Let's try to remain positive and not read too much into yesterday's events. For those of you who haven't been following, two Halo players forgot that getting hurt isn't part of the spring festivities. The others need to read their Halolinks:
- This seems like the typical, getting-into-shape sort of soreness that we hear about every spring. A player going after it a little too hard on the first day, and not the serious, season affecting injury we worry about: Hamilton on crutches with left calf strain - angels.com. "Outfielder Josh Hamilton strained his left calf during a baserunning drill on Tuesday morning and will have to be off his feet for at least the next few days. Hamilton, sporting crutches in the Angels' clubhouse, said it "grabbed me good," but that he's "not concerned about it." Wilson on the other hand needs to learn how to duck: C.J. Wilson of Los Angeles Angels OK after being struck in head during batting practice - ESPN Los Angeles. "Wilson, 33, was injured when a ball hit by Yorvit Torrealba struck him in the left side of the head. He was bleeding but never lost consciousness and wanted to continue the session. Instead, members of the Angels' medical had him carted off the field to get a CT scan as a precaution. "He was very cognizant; he was aware of what was going on, what was happening, and never lost consciousness," Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said, according to MLB.com. "The initial read is that neurologically he is fine." I always think it's funny when doctors say, "We took x-rays of his head, and didn't find anything."
- Speaking of not finding anything inside someone's noggin: Mike Scioscia eager to reclaim winning formula with LA Angels - angels.com. "Now, Jered Weaver looks around and realizes, "There aren't too many guys in the clubhouse that were here when we were doing winning stuff." Since the last time the Angels made the playoffs -- now five years ago -- it's just Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen and the ace right-hander himself. And Scioscia, just down the hall, trying to make things right again. "Nobody feels the sting of non-performance more than I do," Scioscia said, "but I am totally committed to the philosophy that we've had here for 15 years, with the adaptation of some new statistical guidance that can help you make clearer decisions. That's all part of our program. So, I'm committed to it." Manager Mike saying all the right things. I wonder if he's truly engaged in using that statistical guidance?
- Here's a political situation I can get behind. This is an obvious publicity stunt by a beer company, and has no hope of being instituted, but wouldn't it be great to be able to officially celebrate the best day of the year: Ozzie Smith leading drive to turn Opening Day into holiday - ESPN. "The Hall of Fame shortstop is leading a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures within 30 days under the We the People petitioning program, which would trigger a review by the Obama administration." Here's the link to sign the petition.
- I was going to include the tweet C.J. Wilson sent out after getting hit on the bean, but then I saw this one instead:
Bonus- photo day is tomorrow so I get to act extra weird.
— C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer) February 26, 2014stalkingbrowsing through his twitter account, I came upon a link to his photography site: C.J. WILSON PHOTO - Krop.com. "MLB pitcher moonlighting as photographer NOV-FEB annually. Both parents were avid photographers, and passed on the joy of taking photos at an early age. Travel breeds curiosity, curiosity breeds discovery, discovery breeds admiration- this is how I came to see the world through the lens." If you like photos of race cars, scenery, and a pretty wife, you've found your spot. Oh, and insider photos of ballplayers:
- Here's more Trout contract talk: New trend of locking up young players changing MLB's landscape - Tom Verducci - SI.com. ""Four years is what clubs generally want when it comes to buying up free-agent years," one agent said. "You may do a deal for less if you're the club, but it makes the most sense to get four. I would expect four." Pujols was Trout in 2004. The Cardinals, after buying out three arbitration years for $32 million, bought out five free-agent years (the last at their option) for $79 million. Pujols turned out to be a huge bargain. St. Louis bought out his ages 27-31 free-agent seasons at $15.8 million per year. Then they let him walk and allowed the Angels to be saddled with the overpayment: $24 million a year for ages 32-41. Ten years later, the price of buying up prime free-agent years for the best player in the game has more than doubled. The Dodgers bought six free-agent years of Kershaw at ages 27-32 at $34.7 million per year (with the signing bonus prorated). Trout will get more. Let's say Trout's free-agent years are worth $36 million. Let's say the Angels can get four of them. Now, if you set aside his 2014 salary, you're talking about a seven-year extension worth $204 million."
- If you were counting on Johan Santana possibly returning to baseball with the Angels, don't get your hopes up: Velocity reportedly lacking in Johan Santana workout - CBSSports.com. "Two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana worked out for seven teams Tuesday -- including the Yankees and Twins -- as he aims to return to the hill around June. Given the long timetable, it's definitely worth mention that Santana likely isn't close to 100 percent just yet. Still, a report in the New York Post says that Santana's fastball was sitting 77-78 miles per hour while topping out at 81. Back in his peak, Santana would sit in the low-to-mid 90s and even back in 2012 he could hit 90 and sit in the high-80s. So he's definitely not where he once was."
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The Draft Pick Each Team Would Have To Forfeit - MLBTradeRumors.com. "The primary factor in the delay for Ervin Santana, Stephen Drew, and Kendrys Morales is that signing any one of them requires the new team to forfeit its highest unprotected draft pick and its associated bonus pool money, because these players were among 13 to turn down a one-year, $14.1MM qualifying offer in November. " The Angels would lose the 15th pick and $2.4345M in slot money.