Wednesday Halolinks: Presence makes a return in Angel loss

You win some, you lose some, although the score says differently, last night's game shouldn't be considered a total loss.  There have been vehement complaints spewed forth from many of us regarding the Angels' bullpen, but last night's performance should quiet the fears we've had.  The Halo relievers went 6 innings, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk.  A reliever may have gotten the loss, but we should be happy with their fantastic performance.

I was going to write about how the timing of last night's loss went, and how it coincided with the Oakland win, but while reading through the post game comments, I came across this from one of the community's least frequent participants:

It was just the timing.

That's basically how it happened for me too, I had the Angel game on one computer, while following the Oakland game on another.  At least both testicles were kicked at the same time instead of spread out over any length of time.  Here are your Halolinks, all at one time:

• I think what he's saying is, you gotta keep the ball down in order to have success as a pitcher: Angels Afterthoughts: Up, up and away: Angels Blog: Orange County Register.  "The home run ball, which had been Jered Weaver’s main problem earlier in the season, came back to bite him again. Weaver, who had allowed only two homers in his previous seven starts – all Angels victories, by the way – gave up two in a five-inning performance on Tuesday night. "Fastball was up for most of the time," Weaver said. "I couldn’t really figure out how to get it down. Every time I left it up, they put good swings on it… Anytime you are up in this park, it’s not going to work out too good for you."
• It's a shame, Weaver had been pitching so well prior to last night: Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles - July 29, 2014 - MLB.com.  "Jered Weaver entered with only six earned runs in his last 23 innings, then gave up that many in the first four to set a season high. Five relievers from a vastly improved bullpen -- Mike Morin, Jason Grilli, Kevin Jepsen, Joe Smith and Rasmus -- limited the first-place Orioles to three baserunners from the start of the sixth to the end of the 11th, but their run ended with one swing in the 12th. Rasmus came out for his second frame, his ERA at 1.90 in 23 2/3 innings, but his 1-2 breaking ball to the Orioles' young phenom sailed a little too high, and Machado turned it into his first career walk-off homer."
• So what you're saying is, you gotta keep the ball down? Machado's 12th-inning homer lifts O's over Angels - Yahoo Sports.  "He said he was mainly trying to make contact after Rasmus jumped ahead of him in the count, but the Angels pitcher left a curve up a little, and Machado nailed it. "I didn't think it was a terrible pitch, but obviously not down enough," Rasmus said. "He's a good hitter and made me pay. That's how it goes."
• Although I agree with Scioscia's decision to not pinch run for Pujols in the 12th inning, while reading this post, I came across a quote that gave me shivers...and not in a good way.  I had the feeling I'd read this stuff before: Orioles outlast Angels to win in 12 innings - The Orange County Register.  "The game then ended with closer Huston Street still sitting in the bullpen. As games move deeper into extra innings, the visiting manager faces the dilemma of whether to use his closer or to hold him for a save situation that may never come. Scioscia seemed determined not to use Street before a save situation. In fact, he said that Rasmus was probably going to pitch the 13th, too. "In the last week of the season you might take some of those guidelines off, but right now we have a long way to go, and we’re going to use Huston when we have a lead to hold," Scioscia said. "In that situation, it’s going to take two hits to score anybody, unless Josh hits it out of the park," Scioscia said. "You want to keep Albert’s presence in the game." Ahhh!  There it is!
  Asked if he considered substituting Kendrick for Morales as "gutting" the lineup, Scioscia only said, "I think you want to keep that presence of Kendrys in there." Mike Scioscia, August 1, 2012
  
