Thor'sLinks: Mike Trout's thunder still echoes

Just a reminder...it's been 4 solid days and the Angels have held first place in the AL West the whole time.

That's a nice thing to dwell on when nothing else is going on throughout baseball. No action, little news. Just reams and reams of commentary as people lift their jaws off the floor now that they have come to grips with the greatness of Mike Trout we have been privileged to enjoy for 4 years now. To see for yourself, just type "mike trout" into Google this morning. Or just type "baseball", then click News. Mike Trout owns baseball a the moment.

So let's enjoy this Day of Thor, with links:

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Everything Baseball, Angels or Otherwise

Trout Porn: The gushing over Mike Trout, as he continues to conquer new ground in the world of baseball, runs on unabated. Say what you will about Ned Yost the in-game tactician, but it's clear that he knows very well what an exhibition game put together for the fans is all about. "[Trout] was the one guy that I wanted to leave in the game the longest," Yost said. "He played longer than anybody else because he is such a talent."...Says Adam Jones: "I call him white Bo Jackson. Look at his body. He looks like a linebacker."...And opposing manager Bruce Bochy, comparing Trout to the greatest living legends on display during pre-game ceremonies: "This is a tremendous talent. He's going to be standing there, I think, with the guys we saw tonight."..........New Jersey is the new King State of Baseball...........If only Trout were as good as, say, Lorenzo Cain. See this comment series in the KC blog wrap-up titled "American League wins 6-3, behind Lorenzo Cain's two hits"

The AL West's New Boss: The rest of the AL West is waking up in time to start the second half of the season, and they are confronting the reality that the Big Threat now harkens from Anaheim. "When the second half opens Friday, the Angels are the team to beat in the West. Pujols and Trout have made the Halos formidable again. Pujols and Trout share the AL lead in homers with 26. The 2004 Boston Red Sox, with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, are the last club to have a league’s top two in homers for a season. That team also produced Boston’s first World Series winner since 1918. Pujols and Trout, so far, have bought more time for the Angels to come together."

Highways to Nowhere: Ok, fair warning: I find all those highway signs dedicating the next 300 yards of pavement to some person to be rather irritating. No disrespect to the person being memorialized, nor to the few dozen loved ones who care to remember that person always, but the millions of the rest of us who are trying to remain safe and healthy as we navigate all the other signage at breakneck speeds are not actually being served by these reminders. My eyeballs jump back off those signs the instant I realize that they are not providing me any information to assist me at 70mph. I have washed whatever name flashed before my corneas before I even get a bead on the nest bit of information necessary to remain a safe driver. But I do realize that they are important to others. In Arizona, apparently those things are so important to so many people that they are running out of pavement for their dedications. "  Plans to honor Hall of Famer Randy Johnson with signage along Route 51 in Arizona have been abruptly canceled by Johnson, the Diamondbacks and governor Doug Ducey...The stretch of highway, currently known as the Piestewa Freeway, is named after Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in combat for the U.S. military. She died during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. 'Renaming this particular freeway is an affront to the Piestewa family, all families that have lost loved ones in the war, and all our veterans who have risked everything for us!,' wrote Ernest Martinez , Piestewa's uncle, on Facebook. "..........

All-Star Mistakes: You do this too, don't you? You scan the list of players who end up being named "All-Stars" and shake your head as you pick out those names who will be totally forgotten a mere weeks after the season resumes. Because it happens all the time. We name way too many guys to the teams, and end up with way too many players whose flash of excellence was mistaken for top-tier brilliance. Personally, I would think that we should be looking at the accomplishments from the previous ASG, not just the most recent couple of months. But that is too hard for most, and here we are..........

All-Star Hangover: One of the things that make our modern ASG broadcasts so cringe-worthy is the same thing that makes our modern ASG reviews so phenomenally fun.It's Harold Reynolds. We are so lucky to be living in the future, when vast numbers of listeners are all armed with two thumbs and a mini-keyboard in order to document in real-time all the amazing things that traverse the synapsis between Reynold's brain and his vocal chords.And, truly, as Chad Finn points out, we really do need vast numbers of people to keep up with him, because "Harold Reynolds says so many things that I disagree with or are patently false that when I go to tweet one, he's already trumped it."..........

True To His Roots: Pete Rose made it back onto the national stage Tuesday night. As a member of the Cincinnati Reds "Franchise Four" it was unavoidable. Afterwards, Rose spent a lot of time in front of cameras and microphones, which were all thrilled at the novelty. And Rose gives us pure Rose gold, making a gambling joke when asked about Hall of Fame chances............

