Wednesday Halolinks: Dickey ends Halo streak

I'll probably keep coming back to this throughout the remainder of the season, only because it seems to be pretty spot on when trying to make sense of what happens.  Obviously, teams will win some games, and lose some games.  No team is ever going to go 162-0.  Tuesday night's game was just one of those games where the other team played and pitched better, so we mark it as a loss and move on.  Turn the page, so to speak.

Trout-fact o' the Day:  Mike Trout is four hits away from 500 for his career…If he reaches 500 hits in the next seven games, he will be the fastest to 500 in club history (Trout currently at 420 career games; club-record is 428 career games by Garret Anderson).

Here's today's get 'em next time Halolinks:

• That's a pretty amazing fact right there:  Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels - July 8, 2014 - MLB.com.  "The loss was the Angels' first at Angel Stadium since June 11 against the A's and just their third home loss since May 20. It also snapped a five-game winning streak overall for the Angels (52-37). For Toronto (48-44), the win halted a five-game losing streak. It was the second time the Angels have been shut out this season, joining a 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay on May 16."  It's been almost a month since the Angels lost at home.  Heck, they have a better winning percentage at home than I do.
• It seems Jeff Fletcher likes the word "Dickey": Angels' home win streak flutters to a halt - The Orange County Register.  "Dickey, the only knuckleball pitcher currently in the majors, got the most out of his signature pitch in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-0 victory, which snapped the Angels’ 11-game home winning streak. The Angels, who were one victory from tying their franchise record home winning streak, managed just four hits in Dickey’s seven innings. They had only two at-bats with a runner in scoring position against Dickey."  He adds this interesting tidbit in another post: Angels Afterthoughts: Trout's gamble: Angels Blog: Orange County Register.  "It was the Angels’ league-leading 41st out on the bases this season. Scioscia said he doesn’t mind the gamble, though."  When does aggressive become dumb?
  
• OMG, are the A's ever going to lose?? San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland Athletics - Recap - July 08, 2014 - ESPN.  "Sonny Gray struck out eight to win his third straight decision, and the Oakland Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1 on Tuesday night for their sixth consecutive victory."  The Oakland win combined with the Halo loss drops the club 4.5 games back.
  
• Good news about Jered Weaver: Improved Weaver likely to avoid disabled list - angels.com.  "A day after leaving his start after two innings with lower back tightness, Angels right-hander Jered Weaver said he felt much better on Tuesday. Manager Mike Scioscia said the Angels still did not know enough to judge whether Weaver would make his next start, which could be Saturday at Texas, but the club does not expect its ace to land on the disabled list."  Although Weaver will probably avoid the DL, he most likely will have his next start skipped in order to get him some rest through the All-star break.
  
• This clip in interesting to me for two reasons.  The first, watch how Albert Pujols plays the bag on the throw coming from the outfield.  He's so used to playing first base and having the play be a force play, he has his foot on the bag instead of positioning himself for a tag play.  The second, while the umpires are talking with the replay people in New York, Pujols and Reyes chat it up at first base.  I'd be curious as to what they're talking about, but once the call is reversed and Reyes is called out, it looks like Pujols says something like, "Good bye".  Angels' challenge erases Blue Jays' Jose Reyes at first base - angels.com.  "With one out, Reyes dropped an 0-1 fastball from Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs into shallow right field and made a wide turn around first base. Charging in hard, Kole Calhoun fielded the ball and fired to Albert Pujols at first, who applied the tag as Reyes dove back head first."
• We're entering into the trade rumor time of the year, and since the Halos are in contention, they have their share of rumors: Dipoto would like to add one last piece to Angels bullpen - The Orange County Register.  "The obvious perfect fit for the Angels would be San Diego Padres closer Huston Street, who has a 1.13 ERA and 23 saves in 24 opportunities. He’s 30 and is signed for $7 million this year with an option for $7 million in 2015."  There's talk about the club acquiring a front-line starter, but I don't see that happening:
  

  Cole Hamels can be traded to LAD, LAA, STL, WAS, ATL, NYY, BOS, TEX, SD without his permission, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me.

  — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 8, 2014

  Angels can hear Oakland's call to arms, but will they answer it? - Los Angeles Times.  "Could the Angels adopt a similar go-for-broke mentality before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, discarding their recent spackle-and-paint approach for a splashy acquisition such as Tampa Bay ace David Price or Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels, who could help pitch them deeper into October? "If we are able to make a move to improve the team, we'll be open-minded," General Manager Jerry Dipoto said before Tuesday night's 4-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays snapped the Angels' 11-game home win streak. "We have five solid starters and a swingman. My general mind-set is, if it's not broke, don't fix it."
  
  More likely, if they even pick-up another starter, it'll be someone like this: Latest On Trade Talks Involving Red Sox Starting Pitchers – MLB Trade Rumors.  "The 33-year-old Peavy has struggled, to an extent, this season in what has been one of the least-effective campaigns of his 13-year career. He’s posted a 4.64 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 39.2 percent ground-ball rate. His 89.9 mph average fastball velocity is the lowest mark he’s posted since his rookie campaign in 2002. He’s been healthy, however, and has averaged more than six innings per start this season. A move to the NL, of course, could help his numbers as well."
  
Editor’s Note: SBNation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league for Wednesday night’s MLB games. It’s $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Starts at 7:05pm ET on Wednesday. Here’s the FanDuel link.


• The newest member of the Angels' pen: Thatcher joins long line of Angels lefty relievers - Yahoo Sports.  "Thatcher is the Angels' latest attempt to find capable left-handed relief. Dipoto signed Sean Burnett as a free agent in 2012, but elbow problems limited Burnett to just 16 appearances in two seasons. After undergoing Tommy John surgery last month, Burnett is out for the season."
• Why is this a part of today's links?  The Grand Slam: Cardinals win on walk-off homer for second straight game - Yahoo Sports.  "Wong's blast to right field gave the Cards a 5-4 win and pulled them within three games of first place in the NL Central. It also made Wong an unlikely hero, as he hit just his third homer of the season."  The pitcher who gave up that walk-off was Ernesto Frieri.
  
• Hey look, Mickey Hatcher was right!  Batter Patience as a Team Sport – The Hardball Times.  "Tyler Kepner proclaimed that "Red-Hot Brewers Win by Swinging Freely, Always." Tom Verducci proposed a script to a new movie called "Brewerball" in which the Brewers would use their hack-tastic plate approach to revolutionize baseball offense. Comparisons were made to other free-swinging clubs like Baltimore and Colorado, who contrast vividly to the Red Sox, 2013’s offensive champions, many of whom tended to take a large number of pitches during each plate appearance (P/PA). Why would the Brewers try to be impatient at the plate?"  Nah.
• While perusing the Times site I came across this.  It might be old, and I might have already linked to it earlier this year, but it's still kinda cool:Compare MLB team payrolls - Los Angeles Times
• I was going to embed the video here, but some of you aren't too fond of other teams' personnel, so here's just a link to a very interesting interview: Exclusive 1-on-1 with A's GM Billy Beane - CSN Bay Area