  
• I know we're not supposed to mention the Game That Didn't Happen, but WTF, doesn't anyone learn from their mistakes?  Angels dealt stunning loss by Rangers - The Orange County Register.  "Asked if he considered substituting Kendrick for Morales as "gutting" the lineup, Scioscia only said, "I think you want to keep that presence of Kendrys in there."
• Here's the other half of the nut kick: MLB Recap - Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros - Jul 29, 2014 - CBSSports.com.  "Mired in an 0-for-14 rut, Moss turned things around on one pitch. He hit a go-ahead single during a six-run rally in the ninth inning that sent the Oakland Athletics to a 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night."
• Today's game will geature the Angels' best starter who's having a strange thing happen to his velocity: Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles - July 30, 2014 - MLB.com Preview.  "The 26-year-old right-hander is 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA thanks in large part to his unprecedented increased fastball velocity. This season, Richards is averaging 96.3 mph, second-fastest among qualifying starting pitchers (trailing only Yordano Ventura of the Royals) and nearly two full ticks faster than last year's mark (94.8 mph)."  Within this post are these two tidbits:
  • Since June 6, the Angels lead the Majors with a 32-14 record. The Angels' best record through 105 games was 65-40 in 2009. They're 63-42 this season after Tuesday's defeat.
  • Entering Tuesday, Mike Trout led the Majors with 59 extra-base hits and 229 total bases.
• Why do I think this is all a bunch of BS?  Angels' Wilson discovers reason for recent rough patch - The Orange County Register.  "Wilson said he had lost flexibility in his left hip, which affected his delivery. "It had the affect of dragging the ball back over the middle of the plate, which is bad," Wilson deadpanned. "That’s where they hit the ball." Wilson had posted a 6.81 ERA since the start of June. He insisted throughout the rough stretch that there was nothing physically wrong with him. When he finally did go on the disabled list, it was an injury that occurred on one of the last batters he faced in his last game."
• Lost in the Sun: The Physics of Ballpark Orientation – The Hardball Times. "The orientation of the field — like everything else about Major League Baseball — is proscribed by the rule book. Sure enough, Rule 1.04 states in part, It is desirable that the line from home base through the pitchers plate to second base shall run East-Northeast. Let’s see how well the 30 ballparks meet this requirement. Using data from Google maps, the figure at the right shows arrows in the direction of the line that joins home and second base for each of the current major league parks. In the diagram, up the page is northward so east is to the right. Notice that the east-northeast direction of Rule 1.04 is indicated with the green arrow. The red arrows are either indoor parks or parks that can be covered."
  
• And just like the sun, Vin Scully will be there tomorrow: Vin Scully To Return For A 66th Year, Gets Standing Ovation.  "This is cool. The Dodgers announced Vin Scully was returning in 2015 for a 66th year in the Los Angeles broadcast booth. They showed a pre-taped skit during the game tonight, featuring Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yasiel Puig, and Justin Turner making the announcement. After the video played, the feed turned back to the stadium and Scully received a standing ovation. He then got back to business, but noted "boy, it's tough to get over that."
• Any interest in bringing this guy back?
  

  I'm told Joe Saunders opted out of #Royals deal, and they granted him his release.

  — Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 30, 2014

• This is interesting: The Nationals and Orioles dispute over TV money is about to explode - HardballTalk.  "The back story: in order to allow the Nationals to start up business in Orioles territory back in 2005, the Orioles got a sweet TV deal. They got (a) majority ownership of the network, MASN, that broadcasts both Nats and Orioles games; and (b) they got way more in rights fees from the network for their games than the Nats got for theirs. Indeed, the Nats got a pretty undervalued amount, per the deal."  Here's the referenced article: Major League Baseball Embroiled in Explosive Legal War Over TV Deals (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter.  "The same day Selig sent his letter, Pamela Marple, an attorney at Chadbourne & Parke representing MASN (and by extension, the Orioles), wrote a letter to the Nationals that slammed the MLB arbitration panel's "lack of procedural fairness," noted that the ruling "does not end this matter," argued that it wasn't binding on the Orioles, and stated, "Please also be reminded that your client's privilege to have its games telecast throughout the Orioles' Television Territory arises solely and exclusively under the Settlement Agreement and related Partnership Agreement. Your client has no right to access the Orioles' Television Territory for the telecast of its games independent of those agreements."
• Yeah, I bought one: "Caucasians" t-shirts are hot sellers on Canadian Indian reservations - HardballTalk.  "But . . . I was told Wahoo outrage was nothing but liberal white guilt . . ."
  
• Trader Jack? As Seattle's GM struggles to complete deals, some rival executives wonder - FOX Sports.  "Some GMs turn aggressive when their jobs seemingly are at stake. Zduriencik, on the other hand, baffles rival executives with his inability to close deals. "He has made offers and then pulled back after we have said, ‘This is something we would do,"’ one executive said. "He responds (by saying) it wasn’t an offer and that he will need to discuss it with his guys." Another executive added, "I don’t always get the sense that he knows what he wants to do. One day, he’s interested in one thing. The next day, he’s interested in another. That’s what makes it challenging." A third executive said, "They (the Mariners) don’t set out on a trade saying, ‘Here’s what we need. Let’s do what we can to get him.’ They think, ‘Who can we give up that will never be any good?’ They don’t want to give up anyone who will haunt them. That’s just flat-out fear."
• And, although it has nothing to do with baseball, I thought this was very interesting: Scientists reveal the secrets of mysterious ship found under 9/11 ruins.  "Scientists have found the secrets of the old ship unearthed in 2010 under the ruins of the Twin Towers. First, the large vessel—buried under 22 feet (6.7 meters) of soil and wreckage—was built around the same time the Declaration of Independence was signed. There's more—but there's also one big mystery left unsolved."