Thursday Halolinks: The brilliance of Mike Scoiscia

I live in a time zone that is two hours ahead of the west coast.  For the second night in-a-row, the game approached midnight and I figured it was time to go to bed.  Both nights I went to bed thinking the Angel game was over and they'd lost.  Although that was eventually true for Tuesday's game, I missed the Halos finally getting a late comeback, and walk-off win last night.  Does this mean the Angels have finally figured out that can in fact, and are allowed to win games that go into extra innings?  Yeah, I know, the club is actually 2-2 in extra-inning games, so the previous sentence doesn't make any sense, but doesn't kinda feel that way?  Doesn't seem like the Angels are destined to lose?  I hope I'llbe able to shake off this feeling, or else it's going to be a looong, sad season.  Anyway, on another thought...while reading through the feeds that lead to the links, I stumbled onto something I thought was a little interesting; Scioscia quotes.  I've featured these before, so it's nothing new, but last night must have been a special night for the Angels' skipper.  Here those are, as well as a couple other links...Halolinks!

• Nothing out of the ordinary here.  He praises the two pitchers he's deemed as his "only use when winning" pitchers, and offers some encouragement to the other dead-armed pitchers in the bullpen: Iannetta's homer lifts Angels in 12th - The Orange County Register.  "One positive was the six scoreless innings thrown by five Angels relievers after Manager Mike Scioscia called on the middle relief corps before the game. "We all feel very comfortable and confident with where Joe Smith and Ernesto Frieri are at the back of our bullpen," Scioscia said. "But we need some guys that are capable of coming in there (before them) and getting those outs."
• Moving on, manage Mike says last night's win was special: Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels - April 16, 2014 - MLB.com.  "The banged-up, hard-knock, rough-luck Angels certainly have had multiple areas where they've had to tread carefully in the early parts this season. But Wednesday night's 5-4, 12-inning win that easily could have gone the other way moved them past what could have been another early-season booby trap. "Usually, you just say a game is a game," manager Mike Scioscia said. "But there is a different feeling in that clubhouse tonight."  Does that also happen when the team loses a game in dramatic fashion?
• And finally, when you're at a loss for words, just come back to the one's that got you here.  The old faithful, the go-to "turn the page": Iannetta's homer propels Angels past A's in 12th - Yahoo Sports.  "It's awesome, it's a great feeling," Iannetta said of his fourth career walk-off homer. "I know I hit this one well, but Angel Stadium at night, you never really know. It's a great feeling. It never gets old." The catcher's home run off A's left-hander Drew Pomeranz (1-1) allowed the Angels to avoid a three-game sweep. But it was more than that, the normally stoic Angels manager Mike Scioscia admitted. "Usually you say a game's a game, but there's a different feeling in the clubhouse after tonight," he said. "It stems from a couple games where we had opportunities to win (and didn't). You have to turn the page and go. Coming back on a team that's playing well and has a good bullpen gives us a great sense of confidence. There's a great feeling in the clubhouse right now."  Yes, the mind of a champion.
• Stirrups will be happy to hear, the Angels are planning on honoring the late, great Angels shortstop: Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels - Recap - April 16, 2014 - ESPN.  "The Angels will honor the late Jim Fregosi during a two-game interleague series against Philadelphia Aug. 12-13. Fregosi, who died Feb. 14 at age 71, was a six-time All-Star who spent his first 11 big league seasons as an Angels SS and managed them to their first division title in 1979. He also piloted the Phillies to a pennant in 1993."  It doesn't mention anything about a patch, but at least it's something.
  
• I'm sure you've already heard, but here's a couple K.C. updates: Angels to be without Calhoun for 4-6 weeks - Orange County Register.  "To replace him, the Angels called up 29-year-old outfielder Brennan Boesch from Triple-A Salt Lake, where he was hitting .250 with two homers while playing mostly center field. Boesch has a fairly extensive big-league track record. In more than 1,500 plate appearances since 2010, he has hit .260 with 45 homers and a .315 on-base percentage. He has struck out a lot, and was doing so quite a bit at Triple-A, too."  Apparently the club was short on "veteran grittiness" and brought up Boesch instead of Matt Long.  Oh well.  Here's a little tidbit concerning Calhoun: Kole Calhoun To Miss Four To Six Weeks - MLBTradeRumors.com.  "Early in his second season of substantial MLB action at the age of 26, Calhoun was off to a .250/.297/.500 start in 64 plate appearances, with three home runs and two stolen bases to his credit. Last year, Calhoun provided to be a nice surprise in Los Angeles, providing a .282/.347/.462 line in 222 plate appearances while knocking eight long balls and swiping two bags. Though defensive metrics saw him as slightly below average at the corner outfield last year, Calhoun has graded out quite well in a small sample thus far in 2014. With 130 days of MLB service to his name entering the year, Calhoun could qualify for Super Two status after the 2015 season."
• Susan Slusser thinks the Angels might be in on Sam Fuld.  I don't really see it, but who am I, and who knows what weird things go through the heads of the Angels' front office:
  

  Re: Fuld, there is expected to be interest in him from several teams, incl #Twins and now likely #Angels among others. #Athletics

  — Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) April 16, 2014

• We care.  And so do the Angels...haven't you seen that big sign way out there in centerfield?  Pujols nears 500 home runs...and no one seems to care - USAToday.  "I don't think anyone realizes how big of a number 500 is,'' says Fred McGriff, who wound up with 493 home runs. "It's hard to hit 500 homers. But maybe because of the past and what's gone on, it's a little different now. "I think with Pujols, it was going to be a no-brainer that he was going to hit 600 home runs. He should still get there."
• Here's today's math lesson: Why wOBA Works – The Hardball Times.  "Another reason Johnson’s article represented an important sabermetric landmark was that it directly addressed an argument that dominated sabermetrics for over two decades: what is the best way to estimate the number of runs a batter has contributed to his team? The argument raged with a white-hot intensity for a long time, but a winner eventually emerged."
• I received no compensation for providing this link, just thought it was a little interesting: How to Become a Baseball Umpire Guide - Umpire School HQ.  "Step-by-step instructions"  Does it include how to misinterpret video replays?
  
• When looking for items to add to the day's Halolinks, I sometimes go from link-to-link in search of something interesting.  It's kind of  like a segue of thoughts that can lead in different directions.  I'm not sure how I ended up down this long, ugly path, but when I found this video, I just knew I had to add it to today's post.  This video is NSFW because of language, but it's "interesting".
  
  When I watched this, I kept wondering what was going through the mind of the player Brett is talking to.  I imagined him thinking, "Why are you telling me this??"