MondoLinks: Richards on a roll

While you were away...Jered Weaver finally showed up, Garrett Richards showed that he is back, and Mike Trout is still the one and only. The Halos split with the Astros over a 4-game series reaching back to Thursday. And, while we would have liked to do better, splitting with a red-hot Houston team after the mediocre April we witnessed is a definite step forward. Today is a day off, so let's spend the day reveling in the good fortune we share to be witnessing these guys playing prime baseball. We start with...

The next upcoming mini-series, after a day off today, will be:

Colorado Rockies @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Angels Stadium, Anaheim CA.

Elsewhere in the Heavens of Anaheim:

Garrett Richards was busy making history there for a while yesterday. Surely it occurred to more than one of you that Mike Scioscia was never going to allow Richards to remain in the game all 9 innings even if he still had his no-hitter going. Because he wasn't. " 'You always have to be faced with the decision of when to go to your bullpen and we felt that time was right there and if he had gotten out of that inning it was probably going to be his last inning anyway. ... Most likely it was his last inning anyway,' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. 'It’s a hypothetical, but I can’t imagine pushing anyone to 130, 140 pitches especially with Garrett’s history of what he’s gone through.' "

Getting Noticed: One thing is for sure, Richards performance yesterday has announced that he is back, and people are now on notice. Richards makes #5 on the ESPN LA Power Ranking post: "Through the first six innings, he provided yet another indication that last year’s season-ending knee injury is a thing of the past, allowing just two walks while striking out eight on 80 pitches"

Trout Porn: You and I both know that we are in the midst of historical greatness.  We see it, we read about it, we review the evidence with others. And we are amazed. I know I am.  But then something comes along like this little nugget and I get blown away all over again.  Mike Trout already has more home runs and more stolen bases than 98.9% of every person in history who ever played Major League Baseball............(P.S. - Mike Trout and others spent the evening celebrating their win by watching the Anaheim Ducks advance to the Western Conference Final.)

Chris Iannetta got himself another hit yesterday. That makes a grand total of three hits across nearly 4 weeks of baseball. So it may seem surprising to find out that this base hit means that Angels catcher Chris Iannetta starting to see a light at the end of dark tunnel. "Finally, he’s starting to see the ball better, he says. It started earlier this month in San Francisco, against Tim Lincecum, when he grounded a couple balls hard to the shortstop. His playing time has been scarce since, but Iannetta believes he broke out of his season-long slump with Sunday’s fifth-inning infield single that scored two runs, breaking open a tie game."  Ummm...ok.

Around Baseball:

Felix Hernandez remains strong this year, now a 6-0. That's about 43% of the Seattle success so far this year. King Felix became the 4th youngest to reach 2,000 strikeouts. Gotta tip your hat.  "With the strikeout, the 29-year-old Hernandez became the fourth-youngest pitcher to reach the accomplishment. Only Bert Blyleven, Sam McDowell and Walter Johnson were able to get to 2,000 career strikeouts sooner. Both Blyleven and Johnson are in the Hall of Fame."...Wait. Sam McDowell is not in the Hall of Fame??

Bryce Harper has been kicking some serious ass the past week or so. Maybe he is finally maturing into his talent? Nats fans sure hope so. But, keep in mind, as phenomenal as Harper has been recently, the true phenom still resides in Anaheim. Harper vs. Trout: It's WAR.  "We've all written and opined so many words about Harper in his short career so far, and compared him to so many people. But you know what? I think he's Salieri. A man, had he been born any other time, might have been considered the real genius of his era. But then came Mozart."

Ugly Anger: I don't know how I missed this. Apparently Toronto hitting coach Brook Jacoby went ballistic after a game and got physical with an umpire in the tunnels after a game. Jacoby got himself a 14-game suspension. This umpire bumping is something that shouldn't be happening in the first place. I hope it stops.

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I'm not sure that John Daly is the best choice to be handing out alcohol to anybody............It's good to see modern day managers still know how maintain decorum on the field of play.............This is something we are going to have to start paying attention to: the upcoming 2015 MLB draft............The Yankers are still being such pissants over Alex Rodriguez still helping them to the top of the AL East standings.............I always liked Jerome Williams. Stuff like this is why.................The National Anthem pre-game moment is starting to become an issue. I sure hope you are more 'merican than these guys.  I wonder if we are even wondering about guys who aren't actually, you know, 'merican? And there it is! Finally, Major League Baseball has witnessed the very first 4-5-4 triple play in history.............Sucks to be a Red Sox fan. Stop. No. Screw them. It's deliriously thrilling for all the rest of us! Haha!!!..............Cubs fans, on the other hand, apparently they are not as prevalent as we have been led to believe..............When you don't have Gatorade, and you want to celebrate...uh...trash?

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Fans had themselves a pretty good Mother's Day

Here is one way to grab a bat...

Here is another way to grab a bat...

Too much effort on this one...