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Thor'sLinks: It ain't over til it's over

Indeed...but let them tremble when the clarion call sounds! The revelation of our very existence will strike like the mightiest thunderclap! Out victories shall be the stuff of legend! Our triumphs shall echo throughout the nine worlds.

By Stirrups
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Clutch clutchiness showed up for a brief appearance in Houston, just in time to rally the Angels over the Astros and bring the team into a virtual nose length of the final playoff spot. David Freese showed off the colors of his legend, something we really see in person. But Freese cares little for what we do get. After all, he ain't in no slump. He just ain't hittin'.

Notice that just as Mayhem described, the Halos rested thoroughly in their opening game, pulling a classic rope-a dope, and were far stronger than their cosmos companions in taking the final two, and the series.

We now take a day off and wing our way home to host Seattle for a weekend three. It will be our final home weekend series of the 2015 regular season.

Meanwhile, watch the standings, and pay close attention to the loss column. Not all teams have played the same number of games, and you cannot erase the losses. Right now we have 5 teams within 3 losses of each other. realistically, that's enough teams for one of them to win the final WC spot so we can ignore Seattle and Tampa Bay, etc. But with 5 teams so close, the odds are ever increasing that this will be one of those rare seasons with more than 162 regular season games. We could have 163, or 164! (By the way, if we end up with a WC tie with the Astros or Indians any head-to-head with them would be in Houston or Cleveland, respectively, since they have won the season series with us, 10 games to 9 and 4 games to 2. We have the 5 games versus 2 series win over the Twins, and a 4 games to 2 series win over Baltimore so any such season-ending tie with them would be played of in Anaheim.) The Wild Card this year could be even wilder!

While we wait, let's check out a flurry of High Hope Yogi Links!

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Angels Baseball

The Future Ain't What It Used To Be: Felix Hernandez exited his last start with a stiff elbow, so Seattle is granting him an extra day of rest as a precaution and we won't be seeing Hernandez on Friday as originally planned. Now we get him on Saturday. If he's healthy.............

You Can Observe a Lot By watching: Did you catch this? In the 2nd inning of yesterday's game The Entire Umpiring Crew Forgot What The Count Was.  "Home plate umpire Ted Barrett lost track of the count on Astros outfielder Preston Tucker as he faced Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano in the second inning of today’s game. Tucker had a full count, but after Tropeano threw ball four, nothing happened. Houston manager A.J. Hinch had to challenge the play in order for anyone to notice."............

All Pitchers are Liars or Crybabies: Huston Street appears to be getting religion. With Joe Smith out with a self-inflicted injury failing to walk away from a hotel lobby, the normal "roles" defined by a comfortable Mike Scioscia are out the window. Guys are being asked to pitch outside the lines. Even Street is pitching outside his 9th-inning mandate. So the news flash to Street is that being a paid professional means that you have to deal with the situation at hand:  "That's what the big leagues are about. You get an opportunity, you have to make the most of it. You have to prove to yourself, your coaches, your organization, that you belong here. There's no better time than now to see what people have. The guys have stepped up in a huge way.".............

Making Too Many Wrong Mistakes: Remember, I read Lyle so that you don't have to. I know. I do the work of saints. It's all for you, my friends. One would think that I guy who mastered the game by watching more than 4000 contests from the cozy confines of a buffet stuffed press box would have a decent grasp on how professionals build a sustainable franchise. And yes, yes he does. Oops. I meant no. No, he most certainly does not: "David Freese is a strong, respected leader, the kind every team needs." Yeah. You know who needs a 3B with an OBP of .318? Pittsburgh, Boston, Houston, Oakland and Detroit. The only teams with a qualifying 3B that has a meaningfully worse OBP. Nothing says inspiring leadership like a guy who can't get on base.............To make matters worse for poor Lyle, it's been a pretty bad year for the myth of his beloved catchers.

Make a Game Plan and Stick To It, Unless It's Not Working: Huston Street got his redemption shot at Jed Lowrie yesterday. And, proving to us more that the Sunday Massacre really was a colossal frack up, he got Lowrie out pretty easily to nail down the game. So, yeah, I'm saying that Street did more yesterday to prove our point than he did to prove anything to himself or Lowrie. Being only 1.5 games out right now isn't too terrible, but being only .5 games out UP right now would be incredibly better. And it was right there to be had..........

If The World Were Perfect, It Wouldn't Be: Mike Trout is back, and word is officially out.  Over his last 7 games he is hitting .346 / .455  /.885. (That, Lyle, is roughly 1.5 David Freeses.)............

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Elsewhere in Baseball

When You Come to a Fork In The Road, Take It: Joining Vin Scully in announcing that the 2016 season will be his, Dick Enberg makes the same decision. And an era of Southern California radio baseball broadcasting will echo into history............

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is: I hadn't noticed this before Stephen Strasburg, but inning limits and shutdowns on pitchers is now kind of a thing, isn't it? Of course, we have the ongoing debacle over Matt Harvey in New York, causing opinions all over the place. Well, over in Colorado, where it's easier with a Rockies team going nowhere, prospect Jon Gray has hit his pre-programmed innings limit of 55 and is being shut down for the remainder of the season. I do believe that when it comes to health we should err on the side of safety, but what's the science behind these inning numbers that defines them as any safe point? I think these people are just guessing, and this guessing is starting to impose itself on the game. If decision-makers are going to be controlled by these kinds of medical opinions, these kinds of medical opinions need to be highly qualified and peer reviewed............

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore: The Kansas City Royals formula has been shut-down bullpen combined with incredibly fortuitous defensive web gems. Well, Dave Cameron notices that the KC bullpen ain't so shut-down as it used to be. It's not fatal, and the Royals still have their lucky gloves, but it's worth Royals fans worrying about...........

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded: So catching a foul ball, or a home run ball, in an MLB game is your life-long pursuit? Well, fine fellow hawk of fowl balls, get thee to Miami. Quick!............

You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you: Another reason to root for Joe Maddon. Dude knows how to party. At a minimum, he knows how to promise to party...........

There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell 'em: Josh Hamilton has a new life goal. Get his wretched body back onto the field in time to make the post-season roster. Where, of course, Rangers fans should expect him to contribute at his usually high post-season rate of productivity...........

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else: On my. David "Big Pappi" Ortiz, when asked what he would do if not a ballplayer, answered "porn star"............

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06-Favored-Beverages

And now, being the full-service weekend linkage institution that we are, here is the obligatory moment we take out of each Thursday...for beer...

Friday: Oktoberfest By The Bay at Pier 48 in San Francisco..........

Saturday: Hop Heads & Dreads Craft Beer and Reggae Festival at Harrah's Resort Southern California at Valley Venter............Modesto Beer Festival at 1207 14th St...........New Belgium Brewing's Tour de Fat - San Diego at Golden Hill Park in San Diego............LA Fall Beer Festival at LA Center Studios............

Sunday: (Nada, but that is probably because everybody is resting up for all the Oktoberfests coming our way!)

BEER BONUS: With Oktoberfest now upon us, and a home series still left to be played, why don't we see one of these sweet deals with a halo??????

Stay safe, everyone!

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(All grammatical errors still remaining should be intentional.)

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