Wednesday Halolinks: Perez's walkoff could ignite team

In yesterday's Halolinks I mentioned regarding the call-up of Perez and the DFA of Butera, "Maybe the little transaction like this is what the club needs to ignite the offense."  And truthfully, it wasn't all that insightful, just basic knowledge that this club isn't as bad as they've been playing.  One little bit of momentum could get them moving in the right direction.

• I don't know, what's the big deal?  I mean, come on, Billy Parker did it over 40 years ago!  Angels' debuting rookie records walk-off rarity - angels.com, "Perez is just the fourth player in Major League history to hit a walk-off homer in his Major League debut, and the second in franchise history. The last overall was Miguel Cabrera, then with the Marlins, on June 20, 2003, against the Rays. The other two were Josh Bard of the Indians (Aug. 23, 2002, against the Mariners) and Billy Parker of the Angels (Sept. 9, 1971, against the Brewers)." This is good and all, but really, do you think Chris Iannetta has forgotten how to hit?  It's more likely his skill set didn't leave much room for error, and he's going through on of those pendulum swings to the wrong side of the hit track.  Angels' Carlos Perez is the bomb in MLB debut with walk-off homer - LA Times, "No one is expecting Perez to develop into a two-time most valuable player and triple crown slugger, but with performances like Tuesday's — Perez also singled in the second and handled pitcher Garrett Richards with aplomb — he could displace starter Chris Iannetta, whose .094 average is the reason Perez is here."  But still, this looks really great:
  

  

  
  
  You think we fans were happy?  Imagine how it felt for Perez:

  

• The big finish was spectacular, but it wouldn't have happened had it not been for the eighth inning come-from-behind rally: VIDEO: Angels rally and tie it up in the eighth - The Orange County Register, "After giving up three runs in the top half of the eighth, the Angles rallied to tie it up scoring two of their own. A one-out single by Albert Pujols and a walk by David Freese set the table for an Erick Aybar single to score Pujols."
• Both teams get to do it all over again Wednesday: Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels - May 6, 2015 - MLB.com Preview, "(C.J.) Wilson has a strong history against Seattle with a 16-8 record and 3.36 ERA in 59 games (22 starts), including eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball in his first start of the season, April 7 at Safeco Field. He hasn't won since and is 1-2 with a 2.73 ERA."
• Jason Stark looks at 5 possible play-off teams...yeah, the Angels are oneof them: Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates among five contenders facing critical questions, "Or let's take a look at this lineup as a whole. Last year after 26 games, the Angels had crunched 37 homers and had a .256/.323/.443 team slash line. A year later, they're at .225/.289/.343, which is tough to comprehend, no matter how much they miss the invaluable Howie Kendrick."
• This StatCast / HitFx stuff is really taking off: New Way to Judge Hitters? It’s Rocket Science, Sort Of - NYTimes.com, "In their quest to uncover data that better measures players’ performances, the sport’s aficionados have decided that exit velocity — not a space shot but rather the speed of the ball as it leaves the bat — says a lot about a hitter. "It’s really just physics," said John Ricco, the Mets’ assistant general manager. "If you hit the ball hard, at a certain velocity and a certain angle, it’s going to be a home run."
• This is a really good post if you're interested in the statisitcal side of the game: Getting The Most Out Of Batted-Ball Data: The Basics  F-anGraphs Baseball, "Batted-ball data can easily be misinterpreted, but once you understand its nuances, it is an exceptional aid in talent evaluation. Just looking at a player’s average exit speed on all BIP types can be very misleading; hitting a bunch of 90 MPH fly balls doesn’t get you much of anywhere. Being able to weave together the intricacies of frequency and authority, while taking into account pull tendencies, park effects, etc., enables one to combine such new-school information with older-school traditional scouting to create a more complete, valid portrait of the modern ballplayer."
• Wait, Hamilton's not hurt?  He was able to play all along?  Well shuck my corn.

  Josh Hamilton strikes out in his final AB. Played three innings in left field. He's done for the day. #Rangers pic.twitter.com/RMRmAe8EVA

  — Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) May 4, 2015

• This is so cringe-worthy, but I can't look away! (H/T BBTF)

On a personal note, this is my last post for Halos Heaven, at least for a long time.  This has nothing to do with the events of the last week or so, and is something that would have happened regardless.  I received some news yesterday about a personal situation that's going to take 100% of my time for quite a while.  Don't worry, no one's sick or dying, but it is something that needs to be taken care of.

I want to thank you all for a great 8 years.  All of you.  Every single one of you has made my life better and I appreciate the time and support you have given Halos Heaven and myself over the last 8 seasons.  And please, continue giving that support to the next guy/gal that comes along.  As I wrote before, this site isn't about one person, but rather the cesspool community that makes it great.

Go Angels!