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Wednesday Halolinks: Spring Training opens today for some teams

Not the important team, however.

By Jim Gardner
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Do you ever wonder what you'd be doing if you weren't doing this?  I'd like to take a quick poll of how you use Halolinks, more specifically, when and how much.  Are you at work reading this?  On your phone?  Are you reading this before you start your day, or after the day is done?

My goal with these link posts is to get some baseball news in front of you right away.  Kinda like the morning paper showing up on your driveway, ready for your perusal once the teeth are combed and the hair is brushed.  The intention, in my mind, is this post is the place we gather in the morning before getting on with whatever it is we do when we're not here.  The internet version of the water cooler.  But that's just me...use these posts as whatever or however you like -- they're for you.

Once the season starts, I thaw out, and my apartment is finished, the format on how Halolinks are delivered is going to change slightly.  Nothing earth-shattering, just a minor tweek.  However, before that all happens, I'm curious as to why you're here.  So, please answer the poll at the bottom of these links, and toss in a comment or two.

Today: 2 days

  • I suppose Spring Training officially starts today, but we all know that's not the case.  None of these players are wearing a halo: Play ball! #BaseballBegins today - MLB.com, "Exactly 112 days after throwing the last real pitch in Major League Baseball, Madison Bumgarner leads the pitchers and catchers of the reigning world champion Giants back to Spring Training today. They are among the first scheduled official reports, along with pitchers and catchers for the Indians, Phillies, Pirates and Reds."
  • Look at all those pretty swirls!
  • We're just going to have to get used to the great lead-off hitter of our generation hitting third: Second base, No. 5 spot in rotation up for grabs - angels.com, "Then there's this: Angels manager Mike Scioscia is expected to give lots of consideration to the idea of moving Mike Trout into the prominent No. 3 spot on a full-time basis, but that may only be possible if Hamilton is healthy and productive."
  • You know what I found really interesting in this post?  Not one mention of the Angels.  What does that mean?  I dunno.  MLB - Best and worst of an active offseason - ESPN,
    MOST IMPROVED TEAMS (AL)
    Chicago White Sox -- 26
    Boston Red Sox -- 14
    Toronto Blue Jays -- 9
    Seattle Mariners -- 4
  • Spoiler alert: the Angels are not one of the five: Report: Five teams prepared to spend over $70 million on Cuban infielder Hector Olivera -| HardballTalk, "According to Peter Gammons of MLB Network and MLB.com, there are "five teams over $70 million" on the 29-year-old Olivera, who was a .323/.407/.505 hitter in 10 seasons with Asvispas de Santiago of Cuba’s Serie Nacional."
  • Two Pitchers Underrated By Both ERA and FIP - FanGraphs Baseball, "It is quite rare for a pitcher to allow more fly balls than grounders. Only five ERA-qualifying AL starters did so in 2014, and Hutchison and Odorizzi were two of them, along with Jered Weaver, Colby Lewis, and of course, Chris Young."
  • I read HardballTalk almost as much as I read Halos Heaven, mainly because I appreciate the take Craig Calcaterra has for most stories.  For example: A-Rod derangement watch: handwriting analysis edition - HardballTalk, "Yesterday, after Alex Rodriguez released his handwritten apology letter, people began joking about how some newspaper was going to consult a handwriting expert to psychoanalyze A-Rod. Others didn’t joke so much as a bet which paper it would be because, boy howdy, if there was a way to do more armchair psychoanalysis and/or character assassination of the guy, someone would surely take it."
  • Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors.  I like how he's able to take a look at a situation from another perspective, showing that things aren't always the way we think they are.  Although this article isn't written by Gladwell, it has a Gladwell-ish tint to it.  When I read it, the first person I thought of was C.J. Wilson.  Read it for yourself and tell me if I'm right: Avoiding Stupidity Is Easier Than Seeking Brilliance - TIME, "After discovering that there are, in effect, two different games and realizing that a generic strategy will not work for both games he devised a clever strategy by which ordinary players can win by losing less and letting the opponent defeat themselves. … "if you choose to win at tennis – as opposed to having a good time – the strategy for winning is to avoid mistakes. The way to avoid mistakes is to be conservative and keep the ball in play, letting the other fellow have plenty of room in which to blunder his way to defeat, because he, being an amateur will play a losing game and not know it."

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