Thursday Halolinks: Trade rumors are heating up

One. More. Day. (I hate it when people do that, but here I am doing it myself.  What a dick!)  How did you spend your day without baseball?  I spent some time organizing my vinyl collection, dinner with the semi-GF, ate a Popsicle of four, and went to bed early.  Things will be back to normal tomorrow, but until then, here's your final day of scraped-together Halolinks:

• It sounds like a deal is going to get done, all they need to do is cross the "i"s and dot the "t"s:  Angels nearing deal with first-round pick Sean Newcomb - LA Times.  "The Angels are making progress toward an agreement with first-round pick Sean Newcomb, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-hander from the University of Hartford who is facing a Friday deadline to sign with the Angels or return to college for his senior year. "We’re certainly working toward a deal," said Greg Genske, Newcomb’s advisor. "It probably gets done. We’re pretty close, but nothing has been finalized."
• Alden Gonzalez hits what I think is the turn-around point for this year's Halo team.  The Angels were 6 games out of first on the day they released Ibanez.  It's been almost a month since then and the club has gone 18-5, and are well within striking distance of Oakland.  Los Angeles Angels poised to make noise in second half - angels.com.  "5. Cron takes over for Ibanez The Angels started off old and then went young at designated hitter. They began the season with 42-year-old Raul Ibanez, who was released on June 21 after batting .157. That move was eased by 24-year-old rookie C.J. Cron, who has hit .278 with nine homers and 27 RBIs in his first 52 games."
• More Angels/Padres speculation: The GM's Office Blog (subscription required)- ESPN.  "Los Angeles Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, with the support of owner Arte Moreno, has been aggressive in trade talks in an effort to add more pitching. They've talked to the San Diego Padres about Huston Street, Ian Kennedy and even Tyson Ross, who probably won't get traded. Street told me the Padres have already talked to him about the real possibility of being traded before the deadline, and he's now expecting to be dealt. The Angels have also been linked to the Phillies' Jonathan Papelbon, but they're not interested unless the Phillies pay a significant portion of his remaining salary. Why pay Papelbon $13 million per year when you can get Street for $7 million annually?"

  Sources: #Padres, #Angels do not match up for Kennedy. Teams still talking on Street. Pads hearing out other clubs interested in Kennedy.

  — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 16, 2014

• This post mentions Dillion Gee.  I like Gee, but it seems the more likely Mets pitcher to get dealt would be Bartolo Colon.  2014 Trade deadline preview: Starting Pitchers - MLB Daily Dish.  "Los Angeles Angels: The Angels have been the second best team in baseball this season if you go by both record and run differential, yet they are still playing Robin to Oakland's Batman. The Angels have a bigger need in the bullpen which will likely be addressed first, but they do have question marks in their rotation, as CJ WIlson recently landed on the DL, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs are uncertainties to hold up for the rest of the year, and Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker probably aren't ideal starters in a playoff-caliber rotation. The Angels have been among the clubs linked to David Price, though they appear to be a longshot to land him considering their relatively barren farm system. It's more likely that they acquire someone along the lines of a Dillon Gee or Ian Kennedy, who they have also been linked to in recent days (though they may not match up)."
• Interesting post about the possible impact of acquiring David Price:  How Trading for David Price Changes the Odds - FanGraphs Baseball.  "In blue, we’ve got gains in playoff odds (by percentage points). In red, we’ve got gains in division-series odds, which means odds of getting past a one-game playoff. And in black, we’ve got gains in odds of winning it all. Every single team, of course, would be improved by adding David Price, because David Price is one of the best pitchers in baseball. But all those teams would improve differently." 
  
• Rob Neyer has created a site on Fox (Just a Bit Outside - FOX Sports) and assembled some guys to help him fill space.  Here's Dave Cameron from Fangraphs first contribution: Dead money: Which players have the most negative trade value?.  "1. Albert Pujols, first base, Los Angeles Angels Pujols has actually had something of a rebound season. Compared to last year, his batting average is up 21 points (.279 vs. .258), and his slugging percentage is up 54 points (.491 vs. .437).  His strikeout rate is back down to the levels he was at in his days in St. Louis, and he's hitting for more power than he did last year as well. But an improvement from a disaster is still not a success, and Pujols grades out as just an above-average player these days."  Yep, he's shooting at the Angels again.
• MLB and Fox issued a statement on why there was no Tony Gywnn tribute during the ASG:
  "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, an extraordinary individual whose memory we have honored in numerous ways in recent weeks. The Baseball family has sadly lost a number of people this year - including Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, Frank Cashen, and former All-Stars Jerry Coleman, Jim Fregosi and Don Zimmer - and did not want to slight anyone by singling out one individual." 
  In other words, they didn't want to interrupt their tribute to Derek Jeter to acknowledge someone else.
• This is cool:
  
• Jeff Miller takes on Baseball Prospectus.  Could it be he's a bit jealous over his former colleague Sam Miller being named the editor-in-chief of B-Pro, and he's being left to die with the fading Register? Miller: Could it be L.A. vs. O.C. again? - The Orange County Register.  "At this moment, the Angels have a 99 percent chance of making the postseason and the Dodgers a 90 percent chance, according to Baseball Prospectus, which is made of a bunch of people who certainly know their stuff, even if we have no clue what they’re talking about."  What's this "we" shit, paleface?
• I like it when people go back and look at their predictions: MLB midseason check-in: Predictions we're sticking with and throwing away - Yahoo Sports.  "Like most baseball pundits do, our blogging crew made a bunch of predictions at the start of the 2014 season. In hindsight, we were right on in some places and really, really off the mark in others. Such is life in baseball, where there are always going to be surprises and disappointments."
• We'll e setting up a private Halos Heaven only daily league on FanDuel, be on the lookout for that later today.
• Words fail me, so I'll use a GIF: Red Sox release A.J. Pierzynski - HardballTalk.
  
  
• Stay Golden, Indie Boy – The Hardball Times.  "It’s true, I saw many perversions upon baseball while watching the Fullerton Flyers. I saw a single defender commit three errors in a single inning. I saw not just the manager but the majority of the Flyers’ coaching staff get ejected in the middle of a game, the whole crowd able to hear each word of the vicious heat they gave the raggedy two-man umpiring crew. The dismissals were awkwardly elongated because the clubhouses aren’t accessible through the dugouts but only down the right-field line, providing ample time for the ejectees to turn around and stick in a last word. But I never did and never will see a joke when I watch an indie league."