Tuesday Halolinks: Angels travel east, while front office ingores fans

After a day off yesterday, the Angels hit the road for an 8-game road trip.  The Halos will play 3 sets in Baltimore and Tampa before returning to SoCal to face the Dodgers.  This will probably be one of the toughest trips the club will face this season as the the Orioles just took 2-of-3 from the Angels last week, while the Rays have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last couple of weeks.

In case you missed it, the Halos were wearing patches Sunday afternoon honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Hall of Fame.  Nice gesture, yet they still have done nothing to honor one of the franchise's most beloved players.  Stirrups is fighting the good fight, but so far the club has ignored their fans.

Here's today's shortened after-an-off-day Halolinks:

• Oh my, what's going on in the East?  The Orioles have a 2.5 game lead over the Blue Jays in the AL East division.  Could this be their year?  On deck: Angels at Orioles, Tuesday, 4 p.m., FSW - The Orange County Register.  "After taking two of three from the Angels, Baltimore traveled to Seattle for a four-game series against the Mariners. The Orioles took three of four from the Angels’ AL West rival, including two 10th-inning victories in the second and fourth games of the series. So far in July, the Orioles are 15-7, but this season at Oriole Park, they’ve been outscored, 190-173, and have a 26-23 record."
• Here's something I thought would take years to finally read about the Angels' relief pitchers: Angels-Orioles Preview - Yahoo Sports.  "Their relievers own a major league-best 1.78 ERA over the last 21 games after ranking 25th with a 4.13 mark for the season. Closer Huston Street hasn't allowed a run in four appearances and converted all three of his save opportunities since being acquired from San Diego. "If you can go five and keep us in the game, it's almost a guarantee they're going to come in and put up a zero," starter Hector Santiago said after limiting Detroit to one run in 5 1-3 innings of Sunday's 2-1 victory. "We used to be scared if we left guys on base. Now it's like we just sit back and watch the rest of the game."  One of the reasons there's a new confidence in the bullpen is the addition of Huston Street.  He seems like a guy who's going to fit in nicely: Street is settling in with Angels' bullpen - The Orange County Register.  "Every team has a different dynamic," Street said. "Every team has kind of its own self-identity of how it interacts in every season. So when you come in midseason, so much of that has already been established from spring training to now. You just try to fit in. "But you also got to to be yourself. ... I always feel like I’m going to treat people with respect. I expect them to treat me the same way, and usually, it works out pretty well at this level. If you show respect, you’ll get respect. These guys are a phenomenal group in here. You can just kind of feel something special in here."
• I had origally thought the Halos might take a run at acquiring Cliff Lee, but after reading this: 10 Degrees: The Red Sox’s best move is to trade Jon Lester - Yahoo Sports.  "Take Lee, whose chances of being traded before the July 31 deadline are next to nil – and whose contract makes a deal prior to the Aug. 31 waiver deadline deal similarly unlikely. Especially if Philadelphia continues to ask for a return of any kind, as two executives with interest in Lee said it continues to do. Lee tests the axiom that there’s no such thing as a bad one-year deal. Because his contract calls for a $25 million salary next year and includes a 2016 option with a $12.5 million buyout, which would make Lee’s 2015 salary perhaps $37.5 million. And if he does throw 200 innings next year, that activates an option for $27.5 million in ’16, meaning a pitcher who missed two months with an elbow injury would be due $52.5 million for his ages 36 and 37 seasons."  This could be an even worse contract than Vernon Wells'.
  
• Adorable Kid Hugs His Dad For Catching A Foul Ball 
  
• This is a pretty cool story: Jason Lane, former outfielder, gets first start as pitcher for San Diego Padres - ESPN.  "The 37-year-old former outfielder threw six scoreless innings Monday in his first big league start as a pitcher before surrendering a homer to Evan Gattis that carried the Atlanta Braves to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres."
• FanDuel has a $100,000 Super Strikeout contest running today.  The top prize is $10,000.  CLICK THIS LINK TO CHECK IT OUT