TuesdoLinks: To Hector with this. Trevor & Crew's Gott it.

Just a friendly reminder, folks, that it ain't over 'til the fat man sings. Not to be all Pollyanna (gamethread!) and everything, because watching the way these guys have played of late it truly feels like it's over. But the math is strong on this point: it ain't over. Shit happens. Sometimes even good shit. I guarantee that there is something worse than watching this team play baseball badly, and that is not getting to watch baseball at all, which will come soon enough.

We wanted baseball. We got it. Let's have fun with it while it's here. Have some links:

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Angels Baseball

FEARLESS LEADERSHIP: Oooh! Arte has started to interview GM candidates. He wants to resolve this situation quickly. Well, after waiting 2 months and watching the front office chairs spin around the league without them. But, yeah, quickly.  So, who is being interviewed? Top. Men..................

C.J. WILSON: Here is a Wilson rehab selfie, sacrificing the life of idle luxury "2 to 16 hours a day", all for you..............

DAVID FREESE: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.... Hahahaha.... Hahaha... Ha....... Ha................ Ha...................... Huh............... "there has been a growing desire to re-sign David Freese among those who remain in the Angels' front office. They like what Freese brings to the clubhouse".......... Holy shit...........

JOHNNY GIAVOTELLA: Gio's noneofyourfreakingbusiness symptoms remain and his availability to return remains shutthehellupandstopasking............

C.J. CRON: Cron stole home last night. Cron does not steal bases. He had exactly 1 SB in 161 pro games going into last night. And then Cron stole...home! This event was so earth-shattering that it qualifies to earn one lucky person the right to have Quicken Loans pay their mortgage for one month. $1,500 max. Which pretty much leaves out everybody in Orange County, CA. That's more like a car payment around here..............

ROCKS IN THEIR HEADS: The question is posed: Do pitchers get a boost from the Angel Stadium rock pile?  The idea being that big right-handed pitchers who throw across their body will have a release point that uses the tawny-colored rocks as the background, helping to hide the ball. It's a long article, with lots of data, each showing some slight trend towards YES, but often barely beyond statistical significance. But it does suggest that Jered Weaver might be uniquely advantaged...........

When the walls come tumblin' down

When the walls come crumblin' crumblin'

When the walls come tumblin' tumblin' down

Yeah yeah yeah

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Elsewhere in Baseball

HAMBONE: Josh Hamilton is being readied to return to the Rangers, but he is still claiming that he ain't ready. Sound familiar? Yeah. Thought so. on't forget that the sin here is NOT paying Hamilton to perform on behalf of the Rangers, since he has only given them 3 hits in 38 games in a season that is running out. No, the sin is paying Hamilton. Period. There is still a chance that the Rangers could make the playoffs, end up facing the Royals, and we all get to watch Hamilton accelerate the Texas exit as he flails away. Just like old times..............

JOSH DONALDSON: Donaldson is doing great. Inarguable. And he is not having any kind of August slump. But here is something of interest. Donaldson is actually better than he was when we knew him in our Division. His has figured out how to amp up his power production. "Call it what you will. With the help of some more power—which maybe he found under a cloud or a rainbow or something, since he is the ‘Bringer of Rain’—Josh Donaldson has stepped his game up in the second half. And for the Toronto Blue Jays, the timing could not have been better."

SHOELESS JOE: This is odd. HBT directs our attention to a local paper in Greenville, South Carolina where it is being reported that MLB is on the verge of re-instating Shoeless Joe Jackson. This would be huge, if for no other reason that it has been completely off the radar. Nobody has been talking about this. Now, we have the curator of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum claiming that an announcement will be made today. For their part, MLB is only acknowledging that they got the curator's email and had responded, but that don't mean nuthin'. And before the curator gets to release her good news, The Hall of the Very Good already has their hands on the actual response from MLB and it says nyet. Methinks the curator is jumping the gun, here. But I hope she succeeds..................

OMNI: This is how Major League baseball can lose a National Treasure: sending him out play on turf destroyed by the National Football league.............Red Sox force NESN to fire a long-time announcer, forcing everybody responsible to do stupid things, everywhere, to avoid having to deal with their own fans............The fan who fell to his death in Atlanta over the weekend may have been struck with some kind of medical emergency causing his collapse over the rail, and not drunk................No, people, although there was some excitement in the gamethread last night, What the A's are wearing are NOT baseball stirrups. Don't get me all excited over girls softball stockings.................The Braves have officially started laying the bricks on their future Suntrust White Flight Park. Seems like a silly celebration, considering how much of the stadium is already standing...........This is awesome. Chris Archer gave up a smash to Manny Machado, but when Kevin Kiermaier pulled a Mike Trout imitation and leaped over the same wall, near the same part of the outfield, to rob Machado in spectacular fashion, well, Archer was helpless to be anything but be gobsmacked. And he ends up reminding us all of a Little league kid. This Little League kid in particular.................

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