whole idea of independent researchers joining the blog brigade and seeing the pro franchises pluck the best and brightest out of the public forums for their own, proprietary, use. Kind of fascinating, when you dive into it.  And eventually you should stumble over the notion that this process is a driving force behind the MSM resentment of statistical analysts.

• Shenanigans, I say. The grounds crew in San Francisco is being accused of soaking the base paths to slow down the Kansas City baserunners. To which I say, "so what if they are?" Somebody show me the MLB rule book where it defines the absolute moisture content of a baseball infield. Anybody? No? Hey Ned Yost, you got 4 games on your own field thanks to 2014 MLB All-Star MVP Mike Trout. Use your own grounds crew wisely.

• I love stuff like this. the Giants and Royals are sabremetric whether you like it or not.  This, in reaction to all those MSM farts who wish to ignorantly crow that whatever current team or teams are competing for titles do so in defiance of "modern stats". Those MSM farts are just making that shit up, folks.

• Wow, this is tragic. Just days after losing the NLCS as Cardinals outfielder, 22-year old Oscar Tavaras has died along with his girlfriend in a car accident in The Dominican Republic.

• You wait your whole life, you get there, and then...These might be the very first people to bail out of Kauffman Stadium during the Game 1 blowout loss of the Royals to the Giants. It was for good reason, though, as the wife went into labor just as the game was starting.

• Yeonis Cespedes apparently doesn't like Boston, and Boston apparently doesn't like him. That news should make for a fun summer if the Red Sox fail to trade him this winter.

• Professional douche, rewarding himself for his own doucheness. Don't MLB franchises have the "we reserve the right to refuse service" clause???

• I may be gone, but I'm not out. There is still time for beer. Here is a chart of the favorite beer of baseball fans around the country. Personal observation: I have been in a half a dozen bars, pubs, diners and restaurants in New England so far and every single one of them features, as a headliner, Lagunitas IPA. You know, the Lagunitas from Petaluma CALIFORNIA. Only Sam Adams is typically listed above them...........Meanwhile, dig this: $70 for an empty Budweiser bottle used in the 2104 NLDS celebration by the Giants. I wonder what they would have charged had those bottled once contained actual beer?