Meet the Halos Heaven staff: Chase C. Kimura

Back in 2011, our old supreme leader, Rev Halofan, brought a handful of us Halos Heaven ruffians up from the realm of the comments and the Fanposts, and into the world of official, front page posting. Yep, he had given us the keys to the Halos Heaven muscle car and was now allowing us to take it for a spin whenever and wherever we’d like.

In a couple months, I’ll have been in my site manager/editor-in-chief role for two years, and one of the things I’m most proud of in that time is curating a new group of amazing and talented writers to grace the front page of our esteemed site. I have tried to do the same thing for the new blood I’ve brought on as Rev did for me all those years ago, giving them the outlet, the tools and all the audience one could ever need to broadcast their Angels-related opinions.

As a community, it’s also crucial to know these writers, to feel familiar and friendly with them, because that’s what makes the Halos Heaven vibe so special. So, once again, I’m doing just as Rev did back in 2011, and I’m posting some Q&As that I did for each of the new staff writers that we’ve seen come on in the past year. Heck, I even used Rev’s same questions!

So, without further ado, let’s meet the Halos Heaven staff, shall we?

Some of you may not be familiar with the name Chase C. Kimura, but if I said Morales8, then you’d say “Ohhhhh yeah, that dude”. Morales8 has been commenting around these parts for quite some time, going back to when he (Chase) was practically a kid. I’m pretty sure, if memory serves, that he even annoyed Rev Halofan something fierce when he first signed up.

Hey, if we had a nickel for everybody that signed up for Halos Heaven and rubbed someone the wrong way at first, only to eventually be well-liked by the community, then we’d be rich. OK, maybe not, but at the very least, we’d have, like, $3 or $4. Once he got some time under his belt on this site, though, Morales8 became one of the more prolific and intelligent commenters we had.

Now, cut to last August, when I get an email from Morales8, only he says his name is Chase and that he’d like to write for Halos Heaven, if possible. Sometimes, amazing things just fall in your lap, and you don’t have to do any work or toiling for it. That was how I felt when I received that email from Chase. I was in need of some more big guns on the staff, and one of our well-known members was saying he wanted a shot at the bigs, ditching the screen name for his real name? Ummm, yes please!

From then, it’s been a great relationship, to say the very least. Chase has great takes, and he’s also great at riling people up (in strictly fun, harmless ways) in the comment sections. That’s all on top of being a good writer. He’s come a long, long way on this site, and I’m always excited to see what he’ll bring to the table next, and where his writing will take him in the future.

So, here’s a little Q&A from my boy, Chase C. “Morales8” Kimura, the man who writes Angels articles that are so badass that there is now a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu armlock named after him.

WHO WAS THE FIRST ANGELS PLAYER YOU DECIDED WAS "YOUR GUY"?

Oh man, it's gotta be Vlad. He was "Mr. Angel" for me as a kid, just right around the time I really started to get into baseball (keep in mind I was only 10 when he signed with the Halos) and the Angels were competitive annually at the time, he was at the heart of it. Sure, Lackey, K-Rod, Figgy, and others also helped out tremendously, but none of them were Vladimir Guerrero.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CURRENT ANGEL AND WHY?

I apologize to the other 24 guys on the roster, but how can it not be Trout? I wasn't around for Nolan Ryan, I have never really been blessed with a legitimate superstar playing for my favorite team, to see Trout drafted and work his way up to superstardom has been an absolute delight. His impact on the franchise, the way he carries himself on and off the field, the grin whenever he robs a dinger, everything makes it worth being an Angels fan (despite the down couple of years). I could've lied or played devils' advocate and picked Kole, Andrelton, Garrett, Shoey, etc. but I would be lying.

WHICH SIDE OF THE "STATS VS CHEMISTRY" DEBATE ARE YOU ON AND WHY?

I don't see why they're mutually exclusive, I lean towards stats, but chemistry is important. I don't think the team needs to be holding hands and singing kumbaya in the clubhouse every day, but a clubhouse full of talented, great guys is obviously the way to go. Makes them easier to root for as well.

PICK A SONG FOR THE ANGELS TO REPLACE BUTTERCUP WITH?

My taste in music is a bit all over the place, some of it probably not appropriate for a family environment. Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen could be kind of fun (minus the whole "leaving his wife and kids in Baltimore" part). Maybe Let's Dance by David Bowie? There's a couple A Tribe Called Quest songs I'd recommend, but again, family environment. I'd probably even throw Dancing in the Moonlight into the conversation. Something upbeat and fun.

IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF THE ANGELS SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, NAME THE PERFORMER YOU BREAK THE BANK TO GET...

I can tell you who it wouldn't be, Gavin DeGraw. I'm an enormous Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino fan, but that ain't happening hahaha

I'll go with the Black Keys, they don't tour a whole lot, but I'd definitely break the bank to see them live. Those guys amaze me.

SAY SOMETHING BALLSY / CONTROVERSIAL FOR US TO REMEMBER YOU BY...

Just check out my latest comment ;)

Hmmmm, I'm not one known for having a filter, but this is a hard one to answer on the spot. Despite his hot start offensively, still not a huge fan of Yunel, cannot wait for Moustakas. Yunel's attitude just rubs me the wrong way a lot (especially the nonchalant defense he seems to have later in games).

Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell, and Ivica Zubac are gonna be stars, Lakers fans, just wait.

Van Halen's overrated.

I'd rather have Jeff Mathis than Carlos Perez.

Dallas Cowboys are building up a juggernaut if they can land some quality defensive backs this draft.

Tuners over American Muscle, not as nice to look at, but can take a turn much better than classics.

Give me an R34 Skyline over a Chevelle any day.

Pick any of these.