Thursday Halolinks: Kole Calhoun does it right.

I don't know how many times I can write about this without making you roll your eyes, but please indulge me...it's frickin' cold here!!  I woke up this morning and the temperature was -7.  I don't think I'm asking a lot when all that would make me happy would be for the temps to get above freezing.  Yeah I know, "shut the hell up, Jim" is what you're thinking.  I get that.  I'm the idiot who moved my family from the warm and cozy So Cal to the freezing wasteland of Hell Wisconsin.  Anyway, what's my point?  I CAN NOT WAIT FOR SPRING!  Not only does it bring baseball, but it also mean my feet will finally thaw out.

The Final Countdown: 15 days

• I don't know how I missed this, but MLB's Alden Gonzalez is doing his preseason assessment of the Halos.  Here's his recent take on the outfield: Around the Horn: Outfield - angels.com, "Hamilton's contract is an albatross, but seemingly one of the best decisions made by the Angels' front office was to trade Peter Bourjos in November 2013 -- for David Freese and Fernando Salas -- to open up an outfield spot for Calhoun. In his first full season in the Majors, the 27-year-old emerged as a solid, if not ideal, leadoff hitter, posting a .272/.325/.450 slash line while adding 17 homers and driving in 58 runs, both ranked third among leadoff hitters last season."  I love me some Calhoun, mainly because 1) he seemed to have come out of nowhere, 2) he doesn't look like a ballplayer, but more like a construction worker, 3) he plays the game the "right way" (shut up, you know what I mean).  As I mentioned, I missed the start of this series, but here's are links to Corner Infield and Middle Infield.  There's a  link to the catcher, but that link goes to an article from 2014.
• This is just stupid.  I'd bet you could ask every former player who they're favorite player is, and most would say "Mike Trout".  Javy Lopez's favorite player: Mike Trout - MLB.com, "He's a complete player -- offensively, defensively, power, hitting for average," Lopez said. "The guy is a stud."
• I heard once they opened up his shoulder, they found peanut brittle and party favors (not the good kind).  Explains why he sucked...no one likes peanut brittle anymore.  Cashew brittle is the way to go.  Josh Hamilton undergoes successful surgery - Orange County Register, "Josh Hamilton underwent "succesful" surgery to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder on Wednesday morning, the Angels announced."  Oh, and it was "successful".  Hamilton finally did something "successful" this year.
• Now that Hambone is on the shelf for a while, does that mean the Angels might be interested in adding another outfielder just in case this is an on-going thing?  If so, how about this guy?  White Sox Request Release Waivers For Dayan Viciedo – MLB Trade Rumors, "Unless he is claimed, Viciedo will enter the free agent market still shy of his 26th birthday and already having claimed 66 MLB home runs. Of course, in spite of that impressive power, he has failed to reach base at a reasonable clip (.298 career OBP) and is generally rated a sub-par defender."
• Or possibly a deal for this guy?  How will Red Sox handle glut of outfielders? - MLB.com, "Craig has become a bit of a forgotten man, not just because of the glut in the outfield, but because he's coming off the worst season of his career. Craig was acquired from the Cardinals last July 31, and Boston fans haven't seen how productive a player he can be when he is healthy and confident."
• This is kinda funny.  The Angels sent a player completing a trade to the White Sox for a player the White Sox have on their roster.  So basically, they gave the Sox Almonte as payment for renting Beckham for 26 games.  Angels send minor leaguer to White Sox to complete Beckham deal - Orange County Register, "The Angels sent minor league right-hander Yency Almonte to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, completing last August's trade for Gordon Beckham."
• I hope Haren takes all spring to decide what he wants to do this season just so it pisses off Jeffrey Loria: Marlins still interested in Shields; Haren's status up in air - marlins.com, "Another issue the Marlins are facing is the status of Dan Haren. Regarding Haren, the Miami Herald recently quoted team owner Jeffrey Loria saying: "I don't know: one moment he says he wants to play, the next minute he says might retire, the next minute he wants to pitch on the West Coast."  "I don't know: one moment he's ripping off the city of Miami, the next minute he's signing free agents, the next minute he's trading those free agents away."