Wednesday Halolinks: C.J. Wilson reminds us of C.J. Wilson

(Sorry for the late post, but I've been having internet problems for the last few days.  Charter Communications finally got it all figured out and the internet is back)

Wow, did anyone see that coming?  Oh wait, yes someone did see that coming...

I wonder if Pineapple 12 realized he called that shot?  Anyone remember if he mentioned anything?

Anyway, if you were anywhere in the vicinity of 8 shutout innings for C.J. Wilson, give yourself a gold star because Wilson entered a territory he has not visited very frequently.  According to the Tracy Ringolsby post below,

Wilson certainly gave the Angels reason for hope against the Mariners, working eight innings for the 20th time in his career, but for the first time doing it with fewer than 100 pitches. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 27 batters he faced, walking only one, and retiring the final 17 men he faced.

• Scioscia calls Wilson's season debut a 'masterpiece' - angels.com, "Wilson worked quickly, attacked the lower half of the strike zone with fastballs, threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 27 batters he faced, "and even with two strikes," Wilson said, "I wasn't necessarily trying to be too fine." That's what the Angels have always wanted to hear."  Seriously?  How long does it take for information to sink into some people's heads?  It's not like Wilson hadn't heard the concept of throwing strikes before.  There's even a Halos Heaven meme "Whatever, dude" that originated from Jerry Dipoto giving Wilson some data about first-pitch strikes.  Heck, Wilson even has a shirt to remind him:
  

  

• Healthy.  Wilson's injuries seemed to come out of nowhere last season.  First was the ankle problem that landed him on the DL.  I was the first to say that the injury seemed suspious as there were no reports he was having problems.  I thought it was one of those made up things so the player can figure it out what was going on while on the disabled list.  Obviously I was wrong: MLB Recap - Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners - Apr 07, 2015 - CBSSports.com, "But whether he wants to acknowledge it or not, Wilson (1-0) was outstanding. He wriggled out of a second-inning jam and was never threatened. He needed only two strikeouts to shut down Seattle. ''That was great to see. We haven't seen that kind of stuff since probably midseason last year,'' Scioscia said. ''I think it points to the fact that he's healthy. You can't really command the ball better than C.J. did.''
• Here are a couple MLB.com posts.  the first is a preview of tonight's game in Seattle, but it points out an interesting tidbit about Mike Trout: Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners - April 8, 2015 - MLB.com Preview, "Mike Trout is one home run away from 100 in his career. When he hits it, he'll likely become the youngest player to reach the 100-homer, 100-steal threshold. The current record holder is Alex Rodriguez, who got there at 23 years and 309 days in 1999. Trout, with 102 career steals, turned 23 last August."  The second, reminds everyone that the Angels are forgotten, but relevant: Don't count out defending AL West-champ Angels - MLB.com, "Meanwhile, the A's first restocked the rotation with an early-July trade that brought Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, and then, on July 31, sitting a game in front of the Angels, they acquired Jon Lester from the Red Sox. By Aug. 10, the A's had taken a four-game lead on the Angels in the division race. Six days later, however, the Angels had moved into a tie with the A's for the division lead, and by season's end, the Angels had finished 10 games ahead of the second-place A's, and 11 in front of the third-place Mariners. "We were a resilient team," said Scioscia. "Nobody panicked. The confidence was always there." It still is."
• I'm waiting for someone to finally point out that signing aging veterans isn't the only way to waste your teams' money.  Once a couple of these international signing go south, we'll have another way to laugh at over-spending: Arizona Diamondbacks have no clue what to do with Yasmany Tomas - SweetSpot - ESPN, "But this gets back to the potential mistake in signing Tomas in the first place. The D-backs already have a player just like him in Trumbo, a defensively challenged, low-OBP slugger. Actually, Trumbo is a good first baseman, forced to the outfield because the team has the best first baseman in the National League in Goldschmidt. Now, Stewart didn't trade for Trumbo; he was a remnant of the previous regime. Here's Trumbo "playing" right field on Opening Day. Yeah, that's pretty brutal. Again, however: He's a first baseman, not a right fielder. Good organizations find ways for players to succeed and playing Trumbo in right field on a regular basis is obviously a bad idea."
• Ah, something everyone learns in kindergarten...the importance of nap time: Baseball is realizing the value of taking a day off. - SportsonEarth.com, "Yeah, I remember I had a day off last year, obviously against my will," Jones says. "But the next day, I just felt so good. Obviously, my body needed that day off and it was pretty cool to get it." Jones is no stranger to a full workload. He played 162 games in 2012, 160 in 2013 and 159 in 2014. But the amount of players logging those kind of numbers has decreased in recent years. Last season, only four players in Major League Baseball played 162 games: Giants' right fielder Hunter Pence, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Rays' third baseman Evan Longoria and Royals' shortstop Alcides Escobar. In fact, in 2014, only 40 players appeared in 154 games or more, which is the lowest number in 20 years. But it's not because of injuries. It's because baseball is finally realizing the value of rest."
• You Don’t Know Bull – The Hardball Times, "In 2003, Sports Illustrated hailed Bull Durham as the greatest sports movie of all time and ranked it at the top of a list of 50 notable sports films including classics from as far back as Harold Lloyd’s silent comedy The Freshman (1925). But competition ideologies feed into our attempts to reify artistic worth with these ranking impulses, and Bull Durham would likely hold up fairly well in the minds of many devoted baseball fans regardless of its canonical status or critical achievements; after all, it’s a story about the journeyman ballplayer’s struggle to achieve within another, more actualized competitive hierarchy known as minor league baseball."
• Q: Who holds the record for getting hit in the face by the most balls?  Segura OK after being hit in face by pitch | MLB.com, "A pitch from Rockies starter Jordan Lyles glanced off Segura's helmet and struck his nose during the Brewers' run-scoring rally in the fifth inning. Segura dropped to the dirt next to home plate while Rockies catcher Nick Hundley signaled furiously for help from the home dugout. A few moments later, Segura popped up, shaken but unhurt."

Los Angeles Angels

Seattle Mariners

BATTER	GAME													SEASON
	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	TB	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
R Weeks DH	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	.250	.250	.250
A Jackson CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.250	.250	.375
R Cano 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.125	.125	.125
N Cruz RF	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.143	.143	.143
K Seager 3B	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
J Ruggiano LF	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.000	.500	.000
L Morrison 1B	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.143	.143	.143
M Zunino C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000
B Miller SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.333	.333	.333
Totals	29	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	4	6	-	-	-