WeekEnd HaloLinks: Angels to Miami. Nice.

That was one very sorry way to cut a road trip short and bug out to the airport. Or bus. Maybe it was a bus. It's only a couple of hundred miles to Miami. A bus would be more appropriate. 4-0 loss.

2 measly runs scored over 18 innings of at-bats. 0 over the last 17. That "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Bat Six Thru Nine" lineup was a doomed idea from the start. Kind of like playing with a half an offense tied behind one's back.

I always wonder what is going through Scioscia's mind when he pencils that up? Is he just assigning exercise duties? Is he thinking that the only way to create production out of nothing is to keep running it out there hoping today is the day?  Certainly he cannot be looking at the opposing pitching staff available and be convinced he has mastered a perfect counter-strategy, right?

I also wonder what that day's pitcher thinks when he looks at said lineup and realizes that his last chance for happiness is to throw a perfect game...AND grab a bat.

The Angels are in Miami for the weekend. Marlins Park. Stupid-ass pachinko machine. Whoever's healthy will be playing. It feels worse than it actually is because the Angels are 6-4 over the last 10 games while the Marlins are only 3-7. But it should feel like a cake walk. The Marlins DO have one of the worst pitching staffs of all MLB, so the odds are high for a pair of Mike Trout home runs.

Do the Miami Thrice Links:

A Little Bit of Angels News

Maybin took himself out of the game yesterday but says he will be Ok for tonight. He was getting sore running around on the Tropicana Field turf. Never heard that before. But the way he played this fly ball, maybe it was for the best..........

The LAA bullpen has been pretty good. So if there is one place we don't need to create a logjam of players, it would be the relief staff. But that is precisely what we have............

The game tonight is free on Facebook. If you don't have the broadcast, and you don't subscribe to MLB, and you normally would follow on Gameday anyway, give it a shot and report back.............

Andrelton Simmons is still very good, but not great?. Maybe we're just spoiled. For me, defense at shortstop is not something high on my list of concerns..........

Mike Morin, working his way back. Being a cool dude............

Josh Mayhood's Library of Mike Trout Hagiography

Mike Trout remains awesome. And Commander Mayhood's shaming of the MSM is still resonating.............It's time for people to realize that Trout is as dangerous as Barry Bonds. And we are talking about the needle-beef version Barry Bonds. The one that warped baseball............And here is a shocking revelation that you have not heard before: Mike Trout already is MLB's best player - and he's actually getting better............Or we could say it this way: the remarkable Mike Trout in only getting better as he builds a historic season............

Mike Trout Porn Stat of the Day: Mike is lapping the competition............And, yes, Mike is now MLB's career WAR leader among all players named Trout............

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If you want to speed up pace of play, stop hiring pitchers who can throw +95mph?............

We here in Anaheim may be struggling, but at least we aren't suffering under the burden of bad luck and bad GM decisions like they are in Seattle..........

The Yankees are getting shelled at the box office. Being the most expensive game experience in the country is not to blame, nosirree. It's Millennials. Blame them. They ain't coming to games because they don't plan ahead or something. Seriously, that's the story they are using...........By the way, down there at the end of that link is this passage: "Right now, there’s no LeBron in baseball, there’s no Tom Brady," Levine said. "Derek Jeter was, maybe David Ortiz..." That, my friends, is the very definition of provincialism.............

Kris Bryant collected a home run. There might have been fan interference, or maybe not. Because the phone mysteriously stopped working at that precise moment, Giants manager Bruce Bochy didn't get the chance to ask for a review. That was convenient. Anyway, it occurs to me that if that fan had let the net in front of him make the catch, and if it WAS a home run, the fan could have just as easily let the net do the work and then just pick up the ball. But, really, the phone goes out? I used to do phone systems early in my tech career. That is simply not understandable...........Or maybe it was somebody messing with Bochy after Bochy got so pissy the night before on a called 3rd strike to end the game and hand his team a loss............Bochy has a thing about arguing strike 3's in the ninth inning............

Fan makes a bonehead mistake. Security Guard goes all Super Cop. Little boy loses ball. Embarrassment ensues for all participants...........

Terry Collins IS NOT allowed to talk about player injury status...........Ooh. That's not a good look..........Terry Collins IS allowed to talk about player injury status...........

Wow. I'm confused. Strikeout. No Strikeout. Game over, book closed. Game over, book opened. I guess as long as the Red Sox win we can all move along.............

Extended nets at Yankee Stadium are certainly going to happen now.............

One long article full of research about teams that are the best and worst at acquiring quality catchers, and not one single mention of Jeff Mathis............

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