:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53907891/usa-today-9940169.0.jpg)
Ah, that feels good. I do know it's only Spring Training, but watching the highlights and seeing the looks of surprising hopelessness and futility on the faces of Oakland players as they get pasted by a rampaging Halo offense does put a smile on my face. 14-3 and everybody had a good day.
We have a final game in the Phoenix area today before the team comes home for the Freeway Series.
So have some Say-Goodbye-To-Arizona-Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
Not ALL Spring Training stats are irrelevant. Turns out, Stolen Bases in Camp mean something when the regular season opens. And so, we can expect the Angels to be base happy. They are one of the annual ST SB leaders, but that total of 46 stands out. Not since the Royals in 2011 with 55 SB's has any MLB team snatched as many thefts during camp.........
The 25-man is taking shape. Yusmiero Petit made the team..........
Cameron Maybin is making the 25-man, One might wonder why, given his Spring Training struggles. But I always pull for a guy with self-awareness who is committed to working through the vageries of baseball failure odds............On the other hand, Ben Revere is killing it this spring. Look for yourself at his Game Log.............Comparing those two, my love for the self-aware hard worker only goes so far............
This is a far more comprehensive preview for MLB 2017, and you can drill into each team for more detail. But I still say that Halos Heaven is NOT the 4th best site in the AL West............
And then there are true experts. "The Biggest Surprise", and "The Best Offseason". 77 wins, my ass............
A new Halos Post-Game Show this year. One can only hope for major improvements...............
______________________________
Everywhere In Baseball
By now even you know that in a few years the Raiders will be moving from Oakland to Las Vegas..........Moving to the Gambling Meccas of America is a risky strategy, one that MLB is not eager to pursue. For sure, the A's won't be chasing the Raiders to Sin City. They are going to work to figure out how to make Oakland seem tasty again............
The shameless taxpayer scam of Atlanta's SunTrust Park has been opened for introductory tours to season ticket holders. Here is a photo essay. Now that everything is all shiny and happy, we can forget how all those venues of commerce were made possible by OPM............Also with the Braves, they are walking back their prohibition on outside food, clearly intended to stem competition for their concession revenues. Their story was that it was for fan security and HardballTalk is calling total Bulls4!t on that.............
The White Sox traded Peter Bourjos to the Rays. This pairs Bourjos up with Kevin Kiermaier and that just blows the minds of FanGraphs, as the Rays now have the Mad Killer of Fly Balls for an outfield defense............
While we are enjoying our whistle stop at FanGraphs, note the ever shrinking strike zone. Mike Trout shall be pleased...........
Now we have TWO giant math treatises, both from Hardball Times. All we need is a long, rainy off-season weekend. Looking at the long-term forecast for Southern California, maybe you will have to save these links for November. The first is a study in how the Astros' potent rotation became impotent in 2016, probably because their staff was far too similar to one another. The second one deals with an experimental new way to measure hitter volatility. For this last one, the point of it all eludes me entirely. But that's probably because I am too busy of a guy to need to worry about everything...........
Hmmm. The Big News yesterday was that President Trump is not throwing out a first pitch this year. Apparently, this will be the first time since Taft started the streak in 1910. Now, I do know that Wikipedia is that the be-all, end-all. But it's a good start. So looking at the wiki list, if that streak dating back to Taft is true, who was it that threw out the Ceremonial First Pitch on Opening Day for all the seasons not listed there?..........
Yeonis Cespedes is playing Nintendo Baseball...........
BAMtech is integrating game broadcast video into a new social media app. If I am getting this right, it's MLB Selfie sticks............
The brilliant team of analysts at Digital TV have done a lot of research and determined that traditional pay TV subscriptions are going to dwindle in the coming years. Sounds like a group of analysts who are going to shocked in the morning when the sun unexpectedly rises in the east. And to think they get paid to figure that out. That's an easier gig than a weatherman............
______________________________
The Duffle Bag
Not baseball, but common inasmuch as broadcast rights tend to inhibit modern marketing channels. This guy finds a way to win the news hour on March Madness recaps. Also, I personally find guys named Eric to be particularly clever..............(H/T UniWatch) Did MLB oopsie and reveal the 2017 ASG uniforms?............If Nathan's has now become the Official Hot Dog of MLB, does that mean that the Dodgers, and their Farmer John Dodger Dogs, are evicted from Baseball?............(h/t reddit) The Giants marketing genius strikes again............Coming soon: NASCAR baseball.............
______________________________