Uni Ughs: I get a lot of inspiration from visiting Paul Lukas over at UniWatch.com, and not just because that site uses the word "stirrups" more than all the rest of the Internet combined. I honestly had not paid any attention to the special uniform features for the players in this year's ASG, so when I clicked on the game and saw what the players were wearing as caps, I knew that I just had to go get official commentary from UniWatch. He did not disappoint. Best observations: " I’m tired of typing "neon," "DayGlo," "highlighter," "fluorescent," and the like. Let’s just say 'asinine'."  "..........."Lots of players also wore asinine footwear, but I got tired of keeping track of that. Let’s just say there was way too much of it.".........." Leaving aside the Giants’ color-matching issues, the caps were awful. I mean, look at this — does that make you think, "Hey, that’s special!" or does it make you think, "Hey, that must be a spring training game!" Just stop trying to milk every last penny out of the game and let the players wear their regular caps. "..........

EastSPiN: ESPN just cannot let it go. Without a daily Jeter stroke to fulfill their summer dreams as Jeter has retired, they reach back for a Jeter-fest (tweet) at their annual self-fete. And again (tweet) and again (retweet) and again (retweet). This, instead, because although it might have changed by the time you read this, at the moment the official ESPYS twitter feed went right by their own awarding of Best MLB Player to Trout without any recognition. Which all kind of explains the influence of MLB's coverage of the show: ESPYs honor Jeter, Trout for greatness, where you will go 80% of the way through the article before you get to anything not-Jeter...........

Ratings and Rantings: The television ratings came in and they were, how do we say, "less than stellar"? The game won the night, defeating even "America's Got Talent", but was still tracking the downward spiral the game has been in for decades. Forbes, keeping up with the meme today, blames No Jeter. Actually, there is a grain of truth there. Jeter's retirement last year did cause a small blip in that longer-lasting decline, but this year is back to where it would have been with or without any Jeter story from last year. So...why? What's going on? Well, duh, Let Grant Brisbee walk you through what should be obvious to anyone over the age of 40: "The All-Star Game was necessary. Now it's optional. Nothing's going to change that, not without a solar flare or two to change how we consume media. Just don't let the decline in All-Star Game interest trick you into thinking it's revealing something about the health of baseball."...........

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And now, being the full service weekend linkage institution that we are, here is the obligatory moment we take out of each Friday Thursday...for beer...(which works better on Thursdays anyway, because it gives you all some runway to take advantage of Friday goings on...)

Friday: Bacchus Wine Shop in Milbrae is putting on their Calicraft Brewing Company Tasting release party...........The WineSellar and Brasserie in San Diego is countering with Red, White & Brew BBQ & Beer Garden.............Stockton Beer Week 2015 kicks off at various venues throughout Stockton..........Bacon & Barrels Beer Fest at Buttonwood Farm in Solvang sounds like a hoot.............Pleasant Hill Blues & Brews Festival in Pleasant Hill Park in Pleaseant Hill sounds better, but only if you are already close by..........

Saturday: Stockton Beer Week 2015 continues...........The 15th Annual Breakfast Beer Festival runs at the Marin County Civic Center Island in San Rafael................Brew Fest, a part of the National Orange Show, is out in San Bernardino at the National Orange Show Events Center...........Or you can try another Brewfest, the Downieville Mountain Brewfest in Downieviile...........Urbn Brewing Company celebrates their One Year Anniversary in El Cajon..........The Best of California Brewfest is being mentioned with a grain of salt, since it will be conducted at something called the Miller Lite Grandstand within the State Fair grounds in Sacramento...........Tehachapi Mountain Beer & Wine Fest at Besz Visco Sports Park in

Sunday: Stockton Beer Week 2015 continues..........

BEER BONUS: We continue to track the Ales for ALS 2015. project brought to us by red floyd. Each week I will check back in and look for upcoming events for this worthy cause. THIS WEEK WE HAVE TWO EVENTS!!!..........The first event is today. The Ales for ALS BBQ and Tasting is at the Third Street Alehouse in Santa Rosa...........And on Saturday (the 18th) there will be an Ales for ALS Kickoff Fundraiser at 1801 Birchfield Rd in Yakima..........

Stay safe, everyone!

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(All grammatical errors still remaining should be intentional.)

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