TuesdoLinks: Turkey tacos, anyone?

I remember the day I learned that the Angels had signed Vladimir Guerrero, sneaking him right out from under the nose of the Dodgers at the last second. He's in the news again, so this is topical.

It's now the long slog through Free Agent signing and trade season, as Billy Eppler tries to improve the club in time to be credible next March. There are lots of holes to fill and most will be plugged up using chewing gum and duct tape. But what about One Big Splash, to catch us up in one phase of our missing game in a hurry? What name would blow you away with excitement if you woke up tomorrow and read that he is now a Halo? It's gotta be a reasonable option, and come at a price that does not decimate the franchise elsewhere.

Would Chris Sale do it for me? Nope. Great option, but not the hole I am looking to plug up. Brian Dozier, maybe, and Justin Turner would be cool, but neither would blow me away. And that's kind of the problem. These days feel more like shopping on New Year's Day, when the only store open for business is Dollar Tree. I can't think of any surprise that would blow my mind this Winter. Good luck, Mr. Eppler.

More Thanksgiving Weak Links:

Cameron Maybin has himself a new HH nickname?..........

Yeah, how big would Mike Trout be if he played in another market? I think I might consider re-framing the question. Since the road to marketability runs directly through the media, how big would Mike Trout be if the media got off their knees in front of the Bostons and New Yorks and stopped collecting the easy paychecks? Nobody can do anything about the time differences for fan viewers, but Fox and company certainly could do things about which teams to slot for national broadcasts and when to push for more viable start times. And ESPN could make West Coast baseball their breakfast/lunch Sportscenter focus to show fans what they missed when they went to bed. Nobody wants to be dragged through another LAA loss, but MLB could still promote Mike Trout plays instead of Jason Werth plays...........

The 2017 Hall of Fame ballot was announced. Our hearts are all aflutter seeing Vlad Guerrero on the list. We have had HoF'er play under the Halo before but with the exception of Nolan Ryan we always knew they would go in for some other team. Ryan we kinda knew, but we were ashamed over the way he was sent away from us. Guerrero is the other way around. We kinda know he will get into the Hall too, but we are kind of ashamed to admit that his best years were in Montreal. We fall back on his playoff appearance and MVP season, which kind of strike me as the antithesis of our annual Mike Trout debate. But it's close. He should get in, but it could fairly go either way. He won't get in right way, though, since the PEDs era players and the rising escalating voter standards for HoF entry have created a backlog that needs to be fleshed out..........Meanwhile,Jorge Posada? Really?? Sure, you gotta put his name on the ballot, but people are actually trying to find way to justify a vote for him?............

One of the things I harp on a lot is that it means a lot to have a first round pick in each draft, but it also means a lot to pick well after the first round guys have been taken. The AFL is over, and there were some breakout stars. Not among those were any from our favored franchise. That list in the article? 6th round, 3rd round, International signing, 4th round, 16th round, 11th round, International signing, 2nd round, 37th round, 6th round. And then notice the teams that picked them. Many are perennial upper-echelon farm systems, showing that they tend to know how to scout and draft. And, yeah, every single one of them is ahead of us..........

Mookie Betts isn't holding any grudges..........

The Yankees continue to go through an accelerated rebuild, which is much better (IMHO) than outright tanking. It helps to have assets that other teams see as valuable in order to be able to trade them away from a haul of credible prospects, I chuckle, though, at the thought of the Yankees finally get below the luxury tax threshold so that it opens up payroll flexibility. If the Yankees have been able to stay afloat paying what they are paying in penalties, they have already proven that they have far more flexibility than the competitors. What's another $50 million among friends?...........

When the MLBPA says that they are "deeply skeptical" of an International Draft, what they are really saying is that "before we chunk non-union guys under your bus, you MLB guys are gonna give us something good"...........

Just in time for Black Friday Samsung deals. Those of us who are ATT/DirectTV subscribers might be about to get our MLB games in 4K..........

The Duffle Bag